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 U. S. 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.According to the passage, California Governor Jerry Brown ______________.
| A．is for the idea of having driverless cars |
| B．sponsored the DARPA competition to improve the driverless system |
| C．has already bought a new autonomous car |
| D．thinks that driving safety is the most important issue in his state |
What is the role of the systems mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．They can help cars run much faster. |
| B．They can take the place of drivers now. |
| C．They can make cars run without fuel. |
| D．They can help people drive more safely. |
In Kendall’s opinion, who probably don’t rely on the driverless cars at first?
| A．managers in the high-tech company Google |
| B．officers from the U. S. government agency DARPA |
| C．car consumers |
| D．vehicle designers |
According to Richard Mason, what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?
| A．They need to have more comfortable seats . |
| B．They are now too expensive for consumers. |
| C．They are travelling at a low speed. |
| D．They are not favored by car racers |
Jones worked so hard that made the sparks fly from his hammer．The son of Mr．Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith and he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked．"Why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks?" said the blacksmith．"Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you." The lazy boy began to see what he could do．But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr．Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods．He had to leave home and was forced to take up residence in another country．It so happened that in this village there were numerous shoemakers who were spending a lot of money to buy tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Young Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers．He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in his workshop．The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer．"How funny it seems," he used to say, "even making tacks can bring a fortune．My trade is more useful to me than were all my former riches."From Paragraph 1 we can refer that _______
| A．Jones was a blacksmith from another country |
| B．Old Smith wanted his son to learn skill from Jones |
| C．Young Smith was too lazy to learn to make shoe tacks |
| D．Young Smith was good at making shoe tacks by accident |
The reason why young Smith was forced to leave his home town is that ______
| A．he was lazy and wasted all the money from his father |
| B．the price of shoe tacks in another country was high |
| C．his father died and left nothing for him |
| D．there was a terrible which broke his peace |
We can learn from the last paragraph that Young Smith _______
| A．made a living in the village by selling bread |
| B．worked in the workshop as a shoemakers |
| C．was good at making soldier shoes |
| D．lived a better life in the village than before |
Which of the following well-known sayings can best tell the main idea of the passage?
| A．Knowledge is no burden. |
| B．Where there’s a will, there’s a way. |
| C．You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
| D．Time lost cannot be recalled. |
Julio loves to visit his grandmother．He doesn’t get to visit her very often because his family lives in a city that is six hours away．His grandmother lives in a big wooden house on a farm .It is old and looks as if it has secret hiding places .
On the third Sunday of June ,Julio’s parents took him to his grandmother’s .Since it was summer vacation ,he was going to stay at grandmother’s for a whole mother ! His cousins Mario and Linda would soon be arriving .They would also be staying at their grandmother’s this summer.
A big porch（走廊）wraps around two sides of the house .Julio sat in the porch swing .He could see the trees that circle the house．They had been planted as a windbreak .They protect the house from the wind and blowing dirt .The house is in the middle of a large ,flat field.
Julio watched the dirt road that leads to the house .He couldn’t wait for his cousins to get there !Mario was his age ,and Linda was a year younger .They had fun together .Last summer they spent one whole morning making a fort out of sacks of seed .Then Uncle Henry had taken them on a tractor ride.
Julio remembered another time with his cousins .They had gone out to explode the fields．Julio touched an electric fence and got a shock .Then they found an old snakeskin .Nothing like that ever happened at his own home!
Julio could smell the dinner that his grandmother was cooking .It made him hungry.
Finally he saw a cloud of dust coming up the road．“They ‘re here! There’re here!” He shouted.The story tells about Julio and his cousins doing all of the following except_______．
| A．watching old movies |
B．taking a tractor ride |
| C．finding a snakeskin |
D．making a fort from seed sacks |
How do you think Julio felt when he saw his cousins arriving?
| A．He was worried |
B．He was excited |
C．He was angry |
D．He was sad. |
After Julio’s cousins arrived ,what would probably happen next?______．
| A．They would build a fort on the hill. |
| B．They would look for snake skins. |
| C．They would climb the trees in their grandmother’s yard |
| D．They would eat dinner at their grandmother’s house. |
These boxes show events that happened in the story .What is in box 2?
| Julio went to Grandmother’s house |
|
Julio thought about Another visit to grandmother’s |
| A．Julio’s cousins arrived at Grandmother’s house. |
| B．Julio could smell dinner cooking. |
| C．Julio sat in the porch swing. |
| D．Julio saw a cloud of dust coming up the road. |
If you have been joining in chat room conversations, or trading email with web pals （网友） , you have become one of the millions who write in a peculiarly short form of English.
And you’ve got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF （=" sense" of humor failure） to describe Internet newcomers who don’t understand you.
Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are “talking online”, many of them all talking at the same time.
It’s fast: try talking to six people at once．It’s brief: three or four words per exchange．It takes wit, concentration, and quick fingers.
