2019年8月11日 星期日

Reading Comprehension:

The Future Is on Our Doorstep
  A topic that has become a growing part of conversation in the tech industry and beyond is the Internet of Things (IoT). _(1)_ Though it may seem like something from some far-off future, it is estimated that around 26 billion devices will be connected to the IoT by 2020. Many IoT applications now exist in our everyday lives. _(2)_ However, these simple sensors embedded in physical things can become something far grander.
  The IoT has the potential to become a system of intelligent devices that collect data and communicate with each other via cloud computing and other networks. _(3)_ A bigger picture of IoT would include not simply smart homes with intelligent devices, but smart cities.
  Imagine smart traffic cameras in cities communicating with one another to create an efficient citywide transportation system. _(4)_ It can also connect to other city networks, producing an even larger framework of systems. For example, if an accident happened near an airport or a school, the traffic system could notify one of those two setups, and flight or school schedules could be adjusted accordingly. _(5)_ Clearly, the potential of a future with the IoT is vast. With a complete transformation of our lives, businesses, and world underway, are you ready for the next big thing?

(A) However, some doubt if IoT has the potential to make a positive impact on our society.
(B) For example, there is wearable tech, such as FitBit, that tracks our fitness and sleep, and there is home automation, like Nest.
(C) The best routes around the accident could also be sent to traffic signs to guide drivers.
(D) British entrepreneur Kevin Ashton coined the term in 1999, but the concept of connected devices has been around since at least the 1970s.
(E) This system can monitor congestion, accidents, and weather conditions.
(F) A smart fridge can notice you are running low on milk through its internal sensors and text you about it.


 Excuse Me, But You’re in My Seat
Even without assigned seating, it is a little surprising how many people always choose the same seat in a classroom or auditorium. Or the same table in a restaurant. Or even the same bicycle from a full rack (n.(通常帶有橫檔或鉤子的)架子,置物架) of rental bikes. After close observation, psychologists believe they have figured out the reason for this behavior.
  In one such study, Marco Costa, a psychologist at the University of Bologna in Italy, selected two lecture halls for a sample of 47 and 31 students. Costa purposefully chose rooms where there were more seats than students so that they had more freedom to choose where to sit. He set up hidden cameras to record how the students chose their seats over a period of four weeks. As suspected, most students picked the same seat over and over. But why?
  Costa calls this habit territoriality (n. 領域感). The word often makes us think of gangs protecting their turf (n. 地盤,勢力範圍) or wolf packs fighting off other packs to control a certain area. In other words, territoriality usually suggests aggression and defense. However, Costa as well as another psychologist, Professor Robert Gifford of the University of Victoria, believes that this seat-choosing behavior is designed to keep the peace. Most of the time, most people claim a space and others tacitly (adv. 心照不宣地) agree to it, Gifford explained.
  The phenomenon of classroom seating selection perhaps shows an even deeper truth. Life can be messy and unpredictable. The reason students go to school is to study. Going to class and knowing where you will sit is just one less thing to distract a student from this greater purpose. In short, sitting in the same place sets students up for a psychologically more comfortable learning environment and makes it easier for them to concentrate on the lecture at hand.
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1. What is the main idea of this passage?
(A) To suggest the best seat in the classroom to choose from.
(B) To explain why people tend to choose the same seat.
(C) To show that seat selection is just a random act.
(D) To illustrate the reason why people don’t pick the same seat.
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2. Why didn’t Costa choose a room with the same number of seats as students?
(A) He could not find rooms of the perfect size for his experiment.
(B) He did not want students to start fighting over their seat choices.
(C) He was not interested in the aspect of territoriality among students.
(D) He wanted students to have more choice in their seat selection.
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3. What surprising results do Costa’s and Gifford’s experiments show about territoriality?
(A) Only students exhibit this kind of human behavior.
(B) Territoriality applies only to classrooms and not restaurants.
(C) The larger the classroom, the less chance there is of aggression.
(D) Though territoriality suggests aggression, it actually increases peaceful interactions.
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4. What can be concluded from the passage?
(A) To have a better choice of seating, always arrive early to a class or theater.
(B) Choosing the same seat can reduce psychological stress.
(C) Seating choice is a privilege, not a right.
(D) Aggressive behavior is natural so people should not be ashamed of it.

答案:    1. B 2. D 3. D 4. B

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