The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.The best title for the article is _______.
| A．When the Computer Is Down |
| B．The Most Frightening Words |
| C．The Computer of the Airport |
| D．Asking the Computer |
What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
| A．She could sell a ticket. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could answer the passengers’ questions. |
| D．She could do nothing. |
Why do you think they had not a backup computer?
| A．Because it was easy down |
| B．Because it was very expensive. |
| C．Because it was not advanced enough. |
| D．Because it was not as big as the main computer. |
The last paragraph suggests that _______.
| A．a modern computer won’t be down. |
| B．computers can take the place of humans |
| C．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
| D．there will be great changes in computers |
Beijing — Premier Wen Jiabao has urged the leadership of all countries to deepen their political will in dealing with climate change woes (灾难) as uncertainties mount (增长) in the months before the United Nation’s conference in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of this year.
Wen made the remarks on Friday when he met with nearly 20 politicians, climate change and environmental ministers worldwide, who are in Beijing this weekend to attend an international forum on green economy and climate change.
Based on the achievements made at the Copenhagen Summit last December, Wen urged the rich countries to further make clear their compulsory carbon reduction targets. “At the same time, we developing countries should make clear our voluntary goal of slowing down climate change,” Wen said.
Wen also urged the developed countries to transfer（转让）climate change friendly technologies to the developing countries, especially the poorest countries and island nations.
During the meeting, Wen said China will redouble its efforts in reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency during the coming years after it finishes its 2006-2010 goal of cutting energy consumption per unit of economic output by 20 percent.
While praising China for its green efforts, former Australian Prime Minister Robert J. Lee Hawke asked China to share its experiences and lessons on energy savings and pollution reduction to the rest of the world to deal with global environmental woes and climate change.
Wen responded: “China, together with the rest of the world, is willing to make its due contribution in coping with global warming and climate change.”
At a banquet for the foreign guests on Friday night, former vice-premier Zeng Peiyan said “Increasing uncertainties are ahead for the climate change negotiations. The world needs more dialogue and cooperation”.
“Climate change woes are our shared challenges but the root lies in the historical emissions by the developed countries,” said Zeng, as president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, which organized the weekend climate change summit.
Zeng expected the forum to work as a platform for different countries to communicate their positions freely before the Bonn climate change negotiation in June and the Cancun conference at the end of this year.Which title suits this passage best?
| A．We must work on climate change. |
| B．We should share our ‘green’ technology. |
| C．We need to clarify our action targets. |
| D．We ought to cooperate to control the climate. |
The underlined part in the last paragraph but one implies ________.
| A．Air pollution just existed in the developed countries in the past. |
| B．In the past, the developed countries slowed down the development of the world. |
| C．Climate change woes were originally caused by the developed countries. |
| D．The rich countries should be more responsible since they polluted most. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
| A．The Chinese government intends to be regarded as a developed country. |
| B．The whole world has got the same opinion about the measures to take. |
| C．The developed countries have not found any effective ways to cut their emissions. |
| D．There is still a long way to go before an agreement can be reached. |
Why did Wen Jiabao urge the developed countries to clarify their carbon reduction targets?
| A．Because the developed countries are not willing to deal with global environmental woes. |
| B．Because the developing countries have not set any goal of slowing down climate change. |
| C．Because there are mounting uncertainties ahead for the climate change negotiations. |
| D．Because agreements were already made at the Copenhagen Summit last December. |
In a surprising discovery about where higher life can survive, scientists have found a shrimp —— like creature and a jellyfish swimming beneath an Antarctic ice sheet.
About 180 meters below the ice where no light can get through, scientists had thought nothing much more than a few microbes (微生物) could exist.
That’s why a NASA team was surprised when they lowered a video camera to get the first long look at the underbelly of an ice sheet in Antarctica. A curious shrimp – like creature came swimming by and then parked itself on the camera’s cable. Scientists also pulled up a tentacle (触须) they believe came from a jellyfish.
“We were operating on the presumption that nothing’s there.” Said NASA ice scientist Robert Bindschadler. “It was a shrimp you’d enjoy having on your plate.”
“We were just gaga (狂热的) over it,” he said of the 7.5cm long, orange creature starring in their two – minute video. Technically, it’s not a shrimp. It’s a Lyssianasid amphipod, which is distantly related to the shrimp.
The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists thinking that if shrimp – like creatures can live below 180 meters of Antarctic ice in freezing dark water, what about other cold places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?
Cynan Ellis – Evans, a scientist of the British Antarctic Survey called the finding fascinating. He said it was possible the creatures swam in from far away and don’t live there permanently.
But Kim, who is a co-author of the study, doubts it. “The site in West Antarctica is at least 19 km from open seas. Bindschadler drilled a 20 cm – wide hole and was looking at a tiny amount of water. That means it’s unlikely that two creatures swam from great distances and were captured randomly in that small of an area,” she said.
Yet scientist were puzzled at what the food source would be for these creatures. While some microbes can make their own food out of chemicals in the ocean, complex life like the shrimp can’t, Kim said.
