Thousands of hungry birds left the countryside of Britain in the bitter winter to find food and warmth in urban gardens. The move included species such as the redwing and the fieldfare, almost unknown outside rural areas
The hard situation of farmland birds has been revealed in the latest survey of bird populations from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds released today.
The redwing has an obvious stripe over the eye and a red flash on the flanks (侧翼), while the fieldfare has a grey head, a peach underbelly, and a distinctive dark band on the tail.
Graham Madge, the society's spokesman, says, “For many urban birdwatchers the sight of these striking species is a real treat. Many people have never imagined there being such an amazing chance.”
“Frozen ground prevented them from getting food in the countryside and they have been saved from starvation in towns，” he added.
He says the unusual sight this year somewhat tempered the frustration felt at the suffering of small garden birds such as robins and wrens. These birds are sensitive to cold and must eat almost continuously to stay alive. Data from people who took part in the society's Big Garden Birdwatch recorded sightings in 280，000 gardens during the last weekend of January, with the goldcrest down 75 percent, the longtailed tit down 27 percent, and the coal tit down 20 percent. The study highlighted the need for food to be left out for birds during winter.
The redwing and the fieldfare are relatively unknown outside the eastern part of the country. The research shows, however, that they moved to the other side of the country where the climate is generally mild in winter and that many for the first time have reached Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. The number of redwing sightings was up 185 percent, those of the fieldfare 73, and of the yellowhammer 68.
Another surprise garden “guest” this year was the blackcap. This robinsized, silvergrey bird was rare in Britain 50 years ago, but increasing numbers now arrive each year from Germany and Austria.
How did the urban birdwatchers probably feel when seeing the hungry birds?
| A．Excited. | B．Worried. |
| C．Annoyed. | D．Motivated. |
Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “tempered”？
| A．Prevented. | B．Relieved. |
| C．Explained. | D．Increased. |
According to the passage, Cornwall is perhaps ________.
| A．a village in eastern Britain |
| B．a city in western Britain |
| C．a village in western Britain |
| D．a city in eastern Britain |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The tough living conditions of some British birds. |
| B．The various species of Britain's garden birds. |
| C．The changes of some bird's population in Britain. |
| D．Unusual bird visitors in Britain's urban gardens. |
Death is natural, but do you have any idea of the process of dying? Modern scientists divide the process of dying into two stages---clinical or temporary death and biological death. Clinical death occurs when the vital organs, such as the heart or lungs, have ceased to function, but have not suffered permanent damage. The organism can still be revived(复活). Biological death occurs when changes in the organism lead to the “breaking up” of vital cells and tissues. Death is then unchangeable and final.
Scientists have been seeking a way to lengthen the period of clinical death so that the organism can remain alive before biological death occurs. The best method developed so far involves cooling of the organism, combined with narcotic（麻醉的) sleep. By slowing down the body’s metabolism(新陈代谢), cooling delays the processes leading to biological death.
To illustrate how this works, scientists performed an experiment on a six-year-old female monkey called Keta. The scientist put Keta to sleep with a narcotic. Then they surrounded her body with ice-bags and began checking her body temperature. When it had dropped to 28 degrees the scientists began draining（流光466） blood from an artery（动脉）. The monkey’s blood pressure decreased and an hour later both the heart and breathing stopped: clinical death set in. For twenty minutes Keta remained in this state. Her temperature dropped to 22 degrees. At this point the scientists pumped blood into an artery in the direction of the heart and started artificial breathing. After two minutes Keta’s heart became active once more. After fifteen minutes, spontaneous(自发的)breathing began, and after four hours Keta opened her eyes and lifted her head. After six hours, when the scientists tried to give her a penicillin injection, Keta seized the syringe（注射器）and ran with it around the room. Her behavior differed little from that of a healthy animal.For a person who suffers from the clinical death ___________.
| A．he still has the possibility of getting back to life |
| B．his most important organs are damaged. |
| C．he can not avoid final death. |
| D．he is still very much alive |
Scientists try to make the time of clinical death longer in order to___________.
| A．slow down the body’s metabolism. |
| B．bring vital cells and tissues back to active life. |
| C．delay the coming of biological death. |
| D．cool the organism. |
How did the scientists put Keta into clinical death?
| A．By surrounding her body with ice-bags and draining her blood. |
| B．By lowing her blood pressure and stopping her heart from beating. |
| C．By draining her blood, lowering her blood pressure and stopping her breathing. |
| D．By putting her to sleep, lowering her temperature and draining her blood. |
All of the following indicate that the monkey has almost restored to her original physical state except the fact that___________.
| A．her heart beat again. |
| B．she regained her normal breath. |
| C．she rejected a penicillin injection. |
| D．she acted as lively as a healthy monkey. |
Television has turned 88 years old on September 7, 2015, and it has never looked better. In its youth, television was a piece of furniture with a tiny, round screen showing unclear pictures of low-budget programs. In spite of its shortcomings, it became popular. Between 1950 and 1963, the number of American families with a television jumped from 9% to 92% of the population.
