The year was 1985. Ronald Reagan was president. Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the USSR. Back to the Future was boffo at the box office. “Born in the USA” was climbing the charts. Philanthropy(慈善业) and pop culture combined with LiveAid and “We Are the World.” And “.com”, which few people outside of the military or universities knew, came into this world.
Looking back, few could have predicted “.com” would become one of the biggest cultural touchstones of the century. In March 1985, the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California assigned the first .com domain address to symbolics.com. That seemingly nominal（象征性的） event set into motion forces that would change our world forever.
.com wasn’t the birth of the Internet, but it was the budding computer network’s coming-out party. It made it pretty and inviting. It did away with the need to have complex “maps” that were the equivalent of writing a phone number on your hand, and opened it up for a mainstream audience.
After 1985, all it takes is a simple .com name to get into business. “.com” became part of our daily lexicon and drove its own economic boom and depression. It helped create a whole new family of industries, facilitated global commerce and connected people around the world in ways never before possible.
It’s now 2010. Barack Obama is president, thanks in part to his smart use of the Internet. There is no USSR. A computer-generated Avatar has set new box office records. “TiK ToK” tops the charts. We’re sending robots to find water on Mars. And that once-obscure computer communications system is one of our civilization’s most prominent features.
61. This passage was written to mark _____.
A. the change of American presidency
B. the development of entertainment
C. the 25th anniversary of .com
D. the anniversary of the internet
62. What does the underlined word “boffo” probably mean?
A. Successful. B. Changeable. C. Tough. D. Novel.
63. Which of the following can be the main contribution of “.com”?
A. It gave birth to the Internet.
B. It combined politics, entertainment and space science.
C. It made the Internet accessible to ordinary people.
D. It helped produce more domain addresses.
64. We can infer that before 1985, getting on-line was _____.
A. impossible B. complex C. expensive D. popular
65. The first and last paragraphs were intended to _______.
A. make comparison B. provide details
C. list arguments D. stimulate readers’ interest
With the average temperature for January standing at -50℃, it is no wonder the village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world. Known as the 'Pole of Cold', the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was -71.2℃.
This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Hemisphere.
Ironically, Oymyakon actually means 'non-freezing water' due to a nearby hot spring. Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences.
Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer meat and horse meat. A single shop provides the town's bare necessities and the locals work as reindeer-breeders, hunters and ice-fisherman.
Doctors say the reason the locals don't suffer from malnutrition is that their animals' milk contains a lot of micronutrients.
Unsurprisingly, locals are hardened to the weather and unlike in other countries— where a flurry of snow brings things grinding to a halt, Oymyakon's solitary school only shuts if temperatures fall below -52℃.
There are few modern conveniences in the village— with many buildings still having outdoor toilets - and most people still burn coal and wood for heat. When coal deliveries are irregular the power station starts burning wood. If the power ceases, the town shuts down in about five hours, and the pipes freeze and crack.
Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power. Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them.
Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception the phones themselves would not work in such cold conditions.
Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies, which can take anything up to three days. The earth must first have melted sufficiently in order to dig it, so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours. Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole couple of inches deep is dug. The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin.
Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions.
Which of the following statements about this village is true?
| A．Local children don’t go to school because of the extreme cold. |
| B．People there live a hard and simple life with few modern conveniences. |
| C．People there have a healthy and balanced diets by eating vegetables and meat. |
| D．The name of this village— Oymyakon suggests that it’s extremely cold here. |
The sentence “If you thought it was cold where you are at the moment then a visit to the Russian village of Oymyakon might just change your mind.” can be put .
| A．before the first paragraph |
| B．after the first paragraph |
| C．after the sixth paragraph |
| D．before the last paragraph |
What does the underlined phrase “grinding to a halt” probably mean in this passage?
| A．stopping | B．growing | C．continuing | D．failing |
What is the purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To attract more people to visit this village. |
| B．To inform readers of this special village. |
| C．To help solve problems facing the village。 |
| D．To draw readers’ attention to poor people. |
The insanely popular song ‘Gangnam Style’ from South Korean recording artist PSY has just become the most watched video on YouTube ever, garnering more than 808 million views on the popular media site.
The distinction was previously held by another pop heavyweight, Justin Bieber, whose song ‘Baby’ had a little more than 804 million views at press time. PSY made the announcement on his Twitter page earlier today.
Since its release, the song has defeated such other popular videos as Jennifer Lopez’s ‘On the Floor,’ Eminem's ‘Love the Way You Lie’ and LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem.’ And in September, 'Gangnam Style' also became the most liked video on YouTube, now with nearly 5.4 million thumbs up.
