People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. “Today we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality—the driverless car.” The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the US government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
“Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are making Hondas safer,” said Angie Nucci of Honda America. “A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes.” Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars. These systems help drivers, but don’t replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
“By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident,” Kendall said. He said consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. “It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first.”
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.
Which is the best title for the passage?
A. The Benefits of the Self-driving Cars
B. The Biggest Challenge of the Self-driving Cars
C. Safer or More Dangerous Self-driving Cars
D. Self-driving Cars—Science Fiction Future Is Near
A study of a university in Shanghai had found that many of the students there are using a quote（引语）from the Italian poet Dante as a kind of motto. The study of Fudan University, one of China’s top universities, of 489 students, found that 82 had chosen Dante’s “Follow your own path and don’t worry about what others say” as their motto, out of
278 people who said they had a motto. This was followed by “Believe yourself” and “Self-improvement without stop.”
Students also expressed a common hope for greater understanding and care and said they were always ready to give a hand to those in need. Some researchers think that mottoes can play an important part in children’s growth and they say that a good motto can help children develop a better character.The study shows ________.
| A．which university should have mottoes |
| B．who should have “Follow your own path and don’t worry about what others say” as their motto |
| C．how many students like the motto “Believe yourself.” |
| D．many students choose a quote from Dante as their favorite motto |
Of the students asked, ________ students have mottoes.
| A．about 78% | B．about 57% | C．about 16% | D．about 8% |
The motto “Self-improvement without stop” shares the similar meaning with ________.
| A．going on to improve rapidly |
| B．growing by oneself continuously |
| C．making oneself better and perfect continuously |
| D．becoming better without having a break |
The best title for the passage should be _______.
| A．Mottoes and Character Developing | B．Students and Poet |
| C．Mottoes and Learning | D．Understanding Care |
E
In 1789 the U.S. government passed a law which said that the land of the American Indians could never be taken from them without their agieement. One hundred years later, however, the Indians only had a very small part of the land that originally belonged to them. How did this great
Injustice(不公正） occur?
After 1812 white settlers began to move west across North America. At first, the settlers and the Indians lived in peace. However, the number of settlers increased greatly every year. and slowly the Indians began to see the white settlers as a danger to their survival. To feed themselves, the settlers killed more and more wild animals. the Indians, who depended on these animals for food, had to struggle against starvation. The settlers also brought with them many diseases which were common in white society. but which were new for the Indians. Great numbers of Indians became sick and died.Between 1843 and 1854 the Indian population in one area of the country went down from 100,000 to30,000.
More land was needed for the increasing number of white settlers. In Washington, the old respect for the rights of the Indians disappeared. The old promises to the Indians were broken; the government began to move groups of Indians fiom their original homelands to other poorer parts of
the country. Some Indians reacted angrily and violently to this treatment. They began to attack white settlers, and the Indian war began. For 30 years, until the late 1880s, different groups of Indians fought against the injustices of the white mari. They had a few famous successes, but the result of the siruggle was never in doubt. There were too many white soldiers, and they were too powerful. Many Indians were killed; the survivors were moved from their homelands to different areas of the country.It was a terrible chapter in the history of a country that promised freedom and equality to everyone.
57. What can we infer from the passage?
A. In the U.S. there were many laws that provided the rights of American Indians.
B. The law which was passed in 1789 by the U.S. government was not successfully carried out.
C. In the 19th century no injustices were done against the Indians by the U.S. government.
D. The majority of white settlers were openly opposed to the law passed in 1789.
58. According to the passage which of the following is TRUE?
A. The Indians believed that killing too many wild animals had disturbed the balance of nature.
B. The government began to have a better understanding of the Indians in the fifties of the nineteenth century.
C. Between 1843 and 1854 about 70,000 Indians were killed in the battle.
D. The whites carried serious diseases into where the Indians lived.
59.It is implied ln the passage that____
A. the Indians had many great successes in the Indians wars
B. the Indians had no doubt that they would win the wars
C. after the war the indians stayed where they were before
D. the Indians were too weak to win the struggle
60.What is the writer's opinion about the treatment that the Indians received from the U.S. government?
A. He believed that the government always respected the rights of the Indians.
B. He believed that the government can't be criticized for its treatment to the Indians.
C. He believed that the government treated the Indians unjustly
D. He believed that the government's unfair treatment against the Indians was not on purpose.
D
Many disease researchers have warned that rising global temperatures could lead to more diseases. for example by allowing tropical diseases to expand their ranges into what are now mild regions. This is a particular fear for the diseases carried by insects such as malariac(疟疾） and
sleeping sickness.
But the reality is more complex, argues Kevin Lafferty. a disease ecologist. He argues that a warming climate could favour some diseases in certain regions while controlling them in others.
Lafferty does not deny that climate change might allow malarial mosquitoes to spread to new areas. However he believes that hotter and drier conditions may also get rid of mosquitoes from areas where they currently exist. If this were the case, he says. there would be little. if any, net
increase (净增长） in the risk of disease.
