When you have a question about something, where do you go? For many people the answer is simple as they can go online to a search engine like Google or Yahoo. But what about people in rural or underdeveloped areas who may have no way to get on the Internet?
A business and international development professor in California, Rose Shuman, found an answer for them: Question Box. Question Box is a service that provid
es answers---free of charge--- for people who cannot search the Internet directly. The users of Questions Box might be those who might not be 
able to read, or simply have no access to the Internet.
Question Box began three years ago in India. People used a metal call box with a push-to-talk button to connect a live operator. Rose Schuman explained,” You just need to push a big green button on the box which will connect you directly to our operators who are sitting in front of computers, and speak your language. You can ask them any sort of question you want, and they’ll look it up in English or in Hindi, or whatever the main language is, and translate the answer back for you.”
The service is currently offered in two villages. The latest version of the box uses mobile phone technology, and solar panels in case the electrical power fails. Rose Shuman says the aim was to make the box as easy as possible for users, “It is very efficient (效率高的). Rather than try to bring a lot of difficulties to them and expect them to spend a lot of time to learn how to use the Internet, the idea was to make a technology that even Grandma could use.”
In April 2009, Question Box was introduced to Uganda. Forty community workers with mobile phones connected villagers to call center operators in Kampala. The community workers went around telling people about the service. They wore T-shirts that said “Ask me.” But Internet service in Uganda proved slow and undependable. So Question Box teamed up with a local technology company to store information on a local server. That way, the researchers in Kampala could quickly search the database for answers. The best title for the passage is __________.
| A．Question Box ----taking the place of the Internet |
| B．Needing an answer? ----asking Question Box |
| C．Question Box ----A great invention in the world |
D．Rose Shuman----- A professor helping the poor |
In Rose Schuman’s opinion, the greatest advantage of Question Box is that______.
| A．It is the most advanced in the world |
| B．It is more convenient to carry. |
| C．It is much easier to use |
| D．it saves much more energy |
The underlined word “them” in the fourth paragraph refers to______.
| A．the users | B．the operators |
| C．the researchers | D．Question Box workers |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Question Box costs the users much less than the Internet. |
| B．Question Box operators can look for information in any language. |
| C．Question Box is more efficient in solving problems in underdeveloped areas. |
| D．Question Box can work without the help of the Internet in Uganda. |
The World Expo 2010 Shanghai China is to be staged in Shanghai from May 1 to October 31, 2010. If you plan to visit the Shanghai Expo this summer, the 
China Pavilion is a must-see area for you.
The China Pavilion, which is called Oriental Crown
(东方之冠), is located at the center of the Expo site. Standing 63 meters tall, the China Pavilion takes the shape of an emperor’s crown, with the upper layers larger than the lower ones. Covering 160,000 square meters in floor space, the pavilion consists of a national hall and a regional hall. Construction on the China Pavilion began on Dec. 18, 2007. The design of the China Pavilion was picked from a total of 344 designs put forward by Chinese from around the world. The pavilion possesses both traditional and modern features, which helps develop the theme of the 2010 Expo “Better City, Better Life”. For example, it is red in appearance, which contains the elements of traditional Chinese culture, and it is green indoors, with the use of energy-saving techniques. The Shanghai World Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors from across the globe. It is estimated that 400,000 people will visit the Expo and its 140 pavilions every day during the period, but the China Pavilion is only able to receive about one tenth of the total. How to accommodate so many people in the pavilion remains a tough task. Luckily, the China Pavilion is built as a permanent landmark.
During the Expo, the main structure will be used for an exhibition based on the theme of “Chinese wisdom in urban development" by explaining the values of harmony, nature and spirit. The three-story pavilion has three sections. The top floor’s "Footprint of the East" will show some of the changes in Chinese cities. There, you can see a film which shows how Chinese cities have changed, especially in the past 30 years. According to Lu Chuan, director of the film, the scenery is like something from The Lord of the Rings. On the second floor, "Journey of Wisdom” will explain China’s four great inventions. And the ground’s “Blossoming City” will display scenes from cities of the future.Which of the following words can be used to describe the China Pavilion?
| A．Tiny. | B．Round. |
| C．Foreign. | D．Environment-friendly. |
The China Pavilion can receive visitors at most per day.
| A．40,000 | B．400,000 | C．100,000 | D．20,000 |
We can infer that .
| A．the China Pavilion will be pulled down after the World Expo 2010 is over |
| B．the China Pavilion will probably continue to be open to visitors after the Expo is over |
| C．you can continue to visit the Japanese Pavilion after the Expo is over |
| D．some foreign friends took part in the designs of the China Pavilion |
On the second floor of the China Pavilion, you can .
| A．enjoy a film about the changes of cities in China |
| B．learn what Shanghai looked like in the 1920s |
| C．find out how paper was invented |
| D．see how Chinese cities will look like in the future |
A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火红的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. "It's getting late," she thought, "I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am."
She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn't understand what was going on.
