Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent（具备智能的）. They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.
The touch-screen devices（触摸屏装置）are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week. “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexandor, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc, which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.
Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.
Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.
“The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexandor. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”
People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system（系统）that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.
The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’re finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.
The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.
53. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refers to______.
A. supermarkets B. shop assistants
C. shopping carts D. shop managers
54. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?
a. Start the system. b. Make a shopping list.
c. Find the things you want. d. Go to a self-checkout stand.
A. abdc B. bacd C. acbd D. bcad
55. We can learn from the last paragraph that______.
A. intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money
B. the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices
C. shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid
D. average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices
56. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. New age for supermarkets B. Concierge and Shopping Buddy
C. New computers make shopping carts smarter
D. Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable
It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin.
Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. He was 90 years old when doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They expected to find out that he needed sleep of some kind. But they were surprised. Though they watched him every hour of the day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. He did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The closest that Herpin came to resting was to sit in a rocking chair(摇椅) and read some news papers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. Herpin offered the only probable explanation of his condition. He remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born.The point of this story is that _______.
| A．We needn't feel surprised to find someone who doesn't sleep |
| B．one person was found who actually didn't need any sleep |
| C．everyone needs some rest to stay alive |
| D．not sleeping may help one to live longer |
After watching him closely, the doctors believed that Al Herpin _______.
| A．needed some kind of sleep | B．slept while one was watching |
| C．needed no sleep at all | D．nearly slept in a rocking chair |
One suggested explanation of Herpin's sleeplessness was _______.
| A．his old age |
| B．his not having a bed |
| C．his magnificent physical condition |
| D．his mother's injury while carrying him |
The writer of the story obviously thinks that Al Herpin's sleeplessness ___.
| A．could be cured | B．could be explained |
| C．was healthful | D．was uncommon |
James Joyce was an Irish novelist who revolutionized the methods of depicting characters and developing a plot in modern fiction. his astonishing way of constructing a novel, his frank portrayal（描画, 描写）of human nature in his books, and his complete command of English have made him one of the outstanding influences on literature in the 20th century. Many critics judge that he is second only to Shakespeare in his mastery of the English language. Joyce was deeply influenced by Ireland and wrote all his books about Dublin.
When he was in Dublin College, he studied languages and spent his spare time reading books. He refused to take part in the nationalist movement like his fellow students, but he became passionately（热情地, 热烈地）interested in literature. He wrote outspoken articles of literary criticism that shocked his teachers and even taught himself norwegian（挪威语）so that he could read Ibsen’s（挪威剧作家及诗人）works in the original.
When he graduated in 1902, he knew he would become a writer and an exile（流犯, 被放逐者）, because he felt he could not be one without the other. In order to preserve his ideal of writing truthfully, fully, and as objectively as he knew how, about the people and places he knew best, he had to escape from all temptations to become involved in popular opinion or public life. He went to France, Italy and Switzerland, where he lived in poverty and obscurity for the first 20 years, only returning to Ireland when his mother was dying. Except for a couple of brief trips, he stayed abroad all his life.James Joyce was famous for many reasons except _______.
| A．his way of constructing a novel |
| B．his frank portrayal of human nature |
| C．his complete command of English |
| D．his passion in literature |
“he is second only to Shakespeare” is a comment on his ________.
| A．achievement in literature |
| B．achievement in the nationalist movement |
| C．achievement in his study of languages |
| D．mastery of the English language |
How many examples are used to show his passion in literature?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．1. | D．4. |
Why did James Joyce stay abroad almost all his life?
| A．Because he wanted to live in poverty and obscurity. |
| B．Because he wanted to write the people and places he knew best. |
| C．Because he wanted to escape from all temptations to become involved in popular opinion or public life. |
| D．Because he wanted to preserve his ideal of writing truthfully, fully and objectively about the people and the places he knew best. |
Hong Kong, major commercial center for Asia, and with a population which has grown at an alarming rate to over 5 million, is a city highly dependent on mass (大量的, 大规模的) transit of all sorts, both local and long distance. An ordinary Hong Kong worker or businessman, going about his daily activities, simply must use transportation at one time or another.
Because Hong Kong is in two parts, Kowloon, on the mainland side, and Hong Kong, the island, with Hong Kong's harbor in between Hong Kong's mass transit systems, in addition to going over land they must also cross water.
