Watch out, Yahoo．There’s search engine out there with super speed and accuracy．It’s really cool．
Google is the Web’s largest search engine．In just two years it has gained a reputation for surprising speed and accuracy, delivering exactly what you’re looking for in a second．The site now does this 40 million times a day – a number achieved without spending a penny on a TV or newspaper ad．
Google doesn’t need them．In the past six months alone, the site has won a Webby （the online version of the Oscar） for technical excellence, set a new record for search engines by indexing a billion Web pages．
Yahoo still has 10 times the audience, but Google consistently ranks first in customer satisfaction: 97% of users find what they’re looking for most or all the time．“You see people smile when they use it, like they’ve found something no one else knows about,” says Danny Sullivan, editor of an online newsletter．
No one is smiling more than Larry Page, 27, and Sergey Brin, 26, who seem certain to become billionaires when the company goes public, probable sometime next year．They make a great comedy duo．When they first met as Ph． D．students, the pair say, they found each other horrible – “I still find him horrible,” adds Brin – but were driven together by a computer – science project aimed at coming up with better ways of searching the Web．
The idea behind Google is that traditional search engines are stupid．They think relevance is based on repetition; if you type in a request for Tiger Woods, say, you’ll get websites listed according to how many times those words appear．Not only is this no guarantee of quality, but it’s also open to abuse．If you own a Tiger fan site and want to lead more people to it, simply type his name thousands of times in the site’s source code．
1.The first paragraph serves to ．
A．compare two websites B．bring out the topic
C．put blame on Yahoo D．give the background of the topic
2.What does the underlined word “then” in the third paragraph refer to?
A．40 million times． B．Achievements．
C．TV and newspaper ads． D．Web pages．
3.Which of the following wins greater customer satisfaction?
A．Yahoo． B．Google． C．Page． D．Brin．
4.It can be inferred that Page and Brin ．
A．work for Google B．are Tiger fans
C．hated each other D．work for Yahoo
Speaking in his first National Day Rally speech on 15 August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien said Singapore’s education system was set for more reforms in the years ahead, particularly for the primary and secondary education．Read the summary of his thoughts on education below．
For a start, the Government is prepared to send and additional 3,000 teachers to Singapore schools, cut the courses of study even further and change the way the mother tongue, especially Chinese, is taught．But, for the changes to be successful, parents need to help．
Singapore has a devoted group of teachers and principals and quite a few of them are outstanding, but the Republic’s schools can be even better．To help the schools make a jump in quality, the Government plans that within the next 6 years, it will send 1,000 more teachers to primary schools, 1,400 to secondary schools and 550 more to junior colleges．Each school would decide how to use its extra teachers．Some may want to make classes smaller so students get more individual attentions while others may have new teachers assist more senior teachers, but the overall goal is to give teachers the time and space to come up with ways to bring out the best in their students．
More teachers must not mean more homework, however．In fact, the Prime Minister wants to see the courses cut down so that there is less pressure on the students．Good grades are important but they should not be the only goal students have．PM Lee is convinced that “we must teach less so that our children can learn more．”
Another change will be in the teaching of the mother tongue so that students can become more fluent．The key is to teach Chinese as a living language not just an academic subject like Latin．Therefore, the focus should be on speaking and reading the language．To do this, there must be an environment outside the classroom that is contributing to strengthening the Chinese lessons．
1.The text is mainly about in Singapore．
A．the education reform B．adding more teachers
C．the mother tongue D．ways of teaching
2.The general goal of using extra teachers is to ．
A．make classes smaller B．assist more senior teachers
C．teach more D．help teachers improve teaching quality
3.PM Lee holds that the students should ．
A．do more homework B．give up higher grades
C．study more courses D．be given more time to learn more
4.The key to teaching Chinese well is to ．
A．make it academic B．have a creative environment
C．give more Chinese lessons D．encourage speaking and reading a lot
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old．My mother told us that we would not be 26 Christmas gifts because there was not enough money．I felt sad and thought, "What would I say when the other kids asked what I'd 27 ?" Just when I started to 28 that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 29 at our house with gifts for all of us．For me they brought a doll．I felt such a sense of 30 that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school．I wasn't 31 ．Somebody had thought 32 of me to bring me a gift．
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 33 Christmas there special and memorable, I 34 remembered the women's visit．I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 35 for as many children as I could possibly reach．
So I 36 a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help．We gathered about 125 orphans （孤儿） at the Christmas party．For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 37 with a child's name．We wanted all of them to know they were 38 ．Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 39 them that they couldn't open their presents 40 every child had come forward．Finally the 41 they had been waiting for came as I called out, "One, two, three．Open your presents!" As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 42 up the room．The 43 in the room was obvious, and 44 wasn't just about toys．It was a feeling — the feeling I knew 45 that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit．I wasn't forgotten．Somebody thought of me．I matter．
1.A．sending B．receiving C．making D．exchanging
2.A．found B．prepared C．got D．expected
3.A．doubt B．hope C．suggest D．accept
4.A．broke in B．settled down C．turned up D．showed off
5.A．relief B．loss C．achievement D．justice
6.A．blamed B．loved C．forgotten D．affected
7.A．highly B．little C．poorly D．enough
8.A．present B．first C．recent D．previous
9.A．hardly B．instantly C．regularly D．occasionally
10.A．strength B．independence C．importance D．safety
11.A．kept up with B．caught up with C．came up with D．put up with
12.A．none B．few C．some D．each
13.A．fine B．special C．helpful D．normal
14.A．reminded B．guaranteed C．convinced D．promised
15.A．after B．until C．when D．since
16.A．chance B．gift C．moment D．reward
17.A．lit B．took C．burned D．cheered
18.A．atmosphere B．sympathy C．calmness D．joy
19.A．it B．such C．something D．everybody
20.A．by B．till C．for D．from
Some of you may have finished unit one．________, you can go on to unit two．
A．If you may B．If you do C If not D．If so
Not until he left his home __________ to know how important the family was for him．
A．did he begin B．had he begun C．he began D．he had begun
The reason __________ he explained is not __________ I expected．
A．why; that B．why; what C．that ;what D．that; that
