四、阅读理解（共16小题；每小题2分，满分32分）LOSTA-优题课

【改编】Mom’s birthday present? It may be a difficult thing for some people, but for me, it is an easy thing. Mom loved flowers, so every year I sent her flowers. Actually she had a bed of irises（鸢尾花）in the backyard of her small, Indiana farm. They were beautiful. “Take some,” she said, “Dig some up and plant them on the side of your own house.”
But in my yard they became lacking in energy. A year passed, then two, but not one flower appeared. I cut back all their green leaves. I was tired of seeing them so lonely. Finally, I dug the irises up and threw them away.
About that time Mom died unexpectedly. My sister and I sold the farm. I never went back to see the irises. I just couldn’t bear seeing another family living in our home—Mom’s home. Autumn came, then winter. The following spring, as Mom’s birthday approached, I struggled with the question of how to remember her. I stared out the window and saw a few stubborn irises in my side yard sprouting (发芽), —tall, thin but flowerless. Because of seeing them, I decided to order flowers as I always did on Mom’s birthday, and send them to my sister. I wished so badly I could still send flowers to Mom. But that was impossible.
In the morning of Mom’s birthday, I was in my car ready to work. Something in the yard caught my eye. The irises! One had bloomed with flowers, big, showy and purple, as lovely as they ever had been on Mom’s farm. I smiled and turned my eyes upward. I could no longer send flowers to Mom. But somehow, she’d been able to send them to me.
From the first paragraph we know________.

A．the writer doesn’t know what to buy for her mother on her birthday

B．some people have difficulty choosing birthday gift for their mother

C．Mother lived with the writer on the farm

D．Mother doesn’t like flowers including irises

What happened to the irises that the author grew?

A．They only grew green flowers.

B．They grew as well as those on her mother’s farm.

C．They were thrown away at last.

D．They ended up with beautiful flowers.

Why didn’t the writer return to the farm after her mother died?

A．Because she was too busy to go there.

B．Because her sister told her not to.

C．Because she lived far away from the farm.

D．Because she couldn’t stand the fact that her mother was no longer there.

From the third paragraph we can know _____.

A．not all the irises were dug out

B．the writer returned to her mother’s farm

C．the writer often sends flowers to his sister

D．the writer buys flowers in memory of his mother every year

What is the writer’s purpose to write this passage?

A．To introduce a kind of irises.

B．To memorize her mother.

C．To explain how to grow irises.

D．To praise the spirit of irises.

About 59% of engineering companies in the IET's 2014 survey feared skill shortages could threaten（威胁） business.Engineers should embrace（接受） the arts, Sir John O'Reilly, a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, argued in a lecture.
"There is nothing as creative as engineering," Sir John told the reporter. He says science, technology, engineering and mathematics - often known as "Stem" subjects, are vital for a modern knowledge economy. But there is a massive shortfall in the number of recruits（招聘） - with a recent study by the Royal Academy of Engineering saying the UK needs to increase by as much as 50% the number of Stem graduates it produces.
Delivering this year's Mountbatten Lecture at the Royal Institution, Sir John argued that engineers should recognise the role of the arts in their work - among other benefits; this could attract more people into the profession. The lecture, Full Steam Ahead for Growth, advocated a wider adoption -- Steam, or science, technology, engineering, arts and maths. Engineers should embrace the arts as being key to creativity and an important component of innovation（创新）, crucial to creating new products and boosting future competitiveness, he argued. "Engineering and technology is an increasingly diverse and creative field," said Sir John.
Some university engineering departments already cooperated with art schools to develop understanding, he told the reporter. In particular he mentioned Cranfield University's Centre for Creative Competitive Design and Imperial College's work with the Royal College of Art. The two sets of people could work well together and more emphasis on the creative side of engineering could improve the success of products, he said.
"Aesthetics(美学) is part of it," he told the reporter, adding that Apple's iPod was not the first digital media player, nor the only one that worked - but it came to dominate the market "because it was nice to have".
Sir John said he was not suggesting universities started requiring A-level art from engineering applicants - the key subjects for admission would continue to be maths and the sciences. But an emphasis on creative skills would help "broaden the pool and attract more people in".
According to a recent study by the Royal Academy _______ .