And it requires tremendous linguistic economy （语言省略）．There’s neither time nor space for explanations．Why consume precious key-strokes （键盘敲击） telling six friends you have to leave for a moment to take care of your little brother when BRB（ =" be" right back） will do?
Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI （=" pardon" me for jumping in）.
Interested in whom you are talking to? Type A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal’s age, sex and location．You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you are OTF （=" on" the floor）, or LOL （=" laughing" out loud）, or combing the two into ROTFL （ =" rolling" on the floor laughing） .
And when it is time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG （=" got" to go） or TTYL （="talk" to you later）.
People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can．Capital letters are left in the dust, except when expressing emotion, as it takes, more time to hold down the “shift” key and capitals．Punctuation （标点） is going, too．Many people talk on the Internet ______.
| A．by sending short emails |
| B．by using a particular short form of English |
| C．by using peculiar English words and expression |
| D．in a funny way |
In order to talk to several people at the same time on the Internet ______.
| A．you have to speak fast and fluently |
| B．you should speak with wit and humor |
| C．you have to express your ideas in a brief way |
| D．one should pay much attention to the accuracy of words |
If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means______.
| A．the person on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine |
| B．you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York |
| C．you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York |
| D．the person who you are talking to is a 17-foot tall New York girl |
To save time on the Internet, __________.
| A．some people leave their letters in the dustbin |
| B．some people never use “shift” in their writing |
| C．many people leave the capital and punctuation |
| D．people seldom use capital letters or punctuation |
Talking to Teachers—Teachers are just people．Behind that desk, is a living, breathing human being．And just like any human being, they will probably be friendly to people who talk nicely to them．Teachers also seem to get along better with children who take schoolwork seriously and are prepared for class．And, just like any other human being, teachers like to be appreciated．The next time your teacher helps you solve a math problem or figure out a science project, say thank you with a smile.
Talking to Parents—Parents can be very supportive if their children ask for help．If you think there’s something your parents can do to help you socialize more or feel more comfortable around people, then ask them．Very often, parents want very much to help, but really don’t know what to do．Pick a quiet time of the day and ask to talk．Tell them how you feel．Maybe they had the same trouble when they were kids.
This Stranger Thing—This is always a tough one．How do you deal with a neighbor, the mail carrier, or someone walking down your street—situations that often seem to cause arguments between kids and parents．The answer to these questions will vary from kid to kid, from parent to parent because all cultures are different．Some folks live in small towns where a hello to everyone is “what’s done”．Then there are kids who live in the city who may have been taught not to speak to anyone they don’t know．If you’re having trouble with this and always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, you might want to talk to your parents or a teacher about it．Where do they think you should draw the line? When is silence rude and when is it wise?From the first paragraph we may learn that teachers dislike____ .
| A．being talked to nicely |
| B．their students to be serious with the schoolwork |
| C．the students’ appreciation |
| D．the students who are not ready for classes |
If your parents are not supportive and you are not getting along quite well with your parents, who or what is to blame?
| A．Your parents. | B．Yourself. |
| C．Lack of communication. | D．Your teachers. |
The underlined word in the third paragraph is close in meaning to____.
| A．afraid | B．puzzled | C．strange | D．familiar |
The passage doesn’t say but it implies that in daily communication____.
| A．arguments often happen between kids and parents |
| B．we should talk to the neighbors and other people according to different cultures |
| C．city people and country people greet in the same way |
| D．we should fit our words with proper situations |
If you go into the forest with friends, stay with them always. If you don’t, you may get lost. If you really get lost, this is what you should do. Sit down and stay where you are. Don’t try to find your friends—let them find you by staying in one place.
There is another way to help your friends or other nearby people to find you. Give them a signal by shouting or whistling (打口哨) three times. Stop. Then shout or whistle three times. Any signal given three times is a call for help.
Keep up the shouting or whistling always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making noise for fun. They will let you know that they have heard your signal. They will give two shouts, two whistles or two gun shots (枪声). When someone gives a signal, it is an answer to a call for help.
If you don’t think that you will get help before 
night comes, try to make a little house—cover up the holes with branches (树枝) with lots of leaves. Make yourself a soft bed with leaves and grass.
What should you do if you get hungry or need drinking water? You would have to leave your little branch house to look for a river. Don’t just walk away. Pick off small branches and drop them as you walk so that you can find your way
back.
The most important thing to do when you are lost is—stay in one place. If you get lost in the forest, you should__________.
| A．stay where you are and give a signal |
| B．walk around the forest and shout so that your friends might hear you |
| C．try to find your friends as soon as possible |
D．try to get out of the for est and shout for help |
Which signal is a call for help?
| A．Shouting here and there. |
| B．Crying twice. |
| C．Shouting or whistling three times together. |
| D．Whistling everywhere in the forest. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．When you hear two shouts or whistles, you know that people will soon come to help you. |
| B．When you can’t get help before night comes, put up a tent in the open air. |
| C．If you need drinking water you can just walk away to look for a river. |
| D．Picking off flowers as you walk can help your find your way back. |
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