People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. “Today we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality-the driverless car. ” The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the U. S. government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are' making Hondas safer, said Angie Nucci of Honda America. “A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes. ” Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars. These systems help drivers , but don’t replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
“By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident, ”Kendall said. He said , “Consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first. ”
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.According to the passage, California Governor Jerry Brown ______________.
| A．is for the idea of having driverless cars |
| B．sponsored the DARPA competition to improve the driverless system |
| C．has already bought a new autonomous car |
| D．thinks that driving safety is the most important issue in his state |
What is the role of the systems mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．They can help cars run much faster. |
| B．They can take the place of drivers now. |
| C．They can make cars run without fuel. |
| D．They can help people drive more safely. |
In Kendall’s opinion, who probably don’t rely on the driverless cars at first?
| A．managers in the high-tech company Google |
| B．officers from the U. S. government agency DARPA |
| C．car consumers |
| D．vehicle designers |
According to Richard Mason, what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?
| A．They need to have more comfortable seats . |
| B．They are now too expensive for consumers. |
| C．They are travelling at a low speed. |
| D．They are not favored by car racers |
Junior Achievement is an international movement to educateyoung people about business and economics. The organization is thelargest of its kind. It reaches over eight million students each yearin more than 100 countries. Programs begin in elementary schooland continue through middle and high school. The education isbased on the ideas of market-based economics and entrepreneurship(企业家的身份）. It began in 1919 in Springfield, Massachusetts. For more than 50 years, Junior Achievement programs met afterschool. They began as a group of business clubs. The organizationstarted with a small number of children aged ten to twelve. But in1975，Junior Achievement began to offer classes during schoolhours. Many more young people joined the organization once it began to teach business skills as part of the school day.
Volunteers from the community teach about businesses, howthey are organized, and how products are made and sold. They alsoteach about the American and world economies and about industryand trade.
The Junior Achievement Company Program teaches young people how entrepreneurship works. They learn about business by operating their own companies.
The students develop a product and sell shares in their company. They use the money to buy the materials they need to make theirproduct , which then they sell. Finally, they return the profits to thepeople who bought shares in the company.
Junior Achievement says 287，000 volunteers support its pro-grams around the world. In the US alone, there are more than22，000 places that hold Junior Achievement events. According to the passage, the purpose of Junior Achievement isto help young people _________.
| A．prepare to succeed in a world economy |
| B．pass the exams about business and economics |
| C．operate their own companies |
| D．develop a product and sell shares |
The information about the Junior Achievement is true EXCEPT _________
| A．it is an international movement to educate young peopleabout business and economics |
| B．the Junior Achievement started in 1919 |
| C．since 1975，Junior Achievement has offered classes duringschool hours |
| D．it has 22，000 places to hold Junior Achievement eventsaround the world |
The Junior Achievement teaches the following EXCEPT _________
| A．how products are made and sold |
| B．how businesses are organized |
| C．how entrepreneurship works |
| D．how to become a volunteer from the community |
The Junior Achievement programs are taught by _________.
| A．volunteers around the world | B．famous enterprisers in the US |
| C．a group of business clubs | D．many young people |
（1）American schools are looking for ways to save money on bustransportation because of high fuel prices. （2）Some schools, especially in rural areas, are changing to a four-day week. （3）That meanslonger days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.
Beginning in the fall of 2008，students in the Maccray schooldistrict in Minnesota will be in school Tuesday through Friday. Eachschool day will be sixty-five minutes longer. The district expects to " save about 65，000 dollars a year in transportation costs. The districthas about 700 students living in an area of 900 square kilometers.
In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to schoolMonday through Thursday since 1995. The change has saved an estimated one million dollars over just the past eight years.
But he sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructionaltime. And activities that used to interfere with classes are now heldon non-school days.
In the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes. And in somestates, high school students can take them, too.
In New Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-dayweek in 1974 because of the Arab oil boycott. Now, 17 out of 89districts use it.
A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for studentsand teachers because they are too tired. But working parents mayhave to pay for child care for that fifth day. The Lake Arthur SchoolDistrict has just 160 students. Lake Arthur used a four-day schedulefor twelve years. But a few years ago it went back to five days. The following sentences can be added in Paragraph 1 _________. More children may have to walk, ride their bikes or find otherways to get to school. But, as another effect of the high prices, they may not have to go to school as often.
| A．at the beginning of （1） | B．between （1） and （2） |
| C．between（2） and （3） | D．at the end of （3） |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that _________.
| A．students in the district will go to school four days a week be-sides Monday |
| B．the district will spend 65，000 dollars every year on transportation costs |
| C．students in the district will stay at school 260 minutes longerthan before |
| D．students in the district live near the school |
A four-day school week is a good idea because _________.
| A．the price of fuel is higher than before |
| B．there are so many students that the city streets are full of traffic |
| C．students and teachers are tired and students can get more instructional time |
| D．both A and C |
_________is carrying out a four-day schedule these days.
| A．The Lake Arthur School District |
| B．The Maccray school district in Minnesota |
| C．The school district in Custer, South Dakota |
| D．All the school districts in New Mexico |
Some farmers of irrigated rice in Asia, Africa and the Americasare using a production method called S. R. I. ，which is short for theSystem of Rice Intensification. It does not require new seeds. It onlyrequires changes in the ways that rice farmers manage plants, soil, water and nutrients.
With S. R. I, farmers use fewer seeds and transplant themearlier than usual. Leaving more room between plants lets the rootsand leaves spread more. Farmers also use less water. They keep thefieldsmoistbut do not continuously flood them. The use of chemicalfertilizer is also reduced.