As the audience got larger, the technology got better. Television sets became more reliable through the 1960s. The reception (接收效果) improved. The picture improved. The major networks started broadcasting programs in color.
Even greater improvements were coming according to Sanford Brown, who wrote an article for the Post in 1967. Surprisingly, just about every prediction he made in the article became a reality. For example: All sets in the not-distant future will be color instruments. He also predicted that TV sets would become smaller, simpler, more reliable and less expensive and may forever put the TV repairman out of work. Smaller sets do not, of course, mean smaller screens. TV engineers expect screens to get much bigger. However, today’s 3-D TV is even farther away, if it’s coming at all. There is some doubt whether the public would be eager to pay for it, in view of people’s cold reception given to 3-D movies.
But the technology with the greatest potential, according to Brown, was cable television (有线电视), which was still in its early stages then. As he predicted, the future of cable television was highly interactive (互动的). It wasn’t cable television that gave Americans their electronic connection to the world, however. It was the Internet. He even foresaw the future office: using picture phones, big-screen televisions for conferences, and computers providing information at the touch of a button.
Brown ever said, “The future of television is no longer a question of what we can invent. It’s a question of what we want.”What can we infer about television sets in the 1960s?
| A．They were very popular with Americans. |
| B．The reception showed no improvement. |
| C．They showed black-and-white pictures. |
| D．They were out of order now and then. |
Which of the followings did Sanford Brown fail to predict?
| A．Television’s good quality. |
| B．The invention of 3-D TV. |
| C．The future office’s model. |
| D．The potential of cable TV. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The shortcomings of television. |
| B．The bright future of television. |
| C．The development of television. |
| D．The invention of television. |
A California man who was feeling sick almost died recently from a shocking cause.
26-year-old Luis Ortiz went to a hospital because of a headache and nausea(恶心，作呕). When doctors examined him, they were shocked to find a tapeworm larva(绦虫幼虫) in his brain. The story gets stranger. The larva was still alive.
The creature had caused a cyst(囊肿) to form inside his head. The cyst was restricting the flow of liquids to different areas of his brain. The situation was so serious that doctors said they had to perform an emergency operation to remove the larva.
A doctor who operated on Ortiz told him he had only 30 minutes to live. When the doctor pulled the worm out of his head, it was still moving.
Luis Ortiz was a student at California State University in Sacramento. He began experiencing headaches in late August. But Ortiz said he did not think the headaches were serious.
In September, he visited a friend and his parents in another city. That is when the pain got worse. His mother saw Ortiz throwing up and took him to a hospital emergency room.
The doctors saved Ortiz's life. However, the surgery also affected him. Ortiz had to drop out of school and move back home. For now, he is not permitted to work or drive a vehicle.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has about 1,000 reported cases of tapeworms each year. The CDC adds that tapeworms are more common in developing countries with poor public health systems.
The best way to avoid a tapeworm infection (感染)is to wash fruits and vegetables. Also, make sure meat is cooked thoroughly. The CDC suggests cooking all meats to an internal temperature of at least 63 degrees Celsius.
What caused Luis Ortiz to feel sick and headaches?
| A．Dirty food eaten in August. |
| B．Travelling for a long way, |
| C．A living creature in his brain. |
| D．Uncooked meat eaten by him. |
If the doctors didn’t have an emergency operation on him , Luis Ortiz was likely to ________ _ .
| A．die of cancer |
| B．live for only half an hour |
| C．finish studying in school |
| D．pass the driving tests |
How should people avoid infecting tapeworms?
| A．By washing fruits and vegetable. |
| B．By boiling plates and bowls before meals. |
| C．By cooking meats to at least 63 °C outside, |
| D．By improving the development of economy. |
What did the writer think of the cause of Luis Ortiz’s disease?
| A．Quite frightening. | B．Very dangerous. |
| C．Rather puzzling. | D．Extremely surprising. |
A new research of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love (早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression .The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.
The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “loss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.
Dr Marian Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.
