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.
- A.
- 2.
Most of the people who use the fingerprint system are ______.
- A.youngsters
- B.housewives
- C.IT fans
- D.the elderly
- A.
- 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
- A.
- 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.
- A.
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.
【小题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. |
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. |
A.For household use. | B.On the road. |
C.Slow driving. | D.Fast driving. |
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. |
Scientists have not come close to understanding all the different kinds of life on the planet, but US researcher Craig Venter is already working on creating the first artificial life.
Venter and his researchers made a breakthrough this August. They successfully moved the DNA of one type of bacteria(细菌) to a yeast(酵母) cell, changed it, then put it into another bacterial cell.
“Bacteria have systems that protect them from foreign DNA,” Venter explained to the BBC. In the experiment, the team managed to block this system.
The experiment was performed on a simple type of bacteria called Mycoplasma mycoides. The team took the bacteria’s genes and put them into a yeast cell.
Putting the DNA in a yeast cell allowed the team to change the genes----in this case, taking out a gene that was not necessary for the bacteria to live.
They then put the gene into a host bacteria cell. The cell went on to divide normally, producing new healthy bacteria.
In January, the team created artificial genes of a new type of bacteria. Their next goal is to put the artificial DNA into a host cell to create a new species, according to a report in Science magazine.
“If we don’t make any errors, I think it should work and we should have the first artificial species by the end of the year,” Venter said in the report.
The first artificial life from is likely to be a simple man-made bacteria, to prove that the technology can work. But that form will be followed by more complex bacteria that turn coal into cleaner natural gas, or algae that can take in carbon dioxide and change it into fuel.
Many scientists think it’s good news to have this artificial life, but others are worried that the technology to create new organisms might end up in the wrong hands, with dangerous results.
【小题1】Craig Venter and his team are working to ______.
A.create a new animal |
B.clone a new species |
C.produce the first artificial bacteria |
D.develop a new system |
a. A gene was removed and put into a host bacteria cell.
b. The genes were put into a yeast cell.
c. The cell produced new healthy bacteria.
d. The genes were changed.
e. Some genes were taken out of Mycoplasma mycoides.
A.d-e-a-c-b | B.e-b-d-a-c |
C.a-d-e-c-b | D.b-e-d-c-a |
A.cure deadly diseases |
B.prepare the Earth for natural disasters |
C.prove that the technology can work |
D.improve the earth’s environment |
A.Venter and his team are the only scientists trying to create artificial life |
B.The experiment was based on research into different kinds of life on Earth |
C.A new type of bacteria was created in January |
D.All scientists are not in favor of the research |