Michael, a typical American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work, he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder, or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn’t talk to any other human beings, and he doesn’t see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from contact with our fellow human beings.
The world of business is one area in which technology is isolating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their jobs at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they’re dealing with. In addition, the way employees are paid will change. Workers’ salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their check. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts. Another area that technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.
36. After work, Michael likes to ________.
| A．listen to music at the concert hall |
| B．watch a movie in his living room |
| C．run a program on his computer in his office |
| D．play baseball with his workmates |
37. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Clerks will be able to work at home. |
| B．One can play baseball on the computer. |
| C．One can listen to music without disturbing others. |
| D．One can borrow books from libraries at home. |
38. The sentence “Michael is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible” means ________.
| A．Michael is a person full of imagination and he can make his dreams come true |
| B．Michael is not a real person but the lifestyle does exist |
| C．Michael has ambitions but he can’t make his dreams come true |
| D．Michael is a person full of imagination and his lifestyle is common nowadays |
39. What will the author most probably discuss after the last paragraph?
| A．Games and sports. | B．Personal banking. |
| C．Music and films. | D．International business. |
40. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．We may no longer need to communicate with other human beings. |
| B．Modern technology seems to be separating human being. |
| C．We may no longer need to work in the office. |
| D．Modern technology makes it possible for us to work and entertain ourselves at home. |
Warm water freezes more quickly than cold water. Sir Francis Bacon said that almost four hundred years ago. But few people believed him. Later, a Canadian scientist George Kell proved the English scholar was right. Dr.Kell filled an open jar（罐子）with cold water. He filled another with warm water. He put them both in the same low temperature. And the warm water froze first.
What was the reason? Some of the warm water changed into vapour. It went into the air. This meant that less of the warm water was left to freeze. And so the warm water froze faster than the cold water. Sir Francis Bacon was__________________.
| A．an American chemist | B．an English scholar |
| C．a Canadian scientist | D．a French physicist |
Dr.Kell’s jars were both_____________________.
| A．put in a place of the same low temperature |
| B．filled with warm water |
| C．left empty |
| D．put on a long table |
The cold water froze more slowly because_____________.
| A．there was less of it left | B．there was more of it left |
| C．something else was added to it | D．its jar was much bigger |
Dr.Kell proved what Bacon said in _____________ way.
| A．a difficult | B．a hard | C．a wrong | D．a simple |
I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big, black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I asked a porter(搬运工). I not only spoke English very carefully, but very clearly as well.The porter, however, could not understand me. I repeated my question several times and at last he understood. He answered me, but he spoke neit
her slowly nor clearly. “I am a foreigner”, I said. Then he spoke slowly, but I could not understand him. My teacher never spoke English like that! The porter and I looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something and I understood it. “ You’ll soon learn English!” he said. It seems to me that in England each man speaks a different language. The Englishman understand each other, but I don’t understand them! Do they speak English? How did the write
r of the passage get to London?
A．By tra in |
B．On foot | C．By sea | D．By air |
What country did the writer of the passage come from?
| A．England | B．Ameica | C．France | D．We don’t know |
Why couldn’t the porter understand the writer when he spoke English?
| A．Because he was a foreigner. |
| B．Because the porter could only understand the London dialect (方言). |
| C．Because he spoke not British English but American English. |
| D．Because he couldn’t speak idiomtic (地道的) English. |
“In England, each man speaks a different language.” The writer thinks so because_________________.
| A．some people speak English, while others don’t. |
| B．he does not understand native(本国的) speakers of English |
| C．not every Englishman speaks English |
| D．each Englishman can speak several foreign languages |
Many years ago, in a small town, there lived a doctor. He was good and kind. At any time of the day and night, he was always ready to go to help a sick person. Everyone in the town liked him and people always went to him when there was anything wrong.
The years went past, and the doctor became old. He began to lose his memory.When people noticed this, they didn’t go to him any more.
“He may give us the wrong medicine,” they said, and they were afraid.
The good old doctor noticed that pe
ople didn’t come to him any more but didn’t understand why. So he asked, “Why does no one come to me now?”
