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.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 |
The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to ________.
| A．spend less time working | B．have more free time with his child |
| C．work at home on weekends | D．work at a speed comfortable to him |
According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former helps one ________.
| A．reach a group of people at one 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 |
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 |
John Steinbeck once said, “All American believe they are born fishermen. For a man to admit to a distaste in fishing would be like speaking publicly against mother-love or hating moonlight”.
I can’t say I’m the biggest John Steinbeck fan. Actually, the only thing I can ever remember reading by him was “The Pearl” when I was in middle school, but I couldn’t agree more with the man when it comes to fishing. When I am on a boat in the middle of the lay Lake, fishing off the shores of the Florida Keys for tarpon or catching rainbow trout in the Shoshone River of Wyoming. Fishing is my life.
According to the American Sports Fishing Association, the fishing industry brings in more than $ 116 billion per year from fishermen across the country.
Though a beautiful picture to imagine, fishing is much more than that. Fishing is a way of life from many people and a way to escape everyday stress. Being a fisherman makes me a member of a wonderful group of people extending to all walks of life. Even President Bush can be found fishing on his farm in Texas with his good friend Roland Martin when the jobs gets too stressful.
I can remember fishing with my grandfather when I was 5 years old on his boat at Lake Michel. Although I didn’t understand what I was doing, I did know that my grandfather was happy and that made me happy. Since then I’ve spent the past 16 years on the rivers and lakes of Alabama.
After days of practice, before and after work, I slowly developed an understanding of fishing. My boss, Ric Horst, took me back to the Shoshone, and I managed to bring in a 19-inch cutthroat trout. Fishing with Ric was a life-changing experience for me. He not only showed me how to fish correctly, but also told me how fishing could be a way to escape your problems.
Since then, prime-time season seems to take forever to arrive.
Now, with the ending of February and beginning of March is sight, the excitement of heading out to Lake Tus caloosa or Lake Lurleen before classes and catching something has finally returned.What John Steinbeck said in the first paragraph implies that ______
| A．American are believed to be the offspring of fishermen. |
| B．it is unthinkable for an American to admit his dislike of fishing. |
| C．all American are expert at fishing. |
| D．those who dislike fishing would not love their mother. |
The writer came to understand the real meaning of fishing ______.
| A．when he was reading “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck |
| B．when he went fishing with his grandfather at Lake Mitchell |
| C．after he had spent 16 years on the rivers and lakes of Alabama |
| D．after he went fishing with his boss, Ric Horst on the Shoshone |
According to the author, ______.
| A．people can get to know VIPs when fishing |
| B．people can smooth away all the troubles by fishing |
| C．fishing is a way of communication |
| D．fishing is a way of life for most American people |
What is the purpose of the writing?
| A．To describe the writer’s experience and understanding of fishing. |
| B．To explain the reason why so many Americans like fishing. |
| C．To make others understand the industry of fishing. |
| D．To express his opinions about fishing in different time of the year. |
The government of Norway is planning to build an unusual storage center on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The place would be large enough to hold about two million seeds. The goal is to present all crops known to scientists. The British magazine New Scientist published details of the plan last month. The structure will be designed to protect the world’s food supply against nuclear war, climate change and other possible threats. It will be built in a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, the northernmost position on earth.
An international group called the Global Crop Diversity Trust is working on the project. The director of the group, Cary Fowler, spoke to New Scientist. He said the project would let the world rebuild agriculture if, in his word, “the worst came to the worst”. Norway is expected to start work next year. The project is expected to cost three million dollars. Workers will drill deep in the side of a sandstone mountain. Temperatures in the area never rise above 0ºC. The seeds will be protected behind concrete walls a meter thick and high-security door.
The magazine report says the collection will represent the products of ten thousand years of farming. Most of the seeds at first will come from collections at seed banks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To last a long time, seeds need to be kept in very low temperatures. Workers will not be present al the time. But they plan to replace the air inside the storage space each winter. Winter temperatures on the island are about eighteen degrees below 0ºC. The cold weather would protect the seeds even if the air could not be replaced.
