The pound new Library of Birmingham（LoB）will be the most visible sign of the way the city is accepting the digitalization（数字化）of everyday life.
Set to open in 2013, the £188m LoB is already beginning to tale shape next to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with which it will share some equipment.
As digital media（媒介）is important to its idea. the project is already providing chances for some of the many small new local companies working at the new technologies.
Brian Gambles, the LoB project director, says it is about giving people the right tools for learning,“The aim is to mix the physical with the digital. Providing 24-hour services which can be used through many different ways. It is important to enable us to reach more people, more effectively.”
The digital library will, he says, be as important as the physical one, allowing the distant use of the services, making sure that it is never closed to the public.
Even before the LoB is complete, the public has been able to go online to visit the Virtual（虚拟的）LoB, designed by Baden, the Birmingham virtual worlds specialists. Not only have the public been able to learn about LoB, but the virtual one has also enabled those working on the LoB to understand the building and how it will work before it even opens.
Two other small Birmingham-based digital companies are working on the LoB projects. Substrat, a digital design company, is developing what it calls “enlarge reality” project. It is about the use of an exciting smart phone, an important part of the LoB which is in the early stages of development is an online library of figures of the city being built by a digital content company in Cahoots, in which users will be encouraged to add to and comment on the material.
Gambles says: “Technology will enable us to make the library’s content and services open to citizens as sever before.”
The underline part “its idea” in Paragraph 3 refers to the idea of____
| A．the equipment | B． the project |
| C．the digital media | D． the physical library |
While visiting the Virtual LoB, the public can_____
| A．get a general idea of the LoB |
| B．meet many world-famous experts |
| C．learn how to put up a library building |
| D．understand how the specialists work on the project |
Which of the following is true of the LoB when it opens?
| a. It offers better learning tools b. It reaches users in different ways c. It provides users with smart phone d. It allows users to enrich its material e. It gives non-stop physical and digital services |
A. a, b, d B. a, c, e C. b, c, d D. b, d, e
This text is most probably taken from .
| A．a put book | B．a library guide |
| C．a handbook | D．a newspaper report |
What’s on Your Pet’s Mind? In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it．Her first experiments began with Alex．Alex was a one year old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language．“I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts．They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel．Of course, if you own a pet you probably disagree．But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves．
“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”
Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities．Sheep can recognize faces．Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt．And Alex the parrot became a very good talker.
Thirty years after the Alex studies began．Irene was still giving him English lessons up until his recent death．For example, if Alex was hungry he could say “want grape”．Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight．“He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row．Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g．wood and metal)．Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.
Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico．He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011．Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones．When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were．Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.
One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have ben close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化)．While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance.
Irene wanted to find out __________.
| A．what a parrot thinks |
| B．why a parrot can speak |
| C．how parrots make sounds |
| D．if parrots speak English |
Alex learnt new words by __________.
| A．singing them |
| B．reading them |
| C．writing them |
| D．rehearing them |
The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.
| A．understand some words |
| B．recognize strange voices |
| C．copy human gestures |
| D．tell different colors |
The article concludes that ___________.
