1.   Facial recognition technology is coming of age. The new iPhone can be unlocked simply by looking at it, and accessing your smartphone is just one of many ways that facial recognition will change our daily lives. Soon we'll be using our faces to pay for groceries, catch trains, pass through airport security, and more.
  In China, you can already use your face to gain access to office buildings and authorize ATM withdrawals. In Europe, high-end hotels and retailers use it to identify celebrity customers to make sure they get special treatment. Australian airports are installing a system that lets airline passengers glide through security without passports--and facial recognition systems are beginning to appear in U.S. airport too.
  "Everybody's face is slightly different, so it's almost like a 3D fingerprint," says Lyndon Smith, professor of computer simulation and machine vision at the University of the West of England. According to him, we can even differentiate between identical twins when we're applying this kind of technique. Smith is developing a system that he believes could replace train tickets. Like the new iPhone, it uses infrared scanning to recognize patterns in facial features and then compares them against a database of known facial patterns. He claims the system would work well in stores and banks as well as train stations, so wherever we go in the world, we could, rather than carrying a card around with a PIN and all the complexity, just simply use our faces.
  Experts say facial recognition systems can be extremely reliable. Apple claims its new iPhone has no trouble telling a real face from a photo--and can even recognize individuals if they grow a beard or wear eyeglasses. And researchers in the U.K. and India have developed a system that they say can peer through disguises--including fake beards and scarves that obscure part of the face. It uses 14 key landmarks around the eyes, nose, and lips. That is, if some factures are hidden, it uses others to make the identification.
  The system is intended to "take a lot of criminals off of the streets," says Amarjot Singh, a graduate student and one of the researchers in engineering the University of Cambridge. He is excited that the system can function well as an X-ray to look into people's identity. Excitement aside, Singh is among those who worry that the rise of facial recognition technology raises privacy concerns. Some worry governments could abuse the systems to assert inappropriate control over their citizens and stifle protests. Others worry that facial recognition systems will reveal information that individuals might wish to keep private. Last year, Stanford University researchers sparked a controversy when they published research suggesting that facial recognition can predict an individual's sexual orientation.
  The bottom line? Facial recognition technology is already out there, although how to use it without putting people at risk invading their privacy remains a hot debate topic. Smith insists that their intention is certainly not to have some kind of Big Brother thing going on; they wouldn't want this system to be used by anybody who didn't want to use it. He reassures the public that they're not trying to monitor people--they're trying to help people in their everyday lives.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the uses of facial recognition technology? (第37期考題) 


2. Though the couple had been married for three years, they _____ a divorce. (第42期考題) 


3.   Facial recognition technology is coming of age. The new iPhone can be unlocked simply by looking at it, and accessing your smartphone is just one of many ways that facial recognition will change our daily lives. Soon we'll be using our faces to pay for groceries, catch trains, pass through airport security, and more.
  In China, you can already use your face to gain access to office buildings and authorize ATM withdrawals. In Europe, high-end hotels and retailers use it to identify celebrity customers to make sure they get special treatment. Australian airports are installing a system that lets airline passengers glide through security without passports--and facial recognition systems are beginning to appear in U.S. airport too.
  "Everybody's face is slightly different, so it's almost like a 3D fingerprint," says Lyndon Smith, professor of computer simulation and machine vision at the University of the West of England. According to him, we can even differentiate between identical twins when we're applying this kind of technique. Smith is developing a system that he believes could replace train tickets. Like the new iPhone, it uses infrared scanning to recognize patterns in facial features and then compares them against a database of known facial patterns. He claims the system would work well in stores and banks as well as train stations, so wherever we go in the world, we could, rather than carrying a card around with a PIN and all the complexity, just simply use our faces.
  Experts say facial recognition systems can be extremely reliable. Apple claims its new iPhone has no trouble telling a real face from a photo--and can even recognize individuals if they grow a beard or wear eyeglasses. And researchers in the U.K. and India have developed a system that they say can peer through disguises--including fake beards and scarves that obscure part of the face. It uses 14 key landmarks around the eyes, nose, and lips. That is, if some factures are hidden, it uses others to make the identification.
  The system is intended to "take a lot of criminals off of the streets," says Amarjot Singh, a graduate student and one of the researchers in engineering the University of Cambridge. He is excited that the system can function well as an X-ray to look into people's identity. Excitement aside, Singh is among those who worry that the rise of facial recognition technology raises privacy concerns. Some worry governments could abuse the systems to assert inappropriate control over their citizens and stifle protests. Others worry that facial recognition systems will reveal information that individuals might wish to keep private. Last year, Stanford University researchers sparked a controversy when they published research suggesting that facial recognition can predict an individual's sexual orientation.
  The bottom line? Facial recognition technology is already out there, although how to use it without putting people at risk invading their privacy remains a hot debate topic. Smith insists that their intention is certainly not to have some kind of Big Brother thing going on; they wouldn't want this system to be used by anybody who didn't want to use it. He reassures the public that they're not trying to monitor people--they're trying to help people in their everyday lives.
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the uses of facial recognition technology?

