Paracutin was born in Mexico in February, 1943. At the end of one week Paracutin was 500 feet high, and it is now over 9,000 feet high. Today Paracutin is asleep.
What is Paracutin? It was the first volcano(火山) in the world which was seen from its birth right up to the present day. On February 20, 1943, a peasant and his wife set out to work in their corn fields from the Mexican village of Paracutin. They were surprised to find the earth warm under their feet. Suddenly they heard noises deep in the earth and a small hole appeared in their field. In the afternoon there was a sudden loud noise and stones were thrown high in the air. The peasants ran from the field and turned to watch. They saw the birth of a volcano.
Large quantities of stone and lava(岩浆) broke out and a little hill began to form. By evening this hill was 100 feet high and hot ashes(灰烬) were falling on the village. At night the strong light of the hot lava lit up the countryside. The trees near the village were killed and the villagers had to leave their houses. When the village was destroyed, its name was given to the volcano. The news quickly reached Mexico City, far to the east. Many people came to watch the scene. The volcano grew and grew for ten years and hundreds of square miles of forest were destroyed. Then Paracutin went to sleep.
1.Paracutin was once the name of .
A. a peasant B. a village
C. an old mountain D. a Mexican
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Paracutin is not active now.
B. Paracutin is the first volcano in the world.
C. Paracutin did not exist until the early 1940s.
D. It took Paracutin 10 years to grow to its present size.
3.What was destroyed in the growing up of the volcano?
A. The little hill of stone.
B. The villagers living close by.
C. The forest and fields around Paracutin.
D. The Mexican peasant and his wife.
4.In this passage the writer is trying to .
A. tell us an interesting happening
B. explain a scientific theory
C. make us believe something
D. make up an interesting story
5.What can we learn about volcanoes from this passage?
A. New volcanoes may appear in places where people do not expect them to be.
B. Volcanoes are always growing.
C. Volcanoes are active from time to time.
D. New volcanoes are active for only ten years.
Around the year 1000 A.D., some people from Northwest India began to travel westward. Nobody knows why.1. they left their homes, they didn't settle down any more, but spent their lives 2.(move) from one to another. Their later generations were called the Romany people of Gypsies (吉普赛人). There're Gypsies all over the world, many of 3. are still traveling with no fixed homes. There are about 8,000,000 of them, including 3,000,000 in the Eastern Europe. Gypsies sometimes have 4. hard time in foreign countries because they are different. People may be afraid of them, look down 5. them, or think that they are criminals(罪犯). The Nazis treated the Gypsies 6.(cruel), like the Jews, and nobody knows how many of them 7.(die) in Hitler's death camps. Gypsies have 8. own language, Romany. They like music and dancing. Traveling is of great importance to them, and many Gypsies are unhappy when they have to stay in one place. Because of this, it is difficult 9. Gypsy children to go to school, so Gypsies are often unable to read and write. In some places, the educational authorities try to arrange special traveling schools for Gypsy children, so that they can get the same education 10. other children.
The telephone rang in the police station at Richmond, California, the US. "_________ station? A train for Santa Fe collided(相撞) a _________ at the McDonald Street Crossing. Please come here at once. With an ambulance(救护车), too. A man is badly wounded," said a(n) _________ voice of a young woman.
"OK. We'll come soon. Please stay there and wait," replied the policeman.
Within a minute, a police car and an ambulance _________ off. Soon they got to the crossing, but only to find everything was _________. No collision, no wounded man.
"What a dirty _________!" said the policeman angrily. "We must find out that mischievous(恶意的)_________ and..."
They had not been able to say anything about a _________ when they heard the whistle of a train was nearing them quickly. All of a sudden, a truck appeared. It came _________ towards them, too. When it was passing the crossing, it suddenly __________ to move on. Right then and there, before the eyes of all the people present, the train collided with the truck heavily and struck it dozens of metres away.
When Randolph Bruce, the driver, was helped out of the damaged truck, he was badly wounded just as the young woman had foretold(预言) on the phone. As he was taken to hospital in time, he was __________ at last. Later the police did whatever they could to __________ the woman who had __________ them, but failed.
It is really __________ that a prophecy(预言) should agree with the fact so __________.
1.A. Weather B. Railway C. Fire D. Police
2.A. bus B. truck C. taxi D. train
3.A. sweet B. anxious C. beautiful D. low
4.A. turned B. took C. started D. walked
5.A. bad B. satisfied C. pleasant D. fine
6.A. call B. lie C. trick D. plan
7.A. policeman B. boy C. woman D. driver
8.A. reward B. praise C. thanks D. punishment
9.A. turning B. running C. starting D. passing
10.A. continued B. refused C. began D. stopped
11.A. saved B. dead C. awake D. alive
12.A. find B. meet C. punish D. thank
13.A. laughed B. telephoned C. repeated D. visited
14.A. exciting B. surprising C. pleasing D. interesting
15.A. equally B. truly C. exactly D. carefully
1.随着春天的到来，万物复苏了。(as)
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2.这地方如此美丽以至于每年都有许多游客被吸引到这里。(so...that...)
