People cannot reach an agreement on the use of science and technology. For example, will radiation from electronic equipment destroy the environment? Should medical scientists change gene structures to prevent genetic disease or to create “more perfect” human beings? While people are arguing about these and others, technology continues to influence our everyday lives—the home, health and education, entertainment and communication, and so on.
Some people carry on active social lives with computers —their own or the ones in public places like cafes, social centers, libraries, and so on. Communicating with others in chat rooms, computer users can get to know people they might never meet in traditional ways. With live online video connections, two people with cameras in their computers can see and talk to each other from separate places.
With modern telephone technology, most people stopped writing lettters—especially personal letters and notes. But now, writing to communicate has returned in electronic form, or e-mail, which is a way of sending messages from one computer to another. For some computer users, the wish to communicate intelligently or creatively with others makes them want to write better.
Computer technology has also made it possible to run a house electronically. From turning lights on and off to starting the coffee and cooking the hot meal, computers are taking care of people at home. Many modern machines have computer chips that allow their owners to program them. For instance, you can “instruct” a microwave oven how to cook a dish. Most entertainment equipment operates with computer technology too. Computers can even start cars automatically so that on cold winter mornings you can get into a warmed-up vehicle and drive off.
Although much of the technology in our everyday lives has good effects, there are some uses that raise questions. For example, are interactive media ( i.e., a combination of television, telephone, and computer) going to control minds, cause people to forget about family life and personal relationships? What effects will the genentic engineering of food have on people’s health? High-tech medical treatments can make a person live a much longer life, but can they improve the health and happiness of human beings? Only time will tell, but, in the meantime, science and technology will continue to move forward. What does the underlined word “ chips” mean?
A.thin pieces of potatoes | B.small holes | C.small pieces of wood | D.central parts |
We can know from the passage that _________.
A.technology never stops changing our everyday lives |
B.with computers each of us can live a comfortable life |
C.people can do more activities with computers |
D.the more you use computers, the better you might write |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
A.The longer you live, the happier you are. |
B.High-tech medical treatments can’t improve our health and happiness. |
C.High-tech medical treatments can’t help us with everything. |
D.The writer questioned high-tech medical treatments somehow. |
What is the best title for the passage?
A.Science and New Technology | B.Computers Change Our Lives |
C.Everyday Uses of Technology | D.Only Time Will Tell |
The Internet, mobile phones and iPads are part of our lives now. Technology is greatly affecting all ways of our lives, from the ways we work to the ways we play. And it even causes a number of social problems such as cloning humans.
We have had lots of technology and it has changed our lives a lot. There is no doubt that humans will continue to use more and more technology. Here are some examples of modern technology that will change our ideas and will affect our lives greatly.
Global Positioning System (GPS) (全球定位系统)
It’s a system that uses radio signals from satellites to show exact (精确的) information. It tells you where the user is on the earth in all weather conditions. It’s made up of three parts: satellites, control equipments (设备) on land and receivers.
Space Technology
Russian and American scientists have worked together for the International Space Station (ISS) for a long time. They hope the ISS will provide a long-lasting lab. Such a lab will bring humans limitless (无限的) advantages. It’s even hoped that one day space technology will take humans to their new houses in space.
Underwater Robot
Hercules is a kind of underwater robot with some high technology equipments. It will be used to search for ancient ships which were destroyed into the deep sea during their journey long ago.
The world is changing so quickly that it’s hard for us to catch up with all the new inventions because they seem to come out every month. It’s important for us to learn about new technology and the role that it plays in our lives. So we should be willing to accept modern technology, or we will fall behind the times.can tell you where the user is on the earth exactly.
A.Satellites | B.Receivers |
C.Global Positioning System | D.Underwater Robot |
According to the passage, which is NOT true about the ISS?
A.It has carried people to other planets. |
B.It will provide a long-lasting lab for us. |
C.Russia and America are working for it. |
D.Humans will get a lot of advantages from it. |
Hercules is used to .
A.save lives in the sea |
B.take pictures in the sea |
C.repair the broken ships |
D.look for the ancient ships in the sea |
From the passage, we know that .
A.the use of GPS is affected by the weather conditions |
B.it’s very important for us to learn about new technology |
C.it’s easy for us to catch up with all the new inventions |
D.technology brings us many advantages such as cloning humans |
.What is the purpose of the passage?
A.To help us study some new technology. |
B.To tell us technology is changing the world. |
C.To help solve the problems that technology causes. |
D.To remind us the advantages of technology are limitless. |
Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories, destroying fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged (破坏) that their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or broken roofs. One person was killed, several were badly hurt and taken to hospital, and a number of other people received smaller hurt. Altogether (总共) over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.
A farmer, Mr. Tan, said that the storm began early in the morning and lasted for over an hour.
