— Hello. Could I speak to Tom, please?
— This is Tom speaking.
— Oh, it’s great. But I didn’t_________ your voice just now.
| A．know | B．recognize | C．hear | D．listen to |
I always make a _______ before going shopping so that I won’t forget what to buy.
| A．diary | B．report | C．note | D．list |
In _______ 1940s the computer was made to work as _______ useful machine.
| A．the; an | B．the; a | C．/; a | D．/; an |
Today, there’s hardly an aspect of our life that isn’t being upended by the tons of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail. “If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology,” says Microsoft, “a new car would cost about $ 2 and go 600 miles on a small quantity of gas. And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza.”
Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers. Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year. “We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global trend,” says Merrill Lynch, “along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity.”
You would be hard pressed to name something that isn’t available on the Internet. Consider: books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes, stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets. And even after you’ve moved on to your final resting place, there’s no reason those you love can’t keep in touch. A company called FinalThoughts.com offers a place for you to store “afterlife e-mails” you can send to Heaven with the help of a “guardian angel”.
Kids today are so computer literate that it in fact ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable future. Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than $75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52% of those connected to the Internet. Most kids use computers to play games (some for 30 hours or more a week), and many teenage girls think nothing of rushing home from school to have e-mail chats with friends they have just left.
What’s clear is that, whether we like it or not, the Internet is an ever growing part of our lives and there is no turning back. “The Internet is just 20% invented,” says cyber pioneer Jake W
inebaum. “The last 80% is happening now.”What can we learn from the Microsoft’s remark?
| A．Today’s cars and airplanes are extremely overpriced. |
| B．Information technology is developing at an amazing speed. |
| C．Information technology has reached the point where improvement is difficult. |
| D．There’s more competition in information technology industry than in car industry. |
According to the author, the biggest benefit of the Internet is that___.
| A．it saves companies huge amounts of money |
| B．it speeds up profit making |
| C．it brings people incredible convenience |
| D．it provides easy access to information |
The author gives the example of FinalThoughts.com to make the point that____.
| A．there are some genius ideas on the Internet |
| B．almost anything is available on the Internet |
| C．people can find good bargains on the Internet |
| D．people are free to do anything on the Internet |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
A．There is a link b etween income and computer ownership. |
| B．Many American children don’t put computers to good use. |
| C．Studies show that boys are more computer literate than girls. |
| D．The U.S. will stay ahead in the information technology in years. |
Which sentence has the phrase that has the same meaning as the one underlined in the fifth paragraph?
| A．Some can tell you that he has changed their lives, while others think nothing of him. |
| B．Think nothing of it. It was my pleasure. |
| C．He thinks nothing of staying up all night in the Café bar. |
| D．He thinks nothing of the pain in his back for the moment. |
What is the message the author intends to convey?
| A．The Internet is going to get firm hold of our lives some day. |
| B．The Internet is going to influence our lives even more greatly. |
| C．We should have a positive attitude towards the changes the Internet brings. |
| D．Children should be well prepared for the challenges in the information age. |
Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．
One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the res
earchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The rese
archers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.W
ong，said it might work both ways. It appears that
native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.
| A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time |
| B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time |
| C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand |
| D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch |
Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?
| A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music. |
| B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain. |
| C．Because music training might help people with language study. |
| D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music. |
The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”．
| A．created | B．spelled |
| C．seemed | D．pronounced |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers |
| B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study |
| C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning |
| D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs |
Mr. Green’s tight _______ made him put off his trip to China.
| A．transport | B．attitude | C．schedule | D．appointment |
A few years ago I asked my children’s governess, Julia Vassilyevna, to come into my study.
“ Sit down, Julia Vassilyevna,” I said.“Let’s settle our accounts. Although you most likely need some money, you stand on ceremony and won’t ask for it yourself. Now then, we agree on thirty rubles a month…”
“ Forty.”
“ No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay the governess thirty. Now then, you’ve been here two months, so…”
“ Two months and five days.”
“ Exactly two months. I made a specific note of it. That means you have sixty rubles coming to you. Subtract nine Sundays… you know you didn’t work with Kolya on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays…”
Julia Vassilyevna flushed a deep red and picked at the flounce of her dress, but--- not a word.
