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NANJING, June 13,2009 (Xinhua) – China will see the longest total solar eclipse (日食) in 500 years on July 22, a scientist said Saturday.
The most important time of the total eclipse was expected tobegin from 9:00 a.m. to 9:38 a. m. (Beijing Time), said Wang
Sichao, a research fellow with the Nanjing – based Purple
Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“The total eclipse will l ast up to six minutes, which is the longest
one that can be seen in China in almost 500 years from 1814 to 2309,” Wang said.
He said viewers in parts of eleven provinces in China's southwestern, central-southern and eastern areas, such as Tibet, Hunan and Jiangsu, will be able to witness the total solar eclipse, while in most parts of Shanghai, viewers can see the spectacular phenomenon. For viewers in other provinces, including Beijing, they can observe a partial eclipse, he said.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is caught between the sun and the earth while each of them moves along their fixed orbits. In a total solar eclipse, the sun, the moon and the earth are directly aligned as the sun swings into the cone of shadow cast by the moon.
Wang said the next total solar eclipse that can be seen in China will fall on March 20 th, 2034. "But it can only be seen remote provinces, such as Tibet and Qinghai. It cannot not be compared with the upcoming one -- in terms of duration and number of cities that can see the eclipse," he added. The last total solar eclipse visible in China took place on Aug. 1 last year. It was observed in northwest China and lasted two minutes in Yiwu County of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the best place to see the phenomenon.
72．According to the report, the total eclipse on July the 22 nd will last .
A．over a month B．about 38 minutes
C．about 6 minutes D．less than 30 minutes
73．Viewers can possibly witness the total solar eclipse in .
A．Liaoning B．Sichuan C．Beijing D．Xinjiang
74．When a total solar eclipse happens, .
A．the moon goes into the shadow cast by the sun
B．the earth stays between the sun and the moon
C．the sun temporarily moves into the moon’s orbit
D．the sun is in a line with the moon and the earth
75．Which is the best title for this report? .
A．China to witness longest total solar eclipse in 500 years
B．The most important total solar eclipse will favor China
C．The beginning time of the total solar eclipse is expected
D．China has been the best place to witness the solar eclipse
Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them; often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.
Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore. At such times, they inquire into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however. the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers．In the U.S, for example, there is a department which tests new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people work. and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness. but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products. The main topic of the passage is ___________________________________________.
| A．conditions in the work place | B．the freedom of industries in the past |
| C．changes in industrial production | D．the safety and health of workers and customers |
It can be inferred from the passage that in the past __________________________.
| A．workers often got ill because of the poor working conditions |
| B．companies were free to put out any products they wanted to |
| C．many people were killed by dangerous products |
| D．industries were as careful in management as they are today |
It is implied (暗示) in the passage that ________________________________________.
| A．governments and companies had different opinions about the safety of products |
| B．governments paid little attention to the safety of products |
| C．government officials often did not listen to scientists |
| D．in the past no safety laws were introduced by governments |
Gauri Nanda sees a wearable computer as a handbag — one that’s built out of four-inch squares and triangles of fiber, with tiny computer chips embedded (嵌入) in it. It looks, feels and weighs like your typical leather purse.
That’s where similarities end: This bag can wirelessly keep track of your belongings and remind you, just as you’re about to leave the house, to take your wallet. It can review the weather report and suggest that you grab an umbrella. This purse can even upload your favorite songs onto your scarf.
Sure, a computing purse and scarf set may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But these devices, part of next generation of wearable computers, could become commonplace within a few years. DuPont created new super strong fibers that can conduct electricity and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes. And the chipmaker developed chip packaging allowing wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty cycle.
As a result, these new wearable devices are different from the heavy and downright silly versions of the recent past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires and type on their stomachs. Unlike their predecessors, these new wearable computers also make economic sense. When her bag becomes commercially available in two to three years, Nanda expects it will cost around $150, which is the price of an average leather purse.
Here’s how the bag works: You place a special radio-signal-transmitting chip on to your wallet. A similar radio in your purse picks up the signal and notifies you that you’ve forgotten to take your wallet. In turn, sensors on your purse’s handles will notify the computer that you’ve picked up the purse and are ready to go.
