Believe it or not, optical illusion(错觉) can cut highway crashes.
Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. But stripes, called chevrons(人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.
Now the American Automobile Association Foundation(基金会) for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan’s success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes.
Excessive (too great) speed plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal traffic accidents, according to the foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards (danger) are the greatest curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.
Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.
Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.
1. The passage mainly discusses ________.
A. a new way of highway speed control
B. a new pattern for painting highways
C. a new way of training drivers
D. a new type of optical illusion
2. On roads painted with chevrons, drivers tend to feel that ________.
A. they should avoid speed-related hazards
B. they are driving in the wrong lane
C. they should slow down their speed
D. they are coming near to the speed limit
3. The advantage of chevrons over straight, horizontal bars is that the former ________.
A. can keep drivers awake B. can cut road accidents in half
C. will look more attractive D. will have a longer effect on drivers
4. The American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to ________.
A. try out the Japanese method in certain areas
B. change the road signs across the country
C. replace straight, horizontal bars with chevrons
D. repeat the Japanese road patterns
5. What does the author say about straight, horizontal bars painted across roads?
A. They are suitable only on broad roads.
B. They are falling out of use in the United States.
C. They are ignored in a long period of time.
D. They cannot be used successfully to traffic circles.
China’s telecommunications supervisor(管理者)has given long-awaited third-generation, or 3G mobile phone licenses to three mobile operators, a move that is expected to lead to billions of dollars being used in building new networks. As you know, 3G mobile phones are the next big step for the telecom industry and data speed in 3G networks is much quicker than that in present technology. This means users can have high-speed Internet and enjoy video and CD-quality music on their phones. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said China’s biggest mobile operator, China Mobile, was given a license for TD-SCDMA, the domestically-developed 3G standard.
Wang Jianzhou, President of China Mobile said the company had already started construction of new networks to cover all cities by 2011. “After our testing operation of the network which started from last April, we have seen that the new technology has developed into maturity(成熟). By this June, we will finish the second stage of the network construction which covers 28 cities around the country.”
The other two main carriers, China Telecom and China Unicom, received respectively licenses for the 3G standards of U. S.-developed CDMA2000 and Europe’s WCDMA. Both the three operators expressed an active attitude on the future competition and cooperation in the field of 3G mobile.
The 3G high-speed networks can handle faster data downloads, allowing handset users to make video calls and watch TV programs.
Officials expect that there could be about 280 billion yuan, or about 40 billion dollars of direct investment in new networks over the next two years, an effective measure to boost(提高)the domestic(国内的)demand and perfect telecom market competition.
64. The 3G standard developed in China is ________.
A. SLEDMA B. CDMA2000 C. TD - SCDMA D. WCDMA
65. How soon will the new networks cover most parts of China?
A. In half a year. B. In one year. C. In two years. D. In three years.
66. According to the president of China Mobile, ________.
A. 3G mobile phone has developed into maturity
B. the network construction has been finished
C. the network has covered 28 cities in China
D. the second stage of the network hasn’t started
67. Which of the following statements is true?
A. More and more companies will receive respectively licenses for the 3G standards.
B. With 3G high-speed networks, users can watch different programs at the same time.
C. Not all of the three operators thought well of the future competition of 3G mobile.
D. The operators will spend a great amount of money first before earning more money.
Dear Cassy,
Thanks for reminding me by e-mail that you want to baby-sit our children. In spite of the fact that you are only 15 years old, my wife and I would be willing to consider your application if you can meet a few modest requirements:
1. Submit(提交)three letters from teachers who will prove that you have never failed to follow directions perfectly in class and never failed to hand in a homework assignment(任务)on time.
2. Submit a note from two doctors which says that you are in perfect health, have never been sick, and never will be sick.
3. Submit a document(文件)from your physical education teacher or team coach that proves that you can do each of the following: Run two miles in less than nine minutes, climb an oily rope to a height of twenty feet in thirty seconds while balancing(平衡)a glass of water on your nose, and walk in bare feet over hot coals and broken glass without complaint or injury.
4. Submit letters from at least two mental health experts saying that you have never had a bad thought towards any living being or not living object.
5. Play and defeat five expert chess players with your eyes covered after going without sleep for 48 hours.
6. Wait patiently for two years while we make sure that all your documents are true.
Your loving and trusting friends,
The Smiths
60. From the letter we can know that ________.
A. Cassy wrote to the Smiths twice B. Cassy loves children very much
C. Cassy will be in perfect health D. Cassy does very well in her studies
61. What can we infer from the letter?
A. Their children are hard to baby-sit. B. Their children are well educated.
C. Cassy is good at doing many things. D. Cassy won’t get the job as a baby-sitter.
62. Which of the following can be the best title for this text?
A. Rules for baby-sitting B. Modest requirements
C. A job application letter D. Private investigations
63. Which of the following words can best describe the Smiths?
A. Humorous. B. Patient.C. Honest. D. Kind-hearted.
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A flock of hungry pigeons were flying across the sky in search of food. Having traveled a long distance, they felt tired and settled down on a tree. Just below the tree, they saw grains strewn(抛洒)all over the ground. The pigeons were happy to have found enough food to eat. All the pigeons came down from the tree and started eating the grains. As they were doing so, a huge net fell on them and trapped them all.