| A．our pets understand what we say |
| B．dogs may speak to humans one day |
| C．humans are related to chimpanzees |
| D．mental ability can evolve in animals |
I've always felt a bit sad for weekend fathers, who are divorced and must maintain a bond with their children through visits on the weekend．Not having the opportunity for a lot of quality time, they go in for quantity giving lots of gifts and taking the children on non stop outings．
But now I can understand．I'm a weekend mom．My child, Henry, is a dog．
Henry just returned to his father, Jack, after a happy stay with me．For ten days, I fed him the best food, canceled plans to stay home with him and let him sleep on the bed every night．
Jack and I broke up a year ago．But neither of us wanted to part with Henry, so we share him．Not surprisingly, Henry is a willing participant in our contest for his love．
Jack doesn't let Henry sleep on his bed, so that's where I can always gain big points．I feed Henry higher quality food．I am always replacing his expensive “thingy" ,a cotton knot he likes chewing on．It' s his favorite toy, and the only one he has is at my house．Score another one for me．
Jack now has a girlfriend, Lucy．At first she was afraid of dogs, which secretly delighted me．But that Henry, just trying to be polite（the way I taught him to be）,won her over．
If truth be told, as time passes, there has been a slight change in Henry' s behavior toward me．The worst was one day when Jack dropped him off for a two week stay．Henry and I were in the backyard playing as Jack was driving off．When he heard Jack's truck, he ran after it for two blocks until Jack had to stop and bring him back．
That hurt, especially since I had friends over at the time．In a rare conciliatory （安抚的） mood, Jack said to me, "You know, I' m his best friend, but you'll always be his mom．"
Whatever it takes, I plan to make sure it stays that way．
At the writer's home, Henry________．
| A．does a lot of running |
| B．enjoys high quality food |
| C．has many expensive toys |
| D．is not allowed to sleep on her bed |
The writer feels hurt because________．
| A．Jack has got a girlfriend |
| B．Lucy doesn't like Henry at all |
| C．Jack doesn't treat Henry as well as before |
| D．Henry' s attitude to her has changed slightly |
This article is mainly about________．
| A．the tips on keeping dogs |
| B．the writer' s happy life with a dog |
| C．the writer' s efforts to win a dog's love |
| D．the relationship between the writer and Jack |
The writer wrote the passage in a/an_________way．
| A．humorous | B．serous | C．angry | D．painful |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Sunshine Sports Centre
One of the most modem sports centers in town, the Sunshine Sports Centre is not just a sports club but much more!
Facilities
With a swimming pool for adults and teens, and a smaller one for children, our centre has something for all the members of the family．Parents can relax while children play in the water．For anybody who is interested in competitive sports, our volleyball, tennis and basketball courts are the ideal place to work off stress．
Whether you just want to keep in shape, lose some weight or build your strength, there's the gym with its super modem equipment and three personal trainers to look after you and answer all your questions．They can also give you general advice about healthy eating and dieting．
Lessons
It doesn't matter if you' re five or eighty five, there's something for you at the Sunshine Sports Centre! We offer personal training in all sports if you want it, but there are also group lessons for all sports if you prefer teamwork．
Kids and teenagers
Take advantage of our special offer for younger members．For members between five and sixteen years old, there are special lessons in water polo, competitive swimming and diving．There are many classes for all levels of swimmers, with a lifeguard on duty from 9:00 am when the pool opens until it closes at 7:00 pm．
Social events
Sunshine Sports Centre is not only for sport! You can enjoy a delicious meal at our restaurant or have a milkshake with your friends on the balcony overlooking the swimming pool and the courts．In addition, there are lovely gardens where families or friends can have a picnic! To celebrate a birthday, there is no better place than the Sunshine Sports Centre．
So, come on Sign up for Sunshine Sports Centre today!
In Sunshine Sports Centre __________
| A．people can have birthday parties |
| B．lifeguards are on duty 24 hours a day |
| C．children are not allowed to swim alone |
| D．special lessons in diving are offered to adults |
People can ask personal trainers for advice when they _________
| A．learn to swim |
| B．sign up |
| C．build strength |
| D．play basketball |
The main purpose of the passage is to _________
| A．explain the rules of the sports centre |
| B．attract people to the sports centre |
| C．persuade people to play sports |
| D．show the benefits of sports |
School Counseling（咨询）
In our grandparents' time, it was unthinkable．In our parents' time, it was unusual and nobody spoke openly about counseling．These days, more and more schools are asking for this service and it is considered a necessity for most．Why is it? What has changed in the last fifty years to have made counseling at schools so important?
