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 noticed every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I looked down on the computer and asked her, “What do all you 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 are 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 is 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 lines. The words 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.Where do you often hear the frightening words “Our computer is down”?
A．at the airport. B．At the gate.
C．On business D．In the ticket office
2.What could the girl in the ticket office do without asking the computer?
A．She could do nothing.
B．She could write out a ticket.
C．She could still sell a ticket.
D．She could answer passengers’ questions.
3.What does the underlined word “down” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A．White B．Broken C．Black D．Dark
4.We can learn from the last paragraph that .
A．a modern computer won’t be down
B．computers can take the place of human
C．there will be great changes in computers
D．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people
许多学生自从进入高一以来，觉得学习压力很大，你的好朋友李丽也如此，请你以小明的身份根据下列所提供的要点给她写一封信，提一些建议。
1．将自己的问题告诉老师、同学或者父母，请求得到他们的帮助。
2．不要总想着考试成绩，要多想想自己在哪些方面进步了，这样就会给自己自信。
3．多做运动，运动可以帮助自己缓解压力，并且有助于睡眠。
词数不少于120。
关键词汇：增加自信：increase confidence 有压力的，紧张的： stressed out
缓解压力：relief stress
1.It is said that the Yeti is a large, hairy animal that walks on two feet like a human being. (同义句转化)
The Yeti is said _______________________ animal that walks on two feet like a human being.
2.Tom is the student. The headmaster talked to Tom yesterday.( 改为含有定语从句的复合句)
Tom is the student ________________________________________________________.
3.Tom speaks English. His sister speaks English，too．(同义句转化)
Tom speaks English, ______________________________.
4.“Did you have an argument with Mary?” John asked.(改为间接引语)
________________________________________________________________________
5.His high scores on the psychological tests finally won him the status of China’s firs astronaut. (对划线部分强调)
_________________________________________________________________________
1.Lucy has a____________ all of the goals she set for herself in high school and is ready for new challenges at university.
2.After the big earthquake in Taiwan, people in the Chinese mainland begin to d________ their clothes, food and money to the disaster areas.
3.There are many _____________（解释） for where the name of the bridge came from, making readers puzzled.
4.Emily has been on a diet for two months, and now she looks much s__________ than before.
5.Anyone who w______________ the attack should call the police and report what they saw.
6.There is a big dog in this village, so you should take a stick for _________________ (保护).
7.Rowing was ________________ (官方地) recognized as an Olympic sport at London in 1908.
8.The man's________________ (幸存) was surprising, as the doctors thought he would die.
9.Only when we realize the importance of helping each other can we be devoted to building a _____________（和谐） society.
Everyone has got two personalities (性格) —the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control yourself, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, you often change your sleeping positions. The important position that best shows your secret personality is the one that you go to sleep.
If you go to sleep on your back, youre a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by new ideas. You dont like to make people unhappy, so you never express your real feelings. Youre quite shy and you arent very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a person who likes to keep secrets. You worry a lot and youre always easily becoming sad. You never want to change your ideas, but you are satisfied with your life the way it is. You usually live for today not for tomorrow.
If you sleep on curled up (蜷缩), you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and often protect yourself from being hurt, so you are very defensive. You’re shy and you don’t usually like meeting people. You like to be on your own.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced (平衡的) personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. Youre usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel worried, but you dont often get unhappy. You always say what you think, even if it makes people angry.
1.You may find the passage in_____.
A. a science magazine B. a guide book
C. a sports newspaper D. a story book
2.When does the sleeping position best show your secret personality?
A. In the daytime. B. At the beginning of sleep.
C. At night. D. During the deep sleep.
3.Tina hardly tells her secrets to her friends. She probably goes to sleep _______.
A. on curled up B. on her stomach
C. on her back D. on her side
4. What does the word "defensive" mean in the passage?
A. 易怒的 B. 攻击性的
C. 外向的 D. 有戒心的
5.What does the passage tell us?
A. Sleeping on your side is the best way of sleeping.
B. Changing positions will cause sleeping problems.
C. Sleeping positions show people’s secret personalities.
D. Enough sleep makes people look better and healthier.
A teacher stood in front of his history class of twenty students just before handing out the final exam. His students sat quietly and waited for him to speak.
Its been a pleasure teaching you this term, he said. “You’ve all worked very hard, so I have a pleasant surprise for you. Everyone who chooses not to take the final exam will get a ‘B’ for the course.”
Most of the students jumped out of their seats. They thanked the teacher happily, and walked out of the classroom. Only a few students stayed. The teacher looked at them. “This is your last chance,” he said. “Does anyone else want to leave?” All the students there stayed in their seats and took out their pencils.
The teacher smiled. “Congratulations (祝贺),” he said. “I’m glad to see you believe in yourselves. You all get A’s.”
1. This story most probably took place ______.
A. at the beginning of the term
B. in the middle of the term
C. at the end of the term
D. at the beginning of the school year
2.Most of the students got Grade ______.
A. A B. B C. C D. F
3.Why did some students stay in their seats?
A. Because they wanted to take the exam.
B. Because the teacher told them to stay in their class.
C. Because they were afraid to leave.
D. Because they didnt have anything to do.
4.The teacher gave the students who stayed in the classroom As because ______.
A. the teacher liked them
B. they were cleverer than the other students
C. they believed in themselves
D. they studied hard
5.The underlined word themin Paragraph 3 refers to ______.
A. students staying in their seats
B. students leaving the classroom
C. their seats
D. all the students