Parents should watch for signs of depression—eating or mood changes —and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.
Which of the following is more likely to have depression?
| A．Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness. |
| B．Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior. |
| C．Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions. |
| D．Careless parents whose children are deep in love. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly. |
| B．The older a woman is，the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance. |
| C．Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents. |
| D．Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards puppy love?
| A．Confused. |
| B．Disinterested. |
| C．Scared. |
| D．Disapproving. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Parents should forbid their children’s love. |
| B．Puppy love may bring young people depression. |
| C．Romance is a two edged sword for adults. |
| D．Romance is good for young people. |
Roughly half of college students will have some degree of depression at some point during their time in school. Even more startling, 6.2 percent of college students surveyed in 2012 considered suicide and 1.3 percent attempted it, according to an American College Health Association study released this spring. If you’re feeling depressed on campus, you may find the following tips helpful.
Exercise: Physical activity releases endorphins – chemicals that produce an overall positive feeling within the body, which fight depression naturally. Mental health experts claim that exercise is a solution to those feeling mild or moderate depression. However, for those severely depressed, simply doing sports is not enough.
Use school counseling services: Campuses don’t employ mental health experts simply to throw thousands of dollars down the drain. Their job is to help students, so experts recommend you use them. Most students, however, are hesitant to take a trip to their college’s counseling center, fearing being laughed at by peers. As a result, some schools like Texas Christian University, are testing students for mental health problems when they get sick and visit the campus health clinic.
Take advantage of technology: Staying in touch with family members and friends from childhood and high school has become easier than ever with the coming of Facebook and video chat services like Skype. While mental health experts insist that it’s important to make friends in your new environment and be involved in the college community, it’s also significant to keep in touch with the people you knew before college.
Go to sleep: Following a fairly regular sleep pattern can defend you against depression. In college, many students’ sleep patterns are irregular thanks to late-night studying and partying, which is harmful to their mental health. Research strongly suggests that sleep is the key to learning and memory formation.According to the passage, physical activity __________ .
| A．is regarded as the best way to fight depression |
| B．contributes to the release of endorphins |
| C．can’t help the seriously depressed students |
| D．improve people’s ability to learn and memorize |
It can be inferred from the 3rd paragraph that __________ .
| A．employing mental health experts on campus is a waste of money |
| B．students with mental health problems can’t get on well with others |
| C．going to college’s counseling center for help requires a lot of courage |
| D．sick students in Texas Christian University must take psychological tests |
Taking advantage of technology is encouraged because it ____
| A．enables students to get involved in college life |
| B．helps students stay in contact with others |
| C．offers students a way to make new friends |
| D．provides a way to avoid getting bored |
which of the following can NOT help one reduce depression?
| A．Taking exercise regularly every week |
| B．Chatting with old friends with Skype |
| C．Turning to mental health experts for advice |
| D．Holding parties deep into the night to relax |
If you have a bad habit of losing things, a new device that can be connected to any item that you might lose may be the way to solve your problem. The Tile, a small square linked up to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth, lets you see how close you are to the missing item, within a 50-to 150-foot range . If the item goes out of your phone’s 150-foot range, it can still be detected (发现) on other smartphones with the same app.
When you log into the app on your phone, it shows you, with green bars that increase or decrease, how far away you are from the Tile. You can also program it to make a sound when you get close to the Tile. And you can link up your phone with up to ten Tiles. And if your lost item — a dog, for example, or a stolen bike — goes out of your own phone’s 150-foot Bluetooth range, you can set it as a “lost item”. If any of the phones with the Tile app comes within the range of your lost item, a message will be sent to your own phone, reminding you of its position. The Tile app also has the function to remember where it last saw your Tile, so that you can easily find where you left it.
Since the Tiles use Bluetooth rather than GPS, they never run out of battery or need to be charged, and they last for one year before needing to be replaced. The app, which will come into the market this winter, works with iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, iPad 3rd and 4th generation, and iPod 5th generation.
The Tile app can help you .
| A．find your missing items |
| B．use your phone more wisely |
| C．save your phone’s battery power |
| D．connect something to your phone |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The Tile needs to be charged after a year of use. |
| B．One smart phone can only be linked up to one Tile. |
| C．The Tile cannot work when linked up to a phone without Bluetooth. |
| D．A missing item can’t be found if it goes out of the needed range. |
What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．What the Tile app is. |
| B．How the Tile app works. |
| C．The advantages of the Tile app. |
| D．Why the Tile app was invented. |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．A science fiction novel. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．A personal diary. | D．A news report. |
A Chinese couple tried to name their baby “@”, saying the character best represents their love for the child, according to an official trying to standardize the national language. The unusual name stands out especially in Mandarin, which has no alphabet (字母表) and instead uses tens of thousands of multistroke (多笔画的) characters to represent words. “The whole world uses it to write emails, and translated into Chinese it means ‘love him’,” the father explained, according to the deputy chief of the State Language Commission Li Yuming.
