Today, there’s hardly an aspect of our life that isn’t being upended by the tons of information available on the hundreds of millions of sites crowding the Internet, not to mention its ability to keep us in constant touch with each other via electronic mail. “If the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology,” says Microsoft, “a new car would cost about $ 2 and go 600 miles on a small quantity of gas. And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza.”
Probably the biggest payoff, however, is the billions of dollars the Internet is saving companies in producing goods and serving for the needs of their customers. Nothing like it has been seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when power-driven machines began producing more in a day than men could turn out in nearly a year. “We view the growth of the Internet and e-commerce as a global trend,” says Merrill Lynch, “along the lines of printing press, the telephone, the computer, and electricity.”
You would be hard pressed to name something that isn’t available on the Internet. Consider: books, health care, movie tickets, construction materials, baby clothes, stocks, cattle feed, music, electronics, antiques, tools, real estate, toys, autographs of famous people, wine and airline tickets. And even after you’ve moved on to your final resting place, there’s no reason those you love can’t keep in touch. A company called FinalThoughts.com offers a place for you to store “afterlife e-mails” you can send to Heaven with the help of a “guardian angel”.
Kids today are so computer literate that it in fact ensures the United States will remain the unchallenged leader in cyberspace for the foreseeable future. Nearly all children in families with incomes of more than $75,000 a year have home computers, according to a study by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Youngsters from ages 2 to 17 at all income levels have computers, with 52% of those connected to the Internet. Most kids use computers to play games (some for 30 hours or more a week), and many teenage girls think nothing of rushing home from school to have e-mail chats with friends they have just left.
What’s clear is that, whether we like it or not, the Internet is an ever growing part of our lives and there is no turning back. “The Internet is just 20% invented,” says cyber pioneer Jake Winebaum. “The last 80% is happening now.”
1.What can we learn from the Microsoft’s remark?
A. Today’s cars and airplanes are extremely overpriced.
B. Information technology is developing at an amazing speed.
C. Information technology has reached the point where improvement is difficult.
D. There’s more competition in information technology industry than in car industry.
2.According to the author, the biggest benefit of the Internet is that___.
A. it saves companies huge amounts of money
B. it speeds up profit making
C. it brings people incredible convenience
D. it provides easy access to information
3.The author gives the example of FinalThoughts.com to make the point that____.
A. there are some genius ideas on the Internet
B. almost anything is available on the Internet
C. people can find good bargains on the Internet
D. people are free to do anything on the Internet
4.What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
A. There is a link between income and computer ownership.
B. Many American children don’t put computers to good use.
C. Studies show that boys are more computer literate than girls.
D. The U.S. will stay ahead in the information technology in years.
5.Which sentence has the phrase that has the same meaning as the one underlined in the fifth paragraph?
A. Some can tell you that he has changed their lives, while others think nothing of him.
B. Think nothing of it. It was my pleasure.
C. He thinks nothing of staying up all night in the Café bar.
D. He thinks nothing of the pain in his back for the moment.
6.What is the message the author intends to convey?
A. The Internet is going to get firm hold of our lives some day.
B. The Internet is going to influence our lives even more greatly.
C. We should have a positive attitude towards the changes the Internet brings.
D. Children should be well prepared for the challenges in the information age.
Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．
One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the researchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.
1. When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.
A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time
B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time
C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand
D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch
2.Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?
A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music.
B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain.
C．Because music training might help people with language study.
D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music.
3.The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”．
A．created B．spelled
C．seemed D．pronounced
4.What would be the best title for this passage?
A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers
B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study
C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning
D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs
One of Britain's bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected police killer David Bieber -- and was thanked 21 flowers by the police. It was also said that she could 22___ a share of up to ￡30,000 reward money.
Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in 23 the nationwide manhunt. Vicki, who has worked at the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible 24 when she had to steal into Bieber's bedroom and to watch him 25 . Then she waited alone for three 26 while armed police prepared to 27 the building.
She said, "I was very nervous. But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen
28 in the car park I was so glad they were there.”
The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious of the guest who 29 in at 3 pm the day before New Year's Eve with little luggage and 30 sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his 31 . She said, "He didn't seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact." Vicki, the only employee on duty, called her boss Margaret, 64, and husband Stan McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm.
Officers from Northumbria Police called Vicki at the hotel in Dunston, Gateshead, at about 11:30 pm to make sure that this was the 32 man. Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki
33 15 minutes.
"It was about ten past two in the morning 34 the phone went again and a policeman said ‘Would you go and make yourself known to the armed officers outside?'. My heart missed a 35 ."
Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers 36 passages and staircases to the top floor room and 37 over the key.
"I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that part of the hotel, so I went to watch. I could not see into the man's room, 38 I could see the passage. The police kept 39 at the man to come out with his hands showing. Then suddenly he 40 have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed (带上手铐)。
1. A. to B. with C. in D. at
2.A. charge B. pay C get D. reward
3.A. beginning B. interrupting C. pausing D. ending
4.A. stories B. experience C. moment D. day
5.A. secretly B. happily C. interestedly D. unexpectedly
6.A. seconds B minutes C. hours D. days
7.A. burn B. destroy C. step D. storm
8. A. come up B. crowded up C. lined up D. taken up
9.A. checked B. signed C. ordered D. handed
10. A. stealing B. getting C. wearing D. moving
11.A. shoulder B. face C. stomach D. ankle
12.A. charged B. escaped C. wanted D. found
13.A. each B. other C. every D. another
14. A. when B. while C. which D. that
15.A. knock B. hit C. beat D. slap
16.A. across B. over C. into D. through
17.A. turned B. handed C. stretched D. reached
18. A. and B. or C. therefore D. but
19.A. speaking B. whispering C. shouting D. scolding
20.A. would B. could C. must D. might
Mr. Green's tight _______ made him put off his trip to China.
A. transport B. attitude C. schedule D. appointment
---I'm sorry, were you waiting to be served?
--- No, no, _______.
A. forget it B. after you C. no way D. so long
Last week, my kids along with other kids from the neighbourhood _______ to help me wash
my car.
A. commanded B. contributed C. preferred D. volunteered
