When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication. For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room. Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell’s invention for taking photographs, accessing the internet, or watching video clips, rather than talking. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone.
The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modem mobile handset（手机）. Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modem cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks. In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the “yuppie”, the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone.
But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags.
Moreover, people’s timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. But later Meeting time became approximate under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service （SMS） or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it’s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you’re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing “Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! -).”
Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years. If he were around today, he might say “That’s gr8! But I’m v busy rite now. Will call U 2nite.”What does the underlined part in Para.2 refer to?
| A．Houses of modern cities. | B．Sharp-suited characters. |
| C．New type of professionals. | D．Mobile phones. |
According to Paragraph 4, why did Meeting time become approximate?
| A．People were more likely to be late for their meeting. |
| B．SMS made it easier to inform each other. |
| C．Young people don’t like unchanging things. |
| D．Traditional customs were dying out. |
If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him?
| A．Call U@ SKUg8 2nite. | B．IM2BZ2CU 2nite. |
| C．CU@ the bar g8 2nite. | D．W84U@ SKUg8 2nite. |
What does the passage mainly tell us about?
| A．Alexander Graham’s invention. |
| B．SMS as a new way of communication. |
| C．New functions of the mobile telephone. |
| D．The development of the mobile phone. |
In a few years, you might be able to speak Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, and English
— and all at the same time. This sounds incredible, but Alex Waibel, a computer science professor at US’s Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Germany’s University of Karlsruhe, announced last week that it may soon be reality. He and his team have invented software and hardware that could make it far easier for people who speak different languages to understand each other.
One application, called Lecture Translation, can easily translate a speech from one language into another. Current translation technologies typically limit speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary. Users also have to be trained how to use the programme.
Another prototype(雏形机) can send translations of a speech to different listeners depending on what language they speak. “It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you,” Waibel said.
Prefer to read? So-called Translation Glasses transcribe(转录) the translations on a tiny liquid-crystal(液晶) display(LCD) screen.
Then there’s the Muscle Translator. Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements made naturally when a person is mouthing words. The signals are then translated into speech. The electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a person’s face, according to researchers.
During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMU’s Pittsburgh campu
s, a Chinese student named Stan Jou had 11 tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks, neck and throat. Then he mouthed — without speaking aloud — a few words in Mandarin(普通话) to the audience. A few seconds later, the phrase was displayed on a computer screen and spoken out by the computer in English and Spanish: “Let me introduce our new prototype.”
This particular gadget(器械),when fully developed, might allow anyone to speak in any number of languages or, as Waibel put it, “to switch your mouth to a foreign language”. “The idea behind the university’s prototypes is to create ‘good enough’ bridges for cross-cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world,” Waibel said.
With spontaneous(自发的) translators, foreign drivers in Germany could listen to traffic warnings on the radio, tourists in China could read all the signs and talk with local people, and leaders of different countries could have secret talks without any interpreters there. Which of the following statements is not TRUE?
| A．A lecture translation can translate what you said into other languages easily. |
| B．There is no Muscle Translator in the world now. |
| C．Muscle Translators can translate what you think into speech if you just move your mouth. |
| D．The spontaneous translators will help us a lot. |
. What kind of equipment is NOT mentioned in this passage?
| A．Lecture Translation. |
| B．Muscle Translator. |
| C．Multiple Translator. |
| D．Translation Prototype. |
.. What’s the final destination of inventing the language translators?
| A．To make cultural exchanges between different countries easier. |
| B．To help students learn foreign languages more easily. |
| C．To make people live in foreign countries more comfortably. |
| D．To help people learn more foreign languages in the future. |
.. What can be inferred from the seventh paragraph?
| A．The translator is so good that it can translate any language into the very language you need. |
| B．The translator is becoming more and more common in the world as a bridge. |
| C．With the help of the translator, you only need to open your mouth when you want to say something without saying the exact words at all. |
| D．The translator needs to be improved before being put into market. |
. Where can this passage probably be excerpted from?
| A．A newspaper. |
| B．A magazine on science. |
| C．A fairy tale. |
| D．A scientific fantasy book. |
The crisis(危机) at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear(核) energy center caused by the terrible earthquake has raised questions about the future of the nuclear energy industry. Arjun Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in the United States. He says the disaster(灾难)in Japan is historic.
This week, the chairman of America’s nuclear agency said there is little chance that harmful radiation(辐射) from Japan could reach the United States. Gregory also said America has a strong program in place to deal with earthquake threats. No new nuclear power centers have been built in the United States since nineteen seventy-nine. That was when America’s worst nuclear accident happened at the Three Mile Island center in Pennsylvania. The accident began to turn public opinion against nuclear energy. At present, about twenty percent of electricity in the United States comes from nuclear energy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would close seven nuclear power centers while energy policy is reconsidered. The European Union is planning to test all centers in its twenty-seven member nations.
