Global Positioning Systems are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellitebased systems provide turnbyturn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But, they can also cause a lot of problems, send you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. ＂Most often＂, says Barry Brown, an expert in humancomputer interaction, ＂it is a combination of the two＂.
We spoke to Mr Brown by Skype (网络电话软件). He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPSequipped car to use during his stay. Barry Brown, ＂And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn’t until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of ‘garbage in garbage out’＂.
Mr Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment. Barry Brown, ＂One problem with a lot of the GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it's going to the wrong place.＂
Barry Brown once worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people’s cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called ＂The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS＂. It lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given.
Barry Brown says to make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together.
1.In Paragraph 2, Mr Brown mentioned his friend in the conversation to _____________.
A. build up his own reputation
B. laugh at his stupid friend
C. prove the GPS system is only garbage
D. describe an example of human error
2.Which of the following statements would Barry Brown most likely agree with?
A. GPS units are to blame for most GPS service failures.
B. We should introduce higher standards for the driving licence.
C. Cameras are urgently needed to help improve GPS systems.
D. Drivers, GPS systems and passengers should unit to improve GPS systems.
3.What is Mr Brown’s attitude towards GPS?
A. Unconcerned. B. Subjective.
C. Objective. D. Critical.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Driving with GPS can be difficult
B. Driving confusions can be caused by small screens
C. Driving without GPS should be much more convenient
D. GPS equipment in driving: to be deserted or improved?
Minutes after the last movie ended yesterday at the Plaza Theater, employees were busy sweeping up popcorns and gathering coke cups. It was a scene that had been repeated many times in the theater’s 75-year history. This time, however, the cleanup was a little different. As one group of workers carried out the rubbish, another group began removing seats and other theater equipment in preparation for the building’s end.
The film classic The Last Picture Show was the last movie shown in the old theater. Though the movie is 30 years old, most of the 250 seats were filled with teary-eyed audience wanting to say good-bye to the old building. Theater owner Ed Bradford said he chose the movie because it seemed appropriate. The movie is set in a small town where the only movie theater is preparing to close down.
Bradford said that large modern theaters in the city made it impossible for the Plaza to compete. He added that the theater’s location(位置) was also a reason. ＂This used to be the center of town,＂ he said. ＂Now the area is mostly office buildings and warehouses.＂
Last week some city officials suggested the city might be interested in turning the old theater into a museum and public meeting place. However, these plans were abandoned because of financial problems. Bradford sold the building and land to a local development firm, which plans to build a shopping complex on the land where the theater is located.
The theater audience said good-bye as Bradford locked the doors for the last time. After 75 years the Plaza Theater had shown its last movie. The theater will be missed.
1.Why was The Last Picture Show put on?
A. It was an all-time classic.
B. It was about the history of the town.
C. The audience requested it.
D. The theater owner found it suitable.
2.What will probably happen to the building?
A. It will be repaired.
B. It will be turned into a museum.
C. It will be knocked down.
D. It will be sold to the city government.
3.What can we infer about the audience?
A. They are disappointed with Bradford.
B. They are sad to part with the old theater.
C. They are supportive of the city officials.
D. They are eager to have a shopping center.
Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic(全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.
Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.
Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that.
Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway. And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.
This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who ＂ruined＂ it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured(捕捉) and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized(使……永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.
Perhaps we all live in each others’ spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.
That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.
1.What happened when the author was about to take a photo?
A. Her camera stopped working.
B. A woman blocked her view.
C. Someone asked her to leave.
D. A friend approached from behind.
2.The photo on the bedroom wall enables the author to better understand ____________.
A. the need to be close to nature
B. the importance of private space
C. the joy of the vacation in Italy
D. the shared passion for beauty
3.The passage can be seen as the author’s reflections upon _____________.
A. a particular life experience B. the pleasure of traveling
C. the art of photography D. a lost friendship
One moment it was quiet and calm in the forest, the next, the air was charged with tension. The elephant had heard the distant alarm calls of animals and her mood suddenly changed. I urged the elephant deeper into the forest. We sounded like a forest fire-crackling, snapping, trailblazing. But through all the noise came a sharp warning cry. The elephant stopped and we heard it again — the tell-tale call of a spotted deer.
I looked quickly around the shadows of the forest. Rays of sunlight shone through tree branches, beneath which the patchwork (交错) of green plants and shadows-within-shadows would make tiger stripes (条纹) look more attractive. Apart from an occasional noise from the elephant’s stomach, the forest was silent.
Gradually, the tension slipped from our bodies. The elephant seized a nearby branch and put it into her mouth. I reached forward and gently moved my hand over the elephant’s neck; there was a soft part, free of wrinkles and hairs, behind her ear.