Going from home to work, or going shopping from one side of the harbor to the other, the Hong Kong resident has three choices. One way is to take a bus which will cross the harbor through an under water traffic tunnel moving slowly through bumper- to-bumper (一辆接一辆) traffic．Another way is by ferry boat , a pleasant ride which crosses the harbor in from seven to fifteen minutes.
But by far the fastest way of crossing the harbor is the newly built underground electric railway, the Hong Kong Metro(地铁). If one gets on the train in the Central District,the commercial area of Hong Kong on the island side, he can speed across the harbor in an astonishing three minutes. On the other side of the harbor the railway continues, snaking back and forth through the outlying districts of Kowloon, allowing one to get off a short distance from his destination.
The story of the Metro is an encouraging one for supporters of mass transit. Although building the system was certainly a challenging task, the Japanese firm hired to construct it did so in record time. Construction got underway in 1979 and it was completed in 1980.
For the average commuter (一般持月票往返两地的乘客) the system has only one disadvantage; it is more expensive than by bus or ferry. One can ride the bus across the harbor for half as much or he can ride the ferry across for less than one-fifth as much.Hong Kong public transportation extends ________.
| A．over hills and valleys | B．across land and water |
| C．through mountains | D．throughout the Kowloon area |
Crossing the harbor by train is ________.
| A．by far the most economical methods |
| B．the most pleasant method |
| C．the least pleasant method |
| D．the fastest method |
The business area on the island side of Hong Kong is referred to as ________.
| A．Kowloon | B．the Central District |
| C．the Hong Kong Metro | D．downtown Hong Kong |
The underground railway ________.
| A．winds through Kowloon | B．ends when it reaches Kowloon |
| C．snakes across the harbor | D．circles Kowloon |
It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin.
Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. He was 90 years old when doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They expected to find out that he needed sleep of some kind. But they were surprised. Though they watched him every hour of the day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. He did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The closest that Herpin came to resting was to sit in a rocking chair(摇椅) and read some news papers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. Herpin offered the only probable explanation of his condition. He remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born.The point of this story is that _______.
| A．We needn't feel surprised to find someone who doesn't sleep |
| B．one person was found who actually didn't need any sleep |
| C．everyone needs some rest to stay alive |
| D．not sleeping may help one to live longer |
After watching him closely, the doctors believed that Al Herpin _______.
| A．needed some kind of sleep | B．slept while one was watching |
| C．needed no sleep at all | D．nearly slept in a rocking chair |
One suggested explanation of Herpin's sleeplessness was _______.
| A．his old age |
| B．his not having a bed |
| C．his magnificent physical condition |
| D．his mother's injury while carrying him |
The writer of the story obviously thinks that Al Herpin's sleeplessness ___.
| A．could be cured | B．could be explained |
| C．was healthful | D．was uncommon |
To Whom It May Concern:
My husband and I got married in 1965 and for the first ten years of our marriage I was very happy to stay home and raise our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.
My husband was very supportive and helped me to make my decision. He emphasized all of the things I can do around the house, and said he thought I could be a great success in business.
After several weeks of job-hunting I found my present job, which is working for a small public relations firm. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends , "My clever little wife can run that company she's working for."
But as his joking remark approached reality, my husband stopped talking to me about my job．I have received several promotions and pay increases , and I am now making more money than he is. I can buy my own clothes and a new car. Because of our combined incomes, my husband and I can do many things that we had always dreamed of doing , but we don't do these things because he is very unhappy.
We fight about little things and my husband is very critical of me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think there is a possibility that our marriage may come to an end．
I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel inferior, but I also love my job．I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how .Can you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?
Please help.
"Distressed"The letter was most probable written ________.
| A．in 1975 | B．around 1980 | C．four years ago | D．in 1965 |
Her husband ________ when she first found her present job．
| A．was very critical of her | B．felt disappointed |
| C．was proud of her | D．was happy but critical |
What does the underlined word "promotion" mean?
| A．scolding | B．criticism | C．prize | D．advancement |
As her income increased, ________.
| A．she found a gap emerged between her and her husband |
| B．she bought more clothes and a house |
| C．she did the many things she and her husband dreamed of |
| D．she felt very proud of herself |