Switzerland is the best place to be born in the world in 2013，and the US is just 16th. A new study made by the Economist Intelligence Unit says American babies will have a dimmer（暗淡）future than those born in Hong Kong，Ireland and even Canada. The EIU，a sister company of The Economist，tried to measure how well countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy，safe and prosperous life in years to come.
People born in Switzerland will tend to be the happiest and have the best quality of life in terms of wealth，health and trust in public institutions，according to the analysis. The Scandinavian countries of Norway，Sweden and Denmark also all make the top five in a‘quality-of-lif e’index(指数）where it is best to be born next year.
One of the most important factors is being rich，but other factors come into play including crime，trust in public institutions and the health of family life. In total，the index takes into account 11 factors. These include fixed factors such as geography，others that change slowly over time such as demography (人口学) social and cultural characteristics, and the state of the world economy. The index also looks at income per head in 2030，which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. Small economies take up the top 10 countries，with Australia coming second and New Zealand and the Netherlands not too far behind.
Half of the top 10 countries are European，but only one，the Netherlands，is from the eurozone. The crisis-ridden south of Europe，including Greece，Portugal and Spain，falls behind despite the advantage of a favourable climate. Interestingly，the largest European economies-Germany，France and Britain-do not do particularly well. Nigeria has the unenviable(不值得羡慕的)title of being the worst country for a baby to enter the world in 2013.According to the passage，the happiest people live in ·
| A．Denmark | B．Switzerland | C．Germany | D．Nigeria |
The factors of telling the best place to be born don’t include ．
| A．economy | B．geography |
| C．trust in public institutions | D．pollution |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text？
| A．The Economist Intelligence Unit is a company. |
| B．The Economist attempted to measure the best place to live. |
| C．The Scandinavian countries are hardly at the top of the list. |
| D．Half of the top 10 countries are from the eurozone. |
The purpose of the text is to show people ．
| A．the best place to be born in 2013 |
| B．a new study made by the EIU |
| C．the worst country to be born in 2013 |
| D．the factors of measuring the best place to be born |
When computer salesman Li Guang and his girlfriend Huang Minxia saw on TV the destruction caused by the unexpected earthquake,they quickly filled their car with bottled water and instant noodles and drove more than 160 miles to lend a hand.
“It’s a small car,but we just wanted to help,” said Li,from Chongqing,a city next to the hardest-hit Sichuan province.
Donations (捐赠) are flooding in,more money than charities (慈善) in China collected all of last year,and so are volunteers.
In the week since the quake,donations have totaled $1.3 billion—85 percent raised within China.
Many,like Li,are taking advantage of growing private car ownership and a new,expanding highway system to join the line of government and army assistance toward the epicenter.
Across the disaster region,thousands of cars decorated with large handwritten signs—“Hardship comes from one direction,help comes from everywhere” and “For the people,for the Beijing Olympics”—were coming from as far as the capital,Beijing,more than 900 miles away.
Private cars crowded so thickly on roads that the police set up donation drop-off points outside cities and towns to clear the way for army and government assistance.People living in tents along the roads posted handwritten signs asking for urgently needed items—water,rice,vegetables.Cars paused to hand out a box or two and then drove on.
Instead of waiting for government-organized charity drives,people quickly acted on their own.Bank account (银行账户) numbers for making earthquake donations flashed on Web logs and mobile phones.Blood donation centers were overwhelmed (使应接不暇) by offers and began asking citizens to register (登记) in advance.
“People are really united this time,and they’re acting on their own without waiting to be asked.It sounds corny,but we’re taught in schools and from our parents about helping others,” said Ge Jian,the company’s general manager.What did Li Guang and his girlfriend Huang Minxia intend to do soon after the earthquake?( )
| A．They intended to help the victims in the quake-hit areas. |
| B．They were on the way to a pleasant journey in Sichuan. |
| C．They were told to do something for the disaster. |
| D．They wanted to find their friends in the epicenter. |
What does the underlined word “corny” most probably mean?( )
| A．Out of date. | B．Heart-broken. |
| C．Funny. | D．Disappointing. |
According to the passage,all the following statements are true EXCEPT.
| A．The good road system made it possible for more private car owners to rush to help. |
| B．The local people in the quake zone were short of food and drinks. |
| C．More money was collected from overseas than within China for the earthquake. |
| D．People across China were taking active part in the rescue work. |
Why did Blood donation centers advise people to register ahead of time?( )
| A．Because they were expecting more money rather than blood. |
| B．Because they had collected enough blood for the disaster. |
| C．Because they were ready to go to the epicenter and they were much too busy. |
| D．Because too many people were offering to donate blood. |
The state of Colorado has four of the 58 national parks in the United States.These have been judged as the best places of all the national parks.
Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park
This park lies in western Colorado and offers the most impressive views from up in the mountains into the canyons (峡谷)below.While exploring the canyons,you will find that the walls drop nearly straight down into very narrow valleys with snake-like rivers below.Visitors are offered more than 100 camping sites,and a lot of bird species and many animals are native to the area.
Rocky Mountain National Park
It is the only national park in the north central region in the state of Colorado.Elevations (高地)in this park you will find are anywhere from 8,000 feet to 14,259 at the top of Longs Peak.While travelling throughout this park,you will find there are two very different climates because of the fact that the tops of the Rocky Mountains make a difference.With 359 miles of trails for hiking,there are a lot of places for camping,horseback riding and just enjoying the sights of nature.
Mesa Verde National Park
This is probably the most interesting of all the national parks,offering an extremely interesting trip back in time to 600 A.D.up to 1,300 A.D.This park was declared (宣布)a protected national park in 1906 because of the cliff dwellings (住人的崖洞)that were found throughout the park area,which was once home to American Indians.Visitors can actually walk through these dwellings,and they may imagine what each room may have been used for so many years ago.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
The Great Sand Dunes (沙丘)National Park lies in south central Colorado,about 127 miles from Pueblo.This park has the tallest sand dunes in all of North America,with trails for hiking.Natural sandy beaches there are good for people who want to swim around the small rivers and lakes.A person who enjoys mountains and rivers will visit .
| A．Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park |
| B．Rocky Mountain National Park |
| C．Mesa Verde National Park |
| D．Great Sand Dunes National Park |
Which of the following is TRUE about Rocky Mountain National Park?( )
A.It has the tallest mountains in the USA.
B.It has very different weather conditions.
C.It is the most interesting national park.
D.It is about 359 miles from Pueblo.If you are interested in history you will visit .
| A．Rocky Mountain National Park |
| B．Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park |
| C．Great Sand Dunes National Park |
| D．Mesa Verde National Park |
Mesa Verde National Park has been a protected national park for around years.
| A．1,000 | B．1,500 | C．100 | D．200 |
In choosing a friend,one should be very careful.A good friend can help you study.You can have fun together and make each other happy.Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends.They will be with you as long as you have money or luck,but when you are down,they will run away.How do I know when I have found a good friend?I look for certain qualities (品质) of character,especially understanding,honesty and reliability (可靠).
Above all,I look for understanding in a friend.A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling.He is not quick to judge.Instead,he tries to learn from others.He puts himself in the other person’s place,and he tries to think of ways to be helpful.He is also a good listener.
At the same time,however,a good friend is honest.He does not look for faults (过错) in others.He notices their good points.In short,a friend will try to understand me and accept me.
Another quality of a friend is reliability.I can always depend on (信赖) a good friend.If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time,I can be sure that he will be there.If I need a favor,he will do his best to help me.If I am in trouble,he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special.A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun.We should enjoy our lives,and we would enjoy our friendship.That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with.A good friend likes the same things I like.We share experience (经验) and learn from each other.A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默),too.He likes to laugh with me.That is how we share in the joy of being friends.And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable,honest,and understanding,I know I’ve found a friend!Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?( )
| A．Understanding. | B．Honesty. |
| C．Reliability. | D．A sense of humor. |
If you have fair weather friends,.
| A．they will give you all that they have when you need help |
| B．you will be refused when you get into trouble |
| C．you will become rich |
| D．you can be sure that you get real friends |
Good friends need to .
| A．always point out each other’s mistakes |
| B．be helped with money |
| C．understand each other’s feelings |
| D．have money or luck |
This passage mainly discusses .
| A．the qualities of a friend |
| B．where to choose friends |
| C．how to get along with friends |
| D．the importance of having a friend |
In many businesses, computers have largely replaced paperwork, because they are fast, flexible, and do not make mistakes. As one banker said, "Unlike humans, computers never have a bad day." And they are honest. Many banks advertise that their transactions are "untouched by human hands" and therefore safe from human temptation. Obviously, computers have no reason to steal money. But they also have no conscience, and the growing number of computer crimes shows they can be used to steal.
Computer criminals don't use guns. And even they are caught, it is hard to punish them because there are no witnesses and often no evidence. A computer cannot remember who used it: it simply does what it is told. The head teller at a New York City Bank used a computer to steal more than one and a half billion dollars in just four years. No one noticed this theft because he moved the money from one account to another. Each time a customer he had robbed questioned the balance in his account, the teller claimed a computer error, then replaced the missing money from someone else's account. This man was caught only because he was a gambler. When the police broke up an illegal gambling operation, his name was in the records.