At the time of the announcement, the Guinness Book of World Records released a statement saying: “In years past it was unthinkable that something would be viewed a hundred million times, and now Gangnam Style has achieved more than twice this figure in just three months on YouTube. PSY, your certificate is waiting here at our office, come pick it up any time!”
Despite its massive popularity, the video shows no signs of slowing down, and it even has a shot at becoming the first video to get more than one billion views.
If it maintains its current rate of around six million new views per day, ‘Gangnam Style’ would be in line to break that record by the end of the year.
The YouTube honors are just the latest in a long list that shows just how popular the song has become. Since it was released in July, the song has seen a meteoric rise through the music industry.
It has found its way to the tops of music charts in more than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Canada, while providing material for thousands of parody（恶搞）videos.
It became a staple (主要部份) in the 2012 presidential elections with the now famous ‘Mitt Romney Style’ video and was even used by the North Korean government in propaganda films promoting their supreme leader.
Meanwhile, such influential figures as President Obama, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt have all made mention of the hit song.This passage mainly talks about a world famous________.
| A．music | B．music video |
| C．video website | D．Korean pop singer |
Which of the following about “Gangnam Style” is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．“Gangnam Style” has defeated Justin Bieber’s “Baby” on You Tube’s views. |
| B．“Gangnam Style” has been the favorite to at least 5.4 million people. |
| C．“Gangnam Style” has been the first to get more than 1 billion views. |
| D．“Gangnam Style” has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. |
What can we infer from this passage?
| A．PSY will become one of the greatest musicians due to the popularity of “Gangnam Style”. |
| B．Obama won the presidential election partly because of the ‘Mitt Romney Style’ video. |
| C．Despite its massive popularity, the fever of “Gangnam Style” has decreased. |
| D．The influence of “Gangnam Style” has spread far and wide. |
The age at which kids first fall victim to bullying (欺侮）could influence how strongly they are affected，suggests a new study. And，surprisingly，it is not the youngest kids who are hurt the most in the long term.
Bullying can have long-lasting effects，but particularly when it begins in adolescence，the researchers say. People subjected to either verbal ( 口头 上的）or physical bullying are known to be at greater risk of developing depression，anxiety disorders or to behave violently. But not everyone reacts in this way.
Children bullied for the first time before they hit adolescence seem to get over it， but those who are bullied for the first time later on in adolescence seem to become more aggressive or are more likely to turn to drink as a means of coping. These are the conclusions of psychologist Matthew Newman and colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin，US.
The team gave questionnaires to nearly 1，500 college students regarding their experience of physical and psychological bullying before adolescence—before high school—and in late adolescence—at high school. They assessed mood and mental state，judging by signs of anxiety or depression，such as sleeplessness. The group was also questioned about how they would react to certain challenges，such as humiliation.
People who were bullied all revealed slightly higher levels of stress. But while those bullied earlier in life seemed to respond normally to provocation (杉匕畔)，people bullied for the
first time late in adolescence are more withdrawn and sensitive to violence.
There are also sex differences between those bullied for the first time during adolescence， with females more likely to react aggressively when provoked and males are much more likely to turn to alcohol to escape bad situations.
The best solution in all cases was strong social support，whether from friends，family or school. Those with no one to share their problems with suffered the most.
So perhaps it is best not to shelter children completely from bullying early on，suggests Newman. “They may get stressed，but unhealthy coping really jumps out when they are bullied for the first time later on. ”
What determines the degree of bullying’s effect on people according to the study?
| A．The reason why they are bullied. |
| B．The place where they are first bullied. |
| C．The age at which they are first bullied. |
| D．The person who first bullies them. |
What may happen to those first bullied later on in adolescence according to Newman and his colleagues?
| A．Some are likely to be more aggressive. |
| B．They seem to easily get over the effect of bullying. |
| C．Most of them will respond to bullying normally. |
| D．Most of them are afraid of sharing their problems. |
What does the underlined word "humiliation"in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Carrying out an important plan. |
| B．Being made to feel ashamed. |
| C．Trying hard to survive an accident. |
| D．Feeling hopeless in an emergency. |
The sex differences between people bullied for the first time during adolescence are reflected in .
| A．the support they get from the society |
| B．the effect bullying has on them |
| C．the way they react to provocation |
| D．the type of bullying they receive |
For many years，machines have been doing work that people once did，including some dit- ficutt jobs. Search and rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ high technology robots. But there is another area where they may soon take jobs traditionally held by human beings： the restaurant industry.