In addition, many mild regions such as southern Europe or the southern U.S. have good sanitation（卫生设备） and insect control programmes which, Lafferty says, would prevent diseases from becoming common even if climatic conditions were suitable.
Finally, he argues, climate change could wipe many species off the plant. Infectious pathogens（病原体） depend on their hosts for survival so they too may become endangered-especially if they,like malaria, rely on more than one host.
But Mercedes Pascual of the University of Michigan points out that there are large human populations in the east African highlands, just outside of the existing range of malarial mosquitoes.She said as temperatures rise, the mosquitoes will reach these areas. So the disadvantages will
outweigh the advantages of decreased risk elsewhere.
Most of the ecologists do, however, seem to agree on one point: predicting where a disease is going to go next involves far more than just considering climate. No matter what the results of the debate are, they all agree that health concerns should continue to play a critical role in climate policy and the debate shouldn't be regarded as weakening the case for action against global warming.
53. According to Kevin Lafferty, climate change__________
A. will not increase the spread of insect-bome diseases
B. may not significantly increase the risk of disease in the whole world
C. will not affect the dry regions where sanitation is good
D. may not affect viruses that depend on more than one host
54. What does Mercedes Pascual think of Lafferty 's conclusion?
A. She disagrees with it. B. She supports it.
C. She is not sure ofit. D. She thinks it needs proving.
55. We may infer from the passage that ___________
A. climate is the only factor in the predictior of the spread of diseases
B. when making a climate policy one should take health into account
C. the debate mentioned in the passage furthers the debate on global warming
D. a policy should be made immediately to try to stop climate change
56. We can learn from the passage that ___________
A. all the disease researchers agree that climate change will spread disease
B. nothing can be done to stop the present global warming
C. scientists have found ways to stop the wild spread of disease
D. ecologists have different views on whether the global warming will spread diseases further
C
Throughout the world, clothing has many uses. It is used to provide protection from the elements. It is also worn to prevent others from seeing specific parts of one's body. However, the parts of the body that must be covered vary widely throughout the world. Some clothing is worn to
provide supernatural protection. Wearing a lucky shirt to take an exam is calling for supernatural assistance.
People in all cultures use clothing and other forms of bodily decoration to communicate status,intentions and other messages. In North America, we dress differently for business and various leisure activities. North American women usually are much more knowledgeable of and concerned
With little difference in messages communicated by clothes than men. At times, this leads to silly mistakes of interpretation（解释） of female intentions on the part of men. Of course. clothing styles also are intended to communicate messages to members of the same gender（性别）．
Long before we are near enouth to talk to someone, their appearance tells their gender, age,economic class. and often even intentions. We begin to recognize the important cultural clues at an early age. The vocabulary of dress that we learn includes not only items of clothing but also
hairstyles, jewelry, and other body decoration. In most cultures, however, the same style of dress communicates different messages depending on the age, gender. and physical appearance of the individual wearing it.
Putting on certain types of clothing can change your behavior and the behavior of others towards you. This can be the case with a doctor's white lab coat, or an army uniform. Most uniforms are clearly symbolic so that they can rapidly and unmistakably communicate status. For instance. the
strange hairstyle and clothing of the English "punks" are essential aspects of their uniforms.
There are many forms of body decoration other than clothes that are used around the world to send messages. These include body and hair paint, and even body deformation. When doctors put braces on teeth, they are actually doing the same thing - deforming or reforming a part of the body
to make it more attractive.
49. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Clothing and Culture B. Communication through Clothing
C. Clothing and Social Behavior D. Ways of Sending Messages
50. In North America men sometimes misunderstand women's intention because
A. men are more careless than women
B. women spend more time on their clothes
C. men and women have different views on clothing styles
D. men care less about the different messages communicated by clothes
51. From the passage. it can be inferred that__________
A. messages communicated by clothes are the same in different cultures
B. words of dress are not enough to communicate different messages
C. dress is better than language in communicating messages
D. clothing plays an important role in social activities
52. What does the underlined word "essential" mean in this passage?
A. beautiful B. necessary C. unimportant D. Common
B
How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'11 say," my destiny（命运）. I cannot change it."
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on any other extemal（外部的） factor.
I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is. She wakes up in the morning, goes to work comes back home. relaxes. chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same
routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"'? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts for her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her. and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn't realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone (unless it contributes to your success), and get your mind and body to work! Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something
goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine?Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand (or sit )there, do something to improve your life .
45. According to the woman mentioned in Para3, her life ________
A. doesn't need improving B. couldn’t be improved
C. will be better some day D. will be worse in the future
46. What does the author think of the woman's life?
A. Passive. B. Positive. C. Colorful. D. Boring.
47. Which of the following statements is the author's opinion?
A. Your temporary problem is not discouraging.
B. Your luck can be changed by your efforts.
C. You can only achieve success when God wills it .
D. You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends.
48. In Para.5, the author emphasized the importance of_______
A. hope for the best B. intention to succeed
C. positive thinking D. positive action
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