Michael, a typical (典型的) American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal (接线端) in order to connect with the office. After work, he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder, or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn’t talk to any other human beings, and he doesn’t see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from contact with our fellow human beings.
The world of business is one area in which technology is isolating (使隔离) us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their jobs at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they’re dealing with. In addition, the way employees are paid will change. Workers’ salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts(账户), making paper checks(支票)unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.
Another area that technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.
13. The sentence “Michael is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible” means ____ .
A .Michael is a person full of imagination and he can make his dreams come true
B. Michael is not a real person but probably the lifestyle does exist
C. Michael has ambitions but he cant make his dreams come true
D. Michael is a person full of imagination and his lifestyle is common nowadays
14. What will the author most probably discuss after the last paragraph?
A. Games and sports.
B. Personal banking.
C. Music and films.
D. International business.
15. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. We may no longer need to communicate with other human beings.
B. Modern technology seems to be separating human beings.
C. We may no longer need to work in the office.
D. Modern technology makes it possible for us to work and entertain ourselves at home.
Fix it on your own
Did you know that a bowl of rice could save your iPod if you drop it in a swimming pool by accident? Or that the camera on your phone could tell you what’s wrong with your TV remote control? The experts at Geek Squad （geelsquad．co．uk） have made a gadget （小机件） rescue guide．So, let’s take a look at some of their useful advice．
♦How to get more juice out of your phone batter
If your battery goes dead but you need to get a number or send one last text, try warming it up．That may give you a tiny bit of power．Take the battery from the phone and rub it between your hands．Or warm it under your arm for a few minutes．Then try to start the phone but use it quickly．
♦What to do if your gadget gets wet
First, try drying it out with a vacuum cleaner （真空吸尘器）．If a vacuum cleaner isn’t at hand, fill a pot or bowl with uncooked rice and put your wet gadget inside．The dry, uncooked rice will absorb all the water and, after a few hours, you should be able to use the gadget．Don’t forget to remove the battery and SIM card before you dry it．
♦What to do if your TV remote control stops working
If replacing the batteries doesn’t work, get the camera function up on your phone and point the remote at the lens （镜头）．When you press a button on the remote, if it is working, the glass bobble （小球） at the front of the remote will light up when you look at it on the screen of your phone．This is because the screen on a phone or digital camera picks up infrared rays （红外线）, even though your eyes don’t．If the glass bobble doesn’t light up, the remote is broken．If it does, the receiving device （装置） is broken．If your cell phone falls into a sink, you can _________．
| A．warm it up under your arm |
| B．remove the battery after you dry it |
| C．put it into the uncooked rice |
| D．press it with both of your hands |
Why can a phone be used to prove the TV remote control works well? Because it can _____．
| A．improve the TV remote control | B．receive infrared ray |
| C．picture the TV remote control | D．reflect infrared ray |
In which section of a newspaper can we possibly read this text?
| A．Life | B．Entertainment | C．Finance | D．Culture |
The purpose of this passage is to give people __________．
| A．personal opinions | B．professional guides |
| C．necessary warnings | D．practical tips |
In the mid-1950s, I was a somewhat bored early-adolescent male student who believed that doing any more than necessary was wasted effort．One day, this approach threw me into embarrassment
In Mrs. Totten’s eighth-grade math class at Central Avenue School in Anderson, Indiana, we were learning to add and subtract decimals （小数）．
Our teacher typically assigned daily homework, which would be recited in class the following day．On most days, our grades were based on our oral answer to homework questions．
Mrs. Totten usually walked up and down the rows of desks requesting answers from student after student in the order the questions had appeared on our homework sheets．She would start either at the front or the back of the classroom and work toward the other end．
Since I was seated near the middle of about 35 students, it was easy to figure out which questions I might have to answer．This particular time, I had completed my usual two or three problems according to my calculations．
What I failed to expect was that several students were absent, which threw off my estimate．As Mrs. Totten made her way from the beginning of the class，I desperately tried to determine which math problem I would get．I tried to work it out before she got to me, but I had brain freeze and couldn’t function．
When Mrs. Totten reached my desk，she asked what answer I’d got for problem No．14．“I…I didn’t get anything,” I answered，and my face felt warm．
“Correct,” she said．
It turned out that the correct answer was zero．
What did I learn that day? First, always do all your homework．Second, in real life it isn’t always what you say but how you say it that matters．Third，I would never make it as a mathematician．
If I could choose one school day that taught me the most, it would be that one．What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 indicate?
| A．It is wise to value one’s time． |
| B．It is important to make an effort |
| C．It is right to stick to one’s belief． |
| D．It is enough to do the necessary． |
Usually, Mrs. Totten asked her students to _______．
| A．recite their homework together |
| B．grade their homework themselves |
| C．answer their homework questions orally |
| D．check the answers to their homework questions |
The author could work out which questions to answer since the teacher always _______．
| A．asked questions in a regular way |
| B．walked up and down when asking questions |
| C．chose two or three questions for the students |
| D．requested her students to finish their usual questions |
The author failed to get the questions he had expected because _______．
| A．the class didn’t begin as usual |
| B．several students didn’t come to school |
| C．he didn’t try hard to make his estimate |
| D．Mrs. Totten didn’t start from the back of the class |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．An Unforgettable Teacher | B．A Future Mathematician |
| C．An Effective Approach | D．A Valuable Lesson |
People aren’t walking any more---if they can figure out a way to avoid it．
I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel．The journey is a matter of 281 steps．But I used the car．And I wasn’t in any hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis．
It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune（免疫的）, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs．At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as sign of strength and skill．It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship．And the effect was lasting．When I was 45 years old I raced –and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty．
Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart．But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercises．A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly．And walking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all．
It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot．The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world, He cannot learn in a car．
The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life．Many people don’t dare to approach nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat．To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road．And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green．
I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light．And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting．What is the national sickness?