While the @ symbol is familiar to Chinese email users, they often use the English word “at” to sound it out. With a drawnout “t”, this sounds something like “ai ta”, or “love him”, to Mandarin speakers. Li says the name is an extreme example of people’s increasingly adventurous approach to Mandarin, as commercialization and the Internet break down conventions (习俗).
Another couple tried to give their child a name that in English sounds like “King Osrina”.
Li did not say if officials accepted the “@” name. But earlier this year the government announced a ban on names using Arabic numerals (阿拉伯数字) and foreign languages. Sixty million Chinese face the problem that their names use ancient characters so uncommon that computers cannot recognize them and even fluent speakers are left scratching their heads, said Li, according to a report on the government website. One of them is the former Premier Zhu Rongji, whose name has a rare “rong” character that gives newspaper editors headaches.
Why did the Chinese couple try to name their baby “@”？
| A．Because they wanted their baby to have a special name. |
| B．Because they wanted their baby to have an international name. |
| C．Because the @ symbol is familiar to email users all over the world. |
| D．Because the @ symbol sounds something like “ai ta”, which means “love him” in Chinese. |
It can be inferred that ___________.
| A．Li Yuming is in favor of the baby’s name |
| B．many Chinese people use Arabic numerals in their names |
| C．a majority of the Chinese people are having longer names |
| D．there is little possibility for the “@” name to be officially accepted |
The underlined part in the passage probably means___________.
| A．even native speakers find it hard to accept these strange names |
| B．even native speakers can’t find these characters in their computers |
| C．even those who are expert at Chinese can’t recognize these characters |
| D．even those who are expert at Chinese find it hard to accept these names |
The former Premier Zhu Rongji is mentioned in the passage because ________.
| A．people often mispronounce his name |
| B．there is an uncommon character in his name |
| C．he often made newspaper editors annoyed during his term in office |
| D．he once stressed the importance of standardizing Chinese characters |
The passage is mainly about ___________.
| A．how Chinese parents name their babies |
| B．the importance of standardizing Chinese characters |
| C．a ban on names using Arabic numerals and foreign languages |
| D．the problems caused by uncommon characters used in Chinese names |
Ask any group of teenagers in the UK what they most like to eat, and foods like pizza, burgers and chips are always mentioned.
But what teenagers like to eat is not necessarily what they should be eating. According to the National Diet and Nutrition (营养) Survey, far too many young people in the UK between the ages of 4 and 18 eat too much fat, sugar and salt in their diet and take in too many calories. And their intake of starchy carbohydrates (含淀粉的碳水化合物), fiber, iron, vitamins and calcium (钙) is too low.
For a growing body, eating foods containing plenty of calcium, such as milk, yoghurt and cheese, is very important as calcium is essential for the development of healthy, strong bones. Similarly, foods that are rich in iron are good for young rapidly developing bodies, so red meat, bread, green vegetables, and dried fruit are also good to eat.
It is during our teenage years that lifestyle habits can become entrenched (根深蒂固的), so it is important that young people are educated about what foods are good for them. In 2005, in order to change eating habits and open teenagers' minds to new tastes, chef Jamie Oliver started a "Feed Me Better" project. As part of a television series, "Jamie' s School Dinners", he worked with teachers and cooks in a number of schools across the UK to provide more nutritious school meals. Although some teenagers and parents refused to have a try at first, the project went very well and helped to influence governmental policy on nutritional standards for school meals.
No one expects to end the teenage love affair with fast and junk food but, hopefully, if projects like "Feed Me Better" continue to give out the right messages, more young people will understand the importance of eating healthily.
