Imagine looking at a view of mountaintops and wondering about the name of each peak. Suddenly, above each mountaintop, a name appears on the sky. The words are not written in smoke by skywriting planes. The words are actually not in the sky at all. They come from tiny computers in contact lenses (隐形眼镜).
Computers have become smaller and smaller over the decades. The first computers filled houses. Transistors (晶体管) and then chips allowed computers to become small enough to fit on a desktop, then a laptop, and finally a phone. When experimenting with further contraction in size, developers often have to deal with the limits of human eyesight, which control how small the computers can be and still present visible information.
One new solution employs microprojectors (微型投影机) to create a readable display (显示) for tiny computers. These machines project computer information onto any surface. Though an impressive breakthrough, there are potential problems. Such public displays can lead to privacy concerns; most people do not want their information displayed on a wall for everyone to see. Besides, these projectors are extremely expensive, and their screens give users headaches.
Babak Parviz, a researcher at the University of Washington, created another solution: inventing a screen visible only to a person wearing a contact lens. Parviz created a computer in a contact lens that uses the wearer’s field of vision as the display. To create the display, Parviz took ordinary soft contact lenses with a wirelessly controlled system. At some point, Parviz says, it will be possible to connect the lens to a remote personal computer device such as a cellphone or a laptop. By looking in a certain direction, the wearer sends the computer visual information about what he or she sees. The device then uses this information to point out the names of peaks.
These contact lenses are inserted and removed in much the same way as ordinary contact lenses. In addition, the computers in the lenses won’t block the wearer’s sight at all. Although now the computers are not on lenses treating eyesight problems, Parviz hopes that someday the technology will progress to that level.
1.The contact lenses in the text can ________.
A.treat eyesight problems B.offer beautiful views of nature
C.project information on wall surface D.show information about what wearers see
2.The underlined word “contraction” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by________.
A.expansion B.spread
C.reduction D.revolution
3.According to Paragraph 3, the microprojectors ________.
A.put people’s privacy at risk B.save computer information
C.cause serious illnesses D.support users’ needs
4.According to the passage, these contact lenses contribute to ________.
A.saving users’ expenses B.reducing computers’ size
C.limiting the field of vision D.guarding remote computers
5.What might be the best title for the passage?
A.Tiny Computers, Amazing Sights B.Smaller Lenses, Closer Views
C.Progress towards Clearness D.Road to the Small World
I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
1.Why did the boy start his job young?
A.He wanted to be famous in the future.
B.The job was quite easy for him.
C.His mother had high hopes for him.
D.The competition for the job was fierce.
2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.
A.excited
B.interested
C.ashamed
D.disappointed
3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?
A.She forced him to continue.
B.She punished him.
C.She gave him some money.
D.She changed her plan.
4.What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?
A.The war between the boy’s parents.
B.The arguing between the boy and his mother.
C.The quarrel between the boy and his customers.
D.The fight between the boy and his father.
5.What is the text mainly about?
A.The early life of a journalist.
B.The early success of a journalist.
C.The happy childhood of the writer.
D.The important role of the writer in his family.
Hundreds of people have formed impressions of you through that little device (装置) on your desk. And they’ve never actually ____ you. Everything they know about you ____ through this device, sometimes from hundreds of miles away. ____ they feel they can know you ____ from the sound of your voice. That’s how powerful the ____ is.
Powerful, yes, but not always ____. For years I dealt with my travel agent only by phone. Rani, my faceless agent whom I’d never met ____, got me rock-bottom prices on airfares, cars, and hotels. But her cold voice really ____ me. I sometimes wished to ____ another agent.
One morning, I had to ____ an immediate flight home for a family emergency. I ran into Rani’s office ____. The woman sitting at the desk, ____ my madness, sympathetically jumped up. She gave me a ____ smile, nodded while listening patiently, and then printed out the ____ immediately. ＂What a wonderful lady! ＂ I thought.
Rushing out ____ I called out over my shoulder, ＂By the way, what’s your name?＂ ＂I’m Rani,＂ she said. I turned around and saw a ____ woman with a big smile on her face waving to wish me a safe trip. I was ____! Why had I thought she was cold? Rani was, well, so ____.
Sitting back in the car on the way to the airport, I figured it all out. Rani’s ____ — her warm smile, her nods, her ‘I’m here for you’ ____ — were all silent signals that didn’t travel through wires.
1.A. accepted B. noticed C. heard D. met
2.A. came B. moved C. ran D. developed
3.A. Thus B. Yet C. Then D. Indeed
4.A. rather B. also C. just D. already
5.A. telephone B. voice C. connection D. impression
6.A. direct B. useful C. easy D. accurate
7.A. in person B. by myself C. in public D. on purpose
8.A. annoyed B. interested C. discouraged D. confused
9.A. promote B. train C. find D. know
10.A. arrange B. postpone C. confirm D. book
11.A. for the first time B. at any time C. from time to time D. in good time
12.A. expecting B. seeing C. testing D. avoiding
13.A. shy B. comforting C. familiar D. forced
14.A. bill B. form C. ticket D. list
15.A. hopefully B. disappointedly C. gratefully D. regretfully
16.A. careful B. serious C. nervous D. pleasant
17.A. amused B. worried C. helpless D. speechless
18.A. calm B. nice C. proud D. clever
19.A. forgiveness B. eagerness C. friendliness D. skillfulness
20.A. explanation B. attitude C. concept D. behavior
How to evaluate the _______ these people made to helping strengthen the country is still _______. Opinions are divided.
A.contributions; controversial B.responsibility; argumentative
C.participation; distinct D.shortcoming; competitive
When he was at a loss as to which direction to go _______, he tried to find someone for help, but there was ______ to ______.
A.to; none; discover B.in; no one; turn to
C.for; none; ask D.in; nothing; require
As a large country, our ______of junk food is surprising, which has stirred much ______.
A.expectation; concern B.origin; concerned
C.potential; concerning D.consumption; concern
