Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve got a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting-whatever. Making new friends becomes simple
This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.
An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source-batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device, that sends out energy (for example, radio waves) that starts up the tag immediately.
Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP (very important person) section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.
Take a step back:10 or 12 years ago,you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could be put everywhere and send information in a smart network that would make ordinary life simpler
RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to be a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly,” predicts Dr.J.Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers. Accompanied by how many biscuits. w*w*When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk.
1. The article is intended to______.
A. warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology
B. explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology
C. convince people of the uses of RFID technology
D. predict the applications of RFID technology
2. We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people .
A. will have no trouble getting data about others
B. will have more energy for conversation
C. will have more time to make friends
D. won’t feel shy at parties any longer
3. Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of .
A. scanning devices B. radio waves C. batteries D. chips
4. Why are some people worried about RFID technology?
A. Because children will be tracked by strangers.
B. Because market competition will become more fierce.
C. Because their private lives will be greatly affected.
D. Because customers will be forced to buy more products.
5. The last paragraph implies that RFID technology .
A. will not be used for such matters as buying milk
B. will be widely used, including for buying milk
C. will be limited to communication uses
D. will probably be used for pop music
II. 阅读理解（Reading comprehension）（共20小题；选择题5小题，每小题1分；非选择题15小题，每小题2分，计35分）
A) 选择题：阅读下面的短文，根据文意从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和D）中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳选项。(Read the following passage which is followed by five questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the passage.)
Mexic Past and Present
Hundreds of years ago,Native-American tribes lived in Mexico. The Aztecs built beautiful cities. They had a calendar (历法) and a written language. However, the Spanish destroyed the Aztecs in 1521. For the next 300 years, Spain ruled over Mexico. That's why Mexicans speak Spanish.
Every September 16 the Mexican people hold a celebration in Mexico City, their country's capital. It is their Independence Day. On that date in 1821 they told Spain they would no longer be ruled.
Breaking free from Spain caused a war. When it was over, the Mexicans had their own government. They made their own laws.
Today America and Mexico are friends, but it wasn't always that way. President James Polk wanted America to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. He tried to buy what is now the American southwest from Mexico. Mexico would not sell. So from 1846 to 1848 Mexico and America fought a war to ascertain where their borders would be. When the war ended, Mexico had lost a lot of land. Now the Rio Grande River forms the border between the two nations. America is on the north side of the river. Mexico is on the south side.
Mexico has mountains and a hot, dry climate. Crops can grow on only a small part of the land. Still, Mexicans grow much of the coffee, oranges, and sugar used in the US. Mexicans have influenced building styles in southwestern US and added words such as patio and canton to American English. Americans also enjoy eating many Mexican foods like burritos, tacos, tortillas, and tamales.
46. According to the passage, what happened second on a historical timeline?
A. Mexicans declared their independence from Spain.
B. The Spanish ruled Mexico.
C. The Aztecs lived in Mexico.
D. Americans fought a war with Mexico.
47. The passage says that President Polk wanted ________.
A. the US to expand its borders to the Pacific Ocean
B. Mexico to change its Independence Day to July 4th
C. Mexico to become one of the states of the Union
D. Americans to adopt the Mexican language
48. Another word for the underlined word “ascertain” is ________.
A. inspect B. discover C. change D. determine
49. Mexicans have the following influences on America EXCEPT ________.
A. building stylesB. vocabulary
C. clothes D. food
50. Before the Aztecs were conquered, these Native Americans probably ________.
A. didn't speak Spanish
B. couldn't read or write any language
C. didn't have tools
D. didn't understand the concept of time
What will man be like in the future--in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make a guess, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on the average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller.
Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too. The head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald!
Perhaps, all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
72. The reason for believing that future man will be different is that he ______.
A. began to change five hundred years ago
B. never stops changing
C. never stops growing
D. has recently begun to change
73. People's heads will eventually grow larger. This is because their brains ______.
A. will grow faster than at present
B. will be in use
C. will play an important part
D. will need more room than at present
74. Future man will probably ______.
A. have bigger eyes
B. get weaker eyes
C. see better
D. have to wear better glasses
75. Future man's hair will ______.
A. grow darker B. stop growing completely
C. fall out more often D. get longer
You either have it, or you don’t------ a sense of direction, that is. But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, while others can lose themselves in the next street?
