TheFiregathering18－20MayTheFir-优题课

Global Positioning Systems（GPS） are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But, they can also cause a lot of problems, send you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two.
We spoke to Mr. Brown by Skype （网络电话软件）. He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay. BARRY BROWN: “And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn’t until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of 'garbage in garbage out'.”
Mr Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment. BARRY BROWN: “One problem with a lot of the GPS units is that they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it’s going to the wrong place.”
Barry Brown formerly served as a professor with the University of California, San Diego. While there, he worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people’s cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called “The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS.”
It lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues(时机问题) related to when GPS commands are given.
Barry Brown says, “ To make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together.”
In paragraph 2, Mr. Brown mentioned his friend in the conversation to _______.

A．build up his own reputation

B．laugh at his stupid friend

C．prove the GPS system is only garbage

D．describe an example of human error

What is the disadvantage of small screens in GPS equipment according to the text?

A．They just provide the next turn.

B．They are harmful to eyes.

C．They make drivers tired easily.

D．They often break down suddenly.

Which of the following statements would Barry Brown most likely agree with?

A．GPS units are to blame for most GPS service failures.

B．We should introduce higher standards for the driving license.

C．Cameras are badly needed to help improve GPS systems.

D．Drivers, GPS systems and passengers should unite to improve GPS systems.

What is Mr. Brown’s attitude towards GPS?

A．Unconcerned.	B．subjective.
C．Objective.	D．Critical.

Which of the following statements can best describe the main idea of the passage?

A．Driving with GPS can be difficult.

B．Driving confusions can be caused by small screens.

C．Driving without GPS should be much more convenient.

D．GPS equipment in driving to be given up or improved

Like most people, I have grown up hearing the story Cinderella, in which a young girl lived with her cruel stepmother and suddenly had her life changed by a kind fairy and a smart prince. So when to see Rodger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which is now playing on Broadway, I was very excited, As soon as I sat down, I noticed the trees lining the stage ,which gave it a magical appearance. The orchestra started to play and the lights became dark as the show began.
I loved the entire performance. Everything and everyone on stage seemed like they had just jumped off the pages of the beloved story.
It turns out that the Broadway experts agree with me. The show has received nine Tony nominations(提名). Tony awards are the top prizes for Broadway shows. Laura Osnes, who plays the role of Cinderella, has been nominated for the Tony for best actress in a musical.
How similar is the show to the story of Cinderella you know? The answer, of course, depends on which version of the story you’ve seen or read. In an interview with TIME FOR Kids, Osnes pointed out that many people are familiar with the Disney movie version. There are some differences between that movie and the Broadway show. For one thing, the stepmother and the sisters are not as cruel in the show as in the movie. Also, in the Broadway version, when Cinderella escapes from the dancing party, she picks up her shoe after dropping it. So how does the prince find Cinderella again? You’ll have to see the show to find out!
I just think anyone would enjoy this play, including both kids and adults. The attention to detail is amazing. In my opinion, this play deserves a double thumbs-up!
The author was excited because .

A．he has grown up knowing the story of Cinderella

B．he could see Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella on stage

C．the lights became dark and the orchestra started to play

D．the stage had a magical appearance with the tree on it

Which of the following shows that the Broadway experts agree with the author?

A．They all agree the musical is more beloved than the story.

B．They all agree the story is more complicated than the musical.

C．Broadway experts have given the show nine Tony nominations.

D．Laura Osnes has been nominated for the Tony for best actress.

What is one of the differences between the Disney movie and the Broadway show according to the passage?

A．Cinderella picks up her shoe after dropping it in the movie.

B．The stepmother and the sisters are crueler in the movie.

C．The prince doesn’t find Cinderella in the show.

D．Cinderella doesn’t escape from the dancing party in the show.

According to the author, this show is suitable .

A．only for grown-up

B．only for children.

C．for both grown-ups and children

D．for either grown-ups or children

Blue is the most attractive eye colour according to a new research.
Blue eyes like those belonging to sexy star Angelina Jolie are the most appealing colour according to a pool of 3,000 18－24yearolds by Fresh Look One Day Colour. Angelina，her partner Brad Pitt and his exwife Jennifer Aniston all have blue eyes and all been named in a top twenty of the world's most desirable eyes.
The survey found that young folk with blue eyes is generally seen as being more flirtatious，sexy and kind.
And when asked if they would change the colour of their eyes if they could，only one in ten blueeyed people wanted to，significantly less than people with other colour eyes.
One in three people who didn't have blue eyes wanted a change.
One quarter of respondents have considered wearing coloured contact lenses to change their eye colour temporarily—and blue is the most wanted colour.
Green was the second most popular colour for those wanting a new look，with respondents saying greeneyed people were usually mysterious and creative.
People with brown or hazel eyes were perceived to be more trustworthy than people with other eye colours.
People with grey eyes were generally thought to be more intelligent than other people，and they were also described as usually being shy.
Blue was the most common eye colour among respondents，with 41 percent of those who answered the survey having baby blue peepers and 39 percent having brown or hazel eyes.
The survey also found that 18 percent of people don't know what colour eyes their partner has.
According to the new research，when considering changing their eye colour，the
number of the people who will choose ________ ranks the second.

