Today just as technology changed the face of industry, farms have undergone an “agricultural revolution”. On the farm of today, machines provide almost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock (家畜) to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grain farmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real “mechanized hired hand” (机械化雇工) that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into the barn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long. According to the passage, computers can not help farmers decide _______.
| A．how much money they can earn from their products |
| B．whether to plant a certain kind of crop |
| C．how much livestock to raise |
| D．when to sell their products |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers. |
| B．Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms. |
| C．Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present. |
| D．Students at agricultural colleges can do nothing without the help of computers on today’s farms. |
According to the engineers, _______will be done by robots in the near future.
| A．most of the farm work | B．milking cows |
| C．all farm work | D．some farm work |
What is the best title for the whole passage?
| A．Computer, Farmers’ Best Friend |
| B．Farmers in The Future |
| C．The Agricultural Revolution |
| D．Computers and Robots |
Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhooD．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
64．Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
A．He had just got a new cage. B．He liked its beautiful feather.
C．He wanted it to sing for him. D．He wanted a pet for a companion.
65．The mockingbird died because it ______.
A．was frightened to death B．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
C．refused to eat anything D．drank the poisonous water by mistake
66．An ornithologist probably means ______.
A．a religious person B．a kind person
C．a schoolmaster D．a expert in birds
67．What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
A．Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.
B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long.
C．You should keep the birds from their mother.
D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds.
MONTREAL (Reuters) – Crossing the US-Canada border（边界）to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen ＄10,000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security（安全）rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, who lives right on the Canadian border. Like the other half-dozen people of Township 15, crossing the border is a daily occurrence for Albert. The nearby Quebec village of St. Pamphile is where they shop, eat and go to church.
There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5,530-mile border between Canada and the US-which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.
As a result, Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada, as usual. The US customs（海关）station in this are is closed on Sundays, so be just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security. Two days later. Albert was told to go to the customs office, where an officer told him be had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally（非法）.
Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 US citizens in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed, but the US stopped a similar program last May. That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint.
Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday church since. “I feel like I’m living in a prison,” he said.
60．We learn from the text that Richard Albert is .
A．an American living in Township 15
B．a Canadian living in a Quebec village
C．a Canadian working in a customs station
D．an American working in a Canadian church
61．Albert was fined because he.
A．failed to obey traffic rules B．broke the American security rules
C．worked in St. Pamphile without a pass D．damaged the gate of the customs office
62．The underlined word “detour” in paragraph 5 means .
A．a drive through the town B．a race across the fields
C．a roundabout way of travelling D．a journey in the mountain area
63．What would be the best title for the text?
A．A Cross-country Trip B．A Special Border Pass
C．An Unguarded Border D．An Expensive Church Visit
In the world today, all of the people need recreation (消遣). We cannot work all the time if we are going to keep healthy and enjoy life.
Everyone has his own way of relaxing. Perhaps the most popular form is to take part in sports. There are team sports, such as basketball and football; There are also individual (个人的) sports, such as swimming and running. Skating and mountain climbing are the most popular recreation for people who like to be outdoor.
Not everyone who enjoys sports likes to take part in them. Many people like watching them on TV or listening to them on the radio. So many people like some forms of indoor recreation, such as watching TV, singing and dancing.
It doesn’t matter whether we like indoor recreation or take part in outdoor sports. It is important for everyone to relax from time to time, and enjoy some forms of recreation.
56．Which is the most popular form of recreation?
A．Sports. B．Watching TV.
C．Sleeping. D．Singing and dancing.
57．People want to take part in sports in order to ____.
A．keep healthy and enjoy life B．make friends
C．find a good job D．make more money
58．Outdoor sports include ____.
A．watching TV B．singing and dancing
C．listening to the radio D．skating and mountain climbing
59．The passage mainly tells us that ____.
A．basketball is a kind of team sport
B．everyone who enjoys sports should take part in them
C．different people have different ways of relaxing
D．indoor recreation is not as important as outdoor sports
For many years, I was sure that my suffering was because of my size. I believed that when the weight disappeared, it would take old wounds, hurts, and rejections with it.
Many obese people also mistakenly believe that changing our bodies will fix everything. Perhaps our worst mistake is believing that being thin means being loved, being special, and being cherished. We imagine what it will be like when we reach the long-awaited goal. We work very hard to realize this dream. Then, at last, we find ourselves there.
But we often gain back what we have lost. Even so, we continue to believe that next time it will be different. Next time, we will keep it off. Next time, being thin will finally realize its promise of happiness, and of course, love.
It took me a long while to know that there was something more for me to learn about beauty. Beauty standards are different with culture. In Somoa a woman is not considered attractive unless she weighs more than 200 pounds. More importantly, if it’s happiness that we want, why not put our energy there rather than on the size of our body? Why not look inside? Many of us try hard to change our body, but with no result. We have to find a way to live comfortably inside our body and make friends with and cherish ourselves. When we change our attitudes toward ourselves, the whole world changes.
67．The passage tries to tell us the importance of ______.
A. body size B. attitudes toward life
C. culture difference D. different beauty standards
68. What does the underlined word “everything” (paragraph 2) mean?
A. All the problems. B. All the bodies.
C. The whole world. D. The truth.
69. What can be inferred about the author?
A. The author is a Samoan.
B. The author succeeded in losing weight.
C. The author has been troubled by her/his weight.
D. The author probably got wounded in wars or accidents.
70. According to the author, what is the common view of those who have lost some weight first and gained it back later?
A. They feel angry about the regained weight.
B. They don’t care about the regained weight.
C. They feel optimistic about future plans on weight control.
D. They think they should give up their future plans on weight control.
During my first stay in the south of France, I rode my bike down a quiet road. Round a corner, I passed by a little old house. In its yard, there was a ruddy (气色好的) -faced woman. I waved at her as I went by, and she must have thought I was some silly tourist, because she didn’t wave back.
The same thing happened the second day. But on the third day, the old woman returned a tentative（试探性的）wave, and by the fourth day, she nearly got out of her chair as I called out.
“Good morning, Madam!” It became a small ritual (程序) between us. Once she even brought her husband out with her, and they both waved to me.
On my last day, my last ride, I cycled down to the little house but the lady wasn’t there. Back at my house, I told Roger, the gardener, of my missed connection.
“The old lady has a bad leg,” Roger said, “so she has gone to the hospital for surgery.”
“Who is she?” I asked.
Roger started to explain: the quiet road used to be a railway. The old lady’ husband was once the stationmaster, and their house was the stationmaster’s house. Several times a day, whenever a train passed, the couple would see the passengers waving excitedly, especially the children for them. However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple.
It seems that my bicycle was a reminder of the past to her. As Roger said, “ She has missed the trains and the waves. You brought them back to her.”
By reaching out, in a way that cost me nothing, I gave more than I realized.
63Which of the following is TRUE?
A. She was a ruddy-faced woman so she was healthy.
B. Her husband also had leg disease but he didn’t tell others.
C. She and her husband didn’t like to live in the station.
D. Though she was a ruddy-faced woman, something was wrong with her leg.
64Why did the old woman bring her husband out and waved to me?
A. They wanted to go to the hospital.
B. They wanted to experience what they used to do.
C. They wanted to ask me for dinner.
D. They wanted to go to the city by train.
65. What can we infer from the sentence “However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple”?
A. They enjoyed living where they had lived.
B. They had no house to live in.
C. They had no children to live with.
D. They were living nearest the hospital.
66. What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. An old couple and I B. Bicycle and railway
C. Train and passengers D. Wave and love