Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun, see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.
With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address (=tell) it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.
E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.
We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.
1.We can infer that passage is to ________.
A. explain how to use the Internet
B. describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology
C. tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the Internet
D. introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet
2.The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to ________.
A. spend less time working
B. have more free time with his child
C. work at home on weekends
D. work at a speed comfortable to him
3.According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former helps one ________.
A. reach a group of people at one time conveniently
B. keep one’s communication as personal as possible
C. pass on much more information than the latter
D. get in touch with one’s friends faster than the latter
4.The best title for this passage is ________.
A. Computer: New Technological Advances
B. Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship
C. Computers Have Made Life Easier
D. Internet: a Convenient Tool for Communication
CHINA
Coal mines claim (使…失踪) more lives
A COAL mine blast (爆炸) in Jixi, Helongjiang, left more than 100 miners dead on Thursday .Ten mines in Jixi were ordered to stop production. The government has tried to shut down thousands of small, illegal (非法的) mines in the country that do not meet safety standards.
MIDDLE EAST
Bombers continues to kill
PALESTINIANS killed 32 Israelis in three major attacks between Tuesday and Thursday. There were two suicide bombing (自杀性爆炸) and a militant (武装的) attack on Jewish settlement . They yielded one of the highest Israeli death tolls ( 死亡人数) in such a short period over the last two years.
CHINA
Young people stand tall
THE average height of Chinese young people has risen by 6 centimeters compared to that of 20 years ago. This year far exceeds (超过) the word’s average growth speed. A survey on health conducted by a panel(调研组) of Chinese students found the results. According to the world average level, youths get taller by 1 cm every 10 years.
CANADA
Talking about world issue (援助)
The Group of Eight (G8)—the US, Japan , Germany, Britain, France, Italy , Canada and Russia ---- will hold a summit on June26 and 27 in Kananaskis , Canada. The G8 are the richest and most powerful countries in the world. G8 leaders and some African presidents will discuss strengthening global economic growth and helping Africa. Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General, will also attend.
1.Thousands of mines have been shut because ______.
A. they have blast
B. they produced less coal
C. they are very small and illegal
D. they don’t meet the safety standards
2.How many Israelis died in the three major attacks by Palestinians?
A. 23 B. 32
C.100 D. We don’t know.
3.In the last 20 years, the average growth speed of Chinese youths exceeds the world’s average level by__.
A.1 cm B.4 cm C. 5 cm D. 6 cm
4. What’s the purpose of the Summit ?
A. to strengthen the global economic growth and helping some poor African countries.
B. To make these eight countries much more powerful.
C. To help some African president to strengthen their economic growth.
D. Kofi Annan will have an important speech on world issues.
5.This passage may probably taken from _______.
A. a story book B. a text book
C. a newspaper D. a novel
While shell-like roofs, unlike anything else in the world, make the Sydney Opera House an image of timeless beauty. It is famous for being a symbol, not only of a city, but a whole country and condition too.
Its creator, Danish architect Jorn Utzon , turned 85 last Wednesday. And he was awarded the Prizker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of Architecture, on April 6. But Utzon has never seen his Opera House.
The story began in 1957 when Utzon won an international competition to design an opera house in Sydney.
But not everyone was enthusiastic (热心的 ) . Utzon left his Opera project in 1966 after an argument with the local government and a storm of public criticism over the building’s design. It was not completed until seven years later and Utzon has never returned to Australia to see the result of his work.
“Utzon made a building well ahead of its time, and he persevered (坚持) through criticism to build a building that changed the image of an entire country,” said Frank Gehry, a Pritzer Architecture Prize judge.
Although the Sydney Opera House was Utzon’s masterpiece, it damaged his career. Upon his return to Denmark, he found work hard to come by , so he become a teacher at a university in Hawaii.
Utzon said he once saw posters of the Opera House. The interiors were different from his design. But, he said, “There is no regret, for it gave me such a wonderful experience in Australia and towards which I only have love and appreciation .”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth opened the Opera House in 1973, and it now holds around 3000 events every year. It is recognized as one of the great symbolic buildings of the 20th century.
1.The Sydney Opera House was completed_____.
A. in 1957 B. in 1906
C. in 1973 D. in 1980
2.Utzon has never seen his Opera House because _______.