A．brown

B．green

C．grey

D．hazel

According to the study result，if you were a manager and you wanted to find a
most reliable person，you'd better hire one who has ________ eyes.

A．green

B．blue

C．brown

D．grey

The underlined word “peepers” in the passage could be replaced by________.

A．babies

B．colours

C．respondents

D．eyes

Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．Who have the most charming eyes in the world?

B．Blue—the most attractive eye colour.

C．A survey result on eye colours.

D．Different eye colours in the world.

On the first day of class, Mr Whiteson gave us a lecture about a creature (生物) called cattytiger, a kind of cat-like animal that completely disappeared during the Ice Age. He passed round a skull (头骨) as he talked, and we all felt interested and took notes while listening. Later, we had a test about that.
When he returned my paper, I was very, very surprised. There was a very large cross through each of my answers. And so it was with everyone else’s in our class. What had happened? Everyone was wondering and couldn’t wait to get the answer.
Very simple, Mr Whiteson explained. He had made up all that story about the cattytiger. There had never been such an animal. So why none of us noticed that and how could we expect good marks for the incorrect answers?
Needless to say, we got very angry. What kind of teacher was this?
We should have guessed it out, Mr Whiteson said. After all, at the very moment he was passing around the cattytiger skull (in fact, a cat’s), hadn’t he been telling us that it completely disappeared during the Ice Age? Clearly he was telling a lie. But we just kept busy making notes and none used his head. We should learn something from this. Teachers and textbooks are not always correct.
We failed in the test because we didn’t .

A．think carefully

B．show interest in what Mr Whiteson said

C．listen to the teacher carefully

D．take notes while listening

We got angry because .

A．Mr Whiteson didn’t tell us the truth about cattytiger

B．there was no cattytiger

C．we didn’t know why he played the joke on us

D．we failed in the test

Mr Whiteson gave us a special lesson.

A．to show his special way of teaching

B．to help us learn our lessons better

C．to play a joke on us

D．so that we would no longer believe him

Mr Whiteson meant that .

A．teachers couldn’t make any mistakes

B．textbooks might be wrong sometimes

C．we shouldn’t believe our teachers because sometimes they might tell lies

D．we should speak up if we thought our teacher or the textbook was wrong

HONG KONG — Hong Kong Disneyland is too crowded, a senior Chinese tourism official said today, hinting that another Disney Park is necessary to accommodate demand from China’s huge population.
The comments by Shao Qiwei, director of China’s State Administration of Tourism, came a day after Shanghai’s mayor Han Zheng said the city was preparing to build China’s second Disney theme park.
“China has a very large population. We now have 1.3 billion people. The market is very large. As far as I know, Hong Kong Disneyland is now very crowded,” said Shao, whose comments were broadcast on Hong Kong’s Cable TV.
The Hong Kong theme park, which opened in September, was widely criticized in January when it turned away（不准…入内） hundreds of Lunar New Year holiday makers from mainland China because the park was full. Chaos(混乱) erupted when angry crowds tried to force their way into the park.
The embarrassing incident prompted a public apology from Hong Kong Disneyland Managing Director Bill Ernest and a dressing down from Hong Kong’s leader Donald Tsang. Authorities are carefully studying the issue of overcrowding in preparation for the possible building of the Disney park in Shanghai, Shao said.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that no agreement has been reached on the park in Shanghai, quoting senior vice president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Leslie Goodman. Hong Kong Disneyland is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Co. and the local government, which shouldered the bulk of the park’s construction fees.
Why is it necessary to build a Disney park in Shanghai?

A．Hong Kong Disneyland is too small and very crowded.

B．Hong Kong Disneyland can’t meet the need of the large population.

C．Hong Kong Disney Park was criticized by tourists.

D．Hong Kong Disneyland is far from the mainland.

Hundreds of visitors from Mainland China got angry because ________.

A．the services in the park were not as good as expected

B．chaos happened at the entrance to the park

C．the park was too crowded

D．they were not allowed to go into the park

The building of a Disney park in Shanghai ________.

A．remains to be discussed with The Walt Disney Co.

B．is financed The Walt Disney Co.

C．will be in the charge of the Shanghai government

D．has been agreed to by The Walt Disney Co.

A．The Firegathering.	B．Sheep Music.
C．The Big Chill.	D．Summer Sundae.