The pigeons were taken aback. They noticed a hunter sitting at a distance from the tree, a bow and arrow in hand. The pigeons realized it was the hunter who had trapped them in the net. The hunter got up and began to move towards the pigeons.
The leader of the pigeons spoke,“ Friends, we are in great trouble. The hunter will catch us if we do not act swiftly in a few seconds. There is only one option available at this moment. Let all of us use our force together and fly up along with the net. If all of us use our force and fly together, we can fly carrying the net along with us. Let us start now.”
All the pigeons agreed with him and flew high carrying the net along with them, After traveling enough distance away from the hunter, the pigeons settled on a tree and carefully came out of the net one by one and thus escaped the evil design of the hunter.
56. Who strewed the grains over the ground?
A. A villager. B. The hunter. C. The pigeon owner. D. The writer.
57. The word “_________” has the closest meaning to the underlined word “option“.
A. reason B. choice C. action D. opinion
58. How did the pigeons react when they got trapped?
A. They didn’t know what to do. B. They tried to fly in all directions.
C. They remained rather calm. D. They decided to fight for their lives.
59. This story wants to tell us that ________.
A. two heads are better than one B. confidence will save everyone
C. teamwork can work wonders D. actions speaker louder than words
A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent,increasing the brainpower they had at birth.
Until now,it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught(though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing).
But in the new study,researchers describe a method for improving this skill,along with experiments to prove it works.
The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it. This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence,so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence.
First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests. Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game,in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard. During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items,monitor ongoing performance,manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time.
The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8,12,17 and 19 days,respectively. To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills,the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training.
The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,were striking. Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater. Moreover,the longer they trained, the higher their scores were. All performers,from the weakest to the strongest,showed significant improvement.
“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training.”said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper.“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,”he added,“and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains.”
67.The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________.
A.memorizing telephone numbers
B.improving working memory
C.training in concentration
D.recalling a card
68.The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________.
A.ignoring irrelevant items
B.monitoring ongoing performance
C.managing two tasks at the same time
D.using previous experience
69.When the experiment was conducted,the researchers______________.
A.trained the four groups for the same period of time
B.only made comparisons between the four groups
C.compared the four groups with control groups
D.trained the four groups together
70.By writing the article,the writer intends to ______________.
A.inform the readers of a new study
B.call on people to be trained to increase intelligence
C.prove one’s born brainpower can be improved
D.tell people the improved intelligence will last forever
A train sped up through the countryside at 60 mph as a“traveller”relaxes with his newspaper. But this is no businessman taking it easy—the driver of the passenger express(快车)is doing the reading.
A Sunday Express reader caught this Virgin employee on film as the train sped through Derbyshire on its way to Plymouth from Newcastle.
Virgin,which has come under repeated criticism over their rail service, yesterday fired the driver after being shown the photograph. A spokesman said an inquiry(调查)was under way to make sure exactly what he was doing and why he appeared to have taken his eyes off the track ahead.
The picture comes in the week that the public inquiry into the Southall rail disaster, which claimed seven lives, heard that the driver at the centre of that case had earlier been spotted with his feet on the control button of his cab.
Larry Harrison,who worked for Great Western Trains,drove through two warning signals before crashing at 60 mph into a waiting train.
The reader who took this picture was standing on a bridge outside Chesterfield early one summer’s evening. He said,“I only realized what I’d got when I had the pictures developed. I couldn’t believe it.”
“As far as I could see,there was no one else in the cab with the drive,unless they were hiding, The person with the paper open was certainly sitting in the driver’s normal seat.”
The photographer works on the railways and does not want to be named,but he added,“I’ve seen many drivers with their feet on the control panel but I’ve never seen them reading papers like this. There is an automatic warning system and driver’s safety device which reminds him when he passes yellow and red signals. But you should never take your eyes off the track and rely only on sounds because you could have unexpected objects on the line or suddenly have speed limits given.”
63.Who is the“traveller”mentioned in the first paragraph?
A.A train driver. B.A businessman.
C.A passenger. D.A newspaper reader.
64.The train ______________when the picture was taken.
A.was driving to Plymouth
B.was ready for a picture
C.had seven people on it
D.crashed into another train
65.Who took the picture of the driver of the passenger express?
A.A professional photographer.
B.A newspaper reporter.
C.Another train driver.
D.A member of the railway staff.
66.According to what we have read,we may find this passage most probably______________.
A.at a train station
B.from a news report
C.from a driver’s safety guide
D.from the police inquiry