Count Me Out
Call me old-fashioned. Call me old. Call me what you want, but I refuse to become part of this new Internet world.
I do not possess a computer at home or at the office. Actually, I stopped going to an office 35 years ago, when all communications were done with a pen, a typewriter, or, if the matter was of world-shaking importance, over the telephone. Likewise, if you like something advertised in a newspaper or magazine, you visited the shop selling it at the given address, or you phoned the number shown. Then you spoke to the fellow and asked for further details.
Tell me what you think of the following ad that appeared the other day in the newspaper. It was for a cure for cancer and this is what it said: “Awareness is the key. Visit spfulford. com at the awareness site.” There was no address or telephone number for the site. So what do unfortunate people without a computer do if they are seeking a cure for their illness?
There are, I am told, certain advantages in having access to the Internet. You can, for example, send love messages across the world or even get married to someone that you meet online. This bit doesn’t interest me; I have been happily married for 60 years. There are, of course, other activities for Internet users besides finding love. They can pay bills, order groceries, or discuss with their doctors.
And this is by no means all. More amazing things are yet to come in the near future. I read a newspaper report recently that quoted Stephen Hawking, an important British scientist. “The complexity of a computer as it exists today is probably less than the brain of an earthworm,” he said. “But, as technology advances, computers will become more complex, and a time may come when the Internet may develop ‘consciousness.’ In other words, the Internet will be able to think, have feelings, and may well be able to act on its own.”
If Professor Hawking is right, I may change my attitude to computers. As I grow older each day, I would like one of those that not only thinks for me but also accepts responsibilities for all my mistakes.
What’s the meaning of the title “Count Me Out”?
| A．Get me out of the Internet world. |
| B．Computers are trying to take control of life. |
| C．Modern technology pushes old people away. |
| D．Do not expect me to be a supporter of the Internet. |
According to Paragraph 2, the author thinks computers are .
| A．unnecessary | B．convenient | C．expensive | D．advanced |
What might the author like about the future computer?
| A．Taking blames. | B．Curing illnesses. |
| C．Delivering messages. | D．Responding to emotions. |
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their ears, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries (食品杂货) saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that，several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, and then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity (人性) as a whole. And it has influenced (影响) us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．The man’s job was bike racing. | B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. | D．They used it for work and daily life |
We can infer from the text that ________
| A．The couple worked 60 hours a week | B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike | D．life was hard for the young family |
How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
| A．From radio broadcasts. | B．From a newspaper. |
| C．From TV news. | D．From a stranger. |
What do the couple learn from their experience?
| A．Strangers are usually of little help. | B．One should take care of their bike. |
| C．News reports make people famous. | D．An act of kindness can mean a lot. |
A man was selling medicine at a fair（集市）．At first he sold bottles of a cure（药剂）for colds（感冒）for just a dollar a bottle．
Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure．
Then，when he had a big crowd， the man held up a very small bottle．
“And now，ladies and gentlemen，he shouted，“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for．The cure for old age．Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever．
“And，ladies and gentlemen，the man continued，“I'm not going to charge（向……要价……）you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine．I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle．I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle．Now，ladies and gentlemen，I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle． Think，my friends，for ten dollars you can live forever．
Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this．
One person shouted，“If it can make you live forever，why don't you drink it？
Then an other person cried，“Yes， you look as if you're at least sixty years old．
“Thank you，sir，thank you，the man answered，“I'm so glad you said that． My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine．
The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man ．One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by ，“Is that true？he asked．“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine？
“Don't ask me，the assistant said，“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years． What did the man sell at first at the fair？
| A．a cure for colds |
| B．bottles |
| C．a cure for old age |
| D．a medicine that made people live forever |
How much did the man charge for the cure for old age？
| A．one dollar a bottle | B．twenty-five dollars a bottle |
| C．ten dollars a bottle | D．fifty dollars a bottle |
What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage？
| A．仆人 | B．朋友 | C．同伴 | D．助手 |
What does this passage really mean？
| A．The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive． |
| B．The man is not honest，and so is his assistant． |
| C．The cheaper the medicine is，the more people will buy． |
| D．The two men are very honest，and they would like to help people live forever． |
阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
第一节：请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Skin-diving is a new sport today．
This sport takes you into a wonderful new world． It is like a visit to the moon！When you are under water，it is easy for you to climb big rocks， because you are no longer heavy．
Here，under water，everything is blue and green．During the day，there is enough light． When fish swim nearby，you can catch them with your hands．