Teams from around the world competed in early June at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals in California. A team from South Korea and its robot，called DRC-Hubo，won the first place in the competition. The second and third place winners were from the United States. The robots were required to drive a vehicle，climb up steps and do mechanical work. Such activities are easy for humans to perform，but more difficult for machines. Not all of the competitor were successful. The failures showed how difficult it is to design effective walking
machines.
Akihiro Suzuki works at Yaskawa Electric，a company that develops robots. He says robots cannot do everything a human can，but they are able to work without becoming tired. He says robots cannot taste food，change heating levels or seasonings to get the best flavor (风味）.But he says if a food can be easily prepared，a robot can repeat the same movement to reproduce the same meal.
One Japanese woman who saw the robots working wanted to bring them home. Masayo Mori says she would like to have a husband who could work like a robot. Suzumo Machinery showed its sushi (寿司）maker robot. It performs the often difficult work of wrapping the popular Japanese food. Hiroshi Monden is an official with the company. He says people all over the world now eat sushi，but there are not enough skilled workers to prepare it. He says his machine can help anyone make sushi.
In Paragraph 1，the author tells us .
| A．robots just do difficult jobs |
| B．robots are sometimes dangerous |
| C．robots are widely used in our life |
| D．robots are gradually replacing humans |
Why did some teams fail at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals?
| A．Their robots cannot be applied at home. |
| B．Preparing food is really difficult for robots. |
| C．Their robots can just repeat the same movement. |
| D．They failed to design effective walking robots. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that .
| A．Japanese men are lazy |
| B．robots are popular in Japan |
| C．Japan has advanced high technology |
| D．robots usually take the job of making sushi in Japan |
In which column can we probably see the text?
| A．Education. | B．Culture. | C．Health. | D．Science. |
| Dobson Ranch Housing Association 1000 Sidewinder Road Mesa，AZ 85202 October 15 Mr and Mrs Fred Deacon 1442 Saddleback Road Mesa，AX 85205 Dear Mr and Mrs Fred Deacon， I am writing this letter to congratulate you on your new purchase of a house in the Dobson Ranch area. We feel that this is one of the best neighborhoods of high quality in the city of Mesa，and we are happy to be able to call you neighbors. For your information，there are a few things we would like to tell you. One is that there are certain duties that go with living in Dobson Ranch. In order to keep property (房地产） values at the highest possible levels，we insist that everyone who lives in Dobson Ranch take care of their property. This means that the grass needs to be cut regularly，branches of the trees and bushes should be cut off，and there should be no unattractive additions to houses， nor should houses be painted in colors like red or blue. If you want to make any additions to your house，you need our permission first. The people of Dobson Ranch also have monthly meetings to discuss various issues of concern in our community. You are welcome to attend. We typically hold meetings on the first Saturday of every month at 7 ： 00 PM at the Dobson Ranch Community Center. You will receive a notice via e-mail a few days before every meeting as a reminder. We hope that you will join us as much as you see fit. Again，welcome to the neighborhood，and I look forward to meeting you soon. Sincerely Juan Sanchez President Dobson Ranch Housing Association October 20 Dear Mr Sanchez, Thank you very much for your letter welcoming us to the neighborhood. My wife and I appreciate your concern, and we also appreciate you letting us know about the various rules that apply to this neighborhood. Please do not worry about us. No matter where we live，we always try to be neighbors taking care to do our work properly. We too are well aware of property values. To be honest，we are actually pleased that there are regulations that must be obeyed. In the past，we have had neighbors who have not taken care of their homes and yards； at least we know that we will not have to worry about that here. As for the meetings， thank you for your kind invitation，but I’m afraid that you probably won’t see us too often. My work takes me out of town，so when I，m not traveling，I prefer to stay home. Similarly，my wife works long hours at the hospital and prefers to spend her days off relaxing at home. However，if we have the time，we will try to make it to a meeting. Again，thank you for welcoming us. Sincerely Fred Deacon |
Why do people who live in Dobson Ranch need to take care of their homes?
| A．To ensure that no one complains about how the area looks. |
| B．To make the neighborhood look as good as possible. |
| C．To keep the property worth as much as possible . |
| D．To be good neighbors. |
What does Fred Deacon think about the rules at Dobson Ranch?
| A．He agrees to them. |
| B．He thinks they require too much. |
| C．He would like to discuss them later. |
| D．He feels that they are not severe enough. |
For the invitation to the monthly meetings，Fred Deacon responds that .
| A．he will attend regularly |
| B．he will attend with his wife |
| C．his wife will attend alone |
| D．neither he nor his wife will attend very often |
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