Developing nations are less willing to slow nuclear expansion. China said it will continue with plans to build about twenty-five new nuclear reactors（反应堆）. And India, under a cooperation agreement with the United States, plans to spend billions on new centers in the coming years.
Nuclear reactors supply fourteen percent of global electricity. Nuclear energy is a clean resource, producing no carbon gases. But radioactive waste is a serious unresolved issue. So is the presence of nuclear power centers in earthquake areas like the one near Bushehr, Iran.
The best title of the text is .
A. Various Opinions on Japan’s Nuclear Disaster
B. Japan’s Disaster is Likely to Run out of Control
C. America Feels Great Concern for Japan’s Nuclear Crisis
D. Japan’s Disaster Throws Doubt on Nuclear Energy Industry.
We can learn from the text that America .
| A．experienced a terrible nuclear accident 32 years ago |
| B．has a strong program to deal with radiation danger |
| C．depends heavily on nuclear energy to produce electricity |
| D．will check all the reactors before cooperating with India |
.
According to the text, which country will be most likely to have a similar disaster?
| A．German. | B．Iran. | C．India. | D．China. |
.
How does the author seem to feel about the future of nuclear energy?
| A．Satisfied. | B．Pleased. | C．Wordless. | D．Surprised. |
.
The best title of the text is .
| A．Various Opinions on Japan’s Nuclear Disaster |
| B．Japan’s Disaster is Likely to Run out of Control |
| C．America Feels Great Concern for Japan’s Nuclear Crisis |
| D．Japan’s Disaster Throws Doubt on Nuclear Energy Industry |
…That’s my second piece of advice, very simple: Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes; take responsibility where you fall short as well.
Now, the truth is, no matter how hard you work, you’re not going to ace (取得好成绩) every class. You’re not going to succeed the first time you try something. There are going to be times when you screw up (弄糟). There will be times where you hurt people you love. There will be times when you make a mistake and you stray (偏离) from the values that you hold most deeply.
And when that happens, it’s the easiest thing in the world to start looking around for somebody else to blame. Your professor was too hard; the coaches were playing favorites; your friend just didn’t understand.
No, but this is an easy habit to get into. You see it every day in Washington — every day -—folks calling each other names, making all sorts of accusations on television. Everybody is always pointing a finger at somebody else. You notice that?
Now, this community could have easily gone down that road. This community could have made excuses — well, our kids have fewer advantages, our schools have fewer resources — how can we compete? You could have spent years pointing fingers— blaming parents, blaming teachers, blaming the principal , blaming the superintendent.
But that’s — Class of 2010, I want you to pay attention on this because that’s not what happened. Instead, this community was honest with itself about where you were falling short. You decided to do better, push your kids harder, open their minds wider, expose them to all kinds of ideas and people and experiences.
So, graduates, I hope you’ll continue those efforts. Don’t make excuses. And I hope that wherever you go, you won’t narrow the broad intellectual and social exposure you’ve had here at Kalamazoo Central — instead, seek to expand it. Don’t just hang out with people who look like you or share your political views. Broaden your circle to include people with different backgrounds and life experiences, because that’s how you’ll end up learning what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes. That’s how you’ll come to understand the challenges other people face.
And this is not just an academic exercise. It’s a way to broaden your ambit (范围) of concern and learn to see yourselves in each other.
—adapted from US President Barack Obama’s graduation ceremony speech at the Kalamazoo Central High School. The underlined words “fall short” in Paragraph 1 probably mean .
| A．make a decision | B．begin to experience something |
| C．have someone else to blame | D．fail to reach a standard |
The underlined word “this” in Paragraph 4 refers to .
| A．misunderstanding your friends | B．straying from the values you hold |
| C．making accusations on television | D．blaming someone else for your mistake |
We can infer from Paragraphs 5 and 6 that the community .
| A．has got used to making excuses | B．has lived up to its responsibility |
| C．is satisfied with itself | D．provides fewer resources than it used to |
In the last two paragraphs, Obama calls on the graduates to .
| A．welcome different ideas, people and experiences |
| B．participate in as many social activities as they can |
| C．make friends with people who share their political views |
| D．be honest and concerned about the community |
In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of "mastery"—feeling important and worthwhile—and the sources of what we call a sense of "pleasure"—finding life enjoyable—are not always the same. Women often are told "You can’t have it all. " Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is: "You choose a career, so you can’t expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life. " or "You have a wonderful husband and children—what’s all this about wanting a career?" But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves.
Our study shows that, for women, well-being has two aspects. One is mastery, which includes self-respect, a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression. Mastery is closely related to the "doing" side of life, to work and activity. Pleasure is the other aspect, and it is made up of happiness, satisfaction and optimism. It is tied more closely to the "feeling" side of life. The two are independent of each other. A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa （反之亦然） . For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time.
The concepts of mastery and pleasure can help us identify the sources of well-being for women, and correct past mistakes. In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being. But we know that both mastery and pleasure are important. And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work. In our study, all the groups of employed women are valued significantly higher in mastery than women who are not employed.
A woman’s well-being is developed when she takes on multiple roles. At least by middle adulthood, the women who are involved in a combination of roles —marriages, motherhood, and employment —are the highest in well-being, in spite of warnings about stress and strain. .
It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ____.
| A．for women, a sense of "mastery" is more important than a sense of "pleasure" |
| B．for women, a sense of "pleasure" is more important than a sense of "mastery" |
C．women can’t have a sen se of "mastery" and a sense of "pleasure" at the same time |
| D．a sense of "mastery" and a sense of "pleasure" are both necessary to women |
.
The author’s attitude towards women having a career is___.
| A．negative | B．positive | C．neutral （中立） | D．realistic |
.
On
e can conclude from the passage that if a woman takes on several social roles, ___.
A．her life will be richer and more mea ningful |
| B．she will be more successful in her career |
| C．her chances of getting promoted will be greater |
| D．it will be easier for her to overcome stress and strain |
.
The most appropriate title for the passage would be.
| A．The Well-Being of Career Women |
| B．Sources of Mastery and Pleasure |
| C．Two Aspects of Women’s Well-Being |
| D．Multiple Roles of Women in Society |
Most of us long for relationships in which we are loved and accepted. Our hearts’ desire is to give and receive love in relationships that make us feel that even if others disagree with what we do or say, they still love us, accept us, and appreciate what we give to the world. While it would be wonderful to have these types of relationships with all people, we know that’s hard to do. However, we can have such relationships with some others, but only when we first have them with ourselves—and, strangely, this is often the hardest relationship of all.
Do you love yourself? You may think you do, but do you really? There’s only one way to find out— by taking a close look at what you think, say, and do. You may not like some of what you find, but if you are serious about really loving yourself, you can use this insight to do some positive inner work. Here’re three ways for gaining greater personal insight for deeper love:
Listen Closely to Your Thoughts
Your thoughts will determine your actions. One thing helping you to listen to your thoughts is keeping a journal. It is not necessary for you to write in it every day, but it helps to record various insights you gain as you go about your life. Instead of using a big notebook, you might use a small notepad that you can keep in your pocket for easy access to record your thoughts as they occur to you. Whichever method you choose, what’s most important is that you write your thoughts down. It will help you know what’s in your heart.
Be Honest with Yourself
To do this, you should pay attention to your actions. Actions speak louder than words, and they always tell the truth. If you say you love your job, but your actions say otherwise, which do you think is more reliable? On the other hand, if you say you’re not good at a certain job, but your actions say otherwise, that’s also important. What do you do with this insight? You can use it to make more positive choices in your life. By being honest with yourself, you will act according to truth instead of just what you tell yourself.
Take Quiet Time to Listen to Your Inner Voice
This is similar to the first point, but it takes a step further— beyond the natural mind to the heart that cannot be seen. You may want to use your quiet time to think deeply. However you use this time, the key is to shut out all of the noise around you by focusing deep within yourself. Breathing deeply during quiet time will also help you focus. I know it’s hard to find quiet time during a particularly busy day, but it’s so important— even if it’s just 10 minutes a day and you have to hide somewhere to get it. Quiet time can really make a difference in your life.
Despite what your mind may be telling you, you can have love with no limits. The key is to unconditionally love yourself first.. By looking deep into what we think, say, and do, we can .
| A．know whether we really love ourselves |
| B．appreciate what we give to the world |
| C．realize what type of relationship we long for |
| D．know whether we are loved and accepted by others |
.An important way for gaining personal insight is to .
| A．do some positive inner work |
| B．keep a journal wherever you go |
| C．look closely at what others say about us |
| D．pay attention to our thoughts |
.The insight we gain from our actions can help us .
| A．focus our attention on our jobs |
| B．make more positive choices in our life |
| C．act according to the truth |
| D．tell the differences between our words and our actions |
.It can be learned from the passage that if we want to have love without limits, we must first of all .
| A．be honest with ourselves anytime |
| B．give our love to others generously |
| C．love ourselves unconditionally |
| D．take quiet time and think deeply |