When you have tanks（罐子）of air on your back，you can stay in deep water for a long time．But you must be careful．
To catch the fish is one of the most interesting parts of this sport．On the other hand， you can clean the ships without taking them out of the water．You can get many things from the deep sea．
Now you can see that skin-diving is both useful and interesting．Skin-diving can take you to _______ ．
| A．the moon | B．mountains | C．the sun | D．the deep sea |
A skin-diver _______ under water in the day．
| A．can see everything clearly | B．can't see anything clearly |
| C．can see nothing | D．can see only fishes |
With a tank of air on your back，you can _______ ．
| A．catch fish very easily | B．stay under water for a long time |
| C．be in safe place | D．have more fun |
Which of these sentences is NOT TRUE ？
| A．Skin-diving is a new sport． |
| B．Skin-diving is like visiting the moon． |
| C．The only use of skin-diving is to have more fun． |
| D．Skin-diving is both interesting and useful． |
There is a boy called Bill in my gym class who has unbearably yellow teeth that almost make everyone feel unpleasant．Recently another boy told Bill that he should "go Ajax" his teeth．Bill was crushed．If the other boy had been thinking, he would have realized that there is a better way to handle such a situation．He could have dealt with it with tact．He could have showed this hurtful truth in a more careful, sensitive way—that's "tact"．
If a person isn't sensitive to another's feelings, there is no way he or she can be tactful．Yesterday, my 5-year-old brother proudly announced that he had cleaned the screen on our television set．Unfortunately, he used furniture polish, which produced an oily film on the television screen．My mother smiled arid thanked him for his efforts—and then showed how to clean the screen properly．Her sensitivity enables my brother to keep his self-respect．Yet, sensitivity alone does not make tact．
"Tactfulness" also requires "truthfulness"．Doctors, for example must be truthful．If a patient has just been disabled in an accident, a tactful doctor will tell the truth—but express it with sensitivity．The doctor may try to give the patient hope by telling them curing techniques under study or about advanced equipment now available．Doctors must use tact with patients' relatives as well．Instead of bluntly saying, "Your husband is disabled," a doctor might say, "I'm sorry, but your husband has lost feeling in his legs and．．．"
Tact should not be confused with trickery．Trickery occurs when a nurse is about to give a patient an injection（注射） and says, "This won't hurt a bit．" Instead of trickery, the nurse might guarantee the patient that the discomfort of the injection is a small thing compared to the benefits of it．It would also be thoughtful for the nurse to tell the patients about some of these benefits．
Tact is a wonderful skill to have, and tactful people are usually admired and respected．Without tact our society would become an intolerable place to live in．The underlined word "crushed" in the first paragraph probably means____．
| A．surprised | B．cheated | C．regretful | D．painful |
According to the author, his mother's praise for the brother is ____．
| A．sensitive and tactful | B．sensitive but not tactful enough |
| C．truthful but not tactful enough | D．sensitive but trickish |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
（The numbers stand for the paragraphs）
In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of "mastery"—feeling important and worthwhile—and the sources of what we call a sense of "pleasure"—finding life enjoyable—are not always the same．Women often are told "You can't have it all．" Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is: "You choose a career, so you can't expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life．" or "You have a wonderful husband and children—what's all this about wanting a career?" But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves．
Our study shows that, for women, well-being（康乐） has two aspects．One is mastery, which includes self-respect, a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression．Mastery is closely related to the "doing" side of life, to work and activity．Pleasure is the other aspect, and it is made up of happiness, satisfaction and optimism．It is tied more closely to the "feeling" side of life．The two are independent of each other．A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa （反之亦然） ．For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time．
The concepts of mastery and pleasure can help us identify the sources of well-being for women, and correct past mistakes．In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being．But we know that both mastery and pleasure are important．And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work．In our study, all the groups of employed women are valued significantly higher in mastery than women who are not employed．
A woman's well-being is developed when she takes on multiple （多项的） roles．At least ?by middle adulthood, the women who are involved in a combination of roles —marriages, motherhood, and employment —are the highest in well-being, in spite of warnings about stress and strain．It can be inferred from the first paragraph that __ __．
| A．for women, a sense of "mastery" is more important than a sense of "pleasure" |
| B．for women, a sense of "pleasure" is more important than a sense of "mastery" |
| C．women can't have a sense of "mastery" and a sense of "pleasure" at the same time |
| D．a sense of "mastery" and a sense of "pleasure" are both necessary to women |
The author's attitude towards women having a career is_ __．
| A．negative | B．positive | C．neutral （中立） | D．realistic |
One can conclude from the passage that if a woman takes on several social roles, _ __．
| A．her life will be richer and more meaningful |
| B．she will be more successful in her career |
| C．her chances of getting promoted will be greater |
| D．it will be easier for her to overcome stress and strain |
The most appropriate title for the passage would be _ __．
| A．The Well-Being of Career Women |
| B．Sources of Mastery and Pleasure |
| C．Two Aspects of Women's Well-Being |
| D．Multiple Roles of Women in Society |
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