In Los Angeles, drivers spend sixty-one hours every year stuck in traffic. These drivers know all too well how bad the traffic can be. “There're too many cars, and you can't move around a lot.”
Professor Cyrus Shahabi also knows about traffic jams. He lives more than 65 kilometers from his office at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. He is always late even with the help of a navigation (导航) system.
He decided to develop a program called ClearPath for that. He says his program uses historical data to predict traffic conditions even before the driver leaves the house. “What’s unique is that we use a lot of data that’s currently become available including traffic data, weather data, and we analyze that so that we can predict what's going to happen in front of you when you leave home.”
Professor Shahabi says his system does more than just respond to current traffic conditions. With ClearPath, he says, a driver can decide what time he wants to leave, and ClearPath will give the fastest route. It looks at the entire road network, including surface streets as well as highways, before the driver hits the road. Professor Shahabi hopes to have ClearPath available nationwide and overseas once they can collect traffic data from other cities.
“I always thought that Los Angeles had the worst traffic, but now I know that Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, believe it or not, Singapore, Hong Kong certainly are examples that can immediately use this. ”
Professor Shahabi hopes to share this new technology with companies that already have navigation systems, such as Google and Apple.Drivers in Los Angeles were mentioned in order to__________.
| A．show care for them |
| B．introduce their life |
| C．solve traffic problems |
| D．raise the topic |
What is unique about Clear Path?
| A．It can use a lot of information all over the world. |
| B．It can ensure that you will never be late for work. |
| C．It helps drivers see clearly what happens on the road. |
| D．It helps drivers know the road conditions ahead of time. |
The underlined word “hits” in the fifth paragraph probably means __________.
| A．have an accident | B．get to |
| C．turn left or right | D．collect traffic data |
What's Professor Shahabi’s attitude toward his invention?
| A．Disappointed. | B．Proud. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Worried. |
C
A letter to Edward, a columnist
Dear Mr． Expert,
I grew up in an unhappy home． I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible． Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I’ve achieved．
Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine — so much so that they make mine theirs．
It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me． But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like． They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever．
I enjoy having my friends here sometimes— it makes the place feel comfortable and warm— but this is my home, not a party house． I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy?
Joan
Edward’s reply to Joan
Dear Joan,
If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now．
And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere, you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with— or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy． You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time．
Be clear about the message you want to send． For example, “I really love your company but I also need some privacy． So please call before you come over．”
64．We can learn from the first letter that Joan Edward．
A．lives away from her parents
B．takes pride in her friends
C．knows Mr. Expert quite well
D．hates her parents very much
65．We can infer from the first letter that．
A．Joan considers her friends more important than her privacy
B．Joan’s friends visit her more often than she can accept
C．Joan doesn’t like the parties at all
D．Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over
66．According to Mr. Expert, why can’t Joan tell her friends her feelings?
A．She is afraid of hurting her friends
B．She does not understand true friendship
C．Her family experience stops her from doing so
D．She does not put her needs first
67．The second letter suggests that Mr. Expert．
A． is worried about Joan’s problem
B． warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends
C． advises Joan on how to refuse people
D． encourages Joan to be brave enough
B
One cold morning in winter, when I was a little boy, a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder stopped me, saying: “My pretty boy, has your father a grindstone（砂轮）”
“Yes, sir,” said I．
“You are a fine little fellow!” said the man． “Will you let me grind（磨） my ax?”
Pleased with the flattery, I answered, “Oh, yes, sir． The grindstone is down in the shop．”
Patting me on my head, he said, “Will you get me some hot water?” I ran and brought the hot water．
“How old are you, and what is your name?” he asked without waiting for a reply, “I’m sure you are one of the finest boys I have ever seen． Will you turn the grindstone a few minutes for me?”
Hearing the flattery again, I went to work with a will． It was a new ax, and I worked hard until I was almost tired to death． The school bell rang, but I could not get away, because the ax was not half ground．
At last, however, it was sharpened． Then the man turned to me and said, “Now, you little rascal(小坏蛋), you’ve played truant(逃课)! Run to school, or you’ll be sorry!”