Norman Uphoff is a big supporter of S. R. I, who was a professor in New York. He retired but still works from an office there tobring attention to the system.
A French priest developed S. R. I. in Madagascar(马达加斯岛)in the 1980s. Norman Uphoff learned about it fifteen yearsago while working there. He led field trials for the system for threeyears.
He says it usually doubles productivity. But during that time inMadagascar, it produced an average of eight tons per hectare. Thatwas four times the usual average. In the late 1990s, Professor Uphoffbegan trying to spread the word about S. R. I.
Supporters say there have been reports from many areas oflarge increases in productivity and profits. But not everyone is persuaded.
Kenneth Cassman is an agricultural expert. In his words, "There is no strong evidence that the S. R. I. is more effective thanthe best of conventional rice-growing methods. " But Norman Uphofflooks forward to more field trials in 2009 which he believes willconfirm the effectiveness of S. R. I. The following belong to the System of Rice Intensification EX-CEPT _________
| A．using fewer seeds | B．requiring new seed |
| C．replanting earlier than usual | D．leaving more room between plants |
The underlined word "moist " in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by _________
| A．damp | B．thirsty |
| C．deserted | D．fertile |
All of the following statements are true according to the text EX-CEPT _________.
| A．the founder of S. R. I. is a French priest |
| B．at present Norman Uphoff works in a university in the US |
| C．Norman Uphoff learned about S. R. I. in 1993 while workingin Madagascar |
| D．Norman Uphoff is trying to spread the word about S. R. I. |
The author's attitude to S. R. I. is _________.
| A．impersonal | B．negative |
| C．subjective | D．opposite |
Is cultural heritage a burden on or a contributor to economic growth? The statistics in a report indicate that the contribution fromcultural heritage to economic growth is eight times as many as theinvestment in its protection and management.
The profit from cultural heritage is realized mainly throughtourism and auction of cultural relics, according to the report. Thefact that over 50% of the profit is from tourism sends a message thatsome cultural heritages can be a stable source of income for a localeconomy. What's more, the industry based on it is environment-friendly.
However, not all cultural heritages make money. And they doso only when they are protected and managed well. They must bepresented to visitors as they are, and should never be used only as asource of profit.
There are examples that some local governments unnecessarilybuild fake (假的）cultural heritages with the intention of adding tothe cultural connotation (内涵）of the real heritage. The result ismostly a strange mix in which the value of the real one is lost in theglitter of the fake.
The more a cultural heritage is treated as it is, the more profitable it is. This is becoming increasingly true. This is becausepeople's aesthetic judgment has been improving with their rising living standards. They want to see the real things, well-preserved realobjects of cultural interest, and they want to learn something throughvisiting a cultural heritage site. According to the passage, cultural heritage _________.
| A．is a burden on economic growth |
| B．is a contributor to economic growth |
| C．must make money |
| D．must be a stable source of income for a local economy |
The profit from cultural heritage is _________.
| A．less than the investment in its protection and management |
| B．only by tourism |
| C．by building fake cultural heritages |
| D．through tourism and auction of cultural relics |
From the last Paragraph, we can learn _________.
| A．the more a cultural heritage is treated as it is, the more profitable it is |
| B．people's aesthetic judgment depends on the glitter of the fake |
| C．well-preserved real objects of cultural interest is worthless |
| D．preserving a real cultural heritage site well means a stable in-vestment |
The author tries to tell us _________.
| A．the importance of protecting and managing cultural heritages |
| B．the requirement of people's aesthetic judgment |
| C．cultural heritages make more money than industry |
| D．fake cultural heritages can add the cultural connotation toreal ones |
The morning had been a disaster. My tooth was aching, and hadbeen in an argument with a friend. Her words still hurt： "The trouble with you is that you won't put yourself in my place. Can't yousee things from my point of view?" I shook my head stubbornly—and felt the ache in my tooth. I'd thought I could hold out till mydentist came back from holiday, but the pain was really unbearable. I started calling the dentists in the phone book, but no one couldsee me immediately. Finally, at about lunchtime, I got lucky.
"If you come by right now, " the receptionist said, " the dentistwill fit you in. "
I took my purse and keys and rushed to my car. But suddenly Ibegan to doubt about the dentist. What kind of dentist would be soeager to treat someone at such short notice? Why wasn't he as busyas the others?
In the dentist's office, I sat down and looked around. I sawnothing but the bare walls and I became even more worried. The assistant noticed my nervousness and placed her warm hand over myice-cold one.
When I told her my fears, she laughed and said, "Don't worry. The dentist is very good. "
"How long do I have to wait for him?" I asked impatiently. "Come on, he is coming. Just lie down and relax. And enjoythe artwork, "the assistant said.
"The artwork?" I was puzzled.
The chair went back. Suddenly I smiled. There was a beautifulpicture, right where I could enjoy it ： on the ceiling. How consideratethe dentist was ！ At that moment, I began to understand what myfriend meant by her words. What a relief!Which of the following best describes the author's feeling thatmorning?
| A．Cheerful. | B．Nervous. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Upset. |
What made the author begin to doubt about the dentist?
| A．The dentist's agreeing to treat her at very short notice. |
| B．The dentist's being as busy as the other dentists. |
| C．The surroundings of the dentist's office. |
| D．The laughing assistant of the dentist. |
Why did the author suddenly smile?
| A．Because the dentist came at last. |
| B．Because she saw a picture on the ceiling. |
| C．Because she could relax in the chair. |
| D．Because the assistant kept comforting her. |
What did the author learn from her experience most probably?
| A．Strike while the iron is hot. |
| B．Have a good word for one's friend. |
| C．Put oneself in others' shoes. |
| D．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |