题目内容
Every year landslides (滑坡) cause 25 to 50 deaths and $1.5 billion in damage in the United States. They account for 15 percent of the deaths from natural disasters in Europe. And in December, a single event killed more than 200 people in the Philippines. Sending workers to stabilize (加固) mountainsides using steel bars and cement (水泥) can help prevent disaster, but it introduces new difficulties. Shaking drills produce harmful dust and loosen heavy, dangerous debris (岩屑). "It's quite a risky job,"says Giorgio Pezzuto of D'Appolonia, an engineering company in Italy.
D'Appolonia, working with eight other companies, may have an answer: a three-ton robot called Roboclimber. "The idea is to operate a machine far away that can drill without a human being on board,"says Pezzuto, manager for the project, which is supported by the European Commission. Engineers claim that the machine will be faster and cheaper than manual labor. The robot, a large radio-controlled four-legged mechanical spider(蜘蛛), has cost at least $2 million so far. The final product should be able to climb unstable mountainsides, drill holes, in_sert bars and cement, and collect data on the slope's stability. Testing should begin in May.
64. The underlined word "event"(in Paragraph 1) refers to _____.
A. landslide B. machine C. earthquake D. flood
65. The purpose in writing this text is _____.
A. to tell people how serious the damage caused by landslides is
B. to tell people that sending workers to stabilize mountainsides is a risky job
C. to introduce a product that can be used to stabilize mountainsides
D. to show people how to use a new product
66. What does the robot look like?
A. A human being. B. A spider. C. A truck. D. A drill.
67. The biggest advantage of this product is that _____.
A. it will be faster and cheaper than manual labor
B. it can climb mountainsides, drill holes, in_sert bars and cement
C. it can collect data on the slope's stability
D. it can drill without a human being on board
【小题1】A
【小题2】C
【小题3】B
【小题4】D
Everyday, 340 million people speak it. One billion people are learning it and it is said that by 2050, half of the world’s population will be using it. What are we talking about? That is the global language—English.
The English language started in Britain in the 5th century. It is a mixed language. It was built up when German. Scandinavian and French invaders settled in England and created a common language for communication.
Today it is the official language of the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland as well as many islands in the Caribbean. Many other countries and regions use it for politics and business, for example, India. Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. English is also one of the official languages of Hong Kong.
But global advertising and pop music mean that in most countries, you will see or hear some English. Thanks to McDonalds, we all know about “burgers”. “fries” and “milkshakes”. Songs by Madonna, Britney Spears and Celine Dion are in English. We can sing along, even if we do not understand what we are singing!
English is a messy (杂乱的) language. Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, computer-related words such as "blogging", "download" and "chartroom". Also included are words that teenagers use. Who does not know “cool”, “OK” and “hello”?
Other languages also influence English. Many English words come from French. Words like “café” and expressions like “c'est la vie” (that is life) are all part of the English language. On the other hand, the French language includes English words like "le weekend" and "le camping". German words are also part of English. Words like "kindergarten" come from the German language.
Recently, British people have become interested in “yoga”. But the word comes from an ancient Hindu language in India.
【小题1】The English language has a history of ______.
A.over 2000 years | B.over 500 years |
C.over 1500 years | D.over 1000 years |
A.because of | B.in order to | C.as usual | D.as if. |
A.It has been changing all the time. |
B.It has borrowed words from all the other languages. |
C.French words are used by the English because dictionaries have French words. |
D.Singers and film stars have the greatest influence on language. |
A.One billion people | B.340 million |
C.almost all the people in the world. | |
D.not mentioned above, but the number is growing rapidly. |
A.the USA | B.Nigeria | C.the Philippines | D.Norway |