Barcodes(条形码) aren’t given much thought by the majority of consumers, but these codes were fairly recently applied in a working fashion in 1970.
A small food store owner decided one day that keeping records of the inventory(存货) of his stock and the associated prices were an extremely laborious process, and so, in 1948, he contacted The Drexel Institute of Technology in a bid to work towards a solution. Bernard Sliver rose to the challenge and set out to study the problem and began working on a solution involving an automatic way of keeping track of items that had been sold. Sliver and a group of students from the institute realized their answer in the form of ultraviolet light (紫外线), ink and a scanner.
The system worked initially, but possessed some negatives. It was incredibly costly to carry out on a large scale and the system was also unstable. If the invention was to become commonplace（寻常的事）in grocery stores, these two problems had to be solved.
The patent (专利) for the bar code system was filed by Sliver and one of his students, Woodland. The patent was not granted immediately; in fact, it took three years for the patent agency to grant their invention patent for the barcode, occurring on 7th October, 1952.
Despite the patent being issued, the system was still not welcomed by the majority of store owners. It was not until 1966 that the system began moving its way into more and more grocery stores. This system was soon criticized, as there was no central mechanism for controlling uniformly（统一地）coded items. In 1970, Logicom developed the Universal Grocery Products Identification code( UGOIC), soon shortened to Universal Identification Number (UPC). It was Marsh’s superstore, in Troy, which was the very first store to install this complex barcode reading system, and its popularity has soared(升温) ever since, and is obviously now commonplace in all types of stores worldwide. What is stressed in the second paragraph?
| A．The heavy work of store owners. |
| B．The function of ultraviolet light, ink and a scanner. |
| C．The origination of barcodes. |
| D．Bernard Sliver’s education background. |
Which of the following was NOT a drawback of Sliver’s system?
| A．It was expensive to be applied on a large scale. |
| B．It was a laborious process. |
| C．The system was not stable. |
| D．It lacked a central mechanism. |
The popularity of the barcode rose quickly after .
| A．1948 | B．1952 | C．1966 | D．1970 |
What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To tell people that failure is the mother of success. |
| B．To praise scientists’ efforts in making people’s lives easier. |
| C．To describe shop owners’ opinions of barcodes. |
| D．To provide information about the development of barcodes. |
As the saying goes, nothing succeeds like success. People like to deal with a successful person. Why? You see there must be a reason why the person has achieved success. And most obviously it is because he is expert at what he is doing.
When given a chance, people would deal with the best. Naturally, the best way to produce a success is to do a lot of work. Your achievement and the fame it leads to will make it known to the public how good you really are. People will know this by your completed record or simply by recognizing it upon seeing you in action. Just as it becomes quite obvious that a man is a full-time tennis player when you see him play on the tennis court, it will become obvious that you are skilled in your work when people see you do your work. But many other image building ways are practical in producing a success image, as will be discussed in the following…
1. People like to deal with a successful person probably because _______.
A. they hope to know the secret of being successful
B. they don’t believe what he has achieved
C. they are eager to show respect to him
D. they feel uncertain if he is an expert
2. How can we know how good a person is at his work?
A. Work with him.
B. Study how he has achieved success.
C. Just look at him doing his work.
D. Watch him playing tennis on the tennis court.
3. The passage mainly tells that _____.
A. success image may come after success
B. people like to deal with a successful person
C. there are many image building ways
D. success image is or has been built in one’s work
(1—3 ACB)
How many men do housework? Recently a European commission(委员会) tried to find out people’s ideas and reactions to the women’s movement. As part of their survey(调查), they asked many men and women the question, “Who does the housework?” The men answered very differently from the women!
The housework they asked people about was: preparing meals, washing dishes, cleaning the house and babysitting. 48% of British husbands said they did these things. 37% of Danish(丹麦的) men helped in the house. But only 15% of Italian men said they did the housework; many of them said they never helped at all!
But there was an interesting point of view from the wives. According to British wives, only 38% of their husbands helped in the house. And Italian wives said that their husbands hardly ever helped. The Italian and British men did not tell the truth! The Commission found that Danish men were the most truthful husbands; their answers were the same as their wives’ answers.
