Section C

Passage One

Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

California has been facing a drought for many years now, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of the state continues to expand. 46.New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, 47.but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted (抽取). The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers(地下蓄水層)below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.

It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1,000 feet for oil and gas extraction, but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. 48.The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep in the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of the earth above.

Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating(脫鹽)the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalination plants exist where feasible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs.49. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. 50.This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. Research from the exhaustive study of groundwater from over 950 drilling logs has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.

46.How could California’s drought crisis be solved according to some researchers?

A) By building more reserves of groundwater.

B) By drawing water from the depths of the earth.

C) By developing more advanced drilling devices.

D) By upgrading its water distribution system.

答案：B

解析：細節題

利用題干關鍵詞定位文章第一段，通過關鍵詞found 確定重點內容為deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis.以及后文的數據實驗作為例證，可知危機可通過開采地下水解決。于是B選項同義替換。A選項偷換概念，并沒有建立更多的動作。C選項無中生有原文并未提及先進的鉆井技術。D選項無中生有，并未提及水利調配體系。

47.What can be inferred about extracting water from deep aquifers?

A) It was deemed vital to solving the water problem.

B) It was not considered worth the expense.

C) It may not provide quality freshwater.

D) It is bound to gain support from the local people.

答案：B

解析：推理題

根據題干定位到第一段劃線部分but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted (抽取). The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers(地下蓄水層)below this depth and found that reserves may be triple what was previously thought.解題關鍵詞依舊為found，因為此題目為推理題，于是答案應當為原文的間接表達。原文中說地下水的儲備量超過了預期的三倍。于是可以判斷之前對于地下水量的態度較為保守，認為不應該進行開采，于是選擇B選項。A選項與原文意見相反。C、D均為無中生有。

48. What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep underground?

A) The sinking of land surface. C) The damage to aquifers.

B) The harm to the ecosystem. D) The change of the climate.

答案：A

解析：細節題

此題目按照順序原則回文定位，可發現題干論述過于抽象，課利用選項短語回文定位The biggest concern of pumping out water from this deep in the gradual settling down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is compacted by the weight of the earth above.其中只有A選項符合文意，為同義替換+原詞選項。B、C、D均未提及。

49. What does the author say about deep wells?

A) They run without any need for repairs.

B) They are entirely free from pollutants.

C) They are the ultimate solution to droughts.

D) They provide a steady supply of freshwater.

答案：D

解析：細節題

利用順序原則，將題干定位到文中劃線位置Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage 可知D選項為原詞+同義替換。A、B、均未提及。C選項偷換概念，將answer替換成了ultimate solution。

50. What may happen when deep aquifers are used as water sources?

A) People’s health may improve with cleaner water.

B) People’s water bills may be lowered considerably.

C) The cost may go up due to desalination.

D) They may be exhausted sooner or later.

答案：C

解析：細節題

利用文章剩下內容，講關鍵詞鎖定在problem、means、thus因此可將解題句確定在This means that some wells may even need to undergo desalination after extraction, thus increasing the cost. C選項為原文。A、B、D無中生有。

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become.

But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically, meaning can they be honest and fair?

One example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if that will put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself, not to the passengers?

Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but they are not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.

About the same time as AlphaGo’s triumph, Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler, Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.

AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warning to us. It is one thing to use AI within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.

Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which own AlphoGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings.”

51.What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory?

A)Computers will prevail over human beings.

B)Computers have unmatched potential.

C)Computers are man’s potential rivals.

D)Computers can become highly intelligent.

答案：D

解析：用題干the example of AlphaGo’s victory定位至第一段，通過The AlphaGo program’s victory is an example of how smart computers have become. Alphago的成功是電腦已經變得很聰明的一個例子。因此D項電腦可以變得高智能符合題意。A B C在此處文意沒有體現。

52.What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically?

A)They are capable of predicting possible risks.

B)They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.

C)They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.

D)They sacrifice everything to save human lives.

答案：C

解析：通過題干acting ethically定位至第三段，答案在轉折后：人工智能在無人駕駛方面，可以比司機犯更少的錯，“Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives.”但是有時會面臨生命間的選擇。A的predicting預測無中生有，D sacrifice everything犧牲一切語氣太過絕對，無中生有，B在做出選擇前衡量得失與C面臨道德困境時做出理智選擇，C選項更貼合原文。

53.What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?

A)How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.

B)How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.

C)How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.

D)How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.

答案：B

解析：通過題干the bigger challenge定位至第三段“Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge”，因此選B

54.What do we learn about Microsoft’s ‘chatbot’ Taylor?

A)She could not distinguish good from bad.

B)She could turn herself off when necessary.

C)She was not made to handle novel situations.

D)She was good at performing routine tasks.

答案：A

解析：通過題干定位至第五段，由“but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler, Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.”可知，A選項Taylor無法區分好和壞正確。B選項是它可以自己關閉，而原文是微軟關掉它，C選項與原文“She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations”意思正相反，D選項無中生有。

55. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence?

A) It will be far superior to human beings.

B) It will keep improving as time goes by.

C) It will prove to be an asset to human beings.

D) It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.

答案：C

解析：通過題干定位至最后一段，A B D無中生有，原文Eric Schmidt認為人工智能對人類發展有利，由原文“He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome…”可知C選項正確。