Mr. Fowler says the proposed structure will be the world’s most secure gene bank. He says the plant seeds would only be used when all other seeds are gone for some reason. Norway first proposed the idea in the 1980s. But security concerns delayed the plan. At that time, the Soviet Union was meeting in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The project is meant to ______.
| A．increase the world’s food output in the future |
| B．carry out some scientific experiments on plant genes |
| C．protect crop seeds from dying out in case of possible disasters |
| D．build an exhibition centre of the world’s plant seeds |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the above passage?
| A．The government of Norway will perform the project alone. |
| B．Seeds to be collected there were produced ten thousands years ago. |
| C．Spitsbergen is chosen because it is free of the threat unclear war forever. |
| D．Temperature is a major consideration when choosing the storage place. |
We can infer from the text that _______.
| A．People will get newly-developed seeds from the center every year. |
| B．The storage center will greatly promote world agriculture |
| C．Norway had meant to build the storage centre about 20 years before. |
| D．There haven’t been any seed storage centres in the world before. |
What is probably the best title of the passage?
| A．The Best Place to Store Seeds | B．Noah’s Ark（诺亚方舟）of Plant Seeds in Plan |
| C．Concerns of World Food Supply | D．A New Way to Feed the World |
Beginning college is exciting: new ideas to explore, new challenges to be met and many decisions to be made; your future begins here.
However, you will find college life is different from your previous school environment. Many of us can be easily overwhelmed by the details of running a well-balanced life. While some of us may have the know-how, I guess there are more of us who can benefit from learning about the experiences of others who have walked the college halls before you.
The following you may find of use about life on campus:
·Plan well. There are so many new things to do at a new college or university. Give yourself time to make new friends and became familiar with the campus, but don’t forget why you are there. Give some time for social activities and manage your time wisely.
·If you don’t have a “system” for planning your time now (like a day timer a computer data book). get one. Most of all, don’t depend on your memory.
·Don’t miss the guidelines. The restrictions, rules and regulations of all kinds can usually be found in your student’s handbook. Consider them well-balanced food for thought. What dates are important? What pieces of paper need to be handed in? What can / can’t you do in your student residence（住处）? Who has the right for what? What do you need to complete to graduate?
·Write the word “STUDY” on the walls of our bedroom and bathroom, and maybe it will help to to write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the telephone, TV and the kitchen table. Consider this — you are paying thousands of dollars for your course. You pay every time you have to repeat or replace a course.
·Build your identity. This is the time for you to decide what to do and what not to do. Take as much time as you need to explore new ideas. Do not be afraid of the beyond. This is learning to make good choices.What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To offer advice on college life. |
| B．To explain why college life is exciting. |
| C．To describe the importance of college life. |
| D．To persuade you to go to college. |
According to the passage, why is it exciting to begin college life?
| A．Because you will have more freedom at college. |
| B．Because you will no longer be afraid of the beyond |
| C．Because you prepare for your future career and life there. |
| D．Because professors there will provide you with many new ideas. |
The underlined word “know-how” refers to _____
| A．An understanding of how things are going at college |
| B．Practical knowledge about how to behave and what to do at college |
| C．College halls where rules and regulations are presented |
| D．An environment completely different from the one you’re used to |
According to the passage, college students _______.
| A．needn’t learn from those who went to college before them |
| B．spend as much time as possible on social activities |
| C．should know what they have fight for on campus |
| D．are supposed to repeat or replace at least one course |
A famous American John Muir said in 1898: “The Grand Canyon… as unearthly (神秘的) in the color and grandeur (壮观) of its architecture as if you had found it after death on some other star.” Like Muir, those of us who stand along the rim are prompted to wonder about the unearthliness and the forces that created and are still changing this place.
After more than 100 years of studies, many things are still mysterious. Today visitors come by the thousands -- the great and simple of the earth -- all in a spirit of wonder. Travelers come from every state of the Union, from every country in Europe and Asia.
