题目内容
The history of inventions leading up to the modern computer is a story of people trying hard to create machines that complete many tasks automatically, such as adding up large numbers, controlling airplanes in flight, etc. Many of the earliest methods of recording and counting data still remain mysteries (something that is not understood).
In England you can visit Stonehenge, where a mysterious collection of large stones has stood since 1,500 BC. Scientists have never discovered the stones’ purpose. However, by observing the way the sun shines between the stones, many people believe Stonehenge was used to predict the seasons and eclipses (蚀) of the sun and the moon.
Another early method of computing was a brass calculator, which existed in Spain nearly 1,000 years ago. The machine was shaped like a human head, with numbers instead of teeth. The shape became its undoing; some people were afraid the machine was supernatural, and destroyed it. In early recorded history, calculators that used the sun, or objects in the night sky, were developed to be used on ships to explore the world beyond the Tigris-Euphrates Valley of southwestern Asia. One such device, dating from the first century, worked with a system of gears designed to track the orbits of stars and planets. These orbits became the marked routes for ships.
In ancient Rome and Greece, one of the earliest machines ever used for processing numbers was the abacus. This simple collection of beads has been used for centuries in China and other Asian countries. The abacus is built with columns of beads attached to a rectangular wooden frame. Inside the wooden frame is a crossbar that separates each column of beads into two sections. In the Chinese version there are two beads above the bar and five below. Each column of beads means a different range of numbers. The first column from the right represents ones, the second tens, the third hundreds, etc. By moving beads, calculations are quickly completed. Because values are shown by positions, the abacus is very valuable in teaching arithmetic to blind students.
Experienced users operate the abacus very quickly. After World War II, a speed competition was arranged in Japan between the fastest calculator operator in the US Army and an employee of the Japanese Post Office using an abacus. The American was defeated easily by the moving beads of his opponent.
62. What does the author mainly talk about in this passage?
A. Old methods to manage data. B. The great inventions in science.
C. The mysterious historical events. D. Theory and practice in computing.
63. How does the author try to prove his point?
A. By making comparisons. B. By analyzing the cause.
C. By telling a true story. D. By giving examples.
64. The underlined word “undoing” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
A. cause of bad luck B. reason for change C. way to escape D. loss of power
65. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
A. The fast development of computer science.
B. The use of abacus in Japanese Post Office.
C. The inventor of the first modern computer.
D. The invention of the first analytical engine.
ADAD
nurses usually wear
white uniforms. Babies are dressed in white at baptisms（洗礼）and brides wear white wedding gowns at weddings.
White in these cases is the symbol of innocence or purity. A “blogger” is a person who writes on an Internet computer Web site called a “blog”. The word “blog” is a short way of saying web log, or personal Web site. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like.
There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas to many people who read them. They contain links to other Web sites. And they provide a place for people to write their ideas and react to the ideas of others.
A research company called Peruse has studied more than 3,000 Web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year.
However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products.
At the same time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winner closed his free blog service, weblogs.com. He says the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago, and thousands of people had written on it.
One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca’s Pocket. It involves much useful information for readers. Rebecca Blood created the Web site in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site. That article led to a book called “The Weblog Handbook”. It has been translated into four languages so far.
Ms Blood says Rebecca’s Pocket gets about 30,000 visitors a month. She writes about anything and everything----politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent people from stealing money from online bank accounts.
1.The text is written mainly to ____
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A．introduce an Internet computer Web site called “blog” |
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B．introduce a way of reading on blogs |
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C．tell readers about blogs |
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D．tell readers how to write blogs |
2.From the text we can learn that blogs cover almost everything except __ _.
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A．different ideas |
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B．medical advice |
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C．advertisements |
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D．account codes |
3.According to this passage , which of the following is NOT true?
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A．Politicians don’t use blogs at all |
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B．A lot of bloggers no longer write or read blogs |
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C．Those who like to use blogs are mostly teenage girls |
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D．Dave Winer closed his “weblogs.com” because of money shortage |
4. The reason why Rebecca’s Pocket is still going strong is that____
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A．it was created by a woman |
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B．it provides plenty of useful information and advice |
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C．it is about the history of books |
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D．it has editions in at least four different languages |
Street art can be found on buildings, sidewalks, street signs and even trash cans from Tokyo to Paris to New York City. This special kind of art can take the form of paintings, sculptures, cloth or even stickers (张贴物). Street art has become part of a global visual culture. Now, even art museums and galleries are collecting the works of street artists.
It is not easy to provide an exact history of the street art movement. This kind of art has developed in many kinds of ways in places all over the world. Also, because it is illegal to paint public and private property without permission, street artists usually work secretly. This secretive nature of street art and its countless forms make it hard to define exactly. And people have different opinions about the movement. Some think street art is a crime and destroys property. But others see this art as a rich form of non-traditional cultural expression.
Many experts say the movement began in New York City in the 1960s. Young adults would use paint in special cans to spray their “tag” on walls and train cars around the city. This tag was a name they created to identify themselves and their artwork. This colorful style of writing is also called graffiti (涂鸦). It is visually exciting and energetic. Some graffiti paintings were signs marking the territories of city gangs or illegal crime groups.
Graffiti also became a separate movement expressing the street culture of young people living in big cities. Graffiti art represented social and political rebellion (叛逆). This was art that rejected the accepted rules of culture and power. These artists could travel around areas of the city making creative paintings for everyone to see. Sometimes this street art created a conflict between artists and city officials. Graffiti artists created their images and city officials quickly painted over them.
During the 1980s, two New York painters — Keith Haring and Jean Michel began showing their work in art galleries and museums. This is when street art started to become part of the more general popular culture.
1.What can we infer from the first paragraph?
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A．Street art has become popular and is accepted as a kind of culture. |
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B．Street art is very special compared with other forms of popular art. |
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C．Many people are beginning to learn street art. |
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D．Street art is better developed in big cities than in rural areas. |
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
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A．“TAG” was a word created by people to distinguish street artists and the other artists. |
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B．There are three reasons explaining why it is hard to define the history of street art. |
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C．The movement of street art began in the 1980s in New York City. |
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D．All the people don’t think that the street art is a rich form of cultural expression. |
3.The city officials used to get rid of graffiti probably because _____________.
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A．they caused arguments between people |
B．they were ugly in someone’s eyes |
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C．they were not painted under proper guidance |
D．they didn’t express traditional culture |