B
From E-mail to online shopping, you may think you’ve heard everything there to know about the electronic frontier (新领域).But with hundreds of thousands of Web pages being added weekly, there are plenty of surprises out there.Here are some of the most intriguing (有迷惑力的).
……
Put your kid on a greeting card.Here is how: simply take some pictures with a regular camera, and then ask the photo service to develop them digitally (数字化).For a small fee, you’ll receive your photos on a desk.Put that into your computer and, with a few clicks of the mouse, you can view your photos on the screen.With a few more keystrokes, you can attach the photos to email and send them to friends and relatives worldwide.
Sign on to one or several greeting card’s Websites (http://www.cardcentral.net/ is an index of more than 1200 electronic card sites) and create an electronic birthday or holiday card.Using your digital photos, you can paste your grandchildren onto the cover.
If you don’t want to use your own photos, go to cards.amzon.com to browse (浏览) hundreds of images in over 30 categories…all of which you can attach to an electronic greeting card for free.For a nominal fee(很低的费用)you can choose from a library of 75,000 images at http://www.phontodisc.com/.
Call Australia for free.To have a telephone conversation over the Internet, the person you want to talk to no longer needs a computer.Now all you need to talk to someone in Sydney is one computer with speakers, a microphone, a sound card and some software (available at http://www.vocaltec.com/ or Mricrosoft.com).Typically, you’ll pay a monthly fee (usually under $20) to a service provider, but after that, the calls themselves are local.Sound quality is the same as that of a cell phone.
Even if you don’t have a computer, you can still use the Web to reduce your long distance phone costs.Some companies offer a service that lets you use an ordinary phone to call another ordinary phone, but charge only a few cents per minute for US calls, because they send them through the Internet.
Today 48 percent of American homes have computers…a figure that is expected to climb to 60 percent by 2003.And by the end of the next decade, Americans will likely be spending more time shopping, banking, investing and learning on the Internet than in the real world.If you can’t do or find something on the Net today, you probably can tomorrow.
60.Over the Internet, you ________.
A.can hear everything there
B.will meet with plenty of surprises which come out every week.
C.will hear the things about the electronic frontier
D.can find some things are very interesting
61.From the passage we can infer that _________.
A.fewer people will use the Internet in the following ten years
B.more people will study in the regular school by the end of the next decade
C.fewer people will go to the regular school in the following ten years
D.more money will be needed for a long-distance call by the end of the next decade
62.If you want to attach to photo to your e-mail, you have to ________ it.
A.digitalize B.take C.picture D.send
63.Which of the following is NOT true?
A.A telephone conversation over the Internet can be carried out without computers.
B.Over the Internet, the receiver of the phone conversation doesn’t need a computer.
C.The phone conversations over the Internet are much cheaper.
D.The long-distance calls are local themselves.
School safety is important, but some are saying an elementary school principal overreacted when she saw one of her students playing with a tiny toy gun in the cafeteria(自助餐馆).
Mom Laura Timoney went ballistic (失去理智的)when she received a call from her son's school. Staten Island fourth-grader Pat- rick Ti money was in tears, the mad mama told the New York Daily News, because he was being threatened with a suspension (停学)by P. S. 52 principal Evelyn Malroianni.
His crime? Possession of a 2-inch toy gun, which Patrick had placed in the hand of a Lego police officer during a lunchtime toy break.
Patrick's father, a retired police officer who shares his little boy's name ’ tells the Daily News that he has ‘ no problem with the rules' but doesn't see why the tiny gun caused such a big problem.
In this video report from the newspaper, Patrick and his family describe the incident.
"The toy gun is not the issue," Laura Timoney tells the Daily News. "A lack of common sense is the issue." Timoney adds that she wants an apology and might sue (起诉)the school.
New York City Department of Education spokesperson Margie Feinberg tells the Staten Island Advance that "Toy guns are not allowed in schools," and that NYC schools have a no-tolerance policy in place for fake firearms. Even little ones.
After a meeting was held between parents and school officials, it was decided that Patrick would not be suspended over the little weapon.
When it comes to punishments, size really does matter. What's the best title of the passage?
A.School Safety Is Important |
B.A Lack of Common Sense Is the Issue |
C.A Meeting Held between Parents and School Officials |
D.Kid Almost Suspended for Bringing Tiny Toy Gun to School |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.NYC schools have a no-tolerance policy in place for fake firearms. |
B.Laura Timoney went mad when she received a call from her son's school. |
C.Patrick Timoney was in Grade Five Staten Island Elementary School. |
D.Patrick and his family describe the incident to video report from the New York Daily News. |
From the underlined sentence "he has ‘no problem with the rules’" in the fourth paragraph, we can infer ______ .
A.Patrick's father wants to sue the school |
B.Patrick's father approves of the school regulations |
C.Patrick's father is unsatisfied with the school regulations |
D.Patrick's father thinks tiny toy gun can cause a big problem |
What is the possible result of the incident?
A.The school might cancel the rule. |
B.Patrick might drop out of school. |
C.Patrick can't be punished by the school. |
D.Patrick would not be suspended over the little weapon. |
The exploration of Mars entered a new phase as Spirit,the first of US twin rovers, landed on the Red Planet later Saturday.
The rover can work as a robotic field geologist and can see sharper images,explore farther and examine rocks better than anything that's ever landed on Mars, scientists at the US space agency NASA said.
Spirit, as big as a mini-car, is equipped with a suite of scientific instruments that will be used to read the geologic record at the landing site, to investigate what role water played there, and to determine how suitable the conditions would have been for life.
It has a panoramic (全景的)camera at human-eye height, and a miniature thermal emission spectrometer with infrared (红外线的)vision that can help scientists identify the most interesting rocks.
The six-wheeled rover can watch for hazards and maneuvers around them and has a deck of solar panels,about the size of a kitchen table, for power. It can drive to the selected rock and extend an arm with tools on the end.
A microscopic imager, like a geologist's hand lens, can give a close-up view of the rock's texture. Two spectrometers can identify the composition of the rock and the fourth tool, which substitutes (代替)for a geologist's hammer, can expose the fresh interior of a rock by scraping away the weathered surface layer.
Spirit will stop at Gusev Crater(坑),a bowl bigger than the US state of Connecticut that appears to have held a lake long ago. Scientists will use the robot's instruments to seek and analyze geological evidence about past environmental conditions in the crater.
If sedimentary (沉积的)rocks lie on the surface,they may yield telltale (泄密的)clues to whether the crater ever did hold a wet environment that might have been suitable for sustaining life, scientists said. Which would be the best title of this passage?
A.Spirit opens new phase on exploration of Mars. |
B.Spirit, the first rover on Mars. |
C.The successful landing of Spirit on Mars. |
D.Spirit, a new invention for exploration of Mars. |
The chief purpose of Spirit from the passage is to ______.
A.take clearer pictures of Mars |
B.examine more rocks on Mars |
C.search for water at Gusev Crater |
D.look for past signs of water on Mars |
The author mainly tells us in this passage ______.
A.what Spirit is like |
B.how Spirit will deal with difficulties on Mars |
C.what Spirit will do on Mars |
D.what Spirit is equipped with |
This passage probably comes from ______ .
A.a research paper |
B.a news report |
C.a new invention introduction |
D.a science fiction |
"What's your English name?" I asked in my first oral class. "Goat," came the reply. I tried to keep myself from laughing, as I'm sure the poor boy had no idea of the other meanings associated with the word goat: "a dirty old man" or "a foolish person".
Later, my thoughts turned to why Chinese students take an English name. Obviously, for foreign teachers such as me, English names help us to learn names and recognize students more rapidly. And it's a means of easily setting up communication with Westerners.
Sharon, a student displays her knowledge of western culture and ideas. Once Sharon has graduated, if she is fortunate to find employment that involves regular communication across international boundaries, relationships will be smoothed if others can easily remember her name.
Parents in English-speaking countries do not usually choose words at random to name their child. For every parent who seeks to be truly creative by inventing a unique name, there will be nine others selecting from a recognized book of names. These books have been passed on from generation to generation.
While English names do have meanings,this is rarely of great importance for parents in making their choice. Often,associations with heroes, pop idols will influence a decision.
There are a great many names to choose from,and at any one time some will be more fashionable than others. When our present Queen was crowned,many baby girls were christened Elizabeth,while Princess Diana's marriage to Charles led to a generation of Dianas. Most parents seeking to be original or unique look through lists for names that haven't been used regularly in recent years.
So, if you are thinking of taking an English name, stop and think. You have a unique opportunity to choose a new identity for your English-speaking relationships in the future. Before you accept any old name,make sure you are happy with its sound, its meaning and its associations.How did the author feel when she heard the name "Goat" given by one of the students?
A.Surprised. | B.Funny, |
C.Angry. | D.Disappointed. |
The student named Sharon was mentioned in the third paragraph to show ______.
A.an unsuitable English name can cause trouble in communication |
B.a proper English name can help a person to find a job more easily |
C.English names are easy for foreigners to remember |
D.proper English names help to set up easy international communication |
The underlined phrase in the fourth paragraph probably means ______.
A.in a careful way | B.in a different way |
C.in a careless way | D.with no meaning |
We can conclude from the sixth paragraph that ______.
A.English people admire power and heroes |
B.English people do not consider the meaning when choosing a name |
C.English people are easy to be influenced by fashion in choosing a name |
D.English people prefer to choose a special name |
What would be the best title for this passage?
A.Be Careful in Choosing an English Name |
B.English Names and Their Meanings |
C.How English People Get Their Names |
D.Chinese Names and English Names |
The resounding film Avatar has been very popular in the UK and around the world, becoming the fastest film ever to earn 1 billion dollars(7 billion yuan) in ticket sales.
But as well as being an entertaining feast for the eyes, the sci-fi epic (叙事诗)also introduces the audience to a brand new language invented especially for the film.
The movie is set in an alien planet called Pandora which is inhabited by many strange species. The most humanoid of the planet's inhabitants are the Na'vi, and it is the struggle between the Na'vi and human invader that forms the main story of the film.
The film has been released in 2D and 3D versions.
In order to add a sense of reality to his vision of an alien race the film's director James Cameron asked a professor of language from the University of Southern California to invent a language for the Na'vi.
Professor Paul Frommer worked with James Cameron for four years to build upon the original 30 words or so that the director had already come up with for the language.
According to Professor Frommer, the most important aspect of the Na'Vi language was that it could be pronounced.
"This is an alien language but obviously it has to be spoken by human actors," Professor Frommer told the BBC, "it has to be sounds that human beings are comfortable producing."
The language currently has around 1,000 words but Professor Frommer hopes to expand it in possible sequels (续集)to the film and in video games.
The professor hopes that one day his creation will have a high level of the Klingon alien language from the Star Trek films.
"There's a translation of Hamlet into Klingon," says Professor Frommer.
"If anything happened like this with Na'Vi, I'd be delighted." The underlined word "resounding" in Paragraph 1 means ______ .
A.later | B.scientific | C.hit | D.surprising |
Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?
A.A kind of new language was invented especially for the film. |
B.The film Avatar is as good a film as the Star Trek. |
C.The creation in Alien Language is different from that in human beings. |
D.Avatar is one of the excellent films invented by Pandora. |
The most challenging part in the creation of the language is ______ .
A.that Professor Frommer needs to create 1 ,000 words for the film Avatar by himself |
B.that the language is based on that of the Alien planet called Pandora |
C.that James Cameron introduces a new style of language to the audience |
D.that an Alien language is created to be spoken by human beings |
We can infer from the passage that ______ .
A.the film Avatar has been released in 2D and 3D versions |
B.the most important aspect of the Na'vi language was that it could be pronounced |
C.Professor Paul Frommer believes his language creation in the film Avatar is very successful |
D.Professor Paul Frommer worked with James Cameron for four years for a sense of reality of the film |
NEW YORK ( CNNMoney. com) — The U. S. economy lost 20,000 jobs in January, but the unemployment rate fell to 9.7%, much lower than economists' forecasts of 10%. According to a government report released Friday.
The Labor Department said the economy continued to shed (流出)jobs,even as economists surveyed by Briefing, com had expec-ted a net gain of 15,000 jobs in December.
The Labor Department also released an annual revision of U. S. payrolls (薪水账册)on Friday, using data that wasn't initially available. Losses for 2009 alone came to 4. 8 million jobs,more than 600,000 than previously estimated. The revision showed the economy has lost 8.4 million jobs since the start of the recession in December 2007 — 1.4 million more job losses than initially reported.
The payroll number for December was revised to a net loss of 150,000 jobs. The government had previously indicated that 85,000 jobs were lost in December.
But the government said the tepid job growth initially reported in November was actually much stronger than previously believed. Jobs rose by 64,000 in November,up from an initial estimate of 4,000. It is the only month in the past two years in which jobs grew.
Most of the job losses were in the hard-hit construction industry, which shed another 75, 000 jobs in January. The transportation and financial industries also lost in excess of 10,000 jobs,and the government shed a net 8,000 positions in January.
The job report wasn't all bad, as there was job growth in many areas, including the manufacturing industry, which created 11,000 jobs last month. The service industry was the biggest jobs creator, with a net gain of 48 ,000 jobs,42,100 of which came from the retail sector.
Perhaps the most encouraging sign from January's report was that 44, 000 jobs were created in the business services industry, which includes administrators and temporary workers. Economists see professional services as a proxy for overall economic activity, and many employers hire temporary workers before signing on new full-time staff. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.Job Losses Continue but Rate Falls |
B.An Annual Revision of U. S. Payrolls |
C.The Encouraging Sign from January's Report |
D.The Tepid Job Growth Stronger than Previously Believed |
The underlined word "released" could be replaced by ______ .
A.made secret | B.made public |
C.set free | D.set forth |
Most of the job losses happened in the areas except ______ .
A.the hard-hit construction industry |
B.the government |
C.the transportation and financial industries |
D.the manufacturing industry |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The economy continued to shed jobs, just as economists surveyed had expected a net loss of 15,000 jobs in December. |
B.Losses for 2009 alone came to 4. 8 million jobs, less than 600,000 than previously estimated. |
C.The service industry was the biggest job creators, with a net gain of 48,000 jobs, of which 42,100 came from the retail sector. |
D.Economists see professional services as a proxy for overall economic activity, and many employers hire permanent workers. |