What problem do teenagers in the UK have?
| A．Most of them are too fat. |
| B．Most of them eat too little. |
| C．Many of them don' t eat healthily. |
| D．Many of them are short of exercise. |
The underlined word "essential" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to" "
| A．difficult | B．possible |
| C．common | D．necessary |
According to the text, the "Feed Me Better" project _ _
| A．proved to be a success |
| B．taught teachers how to cook |
| C．was started by the government |
| D．was started at Jamie's school first |
Which of the following opinions does the author probably agree to?
| A．Lifestyle habits are difficult to change. |
| B．Too much red meat is also bad for health. |
| C．Teenagers should learn to feed them better. |
| D．Teenagers should stop eating fast and junk food. |
Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors (流星) but also because of rays from the sun and other stars. The atmosphere again acts as our protective blanket on earth. Light gets through, and this is necessary for plants to make the food that we eat. Heat, too, makes our environment endurable. Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from the sun are screened off. As soon as men leave the atmosphere they are exposed to this radiation but their spacesuits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage.
Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space, The unit of radiation is called “rem” Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more radiation than 0.1rem without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about radiation damage. A person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her sex organs may be damaged, and this will not be discovered until the birth of deformed children or even grandchildren. Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and , during the outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew accumulated(积累) a large amount of rems. So far, no dangerous amounts of radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quite short. We simply do not know yet how men are going to get on when they spend weeks and months outside the protection of the atmosphere, working in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to decrease the damage done by radiation, but no really effective ones have been found so far.
In which way is the atmosphere necessary to man according to the first paragraph?
| A．It screens off the falling meteors. |
| B．It provides enough light for plants to grow. |
| C．It supplies the heat necessary for human survival. |
| D．It protects him against the harmful rays from space. |
We know from the passage that .
| A．exposure to even tiny amount of radiation is fatal( 致命的) |
| B．the effect of exposure to radiation is slow in coming |
| C．radiation is avoidable in space exploration |
| D．astronauts in spacesuits needn’t worry about radiation damage |
The underlined word “deformed” probably means .
| A．badly-shaped | B．weak |
| C．naturally-grown | D．ugly |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．the Apollo mission was very successful |
| B．astronauts will have deformed children or grandchildren |
| C．protection from space radiation is no easy job |
| D．radiation is not a threat to well-protected space explorers |
We live in a techno logical society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft(手艺) no longer exists.
One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability(持久性). “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.
Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, more people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.
One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and power planes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts(精确切割)on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon any more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.
The problem of modern quality, then, really boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are__________.
| A．more successful | B．more learned |
| C．more imaginative | D．more hardworking |
What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph2) refer to?
| A．Carpenters who are fond of oak stairways. |
| B．Carpenters who have college degrees. |
| C．people who think highly of carpenters of old |
| D．people who think that modern material is of low quality. |
What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
| A．People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways. |
| B．It is now expensive to employ a carpenter. |
| C．Modern houses last as long as the old one. |
| D．Good carpenters still exist in modern times. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Is Craft Dead? |
| B．Craft, Back to Life? |
| C．History of Craftsmanship |
| D．Carpenters Today and Yesterday |
“Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft: a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.
The program allows users to display alerts (警报)on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.
Owners must report their laptop missing by logging on to a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” banner pops up on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version(版本) of the software, users can also send a spoken message.
The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it. “One customer sent a message saying, ‘You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the company which produces the program, Retriever.
In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. The default （系统设定）through the computer’s speakers is: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, please report me now.”
The Retriever software package, which costs $29.95 (￡21) but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs. Owners can remotely switch to an alternative password immediately if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access details.
If a thief accesses the internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.
Thousands of laptops are stolen every year from homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.
Other security software allows users to erase data remotely or lock down the computer.
The expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind” can be understood as “_______”.
| A．to give the thief an alert mind |
| B．to express the owners’ anger to the thief |
| C．to remind the thief of his conscience(良心) |
| D．to make the thief give up his mind |
Different from other security software, Retriever can ______.
| A．record the stealing process |
| B．help recognize the lost laptop |
| C．lock down the computer remotely |
| D．send a spoken message |
One function of the program is that it allows the owner to ______ at a distance.
| A．change some access details for switching on the laptop |
| B．turn on the laptop by using the original password |
| C．operate the laptop by means of an alternative password |
| D．erase the information kept in the stolen laptop |
Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?
| A．With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year. |
| B．A new software provides a means to reduce laptop theft. |
| C．Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers. |
| D．A new program offers a communication platform with the thief. |
You feel happiest when you create a healthy balance between giving and receiving. If you give and give without making time to fill your own needs， then it’s likely you will burn out， or feel upset. When you take and take without giving anything back， you never feel a sense of achievement，so you are always searching for ways to fill the void in your life.