“One reason is that we expect schools to do more to protect their pupils than we did in the past," says school counselor, Mike Hudson．“ Also, our society doesn't work as well as it should．Many parents are either under pressure of work or face the economic problems of unemployment, while children are under more and more pressure to do well at school．Many pupils feel they are pushed to their limits by their parents and teachers．"
Most school children face some kind of relationship problem at some stage with family members, teachers or other pupils, so．it helps to have somebody to talk to．
From the pupil' s point of view, it is easier to talk to a counselor in confidence rather than a family member or teacher．This solution is less embarrassing to pupils, who are not forced to face the person that they had problems with in the first place．They can calmly talk things through without arguments．
School counselors advise not only students but also their teachers and parents, and offer other services as well, such as deciding learning disabilities or assisting parents and guardians to make the correct decisions about their children' s education．
Counselors can help students with problems ranging from the most serious, like a death in the family, to what an adult would consider really trivial, like an argument with a friend．
In a society that is becoming more and more stressful, this service is providing children with a supportive way to express their fear and worries．Why is school counseling becoming important?
| A．Pupils are not well protected in school． |
| B．Parents can't help their children in learning． |
| C．Parents and pupils are under too much pressure． |
| D．The relationship between parents and schools is worse． |
According to the passage, school counselors________．
| A．bear high pressure themselves |
| B．are the guarantee of school success |
| C．have more responsibilities than teachers |
| D．are more likely to be accepted when pupils have problems |
The underlined word "trivial" in Para．5 probably means________．
| A．unimportant | B．puzzling | C．difficult | D．urgent |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The development of school counseling． |
| B．The reasons for school counseling’s popularity． |
| C．The advantages and disadvantages of school counseling． |
| D．The comparison of the past and present school counseling． |
This is a story told or read to children of young ages．The heroine（女主人公）, Cinderella, treated cruelly by her stepmother and her two ugly stepsisters, is helpless until the right magic comes along．She meets her prince and they live together happily．
Just a sweet, pretty tale? Not in the view of Ellen Macintosh, who has written much about fairy tales．Ellen' s main concern is with what the story implies．
"Instead of standing up to her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella just waits for a fairy godmother to appear and solve her problem．But wouldn't you want a daughter of yours to show more spirit?"
The story is long lasting, whatever its shortcomings, and it does' t take much to see its influence on a number of recent Hollywood productions．In these versions for the silver screen, the Cinderella character no longer has to clean the house and has no sisters to make her life terrible, though she keeps the way of not showing much courage．The character of the rich and handsome stranger, however, is kept, and in some cases really is a prince．The role of the fairy godmother is often played by luck; we live in a civilized age when even very young children might reject the idea of fairies．In the majority of film versions, the heroine has a profession and is even permitted to continue working after marrying her prince this is the twenty first century, after all．
Doesn't the success of these films indicate that the story has relevance to children even today?” Yes,, admits Ellen, who sees its message as being rooted in a fundamental childhood desire for love and attention．" Most children experience a sense of inner loneliness as they are growing up and empathize with （与…共鸣）the character who faces some sort of challenge．This can be seen in the original story of Cinderella, where the fairy godmother tells the heroine that she must learn to be gracious and confident if she is to go to the ball．She has to grow spiritually, and by maturing, she becomes attractive to the prince, thus ensuring that the ending of the story will be happy．" "In the later versions, thus element（因素）is missing," says Ellen, " and the theme of the story is simply that a girl' s role in life is to be more beautiful than other girls so that she can carry off the prize: the handsome prince．Is this really what we want girls to grow up believing?"
Why does Ellen disapprove of the Cinderella story?
| A．The plot is too simple． |
| B．The description is not vivid． |
| C．The heroine is not brave enough． |
| D．The story is unfit for the children today． |
In the film versions of the Cinderella story,_________．
| A．luck plays an important role in the heroine' s happy life |
| B．Cinderella’s family background remains unchanged |
| C．the heroine becomes a successful career woman |
| D．the character of the prerace is removed． |
According to Even, the film versions of the story _________
| A．succeed because of the happy ending |
| B．ignore the children's psychological need' |
| C．deliver a mistaken message that beauty is everything |
| D．reflect modem people' s attitude towards challenges in life |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To analyze the characters of the Cinderella story． |
| B．To introduce different versions of the Cinderella story． |
| C．To explain the changes of the Cinderella story over time． |
| D．To present a different understanding of the Cinderella story． |
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