Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat（诈骗）.Either way, it could be a perfect crime（犯罪）, because the criminals are birds----homing pigeons.
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay some money. Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.
There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind---- one that avoids（避免） not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car owner to place an ad in the newspaper asking for help.
The theory is supportd by the fact that, so far,none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded----under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars-----seems too little for a car worth many times more.
Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,”he said.
( 66.After the car owner received a phone call, he ___________.
went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried
gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park
sent some money to the thief by mail
told the press about it
( )67. The “lazier and more inventive”criminal refers to ________.
the car thief who stays at home B.one of those who put the ads in the paper
one of the policemen in Changwa D. the owner of the pigeons
( )68.The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show ____________.
how easily people get fooled by criminals B.what Chen thinks might be correct.
C. the thief is extremely clever. D.the money paid is too little.
( )69. The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A.criminals B. pigeons C. the stolen cars D.demands for money
( )70. We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because ____________.
he reads the ads in the newspaper
he lives in the same neighborhood
he has seen the car owners in the park
D.he has trained the pigeons to follow them
C
As every computer owner knows, when their machines run a complex program they get pretty hot. In fact, cooling the processors can be expensive, especially when you're dealing with huge banks of computer servers. But what if that energy could heat private homes? A Dutch energy firm aims to do just that.
Data centers of large Internet firms, such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and others, contain thousands of computer servers. As they process information they generate enormous amounts of heat requiring cooling towers that dissipate it into the atmosphere.
A Dutch firm thinks paying for electricity to run the servers and then paying again to cool them is a waste of energy.
Boaz Leupe, CEO of the start-up Nerdalize, says it’s actually quite simple.
"We don't actually have to build the data center, which saves a lot of costs in infrastructure and we don't have the cooling overhead, plus that you have the environmental benefit, that the kilowatt hour you are using is used twice, once to heat the home and once to compute the clients task without the cooling overhead," says Leupe.
The company developed what it calls an e-Radiator, a computer server that also works as an alternative heating source. Leupe says that five Dutch homeowners are experimentally using them in their homes.
“We reimburse the electricity the server uses, and that we can do because of the computer clients on the other side, and, in that way, home owners actually get heating for free, and computer users don't have to pay for the overhead of the data center,” says Leupe.
One of the participants in the year-long experiment, Jan Visser, says the amount of heat produced by e-Radiator depends on the work being done by the server’s processors so it cannot be used as the primary source. But he is ready to try it.
“If it gives good enough warmth, you can use less of your existing central heating, and there is the chance for a home owner to pay less bills.”
Nerdalize says e-Radiators generate temperature of up to 55 degrees Celsius and could save up to $440 in annual heating costs.Which one is true according to the passage？
| A．It is expensive to deal with huge banks of computer servers. |
| B．A Dutch energy firm attempted to heat private homes. |
| C．Computer servers generate large quantities of heat. |
| D．The cooling tower is a waste of energy. |
The underlined phrase “overhead” in the third paragraph probably means______.
| A．daily cost | B．fixture |
| C．forehead | D．method |
What is NOT true about e-Radiator according to the passage?
| A．It is a computer server used as an alternative heating source. |
| B．It has been launched onto the market. |
| C．It is environmentally friendly. |
| D．It can save users’ money. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?
| A．A New Kind of Data Servers |
| B．Data Servers Could Heat Private Homes |
| C．How to Heat the Private Homes with Computers |
| D．An Alternative Heating Source |
B
American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein(蛋白质)” in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists (神经学家)and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. “This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocalcalls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy. “Our results imply Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals. “What can be inferred from the second paragraph？
| A．women always speak more words than men. |
| B．men and male rats have low levels of language protein. |
| C．McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative |
| D．women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2. |
What does the underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph mean?
| A．relyed on | B．related to |
| C．put pressure on | D．paid attention to |
What’s the purpose of the experiments on rats carried out by the researchers?
| A．To test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans. |
| B．To discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication. |
| C．To determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats. |
| D．To prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?
| A．Why women are the talkative sex |
| B．Tests on humans and rats |
| C．Sex differences in Foxp2 protein |
| D．Foxp2 protein determines oral ability |
A
Although Paris is often considered the city of romance， close to a million adults who call it home are single. Many single people say that France’s capital is one of the most difficult places to meet people. The complaints of this lonely group have inspired a new phenomenon known as “supermarket dating.” At Galerie Lafayette Gourmet，singles can shop for more than just the items on their grocery list. They can look for someone who has blue eyes， brown hair，and is 1.8 meters tall，or whatever may be on their romantic shopping list.
At this Paris location，single people of all ages can schedule their shopping for Thursday nights between 6:30 and 9:00 p.m. When they walk through the door，they pick up a purple basket to advise that they are looking for love. They try to arrive early because the baskets disappear quickly, and then they have to wait in line for their turn to wander the store aisles(过道).
With purple baskets in hand， shoppers can consider their romantic options while they pick out their groceries. When they are ready to pay， they can go to the checkout line for singles who want to chat.
Most of the people who look for love in the supermarket are skeptical of Internet dating. They know that it is easy to embellish（美化）one’s appearance or to lie about one’s age over the Internet. The supermarket， on the other hand，is considered a safe and casual environment in which to meet a potential match. In addition， what one finds in another’s grocery basket can say a thing or two about that person’s character or intentions. Buying pet food can be a man’s way of showing a potential match that he has a sensitive side. Women who fill their baskets with low-fat food show their healthy style of living. These ways it’s possible to find much more than food at a grocery store.Why do many single people in Paris complain?
| A．It is the city lacking of romance |
| B．It’s difficult to meet people there. |
| C．There are few choices for them. |
| D．It’s inconvenient to shop. |
What can be inferred in the second paragraph?
| A．The dating supermarket is located in Paris. |
| B．The dating supermarket is open only on Thursday evenings. |
| C．The dating supermarket has very good business. |
| D．People looking for love must get a basket of a particular color. |
According to the writer，a man who_____can win a woman’s heart.
| A．buy pet food |
| B．buy low-fat food |
| C．embellish his appearance |
| D．pick up a purple basket |
Why don't the people like Internet dating?
| A．Internet dating is not convenient. |
| B．Internet dating is too casual. |
| C．Internet dating can’t be trusted. |
| D．Internet dating dating is too expensive. |
How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They’ll say, “This is my destiny(命运). I cannot change it.”
Of course not! You don’t have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on other factors.
I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls “doing her best”? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn’t realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone (unless it’s helpful to your success), and get your mind and body to work! Don’t expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don’t just regard it as a temporary(暂时的) problem; Instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It’s not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone’s life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don’t just stand (or sit) there, do something to improve your life.As for the woman mentioned in Para.3, her life________.
| A．doesn’t need improving | B．couldn’t be improved |
| C．will be better some day | D．will be worse in the future |
What does the author think of the woman’s life?
| A．Positive. | B．Passive. |
| C．Disturbing. | D．Colorful. |
In Para.5, the author emphasized the importance of ________.
| A．positive action | B．positive thinking |
| C．hope for the best | D．intention to succeed |
The text is mainly designed to advise you to _________.
| A．know yourself | B．believe in yourself |
| C．improve your life | D．change your normal way |
Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps(打车软件) and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies.
On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal “taxi business” of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.
It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December.
Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors.
Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China’s big cities. To be fair, these companies’ business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for businesspeople through the Internet and mobile phone apps.
Every link in this business model chain has legal companies and services. Hence, it is hard to define it as illegal and ban it.Why did taxi drivers in Shenyang block the streets with their vehicles?
| A．Because they wanted the government to increase their driving allowances. |
| B．Because they wanted to be educated how to use the taxi-hiring apps. |
| C．Because they wanted to make their main complaints known to the government. |
| D．Because they wanted to call on passengers not to hire the private cars. |
The author’s attitude to banning internet car-hiring service is______.
| A．positive | B．negative |
| C．neutral | D．unclear |
Which of the following statements is false according to the passage?
| A．The problem referred to in the passage exists in all cities |
| B．App-based car rental is helpful to some degree |
| C．The government should regulate the app-based car rental market |
| D．Didi Dache is a China-foreign joint company |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The problem mentioned in the passage exists in all cities |
| B．App-based car rental is helpful in some sense |
| C．The government should regulate the app-based car rental market |
| D．Didi Dache is a China-foreign joint company |
From the passage we learn ___________.
| A．Shenyang banned apps-based car rental companies |
| B．Shanghai is the second city banning Didi Zhuanche |
| C．some international investment companies have faith in the future of apps-based car rental companies |
| D．it is easy to describe the apps-based car rental companies illegal |