According to Andrew, it never would have happened if he had not had a flat tire on Highway 10 last night at about 7:30. He was on his way to attend a three-day sales meeting when he had the flat. tyre. Unfortunately, he did not have a spare, so he pushed the car off the road, locked it up, and managed to thumb a ride back to Pine Grove. It was after eleven o'clock when he finally got home, and it was then that his real problems started.
When Andrew left home at about 5:30, he had told his wife not to expect him back until Thursday or Friday. Knowing that his wife was nervous about staying in the house alone at night, Andrew took the precaution of checking all the windows in the house to be sure they were locked, so that he could report to his wife that the house was secure. He convinced his wife that the house was burglar-proof, and that she would be perfectly safe, providing she bolted （闩上）the front door as soon as he drove away.
Andrew's only thought as he made his way in the dark to his front door was how surprised his wife was going to be to see him, since he was not supposed to be back until Thursday or Friday. He had forgotten about the bolt on the front door. When he turned his key in the lock and the door wouldn't budge, he remembered the bolt. And he remembered that he had carefully locked all of the windows.
Although Andrew didn't know it at the time, a next-door neighbor had seen him approaching the house and had watched him go up the steps to the front door. In the dark, it was impossible for the neighbor to recognize Andrew, and, besides, the neighbor knew that Andrew had gone out-of-town for a three-day meeting. As a matter of fact, Andrew had asked the neighbor to keep an eye on the house while he was gone.
Finding that he couldn't get in, Andrew began pounding（砰砰地敲） on the front door to get his wife to open the door. According to Andrew, however, his wife is a very sound sleeper, and he knew it was going to be hard to wake her up. In the meantime, because of all the noise he had been making, the neighbor was convinced that somebody was trying to break into the house; so she called the police.
When we talked to Andrew at the country jail this morning, he said that he still didn't understand how the police managed to circle the house without his seeing them. He stated that he had decided the only way to get in was to break one of the dining room windows, and that he was about, to hurl his briefcase into the window to break it when two of the officers grabbed him from behind.
Andrew could not make the officers believe that he lived there; so they took him off to jail. Apparently, he did succeed in convincing them that they ought to wake up the woman in the house to check his story. But there was no answer when they knocked at the door. He tried to explain to them that his wife was a very sound sleeper, but they concluded there was nobody in the house. As Andrew had a flat tyre on the way, he .
| A．had to take another car to attend the meeting |
| B．rode on a bike to attend the meating |
| C．asked for a lift to go back home |
| D．borrowed a car to go back home |
When Andrew was approaching the house .
| A．he was sure he would pleasently surprise his wife |
| B．he was deep in thought |
| C．he was sure that his neighbor would help him |
| D．he was worried about how to wake his wife up |
The underlined word “budge” in Paragraph 3 probably means .
| A．move slightly | B．lock tightly | C．knock lightly | D．close tightly |
Why did the police officers take Andrew off to jail?
| A．It was too late for them to contact Andrew’s wife. |
| B．Andrew did not explain clearly why he broke into the house. |
| C．They thought it unnecessary to check Andrew’s story. |
| D．they concluded that Andrew’s story was a complete invention. |
For light sleepers
Millions of people have trouble falling asleep each night, which is why Light Sleeper was created.
Developed in the United Kingdom, Light Sleeper's makers say it can help a person fall asleep and also help a person fall back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.
Light Sleeper works by projecting (投射) a light onto the ceiling while the person is lying down. The idea is to watch the light, because the light moving in a circle has a relaxing effect.
One of the advantages of the product is that it won't disturb other people in the room. The product can be easily moved and will switch itself off after 30 minutes to save power.
Stop the snoring (打鼾)
Here's a new product designed to slow down the frequency and level of your snoring. The Snore Stopper has a sensitive instrument that will detect when you're snoring. Once it does tha
t, it will send a very mild electronic signal to your wrist. This consequently changes your sleeping position to stop you from snoring. The Snore Stopper; won't cause any damage to your body.
