Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent. They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.
The touch-screen devices are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week, “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexander, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc., which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.
Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.
Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.
“The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexander. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”
People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system（系统）that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.
The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’re finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.
The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $ 160, 000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $ 500 for each device.
1.The underlined word “they”（paragraph 1）refers to ____________.
A. supermarkets B. shop assistants
C. shopping carts D. shop managers
2.We can learn from the last paragraph that ___________.
A. intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money
B. the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices
C. shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid
D. average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices
3.What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. New age for supermarkets
B. Concierge and Shopping Buddy
C. New computers make shopping carts smarter
D. Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable
Duke Ellington is known as one of the most important composers of his time, and his work has been enjoyed for more than 80 years by music lovers all over the world. During his lifetime Ellington turned musical sounds into many compositions, mostly in the style known as jazz.
The Early Years
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington, D. C. It wasn’t until Ellington was a teenager that his interest in music grew. He taught himself to play the piano by listening to local piano players. Sometime around 1916 Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties. Ellington realized that he enjoyed entertaining people with his music. He soon became a very popular musician, playing at parties and other events in the Washington area. Young adults seemed especially delighted by the modern pieces he composed.
Success in New York
In 1923, when Ellington was almost 24 years old, he joined The Washingtonians, a five-piece group of musicians in Washington, and became the group’s leader in early 1924. In 1927 Ellington and his orchestra won an engagement（雇佣期）at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. For the next three years, his orchestra played at the Cotton Club nearly every night.
The Influence of the Cotton Club
Working at the Cotton Club encouraged Ellington’s creativity. Since the shows changed every six months, he was challenged by the need to continually develop new material. He had to compose a wide variety of music to accompany the various acts in the Cotton Club shows and to adapt that music to the strengths and weaknesses of the players in his orchestra.
By 1928 the popular nightspot began radio broadcasts. From the broadcasts Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation.
On the Road
As Ellington’s popularity increased, he realized that his orchestra could do well on concert tours. They left the Cotton Club in 1931 and toured America and Europe almost continually for the next 43 years. In addition to touring, Ellington made recordings and continued to compose music.
Duke Ellington played the piano, composed music, and led his famous orchestra for more than 50 years, until his death in 1974. Music lovers all over the world agree that the large quantity of music he created will be enjoyed for many years to come.
1.From the second paragraph, we know that Ellington ____________.
A. could sing as well as he played the piano
B. preferred mature audiences to young adults
C. had a natural talent for musical composition
D. learnt to play musical instrument from very young age
2.Which of the following can show us Ellington’s leadership ability?
A. Ellington was very popular at parties in the Washington area.
B. Ellington took the responsibility for a band for a long time.
C. Ellington did live radio broadcasts in New York City.
D. Ellington continually developed new material.
3.We may infer from the passage that ____________.
A. Ellington’s career took off overnight
B. Ellington loves touring around the world
C. Ellington could compose a wide variety of songs
D. Ellington had a great effect on the world of music
4.Which of the following shows the order in which the events happened in the story?
a. Ellington joined a five-piece group of musicians in Washington.
b. Ellington’s orchestra played at the Cotton Club.
c. Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation.
d. Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties.
e. Ellington’s orchestra went on concert tours.
A. d-b-a-e-c B. d-a-b-c-e C. a-d-b-c-e D. a-d-b-e-c
Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road
——Reported by Sheila Carrick
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road.
“Millions of animals die each year on U. S. roads,” the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U. S. today. The main reason? Road kill.
“Ecopassages” may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. “These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents,” said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animals overpass!
1.The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that _____________.
A. wild animals have become more dangerous
B. the driving conditions have improved greatly
C. the measure for protecting wildlife fails to work
D. an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents
2. From the news story, we know an ecopassage is _____________.
A. an underground path for cars
B. a fence built for the safety of the area
C. a bridge for animals to get over a river
D. a pass for animals to cross the road
3.When the writer says that animals seem “to be catching on”, he means ___________.
A. animals begin to realize the dangers on the road
B. animals begin to learn to use ecopassages
C. animals are crossing the road in groups
D. animals are increasing in number
4. The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because _________.
A. wild animals may attack cars
B. wild animals may jam the road
C. they may see wild animals in the park
D. they may see wild animals on ecopassages
Visit one of the most outstanding prehistoric sites in the United Kingdom, and enjoy amazing historic English attractions. Please notice that every tour starts and ends in London. Have a tour with Visiting Britain.
Stonehenge Direct Tour
Visit one of the most outstanding prehistoric sites in England and in the world: Stonehenge.