No one wanted to tell him the real reason because they didn’t want to make the good old man unhappy, so they said, “You have helped all the sick people in the town. There is no one sick now.”
The doctor was pleased when he heard that.People always went to the doctor when they were____________.
| A．wrong | B．not right | C．not well | D．not happy |
“He began to lose his memory.”means __________.
| A．He couldn’t know his sick persons any longer. |
| B．He forgot everything in the past. |
| C．He couldn’t find anything. |
| D．He couldn’t remember things well. |
The sick people didn’t come to the doctor any more b
ecause____.
| A．there was no sick man in the town |
| B．he might give them the wrong medicine |
| C．they were afraid of him |
D．he was old and no longer a doctor |
The old doctor was _________ when he heard that there was no one sick in the town.
| A．sorry | B．angry | C．glad | D．surprised |
Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little environmental influence. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness, it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively(不引人注目地)and leave no mark.
Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you are, find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find out their policy on camping and shelter building. For e
xample, it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland, but in England you must ask the landowner’s permission, except in national parks.
Camping is about having relaxation, sleeping outdoors, experiencing bad weather, and making do without modern conveniences. A busy, fully-equipped campsite(野营地)seems to go against this, so seek out smaller, more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still, find a campsite with no road access: walking in makes a real adventure.
Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing(保证）a good night’s sleep. Choose a campsite with privacy and minimum influence on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people h
ave obviously camped before rather than creating a new spo
t. When camping in woodland, avoid standing dead trees, which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and caves, and possible homes of biting insects. Make sure you have most protection on the windward side. If you make a fire, do so downwind of your shelter. Always consider what influence you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A good campsite is found, not made—changing it should be unnecessary. You needn’t ask for permission when camping in______________ .
| A．national parks in England | B．most parts of Scotland |
| C．crowded lowland Britain | D．most parts of England |
The author thinks that a good campsite is one_______________.
A. with easy access B. used previously
C with modern conveniences D far away from beaches The last paragraph mainly deals with_____________.
A. protecting animalsB building a campfire
C camping in woodland 
D finding a campsite with privacyThe passage is mainly about______________.
A the protection of campsites
B the importance of wild camping
C the human influence on campsites
D the dos and don’ts of wild camping
Tsai Chin Chung is one of Taiwan’s most famous cartoonists, and his cartoons are enjoyed by people in many different countries in Asia. His books of cartoons have now become best sellers in Singapore, Malaysia, and even Japan.
As soon as he could hold a pencil, Tsai Chin Chung lived only for drawing. Every day he practised drawing people and things around him and from his favorite stories.
When he was only 15 years old, he left home to work for a publisher in Taipei. He worked hard to draw pictures for books. Two years later, he left his job and started to work on drawing cartoon series, which he liked better. He made up his mind to succeed as a cartoonist.
Now Tsai Chin Chung has achieved something unusual for a modern cartoonist. He has become extremely successful at changing Chinese literature and philosophy into humorous comic stories. In this way, he has made the Chinese classics known to thousands of people.
Because of his great achievement, several years ago Tsai Chin Chung was given a prize as one of the 10 Outstanding Young People of Taiwan. Since then, he has won many prizes, and his cartoons have become popular throughout Asia, America and Europe. So far, he has published more than 20 comic books. Ten of these are about ancient Chinese philosophers based on Chinese historical and literary classics.
Many of Tsai Chin Chung’s books of cartoons and comics have now been published in English in countries like Singapore. His books have also been translated into several other languages, including Japanese, Korean and Thai. Even publishers in France and Indonesia have recently signed agreements for permission to publish his cartoon series. Tsai Chin Chung left his first job because he ________.
| A．preferred drawing cartoons | B．wanted to go back to school |
| C．enjoyed drawing pictures for books | D．wanted to be famous |
Half of the books he has published are related to _______.
| A．Chinese and foreign comics | B．countries in Asia, America and Europe |
| C．foreign languages learning | D．Chinese history and literature |
Because of his great achievements, Tsai Chin Chung _______.
| A．travelled a lot in Asia and Europe | B．went to live in Singapore |
| C．won an important prize in Taiwan | D．has become famous in Africa. |