From the depths of the canyon comes welling silence. Seldom can you hear the roar of the river, for all sounds are swallowed in this gulf of space. “It makes one want to murmur.” A woman once whispered to her companion. This silence is not the silence of death; rather, it is a presence. It is like a great piece of music. But music made of man works up to a climax (高潮) and stops.
Now, visitors to the South Rim alone may number 18,000 in a single day. Some of that number will travel by mule train down Bright Angel Trail to the canyon's floor, cross the raging river by a suspension bridge (吊桥) and walk to the North Rim. Though the two rims face each other across only 12 miles, it is a journey of 214 miles by car from one to the other. Nor can you visit the North Rim except in summer; some 1,200 feet higher than the South Rim, it is snow covered much of the year except in July and August.
But there is no day that you may not visit the South Rim and find the sun warm on your face and the air perfumed with the incense (香气) of smoke from an Indian hearth (香炉). No wonder an American writer and journalist said, “I came here an atheist (无神论者), and departed a devout （虔诚的）believer.”What is it that attracts so many travelers to the Canyon?
| A．The unearthliness and the grandeur of its architecture. |
| B．The presence of American super stars. |
| C．The saying made by American writers and journalists. |
| D．The roaring of the river in the Canyon. |
What does the underlined word “simple” refer to?
| A．peaceful stream | B．land surface | C．common people | D．tamed animals |
If you want to visit the North Rim from the South Rim, which of the following won’t be the way of traveling for you?
| A．By train. | B．By animal. | C．By car. | D．On foot. |
The last sentence “I came here an atheist, and departed a devout believer.” implies that ______.
| A．natural wonders such as the Canyon have some effect on human activities |
| B．all visitors to the Grand Canyon are God believers |
| C．atheist can’t see the magnificence of the Grand Canyon |
| D．the Grand Canyon is an unearthly sight that only God could create |
Imagine being the only person in the Forbidden City. You could stay there all day without swarms of people crowding around. You'd be able to look at the ancient treasures without worrying about other visitors pushing you for a better view. Well, in two years time you'll be able to have such an experience, just like the former emperors used to. The only difference is that your Forbidden City fun will be online.
Thanks to new technology, a virtual tour of the Forbidden City will be available online by 2008. The project － jointly driven by the Palace Museum and computer company IBM － aims to help teenagers around the world become more interested in Chinese culture. The project will offer an interactive, three-dimensional view of the palace. The virtual tour will provide images from all over the 780,000-square-metre palace.
"The Palace Museum is a big book; there are always places you haven't read about," said Hu Chui from the museum. There are many rooms closed for protection. But the virtual platform breaks the boundaries of time and space, meaning visitors can see whatever they want. "The interaction and games content in the virtual tour will attract more young people to understand and love our cultural heritage," added Hu.
In the virtual tour, historical figures will actually talk to visitors and answer their questions. The stories behind the buildings and treasures will also be told. "The online environment, presented in both Chinese and English, enables visitors to experience the culture and stories of the museum," said James Yeh, an IBM official. If you visit the Forbidden City now, which of the following won’t be the case you’ll have?
| A．It is crowed with a lot of visitors. | B．Visitors are pushing you for a better view. |
| C．You are the only person in it. | D．You can see some ancient treasures in it. |
Which of the following is not the advantage of the virtual tour of the Forbidden City?
| A．Visitors can see whatever they want. |
| B．Visitor can ask and talk to historical figures. |
| C．Visitors can get to know the cultural heritage by playing games. |
| D．Visitors can walk around the Forbidden City with your family. |
The “project” underlined in paragraph 2 refers to ______.
| A．a virtual tour of the Forbidden City |
| B．a new “Forbidden City” to be built by the Palace Museum and IBM computer company |
| C．an Internet cafe to be built in the Palace Museum |
| D．a big book to be published to introduce Chinese culture |
What attracts teenagers most to the virtual tour is _____.
| A．the visible pictures in the place |
| B．the interaction and game playing |
| C．the online environment presented in English |
| D．the platform without the boundaries of time and space |
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