Why doesn't the conductor face the audience?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}As the only person with his back to the audience, the conductor is a figure who is bathed in the spotlight, but his complex work requires a high degree of musical skill, as well as an ability to extract what he desires out of the group of artists he leads--his orchestra.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}A person may become a conductor without graduating from the conducting department of a music school or studying in any kind of conductor's training program. However, becoming the conductor of a famous orchestra requires a great deal more than what is needed merely to join an orchestra.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}These naturally examine a conductor's technique and musical interpretation while he conducts an orchestra through a prepared piece of music, but they also involve a sight-reading element{#blank#}4{#/blank#}The conductor then has to sit in a room and memorize the piece before coming out and leading the orchestra through the piece by memory. Not only does the conductor have to make his arm and hand motion properly, and signal all the entrances of each instrument, he has to point out intentional mistakes made by the orchestra members on the spot.

    The least capabilities a conductor must have are: The ability to memorize an entire score. A good ear for distinguishing correct notes among the music of the entire orchestra.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Of the conductors that meet these requirements, those with better musical insight and a higher level of charisma(魅力) will succeed.

A. The need for a common musical standard becomes necessary

B. The ability to lead a group of professional musicians

C. There are many conducting competitions

D. For this, the score of music is given to the conductor on site

E. This is how the role of the conductor came to be established

F. The role of the conductor is in fact not well understood

G. There are no examinations for becoming a conductor

    Skating backwards on ice is a bit difficult but once you master the basis, there's nothing like it. Follow the steps given below and you will be able to skate backwards in no time.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The first thing that you need to do is, stand straight. If you feel that you are falling backwards, then just put your chin up and slightly bend your knees. Don't worry; this happens to all.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    The most important step while learning how to skate backwards, is having enough confidence in yourself and in what you are doing. How can you achieve this? By practice, Just practice rolling backwards down a gentle slope every single day or just by pushing off from a wall or something of that sort.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Confident now? Great! Now the next step is to maintain your speed．While rolling in a straight line with one skate, with the other try sculling(滑浆), that is, keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke(滑动)．Now bring the skate which you were using to scull, and then again, repeat the same process．Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling．Now, try the same thing using the other foot．Again keep doing this till you are confident enough．

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot, the next thing that you have to do is increase your speed．Try some of your own tricks now．Scull with either foot or with both at the same time．

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    While you keep one foot straight, keep sculling with the other．You can do that simultaneously with both feet．Concentrate on what you are doing but don't get so involved that you don't see where you are going．If you are not watching your back, you might just bang against something or someone．

A. Find Another to Practise with You

B. Increase Your Speed Now

C. Gain Your Courage

D. Stand Straight

E. Maintain Speed

F. Scull and Be Aware

G. Confidence is What You Need

    Traffic Regulation and Accident Prevention

    We live in a remarkable time, and many of the once fatal diseases can now be cured with modern medicine and surgery. It is almost certain that one day a cure will be found for the rest of the diseases. Expectations of life have greatly increased. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible killing of men, women and children on the roads. Man fights against the motor-car. It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Nothing can seriously increase your risk of potentially fatal car accidents other than speeding and failing to pay due attention to weather conditions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man's very worst qualities. Usually quiet and pleasant people, when they are behind the steering wheel, will become unrecognizable. They are impolite, aggressive, self-willed like two-year-old, completely selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments, and jealousy seem to be caused by driving.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It's all for his own convenience. Due to a serious tragedy, the city is almost uninhabitable and the huge parking lot makes the town ugly. The destruction of rural areas and the annual mass killings are just a statistic, easily forgotten. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are not strict and even the strictest are not strict enough.

    Traffic rules are for everyone to follow under any circumstances, and no one can make an exception unless you make a joke of your own life. Universally accepted standards can only have a significant beneficial on the incidence of accidents. Governments should develop safety codes for manufacturers. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} These measures may sound cruel. However, if these measures result in a reduction in the loss of life every year, they should certainly not be considered serious. After all, the world belongs to humans, not cars.

A. There are five reason for the accident and you are guilty.

B. Every year thousands of people are horribly killed, and we sit still and let it happen.

C. Surprisingly, society should smile at the driver and forgive him.

D. Someone has rightly said that when a person is sitting behind the steering wheel, his car becomes an extension of his personality.