| A．Walking too much | B．Traveling too much |
| C．Driving cars too much | D．Climbing stairs too much． |
What was life like when the author was young?
| A．People usually went around on foot． |
| B．people often walked 25 miles a day |
| C．People used to climb the Statue of Liberty． |
| D．people considered a ten-hour walk as a hardship． |
The author mentions Henry Thoreau to prove that
| A．middle-aged people like getting back to nature |
| B．walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind |
| C．people need regular exercise to keep fit |
| D．going on foot prevents heart disease |
What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph6?
| A．A queue of cars | B．A ray of traffic light |
| C．A flash of lightning | D．A stream of people |
What is the author’s intention of writing this passage?
| A．To tell people to reflect more on life． |
| B．To recommend people to give up driving |
| C．To advise people to do outdoor activities |
| D．To encourage people to return to walking |
Scientists today are making greater effort to study ocean currents （洋流） ．Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment．However, ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way --- by studying movements of random floating garbage．A scientist with many years’ experience, he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States．There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear．
Ebbesmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes — about 60,000 in total — fell into the ocean in a shipping accident．He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back．As expected, the company told him that they didn't．Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment．If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents．
The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing（海滩搜寻） because winds and currents join here, and as a result, there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area．Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed．In a year he collected reliable information on 1, 600 shoes．With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents, and publish the findings of their study．
As the result of his work, Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean．He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand．They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves．The underlined phrase swap meets in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ___________．
| A．fitting rooms | B．trading fairs |
| C．business talks | D．group meetings |
Ebbesmeyer phoned the shoe company to find out ___________．
| A．what caused the shipping accident |
| B．when and where the shoes went missing |
| C．whether it was all right to use their shoes |
| D．how much they lost in the shipping accident |
How did Ebbesmeyer prove his assumption?
| A．By collecting information from beachcombers． |
| B．By studying the shoes found by beachcomber． |
| C．By searching the web for ocean currents models． |
| D．By researching ocean currents data in the library． |
Ebbesmeyer is most famous for _________________．
| A．traveling widely the coastal cities of the world |
| B．making records for any lost objects on the sea |
| C．running a global currents research association |
| D．phoning about any doubtful objects on the sea |
What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
| A．To call people's attention to ocean pollution． |
| B．To warn people of shipping safety in the ocean． |
| C．To explain a unique way of studying ocean currents． |
| D．To give tips on how to search for lost objects on the beach． |
Like many new graduates, I left university full of hope for the future but with no real idea of what I wanted to do．My degree, with honors, in English literature had not really prepared me for anything practical．I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world somehow, but I had no idea how to do that．That’s when I learned about the Light house Project．
I started my journey as a Lighthouse Project volunteer by reading as much as I could about the experiences of previous volunteers．I knew it would be a lot of hard work, and that I would be away from my family and friends for a very long time．In short, I did not take my decision to apply for the Lighthouse Project lightly．Neither did my family．
Eventually, however, I won the support of my family, and I sent in all the paperwork needed for the application．After countless interviews and presentations, I managed to stand out among the candidates and survive the test alone．Several months later, I finally received a call asking me to report for the duty．I would be going to a small village near Abuja, Nigeria．Where? What? Nigeria? I had no idea．But I was about to find out．
After completing my training, I was sent to the village that was small and desperately in need of proper accommodation．Though the local villagers were poor, they offered their homes, hearts, and food as if I were their own family．I was asked to lead a small team of local people in building a new schoolhouse．For the next year or so, I taught in that same schoolhouse．But I sometimes think I learned more from my students than they did from me．
Sometime during that period, I realized that all those things that had seemed so strange or unusual to me no longer did, though I did not get anywhere with the local language, and returned to the United States a different man．The Lighthouse Project had changed my life forever．What do we know about the author?
| A．His university education focused on the theoretical knowledge． |
| B．His dream at university was to become a volunteer． |
| C．He took pride in having contributed to the world． |
| D．He felt honored to study English literature． |
According to the Paragraph 2, it is most likely that the author
| A．discussed his decision with his family． |
| B．asked previous volunteers about voluntary work |
| C．attended special training to perform difficult tasks |
| D．felt sad about having to leave his family and friends |
In his application for the volunteer job, the author
| A．participated in many discussions |
| B．went through challenging survival tests |
| C．wrote quite a few papers on voluntary work |
| D．faced strong competition from other candidates |
On arrival at the village, the author was
| A．asked to lead a farming team |
| B．sent to teach in a schoolhouse |
| C．received warmly by local villagers |
| D．arranged to live in a separate house． |
What can we infer from the author’s experiences in Nigeria?
| A．He found some difficulty adapting to the local culture |
| B．He had learned to communicate in the local language． |
| C．He had overcome all his weaknesses before he left for home． |
| D．He was chosen as the most respectable teacher by his students． |