The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is a love story, a sad and beautiful one. If it didn’t exist, we would easily imagine that the story of its construction was simply a fairy tale. Three hundred years ago, there lived an Indian emperor called Shah Jahan. His wife was a beautiful and bright woman whom he loved greatly. Her title was Mumtazl Mahan: its shortened form Taj Mahan means “pride of the palace”. In the year 1630 this beloved wife of the emperor died. He was so brokenhearted that he thought of giving up his throne. He decided out of his love for his wife, to build her the most beautiful tomb that had ever been seen.
He summoned the best artists and architects from India, Turkey, Persia and Arabia and finally, the design was complete. It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahan, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
The building itself stands on a marble platform 29 meters square and 67 meters high. Towers rise from each of the four corners. The Taj itself soars another 61 meters into the air. It is an eight-sided building made of white marble.
The emperor planned to build an identical tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge. However his son put him into a prison in the palace before he could finish, and for the rest of his life, he could only gaze across river at the tomb of his beloved wife.The whole passage tells us about ______.
A.a beautiful fairy tale |
B.the story of the Taj Mahal |
C.white and black marble tombs made for two emperors |
D.the love story of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Taj Mahal?
A.It was completed quickly owing to the efforts of the best artists and workers. |
B.A lot of people took part in the building work |
C.It is a magnificent building. |
D.It is a tomb for the emperor’s beloved wife. |
The emperor’s own tomb was designed to be ____________.
A.61 meters high | B.eight-sided |
C.black-coloured | D.white-colored |
The emperor _____________.
A.died soon after Taj Mahan died |
B.was killed by his son |
C.was beloved by his people |
D.died after 1648 |
People tend to think of computers as isolated machines, working away all by themselves. Some personal computers do without an outside link, like someone's secret cabin in the woods. But just as most of homes are tied to a community by streets, bus routes and electric lines, computers that exchange intelligence are part of a community local, national and even global network joined by telephone connections.
The computer network is a creation of the electric age, but it is based on old-fashioned trust. It cannot work without trust. A rogue (流氓) loose in a computer system called hacker is worse than a thief entering your house. He could go through anyone's electronic mail or add to, change or delete anything in the information stored in the computer's memory. He could even take control of the entire system by inserting his own instructions in the software that runs it. He could shut the computer down whenever he wished, and no one could stop him. Then he could program the computer to erase any sign of his ever having been there.
Hacking, our electronic-age term for computer break-in is more and more in the news, intelligent kids vandalizing(破坏)university records, even pranking (恶作剧) about in supposedly safeguarded systems. To those who understand how computer networks are increasingly regulating life in the late 20th century, these are not laughing matters. A potential for disaster is building: A dissatisfied former insurance-company employee wipes out information from some files; A student sends out a "virus", a secret and destructive command, over a national network. The virus copies itself at lightning speed, jamming the entire network thousands of academic, commercial and government computer systems. Such disastrous cases have already occurred. Now exists the possibility of terrorism by computer. Destroging a system responsible for air-traffic control at a busy airport, or knocking out the telephones of a major city, is a relatively easy way to spread panic. Yet neither business nor government has done enough to strengthen its defenses against attack. For one thing, such defenses are expensive; for another, they may interrupt communication, the main reason for using computers in the first place.
59. People usually regard computers as .
A. a small cabin at the end of a street
B. part of a network
C. means of exchanging intelligence
D. personal machines disconnected from outside
60. The writer mentions “ a thief ”in the second paragraph most probably to .
A. look into the case where hackers and thieves are the same people
B. demand that a computer network should be set up against thieves
C. tell people that thieves like to steal computers nowadays
D. show that a hacker is more dangerous than a thief
61. According to the passage , a hacker may do all the damages below EXCEPT .
A. destroying computer systems .
B. creating many electronic-age terms .
C.. entering into computer systems without being discovered
D. attacking people’s e-mails
62. By saying “ Now exists the possibility of terrorism by computer ”(the underlined ) the writer means that .
A. students who send out a “ virus ”may do disastrous damages to thousands of computers
B. some people may spread fear in public by destroying computer systems
C. some employees may erase information from some files
D. some terrorists are trying to contact each other using electronic mails
The United States is on the verge of losing its leading place in the world’s technology. So says more than one study in recent years. One of the reasons for this decline is the parallel decline in the number of U.S. scientists and engineers.
