David Beckham was born on 2nd May, 1975, in the suburbs of London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy, his greatest passion was football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led to him going for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy at secondary school he played for tile schools of Essex and also for his country team.
On 8th July, 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under-21 team. On 2nd April, 1995, he played his first major football league game against Leeds United. During 1995 and 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both seasons, with David scoring many goals.
His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1996 — 1997 season, he scored an amazing goal from beyond the halfway line. Seeing the goalkeeper a little way out of his goal, David sent the ball over the goalkeeper’s head and into the goal. It was a Wonderful goal and Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free-kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157kph. He also had the ability to make the ball curl from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. He could made it glide high through the air, or dive down steeply. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal. When David Beckham was young ______.
| A．he played football all the time |
| B．his main interest was football |
| C．one of his interests was football |
| D．he watched football whenever he had the chance |
During the 1995 and 1996 seasons, Beckham ______.
| A．was normally a member of the Manchester United team |
| B．played all the time |
| C．won most of the matches for Manchester United |
| D．was the winner in both years |
Beckham became famous because he showed that he had the ability ______.
| A．to move the ball in any direction in the air |
| B．to trick the goalkeepers and score goals |
| C．to swing the ball through the air and score goals |
| D．to kick the ball very hard and score goals |
“His goals made him a household name” probably means ______.
| A．he became very famous because of his goals |
| B．his family became very popular |
| C．many people started to come to see the house where he lived |
| D．his name became popular in England |
A device that stops drivers form falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20% - 40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel (方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound the driver’s response.
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.
72. According to the text, Driver Alert ______.
A. aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents B. has gone through testing at laboratories
C. aims to prevent drivers form sleeping D. has been on sale for 12 months
73. How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?
A. By sounding a warning. B. By touching the wristband.
C. By checking the driving time. D.By pressing the steering wheel.
74. We can learn form the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ____
A. about 400 milliseconds B. below 500 milliseconds
C. over 500 milliseconds D. about 4 minutes
75. When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.
A. moves more regularlyB. stops working properly
C. opens the window for the driverD. sounds more frequently and loudly
When I was small and my grandmother died I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.
So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.
Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.
Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through Crying, and then we can deal with them.
Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical (身体的) health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural — and healthy — emotional response (反应).
60. Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?
A. Because her father did not want her to feel too sad.
B. Because she did not love her grandmother.
C. Because she was too shy to cry at that time.
D. Tie author doesn’t give the explanation.
61. It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A. there are two ways to keep healthy
B. crying does more good to health than laughing
C. crying and laughing play the same roles
D. emotional health has a close relationship to physical health
62. According to the author, which of the following statements is true?
A. Crying is the best way to get help from others.
B. Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.
C. We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.
D. We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.
63. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. Power of Tears B. How to Keep Healthy
C. Why We Cry D. A New Scientific Discovery
Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent（具备智能的）. They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.
The touch-screen devices（触摸屏装置）are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week. “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexandor, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc, which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.
Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.
Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.
“The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexandor. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”
People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system（系统）that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.
The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’re finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.
The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.
53. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refers to______.
A. supermarkets B. shop assistants
C. shopping carts D. shop managers
54. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?
a. Start the system. b. Make a shopping list.
c. Find the things you want. d. Go to a self-checkout stand.
A. abdc B. bacd C. acbd D. bcad
55. We can learn from the last paragraph that______.
A. intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money
B. the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices
C. shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid
D. average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices
56. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. New age for supermarkets B. Concierge and Shopping Buddy
C. New computers make shopping carts smarter
D. Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable
The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before: changes for the better, changes for the worse; changes that brought a lot of benefits（益处） to human beings, changes that put man in danger. Many things caused the changes, but, in my opinion, the most important was the progress in science.
Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened our views. It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure（结构）of matter and of the universe; it has brought us a better understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous development. Technology —the application（应用）of science —has made big advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life.
The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century will result in even greater advantages to human beings: in pure science — a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning; in applied science — a more reasonable sharing of material benefits, and better protection of the environment.
Sadly, however, there is another side to the picture. The creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind. The application of science and technology to the development and production of weapons（武器）of mass destruction has created a real danger to the continued existence of the human race on this planet. We have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons, Although their actual use has so far occurred only in the Second World War, the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for use was so large that if the weapons had actually been used, the result could have been the ruin of the human race, as well as of many kinds of animals.
William Shakespeare said, "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn (纱线), good and ill具together. " The above brief review of the application of only one part of human activities – science—seems to prove what Shakespeare said. But does it have to be so? Must the ill always go together with the good? Are we biologically programmed for war?
73.From the fourth paragraph, we can infer that________.
A. a great many nuclear weapons were actually used for war
B. a large number of nuclear weapons should have been used for war
C. the author is doubtful about the ruin of human beings by nuclear weapons
D. the author is anxious about the huge number of nuclear weapons on the earth
74.The underlined word "mingled" in the last paragraph most probably means________.
A. simple B. mixed C. sad D. happy
75.What do you think the author is most likely to suggest if he continues to write?
A. Further application of science to war.
B. More reading of William Shakespeare.
C. Proper use of science in the new century.
D. Effective ways to separate the good from the ill.
When building houses, people used to think about not only the climate of the areas but also the building materials and the fashions for their houses. However, since electricity became more and more expensive, people began to pay much more attention to the energy they could get for their houses and the new ways they could find to protect their houses from both cold and heat.
Now, houses of an old yet new type have been widely built. In some parts of the world, people share their houses with their livestock（家畜）.During cold weather, they gather their cows, goats, or other animals and keep them on the first floor of their houses. The reasons are that the animals can be protected from the cold and that they can help to heat the houses as well. The body heat given off by the animals rises to the second floor of the houses, where people live. By sharing their houses with their livestock, people gain a source of heat.
People who live in or near cities do not usually keep livestock. However, home builders use the fact that heat rises. This natural law can be used in building houses in these areas. Instead of keeping livestock on the first floor, builders fill it with large rocks. As they are open to the sun’s rays during cold weather, these rocks take in heat. They also give off the heat, and, of course, the warm air rises into the living areas of the houses. So these houses are energy-saving.
House-building becomes a great challenge（挑战）to building designers and energy engineers. They try to meet this challenge by learning from old traditions and by using modern technology. And someday in the future, people will be able to live in more energy-saving houses.
56．What did people begin to consider as electricity was no longer cheap?
A．The climate of their areas. B．The energy for their houses.
C．The fashions for their houses. D．The building materials for their houses.
57．People in some areas gain a source of heat by _________.
A．keeping their livestock downstairs
B．protecting their livestock from the cold
C．sharing their houses only with their cows
D．living on the second floor with their livestock
58．The underlined words “natural law” in the third paragraph refer to the fact that ________.
A．heat raises the temperature in the houses
B．heat goes in the upward direction
C．heat goes up if temperature is raised
D．heat increases the temperature of rocks
59．From the passage, we can conclude that __________.
A．people will no longer consider building materials in the future
B．energy-saving buildings will become more popular in the future
C．almost all people will move into the houses heated by large rocks
D．energy engineers will devote themselves only to modern technology