The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in line. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.
1.The best title for the article is _______.
A. When the Computer Is Down B. The Most Frightening Words
C. The Computer of the Airport D. Asking the Computer
2. What does the underlined words“ backup computer” probably mean?
A. A computer that will be brought back soon.
B.A second-hand computer that is still in use.
C. An advanced computer that never breaks down..
D. A computer ready for use when the main one does not work.
3. The last paragraph implies that _______.
A. a modern computer won’t be down.
B. computers can take the place of humans
C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people
D. there will be great changes in computers
Good sportsmanship occurs when teammates, opponents（对手）, coaches, and officials treat each other with respect. Kids learn the basics of sportsmanship from the adults in their lives, especially their parents and their coaches. Kids who see adults behaving in a sportsmanlike way gradually come to understand that the real winners in sports are those who know how to keep on trying and to behave well - whether they win or lose a game.
Parents can help their kids understand that good sportsmanship includes both small gestures and heroic efforts. It starts with something as simple as shaking hands with opponents before a game and includes acknowledging good plays made by others and accepting bad calls gracefully. Showing good sportsmanship isn't always easy: It can be hard to congratulate the opposing team after losing a close or important game. But the kids who learn how to do it will benefit in many ways.
A child who bullies or laugh at others on the playing field isn't likely to change the behavior when in the classroom or in social situations. In the same way, a child who practices good sportsmanship is likely to carry the respect (尊重) and appreciation of other people into every other aspect of life
The best coaches - and parents - encourage their kids to play fair, to have fun, and to concentrate(专心于) on helping the team while improving their own skills.
1.The most important feature of good sportsmanship is ______.
A. respecting others. B. concentrating on winning
C. improving one’s own skills. D.beating the opposing team
2.Which of the following is NOT the behavior of good sportsmanship?
A. Shaking hands with opponents B. Playing on the field like heroes.
C. Praising good playing of others D. Accepting unfriendly viewers’ opinions
3. As a child with good sportsmanship, he / she will ______.
A. treat winning as the most important thing.
B. be proud of the success of his / her team
C. look down on others’ playing skills.
D. not get discouraged when defeated
4.It can be inferred from the passage ______.
A. a child who bullies others can’t play well on the field.
B. the real winners are those who play with best skills.
C. a child with good sportsmanship behaves well in society
D. it is simple and easy to show one’s good sportsmanship
Ambassador Hotel：
Welcome to the Ambassador Hotel. To make your stay as enjoyable as possible, we hope you will use our facilities to the full.
Dining Room
Breakfast is served in the dining mom from 8 a. m. to 9: 30 a.m. Alternatively, the room staff will bring a breakfast tray to your room at any time after 7 a.m. In this case, please fill out a card and hang it outside your door when you go to bed.
Lunch: 12:00a.m. to2:30p.m.
Dinner: 7:30 p. m. to 9:00 p.m.
Room Service
This operates 24 hours a day; phone the Reception Desk(前台), and your message will be passed on to the room staff.
Telephones
To make a phone call, dial 0 for Reception and ask to be connected. We apologize for delays in putting calls through when the staffs are very busy. There are also public telephone booths near the Reception Desk. Early calls should be booked with Reception.
Laundry
We have a laundry in the hotel, and will wash iron and return your clothes within 24 hours. Ask the room staff to collect them.
Bar
The hotel bar is open from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
1.You would see this notice _________ .
A. in a hotel bar
B. in a hotel dining room
C. in a bedroom of a large international hotel
D. at the entrance of a small family hotel
2. What should you do if you have arrived to stay at the hotel at 2 a.m. and want something to eat?
A. Go to the hotel shop. B. Go to the hotel bar.
C. Hang a message outside your door. D. Phone the Reception Desk.
3. What should you do when you come back to the hotel to make an important call and see a lot of people around the Reception desk?
A. Go to your room and phone from there.
B. Ask at the Reception Desk.
C. Use one of the telephones in the entrance hall.
D. Go out again and look for a public phone box
4.What do you think a room staff’s last job is before he goes off duty at 6 p.m.?
A. Lay the tables in the dining room.
B. Check the bedroom doors.
C. Start preparing the breakfast.
D. Wake any of the guests who have asked for early calls.
Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries may speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check this in a dictionary.
1.The writer thinks that .
A. choose a good dictionary, and you’ll be successful in learning English
B. dictionaries are not necessary to the students who learn English
C. it is very important for students to use good dictionaries properly
D. using dictionaries very often can’t help to improve writing
2. According to the passage, which of the following is WRONG?
A. Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English.
B. Whatever new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries.
C. Small two-language dictionaries have serious shortcomings.
D. Reading something for the first time, you’d better not use dictionaries.
3. When in the reading does the writer advise students to use a good dictionary?
A. At the beginning of the reading
B. At the end of the reading
C. During the first reading
D. After the first reading
4. This passage mainly tells us .
A. that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries
B. what were the shortcomings of small two-language dictionaries
C. why students should use large college edition dictionaries
D. what dictionary students should choose and how to use it
God’s Coffee
A group of class friends, highly achieved in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor．Conversation soon 31 into complaints about stress(压力) in work and life．
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the 32 and returned with a large pot of coffee and a couple of 33 —porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, 34
expensive, some delicate—telling them to 35 themselves to the coffee．
When all the students had a cup of coffee in 36 ,the professor said：“If you noticed，all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, 37 behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is
38 for you to choose only the best for yourselves, that is the 39 of your problems and stress．Be sure that the cup itself 40 no quality to the coffee．In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink． 41 all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously (自觉地) went 42 the best cups．And then you began 43 each other’s cups．Now consider this：Life is the 44 ; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups．They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not explain , nor 45 the quality of life we 46 . Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we 47 to enjoy the coffee God has 48 us．God brews the coffee, not the cups…Enjoy your coffee!”
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything．They just 49 the best of everything．
Live simply．Love generously．Care deeply．Speak kindly．Leave the 50 to God．
1.A．crowded B．looked C.burst D．turned
2.A．living-room B．waiting-room C．bedroom D．kitchen
3.A．cups B．pans C．bowls D．dishes
4.A．some B．others C．another D．other
5.A．choose B．help C．take D．pick
6.A．stomach B．hand C．mind D．mouth
7.A．running B．leaving C．hiding D．staying
8.A．wise B．important C．natural D．necessary
9.A．use B．disagreement C．answer D．cause
10.A．likes B．comes C．adds D．relies
11.A．As B．What C．That D．Which
12.A．for B．into C．by D．on
13.A．looking B．guiding C．eyeing D．changing
14.A．tea B．water C．wine D．coffee
15.A．worsen B．beat C．change D．improve
16.A．dislike B．live C．make D．use
17.A．fail B．succeed C．wish D．try
18.A．sold B．gave C．bought D．brought
19.A．keep B．say C．make D．do
20.A．item B．view C．rest D．thought
Today, _______ people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before.
A. many B. some C. more D. most
