Whenlookingbackatthescarysitua-优题课

Researchers have developed new software using smart phones’GPS and imaging abilities that determine the exact location of distant objects as well as monitor the speed and direction of moving objects．The software could eventually allow smart phone-armed soldiers to target the location of their enemies．On the home front，the software could be used by everyone，including golfers judging distance to the green and biologists documenting the location of a rare animal without disturbing it．
“The great advantage of a Smartphone is that it provides so many tools in a single，readily available，relatively inexpensive package，”said Qia Wang，a doctoral student who led the development of the software．“For example，on the battlefield，a soldier needs a rangefinder，compass，GPS and other tools to get information before calling in an air strike．With our software，the soldier can have all those instruments in one device that can be purchased off the shelf．When that soldier returns from War，she can use the same Software to protect her family by clocking a speeder near her children’s school and catching the criminal on video．”
Wang and his colleagues developed their software to locate and track：
Targets of known size—when the size of the target is known．a single image is enough to pinpoint the target’s location．
Targets of unknown size—If the exact size of a target is unknown，the software uses two images to triangulate the location of the target·
Moving targets—By taking a short video of a moving target，the smartphone software can calculate how fast the target is moving and in what direction it is going.
“Currently，our software is limited by the physical abilities of smartphone hardware，but the devices are improving rapidly，”Wang said．“We expect that improvements in GPS accuracy，battery life and camera resolution will allow our software to make even more accurate observations．”
From Paragraph 1 we can know that the new software can.

A．determine the speed of moving objects

B．1ocate objects in the distance exactly

C．defend soldiers against their enemies

D．help biologists protect rare animal

The example given by Qia Wang is meant to .

A．make an advertisement

B．describe the software briefly

C．show the benefits of the software

D．present the functions of smartphones

How does the software calculate the speed of a moving object?

A．By taking a short video．

B．By locating its position.

C．By taking a single image．

D．By measuring real-life size.

What’s Qia Wang’s attitude towards the future of the software?

A．Casual．

B．Optimistic．

C．Cautious．

D．Flexible

What is the best title of the text?

A．Qia Wang，a Talented Doctoral Student

B．Use Smartphones to Their Full Potential

C．Targeting and Tracking With Smartphones

D．Smartphone-armed Soldiers on the Battlefield

Many years ago，a French naturalist，the Count de Buffon，wrote some books about natural history．The books were a great success even though some critics did not like them．Some critics said，“Count Buffon is more of a poet than a scientist．”
Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World．It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had spoken of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant．
This troubled Thomas Jefferson．He too was a naturalist，as well as a farmer，inventor，historian，writer and politician．He had seen the natural wonders of Europe．To him，they were no more important than those of the New World．
In 1788，Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state，Virginia．While writing，he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of the Count de Buffon．At that moment．Jefferson created a new word—belittle．He said．“The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic．”
Noah Webster，the American word expert，liked this word．He put it in this English language dictionary in 1806，“Belittle—to make small，unimportant．”
Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it．In 1797，the Independent Chronicle newspaper used the word to describe a politician the paper supported．“He is an honorable man，”the paper wrote，“so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please．”
In 1872，a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word．He said，“Belittle has no chance of becoming English．And as more critical writers of America，like those of Britain，feel no need of it，the sooner it is forgotten，the better．”
This expert failed to kill the word．Today．belittle is used where the English language is spoken．
Why did Thomas Jefferson disagree with the Count de Buffon?

A．The Count said something silly about the Atlantic．

B．The Count wasn’t a true scientist in natural history．

C．The Count was a poet from a different country．

D．The Count belittled the natural wonders in America．

We can infer that Jefferson created the word“belittle”out of his ．

A．anger

B．excitement

C．kindness

D．responsibility

From the text we can know that ．

A．all critics thought little of the Count de Buffon

B．Europe has better wonders than the New World

C．the word“belittle”survived from disagreements

D．word experts can change the future of a new word

Which of the following is true of the word“belittle”?

A．It is gradually accepted by people．

B．It was invented by the Count de Buffon．

C．It was used to describe nature．

D．The Independent Chronicle made it popular．

What is the main idea of the text?

A．How the word“belittle”came into being．

B．The argument about natural wonders．

C．Every word has a long history behind．

D．Noah Webster supported Jefferson’s idea．

As the new semester begins，millions of college students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to write a paper-or，more likely，how best to delay that paper．
Procrastination is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer from it．They can spend whole days in the library doing nothing but staring into space，eating snacks，surfing the Internet，watching videos and looking at their pretty peers sitting around them，who，most likely，are doing nothing either．
Paralyzed by their habit to procrastinate，they write micro blogs about their fears，asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue．But this does nothing to solve their problems．
According to a recent report by the BBC，95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the world’s population are procrastinators，complicating their lives with their continual delaying of tasks．
Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior，but BBC columnist Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong．Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists who work best under pressure．Pelling says this is nonsense，as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time．
She says the behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel flustered and ashamed，inconveniences others，and annoys loved ones．
Fortunately，social seientists have made tireless efforts to understand this behavioral shortcoming and offer strategies to control it．Piers Steel，a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation，believes humankind is“designed”to procrastinate．Nevertheless，he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand．
The first one is obvious：Break the task down into small pieces and work your way through them methodically．
The second is clever：Give a trusted friend a sum of money and tell them that if you don’t complete the task you have undertaken by a specific time，they can keep it or donate it to a cause you hate.
What does the underlined word“Procrastination” in the second paragraph refer to?