A．the UK needs more graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics

B．engineering graduates are not as creative as expected

C．there are not enough arts graduates produced in the UK.

D．skill shortages could threaten business

According to the lecture Full Steam Ahead for Growth, _______ .

A．engineers should cooperate with arts majors

B．Accepting the arts could attract more people into engineering

C．engineers should realize arts play the most important part in their work

D．engineering and technology is as diverse and creative as before

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．More university students should study arts instead of engineering.

B．Engineering and technology is increasingly different and unrelated fields.

C．The IET's skills survey raised concerns about the number of recruits to engineering.

D．Students from some university engineering departments have already transferred to art schools

What is the passage mainly about?

A．Lack of creativity makes it difficult for the engineering major to find a satisfactory job.

B．The key subjects for engineering majors remain to be maths and the sciences rather than arts.

C．University engineering departments should cooperate with art schools to improve the success of products.

D．Engineering needs to emphasize its creative side to encourage more young people to choose it as a career.

The National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to National Geographic, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded. It has become one of the world’s best-known magazines and is immediately identifiable by the characteristic yellow border running around the edge of its cover.
There are 12 monthly issues of National Geographic per year, plus additional map supplements. On rare occasions, special editions are also issued. It contains articles about geography, popular science, history, culture, current events, and photography. The current Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Magazine is the well-known photographer, Chris Johns, who has photographed extensively in Africa. The foreword to Johns’ own illustrated book on Africa was written by Nelson Mandela.
Society Executive Vice President John Q. Griffin, and President of the Magazine Group, has overall responsibility for the English language magazines at National Geographic. Terry B. Adamson, Society Executive Vice President who also is the Society’s chief legal officer and heads governmental relations, has overall responsibility for the Society’s international publications.
With a worldwide circulation in all languages of nearly nine million, more than fifty million people read the magazine every month. In May, 2007, National Geographic magazine won the American Society of Magazine Editors’ prestigious General Excellence Award in the over two million circulation category and the best photography award for three issues of the magazine in 2006.
How many issues does the National Geographic Magazine have per year?

A．Less than 10 issues.	B．Less than 11 issues.
C．Less than 12 issues.	D．About 12 issues.

Who wrote the introduction to Johns’ own illustrated book on Africa?
A. John Q. Griffin. B. Terry B. Adamson.
C. Nelson Mandela. D. Chris Johns.
【改编】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．With its first issue in 1888, there are over fifty million people in the world.

B．As an official magazine, there are 12 monthly issues with additional map supplements.

C．It contains articles about geography, popular science, history, politics, and photography.

D．It is identified by the orange border running around the edge of its cover.

My mom has eyes in the back of her head. She also taught me from an early age to be suspicious of strange men, especially when they give you presents. One day, a “nice man” bearing flowers managed to steal 20 euros from her purse, while she was holding it in her hands. “He said he was collecting for a church charity so I pulled out a euro,” she explains, “He said ‘no, no, that’s too much’ and offered to look in my purse to find a smaller coin. He must have slid out that 20 euro note at the same time. I did not even notice until an hour later. I felt so stupid.”
According to neuroscientists, the key requirement for a successful pickpocket is not having nifty (熟练的) fingers, it’s having a working knowledge of the loopholes (漏洞) in our brain. The most important of these loopholes is the fact that our brains are not set up to multi-task. Most of the time that is a good thing — it allows us to filter (过滤) out all but the most important features of the world around us. But a good trickster can use it to against you. This kind of trick involves capturing all of somebody’s attention with other movements. Street pickpockets often use this effect to their advantage by manufacturing a situation that can not help but overload your attention system. Other strategies are more psychological. Pickpockets tend to hang out a “beware of pickpockets” sign, because the first thing people do when they read it is check they still have their valuables, helpfully giving away where they are. And in my mom’s case, the thief’s best trick was not coming across like a pickpocket. “He was a very nice guy and very confident. Not someone that would cause you to suspect,” she says. Apollo Robbins, a stage pickpocket, said smart move, like moving your hand in an arc motion rather than a straight line, is another popular strategy employed by tricksters.
At last, it should be pointed out that most thefts are opportunistic. The skill level of most thieves is far less than you think. But they are opportunistic enough to keep up with new technology.
What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．People’s brains are not designed to multi-task.

