①It’s “laughably absurd” on one blog and a “magical revolution” on another．Bloggers are talking about the same device—the Apple iPad, which hit store shelves last week．
②Tech-heads hate the iPad because it has many functions—you can e-mail, browse the Web, read books—but it has no specialty．There are other devices on the market that do all its functions faster, cheaper and more efficiently．Get a Blackberry to scan e-mails or any old laptop to access the Internet．
③This first version of the iPad lacks many basic features．Tech-heads dislike the device not because of what it offers, but because of what it doesn’t offer．It doesn’t have Flash, and it doesn’t have a camera．It can’t access many of the world’s mobile applications, and it has a very restricted apple store．Based on purely technological grounds, the iPad is said to lack more than it gives．
④But if you are not a crazy tech-head, and you love the iPod and iPhone, “this device is for you,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO．The iPad will take online activities truly mobile．It will allow you to read the news in bed, check a recipe in a busy kitchen o
r view a large-scale Google map．
⑤Perhaps most important to the masses, it is a traditional computer without trouble．There are wireless, but it’s totally mobile．You press a button and it comes on in seconds．To add a program, you just download it from the Internet．Since almost everyone uses a computer in the office or at school, the need for the traditional desktop model at home is disappearing．Slate Magazine’s Farhad Manjoo calls the iPad the perfect alternative to the home computer system．
⑥But no matter how you feel about the iPad, as a tech-head or an everyman, there’s no arguing with its appeal．Love it or hate it, the iPad sold over 600,000 units on its opening weekend, surpassing the iPhone’s record sales in 2007．
61．What can be the best title for the text?
A．Loving and hating the iPad B．An exciting invention
C．A home computer substitute D．The iPad—a wise choice
62．According to the text, which of the following is Not true of the iPad?
A．It can access the Internet． B．It is wireless but portable．
C．It can play any online video． D．It can help you scan e-mail．
63．Which of the following best shows the structure of the text?
64．Farhad Manjoo’s attitude towards
the iPad might be that of ______．
A．doubt B．unc
oncern C．sympathy D．support
65．Tech-heads dislike the iPad because of ______．
A．its after-sale services B．its high price
C．its function shortages D．its slow speed
A Charlotte N.C. man was charged with first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman whom police said he scared to death. Can the guy be held responsible for the woman’s death? Prosecutors (公诉人) said that he can under the state’s murder rule, which allows someone to be charged with murder if he or she causes another person’s death while committing or fleeing from a severe crime—even if he or she doesn’t kill someone on purpose.
But, medically speaking, can someone actually be frightened to death? We asked Martin Samuels, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Absolutely, no question about it.
The body has a natural protective method called the fight-or-flight response, which was originally described by Walter Cannon，chairman of Harvard University’s physiology department from 1906 to 1942. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the automatic nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from an aggressive beast. This process certainly would be of help to early humans. However, in the modern world there is obvious decline of the fight-or-flight response.
The autonomic nervous system uses the chemical messenger to send signals to various parts of the body to activate the fight-or-flight response. This chemical is poisonous in large amounts; it damages the organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is believed that almost all sudden deaths are caused by damage to the heart. There is almost no other organ that would fail so fast as to cause sudden death.
By the way, any strong positive or negative emotions such as happiness or sadness can cause the same result. There are people who have died in excitement or in religious passion. There was a case of a golfer who hit a hole in one, turned to his partner and said, “I can die now”, and then he dropped dead. What is Martin Samuels’ attitude to the possibility of being frightened to death?
| A．Approval. | B．Disapproval. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
What can we learn about the fight-or-flight response according to the passage?
| A．The fight-or-flight response was raised and proved by Martin Samuels. |
| B．It is a natural protective method that can’t be found in all creatures but humans. |
| C．The ancient humans had a better fight-or-flight response than modern ones. |
| D．The fight-or-flight response is beneficial to both our actions and organs. |
What activity can we infer is less likely to damage the organs?
| A．Winning an unexpected fortune. |
| B．Missing a dead family member. |
| C．Watching a horror movie. |
| D．Listening to a sweet song. |
The purpose of the passage is ______.
