For those who are tired of doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer: a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app (application).
Strange though it may seem — "my wife already does that" was a common response among attendees viewing the device when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week — Samsung is just one of many appliance makers racing to install a large number of internet-connected features in machines in an effort to make them "smart".
Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted. This year, it's Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridges that can tell you when your groceries are going bad.
The washers and dryers, available starting in the spring, connect to any smartphone through a downloadable application. The phone can then be used as a remote control, so the machines can be turned on and off while their owner is at work or on the bus.
Samsung says it's not just something new — the app connection actually has some practical uses.
"If you started to dry clothes in the morning and forgot to take them out, you can go to your phone and restart your dryer for the time when come home, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go." said spokesperson Amy Schmidt.
The company also says that with electricity rate (电价) varying depending on the time of day, more control over when the machines are used can help save money.
Perhaps, but what they will probably really accomplish is what all good technologies do — enable laziness. Rather than getting up to check on whether the laundry is done, users will instead monitor it on their phones while watching TV.
【小题1】 What can be inferred from the common response of the attendees at the CES?

A.The machine will be a big success.
B.their wives like doing the laundry.
C.The machine is unrelated to their life.
D.This kind of technology is familiar to them.
【小题2】We can conclude from Samsung's statements that ________.
A.the app connection makes life easier
B.it is better to dry clothes in the morning
C.smartphone can shorten the drying time
D.we should refresh clothes back at home
【小题3】What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A.The laundry should be frequently checked
B.Lazy people like using such machines
C.Good technologies also cause problems
D.Television may help do the laundry


四、阅读理解
There’s a box of chocolates in the fridge. It’s been there for more than a week since I was given it as a present. I do love chocolates, but they make me fat if I eat too many! Can I control myself? If I eat one, will I have to eat all of them?
My son Harry is obsessed with playing Wii(/wi:/, 任天堂的一款游戏机) games. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get him to concentrate on his homework because he wants to play some more.
Last week I had to wake up a student in my class. I asked him why he was so tried and he said he had stayed up late to play his favourite Internet game, Farmville. He said he just couldn’t stop playing it! Now his academic work is suffering because he can’t control his urge to play games.
What my son, my student, and I myself need is simply self-control.
In the late 1960’s, American psychologist Walter Mischel launched an experiment about self-control. He left a group of four-year-olds in a room and told them that if they could wait 20 minutes, they could have two marshmallows, a kind of sweet. If they couldn’t wait, he would only give them one.
In videos of the experiment, you can see children squirming, kicking, hiding their eyes—desperately trying to control themselves. Some did wait patiently, while others couldn’t wait a single minute.
Years later, the self-controlled children turned out to get higher SAT scores and got into better colleges. The children who couldn’t wait were more likely to become bullies.
So, the chocolates are still in the fridge. My son Harry is doing his homework with a promise that he can play on the Wii later, and my student says he will try harder to control himself. We all have our own temptations. But if we can control them, we will achieve more.
56. Which of the following is different from the other three?
A. The writer.                                          B. Harry.
C. The writer’s student.                             D. Walter Mischel.
57. We can know from paragraph 5 to paragraph 7 that____________.
A. all the children got two marshmallows
B. all the children waited patiently  
C. self-control can help children succeed later
D. the children who lack self-control get higher SAT scores
58. Which of the following statement is true?
A. The writer is addicted to Wii.
B. The writer’s son is addicted to Farmville.
C. The writer’s student is addicted to chocolates.
D. The writer’s student is addicted to Farmville.
59. What does the underlined word mean in paragraph 5?
A. Something we can eat.                   B. A kind of toy.
C. A kind of mushroom.                     D. A kind of prize.

Lawmakers in the United States have expanded an investigation into the use of location-tracking systems on mobile devices. The action follows recent reports about the storing of information on the Apple iPhone. Some people consider location tracking to be a threat to personal privacy and security.
Allan Friedman, the research director, says, “All wireless companies do some location tracking as part of their networks. This information is usually stored by the companies, not the devices, and there are laws to protect it. Law enforcement(执法) agencies, for example, have to have a fairly high standard before it can access that data. And the phone company is also prohibited from selling that information.
Now, two researchers report that location tracking information is being stored directly on Apple devices. They said Apple’s newest operating systems gather global positioning system and timestamp information. The information is stored on the device in a file that is also uploaded (上传) to any computer that the device is connected to. The researchers say the information is available to anyone who has access to the device or computer.
Allan Friedman says, “This raises additional concerns. There’s the idea that because it’s on my phone and on my computer, rogue applications(恶意程序) that I pay for or that I’m tricked into downloading may be able to access this data and somehow misuse it.”
Apple says it is “not tracking the location of your iPhone”. It is simply keeping a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cellphone towers near the user’s location. This information is meant to help the iPhone quickly find its location when needed.
Letters have been sent to some of the leading mobile device developers, including Apple and Google. The letters asked for more information about their location tracking systems. Allan Friedman calls this an important start to strengthening privacy laws. He says, “There aren’t strong controls over things like location information, what they are doing with it, how long they are keeping it. And perhaps the most important question is, is my location data with other facts about me?”
【小题1】Why did American lawmakers investigate the use of location-tracking systems on cell-phones?

A.Because the systems can store users’ information
B.Because many users have suffered loss after using them.
C.Because it is thought to threaten users’ privacy.
D.Because many reporters have shown the problem of the systems.
【小题2】 Allan Friedman believes that ________.
A.wireless companies focus on personal privacy.
B.people are forbidden to get access to private data at will
C.phone companies may sell private information secretly
D.customers may ask wireless companies to locate their tracking
【小题3】 What do we know from Paragraph 3?
A. Location tracking information is stored online.
B.Apple’s newest operating systems collect all kinds of information.
C.Location tracking information may be uploaded to any iPhone.
D.Apple’s newest operating systems may reveal the private information of users.
【小题4】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Apple denies that it tracks the location of users.
B.The researchers may misunderstand the Apple’s systems.
C.The global positioning system is to blame for rogue applications.
D.The iPhone can quickly find its location by using its user’s information.

四、阅读理解

      There’s a box of chocolates in the fridge. It’s been there for more than a week since I was given it as a present. I do love chocolates, but they make me fat if I eat too many! Can I control myself? If I eat one, will I have to eat all of them?

       My son Harry is obsessed with playing Wii(/wi:/, 任天堂的一款游戏机) games. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get him to concentrate on his homework because he wants to play some more.

       Last week I had to wake up a student in my class. I asked him why he was so tried and he said he had stayed up late to play his favourite Internet game, Farmville. He said he just couldn’t stop playing it! Now his academic work is suffering because he can’t control his urge to play games.

       What my son, my student, and I myself need is simply self-control.

       In the late 1960’s, American psychologist Walter Mischel launched an experiment about self-control. He left a group of four-year-olds in a room and told them that if they could wait 20 minutes, they could have two marshmallows, a kind of sweet. If they couldn’t wait, he would only give them one.

       In videos of the experiment, you can see children squirming, kicking, hiding their eyes—desperately trying to control themselves. Some did wait patiently, while others couldn’t wait a single minute.

       Years later, the self-controlled children turned out to get higher SAT scores and got into better colleges. The children who couldn’t wait were more likely to become bullies.

       So, the chocolates are still in the fridge. My son Harry is doing his homework with a promise that he can play on the Wii later, and my student says he will try harder to control himself. We all have our own temptations. But if we can control them, we will achieve more.

1. Which of the following is different from the other three?

       A. The writer.       B. Harry.       C. The writer’s student.               D. Walter Mischel.

2. We can know from paragraph 5 to paragraph 7 that _________

       A. all the children got two marshmallows

       B. all the children waited patiently

       C. self-control can help children succeed later

       D. the children who lack self-control get higher SAT scores

3. Which of the following statement is true?

       A. The writer is addicted to Wii.

       B. The writer’s son is addicted to Farmville.

       C. The writer’s student is addicted to chocolates.

       D. The writer’s student is addicted to Farmville.

4. What does the underlined word mean in paragraph 5?

       A. Something we can eat.                   B. A kind of toy.

       C. A kind of mushroom.                     D. A kind of prize.

四、阅读理解

      There’s a box of chocolates in the fridge. It’s been there for more than a week since I was given it as a present. I do love chocolates, but they make me fat if I eat too many! Can I control myself? If I eat one, will I have to eat all of them?

       My son Harry is obsessed with playing Wii(/wi:/, 任天堂的一款游戏机) games. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get him to concentrate on his homework because he wants to play some more.

       Last week I had to wake up a student in my class. I asked him why he was so tried and he said he had stayed up late to play his favourite Internet game, Farmville. He said he just couldn’t stop playing it! Now his academic work is suffering because he can’t control his urge to play games.

       What my son, my student, and I myself need is simply self-control.

       In the late 1960’s, American psychologist Walter Mischel launched an experiment about self-control. He left a group of four-year-olds in a room and told them that if they could wait 20 minutes, they could have two marshmallows, a kind of sweet. If they couldn’t wait, he would only give them one.

       In videos of the experiment, you can see children squirming, kicking, hiding their eyes—desperately trying to control themselves. Some did wait patiently, while others couldn’t wait a single minute.

       Years later, the self-controlled children turned out to get higher SAT scores and got into better colleges. The children who couldn’t wait were more likely to become bullies.

       So, the chocolates are still in the fridge. My son Harry is doing his homework with a promise that he can play on the Wii later, and my student says he will try harder to control himself. We all have our own temptations. But if we can control them, we will achieve more.

56. Which of the following is different from the other three?

       A. The writer.                                          B. Harry.

       C. The writer’s student.                              D. Walter Mischel.

57. We can know from paragraph 5 to paragraph 7 that____________.

       A. all the children got two marshmallows

       B. all the children waited patiently  

       C. self-control can help children succeed later

       D. the children who lack self-control get higher SAT scores

58. Which of the following statement is true?

       A. The writer is addicted to Wii.

       B. The writer’s son is addicted to Farmville.

       C. The writer’s student is addicted to chocolates.

       D. The writer’s student is addicted to Farmville.

59. What does the underlined word mean in paragraph 5?

       A. Something we can eat.                   B. A kind of toy.

       C. A kind of mushroom.                     D. A kind of prize.

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