EF L3 T1 Final Review 2021 pt1

EF L3 T1 Final Review 2021

Computer Beats Champ 1

In 2011, On the TV quiz show Jeopardy!, two champions competed against a brand-new opponent. Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter had won millions of dollars on Jeopardy! Jennings once won 74 games in a row, the most ever. Then Rutter beat him in a tournament and set a new record for the most money won on Jeopardy! Their new opponent, Watson, had never appeared on the game show and had only played practice games before. It often got answers wrong.

Watson isn’t human. It is a machine, a wonder of technology made by researchers at IBM. In the game, Watson used math to decide on an answer. When a question was read out, Watson was given the same question in electronic form. It analyzed the question and searched its memory bank–about the same as one million books of information–for answers. Watson would answer if it felt 75 percent confident.

Multiple Choice

This reading is from _____________.

• a newspaper article

• a history of TV game shows

• a memory bank of 1,000,000 books

Multiple Choice

What is the best pronoun to use for Watson?

• she because Watson is a researcher at IBM

• he because Watson is an opponent

• it because Watson is a computer

Multiple Choice

In paragraph 1, what is a tournament?

• a yearly sport event

• a popular television show

• an important competition

Computer Beats Champ 2

The way Watson thinks is very different from the way humans think. People often make decisions by listening to their emotions and feelings, even if they are unsure of the answer. As a computer, Watson couldn’t do this. People also watch and listen to those around them. Watson was not able to “listen” to the wrong answers given by his competitors. In one question, Jennings answered the question incorrectly and Watson later answered with the same wrong answer.

Watson also made silly mistakes. In a question in the category “U.S. Cities,” Watson incorrectly answered “Toronto,” even though the city of Toronto is in Canada. An IBM researcher said Watson got confused because it saw in its memory bank that the U.S. is often called America. Toronto is considered a North American city, so that was the answer that Watson gave.

Multiple Choice

Compared to human competitors, Watson was not able to _____________.

• hear the wrong answers they gave

• look up information in a million books

• be confident about the answer

Multiple Choice

Why was “Toronto” the wrong answer?

• Toronto is smaller than New York.

• Toronto is in North America.

• Toronto is a Canadian city.

TOPIC: THE MOST USEFUL INVENTIONS 1

The other day, my friends and I had a discussion about the most useful invention of all time. There were many good ideas–the train, the car, and the airplane. They’re all useful, but they were not my choices. For an everyday, useful invention, I vote for the air conditioner. I live in Taipei and during the summer, the temperature can be 35 degrees Celsius or higher. It’s so hot! I’m not joking when I say that, without an air conditioner, people here couldn’t work or study. The weather is so hot that it can make you feel unwell if you don’t drink enough water and get enough rest. What do you guys think is the most useful invention of all time? - Post by Cindy

Multiple Choice

When Cindy says, “I’m not joking,” she means that ______________________.

• her jokes aren’t funny

• she is very serious

• she is being silly

Multiple Choice

When Cindy writes, “They’re all useful ,” they means ________________.

• trains, cars, and airplanes

• Celsius thermometers

• air conditioners

Most Useful Inventions 2

I don’t know if I agree with you, Cindy. For me, the most useful invention of all time is surely the Internet. We can now reach people and do business faster. I own a clothing store in Mexico City, and there’s a lot of competition. I also have a website. Now, people from all over the world can buy my clothing. With e-mails, I can keep in touch with friends and family in Mexico and around the world. It’s faster than usual mail, and it’s cheaper than using the phone! -Post by Jorge

Jorge, I also think that the Internet is useful. But, in my opinion, there is an “invention” that is even more important, and that’s electricity. Of course, this isn’t a man-made invention, but without people like Benjamin Franklin and Alessandro Volta, we wouldn’t have learned how to use it. And without electricity, many of the world’s most important modern inventions would not work. - Posted by Kazuo

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of the whole reading passage?

• Before air conditioners, it was difficult to live in Taipei in the summer.

• Kazuo is right because he was the last person to give his opinion.

• People can have different opinions as long as they can support them.

Multiple Choice

Why does Kazuo put “invention” in quotation marks?

• Electricity occurs in nature and isn’t an invention.

• It was invented by Alessandro Volta long ago.

• Benjamin Franklin was the first to invent it.

Multiple Choice

Cindy, Jorge, and Kazuo write online line using a _______________ .

• business website

• science blog

• web forum