LONDON -- Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent fast-forward. Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hanger also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club. Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line. Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child. "Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress," says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota. Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four. "There is a new parenting trend under way which says that you have to tap all your child's potential at a young age; otherwise you will let him down," says Terry Apter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist . "It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted." British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _ . A) treat their children as sports players B) pay no attention to their children's lessons C) bring up their children in a simple way D) give their children little time to develop freely
D
"Keep an eye on Esther. I'll be back in a second," Joy Warren said to her three-year-old son Stephen, who was sitting in the back of the Buick. She didn't like leaving the children alone in the car, but the baby was sleeping soundly. And it would only be a moment. She had hardly walked 40 yards when she saw the car moving. It headed straight towards the river. Unable to swim, Joy shouted, "My babies are in that car!" Daniel Whitehead, a 17-year-old student, was walking by the river when the Buick crashed into the water just yards ahead .Without thinking, Daniel jumped in. Though a competitive swimmer, he was shocked by the icy chill. Two minutes earlier, Skip Womack had pulled to a halt as the Buick ran in front of him. Now seeing it hit the water and hearing Joy's cries, Skip got out of his truck and jumped into the water. He had only one thought: If I don't get them out, they'll drown. Daniel reached the car and grabbed a door handle. But the water was only four inches beneath the window, and the door wouldn't open. With one powerful punch, Daniel and Skip broke a window. Daniel reached inside and lifted Stephen out. He placed him on his back and set out for shore. At the same time, Skip squeezed himself through the window .He managed to free Esther from beneath her seat belt. After he got out of the car with the baby, he held her over the water and swam toward the shore. All this took place just seconds before the Buick disappeared beneath the water. Later, driving home, Skip thought of his wife and children--how close he'd come to leaving them behind. He thought of the miracle he'd lived through, and how two children were still alive because he and Daniel happened to be in the right place at the right time. What happened to Joy Warren's Buick? A) It had four inches of water in it. B) One of its windows could not be opened. C) It was pulled out of water and set on the shore. D) It sank to the bottom of the river.
D
Q: As Artificial Intelligence(AI) becomes increasingly sophisticated, there are growing concerns that robots could become a threat. This danger can be avoided, according to computer science professor Stuart Russell, if we figure out how to turn human values into a programmable code. Russell argues that as robots take on more complicated tasks, it's necessary to translate our morals into AI language. For example, if a robot does chores around the house, you wouldn't want it to put the pet cat in the oven to make dinner for the hungry children. "You would want that robot preloaded with a good set of values," said Russell. Some robots are already programmed with basic human values. For example, mobile robots have been programmed to keep a comfortable distance from humans. Obviously there are cultural differences, but if you were talking to another person and they came up close in your personal space, you wouldn't think that's the kind of thing a properly brought-up person would do. It will be possible to create more sophisticated moral machines, if only we can find a way to set out human values as clear rules. Robots could also learn values from drawing patterns from large sets of data on human behavior. They are dangerous only if programmers are careless. The biggest concern with robots going against human values is that human beings fail to so sufficient testing and they've produced a system that will break some kind of taboo . One simple check would be to program a robot to check the correct course of action with a human when presented with an unusual situation. If the robot is unsure whether an animal is suitable for the microwave, it has the opportunity to stop, send out beeps , and ask for directions from a human. If we humans aren't quite sure about a decision, we go and ask somebody else. The most difficult step in programming values will be deciding exactly what we believe in moral, and how to create a set of ethical rules. But if we come up with an answer, robots could be good for humanity. What is most difficult to do when we turn human values into a programmable code? A) Determine what is moral and ethical. B) Design some large-scale experiments. C) Set rules for man-machine interaction. D) Develop a more sophisticated program.
A: A
*Question*
Do you like football? If so, you can read the following passage and find that it is interesting. In almost every big university in the United States, football is a favorite sport. American football is different. Players sometimes kick the ball, but they also throw the ball and run with it. They try to take it to the other end of the field. They have four chances to move the ball ten yards . They can carry it or they can throw it. If they move the ball ten yards, they can try to move it another ten yards. If they move it to the end of the field, they receive six points. It is difficult to move the ball. Eleven men on the other team try to stop the man with the ball. If he does not move the ball ten yards, his team kicks the ball the other team. Each university wants its own team to win. Many thousands of people come to watch. They all shout for their favorite team. Young men and women come on the field to help the people shout more. They dance and jump while they shout. Each team plays ten or eleven games each season. The season begins in September and ends in November. If a team is very good, it may play another game after the season ends. The best teams play again on January 1, the first day of the New Year. Many people go to see these games and many others watch them on TV. Why is it difficult to move the ball? Because _ . A) ten yards is a long way B) many men on the other team try not to let the ball come near C) the playing field is very large D) eleven men have to catch the ball one by one
**Answer**
B