In March, 2016, the pride of humankind was crushed by a computer. Google's AlphaGo defeated the South Korean Go master Lee Sedol four games to one, as the world looked on with shock and awe. Artificial intelligence had suddenly reached a new and unexpected height.

    But as smart as AlphaGo is, it's no longer the best Go "player" in the world. Google's artificial intelligence group, DeepMind, has created the next generation of its Go-playing program, called AlphaGo Zero. The new AI program is unique in the way it learned to play Go. Instead of learning from thousands of human matches, as its predecessor (前任) did, AlphaGo Zero mastered Go in just two days without any human knowledge of the game and defeated AlphaGo by day three, reported The Guardian. It then went on to defeat AlphaGo 100 games to zero.

    To learn how to play Go, AlphaGo Zero played millions of matches against itself using only the basic rules of the game to rapidly create its own knowledge of it. Like the previous version, it used "reinforcement (增强) learning to become its own teacher," according to DeepMind's website.

    "It's more powerful than previous approaches," David Silver, AlphaGo's lead researcher, told The Guardian, "because by not using human data, or human expertise in any fashion, we've removed the constraints of human knowledge and it is able to create knowledge itself."

    AlphaGo Zero's approach to self-learning is a significant advancement in AI that could be applied to help solve some of the world's biggest problems, according to a recent research report published in the journal Nature. For example, DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis argues that AlphaGo Zero could probably find cures for a number of serious diseases within weeks, according to The Telegraph. Indeed, the AI is now being used to study protein folding, which is connected to diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

    So now that AI has gone beyond the bounds of human knowledge, perhaps the question is not about what AI can learn from humans, but what humans can learn from AI. We can only wait and see.

    As Alice and Mike watched their son Allan graduate from Cambridge University last month, they thought back to the moment he was born.

    "I'm so sorry your baby is blind," a neighbor had said. Even though Allan's family were middle class and they lived a comfortable life, as a blind child, Allan Hennessy's future was poor.

    The local hospitals could not offer Allan hope of giving him sight because there weren't enough eye specialists. But when Allan was 6 months old, an opportunity came and Allan's father seized it. "My dad sold his car, belongings and some of his land to pay for my treatment. We left our home country with very little."

    The opportunity was an operation in London which restored the sight in Allan's left eye. "My mom remembers the first time I looked at her: the first time we made eye contact. She burst into tears. Since then, I've just been rocking on with the little sight I have," he explained.

    For Allan, life as an immigrant was challenging. When he was accepted into Cambridge University, Allan realized there were so many peers at Cambridge.

    "I felt visibly different," he said. When you're a half-blind guy climbing the greasy pole, everyone can see that and they judge you, even though they are climbing it too."

    But after spending three years at Fitzwilliam College, Allan said it was transformative（改造作用的）. "I met the most amazing people from all over the world." What would his life be like if he had stayed in his home country? "I wouldn't have a Cambridge law degree; I wouldn't even be sighted. My family there have faced terrible events. Perhaps I wouldn't be alive."

    After graduating this summer, Allan is taking up a scholarship at law school.

    "If you've got a first-class law degree from Cambridge University, that should set you up for life," he said. "But when you're a half-blind immigrant living in Britain today, there is so much more I have to do. The journey has only just begun."

    A small dairy（乳制品）farm that floats on waterways is being tested in the Netherlands as a way to bring animal products closer to the cities and save space.

    Dutch businesswoman Minke Van Wingerden looks proudly at her 32 cows at an automated milking station on an unusual farm: a platform located on one of the waterways in Rotterdam port. She is one of the developers of the "Floating Farm," testing whether dairy farming like this is feasible in the heart of one of the world's most urban, industrial areas.

    "This idea started in 2012. My partner Peter was involved in a project in New York and then Hurricane Sandy hit New York very badly, so it was flooded and after two days there was no fresh food on the shelves anymore," she said, "So then we realized, ‘Why not produce fresh food on the water close to the city?', and that's where the idea came up."

    The cows can rest on the upper level of the structure. Milk and waste processing facilities are located on the lower deck, as well as the visitors' entrance and store. The top level of the structure is used to collect rainwater. Power for the farm comes from a solar panel floating nearby.

    "The amount of arable（可耕的）land is decreasing and the world population is growing. So how can we produce enough healthy food in the future?" Ms. Van Wingerden said. "Why not use water to produce fresh healthy food near to the consumers?"

    The whole farm is equipped with the latest dairy tech such as an automated feeding system, waste-moving robots, self-serve cleaning stations, and the smartphone app. It sells some bottles of raw milk on-site to visitors, while the rest is turned into milk. It is sold to customers nearby via an online grocery, Picnic, known for its small, electric delivery trucks.

    My parents visited me to help with a project I'd put off — cleaning the house. Now, Mom and Dad are— hmm, how should I put this? — cheap! So when I offered to pick up the cleaner, they said, "Never mind. We have everything we need right here in the house."

    Mom pushed past me and went straight for the white vinegar (醋). I watched her remove a dirty mark on the blanket with it. I thought it a bit strange, but less so than her smelling at my bookshelf. When one book caused her nose to blow, she walked it into the fridge.

    "That'll clear up that unpleasant smell for a while," she said. I nodded in agreement, although I wasn't sure. I thought only her husband would know. I found Dad in the yard adding vodka, and some dish soap into a spray bottle (喷雾瓶).

    "I'm hunting weeds," he said.

    "A wine?"

    "Yes, the wine does dry them up."

    How come? They must have lost their marbles! I thought as I walked back into the house, where Mom was cleaning my shoes with banana skins.

    "Mom, what are you …" BAM! I slipped on a banana skin. "Ooh, my back ..."