Duration: 1 day
Price: Adults ￡29.99, Children ￡28.99
Stonehenge and Bath Tour
Enjoy a late breakfast before heading to the Stonehenge site and end your day with an original visit of the Roman Baths.
Duration: 10 hours（departure 10:30 am return 8:30 pm）.
Price: Adults ￡64, Children ￡60
Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle Tour
Explore three of England’s most popular sites to visit: Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths.
Duration: 1 day（return 8:30 pm）
Price: Adults ￡64.80, Children ￡61.20
Stonehenge, Lacock and Bath Tour
Come and feel the warmth of Bath, see the pleasant village of Lacock, and solve the mystery of Stonehenge.
Duration: 1 day（return 6 pm）
Price: Adults ￡85, Children ￡78
Stonehenge, Windsor and Oxford Tour
Choose Stonehenge, Windsor and Oxford Tour and enjoy ancient mysticism, royal history and illustrious knowledge.
Duration: 1 day
Price: Adults ￡72, Children ￡68
Stonehenge, Bath and Stratford Tour
Take a tour to make the most of the English historic attractions: the Stonehenge site, Bath and Stratford, the birthplace of playwright William Shakespeare.
Duration: 1 day（return 8 pm）
Price: Adults ￡79, Children ￡68
1.The purpose of the passage is to _____________.
A. advertise some popular English attractions
B. recommend some different tours in England
C. tell readers how to save money while traveling
D. describe different routes to travel in England
2.Two 15-year-old foreign students who want to visit Stonehenge and Oxford University will have to pay at least _____________.
A. ￡136 B. ￡170 C. ￡110 D. ￡126
3.When can you come back to London after visiting Stonehenge and the Roman Baths?
A. At 6 pm. B. At 7 pm. C. At 8 pm. D. At 8:30 pm.
4.If you plan to travel with your kid who is a fan of Shakespeare, you would choose _______.
A. Stonehenge Direct Tour
B. Stonehenge, Bath and Stratford Tour
C. Stonehenge, Windsor and Oxford Tour
D. Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle Tour
One of the most common social fears is that we are not good enough. Perhaps you feel you won’t 21 others because they are more confident, successful, intelligent or attractive than you. Such thinking is misguided. The 22 of doing well is accepting yourself as you are.
When I was a student, I kept a diary filled with 23 memories. Some were painful memories from 24 when I felt hurt, confused, lonely and insecure. I 25 pieces of dreams and personal feelings of anger and hatred, 26 things I enjoyed such as magic shops and coin dealers.
Then a terrible thing happened. 27 dinner one night I realized I had left my diary in the cloakroom（衣帽间）outside the campus dining hall. 28 that somebody might read it and find out the truth about me, I 29 back, but it was gone.
Weeks passed, and eventually I gave up hope of ever finding it 30 . A month later, I was 31 up my jacket in the same place when I saw my brown 32 diary, just where I’d left it.
33 I read through the pages and found that a 34 had written the following, “God bless you. I’m 35 like you, only I 36 keep a diary, and I’m 37 to know there are others like me. I hope things turn out well for you.”
Tears came to my eyes. It had never dawned（开始为人所明白）on me that any one could know my inner feelings and also 38 things just like the way I did.
No matter what you are like, whether you’re rich or poor, brilliant or average, attractive or 39 , there are people like you. Discard（抛弃）your fears of not measuring up（符合期望）, and 40 yourself as you are.
1.A. like B. impress C. consult D. admire
2.A. idea B. success C. secret D. purpose
3.A. private B. painful C. wonderful D. simple
4.A. works B. friends C. neighbors D. childhood
5.A. described B. hid C. showed D. noticed
6.A. instead of B. as well as C. in case of D. because of
7.A. Until B. When C. After D. Since
8.A. Excited B. Puzzled C. Surprised D. Frightened
9.A. walked B. searched C. turned D. ran
10.A. hardly B. soon C. again D. seldom
11.A. hanging B. looking C. turning D. breaking
12.A. new B. worn C. broken D. similar
13.A. Nervously B. Happily C. Sadly D. Excitedly
14.A. friend B. policeman C. stranger D. classmate
15. A. a lot B. a little C. nearly D. slightly
16.A. mustn’t B. don’t C. won’t D. can’t
17.A. sorry B. thankful C. curious D. anxious
18.A. feel B. enjoy C. remember D. hate
19.A. strong B. pretty C. clear D. plain
20.A. insist B. accept C. help D. balance
Someone is ringing the doorbell. Go and see ___________.
A. who is he B. who he is C. who is it D. who it is