Already, these new kinds of wearable devices are being adopted for use in markets like auto repair, emergency services, medical monitoring — and even, increasingly, for consumers at large. Indeed, more people will want to cross that bridge in the coming years — making for a booming market for wearable computers that don’t like something out of science fiction.Which of the following describes a wearable computer?
| A．It can be washed in a washing machine. |
| B．It is much heavier than a leather purse. |
| C．It can download songs from the Internet. |
| D．It is made of clothes conducting electricity. |
According to the passage, these new wearable computers ________________________.
| A．require users to operate on the stomach |
| B．pick up the signals through wires and chip |
| C．are being applied in some different areas now |
| D．are smarter but more expensive than the old ones |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．These new wearable computers have become fashionable. |
| B．People would like to learn more about these new computers. |
| C．These new wearable computers promise to sell well in the future. |
| D．The idea of these purse-like computers comes from science fiction. |
The purpose of the passage is ________________________________________.
| A．to introduce a new kind of computer | B．to explain the function of computers |
| C．to compare different types of computers | D．to show how high technology affects our life |
I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves．One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community．Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say．Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence （吊唁） calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased （已故的） woman said to me, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today．It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today．That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take．It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty．Because the course of action they took turned out badly, they believe that the opposite course — keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation — would have turned out better．After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty．The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens．That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen．It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault．The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it．He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks．He cries, and someone comes to attend to him．When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him．Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.The author had to hold the two women’s funerals probably because __________________.
| A．he wanted to comfort the two families |
| B．he was an official from the community |
| C．he had great pity for the deceased |
| D．he was priest of the local church |
People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because _______________________.
| A．they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow |
| B．they believe that they were responsible |
| C．they had neglected the natural course of events |
| D．they didn’t know things often turn out in the opposite direction |
According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that ______.
| A．everything in the world is predetermined |
| B．the world can be interpreted in different ways |
| C．there’s an explanation for everything in the world |
| D．we have to be sensible in order to understand the world |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Life and death is an unsolved mystery. |
| B．Every story should have a happy ending. |
| C．Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault. |
| D．In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away . |
For most people, shopping is still a matter of wandering down the street or loading a cart in a shopping mall．Soon, that will change．Electronic commerce （trade） is growing fast and will soon bring people more choices．There will, however, be a cost: protecting the consumer from being cheated will be harder．Many governments therefore want to apply street regulations to the electronic world．But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation．
Consumers in rich countries have grown used to the idea that the government takes responsibility for everything for the stability of the banks to the safety of the drugs or their rights to refund when goods are faulty．But governments cannot enforce national laws on businesses whose only presence is on the screen．Even in a country where a clear right to compensation exists, the on-line customer in Tokyo, say, can hardly go to New York to get a refund for a clothes purchase．
One answer is for government to cooperate more: to recognize each other’s rules．But that requires years of work and volumes of detailed rules．And plenty of countries have rules too fanciful for sober countries to accept．There is, however, another choice．Let the electronic businesses do the regulation themselves．They do, after all, have a self-interest in doing so．
In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset．Governments, too, may compete to be trusted．For instance, customers ordering medicines on-line may prefer to buy from the United States because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict, and buy from Switzerland instead．
Customers will still need to use their judgment．But precisely because the technology is new, electronic shoppers are likely for a while to be a lot more cautious than customers of the normal sort．And the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain when a company lets them down．In this way, at least, the advent of cyberspace may argue for fewer consumer protection laws, not more．According to the author, what will be the best policy for electronic commerce?
| A．Self-regulation by the business． | B．Strict consumer protection laws． |
| C．Close international cooperation． | D．Government protection． |
In case an electronic shopper bought faulty goods from a foreign country, what could he do?
| A．Refuse to pay for the purchase． | B．Go to the seller and ask for a refund． |
| C．Appeal to consumer protection law． | D．Complain about it on the Internet． |
In the author’s view, businesses would place a high emphasis on honest dealing because in the electronic world _________________________________．
| A．international cooperation would be much more frequent |
| B．consumers could easily seek government protection |
| C．a good reputation is a great advantage in competition |
| D．it would be easy for consumers to complain |
We can infer from the passage that in licensing new drugs the FDA in the United States is ____________________．
| A．very quick | B．very cautious | C．very slow | D．rather careless |
If a customer buys something that does not meet his expectation, what is the advantage of dealing through electronic commerce over the present normal one?
| A．It will be easier for him to return the goods he is not satisfied with． |
| B．It will be easier for him to attain the refund from the seller． |
| C．It will be easier for him to get his complaints heard by other consumers． |
| D．It will be easier for him to complain about this to the government． |
A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C．Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．In a natural reflex (反应), I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office.
In an instant, I realized what I had done．I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．This incident re-awakened my belief in humility (谦恭), even though I’d lost it for a moment．
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S．at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother．Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer．
In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏见)．I remember a time, at age 17 — I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it’s like, and I should have known better．
But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．We can learn from the first two paragraphs that________________________________．
| A．the author regretted his act of prejudice |
| B．the blind woman needed the money badly |
| C．the author was as poor as the blind woman |
| D．the author was a native American |
According to Paragraph 4, hearing the father’s words, the author was probably________．
| A．rather hurt | B．very excited | C．deeply moved | D．greatly inspired |
According to the passage, the author probably agrees that one should_______________．
| A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled |
| B．try to experience different kinds of life |
| C．treat others equally with love and respect |
| D．think about one’s past as often as possible |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Learn from Your Past | B．How My Dream Comes True |
| C．A Belief That Will Never Change | D．A Priceless Lesson in the Street |
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