The island of Port Cros is in the south of France. I first visited it about ten years ago with my wife. I had read that it was a magical place and it seemed fascinating (迷人的), but I couldn’t believe that it was true. In fact, it was much more magical than the tourist brochures (指南) had said.

The island is mountainous and covered in trees. The water around the island is transparent like glass. When I first visited it, there was mist rising from the trees. The little harbor looked mysterious and remote: tall palm trees, a few shops and restaurants, no cars, motorcycles or bikes.

It is not by chance that the island has kept its natural beauty. Once, it was privately owned and the owners always wanted to keep it in its natural state. In 1963, Port Cros became a national park. The park directors made some rules to protect the island. They didn’t allow any new building projects. There is only one hotel and no camping is allowed. Visitors can’t use mountain bikes or smoke on the island. Sailing boats that visit the island mustn’t damage the bottom of the sea or pollute the water around it.

When we arrived, we started walking to the beach of Port-Man, which was the furthest beach from the port. It took us two hours and when we arrived, the beach was deserted. It seemed that we were the only people on the island. Time seemed to stop. It was so beautiful that we stayed there all day. I visited there again last summer. Nothing had changed. The island still looked magical and mysterious, still with few tourists. It must be wonderful to stay the night on the island, I thought. After all the visitors have gone, the island must be so quiet—a real paradise (天堂)!

1.The author got to know Port Cros at first due to _____.

A. some tourist brochures

B. his wife’s introduction

C. his first visit there

D. some TV programs

2.How has the natural beauty of the island been kept according to the text?

A. Foreign visitors are not allowed to visit it.

B. Nothing has been built in the park there.

C. Only bikes can be used on the island.

D. Sailing boats mustn’t pollute the water.

3.When the author first visited Port Cros, _____.

A. it was very sunny

B. there were few visitors there

C. it took them a whole day to walk to Port-Man

D. the island was deserted and he stayed there for a whole night

Robots make me nervous-especially the ones which seem to think for themselves.I was embarrassed to admit this till I heard that Bill Gates,the founder of Microsoft,felt the same way.Gates said in an interview with the website Reddit:“I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence.First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent.That should be positive if we manage well.A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern.”

Well,maybe I don’t have to worry about my laptop and kitchen appliances yet.After I use them I can always pull the plug.But in the future,machines might find a way to prevent us from switching them off.There’s a scary thought!

Professor Stephen Hawking warned a few months ago about the possibility that artificial intelligence could evolve and end up beyond human contro1.He suggested that machines could“spell the end of the human race”.

Maybe the problem with computers too clever for us is not that they are evil or rebellious.What could put us in danger is that they might be too efficient.That’s what philosopher Nick Bostrom from the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University believes.He says that machines are indifferent to humans and in pursuit of their own goals,the destruction of people might be just collateral(附带的)damage.A machine would not take pity on you.

I’m glad my machines at home are“dumb”.All my vacuum cleaner wants to take over is the carpet in my living room.Let’s hope they don’t create an appliance which wants to take over the world!

1.We can conclude from Gates’statements that ___________.

A.he is embarrassed that he is afraid of robots

B.he doesn’t think machines are intelligent

C.machines should be fully employed

D.machines’super intelligence should be a concern

2.The underlined word“spell”in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____________.

A.record B.cause C.explain D.develop

3.Why are computers dangerous according to Nick Bostrom?

A.They are too evil and rebellious.

B.They are indifferent to humans.

C.They show pity on humans.

D.They are too clever and efficient.

4.What can be inferred about the author?

A.He doesn’t agree with Bill Gates.

B.He is not content with the present kitchen appliances.

C.He is scared about the super intelligence of machines.

D.He expects that machines will take place of humans.

In a certain store where they sell puddings, a number of these delicious things are laid out in a row during the Christmas season. Here you may select the one which is most to your taste, and you are even allowed to sample them before coming to a decision.

I have often wondered whether some people, who had no intention of making a purchase, would take advantage of this privilege. One day I asked this question of the shop girl, and I learned it was indeed the case. “Now there’s one old gentleman, for instance,” she told me, “he comes here almost every week and samples each one of the puddings, though he never buys anything, and I suspect he never will. I remember him from last year and the year before that, too. Well, let him come if he wants it, and welcome to it. And what’s more, I hope there are a lot more stores where he can go and get his share. He looks as if he needed it all right, and I suppose they can afford it.”

She was still speaking when an elderly gentleman limped up to the counter and began looking closely at the row of puddings with great interest. “Why, that’s the very gentleman I’ve been telling you about,” whispered the shop girl. “Just watch him now.” And then turning to him: “Would you like to sample them, sir? Here’s a spoon for you to use. “The elderly gentleman, who was poorly but neatly dressed, accepted the spoon and began eagerly to sample one after another of the puddings, only breaking off occasionally to wipe his red eyes with a large torn handkerchief. “This is quite good”. “This is not bad either, but a little too heavy”. All the time it was quite evident that he sincerely believed that he might eventually buy one of these puddings, and I am positive that he did not for a moment feel that he was in any way cheating the store. Poor old chap! Probably he had come down in the world and this sampling was all that was left him from the time when he could afford to come and select his favorite pudding.

Amidst the crowd of happy, prosperous looking Christmas shoppers, the little black figure of the old man seemed pitiful and out of place, and in a burst of benevolence, I went up to him and said:

“Pardon me, sir, will you do me a favor? Let me purchase you one of these puddings. It would give me such pleasure.”

He jumped back as if he had been stung, and the blood rushed into his wrinkled face.

“Excuse me,” he said, with more dignity than I would have thought possible considering his appearance, “I do not believe I have the pleasure of knowing you. Undoubtedly you have mistaken me for someone else.” And with a quick decision he turned to the shop girl and said in a loud voice, “Kindly pack me up this one here. I will take it with me.” He pointed at one of the largest and most expensive of the puddings.

The girl took down the pudding from its stand and started to make a parcel of it, While he pulled out a worn little black pocketbook and began counting out shillings and pennies on to the counter. To save his “honor”, he had been forced into a purchase which he could not possibly afford. How I longed for the power to unsay my tactless words! It was too late though, and I felt that the kindest thing I could do now would be walk away.

“You pay at the desk,” the shop girl was telling him, but he did not seem to understand and kept trying to put the coins into her hand. And that was the last I saw or heard of the old man. Now he can never go there to sample puddings and more.

1.By saying it was indeed the case. , the author meant that ______.

A. many shoppers would sample pudding before buying them

B. some people just sampled pudding but didn’t buy them

C. the Christmas season was the time to promote pudding sales.

D. there were various kinds of puddings on sale during the Christmas sale.

2.From the girl’s words, we know that she ______

A. felt pity for the old man

B. looked down upon the old man

C. thought poorly of sampling pudding

D. worked in the shop for a few months

3.The old man finally bought a pudding because ______

A. he had intended to buy the pudding

B. the author gave him some money

C. he was annoyed by the author’s offer

D. the shop girl asked him to purchase one

4.Why did the author feel that he should walk away according to the passage ?

A. He had something urgent to do

B.He was quite angry with the old man

C. He decided to pay the money for the pudding

D. He found himself in a rather awkward way

5.What does the passage imply?

A. Helping others involves respect..

B. Never judge a book by its cover.

C. A man can do no more than he can.

D. A word spoken cannot be recalled.

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