A team of researchers from Oxford University has demonstrated a self-driving car that is different from such cars being tested by Audi, Ford, etc. It’ s much cheaper because it’s based on off-the-shelf(现成的) technology and controlled by an ordinary iPad. Instead of using GPS to understand the location, the car learns routes when a person is driving, and then asks after it’s got it down, if the driver would like the computer to take over.
As time passes, it’s becoming very clear that people believe computers would be better drivers than humans. This has been proven by extensive research that indicates that computers are able to react more quickly to driving conditions, make smarter decisions, don’t take risks, and don’t make mistakes in concentration. They don’t drink either, of course, which means accidents due to drunk driving could be reduced dramatically if the computer could take over when someone needs to get home from the bar. And the team says drivers don’t need their cars to know everything about every road, condition or possible danger. Instead, they just need to know how to get from one point to another, and to do a good job of it when asked.
To that end, the researchers have added cameras, lasers, a central computer to process information and a regular iPad. In practice, the car would learn how to get to and from places that the driver frequents, such as their work place, the local pub or grocery store. Once it has it down, the computer asks the driver if they’ d like a rest. If so, they simply tap the iPad, and the car takes over.
It’ s very simple and doesn’t require nearly the same number of devices as those being tested by other car companies. The researchers say people might be able to get the total price of the system below a hundred dollars. And of course, the iPad can be lifted out and carried away for other purposes when not being used as a driver assistant.The car tested by Oxford University are different from others in that they ________.
| A．use available low-cost technology |
| B．depend on GPS to understand the location |
| C．can choose the places for their owners to visit |
| D．can develop a good relationship with their owners |
Computers are believed to be better drivers than humans mainly because they ________.
| A．are more likely to take risks |
| B．are more familiar with every road |
| C．become more skilful at avoiding dangers |
| D．can respond to new situations more quickly |
We can infer from the passage that the iPad __________.
| A．cannot be removed from cars when it’s not used |
| B．has replaced cameras, lasers and a central computer |
| C．needs to be specially designed for a self-driving car |
| D．acts as a tool for drivers to control their self-driving cars |
What best describes the author’s tone in this passage?
| A．Objective. | B．Worried. |
| C．Serious | D．Subjective. |
In which column of a newspaper can we find this passage?
| A．Opinion | B．Fashion | C．Technology | D．Education |
The economy of the United States after 1952 was the economy of a well-fed, almost fully employed people. Despite occasional alarms, the country escaped any postwar depression and lived in a state of boom. An economic survey of the year 1955, a typical year of the 1950’s, may be typical as illustrating the rapid economic growth of the decade. The national output was value at 10 percent above that of 1954 (1955 output was estimated at 392 billion dollars). The production of manufacturers was about 40 percent more than it had averaged in the years immediately following World War 2. The country’s business spent about 30billion dollars for new factories and machinery. National income available for spending was almost a third greater than it had been it had been in 1950. Consumers spent about 256 billion dollars; that is about 700 million dollars a day or about twenty-five million dollars every hour, all round the clock. Sixty-five million people held jobs and only a little more than two million wanted jobs but could not find them.
Only agriculture complained that it was not sharing in the room. To some observers this was an ominous echo of the mid 1920’s. As farmer’s share of their products declined, marketing costs rose. But there were, among the observers of the national economy, a few who were not as confident as the majority. Those few seemed to fear that the boom could not last and would eventually lead to the opposite-depression.
72. What is the best title of the passage?
A) The Agricultural Trends of 1950’s
B) The Unemployment Rate of 1950’s
C) U.S. Economy in the 50’s
D) The Federal Budget of 1952
73. In Line 4, the word “boom” could best be replaced by______.
A) nearby explosion
B) thunderous noise
C) general public support
D) rapid economic growth
74. Which of the following were LEAST satisfied with the national economy in the 1950’s?
A) Economists
B) Framers
C) Politicians
D) Steelworkers
75. The passage states that income available for spending in the U.S. was greater in 1955 than in 1950. How much was it?
A) 60％
B) 50％
C) 33％
D) 90％
The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat.
Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures.
That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, about 35 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful.
The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.
68. What is the best possible title of the passage?
A) Drug and Food
B) Cancer and Health
C) Food and Health
D) Health and Drug
69. Which of the following statements is NOT ture?
A) Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons
B) Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are given to the living animals
C) Researchers have known about the potential dangers of food additives for over thirty-five years.
D) Food may cause forty percent of cancer in world.
D) The scientists have preserved the color of meats, but not of vegetables.
70. What are nitrates used for?
A) They preserve flavor in packaged foods.
B) They preserve the color of meats.
C) They are the objects of research.
D) They cause the animals to become fatter.
