Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobiliser (锁止器), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.
The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro- processor and memory, and a GPS (全球定位系统) satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.
In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. 'The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,’ says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.
Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.
But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner's keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.
If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.
Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle's movements via the car's GPS unit.
51. What's the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to a car?
A .To allow the car to lock automatically when stolen.
B. To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops.
C. To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief.
D. To prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner.
52. By saying 'The pattern of vehicle crime has changed' (Lines 1-2. Para. 3). Martyn Randall suggests that ____.
A. self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft
B. the thief has to make use of computer technology
C. it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing
D. the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old
53. What is essential in making a modern car tougher to steal?
A. A GPS satellite positioning receiver. B. A unique ID card.
C. A special cellphone signal. D. A coded ignition key.
54. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?
A. To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.
B. To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.
C. To keep police informed of the car's movements.
D. To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.
55. What will the operations centre do first after receiving an alarm?
A. Start the tracking system. B. Locate the missing car.
C. Contact the car owner. D. Block the car engine.
Every year, as Spring Festival draws near, most Chinese people will get excited to make preparation for the most important festival and make plan for the winter break. It is a little like Christmas in the United States, but there are some differences between the two festivals.
Both the major Chinese and the major Western holidays come during the cold season, and special food is expected. In western countries, cookies and cakes begin just after Thanksgiving in November and show up everywhere. Turkey, potatoes and other food come later. Similar thing happens in China. Entering lunar December, most families will make shopping plans for the coming big day and food is certainly one of the most important things to be considered. At the end of the month, both parents in each family will be very busy---the father is busy buying food while the mother is busy cooking.
A deeper similarity (相似处) is tradition. Christmas, as the letters “Christ” suggests, began as a holiday to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Many people pray (祈祷) on this day. In China, people living in cities or towns, though they don’t plan to sow seeds（播种） this month, still celebrate on the big day for farmers.
Followers of both holidays are also different from each other. While Chinese people travel to the homes of elder relatives, Americans usually call or send cards. Westerners prefer Christmas carols to fireworks. In Christmas, many family gifts come together instead of one by one, since adults may have only one day free to celebrate.
But the most curious difference is about students. Chinese students going home for Spring Festival sometimes report that they get bored by the end of vacation, yet American students seldom get bored around Christmas and western New Year.
Not everyone enjoys classic holiday traditions. Students in western countries may get upset, as too much homework, travel or bad family relations may destroy the short holiday season. In China, more and more college students choose to travel or work during the winter holiday instead of going home to stay with their families. It’s against the tradition but many people accept it.What does “the coming big day” (Paragraph 2) refer to?
| A．Christmas | B．Thanksgiving Day |
| C．the New Year’s Day | D．the Spring Festival |
The second and the third paragraphs mainly talk about ________.
| A．the similarities between Christmas and the Spring Festival |
| B．the differences between Christmas and the Spring Festival |
| C．the preparations for Christmas and the Spring Festival |
| D．the history of Christmas and the Spring Festival |
What does the writer mainly want to tell us in this passage?
| A．Food in different festivals. |
| B．Differences between two festivals. |
| C．Festivals in China and western countries. |
| D．Traditional celebrations in different countries. |
I know what you’re thinking : pizza （比萨饼）? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night’s leftovers in the a. m. if you want to
I know lots of women who skip breakfast （不吃早餐）, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it . Some say they don’t have time,others think they’re “saving” calories （卡路里）, and still others just don’t like breakfast food .
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking , R , D , who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’s “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it’s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southem California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always eat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it,and then you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.The underlined word “leftovers” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________.
| A．food remaining after a meal | B．things left undone |
| C．meals made of vegetables | D．pizza topped with fruit |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry. |
| B．Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast. |
| C．There are some easy ways of cooking a meal. |
| D．Eating vegetables helps save energy. |
According to the last paragraph, it is important to____________.
| A．eat something for breakfast | B．be careful about what you eat |
| C．heat up food before eating it | D．eat calorie-controlled food |
The text is written mainly for those_____________.
| A．who go to work early | B．who want to lose weight |
| C．who stay up late | D．who eat before sleep |
Want to be perfect at a holiday dinner party? Follow these tips on good manners, and your dinner companions are sure to be thankful.