| A．to explain why people will die of a heart attack |
| B．to offer some advice on protecting us from heart failure |
| C．to compare different kinds of feelings to cause a death |
| D．to show strong emotions can cause a sudden death |
| Bugs Bunny’s Hoping Carrot Hunt In this game you are Bugs Bunny. And your goal is to reach the finish line. A carrot truck has spilled its loads! Gather as many carrots as you can, and when you get the big carrot, you’ll be able to jump even higher! Instructions: Use the mouse to move Bugs left and right, and click to jump a gap while gathering carrots. Category: Action |
| Mushroom Madness You are in charge of protecting several farms. It’s up to you to make sure the mushrooms there reach maturity before the animals in the forest get their hands on them. Use your swatter(苍蝇拍) to fight off anything that comes near them; use heavier weapons if necessary. Instructions: Slap any creature that comes near your mushrooms. Use the mouse to control the swatter. If you see a “power up”, click to use it. Collect coins to buy upgrades after each level. Category: Action |
| Rudolph’s Kick and Fly Santa’s little helpers have worked all year preparing for Christmas. When Santa finally leaves to deliver his presents, the elves head down to the snowfields with Rudolph, the reindeer, to play their favorite game: Kick and Fly! Instructions: 1. Use the mouse to aim, and click to launch an elf. 2. While in the air, click again to catch, and to gain extra height. 3. The goal is to collect as many Christmas decorations as possible, and get 10 points for each one. Tips: If you’re heading towards an obstacle, be sure to avoid it! Category: Action |
| Click Flick Your mission is to save chicks falling from the sky. Use your trampoline(蹦床) to bounce them up and direct them into a nest. But hurry—if you don’t, many chicks will fall and lose their lives. There will be falling bombs, worms, nuts and eggs and you can get extra points by collecting the worms and nuts. Save the amount of chicks shown to unlock the next level! Instructions: Move the chicks left and right using keys or the mouse. Category: Adventure |
If a player wants to become stronger to drive animals away, he should try to _____.
| A．find a “power up” or use heavier weapons |
| B．collect falling bombs as quickly as possible |
| C．click the elf while it’s in the air |
| D．get the big carrot while running |
If a player has collected some worms and nuts, he _____.
| A．is playing Mushroom Madness |
| B．will lose the game quite soon |
| C．will get 10 points for each one |
| D．will get extra points and get ahead |
Which of the following statements about the games is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Bugs Bunny needs to be fast to win the game. |
| B．All four games are in the same category. |
| C．Players can only use the mouse to control the targets. |
| D．The number of elves decides whether a player wins. |
In which game are there obstacles you must avoid?
| A．Bugs Bunny’s Hopping Carrot Hunt. | B．Mushroom Madness. |
| C．Rudolph’s Kick and Fly. | D．Click Flick. |
A funny thing happened on the way to the communication revolution: we stopped talking to one another.
I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and suddenly, I became invisible, absent from the conversation.
The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent. Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in communication technology is a tragedy to the closeness of human interaction. With email and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With voice-mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every contact we can imagine between human beings gets automated, the emotional distance index goes up. You can’t even call a person to get the phone number of another person any more. Directory assistance is almost always fully automated.
I am not against modern technology. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isn’t wise. They’re a great help to us. It's some of their possible consequences that make me feel uneasy.
More and more, I find myself hiding behind email to do a job meant for conversations or being relieved with voice-mail picking up because I don't really have time to talk. The industry devoted to helping me keep in touch is making me lonelier.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Advance of Modern Technology |
| B．The Consequences of Communication Technology |
| C．The Story of Communication Revolution |
| D．The Automation of Modern Communication |
Which is NOT TURE according to the passage?
| A．The author has decided not to use his phone when he is with his friend. |
| B．Modern technology makes it hard for people to have a face-to-face talk. |
| C．The limited use of communication device brings much inconvenience to the author. |
| D．The industry intended to keep people in touch is taking them away from each other. |
The writer feels that the use of modern communication is ______.
| A．satisfying | B．encouraging |
| C．disappointing | D．embarrassing |
The passage implies that ______.
| A．modern technology is bridging the people |
| B．modern technology is separating the people |
| C．modern technology is developing too fast |
| D．modern technology is interrupting people |
Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another. Some societies, such as America and Australia for example, are mobile and very open. People here change jobs and move house quite often. As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, and they need to get to know people quickly. So it's normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal.
