“Track!” said my master.
Like any good tracker-dog who has received the command（命令） he most loves, I gave a bark of excitement, put my nose down to the ground and sniffed. The ground was rich with smells. Even in the high-class housing area where we were working, the stones held traces of many sole and confusing scents （smells）. As I searched for the scent that would give me a clue to the tail of the guilty man, my tail wagged slowly, thoughtfully, delightedly. Work was like play to me； I enjoyed it.
A small group of people gathered behind us. Among these onlookers was the old caretaker of the building next door to ours. He spoke in a scornful voice, “You actually think your dog might catch a thief three days after the event?” My master said nothing, but I'm sure he must have smiled. I did not turn to look. I knew he would not speak unless it was to give me a new command.
I needed to concentrate. My task was difficult. I had to pick out one scent among the many that lay about and then tracked it to its source.
“You're wasting your time,” said the caretaker. I looked at him without raising my head. He was running his hand over his fat stomach. His rough palm and smooth shirt combined to make a slight noise. It was part of my training to be aware—often it is only a little whisper of a noise that alerts（提醒）you to be drawing of a weapon. But of course the aging caretaker was going to do no such thing. There was no smell of fear or nervousness about him. He was merely being clever and talkative.
“I've seen many tracker-dogs in my time,” said the caretaker to the onlookers. I served with the police years ago. We would never have thought of using a tracker-dog to find a car thief. Impossible. Everyone knows that dogs are useless in such matters.
In a sense he was right. I'm sure there's no need to tell you that, just as a dog's hearing is much better than a human being's, so his sense of smell tells one thing from another far better than a great detective. If Sherlock Holmes could work out that a man had had an egg for breakfast by seeing the yellow stain on his mouth, a trained dog could tell you whether the hen that laid the egg was healthy or not.
I know it sounds funny and I mean it to be. But I'm not exaggerating. A dog can tell you—if you understand a dog’s way of communicating—all this and more without even setting eyes on the man he is investigating.
1.Who do you think the dog was tracking?
A．The thief. B．The caretaker.
C．The master. D．The onlookers.
2.How did the dog react to the command to track?
A．It thought for a while and did what was asked.
B．It was happy, even though it wasn't trained for the task.
C．It was angry because there were so many smells.
D．It was excited because it took pleasure in tracking.
3.In the dog's opinion, its sense of smell ________.
A．can give us fewer details about what a human has already discovered
B．can achieve more than what a human's only if the smell is not hidden
C．is particularly trained to pick out one scent among hundreds
D．is better than its sense of hearing when it does tracking
4.According to the passage, the dog is ________.
A．honest and hopeful B．smart and helpful
C．kind and careful D．popular and thoughtful
Many people have talked about whether or not computing machines can think. Can they or can’t they?
Almost certainly, a machine can do any work in thinking that a person can do—if the correct way for doing the thinking work can be told exactly. Besides, many programs have been made to direct machines so that they work in very clever ways. Machines have been taught to play chess and to learn from what happens in the games so as to make their play better and better. Machines can beat many persons who play chess. Machines can translate from one language to another. They can prove statements in geometry（几何） as taught in school. Machines can notice printed marks on paper, so that a person is no longer needed to look at the marks.
Computers can be used in many ways, such as business, science, industry, and government. Computers study oilfield examinations made by airplanes； they keep record of oil sales； they study the working condition of the machines； they help in planning and producing oil； and much more.
If people cannot tell exactly the correct way to do certain work in thinking, it is still a question how much of this work a machine can do. Suppose a person is “teaching” the machine and telling the machine “yes” when the machine is right, and “no” when the machine is wrong. Then the machine can keep on searching among possible ways for solving a problem—until the machine can do as well as the person, and perhaps much better.
But, what is thinking？ People can agree about much that is thinking, and much that is not thinking； but they can’t reach agreement because the word “think” is not a scientific word with an exact meaning. A lot of the discussion is wasted breath because the persons are using different meanings of the word “think”.
People, however, have only had experience with machines that appear to think since 1944.
It would be too early to say that after the next 200 years, machines will not be thinking. And to consider that machines can think gives people a big push to give to machines more and more work in thinking.
1.The underlined part in paragraph three is about computers used in ________.
A．Education. B．Government.
C．Sports. D．Industry.
2.What does “this work” mean in paragraph four？
A．Thinking. B．Teaching.
C．Searching. D．Telling.
3.What is the main idea of paragraph five？
A．There is much to say about thinking.
B．People discuss a lot about thinking.
C．There is no answer to what thinking is.
D．People already know what thinking is.
4.What does the writer want to say in the passage？
A．A machine will do any work in thinking like a human being.
B．A machine can do better translation than human beings.
C．A machine won’t be able to beat every chess player.
D．A machine will be able to make plan programs.
5.Which probably is the best title for the passage?
A．What Is Thinking?
B．Can Machines Think?
C．Can Machines Be Taught to Think?
D．Can Machines Beat All Checkers Players?
When punctuation（标点） began, it was mainly to help people read out loud. Until a few hundred years ago, not many people were taught to read, so there was a lot more reading out loud by the few people who could.
