Once I invited a group of friends round to my house, telling them that I was going to record their speech. I said I was interested in their regional accents, and that it would take only a few minutes. Thus, on one evening, three people turned up at my house and were shown into my front room. When they saw the room they were a bit alarmed, for it was laid out as a studio. In front of each easy chair there was a microphone at head height, with wires leading to a tape-recorder in the middle of the floor. I explained that all I wanted was for them to count from one to twenty. Then we could relax and have a drink.
I turned on the tape-recorder and each in turn seriously counted from one to twenty in their best accent. When it was over, I turned the tape-recorder off and brought round the drinks, and for the rest of the evening there was general cheerful conversation—interrupted only by the fact that I had to take a telephone call in another room, which unfortunately lasted some time.
Or at least that was how it would appear. For, of course, the microphones were not connected to the tape-recorder in the middle of the room at all but to another one, which was turning happily away in the kitchen. The participants, having seen the visible tape-recorder turned off, paid no more attention to the microphones which stayed in front of their chairs, only a few inches from their mouths, thus giving excellent sound quality. And my lengthy absence meant that I was able to obtain as natural a piece of conversation as it would be possible to find.
I should add, perhaps, that I did tell my friends what had happened to them, after the event was over, and gave them the choice of destroying the tape. None of them wanted to—though for some years afterwards it always seemed to be my round when it came to the buying of drinks. Linguistic research can be a very expensive business.The writer asked his friends to count from one to twenty because _______.
A.he wanted to record the numbers for his research |
B.he wanted to find out whether the tape recorder was working |
C.he wanted to make his friends relax before real recording started |
D.he wanted his friends to think that was all he wanted to record |
The writer went into another room to ________.
A.get a natural recording of his friends’ conversation |
B.stay away from too much drinking with his friends |
C.bring a telephone into the front room |
D.answer a long distance phone call |
The writer turned off the tape-recorder because _______.
A.he had to answer a phone call |
B.he wanted his friends to enjoy some drinks |
C.he thought the tape-recorder might bother his friends |
D.he wanted to make his friends believe he had finished the recording |
Which one is true according to the passage?
A.The writer destroyed the tape. |
B.The writer’s friends destroyed the tape. |
C.The writer did tell his friends what had happened. |
D.The writer’s friends like to drink. |
People travel for a lot of reasons. Some tourists go to see battlefields or other historic remains. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. Most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on.
Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money for the sun because they have so little of it. People in cities like London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam spend much of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the year it rains. This is the reason why the Mediterranean (地中海) has always attracted them. Every summer many people travel to Mediterranean resorts (度假胜地) and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason. Sun!
The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy's 30,000 hotels are booked without a break every summer. And 13 million people visited French beaches, parks, and roadsides. Spain's long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit there yearly, or one tourist for each person living in Spain.
But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can deal with. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. None of this, however, is ruining anyone's fun. Obviously, visitors don't go there for clean water. They allow traffic jams and endure crowded beaches. They don't even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is , the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it's still better than sitting in cold Berlin, London, or anywhere else.
64. The writer seems to infer that Europeans travel mostly for the reason that _____.
A. they want to see historic remains
B. they wish to escape from cold, dark and rainy days
C. they would like to take pictures in front of famous places
D. they are interested in different cultural and social customs
65. According to the passage, which of the following countries attracts more tourists than the others?
A. Italy. B. Greece. C. France. D. Spain.
66. The underlined part in Passage 3, "one tourist for each person living in Spain" means _____.
A. all the 37 million people living in Spain are tourists
B. every person living in Spain has to take care of a tourist
C. every year as many tourists visit Spain as there are people living in that country
D. every family in Spain is visited by a tourist every year
67. According to the passage, which of the following might ruin the tourists' fun at Mediterranean resorts and beaches?
A. Polluted water B. Crowded buses C. Rainy weather D. Traffic jams
Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer (锁止器), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.
The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro- processor and memory, and a GPS (全球定位系统) satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.
In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,” says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum(="smallest)" of tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.
Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.
But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner's keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.
If the stolen car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.
Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep the police informed of the vehicle's movements through the car's GPS unit.
