It’s the place where smart people make smart machines work even smarter. But for the people who work in it, Silicon Valley (硅谷) is more than just a high technology hothouse. It’s also in the heart of sunny California, a great place to start a family and raise kids. What could be better?
But something is happening to the children. Up until the age of two they develop normally. Their proud parents watch and smile as they take their first steps and speak their first words. But then everything seems to go backwards. The children become locked into their own small world, unable to communicate at all.
They call it the “curse of Silicon Valley,” but the medical name for the condition is autism（孤独症）. It used to be thought that autism was a mental illness. Now doctors are sure that it is a disease transmitted genetically (遗传). It seems that the people leading the communications revolution are having children who cannot communicate at all.
But even the parents have trouble communicating. Asperger’s Syndrome (综合症) is connected with autism. People who have it are highly intelligent and often brilliant with numbers or systems but have no social skills, which makes Asperger’s sufferers into excellent computer professionals. Unfortunately, many of the children of two Asperger’s parents in Silicon Valley seem to be developing serious autism.
There is little anyone can do. And there is no cure in sight. Some argue that no cure should be found．“It may be that autistics are essentially (本质上) different from normal people, but that these differences make them valuable for the evolution (进化) of the human race,” says Dr Kirk Wilhelm of the University of California．“To remove the genes (基因) for autism could be terrible.
It seems that the children of Silicon Valley are paying the price of genius.A person who has autism usually _____.
| A．has difficulty in speaking | B．loses communication skills |
| C．has difficulty in working | D．hates people around |
Which of the following best explains “curse of Silicon Valley”?
| A．The children are brought up in Silicon Valley. |
| B．Autism is just a result of working in Silicon Valley. |
| C．The children suffer from autism due to their parents in Silicon Valley. |
| D．Autism makes the children in Silicon Valley unable to communicate. |
Some people think that no cure of autism should be found because ______.
| A．autism cannot be cured | B．autism isn’t a disease |
| C．harm will be done to the children | D．autism is necessary in some way |
What does the writer seem to feel about the children of Silicon Valley?
| A．It’s a pity that they cannot have a normal life. |
| B．They are the pride of the human race. |
| C．They are sure to have a bright future. |
| D．It’s likely that they will have a normal life. |
B
When TV news programs report wars or disasters, the editors rarely use the most horrifying pictures of dead or wounded victims because they don’t want to upset their viewers. Even so, viewers are usually warned in advance that they may find some of these scenes disturbing, so they can look away if they choose. But the men and women whose job is to record those scenes－the TV cameramen－have no such choice. It is their duty to witness the horrors of the world and record them, no matter how terrible and unpleasant they may be. Consequently, it is one of the most dangerous, exposed and emotionally taxing jobs the world has to offer.
Today, the demand for their work is rising. The explosion of satellite broadcasting and 24-hour news in recent years has created an almost insatiable (贪得无厌的) demand for TV information. But major broadcasters and the TV news agencies—such as Reuters and WTN－have never had enough staff to meet the worldwide demand for up-to-date pictures, so increasingly they turn to “freelance” TV cameramen.
These freelance cameramen are independent operators tied to no particular organization. They will work for any company which hires them, be it for just a few hours or for several weeks in a war zone. But if the freelance cameraman is injured in the course of the job, the TV company is not responsible for him. The freelancer must survive on his own.
TV will always need hard, vivid moving pictures which are fresh, but these companies feel uncomfortable with large numbers of employees on their books, explains Nick Growing, once foreign editor for Britain Channel 4 News and now a BBC news presenter.
By hiring freelancers, they can buy in the skills they need only when they need them. It also enables them to contract out the risk, he says.
69. The freelance cameramen .
A. have better skills than other cameramen
B. are tied to many TV news agencies
C. have to take tremendous(巨大的) risks in the course of work
D. need to contract out risks of work for TV companies
70. It is implied in the passage that .
A. TV cameramen have to witness disasters and killing whether they like them or not
B. TV cameramen are a special group of people who enjoy horrifying pictures
C. TV cameramen should be given greater choice of work
D. the development of TV resulted in the growing demand for TV cameramen’s work
71. According to this passage, some major broadcasters and TV news agencies .
A. have employed enough cameramen
B. are not willing to employ many cameramen
C. are very mean to freelancers
D. are responsible for the freelancer if he is injured
72. The author of this passage shows his the freelance cameramen.
A. respect for B. sympathy to C. anger to D. admiration to
第三部分阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
A
Ten years ago, Sang Lan, a 17-year-old Chinese gymnast, was competing at the Goodwill Games in New York. During a routine warm-up vault (跳马), Sang landed on her head and suffered an injury that left her paralyzed from the chest down. Ten years later, she is a college graduate, and has many admirers.