“Alas!” thought I． “It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this old day, but now to be called a rascal is too much．”
The memory of turning the grindstone that winter morning sank into my mind． I have thought of it since． Now, whenever I hear words of flattery, I say to myself． “That man has an ax to grind．”
60．In this passage, the word “flattery” means _____．
A．an order or direction
B．nice words used beyond truth
C．kind words spoken by elder people to children
D．good manners
61．The man asked the boy many questions because _____．
A．he liked the boy very much
B．he wanted to know the boy’s name
C．he wanted to sharpen his ax
D．he wanted to know how old the boy was
62．The man called the boy “rascal” because _____．
A．his ax was damaged by the boy
B．he didn’t like the boy’s play truant
C．he didn’t need the boy any more
D．he thought that boy should go to school on time
63．Today in the writer’s vocabulary “That man has an ax to grind” means _____．
A． that man has some selfish reasons for his actions
B． that man works with an ax
C． that man is very kind and polite to boys
D． that man needs to sharpen his ax
四、阅读理解
A
George Banks was a clever journalist． He worked for a good newspaper, and he liked arguing with anybody, and about anything． Sometimes the people whom he argued with were as clever as he was, but often they were not．
He did not mind arguing with stupid people at all: he knew that he could never persuade them to agree, because they could never really understand what he was saying, and the stupider they were, the surer they were that they were right, but he often found that stupid people said very amusing things．
At the end of one argument which George had with one of these less clever people, the man said something which George has always remembered and which has always amused him． It was, “Well, sir, you should never forget this: there are always three answers to every question, your answer, my answer, and the correct answer．”
56．George liked arguing．
A． neither with anybody nor about anything
B． either with anybody or anything
C．not with anybody but about anything
D． not only with anybody but also about anything
57．The people whom George often argued with were．
A．those who were cleverer than him
B． those who were stupider than him
C．both such clever people as he and those who were not
D．only the clever people
58．George thought the stupider they were, the surer they were that they were right
because ．
A．the stupider they were, the less knowledge they had
B． they were not worth arguing
C． stupid people often said very amusing things
D． clever people were always right
59．According to one of these less clever people's words, “there are always three answers
to every question, …” meant．
A． George's answer was right
B． the man's answer was right
C． George's and the man's answers were not right
D． there was not a right answer
E
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air,water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air,water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals.Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live.This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you,you will find that there are two kinds of plants:flowering plants and non-flowering plants.
Flowering plants can make seeds（种子）. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores（胚芽）. Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants.
72. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
A. plants are important for life B. plants cannot grow without air
C. there are many plants in the world D. we can not live without water
73. Plants can make food from______.
A. flower, water and air B. water, sunlight and air
C. air, water and soil D. air, sun and light
74. What can we inferfrom the passage ？
A. Of all living things animals are most important
B.Spores are seeds
C. All fruits of flowering plants have seeds
D.Without plants, man will die out
75. This passage may be taken from______.
A. a medicine book B. a novel
C. a science magazine D. an experiment report
D
Even a child knows that nodding(点头) the head means “Yes”. But some people will probably be puzzled when they first come to India. When they talk to an Indian, he often shakes his head. They might think that the Indian does not like what he said, but on the contrary he is expressing agreement.
The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads slightly when they talk to somebody. It doesn’t mean “No”, but “Yes”.If a person doesn’t know this, it might cause misunderstanding.
At one time a foreigner in India told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office. The driver shook his head. The foreigner repeated his request and the driver shook his head again. At last, the foreigner shouted angrily, “Drive me to my office at once!” The driver said in a low voice, “Yes, sir,” smiling and shaking his head again at the same time.
68. Generally speaking, nodding the head means _______, and shaking the head means _______.
A. Yes, No B. No, Yes C. Yes, Yes D. No, No
69. According to the habit of India, if someone agrees with you, he will _______.
A. nod his head
B. shake his head
C. neither nods his head nor shakes his head
D. either nod his head or shake his head
70. Why did the Indian driver shake his head when the foreigner asked him to drive him to his office? Because _______.
A. the Indian driver has something important to do
B. the foreigner promised to give him only a little money
C. The driver felt uncomfortable at that time
D. In India shaking the head means agreement
71. Why did the foreigner become angry? Because _______.
A. the Indian driver didn’t want to send him to his office
B. the Indian driver asked him for a lot of money
C. He misunderstood the meaning of shaking the head in India
D. he asked the driver to send him to his office, but the driver didn’t say any words