71. The underlined word “carcinogenic” most nearly means '_____'.
A) trouble-making
B) color-retaining
C) money-making
D) cancer-causing
Baekeland and Hartmann report that the “short sleepers” had been more or less average in their sleep needs until the men were in their teens. But at about age 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressures from school, work, and other activities. These men tended to view their nightly periods of unconsciousness as bothersome interruptions in their daily routines.
In general, these “short sleeps” appeared ambitious, active, energetic, cheerful, conformist(不动摇) in their opinions, and very sure about their career choices. They often held several jobs at once, or workers full-or part-time while going to school. And many of them had a strong urge to appear “normal” or “acceptable” to their friends and associates.
When asked to recall their dreams, the “short sleepers” did poorly. More than this, they seemed to prefer not remembering. In similar fashion, their usual way of dealing with psychological problems was to deny that the problem existed, and then to keep busy in the hope that the trouble would go away.
The sleep patterns of the “short sleepers” were similar to, but less extreme than, sleep patterns shown by many mental patients categorized as manic(疯人).
The “long sleepers” were quite different indeed. Baekeland and Hartmann report that these young men had been lengthy sleeps since childhood. They seemed to enjoy their sleep, protected it, and were quite concerned when they were occasionally deprived of their desired 9 hours of nightly bed rest. They tended to recall their dreams much better than did the “short sleepers.”
Many of the “long sleepers” were shy, anxious, introverted (内向), inhibited (压抑), passive, mildly depressed, and unsure of themselves (particularly in social situations). Several openly state that sleep was an escape from their daily problems.
64. According to the report,______.
A) many short sleepers need less sleep by nature
B) many short sleepers are obliged to reduce their nightly sleep time because they are busy with their work
C) long sleepers sleep a longer period of time during the day
D) many long sleepers preserve their sleeping habit formed during their childhood
65. Many “short sleepers” are likely to hold the view that _____.
A) sleep is a withdrawal from the reality
B) sleep interferes with their sound judgement
C) sleep is the least expensive item on their routine program
D) sleep is the best way to deal with psychological troubles
66. When sometimes they cannot enjoy adequate sleep, the long sleepers might ____.
A) appear disturbed
B) become energetic
C) feel dissatisfied
D) be extremely depressed
67. Which of the following is Not included in the passage?
A) If one sleeps inadequately, his performance suffers and his memory is weakened
B) The sleep patterns of short sleepers are exactly the same as those shown by many mental patients
C) Long and short sleepers differ in their attitudes towards sleep
D) Short sleepers would be better off with more rest
Until the 1980s, the American homeless population comprised mainly older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(变化无常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems — both legal and educational — for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.
Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis, But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.
One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not counted as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.
Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.
60. It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.
A) the writer himself is homeless, even in his eighties
B) many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 cities
C) there is a serious shortage of academic facilities
D) homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education
61. The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.
A) 350,000
B) 1,500,000
C) 440,000
D) 110,000
62. One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.
A) the homeless children are too young to be counted as children
B) the homeless population is growing rapidly
C) the homeless children usually stay outside school
D) some homeless children are deserted by their families
63. The passage mainly deals with ____.
A) the legal problems of the homeless children
B) the educational problems of homeless children
C) the social status of older males
D) estimates on the homeless population
第四部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
There are three kinds of goals: short-term, medium-range and long-term goals.
Short-range goals are those that usually deal with current activities, which we can apply on a daily basis. Such goals can be achieved in a week or less or two weeks, or possible months. It should be remembered that just as a building is no stronger than its foundation, out long-term goals cannot amount to very munch without the achievement of solid short-term goals. Upon completing our short-term goals, we should date the occasion and then add new short-term goals that will build on those that have been completed.
The intermediate goals are built on the foundation of the short-range goals. They might deal with just one term of school or the entire school year, or they could even extend for several years. Any time you move a step at a time, you should never allow yourself to become discouraged or overwhelmed. As you complete each step, you will enforce the belief in your ability to grow and succeed. And as your list of completion dates grow, your motivation and desire will increase.
Long-range goals may be related to our dreams of the future. They might cover five years or more. Life is not a static thing. We should never allow a long-term goal to limit us or our course of action.
56. Our long-term goals mean a lot__.
A) if we complete our short-range goals
B) if we cannot reach solid short-term goals
C) if we write down the dates
D) if we put forward some plans
57. New short-term goals are bulid upon__.
A) two years
B) long-term goals
C) current activities
D) the goals that have been completed
58. Once our goals are drawn up,__.
A) we should stick to them until we complete them
B) we may change our goals as we have new ideas and opportunities
C) we had better wait for the exciting news of success
D) we have made great decision
59. It is implied but not stated in the passage that ___.
A) those who have long-term goals will succeed
B) writing down the dates may discourage you
C) the goal is only a guide for us to reach our destination
D) every should have a goal