Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent（具备智能的）. They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.
The touch-screen devices（触摸屏装置）are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week. “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexandor, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc, which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.
Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.
Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.
“The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexandor. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”
People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system（系统）that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.
The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’re finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.
The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.
53. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refers to______.
A. supermarkets B. shop assistants
C. shopping carts D. shop managers
54. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?
a. Start the system. b. Make a shopping list.
c. Find the things you want. d. Go to a self-checkout stand.
A. abdc B. bacd C. acbd D. bcad
55. We can learn from the last paragraph that______.
A. intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money
B. the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices
C. shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid
D. average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices
56. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. New age for supermarkets B. Concierge and Shopping Buddy
C. New computers make shopping carts smarter
D. Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable
Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet, but what is it, do you know? The Internet is a network. It uses the telephone to join millions of computers together around the world.
Maybe that doesn’t sound very interesting. But when you’ve joined to the Internet, there are lots and lots of things you can do. You can do with all kinds of information on the World Wide Web (WWW). You can use QQ to chat with your friends, and they will make responses in a few seconds. You can send E-mails to your friends, and they can get them in a few seconds. You can also go shopping by the Internet without going out.
There are many different kinds of computers now. They all can be joined to the Internet. Most of them are small machines sitting on people’s desks at home, but there are still many others in schools, offices or large companies. These computers are owned by people and companies, but no one really owns the Internet itself.
There are lots of places for you to go into the Internet. For example, your school may have the Internet. You can use it during lessons or free time. Libraries often have computers joined to the Internet. You are welcome to use it at your spare time.
Thanks to the Internet, the world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is possible for you to work at home with a computer in front, getting and sending the information you need. It is also possible for you to discuss some projects or assign the work on the Internet instead of at a meeting. In addition, you can buy or sell whatever you want by the Internet. But do you know 98% of the information on the Internet is in English? So what will English be like tomorrow?What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Internet. | B．Information. | C．Computers. | D．E-mails. |
What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?
| A．Doing with information on the Internet. |
| B．Using the Internet to communicate with friends. |
| C．Going shopping by the Internet. |
| D．Things we can do by the Internet. |
Who is the owner of the Internet?
| A．The headmaster. | B．The officer. | C．The manager. | D．No one. |
Which may be the most possible place for people to work in the future?
| A．In the office. | B．At school. |
| C．At home. | D．In the company. |
What does the writer try to tell us with the last two sentences?
| A．English is important in using the Internet. |
| B．The Internet is more and more popular. |
| C．Most of the information is in English. |
| D．Every computer must have the Internet. |
Mr. Harris used to work in Dover, but then he changed his work, and he and his wife moved to another town. They did not have many friends there at first, but they soon met a lot of interesting people, and after a few weeks, they often went to dinner or to parties at other people’s houses.
Then Mrs. Harris said to her husband, “We’ve been to a lot of other people’s houses, and now we must invite them to our house, mustn’t we?”
“Yes, certainly,” answered her husband, “A big party will be the easiest thing, won’t it? Then we can start to invite people to dinner in small numbers next month.”
So Mrs. Harris said, “Yes, I’ll invite all our friends here to a big party on 5th December.”
“How many people will you invite?” Mr. Harris asked, “Don’t invite too many.”
Mrs. Harris was beginning to write the invitations when her husband saw that she was writing, “Party: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.”
“That isn’t very nice, is it?” he said. “You’re telling our guests that they must go at 8:30. Maybe it is impolite.” So Mrs. Harris just wrote “Party: 6:30 p.m.”
A lot of guests came, and they all had a good time, so they did not go home at 8:30. In fact they were still there at mid-night when the door bell rang and a policeman arrived. He said, “You must stop making a noise, because someone has complained(抱怨).”
Mr. Harris said he did not want to quarrel with the policeman, so everyone went home. They were sorry to have to go.
When Mr. and Mrs. Harris were alone again, she said to him. “That was a surprise, wasn’t it? Who complained about the noise?”
“I did,” Mr. Harris answered in a tired voice.What made Mr. and Mrs. Harris hold a party at their house?
| A．It was easy to hold a big party at home. |
| B．They could ask people to dinner in small numbers. |
| C．They had gone to other people’s parties many times. |
| D．They liked making friends with others. |
How long would Mrs. Harris like the party to last?
| A．From the morning till night. | B．About fourteen hours. |
| C．About two hours. | D．Till midnight |
When did the party end that evening?
| A．About twelve o’clock. |
| B．When the policeman talked with Mr. Harris on the phone. |
| C．At about 8:30. |
| D．When someone telephoned the police station. |
Who telephoned the policeman?
| A．One of the guests. | B．One of the neighbors. |
| C．Mr. Harris. | D．Mrs. Harris. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A．Mr. Harris was unfriendly to the guests |
| B．Mrs. Harris was very angry with his husband |
| C．the guests were very tired at the party |
| D．Mr. Harris didn’t want his friends to stay late at the party |
Mr. Lang worked in a factory. As a driver, he was busy. Sometimes, he brought some materials to the factory, and most of the time, he had to carry the goods to the customers of the factory. It was not an easy job, but he was paid much. His wife was an able woman and did all the housework to give him a comfortable home for a rest after work. When he came back, she took good care of him and he never did anything at home. So he had enough time when he had a holiday. A few friends of his liked gambling(赌博) and he learned it soon. So he was interested in it and hardly forgot anything except gambling. He lost all his money and later he began to sell the television, watches and so on. His wife had told him not to do it for many times, but he didn’t listen to her. She had to tell the police. He and his friends were punished for it. And he was hardly sent away. After he came out of lockup(拘留所), he hated her very much and the woman had to leave him.
It was New Year’s Day. Mr. Lang didn’t go to work. After the meal, he felt very lonely and wanted to gamble again. He called his friends and they came soon. But they were afraid the police would come. He told his five-year-old son to go to find out if there were the policemen outside. They waited for a long time and didn’t think the police would come and began to gamble. Suddenly opened the door and in came a few policemen.
“I saw there weren’t any policemen outside, daddy,” said the boy, “so I went to the crossing and asked some to come.”Mrs. Lang did all housework because _______.
| A．she couldn’t find any work |
| B．she thought her husband was tired |
| C．her husband spent all time in gambling |
| D．she wouldn’t stop her husband gambling |
_______, so he was put into lockup.
| A．Mr. Lang often gambled |
| B．Mr. Lang was late for work |
| C．Mr. Lang didn’t help his wife at home |
| D．Mr. Lang wasn’t polite to the police |
The woman had to leave Mr. Lang because _______.
| A．he didn’t love her any longer |
| B．he wouldn’t stop gambling |
| C．he had been put into lockup |
| D．he was hardly sent away by the factory |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A．the boy hoped his father to be put into lockup again |
| B．the boy thought his father needed some policemen |
| C．the boy hoped his father to stop gambling soon |
| D．the boy hoped his mother to come back |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．An able woman | B．A busy driver |
| C．The disadvantage of gambling | D．Son’s help |
“Experience may possibly be the best teacher, but it is not a particularly good teacher.” You might think that Winston Churchill or perhaps Mark Twain spoke those words, but they actually come from James March, a professor at Stanford University and a pioneer in the field of organizational decision making. For years March (possibly be wisest philosopher of management) has studied how humans think and act, and he continues to do so in his new book The Ambiguities of Experience.
He begins by reminding us of just how firmly we have been sticking to the idea of experiential learning: “Experience is respected；experience is sought；experience is explained.” The problem is that learning from experience involves serious complications (复杂化), ones that are part of the nature of experience itself and which March discusses in the body of this book.
In one interesting part of the book, for example, he turns a doubtful eye toward the use of stories as the most effective way of experiential learning. In our efforts to make stories interesting, he argues, we lose part of the complicated truth of things. He says “The more accurately reality is presented, the less understandable the story, and the more understandable the story, the less realistic it is.”
Besides being a broadly knowledgeable researcher, March is also a poet, and his gift shines through in the depth of views he offers and the simple language he uses. Though the book is short, it is demanding: Don’t pick it up looking for quick, easy lessons. Rather, be ready to think deeply about learning from experience in work and life. According to the text, James March is ________.
| A．a poet who uses experience in his writing |
| B．a teacher who teachers story writing in university |
| C．a researcher who studies the way humans think and act |
| D．a professor who helps organizations make important decisions |
According to James March, experience ________.
| A．is overvalued | B．is easy to explain |
| C．should be actively sought | D．should be highly respected |
What can we learn from Paragraph 3?
| A．Experience makes stories more accurate. |
| B．Stories made interesting fail to fully present the truth. |
| C．The use of stories is the best way of experiential learning. |
| D．Stories are easier to understand when reality is more accurately described. |
What’s the purpose of this text?
| A．To introduce a book. | B．To describe a researcher. |
| C．To explain experiential learning. | D．To discuss organizational decision making. |
Toyoda said those changes were being made nearly around the clock，but during three hours of often tense questions and answers he repeated that there was no link to the vehicle’s electronic systems．
Many drivers making complaints against Toyota and the government say their acceleration problems had nothing to do with floor mat interference(油门踏板故障)or sticky gas pedals(刹车)．Outside experts have suggested electronic problems.
House lawmakers expressed serious criticism on Toyoda，the grandson of the company’s founder．
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA)is seeking records on Toyota’s recalls and is conducting its own review on whether electronics were behind the car faults．NHTSA also continues to look into steering complaints from drivers of the popular Corolla model．
Toyota has recalled 8.5 million cars，more than 6 million of them in the United States．
It may be a while before car buyers believe that Toyota really makes safe cars．
Toyota’s January sales already fell 16 percent even as most other automakers jumped back from last year’s bad results．Analyst Koji Endo of Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo said he expects February sales，due out next week，to be down 30 percent to 40. Toyota’s sales problem could continue beyond that．
It will take some time to feel the full effect of this，he said．The best title for this passage is ．
| A．Toyota is in trouble | B．Toyota is under hearing |
| C．Toyota is finished | D．Toyota is still running |
What is the purpose of the hearing?
| A．America hopes that Toyota apologizes to the US customers． |
| B．America wants to get Toyota out of the US market． |
| C．America wants to help Toyota out of difficulty． |
| D．America hopes that Toyota admits their cars have electronic system problem． |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Toyota provides very good post sale service． |
| B．Toyota’s biggest market is in the United States． |
| C．Toyota will be closed soon． |
| D．Toyota’s dealership in the US will all be closed． |
The last sentence of this passage indicates .
| A．Analyst Koji Endo is fully confident about Toyota |
| B．Toyota could meet a worse situation |
| C．Toyota would get out of trouble sooner or later |
| D．Toyota would build up a better reputation among its customers |
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