The way to create a healthy balance between giving and receiving so as to achieve real happiness is to know and then live by your values. I break values up into two groups which I call “being” and “having” values. Your “being” values are the character traits(特征)of the ideal person you would like to be. An example of some “being” values are： kind， loving， generous， inspirational， peaceful， wise and even powerful. By acting on these values， you give to others through your actions and you inspire others by “being” a positive role model. Mastering “being” these character traits becomes your life purpose.
Your “having” values are the feelings you need to create in order to be happy. These could be companionship， achievement， support， “being” valued or financial security. This is what you receive. You take responsibility for filling your own needs by taking steps to create these feelings and conditions in your life.
When you make a commitment to live by your “being” values， it becomes easier to make conscious choices rather than reactionary(保守的) ones. If your usual habit is to complain about your problems， you could choose to think and act like a calm person. A calm person might go for a walk， meditate(沉思)， or set a time limit before responding. If your usual pattern is to worry， you could choose to act like a responsible or wise person. In other words， you would act like the person you choose to be—this is the key to personal power.
When you choose to act on your values， you not only feel good about yourself， but you reinforce(增强)your chosen beliefs. Over time acting in this way changes how you see the world， and in turn the way other people think of you.
The underlined word “void” in Paragraph 1 probably means .
| A．a feeling of emptiness |
| B．a loss of power |
| C．a lack of energy |
| D．a state of being confused |
According to the text， by acting on your own “being” values， you will .
| A．gain a lot of power |
| B．fill your own needs |
| C．seek all human virtues |
| D．form positive personality |
Which of the following does NOT belong to your “having” values？
| A．Your success in the competition. |
| B．The support from your friends. |
| C．Your own peaceful mind. |
| D．The friendship with others. |
What can be inferred from the text？
| A．“Having” values are better than “being” values. |
| B．The way other people think of you decides who you are. |
| C．A calm person does not choose to complain easily. |
| D．A responsible person does not care about financial security. |
The main purpose of this passage is to .
| A．persuade the readers to make a commitment |
| B．inform the readers how to be truly happy |
| C．explain to the readers what personal values are |
| D．instruct the readers how to make wise choices |
Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. In her biography（传记）, she remembers with great fondness when her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn’t until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn’t have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write.Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?
| A．Her friend Sean. | B．Her mother. |
| C．Her daughter. | D．Her husband. |
Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
| A．at the age of 6 | B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother’s death | D．in her secondary school |
She felt disappointed on the train because_________.
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn’t have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is_________.
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted |
| C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us_________.
| A．adversity makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement helps one succeed |
Typhoons (台风) in the northern part of the world have girls’ names.Sometimes they have very beautiful names.Rose is a pretty name but there was nothing pretty about Typhoon Rose.It was the worst typhoon to hit Hong Kong in ten years.
It began to rain in the morning of Monday, August 16th, 1971.At ten o’clock in the morning, Typhoon Rose was still 130 miles away but already the wind was blowing people’s umbrella away.The wind became stronger and stronger.The typhoon shelters (避风港) were soon full of boats.Ships that were too big to go inside the shelters put down more anchors (锚).Some very big ships went out to sea.It is safer for a big ship to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks.Kai Tak Airport closed.No planes were able to take off or land.At 9:00 in the evening, all the lights went out.
No one slept well that night.It is difficult to sleep in such bad weather.
In Typhoon Rose, more than one hundred people died.229 people were hurt and 66 of these had to go to hospital.1500 lost their homes.The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose!What’s true according to the passage?
| A．Typhoons all over the world have girls’ names. |
| B．Typhoons with pretty names are usually beautiful. |
| C．Typhoon Rose only hit Hong Kong. |
| D．For ten years, people in Hong Kong haven’t seen a worse typhoon than Typhoon Rose. |
What’s the possible result of Typhoon Rose?
| A．Lots of big shops were blown onto rocks. |
| B．More than two hundred people lost their lives and many more lost their homes. |
| C．People didn’t sleep well in such bad weather. |
| D．People turned off the lights at 9:00 in the evening. |
The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose because ____________.
| A．it caused the terrible losses(损失) |
| B．they didn’t sleep well that night |
| C．Typhoon Rose wasn’t as pretty as its name |
| D．they couldn’t find their ships after the typhoon |
Some big ships didn’t go inside the shelters because _______.
| A．they had more anchors |
| B．it is safer outside |
| C．they were out at sea and they weren’t fast enough to reach the shelters when Typhoon Rose came |
| D．it was too expensive for big ships to go inside the shelters |
This passage is mainly about ______.
| A．the names of typhoons |
| B．typhoons in Hong King |
| C．Typhoon Rose |
| D．the typhoons |
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