B．People’s brains can filter out all but the most important features.

C．Somebody’s attention can be distracted by a certain trick.

D．Somebody’s overload attention system.

【改编】 How did the pickpockets manage to cheat the mother ?

A．He had such smart motion that she didn’t notice that.

B．He looked so reliable that she didn’t suspect him.

C．He made her focus her attention on what he said instead of being cheated .

D．All the above.

In the author’s opinion, _________.

A．people’s brains have many loopholes

B．thieves are more skillful than opportunistic

C．signs reminding people of pickpockets can play a negative role in protecting valuables

D．his mom’s losing money is nothing but a by-accident experience

What will the author probably talk about next?

A．Mom’s another suffering

B．Pickpockets concerning new technology

C．Pickpockets’ tricks

D．Apollo Robbins’ stage pickpockets

Batteries are included, but the charger’s not. The Nokia E-Cu concept phone doesn’t need to plug in; it charges from any heat source. Designer Patrick Hyland says it can even work off the warmth of your pocket. The first time“it would take approximately seven hours to reach full charge, then after that it’s continuously charging by keeping the phone in areas between 86 degrees and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. ”That’s one hot pocket.
He’s put a thermo generator(热偶发电器)inside the phone that transforms heat into electric potential energy. To better conduct the heat to that little power plant in your pocket, the E-Cu(E for energy, Cu for copper)is coated by copper backing with heat sinks like those normally used to keep electronics from overheating.
Nokia doesn’t have current plans to build the phone, so for now it remains a concept. But Hyland says he’s open to anyone who wants to cooperate.
For Americans this technology would certainly be convenient. It would also save a bit on energy bills and waste. ”Annually, unwanted phone chargers produce 51, 000 tons of waste in addition to the greenhouse gases created by the production of the electricity needed to charge them, ”Hyland says. So a charger-free phone is also a green phone. Though adapting our plug-in habits would help a group of people, most cell phone related energy use comes from leaving your charger plugged in all day unnecessarily.
The real potential for charger-free cell phone technology is what it could enable places where plugging in isn’t an option, like rural areas in the developing world.
Cell phones are spreading faster than power lines and bringing with them countless opportunities, aid and health advances. A phone like the E-Cu, if it ever comes to be, would enable all manner of expanded aid and development by phone projects. Let’s hope Patrick finds a partner.

What do we know about the E-Cu phone?

A．It doesn’t have a battery or a charger.

B．It is properly marketed and sells well.

C．It’s continuously charging from any area.

D．It has a highly conductive copper cover.

What’s the function of the underlined part “heat sinks” in Paragraph 2?

A．To give off heat.	B．To measure heat.
C．To turn up heat.	D．To supply heat.

【改编】The most benefit of the Nokia E-Cu concept phone is .

A．It would be a hit as soon as this kind of phone was produced.

B．It is friendly to the environment, because it is free of charge.

C．It charges from any heat source instead of traditional way of charging.

D．It must be welcomed by people in rural areas in the developing world.

From the last two paragraphs we can know that .

A．Patrick is not ready to cooperate with others

B．power lines spread every corner of the world

C．phone projects may help solve the energy crisis

D．phones like the E-Cu have huge potential benefits

What is the best title of the text?

A．Designer Patrick Hyland

B．Charging Your Phone from Pockets

C．Nokia Concept Phone on Sale

D．Benefiting from Phone Technology

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.