People cannot reach an agreement on the use of science and technology. For example, will radiation from electronic equipment destroy the environment? Should medical scientists change gene structures to prevent genetic disease or to create “more perfect” human beings? While people are arguing about these and others, technology continues to influence our everyday lives—the home, health and education, entertainment and communication, and so on.
Some people carry on active social lives with computers —their own or the ones in public places like cafes, social centers, libraries, and so on. Communicating with others in chat rooms, computer users can get to know people they might never meet in traditional ways. With live online video connections, two people with cameras in their computers can see and talk to each other from separate places.
With modern telephone technology, most people stopped writing lettters—especially personal letters and notes. But now, writing to communicate has returned in electronic form, or e-mail, which is a way of sending messages from one computer to another. For some computer users, the wish to communicate intelligently or creatively with others makes them want to write better.
Computer technology has also made it possible to run a house electronically. From turning lights on and off to starting the coffee and cooking the hot meal, computers are taking care of people at home. Many modern machines have computer chips that allow their owners to program them. For instance, you can “instruct” a microwave oven how to cook a dish. Most entertainment equipment operates with computer technology too. Computers can even start cars automatically so that on cold winter mornings you can get into a warmed-up vehicle and drive off.
Although much of the technology in our everyday lives has good effects, there are some uses that raise questions. For example, are interactive media ( i.e., a combination of television, telephone, and computer) going to control minds, cause people to forget about family life and personal relationships? What effects will the genentic engineering of food have on people’s health? High-tech medical treatments can make a person live a much longer life, but can they improve the health and happiness of human beings? Only time will tell, but, in the meantime, science and technology will continue to move forward. What does the underlined word “ chips” mean?
| A．thin pieces of potatoes | B．small holes | C．small pieces of wood | D．central parts |
We can know from the passage that _________.
| A．technology never stops changing our everyday lives |
| B．with computers each of us can live a comfortable life |
| C．people can do more activities with computers |
| D．the more you use computers, the better you might write |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
| A．The longer you live, the happier you are. |
| B．High-tech medical treatments can’t improve our health and happiness. |
| C．High-tech medical treatments can’t help us with everything. |
| D．The writer questioned high-tech medical treatments somehow. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Science and New Technology | B．Computers Change Our Lives |
| C．Everyday Uses of Technology | D．Only Time Will Tell |
Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device (装置) which uses satellites (卫星) to find the user’s position (位置). It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting(环绕…运行) the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate. Also there will be new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost anywhere.GPS can help you find your position, can’t it?
What does a GPS look like?
How many things are mentioned that GPS devices can be put into?
Why do some people think GPS devices will be popular in the future?
What is the use of ground stations?
What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
An 8-year-old Miami boy, Joshua Williams, is president of his own non-profit organization---Joshua’s Save the World. His organization provides food and clothes for p
people and families in Miami and the neighboring areas.
Joshua has r thousands of dollars for his organization. He started to help the hungry when he was just 5. He was in his mother’s car when they passed a beggar. Joshua asked his mother to stop so that he could give him $20. “It’s my m
. I want to help him, Mum,” Joshua recalled. One year later, he created his organization with the help of his mother and Francine Hanna, a local businesswoman. “He just thought that was what he wanted to do,” his mother said. “And there was nothing that could s
him.”
The organization now provides clothing, furniture and food for the poor people in America. At the same time, Joshua never misses a c to encourage other people to follow what he did whether at church or on the streets. Earl Laird lost his job two years ago and hasn’t managed to get a n
one. Without money, he can’t pay for the flat and has to live on the street. He depends on food from Joshua’s Save the World. “Joshua is an angel (天使) from God,” he said.
Joshua has won Miami’s “Do the Right Thing” award and the “Kids Who Care” competition, which awarded him a $1,000 note. Even though he has a done plenty, he said that his
mission (使命)to provide for the poor is far from finished. “I want to get a team together,” Joshua said. “I want my team to go out and give food to people who have a need for it. I want to spread love to countries in Africa.”
Old George selected his food in the supermarket more carefully than NASA chose its astronauts. When he left the cashier, he was pleased to think that he had saved 80 cents today.
At the exit, the cold wind made him think of his gloves. He looked for them in his coat and pants but could not find them anywhere. He had bought the black gloves at a good price, for just $35, years ago. They were soft and very comfortable. He had taken great care looking after them, so they were in good condition.
George, calm on the outside but mad on the inside, re-entered the store. He followed the same route he had walked before. Several minutes of searching turned out to be in vain (徒劳). His black gloves were gone. “People have changed,” he said to himself. “Years ago, if somebody picked up something lost, they would give it back. Not any more!”
He stared at anybody wearing black gloves to see if they looked like his. On his way to the dairy section, he noticed a lady wearing a pair of black gloves. He sped up and in three seconds was in front of her. But when the surprised woman looked over, his eyes dropped, for her gloves were just far too small to be his. He went over to the cashier to ask if she had received any lost gloves, but she said no. He finally walked out into the street.
A few days later, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before getting on the subway, he stepped into the supermarket again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. “What color are they?” the woman in the office asked. “Black,” he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men’s leather gloves. “Are they?”
“Yes! Those are mine,” George exclaimed, his eyes full of joy.The author tells us that ________ in the first paragraph.
| A．George was very poor |
| B．George was very strange |
| C．every cent was important to George |
| D．George was careless in shopping |
The underlined phrase “in good condition” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.
| A．excellent without damage | B．healthy |
| C．attractive | D．good-looking |
George searched for his gloves in a mad way because ________.
| A．they were a precious gift given by his friends |
| B．they were bought at a high price in a big store |
| C．he could not find other gloves as good as this pair |
| D．he would rather not spend money on another pair |
When George realized he had probably lost his gloves, he ________.
| A．thought someone had found his gloves and kept them |
| B．was calm and confident that he could get his gloves back |
| C．thought that there were more thieves nowadays than before |
| D．looked for his gloves everywhere including in the lost and found office |
How do you think George felt when he finally left the supermarket without finding his gloves?
| A．silly | B．disappointed |
| C．horrible | D．tired |
When George entered the supermarket again a few days later, he ________.
| A．decided to buy a better pair | B．wanted to try his luck |
| C．held no hope at all | D．felt very hopeful |
A man was sitting in the doctor’s office. He was telling the doctor about his problem. “I like football, doctor,” he said. “Please help me. My life has been a good one since I became interested in football and it is getting worse and worse. I can’t even sleep well at night. When I close my eyes, I feel as if (好像) I’m
there in the football field running after a flying ball. When I wake up, I’m more tired than I was when I went to bed. What am I going to do?
The doctor sat back and said, “First of all, you have to do your best not to dream about football. Before you are falling , try to think about something else. Try to think you are at a party and someone is going to give you several million dollars.”
“Oh!” the man shouted. “If so, I’ll be excited and I can’t close my eyes even for a short time.”
Complete the following passage with the words or phrases in the box. Each can only be used once (将下列单词或词组填入空格。每空格限填一词，每词只能填一次) (共8分)
Maybe everyone has trouble in learning new words. It is not easy to remember and use them . The following suggestions will help you a lot.
It can be a good idea to divide the new words into groups according to the meanings. Thinking about the connections(联系) between words may help you to remember them. The more you practice, the better you will use them. You can also write a list of some new words. Express your ideas with them and discuss the of these words as much as possible. However, there is one more thing you should pay attention to. Don’t try to learn
many words at one time. Choose several important ones to you. Repeat their pronunciations, spellings as well as their meanings in your mind. Learn
every day and you will learn a lot in a few years. It is the skills that can make you learn new words easily. It is the skills that can help you know more words quickly.
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