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选择性必修第四册 UNIT 12 INNOVATION(二)
Ⅰ.阅读理解
A(★)
With new advances in AI and autonomous driverless cars and trains，it makes sense that this
mode of transportation could be expanded to buses，too.Now a full-sized autonomous bus service
is up and running in Scotland.The buses began running in May,2023，and are carrying passengers
between Ferrytoll Park and the Edinburgh Park train and tram exchange.This 14-mile route is the
first of its kind in the UK.
The autonomous buses are being operated by Stagecoach，the largest coach operator in the
UK.While the buses are autonomous，fully self-driving vehicles are not currently permitted in the
UK so a driver has to be onboard at all times.
The vehicles are required to have a safety driver to monitor the technology and a bus captain
that will help passengers board and purchase tickets.The driver can take control in case of an
emergency situation.And the vehicles use sensors to travel on specific routes and can reach the top
speed of 50 miles per hour.
It took almost 10 years of research and development to reach this milestone，which is
considered the first full-size use of autonomous buses in Europe.Scottish transport minister，Kevin
Stewart，said in a press release，“It’s really exciting to see the innovative and ambitious
CAVForth project take to the roads after all the hard work of the partner organizations involved in
bringing this world first to Scotland.” This project was one of six to receive funding from a joint
UK government and industries undertaking to speed up the commercialization of self-driving
technology，reported The Guardian.The government hopes the autonomous buses will be faster
and more reliable to use than conventional buses since 88% of road accidents are caused by
drivers’ errors.
Other countries in Europe are exploring using driverless buses.There have already been short
trials in several cities in Italy，Finland and France and there’re plans for driverless electric
minibuses to be introduced in Switzerland，Germany and Norway.An autonomous bus may be just
around the corner in a city near you.
1．What does a driver do in an autonomous bus?
A．To monitor the route. B．To deal with emergencies.
C．To direct the bus. D．To help passengers buy tickets.
2．What does the author indicate in paragraph 4?
A．It is very easy to develop the driverless buses.
B．The autonomous buses won’t cause accidents.
C．Scotland becomes popular for the driverless buses.D．The UK government values the autonomous buses.
3．Which of the following can best describe the future of autonomous buses?
A．Promising. B．Hopeless. C．Worrying. D．Uncertain.
4．What could be a suitable title for the text?
A．Autonomous Buses Are Widely Used in the UK
B．Self-driving Technology Has Been a Hit
C．Autonomous Buses Hit the Road in the UK
D．Conventional Buses Are Much Safer
B(★)
The 2010s brought no shortage of miraculous technologies，from tablet computers to 4G
mobile internet.But these had surprisingly little effect on the economy.During that decade
productivity growth in the developed countries averaged a miserable(少得可怜的) 1% a year，
holding down average wages.Innovative firms embraced new tech，but many less adventurous
ones did not bother.The experience showed that technological breakthroughs and improvements in
average living standards do not always go hand in hand.
Generative AI，its developers say，will be different.Not since the invention of the internet
has a new technology so captured the public imagination.The technology is consumer-friendly：
within days of its release to the public，ChatGPT，the most famous AI chat bot，had millions of
users.It is easy to see how this innovation could improve all types of work at all types of firms，
from increasing the accuracy of doctors’ diagnoses to helping programmers write software code
more efficiently.
With that said，for AI to truly spread out in the economy，it needs to make its mark beyond
the most innovative companies.And this will take time.Although the internet began to be used by
some companies in the early 1990s，it was not until the late 2000s that two-thirds of American
businesses had a website.About 70 world’s largest firms still show no interest in AI，according to
our analysis.Some evidence even suggests that usage of ChatGPT and its competitors is falling—
perhaps as people have tried it out，and then decided it is not for them.
Indeed，even the most powerful technologies take time to be adopted，because companies
tend to use a mix of software and services ，some of which may be years or even decades
old.Replacing outdated systems can be costly and complicated.Moreover，in the many industries
either run or heavily regulated by the government ， such as healthcare ， education and
construction，bosses and trade unions often resist the application of new technology，worried that
it will lead to job losses.In time AI could well transform how people live their lives and do their
jobs.But the road to widespread usage，and any resulting productivity boom，will be a long one.