Since 1976, employment of scientists and engineers is up 85 percent. This trend is expected to continue. However, the trend shows that the number of 22-year-old the near term source of future PhDs is declining. Further adding to the problem is the increased competition for these candidates from other fields law,medicine,business,etc. While the number of U.S. PhDs in science and engineering declines,the award of PhDs to foreign nationals is increasing rapidly.
Our inability to motivate students to pursue science and engineering careers at the graduate level is compounded because of the intense demand industry has for bright Bachelor‘s and Master‘s degree holders. Too often,promising PH.D.candidates, confronting(面临) the cost and financial sacrifice of pursuing their education, find the attraction of industry irresistible.
67. The U.S.will come to lose its leading place in technology probably because ________.
A. the number of PH.D. degree holders is declining
B. the number of scientists and engineers is decreasing
C. the number of 22-year-ilds is declining
D. scientists and engineers are not employed
68. The field of science and engineering is facing a competition from ________ .
A. technology B. foreign nationals
C. such fields as law,medicine and business
D. postgraduates
69. Large-scale enterprises now need _______.
A. bright graduates and postgraduates B. new inventions
C. advanced technology D. engineers
70. PH.D. candidates "find the attraction of industry irresistible" means that _________.
A. they find industry is attracting more and more college students
B. they don’t think they can prevent themselves from working for industry
C. they cannot resist any attraction from all sides
D. they cannot work for industry any longer
More than 2 million US teenagers have suffered a serious bout(发作) of depression in the past year, according to a federal government survey released on Tuesday.
On average, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported.
But there were "striking differences" by sex, with 12.7 percent of girls and 4.6 percent of boys affected.
Depression is the leading cause of suicide, which in turn is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the United States.
"Combined 2004 to 2006 data show that rates of past year major depressive experience among youths aged 12 to 17 generally increased with increasing age," the researchers wrote.
Researchers at SAMHSA and RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, prepared the report using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
More than 67,700 youths aged 12 to 17 answered questions about mood and depression. They were also asked to rate how depression affected them using the Sheehan Disability Scale, which measures impact on family, friends, chores at home, work and school.
Researchersdefined a major depressive episode as two weeks or longer of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms(症状) such as problems with sleep, energy, concentration or self-image.
Nearly half of the teenagers who had major depression said it severely damaged their ability to function in at least one of the areas on the disability scale.
"Fortunately, depression responds very well to early intervention and treatment," SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline said in a statement.
63. The underlined word “ episode ”in paragraph 2 has the similar meaning as the given word
A. feeling B. expression C. experience D. experiment
64. The main reasons which lead to serious depressive symptoms include .
A. low spirits , unhappiness , lack of sleep and poor concentration
B. poor health , sex discrimination , less energy and loss of interest
C. suicide , sandness , lack of confidence and depression
D. no family or friends or jobs or interests at all
65. What can be implied , but is not stated directly ?
A. There were more girl students suffering depression than boys
B. There were over 2 million American teens suffering depression in the past two years
C. The students surveyed were aged between `12 and 17
D. depression is the third-leading cause of suicide
66. What will the following paragraph probably talk about according to the passage ?
A. How to have a happy feeling B. How to live a comfortable life
C. How to recover from stress D. How to prevent and treat depression
People tend to think of computers as isolated machines, working away all by themselves. Some personal computers do without an outside link, like someone's secret cabin in the woods. But just as most of homes are tied to a community by streets, bus routes and electric lines, computers that exchange intelligence are part of a community local, national and even global network joined by telephone connections.
The computer network is a creation of the electric age, but it is based on old-fashioned trust. It cannot work without trust. A rogue (流氓) loose in a computer system called hacker is worse than a thief entering your house. He could go through anyone's electronic mail or add to, change or delete anything in the information stored in the computer's memory. He could even take control of the entire system by inserting his own instructions in the software that runs it. He could shut the computer down whenever he wished, and no one could stop him. Then he could program the computer to erase any sign of his ever having been there.