Do the men you know help in the house? Do you think the survey gives a true picture in your experience? Write and tell us what you think.
1. The survey was carried out in _______.
A. Britain B. Italy C. Denmark D. Europe
2. The subject for the survey is_______.
A. how many boys do the housework?
B. who does the housework at home
C. how many women do the housework?
D. who are more diligent, wives or husbands
3. From the passage we can see that _______.
A. there are more husbands who did the housework than wives
B. husbands do half of the housework all the time
C. there are more wives who do the housework than husbands
D. wives do almost all the housework at home
4. More _______ husbands help in the house than _______ husbands.
A. British; Danish B. Italian; Danish
C. Danish; British D. Italian; British
In 1901, H.G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers(探险者) landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon
was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why,”they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don't even use your inner space?”H.G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “channel”, a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan's Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”.The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome(太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth's space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H.G. Wells' “moon people” would agree. Would you?
1.The explorers in H.G. Wells' story were surprised to find that the “moon people” ________.
A.knew so much about the earth
B.understood their language
C.lived in so many underground cities
D.were ahead of them in space technology
2.What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) refer to?
A.Discovering the moon's inner space.
B.Using the earth's inner space.
C.Meeting the “moon people” again.
D.Travelling to outer space.
3.What sort of underground systems are already here with us?
A.Offices, shopping areas, power stations.
B.Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.
C.Gardens, car parks, power stations.
D.Tunnels, gardens, offices.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Alice Cities —Cities of the Future
B.Space Travel with H.G. Wells
C.Enjoy Living Underground
D.Building Down, Not Up
The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel.The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car.Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras.The bride wore a silk wedding dress.She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station's competition.The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other.Miss Germaine,23,is a model.Mr Cordell,27,is a TV salesman.They were among the two hundred people who entered for a peculiar “experiment”organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham,England.Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio.They took a lie detector(测谎仪) test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities.The competition judges included an astrologer (占星家)who eclared that they were suited.
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening,but not everyone shared their joy.Miss Germaine's mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr Cordell's parents are reported to be less than delighted.
Organizations,including the marriage guidance service Relate,have criticized the marriage.As one person put it,“We have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this.Marriage should always be about love.”
The couple are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists.Their other prizes include a year's free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham,and a car.But will it last?
1.How did the couple's parents react to the wedding?
A.The bride's mother shared their joy.
B.The bride's father felt uncomfortable about the wedding.
C.The bridegroom's parents were quite delighted.
D.The bridegroom's parents were not that joyful.
2.Some experts believe that _______ .
A.marriage without the couple's meeting each other first ends up in divorce
B.young people nowadays are too careless about marriage
C.taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems
D.most young people take marriage seriously except this couple
3.One of the prizes for the couple is _______ .
A.to spend their honeymoon wherever they like
B.to use an apartment free for some time
C.to have a wedding dress free
D.to own an American sports car
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Two Strangers and a Wedding
B.A Wedding Based on Love
C.A ShortLived Marriage
D.A WellMatched Couple
At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents (文件) because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.
It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internetconnected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime.
“I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down," says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organisation.
Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the hightech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week HewlettPackard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a oneline email, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.
Does all this mean environmental concerns (环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away.“ I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling(回收利用)，" said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that hightech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.
1.The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to _______.
A.the rapid development of small businesses
B.the opening up of new markets
C.the printing of high quality copies
D.the increased use of the Internet
2.Environmentalists believe one possible way of dealing with the paper situation is ________.
A.to encourage printing more quality documents
B.to develop new printers using recycled paper
C.to find new materials for making paper
D.to plant more fastgrowing trees
3.HewlettPackard Co. has decided to develop new technologies because ________ .
A.people are concerned about the environment
B.printers in many offices are working overtime
C.small companies need more hard copies
D.they see a growing market for printers
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Computers and Printers
B.E-mail and the Business World
C.Internet Revolution and Environment
D.Modern Technology and New Markets