“I was eating with my wife and children,” he said, “when we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us. We tried our best to climb out but then I saw that one of my children was missing. I went back inside and found him safe but very frightened.”
Mrs. Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she felt that her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children.
“There was no time to take anything,” she said, “A few minutes later, the roof came down.”
Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded (水淹的) area and the welfare department (福利机构) brought them food, clothes and shelter..How many homes altogether were damaged in the storm?
A.Fourteen. | B.Twenty-one. |
C.Twenty-nine. | D.Thirty-six. |
.Where was Mr. Tan when the storm first began?
A.He was in bed. |
B.He was inside the house. |
C.He was outside the house. |
D.He was on the roof. |
Mrs. Woo and her family didn’t get hurt because ________.
A.her husband knew there would be a storm |
B.they were all outside the house when the storm became worse |
C.she felt the house moving and they ran out immediately |
D.the welfare department helped her |
The underlined word “shelter” in the last paragraph means ________.
A.something to eat | B.something to wear |
C.somewhere to study | D.somewhere to stay |
Which of the following may be the best title for this passage?
A.A Terrible Storm | B.A Lucky Woman |
C.Good Soldiers | D.Clever People |
Do you live in a city? Do you know how cities began? Long long ago, the world had only a few thousand people. These people moved from one place to another. They moved over the land, hunting animals for food.
No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their life changed. They did not have to look for food any longer. They could stay in one place and grow it.
People began to live near one another, so the first village was established (建立). Many people came to live in the villages, and these villages became even larger.
When machines appeared, life in the villages changed again. People built factories. More and more people lived near the factories. The cities began.
Today, it’s strange that some people are moving back to small villages. Can you tell me why?
根据短文内容,判断句子正误,正确的写“T”,错误的写“F”People moved from place to place to hunt animals.
The story says, “No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their life changed.” In this sentence, the word “they” means people.
When machines appeared, life in the cities changed again.
All people like to live only in big cities.
People built factories after the cities grew big.
Winter solstice ( 冬至 ), as the name shows, means the coming of winter. As an important solar term(节气)in the traditional Chinese calendar, it is also a traditional holiday for Chinese, which is also called “冬节”, “长至节”,“亚岁”, etc. Generally, winter solstice occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, five days constitutes(组成)a pentad and three pentads constitutes a solar term.One year is divided into twelve periods and twelve climates which are regarded as twenty-four solar terms. The Winter Solstice is one of twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the Northern Hemisphere(北半球) the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is longest. . In Northern China during winter solstice there is a custom of eating dumplings.There are _________ solar terms in a year.
A.twelve | B. five |
C.thirty-one | D.twenty-four |
People often eat _________ during winter solstice
A.dumplings | B.mooncakes |
C.noodles | D.chicken |
Winter solstice is in __________.
A.January | B.September |
C.December | D.October |
On winter solstice the period of night is ________in China.
A.darkest | B.the shortest |
C.the longest | D.brightest |
Which day has the longest daytime in China?
A.Summer solstice | B.The beginning of spring |
C.Grain full | D.The beginning of autumn |
Now QQ coins are popular among Chinese teenagers. People use real money to buy Web money. Then they buy clothes for their online characters (人物形象) or services for their online pets with it. And these fancy things will cost QQ fans more in the future.
The government will put a tax (税) of 3% on online sales. For example, if QQ users pay 100 yuan for 110 QQ coins, they will have to spend 103 yuan in the future. The extra (额外的) three yuan is tax.
Beijing was the first city to carry out the policy. Online games have to pay the tax, too. A number of players make money by spending a lot of time on the games to gain powers (获得能量), and then selling them.
Experts said that online trade grow fast. There is more than 10 billion yuan of real money in online trade a year in China.
However, the government’s new move has become a hot topic (话题) among Internet users around the country. In a survey by sina.com more than 70% of about 3,000 surveyed were against it. They said that the tax is too much.
But supporters (支持者) said the government’s better management (管理) of the Internet would help it become healthier. They believe the new move would help stop online identity theft (账号偷窃).
根据短文内容,从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出正确选项,并将所选答案的字母代号填入题前的括号内。We can learn from the story that QQ coins are ________.
A.a kind of game software | B.some online pets |
C.some fancy clothes | D.a special Web money |
The Chinese government will put a tax of ________ on online sales.
A.10% | B.3% | C.11% | D.15% |
Which city was the first city to carry out the policy?
A.Shenyang. | B.Beijing. |
C.Guangzhou. | D.Shanghai. |
We can learn from the passage that________.
A.all the people support (支持) this policy |
B.online gamers don’t have to pay the tax |
C.many people think the tax is too much |
D.the new move will cause online identity theft |
The new move can help Internet become healthier and ________.
A.stop online identity theft | B.stop online trade |
C.stop online shopping | D.stop online spending money |