According to New York Times, what happened was that, as Sang was making her sprint (短跑) down the runway, a coach moved the springboard (跳板) in a misguided (搞错的) attempt to help her. She was running at full speed, and had no time to stop. Unfortunately, there was no cushion to receive her fall. "I heard a terrible sound," Octavian Belu, the Romanian coach, said at the time.
"I don’t feel bad about it now," Sang said in an interview over the weekend, explaining that she still follows gymnastics. She provided her professional opinion on television and on the Internet during the Beijing Olympics. "I’ve had to learn to face reality. Sometimes, when I watch old videos of me flying in gymnastics, I’m proud that I used to be so good."
She’s getting on with her life. At Peking University, from which Sang graduated last year with a broadcasting (播音) degree, friends had to carry her up stairs from class to class. She has her own caretaker (看护) and a personal assistant, or manager, provided to her by China’s General Sports Administration. "I can’t say I never feel regret, but I never complain," Sang said. "There’s no use in being regretful. You can’t live your life over again. I still love sports."
66. What caused Sang Lan to become injured according to the passage?
A. She was running too fast at that time.
B. She landed on the cushion in the wrong place.
C. The coach didn’t know she was going to fall.
D. A coach moved the springboard to a wrong place.
67. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Sang faces her past bravely.
B. It was not Sang’s fault that she was injured.
C. A caretaker has been provided by Sang’s own family.
D. Sang feels a little regret sometimes.
68. Which of the following have helped Sang Lan since her
injury?
a. Octavian Belu b. Her caretaker c. Her manager
d. China’s General Sports Administration e. The interviewer
A. b, c, e B. b, d, e C. a, d, e D. b, c, d
| LOST AND FOUND |
ROOMATES |
| FOUND: Cat, 6 months old, black and white marking. Found near Linden and South U.Steve, 800---4661 |
FEMAL ROOMATE WANTED Own room near campus. Available December 1st. Rent $80 per month until March 1st.$129 there after. Call Jill for details,800—7839. |
| LOST: Gold wire rim glasses in brown case. Campus area. Reward. Call Gregg 800---2896 |
NEED PERSON to assume lease for own bedroom in apt. near campus, $92/mo. Starting Jan. 1st. Call 800---6157 after 5:00 |
| FOR SAIL |
HELP WANTED |
| MOVING: Must sell.TV b/w2 seconds, $50; AM/FM transistor radio A/c or battery, $15;cassette tape recorder,$10; music records.Call John or Pat, 800—0739 after 5 or weekends. |
BABYSITTER-MY HOME If you are available a few hours during the day, some evenings and occasional weekends to care for 2 school-age children, please call Gayle Moore days 800—1111, evenings and weekends 800—4964. |
| USED FUR COATS and JACKETS GOOD CONDITION. $50---¥125. Call 800---0436 after 12 noon. |
WAITRESS WANTED: 10 a.m.—2 p.m. or 10:30 a.m.---5 p.m. Apply in person, 207 s. Mai.Curtis Restaurant. |
73. If you want a job of taking care of children, which ad will you answer?
A.LOST AND FOUND B. ROOMMATES C. FOR SAIL D.HELP WANTED
74. You will call____ if you want to buy a radio.
A. 800---0436 B. 800—0739 C.800—4661 D.800—4964
75. If your aunt wants to rent a room from Feb.1st to Apri.1st, how much money should she pay?
A. $160 B. $ 129 C. $ 209 D. $418
B
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 l521. For the next 300 years, Spain ruled over Mexico. That’s why Mexicans speak Spanish.
Every September l6 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 l846 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.
6. According to the passage, what happened second on 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.
7. 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
8. Another word for the underlined word “ascertain” is ______.
A. inspect B. coverC. change D. determine
9. Mexicans have the following influences on America EXCEPT ______.
A. building styles B. vocabulary C. clothes D. food
10. Before the Aztecs were conquered(征服), 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
七．阅读理解 (20分)
A
February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage. But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters. Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.1. Which of the following is not a custom for a boy to do on Valentine’s Day? A. to take his girlfriend out to dinner B. to buy his girlfriend flowers and chocolates C. to make Valentine’s cards for teachers and friends D. to spell out his girlfriend’s name with rose petals2. Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country? A. Because there were few women in his country at that time. B. Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. C. Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. D. Because he wanted to control the birth rate.3. Valentine was put into prison because ______. A. he killed one of the soldiers B. he stole a lot of food C. he didn’t obey the emperor’s order D. he didn’t want to be a soldier4. The last paragraph mainly tells us ______. A. students in China send cards to their teachers B. it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China C. it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China D. Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now5. The best title for this passage should be ______. A. Valentine’s DayB. A Brave Priest C. Valentine’s Day in ChinaD. A Romantic Man