Today just as technology changed the face of industry, farms have undergone an “agricultural revolution”. On the farm of today, machines provide almost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grain farmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into the barn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long.Which sentence carried the main idea of the whole passage?
| A．The first sentence of the first paragraph. |
| B．The first sentence of the second paragraph. |
| C．The first sentence of the third paragraph. |
| D．The last sentence of the second paragraph. |
according to the passage, computers can not help farmers decide _______.
| A．how much money they can earn from their products |
| B．whether to plant a certain kind of crop |
| C．what livestock to raise |
| D．when to sell their products |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers. |
| B．Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms. |
| C．Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present. |
| D．Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do nothing without the help of computers on today’s farms. |
according to the engineers, _______will be done by robots in the near future.
| A．all farm work | B．milking cows |
| C．most of the farm work | D．some farm work |
What is the best title for the whole passage?
| A．Computer, Farmers’ Best Friend | B．Farmers in The Future |
| C．The Agricultural Revolution | D．Computers and Robots |
What you have just read is a _______.
| A．note | B．report | C．schedule | D．poster |
What is going to take place on 2 February, 2013?
| A．A party for close friends to meet and have fun |
| B．A party to celebrate a traditional festival. |
| C．A big event to welcome a Chinese new year. |
| D．A social gathering to raise money for wildlife. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Tickets are sold in Kwun Tong High School |
| B．It's unnecessary to take soft drinks with you. |
| C．Free digital cameras are provided for everybody |
| D．Festival food will be served without extra charge. |
“Whatever",totally tops most annoying word in the poll (民意测验).So, you know, it is what it is, but Americans are totally annoyed by the use of‘ whatever"’ in conversations. The popular term of indifference (不感兴趣）was found most annoying in conversations by 47 percent of the Americans surveyed in a Marist College poll on Wednesday.
“Whatever"easily beat out “you know",which especially annoyed a quarter of interviewers. The other annoying expressions were "anyway"(at 7 percent), “it is what it is” (11percent) and “at the end of the day(2 percent).
"Whatever" is an expression with staying power It left everyone a deepimpression in the song by Nirvana (“oh well, whatever, never mind”）in 1991 and was popularized by the Valley Girls in the film “Clueless”,later that decade. It is still commonly used, often by younger people.
It can be a common argument-ender or a signal of indifference. And it can really be annoying. The poll found "whatever" to be consistently(始终地) disliked by Americans regardless of their race, sex, age, income or where they live.
“It doesn't surprise me because ‘whatever’，is in a special class, probably, said Michael Adams, author of “Slang(俚语)~The People's Poetry" and an associate professor of English at Indiana University. "It's a word that -and it depends on how a speaker uses it -can suggest being not worthy of attention or respect.” Adams, who didn't take part in the poll and is not annoyed by "whatever," points out that its use is not always negative. “It can also be used in place of other neutral(中性的）phrases that have fallen out of favor, like ‘six of one, half dozen of the other’ ” he said. However, he also noted that the negative meaning of the word might explain why “whatever” was judged more annoying than the ever-popular “you know”.Which tops second among the annoying expression according to the passage?'
| A．Whatever. | B．You know |
| C．Anyway. | D．It is what it is. |
What can we know about the word "whatever"?
| A．It became popular because of Nirvana. |
| B．It can be commonly used at the beginning of an agreement. |
| C．Old people like it while young people don't. |
| D．Almost half of the Americans surveyed disliked it. |
In Adams' opinion, the reason why “whatever”, was judged more annoying may be that_____.
| A．most of the people don't like it |
| B．it can be used in place of other neutral phrases |
| C．it carries certain negative meaning sometimes |
| D．the poor don't like it |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Adams is not only a writer but also a professor. |
| B．“Whatever” is a signal of concern. |
| C．Adams is angry at the word “whatever” |
| D．"Whatever" will be replaced by "You know” |
At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages, large enough to threaten the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.
What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options. In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the workforce, but their options have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status. A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as“merely a nurse”. Teachers many be also at fault. Many high school students are actually away from nursing, told by teachers that they are“too bright to be a nurse”.
Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal (致命的) diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．How nurses have been looked down upon. |
| B．Why women have chosen many different jobs. |
| C．What has caused nurse shortage. |
| D．How teachers have influenced their students. |
The Passage tells that high school teachers are at fault for.
| A．not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US |
| B．introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students |
| C．not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment |
| D．persuading the students not to be nurses |
The author writes the Passage in order to.
| A．describe the unequal treatment of women in the US |
| B．warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem |
| C．tell us women’s free choices of jobs today |
| D．call on women to choose different kinds of jobs |
It can be inferred from the Passage that.
| A．high school students think themselves too bright to be nurses |
| B．women in the US have greater career choices than those in other countries |
| C．of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed |
| D．nursing used to be a popular job among women |
This brief book is aimed at high school students, but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life．
Its formal, serious style closely matches its content, a school-masterly book on schooling．The author, W．H．Armstrong, starts with the basics: reading and writing．In his opinion, reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as one digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself．The goal is to bring the information back to life, not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees．Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other; in fact, the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text．I’ve seen it again and again：some-one who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all．
Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history．He generally handles these topics thoroughly and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion regarding history to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across．To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts．As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind．Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired, actually, learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics．
My other comment is that the text aged．The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s—none of the references seem newer than the late 1950s．As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age．
These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion．I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student．According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________
| A．gain knowledge and expand one’s view |
| B．understand the meaning between the lines |
| C．express ideas based on what one has read |
| D．get information and keep it alive in memory |
What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?
| A．Some ideas are slightly contradictory |
| B．There is too much discussion on studying science |
| C．The style is too serious |
| D．It lacks new information |
This Passage can be classified as________．
| A．an advertisement | B．a book review |
| C．a feature story | D．A news report |
Which of the following words can best describe the author’s attitude towards the book________
| A．positive | B．neutral | C．negative | D．objective |
Based on new analysis, we are rapidly approaching major climate change and the effects on society and the environment could be quite severe. Geographers predict that within the next eighty years, current world climate zones could shift and some could completely disappear. Polar regions will get colder while tropical regions will get even hotter, forcing animals to migrate (迁徙) north.
Climate changes like these could lead to the spread of diseases. Tropical storms and hurricanes will not only increase but may also become more intense. If the changes come too quickly, animal and plant species may not be able to adapt fast enough and could disappear.
According to Science Daily, a new study predicts that by the year 2100, many of today’s familiar climates will be replaced by climates unknown in today’s world. It is urgent that we reduce the risks of these far-reaching consequences for the whole world. The planet itself has been showing signs of change. In 2004, a serious tsunami created by a major earthquake killed thousands in Sumatra and in 2008, thousands died in China because of another severe earthquake. Egypt was hit in 2009 with a major earthquake and Haiti was devastated in 2010 by yet another massive earthquake.
Within just the last few months, new reports from around the world have been coming in and most agree that our climate situation is much worse than previously thought. At this point, it doesn’t matter what is causing it, but rather, what can be done about it. What’s more, our world is getting more and more unstable every year. There is war and threat of war everywhere. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and serious.
However, other planets are experiencing global warming as well as our own and some scientists believe there may be some connection between this. No one knows anything for sure at this point because there is simply not enough data. Which of the following would be the best title for the Passage ?
| A．Ways to protect our planet. | B．Solutions to climate change. |
| C．Be prepared for climate change. | D．Climate change and its effects. |
What is the author’s purpose in using the examples of earthquakes?
| A．To show the damage earthquakes caused. |
| B．To remind people to prevent future earthquakes. |
| C．To show major changes are taking place on the planet. |
| D．To tell us more earthquakes will happen in the future. |
What does the underlined word “devastated” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．Separated. | B．Destroyed. | C．Removed. | D．Affected. |
What can be inferred from the Passage?
| A．Animals and plants won’t die out as long as climate changes slowly. |
| B．There’s enough data for us to predict the future of climate change. |
| C．The world is getting more unstable because of animal migration. |
| D．The earth is not the only planet that is experiencing climate change. |