Get your true colors
Photoshop features a pen that will copy the color settings of what you are monitoring onscreen to use as a color in your program. Now an off-line product allows you to pick a color when not using the computer software.
The Color Picker is a concept pen. After placing the pen against an object, the user just presses the scan button. Color sensors (感应器) inside the pen send information to a box, which then mixes red, green and blue to produce the desired ink color.
Keep it fresh
More high technology products are showing up in the kitchen. A new Bagel dome (圆顶形物) advertises that it will keep your baked goods fresher for longer periods of time. The product, which is able to remove air, works for bread rolls, cakes and other perishables. To use it, you just push a button at the top.How can Light Sleeper help a person fall asleep?
| A．Its light makes people feel calm. |
| B．It doesn't make any noise. |
| C．It is fixed on the ceiling. |
| D．Its light moves fast. |
What do we know about the Snore Stopper?
| A．It will cause slight damage to a person's body. |
| B．It will wake a person up once he starts snoring. |
| C．It can make sure a person doesn't snore all night. |
| D．It can make a person snore less by changing his sleeping position. |
The Color Picker will probably be used while you're .
| A．using the computer |
| B．drawing pictures |
| C．collecting information |
| D．designing a program |
The underlined word "perishables" in the last paragraph refers to foods which .
| A．are easy to keep |
| B．go bad easily |
| C．are rich in vitamins |
| D．keep you thin |
It can be learned from the passage that .
| A．the Color Picker is convenient to use |
| B．Light Sleeper was designed by an American |
| C．the Bagel dome mainly serves as decoration |
| D．few people would like to try the Snore Stopper |
Around four years ago, I received a call from the principal of our school as to the “Parents View” talk the next morning. He asked me to speak to the group. After the call, my whole body became feverish and panicky. The time from his call to the next morning seemed like years. The whole night, I could not sleep with many ominous apprehensions in mind. One of them was to call the principal with regret and tell him that I could not come. Finally, I gathered some courage. I thought, “If I miss this opportunity, surely the school will never invite me again to any of the
ir programs.”
I reached the school in time. Before my turn came, my whole body was trembling. When my turn came and I started speaking, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to read the written speech properly. I was not aware of where I was standing and what I was reading. That was the day when I realized my biggest weakness, Public Speaking.
After my speech, I met with the principal and explained what happened to me. He told me that this happens to everyone. Even great speaker, faced the same things when they started. He suggested that I come again next time.
Around one month later, I was invited to refer to a topic on Motivation. This time I was feeling comfortable. My speech was not only appreciated by the principal as well as the teachers, because I was able to get my idea across to them. They encouraged and praised my efforts.
After delivering is successfully, I became more confident .l said to myself, “If I can speak in front of such a learned audience, like the principal who educates others, I can now speak in front of others too.”
I started delivering lectures in my plant, on various topics like Self Motivation, Personality Development, Personal Excellence, Spoken English and Presentation Skills. This has become a passion for me. I learned that everything is possible if we have the courage to take the first step.Which of the following is the hest title for the passage?
| A．Practice Makes a Man a Better Speechmaker |
B． Public Speaking Makes a Man Embarrassed. |
| C．Principal Provides the Best Chances. |
| D．Spoken English Develops in Malting Speeches. |
The author had bad feelings before the speech because______.
| A．he disliked the idea of giving a lecture |
| B．he had got a high fever before that |
| C．he regretted accepting the invitation |
| D．he feared he couldn't perform it properly |
What does the underlined part ominous apprehensions in the first paragraph mean?
| A．Unlucky opportunities. |
| B．Negative ideas. |
| C．Curious views. |
| D．Happy comments. |
What can we conclude from the passage?
| A．Nothing is to be got without pains but poverty. |
| B．Knowledge makes humble, ignorance makes proud. |
| C．A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. |
| D．Necessity is the mother of invention. |
Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.BCI is a technology that can ________.
| A．help the disabled to recover |
| B．control a person's thoughts |
| C．help to update computer systems |
| D．link the human brain with computers |
How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?
| A．By talking to the machine. |
| B．By controlling his muscles. |
| C．By using his mind. |
| D．By moving his hand. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries |
| B．BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled |
| C．New Findings About How the Human Brain Works |
| D．Switzerland, the BCI Research Center |
When my mother was alive, she used to tell me again and again about the value of just being nice. “Never underestimate（低估）the power of a smile,” she would say. I fear she would be very disappointed looking at the world today. A lot of people don’t smile and when it comes to service today, they’re just not nice. Now don’t give me wrong, not all service workers but a good many.
I was on the phone the other day with a computer help desk. First a man, then later a woman, who couldn’t have been ruder. And this to a customer, who didn’t know his way around a PC. But no matter, I could tell they thought I was a bother, The woman, in fact, seemed to be chewing gum as she unemotionally clicked off a series of commands for me to perform.
The next day I heard from a friend of mine who got a performance review without his boss once looking up at him. Not once.
You see it everywhere. Gone are the days when people cared about you. It’s a sign of the time, I suspect. But that makes me sad — for them and for us all. People who aren’t happy, who don’t smile, who don’t kid, who don’t joke or make light of even bad situations, make for an even worse situation.
And it spreads like a cancer. Someone’s rude to you, you’re rude to them and to the next fellow you meet, and on and on. Smiles are contagious（易感染的）but so annoyances. The boss who can’t be bothered with his workers. The celebrity who can’t be bothered with her annoying fans.
You know, my mom used to judge presidential candidates by how they smiled. I would say, “But mom, you don’t know if that smile is real.”
“Oh, yes I do,” she would tell me. “I can feel it.”
It’s in their eyes, she would say. And it’s in their smile. The rest just kind of falls into place.Why did the writer mention his phone call?
| A．To show many people aren’t nice. |
| B．To prove his mother is wrong. |
| C．To share his funny experience with us. |
| D．To tell us he knows little about computer. |
What is the author’s attitude towards the boss of his friend?
| A．Respectful. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Opposed. | D．Doubtful. |
When someone is rude to you, you’re advised to ________.
| A．become one just like him or her |
| B．be nice to the people you meet |
| C．be rude to the next person |
| D．make for a worse situation |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Feel a person in his eyes |
| B．Don’t judge a person by his look |
| C．The effect of rudeness |
| D．The power of a smile |
TEN-YEAR-OLD Barack Obama was one of the only three black students at his school in Hawaii, US. He felt very different from most other students. White girls wanted to touch his hair. A white boy asked him whether his father ate people.
“I lied to them that my father was a Kenyan prince. But I kept asking myself who I am,” said Obama.
However, 37 years later, the boy made history. Last year Obama became the first black president in US history.
Obama was born in 1961, to an African father and a white American woman from a small town in the US. He grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii. This unusual background made him wonder who he was. He once turned to alcohol to help forget this question.
With help from his friends, Obama finally turned his life around at college. His hard work made him a star at Harvard. Later, he became only the third black senator (参议员) in US history. During his race to the highest post in the US, Obama talked about his background. He called for a United States of America, rather than a white America or a black America.
“Obama’s success has made Martin Luther King’s dream come true. That is: A man should not be judged by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character,” wrote ABC news.When Obama was ten years old, he was in _______.
| A．Hawaii | B．Kenya | C．Africa | D．Indonesia |
When Obama became president of the US, he was _______.
| A．37 | B．48 | C．47 | D．38 |
Why did Obama lie to his classmates that his father was a Kenyan prince?
| A．Because he was uncertain about his background then. |
| B．Because he dreamed of becoming a Kenyan prince. |
| C．Because he was afraid of being laughed at by his classmates. |
| D．Because he was told his father was a Kenyan prince. |
Which of the following statements is right?
| A．Obama is optimistic all his life. |
| B．Obama was brought up in Africa. |
| C．.According to Luther King, a man should be judged by the content of his |
| D．Obama didn’t work hard at Harvard, but he finally turned president of the US. |