Some employees use the computer's power to get revenge on employers they consider unfair. Recently, a large insurance company fired its computer-tape librarian for reasons that involved her personal rather than her professional life. She was given thirty days' notice. In those thirty days, she erased all the company's computerized records.
Most computer criminals have been minor employees. Now police wonder if this is "the tip of the iceberg". As one official says, "I have the feeling that there is more crime out there than we are catching. What we are seeing now is all so poorly done. I wonder what the real experts are doing—the ones who really know how a computer works."Which feature of computers makes computer theft possible?
| A．They are fast, flexible and accurate. |
| B．They usually function normally. |
| C．They have no sense of what is right or wrong. |
| D．They are honest and have no reason to steal money. |
The author uses the case of the head teller to show_______.
| A．how computer criminals so evil things |
| B．how hard it is to find computer criminals |
| C．computers lack conscience |
| D．computer crime can involve a big sum of money |
The head teller was found guilty of stealing ________.
| A．when he was caught transmitting money from one account to another |
| B．when the police broke up the illegal gambling operation |
| C．afer he was questioned on the abnormal balance of an account |
| D．after the police examined the illegal gambling operation documents |
Why did the computer tape librarian erase all the company’s computerized records?
| A．She thought it was right to revenge any injustice in professional problems. |
| B．She thought the employer was wrong to fire her for personal problems. |
| C．The company carelessly gave her enough time to do the erasing. |
| D．The company always interfered with its employees’ personal life. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．Computer criminals are minor employees. |
| B．Of all crimes, computer theft is “the tip of the iceberg”. |
| C．Computer crimes are all poorly done. |
| D．There are more computer crimes committed by computer experts. |
In many parts of the world, cars play an important role in daily life and many societies would not exist without them. So the idea that in 20 years’ time, no one will own cars may be hard to believe. But this is the prediction made by a team of transport researchers who are taken seriously, not only by government but also by car manufacturers.
The Human Science and Advanced Technology Institute at Loughborough in the UK is part of an international research program. The team there believes that by 2020 all cars will be computerized. That will mean much saving, no accidents and better use of roads. The super-intelligent car in the future will drive itself. And it will not be owned by one individual. Instead, we will have a choice of cars and change them as frequently as we change our clothing.
According to Dr. David Davis, who leads the research team, these predictions are based on the rising cost of the car culture, which had blocked up our cities, polluted our air, and caused more deaths than both world wars put together.
Davis says, cars will be fitted with some intelligent devices(装置) to regulate(调节) the distance between one car and another. The car will automatically speed up, or slow down, to match the speed of the car in front. computers are much safer drivers than people, so cars in a road train will be able to drive much closer together than cars driven by people.
By 2016, Dr. David Davis believes, car technology will give motorists a clear view of the road, whatever the weather conditions, by projecting an image of the road ahead on to the car’s windscreen. And by 2020, cars will travel in line, linked to each other electronically. Cars will be connected by an electronic tow bar to the car in front to form “road-trains”. “The front vehicle in such a train burns the normal amount.”says Davis. “but all the others in the train would burn about ten percent of the normal amount, and so produce about ten percent of the pollution.”We know from the passage that governments and car manufactures____________.
| A．don’t believe the prediction that no one will own cars by 2020 |
| B．are dedicated to the technological invention in car industry |
| C．consider the prediction made by the researchers seriously |
| D．have put the super-intelligent car into mass production |
Which of the following will be the characteristic of transport in 2020?
| A．The cars will consume no fuels. |
| B．There won’t be any car accidents. |
| C．All cars will be driven at the same speed. |
| D．All car drivers will be trained to be more skillful than today’s. |
Davis believes that the present car culture will change because__________.
| A．cars play an important role in daily life |
| B．many societies would stop working without cars |
| C．cars should not be owned by one individual |
| D．it causes more and more agonies（烦恼） to human society |
Which of the following sentences can explain “better use of roads”by 2020 mentioned in the passage?
| A．Computer-driven cars drive much closer together than cars driven by people. |
| B．Motorists can have a clear view of the road whatever the weather conditions are. |
| C．Cars will travel in convoy, linked to each other by an electronic tow bar. |
| D．Intelligent cruise control devices can regulate the distance between one car and another. |
What will happen if cars are linked to each other electronically in 2020?
| A．Motorists will get a clear view of the road. |
| B．The weather conditions won’t have effect on motorists. |
| C．There will be a great decrease in the pollution caused by cars. |
| D．All trains will burn less fuel than present. |