Twenty years ago,I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to 1 a passenger at 2: 30 a.m. When I arrived to collect,I found the building was 2except for a single light in a ground floor window.

I walked to the door and 3   , "Just a minute," answered a weak, 4 voice.

  After a long 5 ,a small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

  I took the suitcase to the 6 ,and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked 7 toward the car.

  She kept thanking me for my 8 . " It's nothing”,I told her. " I just try to treat my pas?sengers the way I would want my mother treated.”

  "Oh,you're such a good man," she said. When we got into the taxi,she gave me an  9, and then asked, " Could you drive through downtown?"

  "It's not the shortest 10   ," I answered quickly.

  "Oh,I'm in no hurry," she said. "I'm on my way to a hospice(收容所) .I don't have any family left.   The 11 says I don't have very long.”I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器) .

For the next two hours, we 12 through the city. She showed me the building which she had 13 worked in,the neighborhood where she had lived,and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone 14 as a girl.

  Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a(n) 15 building and would sit star?ing into the darkness, saying16

  At dawn, she suddenly said, "I,m 17 Let's go now.”

  We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

   "How much do I 18 you?" she asked.

  "Nothing. " I said.

  "You have to make a 19 ," she answered. "Oh,there are other passengers," I an?swered.

  Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held on to me tightly. Our hug

ended with her 20 , " You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”

(   ) 1.A. come up   B. bring up   C. send up   D. pick up

(   ) 2.A. elegant   B. noisy   C. magnificent   D. dark

(   ) 3.A. checked   B.knocked   C. struck   D. pushed

(   ) 4.A. elderly   B. friendly   C. lonely   D. manly

(   ) 5.A. hesitation   B. pause   C. absence   D. rest

(   ) 6.A. door   B. yard   C. car   D. building

(   ) 7.A. hurriedly   B. rapidly   C. slowly   D. worriedly

(   ) 8.A. courage   B. carefulness   C. kindness   D. modesty

(   ) 9.A. address   B. explanation   C. order   D. instruction

(   ) 10.A. path   B. journey   C. route   D. trip

(   ) 11.A. driver   B. doctor   C. husband   D. lawyer

(   ) 12.A. searched   B. talked                            C.drove   D. walked

(   ) 13.A. yet   B. never   C. once   D. before

(   ) 14.A. singing   B. dancing   C. creating   D. practicing

(   ) 15.A. common   B. particular   C. usual   D. normal

(   ) 16.A. anything   B. something   C. everything   D. nothing

(   ) 17.A. excited   B. frightened   C. tired   D. confused

(   ) 18.A. pay   B. owe   C. spend   D. waste

(   ) 19.A. career   B. living   C. contribution   D. choice

(   ) 20.A. conclusion   B. remark   C. message   D. information

 Max Vernon Mathews has been called the father of computer music. He created electronic tools so that people could use computers as musical instruments. He had a huge influence on the development of electronic music and how it is written, recorded and played.

  In 1957 ,Max Mathews wrote the first computer program that enabled a computer to create sound and play it back. At the time,he was working as an engineer at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey. His computer program was called Music. It enabled a large IBM computer to play a sev?enteen-second piece of music that he had written. The computer was so slow that it would have taken an hour to play the piece of music in seventeen seconds. For that reason, Mathews moved the work to a tape player, which could be sped up to play the music at a normal speed. He later said that the sound quality of the musical notes was not great, but the technical importance of the music was huge.

  The science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke visited Bell Laboratories in the1960s. He heard a computer "sing" the song"Daisy Bell" on devices and programs developed by Max Mathews and other engineers. Clarke noted this technology in his book"2001: A Space Odyssey," which was later made into a movie.

  Max Mathews had a long and productive career. He worked with composers like John Cage and Edgard Varese. He helped create a center for research in computer music in Paris. And he taught at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics in Stanford University in California.

  Mathews believed modern musicians were not making full use of the power of computer music. He said a violin always sounds like a violin, but with a computer, the way a violin sounds is unlimited. He said he did not want computer sounds to replace live music. But he said he hoped laptop computers would one day be considered serious instruments. 

(   ) 1. Mathews was likely to think that .

     A. the first piece of computer music wasn't music indeed

    B. the first piece of computer music was too short

    C. the IBM computer was fit for creating slow music

    D. the first computer music was of vital technical importance 

(   ) 2. Which of the following is true?

     A. Clarke helped develop computer music.

    B. Mathews became a character in a movie later on.

    C. Computer music was mentioned in Clarke's book.

    D. Clarke saw Mathews operate a singing computer.

(   ) 3. Which of the following words best describes Mathews?

A. Strange.    B. Creative.    C. Outgoing.    D. Curious.

(   ) 4. It is implied in the last paragraph that         .

     A. modern musicians don't understand computer music

    B. a violin does make much better sounds than a computer

    C. a computer can help improve sounds of traditional musical instruments

    D. laptops are more suitable to be used as serious musical instruments

  The venue of the 2012 Summer Olympics was officially awarded to London during the 117th IOS Session in Singapore on July 6,2005. Since then,London has been up to its neck in preparing for the games.

  London has a lot to be excited about being the next Olympic venue requires a major eco?nomic development in terms of tourism and infrastructure(基础设施) development as well as job generation and transportation systems expansion.

  Indeed, as early as 2004, plans for the Olympic Park were already known as part of London's bid. Standing on a 500-acre property specifically for the games, the Olympic Park will have a hockey centre,a handball arena,a water polo arena,a basketball arena and the Olympic Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held.

  It is expected that the Olympic Stadium alone would be a major attraction in itself,as it is designed to seat up to 80,000 spectators from all around the world.

  Although construction is still on-going,the improved Greenway walking and cycle paths provide an ideal advantage point for curious tourists to see much of the park.

  Along with the Olympic Park,Westfield Stratford City shopping center is also being devel?oped as part of the overall blueprint of the infrastructure preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

  It is said one of the factors that won London its bid is its plans of modernising its transport system. Public transport in London will be expanded.

  To directly transport commuters(月票乘客) from St. Pancras International to the Olympic Park,a high speed shuttle train will be put up. And of course, London minicabs will be as read-y as ever to serve.

Almost half a million tourists,athletes,and spectators are expected to come for the Olym?pics. This is a huge opportunity for generating both private and public income before, during and even after the games. There is no doubt the legacy of the Olympic Games will be felt in London long after 2012.

(   ) 1. London is said to win its bid for 2012 Summer Olympics partly because        .

     A. as early as 2004,the Olympic Park was already set up in London

    B. the Olympic Stadium is designed to seat up to 80,000 viewer

    C. the Greenway walking and cycle paths' ideal advantage

    D. London is planning to modernise its transport system

(   ) 2. The underlined word "blueprint" in the 6th paragraph means        .

 A. a booklet printed in blue

    B. a design intended to make something

    C. an activity prepared beforehand

    D. a museum decorated in blue print

(   ) 3. What is probably the most attractive part in the 2012 London Olympic Games?

      A. The Olympic Stadium.

    B. The Olympic Park.

    C. Westfield Stratford City shopping center.

    D. Public transport in London.

(   ) 4. The whole passage mainly tells us that        .

     A. public transport in London will require an expansion

    B. the Olympic Park will hold the opening and closing ceremonies

    C. London has been very busy in preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games

    D. many tourists, athletes and viewers will come to attend the 2012 Olympics

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