Scientists say we’re all born with a sense of direction, but it is not properly understood how it works. One theory is that people with a good sense of direction have simply worked harder at developing it. Research being carried out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don’t use it, we lose it.
“Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around,” says Jim Martland, Research director of the project. “However, if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they never develop the skills.”
Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain skills to improve their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions:
●If you are using a map, turn it so it relates to the way you are facing.
●If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree----- something easy to recognize. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike. When you return, go back along the same route.
●Simplify the way for finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or walls in the countryside to guide you. Count your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as tower blocks or hills which can help to find out where you are.
Now you will never get lost again!
68. Scientists believe that ______.
A. some babies are born with a sense of direction
B. people learn a sense of direction as they grow older
C. people never lose their sense of direction
D. everybody has a sense of direction from birth
69. What is true of 7-year-old children according to the passage?
A. They never have a sense of direction without maps.
B. They should never be allowed out alone if they lack(缺乏) a sense of direction.
C. They have a sense of direction and can find their way around.
D. They can develop a good sense of direction if they are driven around in a car.
70. If you leave your bike in a strange place, you should ______.
A. tie it to a tree so as to prevent it from being stolen
B. draw a map of the route to help remember where it is
C. avoid taking the same route when you come back to it
D. remember something easily recognizable on the route
71. According to the passage, the best way to find your way around is to ______.
A. ask policemen for directions
B. use walls, streams, and streets to guide yourself
C. remember your route by looking out for steps and stairs
D. count the number of landmarks that you see
Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States and Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes which will give them a head in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children are very skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills that they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and lots of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.
64. Parents in China, according to this passage, ______.
A. are too strict with their children
B. are too rich to educate their children
C. have some problems in educating their children correctly
D. are too poor to educate their children
65. Generally speaking, children’s skills ______.
A. come from their parents
B. have nothing to do with their education
C. may be different from child to child
D. have something to do with their marks in the exams
66. The writer of this passage does not seem to be satisfied with ______.
A. the parents’ ideas of educating their children
B. the education system
C. children’s skills
D. children’s hobbies
67. Doing some cooking at home helps children ______.
A. learn how to serve their parents
B. learn how to become strong and fat
C. benefit from it and prepare themselves for the future
D. make their parents believe that they are clever
On August 27, 1783, the people of the village of Gomesse, in France, looked up into the sky and saw a strange and terrible animal. It was huge and round, flying down from the sky. It landed in the field just outside the village. It was clear to the people of Gomesse that they had to defend themselves. The animal was clearly some kind of terrible “spirit”. They were afraid of the spirit but they were also very brave. They rushed out into the field and fought the animal with knives and sticks and farming tools. The “spirit” made terrible noises, like an animal that can breathe only with great difficulty.
But that was not the worst thing. When the villagers cut into the spirit's skin, it gave off a horrible smell, and even after the villagers had cut the thing open, it still moved. Finally the villagers tied it to a horse. The horse ran through the fields and the “Spirit” was torn to pieces. What was the terrible spirit? The answer is that it was one of the first “hot air balloons”. Its skin was made of silk and a kind of rubber. The terrible smell was the hot air inside the balloon. When the air got out through the cuts in the skin, it also caused the horrible noises.
60. The terrible noises were made because ______.
A. the spirit could hardly breathe
B. the spirit wanted to frighten the villagers
C. the spirit was afraid of the villagers
D. hot air got out through the skin
61. The terrible smell was ______.
A. the smell of silk and rubber
B. the hot air inside the balloon.
C. the smell of burnt house
D. the smell of burnt crops
62. The spirit didn't stop moving until ______.
A. the hot air in it ran out completely
B. the villagers cut into its skin
C. the villagers cut it open
D. it gave off a horrible smell
63. The villagers tied the spirit to a horse ______.
A. shortly after they caught sight of the spirit
B. because it didn't stop moving though it was cut open.
C. after it was torn to pieces
D. because the villagers wanted to take it away