A. it has white shell-like roofs, unlike anything else in the world
B. its creator is Danish architect, who returned to Denmark
C. he was not awarded the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of Architecture
D. he argued with the local government and was criticized over his design
3.The underlined word “come by” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
A. find B. pass
C. hire D. Develop
Relation between the United States and Columbia suffered for many years because of an incident involving the Republic of Panama. By the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, many Americans felt that an easier and faster way was needed to get ships from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Some people in the United States first believed that a canal across Nicaragua was the answer. However, President Theodore Roosevelt decided that a canal through Panama would be a better choice.
In order to build the canal , the United States had to negotiate （谈判） a treaty with Columbia , which at that time controlled Panama . Roosevelt offered Columbia $ 10 million plus $ 250,000 a year for 99 years for a six-mile-wide strip of land across Panama. Columbia rejected the United States’ offer. This ranged President Roosevelt, and negotiations with Columbia ended.
In 1903, a revolution broke out in Panama. The United States ships were sent by President Roosevelt to protect the Panamanian revolutionaries from Columbian forces. The revolution succeeded, and Panama declared its independence from Columbia. The United States then negotiated with the newly formed government. A treaty was signed, and the United States began building the canal.
As a result of the incident, Columbia and the United States remained on bad terms for many years. Not until 1921, when the United States agreed to pay Columbia some compensation (赔偿) for its territory, did relations between the two countries improve.
1.According to the passage, the United States and Columbia were on bad terms because the United States had ________.
A. at first wished to build a canal through Nicaragua
B. promised to pay Columbia $ 10 million for Panama
C. wished to build a canal through Panama
D. supported Panamanian revolutionaries in their fight for independence from Columbia.
2. From the information in the passage, it can be concluded that the United States ______.
A. wanted to build a canal because it was considered starting a war
B. felt that building a canal through Panama was worth the risk of ruining relations with Columbia
C. believed that a canal through Nicaragua would be profitable
D. had lost the Spanish-American War
3.It can be inferred from the passage that an important reason for the decision of the United States to build a canal was to _______.
A. develop trade relations with Europe
B. improve relations with South American countries
C. prevent European ships from reaching the Pacific Ocean
D. reduce travel time for its ships in case of war
4.The passage mainly gives us________.
A. advice B. information
C. humor D. News
Some people are lucky enough to be born with a good sense of direction and even if they have only visited a place once, they will be able to find it again years later. I am one of those unfortunate people who have sense of direction and I may have visited a place time after time but I still get on my way there. When I was young I was so that I never dared ask strangers the way and so I used to round in circles and hope that I would happen to get to the place I was heading for. I am too shy to ask people for directions, but I often replies that puzzle me. Often people do not like to admit that they didn’t know their hometown and will on telling you the way, even if they do not know it ; others who are to prove that they know their hometown very well, will give you a long of directions which you cannot possibly hope to remember, and still others do not seem to be able to between their left and their right and you find in the end that you are going in the direction. If anyone ever asks me the way to somewhere, I always tell them I am a to the town in order to avoid giving them wrong but even this can have embarrassing (尴尬的) results. Once I was on my way to work when I was stopped by a man who asked me if I would him the way to the Sunlight Building. I gave my reply, but I had not walked on a few steps when I that he had asked for directions to my office building. However, at this point, I decided it was too late to turn back and him in the crowd behind me I was going to meet with someone at the office and I did not want to keep him waiting. Imagine my embarrassment when my secretary showed in the man who had asked for directions to my office and his when he recognized me as the person he had asked.
1.A. good B. instant C. poor D. fine
2.A. lost B. disappeared C. stuck D. missing
3.A. brave B. nervous C. afraid D. shy
4.A. come B. show C. look D. wander
5.A. still B. no longer C. any more D. often
6.A. receive B. accept C. give D. import
7.A. advise B. suggest C. insist D. persuade
8.A. glad B. anxious C. interested D. angry
9.A. line B. list C. page D. paragraph
10.A. say B. know C. divide D. tell
11.A. right B. same C. other D. opposite
12.A. friend B. policeman C. stranger D. foreigner
13.A. direction B. advice C. answer D. road
14.A. direct B. tell C. take D. point
15.A. similar B. common C. usual D. general
16.A. noticed B. realized C. believed D. considered
17.A. look B. find C. discover D. search
18.A. when B. then C. while D. as
19.A. only B. certain C. very D. just
20.A. astonishment B. excitement C. judgment D. Embarrassment
You can’t be too careful; this kind of cloth_____.
A.is washed easily B. isn’t washed easily
C. washes easily D. doesn’t wash easily