57. The remote immobilizer is fitted to a car to ______.
A. allow the car to lock automatically when stolen
B. help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief
C. prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops
D. prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner
58. By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed”, Martyn Randall suggests that ______.
A. it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing
B. self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft
C. the thief has to make use of computer technology
D. the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old
59. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?
A. To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.
B. To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.
C. To keep the police informed of the car's movements.
D. To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.
60. The operations centre will first ______ after receiving an alarm.
A. start the tracking system. B. contact the car owner.
C. block the car engine. D. locate the missing car.
Scott Langteau has this message for kids: Spend less time playing video games.
It’s a message that many a mom and dad have tried to impress upon many a youngster (and some not-so-youngsters) who spend perhaps a bit too much time with game controllers in hand.
But the 40-year-old Langteau isn’t a parent. He’s experienced at video games – one who played producer on three “Medal of Honor” games and co-founded his own game development company.
Langteau has just published a children’s book called Sofa Boy, which tells the story of a kid who spends too much time sitting on the couch with controller held in hand and the rather terrible consequences that follow.
It’s a fairy tale picked straight from Langteau’s own experiences as a lad with a fondness for video games and his painful struggle against game addiction. But first, Langteau would like to make one thing clear: I’m not saying that you shouldn’t play video games. I think video games are great; I think they do great things for kids. Instead, Langteau says his book is all about a little something called “moderation ”. “Anyway, you’ve got to stop before going too far.”
“It’s all about being well rounded,” he says. “Just like with anything else, we all need to make sure that there’s a variety in what we do.”
Video gamers can be rather bad-tempered when it comes to accepting criticism about their favorite entertainment. After all, most people who go round talking about the dangers of playing video games tend to be outsiders – people who don’t play video games and certainly don’t understand that they can be a valuable and healthy form of entertainment.
But Langteau and Sofa Boy seem to be a unique position to deliver a message of gaming moderation that the young game masses might actually listen to. After all, this is a man who understands what it means to be a kid with passion for games. His early experience has taught him a lesson.
45. Scott Langteau published Sofa Boy to _______.
A. share his great skills on games
B. warn kids against game addiction
C. tell about his fairy tale as a kid
D. deliver a message for games
46. Which of the following is true of the book Sofa Boy ?
A. The book tells of the writer’s own story.
B. The book describes an experienced gamer.
C. The boy in the book wins a medal for games.
D. The boy in the book is not an addict on games
47. The underlined word “moderation” in paragraph 5 probably means _______.
A. impression B. entertainment C. limitation D. variety
48. What topic will be discussed in the following paragraph?
A. His idea to create Sofa Boy.
B. His great achievement in games as a kid.
C. His hard times to set up his game company.
D. His enthusiasm for games when he was a boy.
Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature .However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses(球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
49. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?
A. Cycling around a lake.
B. Motor racing in the desert.
C. Playing basketball in a gym.
D. Swimming in a sports center.
50. What do we know about golf from the passage?
A. It is popular in Portugal and Spain.
B. It causes water shortages around the world.
C. It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes.
D. It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green.
51. The author uses power walking as an example mainly because______.
A. it is an outdoor sport
B. it improves our health
C. it uses fewer resources
D. it is recommended by experts52. The author writes the passage to_______.
A. show us the function of major sports
B. encourage us to go in for green sports
C. discuss the major influence of popular sports
D. introduce different types of environment-friendly
第二部分:阅读理解(每小题2分,满分50分)
第一节:阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出最佳选项。
A son and his father were walking on the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!". To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhbhh! ! !
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?" He receives the answer: "Who are you?”. And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!". The voice answers: "I admire you!".
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward (one without courage)!”. He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?”. The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the father screams at the top of his voice: “You are a champion!".The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; Life will give you back everything you have given to it."
41. The boy is surprised because ________.
A. he falls over his own feet
B. his father can yell as loud as he does
C. he hears his screams repeated
D. someone calls him a coward
42. The father screams in order to ________.
A. beat his son in the contest
B. lay the basis for his teachings
C. show his son his superior skill
D. apply his theory to practice
43. What’s the father’s attitude towards life?
A. positive B. negative C. depressed D. hopeless
44. Which of the following proverbs is in keeping with the father's teachings?
A. Faith will move mountains. B. A great talker is a great liar.
C. Love me, love my dog. D. Do well and have well.