    "Don't move! I'll get the meat tenderizer (嫩化剂)!"

    However, she first pulled off my shoe, grabbed a sock and disappeared into the kitchen. I tried to run for my life, but Mom was quicker. She returned with my sock filled with meat tenderizer and water, and rubbed it on my back.

    Before I had a chance to call 911, something amazing happened—my back began to feel better! It was working.

    Suddenly, I saw things anew. My shoes were clean. And though the blanket smelled like salad, the mark was gone. Inside the yard stood Dad, drinking his weed killer and admiring his handiwork.

    Before visiting Stonehenge I didn't know much about it. I remember seeing photos in my textbooks and being interested in the large stone structure.

    My visit to Stonehenge made me understand more about it. Stonehenge is an important piece of prehistory that is just outside London, England, in Wiltshire. It is in the middle of a field. My arrival at Stonehenge was by car. When arriving at the museum you will not see the stones. They are about a mile away from the main museum building that you enter upon arrival. The museum exhibits(展览品) describing Stonehenge history are in this building as well. Then you will have a background on the history of the stones.

Then you will take a bus. The bus will drop you off outside the stones where you will take the path around the stones. The path is for tourists to view and walk through. Visiting the stones is quite a magical experience as you are viewing a piece of history that is over 5, 000 years old. It's hard to believe that the stones were brought from Wales —hundreds of miles away. It's interesting to imagine what the stones were used for. And the structure that is kept now is only a piece of the original(最初的) structure.

A. I suggest going through it first

B. Tickets are also a necessity for your visit

C. As time has passed many stones have fallen

D. This was probably the easiest way to get there

E. Then you can board the bus back to the main building

F. Once you start viewing the stones you realize how big they are

G. What is more interesting about Stonehenge is how it was built.

    A mum of two was shocked. She went downstairs to get a drink and found a1stranger asleep on her sofa. The 26-year-old man had let himself in and2his shoes at Elaine McDade's door while she was upstairs watching TV in bed with her children. She later3the man had made a mistake4his parents used to own her house.

    Engineer Thomas Airlie, from South Lanarkshire, didn't5that none of the belongings in the house were those of his parents' when he lay on the sofa for a6. "When I saw him, I7him up straight away," Elaine said. "I even asked him if he used to live here, or if he lived in the same8now and just got the wrong door."

    Elaine said Thomas9when she woke him up. "I10my husband and he agreed to come home immediately.11, my husband didn't even know where he lived so he12the man at the police station instead," she said. She later posted a photo of the13Thomas on Facebook explaining that it was the only time when she had ever forgotten to lock the door. She wrote that Thomas was "14" but added, "Lesson learned again. Lock your doors."

    She sent him the15and got a message from him on Facebook saying "Oh, my God. I can't apologize16."

    Thomas had been out with friends when he17got a taxi back to his parents' old house,18his current home.

    His friend Robbie McKean said they will never let him19his experience. "Our friend had a baby boy not long ago so we were drinking a lot to celebrate it. I can happily say he doesn't walk into people's houses and sleep on their sofa on a(n)20basis."

    We have all kinds of festivals. Ancient people held festivals to the end of winter, planting in spring and harvest in autumn. Today's festivals have many : some are , some seasonal and some for special people or events.

    Some festivals are in memory of the dead or to satisfy the . 0n the important feast day in Mexico, besides food, flowers and gifts to the dead, people eat food in the shape of skull and cakes with "bones" on them

    People hold festivals as an honor to famous people, like the Dragon Boat Festival which honors the famous , Qu Yuan.

    Harvest and Thanksgiving festivals are held in many countries. In European countries, some people might win for their farm produce in competitions. On Mid-Autumn festivals in China and some Asian countries, people the moon and have moon cakes.

    Chinese New Year is one of the most and important festivals. People look forward to eating dumplings, giving lucky money in red paper and playing dragon dances.

    To sum up, festivals let us enjoy life, be proud of our and forget our work for a little while.

    A quite funny thing happened to me last Friday. It was a fine day and I went to London to do some shopping. I had planned to get some Christmas presents. I also needed to find some books for my course at college as I am a student of Oxford.

    That morning I caught an early train to London, so by early afternoon I could buy something that I wanted. Anyway, I'm not very fond of London, all the noise and traffic, and I made some arrangements for that evening. I took a taxi to Waterloo station. I couldn't really afford a taxi, but I wanted to catch the 3:30 p.m. train. Unfortunately, the taxi got stuck in a traffic jam, and by the time I got to the Waterloo station the train had just gone. Disappointedly, I had to wait an hour for the next one. While I was waiting, I bought myself an evening newspaper, The Standard, and wandered over to the station buffet (自助餐). At that time of the day it was nearly empty, and I bought a coffee and a packet of biscuits (饼干)—chocolate biscuits. I'm very fond of chocolate biscuits. I found that there were plenty of empty tables and I sat by one near the window, where I could cozily enjoy my beverage and biscuits. Then, I began doing the crossword. I always enjoy doing crossword puzzles.(填字游戏)

    After a couple of minutes a man sat down just opposite me. It seemed that there was nothing special about him, except that he was very tall. In fact, judging from his clean dark suit and a fine briefcase, he looked pretty like a typical city businessman. I didn't say anything and I carried on with my crossword.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）至少用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

    Suddenly he reached across the table, opened my packet of biscuits, took one, and put it into his mouth.

Paragraph 2:

    After I took the last biscuit and glanced at(瞥一眼) the man, he was staring at me angrily.

要点提示：1）表示安慰；

2）提出建议；

3）给予鼓励。

参考词汇：分数score 压力 pressure

注意：1）词数100左右；

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3）开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Kenton,

    I've received your letter.

    Best wishes!

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua