题目内容

A new system that scans customers’ fingerprints and deducts (扣除) the grocery bill from their bank accounts has taken supermarkets in southwestern Germany by storm and is being picked up by hardware stores, school restaurants and even bars are picking it up.

The Edeka supermarket chain is the first retail (零售) business in Germany to use the new system. “Almost a quarter of our customers pay with their fingers,” said an employee at the headquarters. Edeka has tried the system at 70 of its supermarkets and customers like it.

“At first we thought that only the young who really keep up with the latest technology would be interested, but we were wrong,” said Stefan Sewoester from IT Werke. “Almost two-thirds of the people who use the system are 40 and older,” he said.

IT Werke, a computer company, is one of the pioneers of fingerprint payment software in Germany. It has helped about 150 shops, restaurants and bars to put in the fingerprint scanning machines.

To sign up for the service, customers must have their fingerprints taken and leave their addresses and banking details with the shop. The shop then takes the cost of goods directly out of the customer’s bank account.

“It is a godsend for elderly people because they do not have to remember their pin-code to pay with their bank cards, or to look around for their glasses or cash.” Sewoester said.

The stores benefit from the system, too. It saves more than time in the check-out line. It also cuts out the hidden costs of accepting electronic card payments.

Fingerprint date profiling has long been used to control access and for other security purposes in Germany’s airports, laboratories and nuclear power plants. IT Werke plans to keep refining the retail use of the system. It wants to introduce fingerprint payment in school restaurants with an additional feature that might appeal to parents-they could disable their children’s access to junk food.

1. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Pay with Fingers.                                                B. New Development in Technology.

C. Supermarket Revolution.                                  D. Change in Computer Software.

2. Most of the people who use the fingerprint system are ______.

A. youngsters                B. housewives               C. IT fans              D. the elderly

3. The underlined word “godsend” probably means ______.

A. great fortune     sent by God                           B. good luck sent by God

C. good things that happen unexpectedly                    D. gift sent by God

4. What do we know by inference from the passage?

A. Fewer shops will try the new software because of the cost.

B. The new service requires certain personal information.

C. IT Werke should be the largest computer company in Germany.

D. The new change in payment only benefits elderly people.

【小题1】A

【小题2】D

【小题3】C

【小题4】B

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  Bill Gates is one of the most famous people in the world. His books have been translated into many languages.

  What many people do not know is that he is not the only founder of Microsoft. A lot of honor must go to his partner, Paul Allen.

  Allen and Gates met at Lakeside Preparatory School. They and some other friends became interested in computers. They began skipping(逃)PE lessons to play on the school computers. Their school did a deal with a computer company. It al-lowed Allen and Gates to use the company's computers for free. They even started their first software business while in high school. Computers were their lives.

  After leaving school, Alien worked as a programmer. Gates went to Harvard University, one of the best universities in the world, to study law. The invention of computers was small enough to be used at homes, called personal computers, helped Allen persuade Gates to leave Harvard University and start Microsoft together. They designed software like MS-DOS and BASIC for large companies like IBM. However, they were not satisfied with the software and came up with a new system, called Windows. Allen was one of the main programmers. The equally successful Microsoft Office soon followed.

  Allen fell ill in 1983. He stopped working full-time for Microsoft. He took time off, read, traveled and stayed with his family. Allen and Gates are still close. He is still involved in Microsoft, and as one of the richest men in the world, doesn't regret leaving.

(1) It is generally believed by people that ________.

[  ]

A.Bill Gates is the richest person in the world with little education

B.Bill Gates alone founded Microsoft

C.Paul Allen is a close competitor in computers against Bill Gates

D.Paul Allen is also a successful writer besides his achievement in computers

(2) We know from this passage that ________.

[  ]

A.Allen and Gates have known each other for a long time

B.Allen first used a computer at a company

C.Allen and Gates never attended a PE lesson

D.Allen and Gates helped companies with problems for money

(3) Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[  ]

A.Paul Allen invented personal computers.

B.Bill Gates joined Microsoft after he finished his law degree at Harvard University.

C.Paul Allen lost all of his interest in computers after he fell ill.

D.Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft at the same time.

(4) The best title for this passage is“________”.

[  ]

A.The Other Half of Microsoft

B.Bill Gates

C.How Microsoft Started

D.Microsoft and Its History

My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.

If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN (个人身份号码)to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.

Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console (控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.

The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.

I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today.

I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?”

What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. How to develop a new system.            B. The function of the PIN.

C. A home for the future.                  D. Easy life in the future.

What’s the purpose when the writer wrote the fourth paragraph?

A. To let readers know why his ideas are new.

B. To let readers know how special his house is.

C. To explain the importance of the PIN and the console.

D. To explain more easily what the functions of the PIN and the console are.

The writer’s new house is different from ordinary ones mainly because _____.

A. it has been controlled by computers

B. you can make a telephone call anywhere

C. it has your favorite music following you

D. the writer is able to change his new idea into practice

What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage?

A. An IT expert.    B. A famous doctor. 

C. An idealist      D. An experienced teacher.

What can’t be done in the writer’s new house?

A. turns on the lights

B. play music

C. get a telephone call

D. go swimming

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external(外部的) result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language--- all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.

    By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts (路标)or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they go through new experiences and unexpected obstacles(阻碍). In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.

    In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to be faced with the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential(基本的) to our ability to grow.

    These feelings of insecurity and self – doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we do not face and overcome these internal(内部的) fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease(停止) to grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

1..A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when______..

A.he has given up his smoking habit

B.he has made great efforts in his work       

C.he is interested in making anything new  

D.he has tried to determine where he is on his journey

2..In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would______.

A.judge his ability to grow from his own achievements

B.succeed in climbing up the social ladder

C.face difficulties and take up challenges

D.aim high and reach his goal each time

3..When the author says “a new way of being” (para. 3), he is referring to _____.

A.a new way of taking risks

B.a new approach to experiencing the world 

C.a new system of adapting to change

D.a new method of finding ourselves

4..For personal growth, the author may not support __________.       .

A.curiosity and more chances

B.being quick in self – adaptation

C.open – minded to new experiences

D.avoidance of internal fears and doubts

 

The oil resources which are left will not last very long. This means that all vehicles such as cars, trains, buses, planes and ships that need oil to work will not be able to run. So it will be necessary to develop a new system of transport which uses a fuel more than oil. Electric vehicles are one possibility. In Britain, most families have at least one car and this car is used every day. It could be that only one person in the family drives the car to work or for shopping. The number of cars on the road which are almost empty perhaps helps to explain why the oil is used up so quickly. The family car is a very useful form of transport but it is also a great waste of energy, especially if it is compared with buses or trains. Much petrol is used by a car which is traveling at 120 kilometers an hour. Clearly, it would be better if there were fewer cars on the road and more speed limits so that the oil which is left will last as long as possible.

About 25% of Britain’s total consumption of energy is domestic—it is used only in the home. Just over 20% is used for transport. Most of the energy is used in industry. It is difficult to suggest any possible energy conservation in industry because many of the suggestions would mean that some people would lose their jobs. It is important that industry produces the same amount of products using the same amount of workers.

Obviously, conservation is not going to be the answer to the energy crisis(危机). The most it can do is to give more time for a better solution to be found. The more time which is available for new sources of energy to be developed, the better it is because there is still a lot of work to be done in order to find suitable, safe methods of producing energy.

1.In Britain, what reason could help to explain why oil is used up very quickly?

A.People use cars every day.

B.Most families have at least one car.

C.Many cars on the road are almost empty.

D.Electric vehicles are used.

2.Which of the following is true?

A.Compared with buses and trains, the family car is useful and can save energy.

B.A car driving at the speed of 80 kilometers per hour uses half as much petrol as a car traveling at 160 kilometers per hour.

C.It is possible for people to develop vehicles.

D.Limitation of the number of cars on the road and their speed will help the oil last longer.

3.What does the underlined word “domestic” mean in Paragraph Two?

A.For household use.                      B.On the road.

C.Slow driving.                           D.Fast driving.

4.What is a better way to solve the problem of the energy crisis?

A.Governments should cut down the number of family cars on the road.

B.The speed of vehicles must be limited.

C.New sources of energy should be found and developed.

D.Factories should cut down on production.

 

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