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3.由于大雾，100多辆车堵在高速上。(as a result of)
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4.即使他们几乎没有共同点，他们相处很融洽。(in common)
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5.我相信不久房价就会下降。(before)
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A Northern Ireland team is leading the research for a thinking computer which can sense a user's moods(情绪)．Researchers at Queen's University in Belfast hope to complete the 10－million－euro project for an emotion－sensitive(感知情感功能的)computer within four years.
The aim is to make computers think and do things more like humans. And 160 researchers join in the project. The university's researchers made an agreement with the European Commission. The work may try to make “multi－modal interfaces (界面 )”which allow machines to sense and respond to the moods of the user.
Programme coordinator (协调者) Professor Roddy Cowie said while it sounded like science fiction，computers which responded to human feelings would appear.
“At the moment，our use of computers is limited by the fact that we need a keyboard and a screen to access(使用) them，”he said.
“But feelings are part of normal speech, and experience has shown that most users are deeply uncomfortable with speech interfaces that ignore them－too uncomfortable to use them very much.”
“If we can make computers more expressive, and also less challenging to use，there is a great chance to let people make full use of information technology.”
The emotion－sensitive computer would have its own “personality” and build a social relationship with the user.
“It's a fair bet that in 30 years' time, emotion－sensitive interfaces will be as much part of life as windows and mouse interfaces are now，”said Professor Cowie.
The project team believes such computers would play an important part in teaching and learning.
1.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. Researchers at Queen's University have completed a project.
B. The research for an emotion－sensitive computer is being led by a Northern Ireland team.
C. 160 researchers have joined in the 10 million－euro project for a thinking computer.
D. Computers are playing a more and more important part in our daily life.
2.It can be learned from the passage that ________．
A. an emotion－sensitive computer has been invented and is being put into use
B. an emotion－sensitive computer cannot respond to the moods of the user
C. an emotion－sensitive computer has not been invented by the team
D. the research for an emotion－sensitive computer has not gained people's support
3.What does Professor Roddy Cowie think of the emotion－sensitive computer?
A. He thinks it is only a part of science fiction.
B. He thinks it is worth the research and it is easy to produce.
C. He believes it is impossible for the team to invent the emotion－sensitive computer.
D. He believes it can come into being.
4.In Professor Roddy Cowie's opinion，________ limits our use of computers.
A. the fact that a keyboard and a screen are needed to use computers
B. the fact that we don't know much about computers
C. the fact that feelings are part of normal speech
D. the fact that the emotion－sensitive computer has its own “personality”
5.What are emotion－sensitive computers believed to do in the future?
A. They will take the place of teachers in teaching and learning.
B. They can build a social relationship with human beings.
C. They will replace human beings and control the world.
D. They will have the same“personality”as their users.
Computers have done us a lot since they turned up. In the future they will play a more important part in many _____，such as education，transport，personal lives，scientific research and so on. Nowadays，computers are being _____ in agriculture and industry and can help the farmers to _____ the conditions of the plants.
More and more computers will come into our daily life with the _____ of science and technology. If you want to change money or pay your electricity bills，you won't have to go to the _____．A computer and a telephone will help you. It can also help you to do the housework and it can even _____ human voices and carry out the instructions. It is _____ that the majority(大多数)of the labour force will work at home. People will be able to use the videophone _____ conferences. This can help us to save a lot of energy and _____．It is said that trains in Japan will have no drivers，because they'll be well ______ by computers，which can also tell the best ______ between trains.
Computer programmes for ______ whole texts are already well developed. You can ______ the name of a certain subject and a worldwide list of book titles will ______ on your screen. You may choose ______ you want.
1.A. families B. fields C. factories D. places
2.A. used B. put C. shown D. given
3.A. form B. grow C. control D. manage
4.A. increase B. progress C. production D. development
5.A. office B. bank C. shop D. post
office
6.A. understand B. carry C. hear D. recognize
7.A. important B. necessary C. possible D. complete
8.A. at B. for C. with D. in
9.A. material B. time C. place D. money
10.A. operated B. done C. made D. run
11.A. position B. direction C. distance D. way
12.A. storing B. writing C. remaining D. recording
13.A. give B. put C. type D. write
14.A. show B. appear C. offer D. come up
15.A. whatever B. what C. whichever D. which
