.
That little “a” with a circle curling around it that is found in E – mail addresses is most commonly referred to as the “at” symbol.
Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are dozens of strange terms to describe the "@" symbol.
Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the "@" symbol was used to represent the cost of something or how heavy something is. For instance, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples "@" $1.10 each.
With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the "@" symbol. The "@" symbol or the "at sign" separates a person's online user name from his mail server(服务器) address. For instance, joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on keyboards in other countries that have never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no official name for this symbol.
The actual origin of the symbol remains a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the tired hands of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages before the invention of printing machines, every letter of a word had to be copied with great efforts by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks that performed these long, boring coping duties looked for ways to reduce the number of individual strokes (笔画) per word for common words. Although the word “at” is quite short to begin with, it was a common enough word in text and documents so that those monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten the word “at” even more. As a result, the monks changed the shape of “t” into a circle to surround “a”, thus leaving out two strokes in the spelling “t”.
58．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A．How “at” developed into @. B．How @ came into being.
C．How monks invented @. D．How people wrote the cost of something.
59．Which is NOT the reason for the monks to spell “at” as @?
A．Though “at” is short, it was used very often.
B．The monks wanted to be quicker and easier with their copying.
C．The monks wanted to invent a new word.
D．Copying work was long and boring for them.
60．According to paragraph 5, which is TRUE about the symbol of @ today?
A．When you are online, you must use the @ symbol.
B．Kittly 163.com@is an email address.
C．In countries where @ is used, governments have given it an official name.
D．It is likely to find the @ symbol on computer keyboards worldwide.
.
COPENHAGEN—The world is gathered in Copenhagen for the U.N. climate summit, but Denmark’s bicycle-friendly capital has also given its name to a movement of cities trying to find a kinder way to commute（往返上下班）.
Nearly 40 percent of Copenhagen’s population cycle to work or school on ubiquitous（无处不在的） paved cycle paths. Many residents take to their bikes year-round, braving rain and snow through the winter in a city where the bicycles outnumber the people.
Amsterdam and Beijing too are known for their bicycles, but the Danish capital is where urban planners from around the world have been looking for ways to get their people out of cars and up onto bikes, an effort known as Copenhagenisation.
Klaus Bondam, Copenhagen’s technical and environmental chief, calls himself a “mega cyclist” and says the bike’s popularity stems partly from high taxes on cars which meant working-class Danes could not afford to drive in the 1930s and 40s. “Today you’ll meet everybody on the bicycle lanes --- women and men, rich and poor, old and young,” Bondam said.
The local government has during the last three years invested more than 250 million crowns ($49.42 million) in bicycle lanes and to make the traffic safer for bicyclists. Today around a third of the population drive cars to work or study, another third take public transport, while 37 percent cycle -- a figure the city aims to boost to 50 percent by 2015.
There are many benefits when citizens choose bicycles over cars: pollution and noise decline, public health improves, and more people on bikes or walking creates a sense of safety in the city. Fewer parked cars leaves more space for playgrounds, parks, shopping areas and other useful public places.
54．According to the first paragraph, Copenhagen is better known as __________.
A．a city without cars B．a bicycle-friendly city
C．Denmark’s capital D．the U.N. climate summit
55．We can learn from the second and the third paragraph, _________.
A．there is no path for cars during rainy and snowy days
B．citizens are limited to have only one bike for each person
C．two-thirds of people in Copenhagen cycle to work or school
D．city planners try their best to encourage more citizens to ride bikes
56．Bikes are popular in Copenhagen partly because __________.
A．the citizens are unable to afford to buy a car
B．the rich tend to keep fit by cycling to work
C．young people regard cycling a fashion to follow
D．high taxes were paid for cars in the 1930s and 40s
57．Which of the following is NOT the benefit of cycling?
A．Saving time on the road. B．Declining pollution and noise.
C．Improving public health. D．Creating safety in the city.
.
第二部分．阅读理解（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
“Linda, if beating yourself up were an Olympic sport, you’d win a gold medal!”
Annabel, my close friend, stunned（使…震惊）me with that frank observation after I told her how I had mishandled a situation with a student in a third-grade class where I was substituting（代替）. “I should never have let him go to the boy’s room without a pass! It was my fault he got into trouble with the hall monitor! I’m so stupid!”
My friend burst out laughing, and then made her “Olympic” comment. After a brief period of reflection I had to admit that she was right. I did put myself down an awful lot. Why, just during the previous day I had called myself “a slob” for having some papers spread out on my desk, “ugly” when I left the house without makeup and “an idiot” when I left the house for an emergency substitute job without my emergency lesson plan.
In a more reflective tone, Annabel said, “I once took a workshop at church where the woman in charge had us list all the mean things we say about ourselves.”
“How many did you have on your list?” I asked.
“Fifteen,” she confessed. “But then the teacher said, ‘Now turn to the person next to you and say all the items on your list as if you were speaking to that person!’ ”
My jaw dropped，“What did you do?”
“Nothing. Nobody did. We all just sat there, until I said, ‘I could never say these things to anyone else!’ ”
“And our teacher replied, ‘Well, if you can’t say them to anyone else, then don’t ever say them to yourself!’ ”
My friend had a point. I would never insult a child of God---and I’m God’s child, too!
God, today let me be as kind to myself as I would be to another of Your children.
41. What does Annabel mean by the first sentence of the passage?
A. The writer is a good athlete. B. The writer scolds herself too much.
C. She is encouraging the writer. D. A gold medal is not a big deal.
42. What does the writer intends to tell us through the second and third paragraphs?
A. She has low self-esteem over some small things.
B. She often makes serious mistakes in daily life.
C. She is a third-grade teacher.
D. She cares too much about her appearance.
43. We can infer that the underlined word “slob” might be _____.
A. something untidy B. someone dangerous C. something dirty D. someone lazy
44. What can we learn about Annabel?
A. She used to put herself down a lot.
B. She often goes to church.
C. She was in charge of a workshop.
D. She used to be too shy to talk to others.
45. What does the writer mean by the last sentence of the passage?
A. She is ready to turn to God for help.
B. She will be kind to all children.
C. She won’t insult(侮辱) herself as well as others.
D. She is willing to be a child of God.
.
He chose to teach in a western province, though he _______in the city for a better life.
|
A．could stay |
B．would stay |
C．could have stayed |
D．had stayed |
.
.I miss the teachers and the kindergarten _____ my parents think highly of.
|
A．who |
B．where |
C．which |
D．that |
.
Please do me a favour---_______my friend Mr. Smith to Youth Theatre at 7:30 tonight.
|
A．to invite |
B．inviting |
C．invite |
D．invited |