She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: "Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking." Ellen was her mother but－where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents' room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different－she wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas.
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared."Three days later Jennifer came back home .
| A．at sunrise | B．at sunset | C．at night | D．at midday |
What does the underlined phrase "This thought" most probably mean?
| A．The idea of going back home. |
| B．Her anxiety about her parents. |
| C．The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater. |
| D．The feeling of getting back home safely. |
Her father didn't take care of the garden because .
| A．he was busy looking for her |
| B．he had to look after his wife |
| C．he was not strict with his job |
| D．he no longer enjoyed working in the garden |
What can we infer from this passage?
| A．In fact Jennifer's mother had been sick for days. |
| B．As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared. |
| C．When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong. |
| D．Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her. |
When former American President Bill Clinton travelled to South Korea to visit President Kim Young Sam, he repeatedly referred to the Korean president's wife as Mrs. Kim. By mistake, President Clinton’ s advisers thought that Koreans have the same naming customs as the Japanese. Clinton had not been told that, in Korea, wives keep their family names. President Kim Young Sam's wife was named Sohn Myong Suk. Therefore, she should be addressed (称谓) as Mrs. Sohn.
President Clinton arrived in Korea directly after leaving Japan and had not changed his culture gears. His failure to follow Korean customs gave the impression that Korea was not as important to him as Japan.
In addition to Koreans, some Asian husbands and wives do not share the same family names. This practice often puzzles English-speaking teachers when talking with a pupil’s parents. They become puzzled about the student's correct last name. Placing the family name first is common among a number of Asian cultures.
Mexican naming customs are different as well. When a woman marries, she keeps her family name and adds her husband's name after the word de (of). This affects how they fill in forms in the United States. When requested to fill in a middle name, they generally write the father's family name. But Mexicans are addressed by the family name of the mother. This often causes puzzlement.
Here are a few ways to deal with such difficult situations: don’t always think that a married woman uses her husband's last name. Remember that in many Asian cultures, the order of first and last names is reversed. Ask which name a person would prefer to use. If the name is difficult to pronounce, admit it, and ask the person to help you say it correctly.
67. The story of Bill Clinton is used to__________.
A. improve US-Korean relations B. introduce the topic of the text
C. describe his visit to Korea D. tell us how to address a person
68. The word "gears" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to_______.
A. action plans B. naming customs
C. travel maps D. thinking patterns
69. When a woman marries in Korea, she ___________.
A. continues to use her family name B. uses her husband's given name
C. shares her husband's family name D. adds her husband's given name to hers
70. To address a married woman properly, you'd better______.
A. use her middle name B. use her husband's first name
C. ask her which name she likes D. change the order of her names
Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun -see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.
With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.
E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.
We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.
64. The purpose of this passage is to ________.
A. explain how to use the Internet
B. describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology
C. tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the Internet
D. introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet
65. According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former（前者） helps one _________.
A. reach a group of people at a time conveniently
B. keep one’s communication as personal as possible
C. pass on much more information than the later
D. get in touch with one’s friends faster than the later
66. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. Computer: New Technological Advances
B. Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship
C. Computers Have Made Life Easier
D. Internet: a Convenient Tool for Communication
My grandfather came from Hungary and was the only one in his family who settled down in the United States. The rest of his family remained in Europe. When World War I broke out, he seemed to have become another man, downhearted. Such obvious change was not born out of concern for his welfare(福利), but out of fear: if his only son, my uncle, had to go to war, it would be cousin fighting against cousin.
One day in 1918, my Uncle Milton received his draft notice. My grandparents were very upset. But my mother, at the age of 10, felt on top of the world about her soldier brother going off to war. Realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and all of her friends, my uncle bought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted.
The moment came when my uncle and the other soldiers, without any training but all in uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. Although no one noticed. I’m sure my grandmother had a tear in her eye for the only son. The train slowly pulled out, but not about a thousand yards when it suddenly paused. Everyone stared in wonder as the train slowly returned to the station. There was a dead silence before the doors opened and the men started to step out. Someone shouted, “The war is over!” For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark（喊） orders at the soldiers. The men lined up in two lines, walked down the steps, and with the band playing, marched down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home. My mother said it was a great day, but she was just a little disappointed that it didn’t last a tiny bit longer.
60. What the grandfather was most worried about was ______.
A. the spread of the world war B. the safety of his two cousins
C. a drop in his living standards D. his relatives killing each other
61. The underlined phrase “draft notice” means “______”.
A. order for army service B. train ticket for Europe
C. letter of rejection D. note of warning
62. What did the “service pins” （in Para. 2） stand for in the eyes of the little girls?
A. Strength. B. Courage. C. Victory. D. Honor.
63. Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?
A. The grandfather felt downhearted because he was afraid of receiving a draft notice.
B. The train was traveling fast to the front when the news came that the war was over.
C. Few soldiers on the train had training in advance（预先）.
D. Most people including the mother were disappointed that the war didn’t last a bit longer.
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