5．What is paragraph 1 mainly about?
A．How productivity affects average wages.
B．Why the 2010s is a productive decade.C．Whether economic growth follows new technologies.
D．What innovative companies care for.
6．What does the author want to indicate by mentioning ChatGPT in paragraph 2?
A．AI’s public imagination. B．Consumers’ enthusiasm.
C．AI’s healthy profits. D．AI’s huge potential.
7．What can be inferred from paragraph 3?
A．Big firms are less motivated to adopt new tech.
B．More efforts are needed to advocate AI.
C．ChatGPT is falling behind its competitors.
D．Websites were uncommon in the early 2000s.
8．Which word best describes the author’s attitude towards the future of AI?
A．Hopeful. B．Worried. C．Cautious. D．Pessimistic.
Ⅱ.完形填空(★)
I was in the middle of the Amazon with my wife.We did not speak the local language，did not
know the customs，and even did not entirely 1 the food.We could not have felt more 2 .
Then one perfect Amazonian evening，we played soccer. 3 darkness came over the field
and the match ended，the goalkeeper，Juan walked over to me and asked，“In your home，do
you have a moon too？” I was surprised.After I 4 to Juan that yes I felt a sort of awe at the
5 that existed in his world，where the unknown and undiscovered was 6 and amazing.
In our society，we know that Earth has only one moon.I can，from my computer， 7
satellite images of Juan’s village.There are no more moons to search for，little 8 to
discover.Yet，as an ant biologist，I knew that much in the world of insects remains unknown.How
9 are we？The question of what we know and do not know 10 bother me.
I began to 11 newspaper articles about new species，and on and on they 12 .In
looking into the 13 of biological discovery，I also began to find a collection of scientists，
who very often focused on common phenomena more to the point of exhaustion(筋疲力尽)，and
even at the risk of the 14 of their peers.
We used to think that nothing lived deeper than six hundred meters.Yet，when something new
15 ，more often than not，we do not even know its name.
1．A.produce B．recognize C．attain D．prepare
2．A.conservative B．familiar C．foreign D．natural
3．A.As B．If C．Once D．Although
4．A.announced B．committed C．complained D．responded
5．A.differences B．possibilities C．definitions D．expressions
6．A.suspicious B．similar C．absurd D．vast
7．A.take up B．pull up C．pick up D．make up8．A.kept B．banned C．left D．bounded
9．A.accessible B．elegant C．ignorant D．relevant
10．A.instantly B．constantly C．occasionally D．absolutely
11．A.evaluate B．seize C．polish D．collect
12．A.appeared B．existed C．formed D．quitted
13．A.fictions B．plots C．stories D．moments
14．A.tease B．envy C．support D．admiration
15．A.updates B．settles C．develops D．emerges
Ⅲ.语法填空
Beijing roast duck is one of Beijing’s unique and classical 1. (cuisine)．The
duck has a long history of over 1,500 years.Legend has it 2. an emperor during the
Yuan Dynasty occasionally hunted a wild duck and then roasted it.He used a simple and
3.__________(origin) method to roast the duck.
In the Ming Dynasty，when the capital 4. (shift) from Nanjing to Beijing，
Roast Duck became one of the famous official dishes.In this period，the method of cooking duck
was to hang the duck from the ceiling of an oven and roast it over 5. (burn) wood.
Quanjude Restaurant was established in 1864.Yang Quanren,6. founder of
Quanjude，improved the method of roasting ducks.Quanjude Restaurant becomes well-known for
its innovations and efficient 7. (manage) in China and aboard.
8． (eat) roast duck has a variety of methods.The main method 9.
(involve) the chef slicing the duck into more than 100 thin flakes with meat and a piece of crispy
skin in each slice.Diners then take a small，thin pancake，and roll it up 10. a piece
of meat and small slices of spring onions inside，and lastly dip it in a sweet sauce and take a bite.