To help those reading out loud in the old days, sign（符号） known as “points” were added to pages of writing. Punctuation comes from the Latin word punctus, meaning “point”. These points told readers when to pause（暂停） or take a breath, and what to emphasize（加重）.
In Europe from the early centuries AD, these points were widely used although not everybody used the same points for the same thing. When printing was invented, printers had to be made more clearly about what to put where, so that everyone was doing the same thing. Since that point, all sorts of punctuation rules have been discovered and invented.
Speech marks “...”
Speech marks or quotation marks are used to show that someone is speaking. The sort we have in English today began to be widely used during the 18th century. Before that readers simply understood from the way a sentence was written that someone was speaking although sometimes spoken words were underlined.
Comma , colon: period（full stop）.
All three of these sorts of punctuation marks were given their Greek names by Aristophanes, a librarian who lived in Byzantium in the 2nd century BC. They were marks on the page, each with a message to the reader. Comma meant a short pause. Colon meant a medium（中等的） sized pause. Period meant a long pause.
Exclamation mark！
In the early days of punctuation, if you saw this sign, you were supposed to pause. Some people think the exclamation mark began as what the Greek word IO looked like if it was turned 90 degrees. This word means “Oh, gosh!” With the I on the top and the O under it, the sign as we know it today was developed.
Question mark?
In the middle age, a squiggle（圆弧） above a full stop was sometimes used to show the sentence was a question and that a person’s voice should go up at the end. By the 17th century it had turned into what we call a question mark. The shape may have come from the letter Q short for that Latin quaestio, meaning “question”.
Writers make choices about punctuation because they think differently about sentences and words. It’s part of the personality of their writing. Some writers hate punctuation, but others love punctuation. So whether you love or hate punctuation, the best advice may be to just enjoy it, play with it, think about it and use it. It belongs（属于） to the language and it belongs to you.
1.When did punctuation begin to be widely used, according to the passage?
A．In the 17th century. B．In the 2nd century BC.
C．In the 18th century. D．In the early centuries AD.
2.All punctuation rules were discovered and invented in order to ________.
A．help people read out loud B．meet the need of printing
C．guide the way of writing D．mention the spoken words
3.Which of the following is true?
A．A long pause comes after question mark.
B．Speech marks were named by a librarian.
C．Question mark comes from a Latin word.
D．The shape of a word makes exclamation mark.
4.What’s the problem about punctuation today?
A．People have completely different ideas about it.
B．Not many people are taught to use it correctly.
C．It has different meanings to different people.
D．Sometimes spoken words must be underlined.
Fashion always keeps at least one eye on the future. Now scientists are lending a hand, developing tomorrow’s super-powered（超能）clothing such as coats that can recharge（再充电） your MP3 player and make you stronger.
For example, electronics could get recharged in the future simply by plugging（插上插座） them into your outer wear, because Australian researchers are designing clothing that can collect energy from a person. The coats would include small things that change vibration energy（动能）from a person’s movements into electricity. High-tech fabrics（纤维品）would carry this energy to batteries（电池）.
“It will look like an ordinary（common）coat but have super energy,” said Adam Best, an Australian head research scientist. “This kind of technology has important uses for soldiers in the field and could mean they no longer need to carry heavy batteries,’’ Best added. “Above all, they’d be wearing the battery, not carrying it.” Besides helping soldiers, these coats could also have common uses for common people, such as powering radios, mobile phones, MP3 players or medical things. Solar-powered handbags could do the same thing.
Thanks to self-cleaning fabrics developed by scientists working for the U. S. Air Force, underwear and sports clothing could go weeks without washing. The general idea of clothes that never get dirty can be found in the 1951 film The Man in the White Suit. The new technology helps keep off water, oil and bacteria（细菌）.
High-tech fabrics could also help serve as protection. For example, future fabrics could lead to soft helmets（头盔）that turn hard in an accident.
Not all the possible fabrics of tomorrow are necessarily high-tech. For example, chicken feathers（羽毛） and other things of the farming industry could get changed into wool-like fabrics or cotton-like ones, helping use fewer fabrics made from oil.
Scientific development is also creating wool that doesn’t become bigger or smaller after washing. And future clothing could help soldiers shoulder heavy bags and help people walk. But not all electronic coats have such uses—some might serve as video game players with high technology and the latest fashion joined together perfectly.
The world of fashion is set to be taken by high-tech clothing that works as you wear!
1.“This kind of technology” means “________”.
A．clothing that makes you stronger
B．self-cleaning clothing
C．clothing that helps people walk
D．self-powered clothing
2.How can high-tech fabrics protect people from danger?
A．We will no more get hurt because of heavy batteries.
B．High-tech fabrics serve as a kind of protection for soldiers.
C．A soft helmet will become strong when you hit into something.
D．Future clothing keeps us away from dirty things and bacteria.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?
A．You can get electronic energy from your clothes in the future.
B．Self-cleaning coats are developed for American scientists.
C．We will no longer use fabrics made from oil in the future.
D．The future high-tech clothing will be used only for soldiers.