A．A bad habit of putting work or tasks off．

B．A thief who steals time and money in college.

C．A college student who learns nothing．

D．A study way of doing nothing in the library.

Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A．College students can have their papers written if they delay them．

B．Many students don’t know what to do in the library．

C．Students can’t solve their procrastination by writing micro blogs．

D．20％of the procrastinators make their life complicated．

According to Rowan Pelling，we can learn that procrastinators .

A．can find reasonable excuses for their behavior

B．are able to work best under pressure

C．are more likely to avoid mistakes at work[]

D．may upset themselves and their loved ones more frequently

Which of the following may Piers Steel support?

A．Human beings are not born to be procrastinators．

B．Complete your tasks or work step by step．

C．Give your trusted friend money and ask him to help you finish your tasks．

D．You can’t control procrastination but you can avoid it．

What’she best title of the text?

A．Who steals my time?

B．The solutions to procrastination

C．I’ll do it tomorrow，I swear!

D．Don’t do nothing!

In Singapore，most of us love window-shopping while some others enjoy having a picnic at East Coast Park or Changi Beach on sunny days．Singaporeans are never bothered by the occasional thunderstorm．However，we know that if it rains for long continuous periods，there will be more serious effects．Just recently the main shopping street of Orchard Road was flooded and some part of Bukit Timah was impassable(不能通行的)to traffic．People reacted by writing in to the newspaper to complain about this! We forget that other countries suffer much worse effects.
Elsewhere，heavy tropical(热带的)storms often result in floods that ruin crops especially in Thailand and Malaysia．This in turn usually means that the price of rice and vegetables here in Singapore will rise because we import these products from them．If there is a typhoon or tsunami，thousands of lives are lost too．This happened in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand in 2004 and It serves to remind us of how Mother Nature can cause great damage．
Weather patterns in general have changed dramatically in recent years．Scientists believe that global warming and the resulting melting of the polar ice-cap has caused the level of the ocean to rise．This in turn causes flooding of low-lying areas in countries where the land is rather flat and some parts of which is below water level．It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger，so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities，for example，illegal logging(伐木)or irresponsible forest-burning to clear land for farming．
From Paragraph 1，we can see that most Singaporeans love ．

A．making complaints

B．going out for picnics

C．doing window-shopping

D．traveling along the coast

What will happen in Singapore if there are floods in its neighboring countries?

A．Heavy tropical storms will follow shortly．

B．The price of rice and vegetables will go up．

C．Many people will write in to the newspaper．

D．More rice and vegetables will be imported．

The underlined word“it”in Paragraph 2 refers to ．

A．the arrival of heavy tropical storms

B．the import of rice and vegetables

C．the rising price of rice and vegetables

D．the loss of lives in natural disasters

What’s the right order of the following events?
a．global warming b．the rise in ocean level
c．harmful human activities d．the flooding of low-lying areas
e．the melting of the polar ice-cap

A．c→a→e→b→d	B．a→c→e→b→d
C．c→a→b→e→d	D．d→a→c→b→e

What should we do in order not to make Mother Nature angry?

A．Clear more land for farming．

B．Reduce harmful human activities．

C．Bring down the price of food．

D．Improve the quality of weather．

On March 15．Dunes View Middle School held a contest for school bands．
Student bands tried out for the opportunity to perform at the school picnic，which will be held at the end of June．The winner of the contest was the band called Four Square.
“We’re very proud that we won the contest and are excited to perform at the picnic，” says Peter Zandt，who plays guitar in the band．“And since we hope to perform someday at other local places，like restaurants and parks，this will be a great first step.”
The contest was the creation of music teacher Mr．Lopez and drama teacher Ms．Cho. The two thought of the idea while discussing recent years' school picnics．“The picnic is one of the biggest events of the year，but it has become a bit formulaic，"said Ms．Cho．“The activities are the same every year .We thought that a performance by a student band would make the school picnic more interesting and fun．”
Mr．Lopez，Ms．Cho，and three other teachers judged the contest，which took place in the gym. To see if the bands could present a wide range of musical skills，the teachers asked them each to prepare two songs：one song with original words，and another in which students played instrumental music only．The judges finally chose the band Four Square as the winner of the contest．Four Square is a rock band with an unusual twist：it includes a violin player! The members of Four Square write their own songs and practice three times a week after schoo1．
Students and teachers agreed that the band competition was：a big success．All are looking forward to the school picnic in June．
What can be the best title for the article?

A．Famous Band Visits Schoo1．

B．Teachers Give Music Lessons．

C．Students Have Fun at School Picnic．

D．School Holds Student Band Contest．

The underlined word“formulaic”in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ____________．

A．expensive

B．dull

C．1ong

D．uncertain

Why did the teachers ask each band to play two songs?

A．To decide which songs to play at the picnic．

B．To see if the bands could play a variety of songs．

C．To make sure the contest did not go on too long．

D．To make the concert more enjoyable for students．

According to the article，what is unusual about the band Four Square?

A．It is named after a popular children’s game．

B．Its members practice several times a week．

C．It is a rock band with a violinist．

D．Its members all play guitar．

According to the article，what does the band Four Square hope to do in the future?

A．Perform at the school picnic every year．

B．Perform in many different places．

C．Buy new instruments．

D．Record an album．

A．told his sister not to worry	B．called the police for help at once
C．tried his best to save his father	D．managed to take control of the car