Would you pay thousands of dollars for a painting with a face so unclear that you're not even sure it's a face? What if the artist was a computer?

A piece of artwork created mainly by a computer programme has been sold a the price $432,500—about ten times more than people expected. This painting named Edmond de Belamy, was created by artificial intelligence (AI). This means the computer now doesn't just follow us, but makes some decisions and "thinks itself".

15,000 real paintings were used by some French students to train the computer programme with two parts.

One part tries to create paintings that look real, while the other part decides if it is good. If the painting doesn't look real enough, the first part will change its decisions until it comes up with a better work.

This is not the first AI artwork just the first piece on sale. In fact, many people are not impressed with the painting. "The work isn't interesting or creative," says Robbie Barrat, who helped create the painting but doesn't like the idea of selling it. He thinks it's too simple and gives a bad idea of what real AI artists are doing.

In some other people's opinion, however, AI art is already very unusual. They hope it will be more common in the future.

Still, people who look down upon AI art shouldn't worry. Just as an AI artist, Theo Triantafyllidis says, he usually thinks of AI as a tool and not the artist. Even the best AI today is somewhere between a stupid child and a smart pet. It will grow up.

1.Edmond de Belamy was mainly created by ________.

A.a computer programme B.some French students

C.several unknown artists D.a man called Edmond

2.What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A.What the computer programme can do.

B.Whom the computer programme was trained by.

C.Why the painting Edmond de Belamy was created.

D.How French students train the computer programme.

3.The writer mentions Robbie Barrat in Paragraph 5 to show ________.

A.many people are impressed with the painting

B.lots of people took part in creating the painting

C.some people didn't expect the painting to be sold

D.most people thanked Robbie Barrat for his help with the painting

4.What does the writer probably think of AI?

A.It creates better art than humans.

B.It hasn't developed well enough

C.It will make many artists lose their jobs.

D.It will always be a tool used only by human artists.

A man in Germany may not have been in danger when he called the police on a baby squirrel running after him, but it all worked out for the best for the funny suspect.

Emergency services in the city of Karlsruhe got a call on Thursday from a man afraid that the tiny animal wouldn't stop following him around. The Guardian reported. Police arrived at the scene, where the squirrel finally stopped running after him by lying down and going to sleep.

It turned out that the squirrel actually needed help, the police said. ""It often happens that squirrels which have lost their mothers look for a replacement (代營(yíng)) and then focus (集中) their efforts on one person, "the police spokeswoman Christina Krenz told The Guardian.

The squirrel, now named Karl-Friedrich, is in the care of an animal center. Karlsruhe police posted a statement on Facebook about the animal, including several lovely photos.

The baby squirrel chase is the second squirrel event to make international headlines this summer. Last month, a London woman called police after she heard loud noises in her home and suspected a burglar. The intruder turned out to be a squirrel, according to the police who came for help.

Although the government in the German case said the squirrel did need help, wildlife experts warn that before intervening (介入) in the case where you suspect a squirrel is orphaned (孤兒的),you should do your best to make sure the animal truly requires help. The Wildlife Centre of Virginia, which gets hundreds of calls every year about supposedly orphaned squirrels, published this handy guide to help decide whether such an animal really needs help and what to do if so. When in doubt, contact a local wildlife rescuer or animal center.

1.Karl-Friedrich in the passage turns out to be ________.

A.a policewoman B.a little squirrel

C.a guide in Virginia D.a woman from London

2.What does the underlined part "The intruder" in Paragraph5 mean?

A.A wildlife expert. B.A brave policeman.

C.A woman suspect. D.An unpopular visitor.

3.Why did the baby squirrel run after the man?

A.The man gave food to it.

B.It wanted to bite the man.

C.The man would take it to the animal center.

D.It needed the replacement for the loss of its mother.

4.What can we get from the wildlife experts' words?

A.People should find out if the squirrels truly need help.

B.The police should punish the people who hunt the squirrels.

C.The government should made laws to protect the squirrels.

D.The animal center needs enough money to carry on with their work.

5.Which part of a newspaper may this passage come from?

A.Environment. B.Geography. C.Pet raising. D.Sports News.

—This is my dictionary. Where is ________ (你的)?

—It's over there, on the desk

I got a beautiful bike on my ________ (十六) birthday from my parents. I like it very much.

When taking to British people, please ________ (避免) the subjects like age, weight or money.

Cycling is a ________ (便宜的) way to get around and it can also help protect the environment.

Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon. He is the ________ (驕傲) of the whole world.

Perhaps you have heard the expression—when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So when you want to do business in France, you have to get to know French culture, to make marketing plans, and to run your business by local laws.

Language plays an important role when you do business in France. The French are proud of their language, so anyone who does not speak it may not be respected by his French workmates or business partners. Also, learning French is important because it is a great way to show your French business partner that you care and respect their country's culture and language.

The first thing you should do when meeting someone new is to shake his hand firmly and always look the person in the eye. In social meetings with friends, kissing is common. Use first names only after being invited to.

Use Monsieur or Madame before the surname. The French will sometimes introduce themselves using their surname first, followed by their first name.

Dress well. The French draw information about people based on what they look like. Your business clothing is a reflection (反映) of your success and social status. Always try to be tasteful and stylish. The French advise women to dress in a simple but elegant way. Wearing make-up is practiced widely by businesswomen.

The French are interested in food, so lunches are common in doing business in France, which usually include a main meal with wine, cheese, dessert and coffee, and normally take up to two hours. This is a time for relationship building Do not begin eating until the host says "bon appetite". Pass dishes to the left, keep wrists above the table and try to eat everything on the plate. Be careful with adding salt, pepper or sauces to your food.

This may suggest that you find the food tasteless. If eating in a restaurant, the person who invites always pays.

Smile Train is a charity that helps the children around the world, who suffer from a facial defect (缺陷) .The defect h1. when a baby's top lip or mouth doesn't form properly before birth. Eating and drinking is very difficult for these babies. The charity p2. free operations, which give these children a new smile, and with it, new hope and a new beginning.

Children with the defect need all the help. A3. many of them are accepted by their families, sadly, others are not. In some countries, children with this defect are often abandoned (遺棄) at birth because their parents feel ashamed (羞愧的) of them or cannot a4. the operations. The good news is that the operation is not difficult. It takes less than an hour and c5. the family nothing. The charity raises money and finds the right medical volunteers to perform the operations.

A Smile Train doctor from the UK said, “Each child who has the operation is given a second c6. at life. After years of staying at home, the children can finally go to school and be happy. Every year I do hundreds of operations free of cost through Smile Train. Some of the stories I have heard are quite s7. . One newborn baby girl was found abandoned on a train. L8. for her, she was found and adopted (收養(yǎng)) by a passenger. This lady then heard about Smile Train and brought the baby to our hospital. I did the operation and brought h9. to the family. Experienced doctors like me share our s10. with local doctors. In this way we make sure that these operations will always be available.

請(qǐng)根擇�？疎nglish Garden中Have Your Say欄目的征稿要求,以"Love around me"為題,用英語(yǔ)一篇短文,發(fā)表你的想法。

Welcome to Have Your Say

As everybody knows, love makes the world go around. So this week, I want your voice about the topic "Love around me"。

What do you think of love in your daily life? Can you give us some examples about love around you? What are you going to show you your love to others? I'm sure that you have a lot to say.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

注意:

1. 對(duì)所有要點(diǎn)逐一陳述,適當(dāng)發(fā)揮;

2. 詞數(shù)80左右,文章開頭已經(jīng)給出,不計(jì)入總詞數(shù);

3. 文中不得提及有關(guān)考生的個(gè)人身份的任何信息,如校名、人名等。

I'm glad to share my ideas about the topic "Love around me". As everybody knows, love makes the world go around. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________