4.What would be the best title of the passage?
A．Fashion Changes with Technology
B．Tomorrow’s High-tech Clothing
C．New Technologies Change the World
D．What We Will Wear in the Future
Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. I could not find a satisfying job and I found this especially difficult as I had a lot of experience and a Master’s degree.
To my shame I was driving a school bus to make ends meet and living with friends. I had been through five interviews with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not get the job.
Later that afternoon, while doing my rounds through a quiet neighborhood I had an internal（inside）wave—like a scream（尖叫）—come up from deep inside me and I thought “Why has my life become so hard?”...
Immediately after this internal scream I pulled the bus over to drop off a little girl and as she passed she handed me an earring saying I should keep it in case somebody looked for it. The earring was stamped with words “BE HAPPY”.
At first I got angry. Then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right! I decided then and there to make a list of 50 things I was thankful to.
At first it was hard, then it got easier. One day I decided to up it to 75. That night there was a phone call for me, asking if I would do a one-day training for 200 hospital workers. I said yes and got the job.
My day with the hospital workers went very well. I got a standing welcome and many more days of work. To this day I KNOW that it was because I changed my attitude（态度）to gratitude.
By chance, the day after I found the earring the girl asked me if anyone had looked for it. I told her no and she said “I guess it was meant for you then.”
I spent the next year doing training workshops all around the Seattle area and then decided to risk everything and go back to Scotland where I had lived before. I closed my one man business and bought a plane ticket. One month later I met my wonderful English wife and best friend of 15 years now. We live in a small beautiful house in Scotland.
“THE ONLY ATTITUDE IS GRATITUDE” has been my motto（座右铭） for years now and yes, it completely changed my life.
1.What is the underlined word it in the passage？
A．To make a list of things he was thankful to.
B．The words“ BE HAPPY”.
C．To forget that his life became so hard.
D．The special earring the girl gave to the writer.
2.The word gratitude means “being ________”.
A．thankful B．open
C．careful D．kind
3.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage.？
A．The writer made a list of 75 things he was thankful to.
B．The writer’s wife has been his best friend for 15 years.
C．The writer has lived in Seattle since 20 years ago.
D．The writer did the training for 200 hospital workers.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Attitude and Gratitude B．The Girl and I
C．Be Happy D．The Earring
Ever since we became pen pals, Julien has sent me strange things. Once, she sent her sneeze in a jar.（“I have a cold, can you tell?” she wrote.） Then she sent her fingerprint.（“So you’ll recognize me in a crowd.”）
Julien sent me breakfast, all right: cornflakes. Soggy, milky, grainy, crumbly, limp cornflakes scraped from the bottom of her cereal bowl. I lost my appetite, but I read the letter.
Dear Caitlin, These cornflakes were so nutritious that I wanted to share this high-fiber, low-so-dium, just-three-calories, balanced breakfast with you. Enjoy, Julien P. S. Next week I’m sending you a sunset. |
“She’s mistaken,” I told my mom. “No one can send a sunset, not even Julien. It’s impossible.”
“I don’t know,” Mom said. “Julien might find a way. After all, she did send you her sneeze.”
A week later I checked the mail and found a box with air holes and the words “FRAGILE—THIS SIDE UP” printed in bold black letters on the top. It was from Julien.
I stroked the box with my fingers. It was perfectly dry. I smelled it. It didn’t smell. I held my breath and started opening the package. What if sunbeams spring out and hit me in the face like those fake snakes in a can? I thought.
My hands shook as I lifted the last flap and peeked inside. Where in the world was the sunset? All I could find was a letter and a twisty, gray, papery shell. It looked like a submarine. I read the letter.
Dear Caitlin , The sunsets at my house are so beautiful that I had to give you a piece. I counted at least five different colors in one yesterday. Can you find more? Hugs and smoochies, Julien |
I looked again at the gray shell. That’s no sunset, I thought. “You must mean the submarines at your house, Julien,” I said. Without reading the postscript, I laid the letter and the submarine on the kitchen table. Then I left the room to find a pen so that I could cross out “sunset” and write “submarine” above it.
When I returned, I stared in shock at the submarine. A creature was oozing out of it! Was it a sea monster? I looked closer. It was a winged creature... an insect... a butterfly. An orange, blue, purple, red, and gold butterfly. It looked like... a sunset!
While the sunset opened and closed its wings to dry them, I read Julien’s postscript. It said, “P. S. Next week I’m sending you Japan.”
1.What does the underlined word“ oozing” probably mean?
A．Moving. B．Jumping.
C．Swimming. D．Flying.
2.What did Julien really want Caitlin to see in the fourth mail?
A．The setting sun. B．Colors of a sunset.
C．A colorful butterfly. D．A new submarine.
3.We can learn from the passage that Julien was ________.
A．strange and clever B. honest and friendly
C．creative and giving D. funny and inventive
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Caitlin was from Japan and had never seen Julien.
B．Caitlin’s mom thought Julien’s gifts were fantastic.
C．Caitlin was pleased with the cornflakes that Julien sent.
D．Caitlin was expecting another unusual gift from Julien.