Hacking, our electronic-age term for computer break-in is more and more in the news, intelligent kids vandalizing(破坏)university records, even pranking (恶作剧) about in supposedly safeguarded systems. To those who understand how computer networks are increasingly regulating life in the late 20th century, these are not laughing matters. A potential for disaster is building: A dissatisfied former insurance-company employee wipes out information from some files; A student sends out a "virus", a secret and destructive command, over a national network. The virus copies itself at lightning speed, jamming the entire network thousands of academic, commercial and government computer systems. Such disastrous cases have already occurred. Now exists the possibility of terrorism by computer. Destroging a system responsible for air-traffic control at a busy airport, or knocking out the telephones of a major city, is a relatively easy way to spread panic. Yet neither business nor government has done enough to strengthen its defenses against attack. For one thing, such defenses are expensive; for another, they may interrupt communication, the main reason for using computers in the first place.
59. People usually regard computers as .
A. part of a network
B. means of exchanging intelligence
C. personal machines disconnected from outside
D. a small cabin at the end of a street .
60. The writer mentions “ a thief ”in the second paragraph most probably to .
A. show that a hacker is more dangerous than a thief
B. tell people that thieves like to steal computers nowadays
C. demand that a computer network should be set up against thieves
D. look into the case where hackers and thieves are the same people
61. According to the passage , a hacker may do all the damages below EXCEPT .
A. attacking people’s e-mails . B. destroying computer systems .
C. creating many electronic-age terms .
D. entering into computer systems without being discovered
62. By saying “ Now exists the possibility of terrorism by computer ”(the underlined ) the writer means that .
A. some employees may erase information from some files
B. students who send out a “ virus ”may do disastrous damages to thousands of computers
C. some people may spread fear in public by destroying computer systems
D. some terrorists are trying to contact each other using electronic mails
The old idea that child prodigies (神童) “burn themselves” or “overtax their brains” in the early years, and therefore are prey to failure and (at worst) mental illness is just a myth. As a matter of fact, the outstanding thing that happens to bright children is that they are very likely to grow into bright adults.
To find this out, 1, 500 gifted persons were followed up to thirty or fifty year with these results:
On adult intelligence tests, they scored as high as they did as children. They were, as a group, in good health, physically and mentally. Eighty-four percent of their group were married and seemed content with their life.
About 70 percent had graduated from colleges, though only 30 percent had graduated with honors. A few had even flunked out(退学), but nearly half of these had returned to graduate.
Of the men, 80 percent were in one of the professions or in business, managers or semi-professional jobs. The women who had remained single had offices, business, or professional occupations.
The group had published 90 books and 1, 500 articles in scientific, scholarly, and literary magazines and had collected more than 100 patents.
In a material way they didn’t do badly, either. Average income was considerably higher among the gifted people, especially the men, than for the country as a whole, despite their comparative youth when last surveyed.
In fact, far from being strange, maladjusted (难以适应) people locked in an ivory tower, most of the gifted were turning their early promises into practical reality.
55. The main idea of the passage is _____.
A. how many gifted children turned successful when they grew up
B. that bright children were unlikely to be physically and mentally healthy
C. that gifted children were most likely to become bright grown-ups
D. that when the bright children grew up, they would become ordinary
56. From the passage, we can conclude that _____.
A. most of the gifted children became white collars when they grew up
B. half of the gifted followed up graduated from colleges
C. each of the talented published at least one article
D. bright men got higher income than bright women
57. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage ?
A. The gifted could not be fit for their social positions
B. Most of the bright and successful women kept single
C. The gifted men got full marks in intelligence tests
D. Most of the gifted appeared satisfied with their life .
58. The explanation of the underlined phrase “turning their early promises into practical reality” is _____.
A. earning their living and keeping promises
B. doing practical jobs and facing reality
C. doing what they have promised
D. realizing what they were expected