E. All advertisements that emphasize power and performance should be banned.

F. It is time to develop a universal norm to reduce this senseless waste of human life.

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

The changes facing fast-food companies

    Fast food was once thought to be recession-proof. When consumers need to cut spending, cheap meals like Big Macs and Whoppers become even more attractive. As a result, fast-food chains have survived the recession better than their more expensive competitors. In 2009 sales at full-service restaurants in America fell by more than 6%, but total sales remained about the same at fast-food chains. In some markets, such as Japan, France and Britain, total spending on fast food increased.

    But in this ongoing recession(萧条), which is more severe, not all fast-food companies have been as fortunate. Many, such as Burger King, have seen sales fall. In the recession, while some people trade down to fast food, many others eat at home more frequently to save money. Smaller fast-food chains in America, such as Jack in the Box and Carl's Jr., have been hit particularly hard in this downturn because they cut back spending on advertising.

    In face of such challenges, some fast-food companies have sacrificed their own profits by trying to give customers better value. During the recession companies set prices low, hoping to tempt more customers through the door. But in many cases that strategy doesn't work. Some companies are rethinking their strategies. KFC has launched a chicken sandwich that costs around $5 to attract consumers away from $1 specials.

    Companies are also trying to get customers to buy new and more items, including drinks. McDonald's started selling better coffee as a challenge to Starbucks. Its “McCafe” line now accounts for an estimated 6% of sales in America. As fast-food companies shift from “super size” to “more buys”, they need to keep customer traffic high throughout the day. Many see breakfast as a big opportunity, and not just for fatty food. McDonald's has started selling porridge in America, because the profits can be high.

    But what about those growing waistlines? So far, fast-food firms have cleverly avoided government regulation. By providing options like salads and low-calorie sandwiches, they have at least given the impression of doing something about helping to fight obesity(肥胖). These offerings don't necessarily lead to profit loss, as they can broaden the appeal of stores to groups of diners that include some people who don't want to eat a burger.

    But calls for tougher government regulation never wear down. This year Congress passed America's health-reform bill, which requires restaurant chains with 20 or more stores to put the calorie-content of items they serve to the menu. And the recent proposal by a county in California to ban McDonald's from including toys in its high-calorie “Happy Meals”, because law makers believe it attracts children to unhealthy food, suggests that fast-food companies will have to continue trying something new.

    The changes facing fast-food companies

⑴{#blank#}1{#/blank#} ⑵{#blank#}2{#/blank#} ⑶{#blank#}3{#/blank#} ⑷{#blank#}4{#/blank#} ⑸{#blank#}5{#/blank#} ⑹{#blank#}6{#/blank#} ⑺{#blank#}7{#/blank#} ⑻{#blank#}8{#/blank#} ⑼{#blank#}9{#/blank#} ⑽{#blank#}10{#/blank#} 

AlphaZero--an Updated Model of AI

    Soon after Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, lost his rematch against IBM's Deep Blue in 1997, the short window of human-machine chess competition slammed shut forever. Unlike humans, machines keep getting faster, and today a smartphone chess app can be stronger than Deep Blue. However, as people see with the new AlphaZero system, machine dominance has not ended the historical role of chess as a laboratory of cognition.

    Much as airplanes don't flap their wings like birds, machines don't produce chess moves like humans do. Based on a generic algorithm (算法), AlphaZero incorporates deep learning and other AI techniques like Monte Carlo tree search to play against itself to develop its own chess knowledge. Unlike the traditional program Stockfish, which employs many preset evaluation functions as well as opening and endgame moves, AlphaZero starts out knowing only the rules of chess, with no preset human strategies. In a few hours, it plays more games against itself than have been recorded in human chess history. It teaches itself the best way to play, reevaluating the relative values of the pieces. It quickly becomes strong enough to win 28, draw 72, and lose none in a victory over Stockfish. Since AlphaZero can program itself, this superior understanding allows it to outclass the world's top traditional program despite calculating far fewer positions per second. It's the typical example of the cliché, "work smarter, not harder".

    AlphaZero shows that machines can be the experts, not merely expert tools. Explainability is still an issue—it's not going to put chess coaches out of business just yet. But the knowledge it produces is information humans can learn from. AlphaZero is surpassing humans in a profound and useful way, and researchers are working on transferring the knowledge acquired from AlphaZero to other fields.

    Machine learning systems aren't perfect. Even though great progresses have been achieved, AI algorithms are still struggling on open problems such as computer vision, natural language understanding... There will be cases where an AI will fail to detect exceptions to its rules. Therefore, as Kasparov writes, "We must work together to combine our strengths. I know better than most people what it's like to compete against a machine. Instead of raging against them, it's better if we're all on the same side."