“ Three holidays, therefore take off twelve rubles. Four days Kolya was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Vanya. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven---nineteen. Subtract…that leaves…hmm…forty-one rubles. Correct?”
Julia Vassilyena’s left eye reddened and filled with moisture. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but---not a word.
“ Around New Year’s you broke a teacup and saucer: take off two rubles. The cup cost more, it was an heirloom, but---let it go. When didn’t I take a loss? Then, due to your neglect, Kolya climbed a tree and tore his jacket: take off ten. Also due to your heedlessness the maid stole Vanya’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more rubles off. The tenth of January I gave you ten rubles…”
“ You didn’t ” whispered Julia Vassilyevna.
“ But I made a note of it.”
“ Well…all right.”
“ Take twenty-seven from forty-one ---that leaves fourteen.”
Both eyes filled with tears. Perspiration appeared on the thin, pretty little nose. Poor girl!
“ Only once was I given any money,” she said in a trembling voice, “ and that was by your wife. Three rubles, nothing more.”
“ Really? You see now, and I didn’t make a note of it! Take three from fourteen… leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three , three, three, one and one. Here it is!”
I handed her eleven rubles. She took them and with trembling fingers stuffed them into her pocket.
“ Merci,” she whispered.
I jumped up and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger.
“ For what, this ---‘merci’?” I asked.
“ For the money.”
“ But you know I’ve cheated you, God’s sake---robbed you! I have actually stolen from you! Why this ‘merci’?”
“ In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”
“ They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you … I’m going to give you the entire eighty rubles! Here they are in an envelope all ready for you… Is it really possible to be so spineless? Why don’t you protest? Why be silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws--- to be such a nincompoop?”
She smiled crookedly and I read in her expression: “ It is possible.”
I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and , to her great surprise, gave her the eighty rubles. She murmured her litter “merci” several times and went out. I looked after her and thought: “How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”When the employer called Julia Vassilyevna in to talk with him, what he really wanted to do was _______
| A．to settle their accounts |
| B．to criticize her for neglecting her duties as a governess. |
| C．to play a joke on her so as to amuse himself. |
| D．to teach her not to be so spineless. |
The employer made all those criticisms about Julia Vassiliyevna’s work because __________
| A．she had neglected her duties. |
| B．he wanted to pay her as little money as possible. |
| C．he wanted to make her realize that she was being cheated and protest against it. |
| D．he wanted to make her feel miserable. |
Julia Vassilyevna accepted everything her employer said because ________
| A．she had in fact neglected her duties. |
| B．she was a very dumb girl. |
| C．she thought it was of no use to protest to her employer. |
| D．she loved the children she taught. |
The employer became very angry when Julia Vassilyevna said “ Merci” because ________
| A．she didn’t say “Merci” loudly. |
| B．she didn’t protest to him. |
| C．he thought that by simply saying “ Merci” she wasn’t polite enough. |
| D．he didn’t like the way in which she stuffed the money into per pocket and expressed her thanks. |
The text is about _______
| A．how a governess was cheated by her employer. |
| B．how an employer tried to teach the governess a cruel lesson. |
| C．how a governess was fired by her employer for being a nincompoop. |
| D．how an employer punished the governess for not having done a good job. |
--- How often do you eat out?
---- _________, but usually once a week.
| A．Have no idea | B．It depends | C．As usual | D．Generally speaking |
Two Chinese cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8 were attacked by _____________ armed people on the Mekong River on Oct.5.
| A．unrecognized | B．unidentified | C．unfamiliar | D．unbelievable |
I’m fond of my sister, but she has a serious shortcoming. She _______ be really stubborn.
| A．must | B．will | C．can | D．should |
He hasn’t got any hobbies---_______ you call watching TV a hobby.
| A．If | B．Unless | C．When | D．Since |
If I ruled （统治）the world, I would _______ the world ______ everything that is bad.
| A．get rid of; by | B．be rid of; by | C．rid; of | D．get rid; of |
I think, the Chinese teacher will surely give _____ on your composition.
| A．sense | B．comment | C．comments | D．idea |
______ the voice of her father, she was happy and ran out of the room to greet him.
| A．Heard | B．Hearing | C．Sounding | D．Sounded |
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