“So how do they survive? That’s the key question.” Kim Sai.
“It’s pretty amazing when you find a huge puzzle like that on a planet where we thought we know everything.” Kim said. What does the underlined word “harsh” probably mean?
| A．cold | B．loud | C．cruel | D．ugly |
According to Kim, the shrimp – like creature .
| A．swam great distances to Antarctic | B．has always lived in the region |
| C．gradually evolved from shrimps | D．has nothing in common with shrimps |
The finding is significant in that .
| A．it marks NASA’S first Antarctic biological study |
| B．it proves there is marine life in the Antarctic |
| C．it could inspire further study of life in harsh environments |
| D．it shows that Lyssianasid amphipod is closely related to shrimps |
Which of the following statements about the discovery is FALSE?
| A．Complex life usually lives on other forms of life. |
| B．Scientists saw two creatures in the two – minute video. |
| C．It is possible for creatures to live 180 meters below the ice though there is no light. |
| D．Scientists captured the shrimp – like creature in a camera by drilling a hole through the ice. |
How many days will the two jazz masters perform in Hong Kong?
| A．2 days. | B．3 days. | C．4 days. | D．5 days. |
You can get a ticket except that ______.
| A．you go and buy one at the ticket office | B．you book online |
| C．you call and pay with your credit card | D．you wait to get one for free |
Why will the two jazz masters perform in Hong Kong?
| A．Because they meet in there after not seeing each other for 40 years. |
| B．It’s for Hong Kong Arts Festival. |
| C．Because they can’t live without music. |
| D．It just happens that they two are performing there. |
Today, as with so many days, I found myself stuck in a traffic jam, and I thought I’d share my little trick for keeping calm when it seems like you are creeping along(缓慢行进).
The key to understand is that traffic jams don’t take as long as they seem to. It’s just that when we are in a hurry, and think we should be moving, but time appears to pass more than it does. To really show this, the next time you are stopped at a light that always seems to take forever to change, try to do something with your phone, your laptop, whatever you have available, and watch how much briefer the light seems.
When you enter a jam on the highway, reset your trip plan and care the time. Then, when you clear the jam, and are normally on your way again, care the distance of the jam, and the time it took to get through it. For my experience today, it took me 6 minutes to go 2 miles. Now, it happens to be mathematically convenient that your average speed on the highway is about 60 mph, or a mile per minute. So to estimate what time the jam actually cost you, just take your traffic jam passing time, and subtract（减去） the distance covered, which we know is a good estimate of the time it would have taken with no traffic jam. In my case, all that added up to 6-2="4" minutes.
Do this for every jam you are subjected to every time and watch how much less stressful they become once you understand how little time you are really losing.We can infer from Paragraph 1 and 2 that ________.
A. there was no traffic jam in the past
B. modern people are under great pressure
time passes much faster during traffic jams
D. people in traffic jams are usually impatientWhat does the writer suggest when caught in traffic jams?
A. Playing a trick on other drivers.
B. Figuring out how much time the jam actually cost you. Doing some math problems.
D. Informing the boss about the delay.The underlined phrase “subjected to” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
A. experience B. avoid 
admit D. control What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Math is closely connected with life.
B. Stress is always a bad thing. Traffic jam is not as bad as you think.
D. There is no use complaining about traffic jams.
Anyone who works in an office knows the power of technology. When it works, life is wonderful. Information files across the world in seconds. It saves time and makes our jobs easier. But when technology goes wrong, everyone hates it.
In March, Peter Golota received a gas bill for $0.00. He threw it away. In April, he received another bill for $0.00. He threw that one way, too. In May, the gas company sent him a letter which said he had to pay his gas bill. If he didn’t pay it, they were going to cut off his gas. He called and told them the bill was for $0.00. They said it was a computer error. But the bills continued. Finally, he sent a check for $0.00. This caused the bank’s computer to crash. After a lot of angry phone calls and the letters between the man, the gas company, and the bank, the case went to court. The gas company lost, and had to pay Peter Golota $8,000. It all happened because of a bill for $0.00.
A man from Colorado appeared on the news when he shot his computer because it crashed all the time. The man, who owned a bar, put the “dead” laptop on the wall for everyone to see. The police said, “It’s the first time someone shot a computer because he was angry with it.” They arrested him.
In December, Margaret Smart, of Energies Solutions, stood up in front of 2,000 people in Taxes. As she began to speak, her microphone stopped working. They found another one. After two minutes, that one also died. When she decided to show her notes on PowerPoint, the computer refused to start up. The title of her presentation was “Technology: The way Forward”.Why did the bank’s computer crash?
A. Because it kept sending gas bills for $0.00.
B. Because Peter Golota sent a check for $0.00.
Because the gas company sent a letter to the bank.
D. Because the gas bill case went to court.Who got angry with his computer and shot it?
A. A bar owner. B. A policeman. Peter Golota. D. A bank manager.Margaret Smart’s computer refuses to start up probably because ________.
A. there was a power failure B. it worked too long it went wrong D. someone shot her computer
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