This was my fourth time to sense the aura of the forest in Corbett, although I saw no tigers in the end. Located at the foot of the Himalayan mountains, Corbett is home to about 135 Bengal tigers, but the forest seemed to be guarding their whereabouts(出没处), a silent reminder of their secrecy and rarity. Still, I was happy enough touching the elephant behind the ear. If I had so desperately wanted to see a tiger, I could have gone to a zoo. After all, spotting tigers merely confirms their beauty; tracking them can make you aware of something more.
1.Which of the following was a clear signal of alarm?
A. The elephant stopped.
B. A spotted deer called.
C. The elephant seized a branch.
D. The forest was silent for a while.
2.The author begins his account of the tour in the forest mainly by ____________.
A. describing various sounds
B. comparing different animals
C. listing different activities
D. introducing various plants
3.What does the underlined part ＂to sense the aura＂ most probably mean?
A. To see the diversity.
B. To enjoy the scenery.
C. To feel the atmosphere.
D. To experience the freedom.
4.How does the author feel after several visits to Corbett?
A. Seeing a Bengal tiger is quite thrilling.
B. It is very time-consuming to travel in Corbett.
C. It is really worthwhile to study the animals in Corbett.
D. The process of finding Bengal tigers is most appealing.
Mario Capecchi, 70, a scientist at the University of Utah, US, got a bonus after winning the 2007 Nobel Prize for medicine: He learned he has a younger sister.
Capecchi returned to his native Italy last month and met with his half-sister Marlene Bonelli, 69, who believed Capecchi and her mother had died during World War II. It was really more of an introduction; they were too young to remember when they were separated in the early days of World War II.
Capecchi’s mother gave birth to Bonelli in 1939, when her son was learning to walk. Lucy Ramberg, who was in prison for much of the war, handed over the baby girl to friends living in Austria, where Bonelli still lives.
Bonelli recognized Capecchi’s name after he won the Nobel Prize in October and informed the media in Austria that the famous scientist was her brother. The newspaper Dolomiten sent Capecchi photos of Bonelli. ＂Looking at the pictures, it was obviously my sister,＂ Capecchi said, noting she was very like his mother.
With the help of an interpreter, they reunited at a hotel. ＂She doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak German, and neither of us speaks Italian, although I can get away with it in a restaurant,＂ Capecchi said.
The reunion was another dramatic(戏剧性的) turn in Capecchi’s life story. Capecchi was separated from his mother during World War II. The two were reunited at the end of the war, when he was 9, and they moved to the United States. As a child in America, Capecchi started on what became a brilliant academic career.
1.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
A. How the Nobel Prize Winner’s Sister Survived World War Ⅱ
B. Mario Capecchi’s Great Success in His Career
C. New Nobel Prize Winner — Mario Capecchi
D. Nobel Prize Winner Reunited with His Sister Lost in World War Ⅱ
2.The underlined word ＂bonus＂ in the first paragraph probably refers to _____________.
A. the money given to Mario Capecchi
B. the fame for his achievement
C. the news that his sister is still alive
D. the idea that he wants to look for his sister
3.How did the brother and sister separate from each other?
A. The sister was put in prison.
B. The sister was sent to Austria.
C. The brother moved to America.
D. The brother left Italy with their mom.
4.It can be inferred from the passage that Capecchi moved to America in ____________.
A. 1938 B. 1939
C. 1945 D. 1947
Every year in America, highschool students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them or whether any will be admitted at all. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one's mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English part involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.
But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, handwritten on the spot. That's an interesting way to test writing ability, but content aside, have you ever seen young people's handwriting lately? Or anyone's for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word.
Yet today's kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and clearly, for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl (潦草的字迹) of young people who've been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one's score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers. And don't forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.
Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your handwriting.
Position the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb, then rest it near the first knuckle (指节) of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled (卷曲) under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.
Evaluate your writing. Make changes to your letters till you like how they look.
Take your time. Speed is bound to make your writing messylooking.
Practise. Practise it a lot; it's not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.
1.The underlined word ＂scribble＂ in Paragraph 2 probably means ＂______________＂.
A. write quickly and roughly
B. type simply and correctly
C. paint clearly and neatly
D. describe properly and well
2.According to Paragraph 3, students with good handwriting skill______________.
A. can pass the SAT
B. can develop good characters
C. can impress their classmates
D. can get more job opportunities
3.Which of the following should you avoid when improving your handwriting?
A. Practising writing a lot.
B. Writing as fast as you can.
C. Relaxing your hand when holding the pen.
D. Changing your letters till you like how they look.
4.The text is to present the fact that______________.
A. writing seems to be very important in the SAT
B. those who will go to college have to take the SAT
C. students should practise handwriting more often
D. kids don't know how to write in the computer age