*Arrive no earlier than the time the host has announced and no later than half an hour after the time.
*Plan to stay about an hour after dinner unless travel plans or sleepy children which make you leave a bit earlier.
*Bring a gift and write a note of thanks afterwards.
*Offer to help set up for dinner and to clean afterwards.
*Tell the host of any special dietary needs---if you are a vegetarian, diabetic or allergic to common foods. You can tell the host how to prepare a dish you can eat, or even better, offer to bring that dish yourself.
*If you’re going to a potluck (百乐餐) dinner, bring a serving dish with you as an offer. Remember, the best potluck dishes are those that need little preparation in the host’s kitchen, can be served at room temperature and need only a fork to eat.To be a perfect guest, you should _______.
| A．never be late for a holiday dinner party |
| B．leave right away after meal if necessary |
| C．bring a gift with some words of thanks on |
| D．help to make table and clean afterwards |
“Diabetic or allergic” here refers to people who _____ .
| A．have some special needs for certain foods |
| B．are more important than other dinner companions |
| C．never try some common foods served at dinner |
| D．always bring dishes to dinner themselves |
According to the passage, potluck dinner dishes are those _______ .
| A．usually given by the guests |
| B．carefully prepared in the kitchen |
| C．served only at room temperature |
| D．eaten only with a fork and knife |
The passage is mainly written for _____ .
| A．holiday makers | B．companions | C．dinner hosts | D．dinner guests |
A kindergarten teacher decided to let her class play a game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she cannot forgive（宽恕）.
So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3, while some had up to 5 potatoes.
The teacher then told the children to carry the potatoes with them wherever they go (even to the toilet) for one week. With days passing by, the children started to complain because of the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten (腐烂) potatoes they were carrying.
Those children who have 5 potatoes really began to feel the weight of the heavier bags. After one week, the children were happy to hear that the teacher had finally ended the game. The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for one week?" The children started complaining of the trouble that they had to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.
Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred（仇恨）for somebody inside your heart. The burden（负担）of hatred will pollute your heart and you will end up carrying an unnecessary burden with you wherever you go.
If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, can you imagine what a burden it would be to have the hatred in your heart for your lifetime?"According to the teacher, if a Child hates three persons, he or she needs to carry ________.
| A．one potato | B．two potatoes | C．three potatoes | D．four potatoes |
The underlined word “tolerate ” in the last paragraph probably means _____________.
| A．carry | B．hate | C．receive | D．stand |
In fact, the teacher wants to ______________.
| A．play a game with the students | B．teach the students a lesson |
| C．make the students more tired | D．play jokes on the students |
What is the main idea of the story?
| A．It’s best to learn to forgive and forget. |
| B．Students should love people around them. |
| C．Children should carry less rotten potatoes. |
| D．Rotten potatoes are really a heavy burden. |
There are labels(标签) inside all new clothes．The labels tell you how to take care of your clothes．The label for a shirt may tell you to wash it in warm water． A sweater label may tell you to wash in cold water． The label on a coat may say “dry clean only”, for washing may ruin this coat． If you do as the directions (说明)on the label, you can keep your clothes looking their best for a long time．
Many clothes today must be dry cleaned．Dry cleaning is expensive．When buying new clothes, check to see if they will need to be dry cleaned．You will save money if you buy clothes that can be washed．
You can save money if you buy clothes that are well made．Well-made clothes last longer．They look good even after they have been washed many times．Clothes that cost more money are not necessarily(一定) better made．They do not always fit better．Sometimes less expensive clothes look and fit better than more expensive clothes．If you want to save money, you had better buy clothes that __ ．
| A．don’t fit you | B．don’t last long |
| C．need to be dry cleaned | D．can be washed |
The labels inside the clothes tell you______．
| A．how to keep them looking their best | B．how to save money |
| C．whether they fit you or not | D．where to get them dry cleaned |
We learn from the passage that cheaper clothes __ ．
| A．are always worse made | B．must be dry cleaned |
| C．can not be washed | D．can sometimes fit you better |
“Well-made clothes last longer” means ___.
| A．Clothes that are well made will be the last for you to choose. |
| B．Clothes that are well made are mostly longer than cheap ones. |
| C．You can wear well-made clothes for a longer time. |
| D．You can wear well-made clothes for a long time if you wear them at last. |