On the other hand there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long-term relationships are more important. A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business. But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society.
To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first. On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it's no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don't want to answer.
Cross-cultural differences aren't just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them. All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different from place to place. This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with.
Some societies have 'universalist' cultures. These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way.
'Particularist' societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society's unwrinen ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person. So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person.
This difference can cause problems. A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a country which has a universalist culture. The Indian traveler has too much luggage, but he explains that he has been away from home for a long time and the suitcases are full of presents for his family. He expects that the check-in official will understand his problem and will change the rules for him. The check-in official explains that if he was allowed to have too much luggage, it wouldn't be fair to the other passengers. But the traveler thinks this is unfair, because the other passengers don't have his problem.Often moving from one place to another makes people like Americarts and Australians
| A．like traveling better |
| B．easy to communicate with |
| C．difficult 1o make rcal friends |
| D．have a long-term relationship with their neighbors |
People like Malaysians prefer to associate with those
| A．who will tell them everything of their own |
| B．who want to do business with them |
| C．they know quite well |
| D．who are good at talking |
A person from a less mobile society will feel it_____ when a stranger keeps talking to him or her, and asking him or her questions.
| A．boring | B．friendly | C．normal | D．rough |
Which of the following is true about "particularist societies"?
| A．There is no rule for people to obey. |
| B．People obey the society's rules completely. |
| C．No one obeys the society's ruies though they have. |
| D．The society's rules can be changed with different persons or situations. |
The writer of the passage thinks that the Indian and the German have different ideas about rules because of different__________.
| A．interests | B．habits and customs |
| C．cultures | D．ways of life |
The year was 1932. Amelia Earhart was flying alone from North America to England in a small single-engined aeroplane. At midnight, several hours after she had left Newfoundland, she ran into bad weather. To make things worse, her altimeter (高度表) failed and she didn't know how high she was flying. At night, and in a storm, a pilot is in great difficulty without an altimeter. At times. her plane nearly plunged (冲) into the sea.
Just before dawn, there was further trouble. Amelia noticed flames coming from the engine. Would she be able to reach land? There was nothing to do except to keep going and to hope.
In the end, Amelia Earhart did reach Ireland, and for the courage she had shown, she was warmly welcomed in England and Europe. When she retumed to the United States, she was honored by President Hoover at a special dinner in the White House. From that time on, Amelia Earhart was famous.
What was so important about her flight? Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone, and she had set a record of fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes.
In the years that followed, Amelia Earhart made several flights across the United States, and on each occasion she set a new record for flying time. Amelia Earhart made these flights to show that women had a place in aviation (航空) and that air travel was useful.Which of the following statements is NOT the difficulty which Amelia Earhart met in her flight from north America to England?
| A．She was caught in a storm. |
| B．The altimeter went out of order. |
| C．Her engine went wrong. |
| D．She lost her direction. |
When Amelia Earhart saw flames coming from the engine. what did she do?
| A．She did nothing but pr ay for herself |
| B．She changed her direction and landed in Ireland. |
| C．She continued flying. |
| D．She lost hope of reaching land. |
According to the passage, what was Amelia Earhart's reason for making her flights?
| A．To set a new record for flying time. |
| B．To be the first woman to fly around the world. |
| C．To show that aviation was not just for men. |
| D．To become famous in the world. |
Which of the following statements was NOT mentioned?
A. She was the first woman who succeeded in flying across the Atlantic Oceanalone.
B. She showed great courage in overcoming the difficulties during the flight.
C She was warmly welcomed in England, Europe and the United States.
D. She made plans to fly around the world.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Amelia Earhart-First Across the Atlantic. |
| B．Amelia Earhart-Pioneer in Women's Aviation. |
| C．A New Record for Flying Time. |
| D．A Dangerous Flight from North America to England. |