Which of the following statements is true about the technology? (第37期考題) 


4. To pay his way through college, Allen takes a couple of part-time jobs, one of _____ is tutoring elementary school students. (第37期考題) 


5. Mount Jade(玉山)is taller than ----- mountains in Taiwan. (第38期考題) 


6. The weather took a turn for the worse, the sailors _____ for the shore. (第33期考題) 


7. _____ Hemingway's inspiration for the book, The Old Man And The Sea, was the Cuban fisherman Gregorio Fuentes, who was also Hemingway's friend. (第40期考題) 


8. The disadvantage of this job is that the heavy workload and long working hours _____ of my family life. (第42期考題) 


9. I have made up my mind. _____ hard you persuade me, I won’t change my decision. (第36期考題) 


10. The more you work, the more you gain. The money you receive will be _____ the amount of work that you accomplish. (第36期考題) 


11. An intelligent discussion can quickly _____ into a battle if the two parties allow it. (第41期考題) 


12. The use of _____, although a traditional part of the celebration, has over the years led to many injuries and deaths.There have been incidents every year of users being blinded, losing body parts, or suffering other injuries, especially during festivities such as Chinese New Year season. (第41期考題) 


13. A: I don't feel like cooking today.
B: _____ ordering a pizza instead? (第39期考題) 


14. My grandparents have difficulty _____ used to the fast pace of city life. (第32期考題) 


15. In the Indian culture, cows are thought to be _____ animals. They are respected in religious activities. (第42期考題) 


16.

Under what circumstances do some people consider it legal to search through someone's cellphone?  (第38期考題) 


17. If the world's rain forests continue to disappear at their present rate, many species _____ extinct. (第39期考題) 


18. _____, Owen stormed out of the room and banged the door behind him. (第40期考題) 


19. Stop being so childish. _____ you like it or not, you must learn to be responsible and fulfill your obligations. (第36期考題) 


20. Though the solution sounds perfect, it is not _____ because we don’t have enough time and money. (第36期考題) 


21. _____ online video games, Paul has very little physical activity and spend less time with family and friends. (第32期考題) 


22. The novelist _____ many speech invitations to concentrate on writing his next new novel. (第42期考題) 


23. Technological and industrial development not only led to economic growth and _____ but also posed a threat to the ecological system. (第32期考題) 


24. If you _____ me, would you accept the proposal from a man you just met for the first time? (第32期考題) 


25.

What can influence the effectiveness of the research mentioned in this article? (第39期考題) 


26. Keep the painting indoors because the colors will fade if they are _____ to sunlight. (第36期考題) 


27. I advise you to visit the Modern Art Museum, ----- there are always great exhibitions and events going on. (第38期考題) 


28. Tina _____ when Tim offered to sell her the house at such a low price. She knew that something was not right. (第36期考題) 


29. We have to cancel tonight’s concert because neither you nor I _____ prepared. (第32期考題) 


30. The hotel Oliver was talking about _____ but I couldn’t remember where I had read about it. (第41期考題) 


31. A girl saw two thieves _____ her neighbor’s house. She called the police immediately. (第32期考題) 


32.

Based on your understanding of the article, what does the Fourth Amendment protect the people against? (第38期考題) 


33.

Judging from the context, what does the word boost mean? (第39期考題) 


34. You can't see the CEO now. She ----- dinner and nobody should disturb her mealtime. (第38期考題) 


35. A new iPhone will be awarded to _____ comes up with the best name for the new fragrance. (第39期考題) 


36. As more and more species are faced with extinction, how to sustain biodiversity is _____ great significance to human beings. (第37期考題) 


37. Parents have the responsibility to teach their children to draw a clear _____ between right and wrong. (第39期考題) 


38. Some people _____ that spiders are insects. But in fact, they are relatives of insects. (第40期考題) 


39. Chen Shu-Chu is a person of _____ character. Although she is just a vegetable vendor, she donates lots of money to the charitable organizations without expecting anything in return. (第42期考題) 


40. Children s hould avoid eating too many candies because they contain _____ flavors and colorings that are bad to their health. (第36期考題) 


41.

What is the best title for this article? (第38期考題) 


42. Bob’s nickname was “Beckham,” a _____ to the way he styled his hair. (第33期考題) 


43.

The experts in this article indicate that a sense of humor is important because _____. (第39期考題) 


44. The woman is new in our neighborhood. Do you know _____? (第39期考題) 


45. Try to stay calm. Under no circumstances can we _____ violence to settle conflicts. (第36期考題) 


46. Isabella doesn't like to discuss her personal problems publicly; she prefers to talk about them _____. (第40期考題) 


47. Although it is possible nowadays to have apps ----- many expressions into another language for us, it is still important to learn to speak a foreign language. (第38期考題) 


48. Many find it difficult to buy a(n) _____ affordable apartment in a big city because housing prices have been rising. (第37期考題) 


49. People say he is _____ incompetent _____ does not care, but for me, he is just a hopeless idealist. (第33期考題) 


50. _____ others will you learn how to help yourself. (第41期考題)