One evening in February 2007 . a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote in Wales . She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path . That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train.Her Renault Clio parked across a railway line. Second later,she watched  the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.
Ceely's near miss  made the news because she blamed it on her GPS device(导航仪).She had never driven the route before .It was dark and raining heavily . Ceely was relying on her GPS. But it made no mention of the crossing ."I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train ,"she told the BBC.
W ho is to blame here ? Rick Stevenson ,who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail US, finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says,
but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small  problems. And it’s not just GPS devices: Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless key boards.
The problem with his argument in the book is that it’s  not clear why he only focuses digital technology,while  there may be a number of other possible  causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the CPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn’t say.
It’s a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an accout of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once once again not all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe it’s also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets. Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors .
The game between humans and their smart devices  is complex. It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be  way a wiser use of technology.   
If there is such a way, it should involve more than just  an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines. After all, we have lived with them for thousands  of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long .
【小题1】
What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident?           

A．closebit

B．heavyloss

C．narrow escape

D．bigmistake

（2011·浙江卷）A

One evening in February 2007 . a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote in Wales . She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path . That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train.Her Renault Clio parked across a railway line. Second later,she watched  the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.

     Ceely's  near miss  made the news because she blamed it on her GPS device(导航仪).She had never driven the route before .It was dark and raining heavily . Ceely was relying on her GPS. But it made no mention of the crossing ."I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train ,"she told the BBC.

   W ho is to blame here ? Rick Stevenson ,who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail US, finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says,

      but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small  problems. And it’s not just GPS devices: Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless key boards.

     The problem with his argument in the book is that it’s  not clear why he only focuses digital technology,while  there may be a number of other possible  causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the CPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn’t say.

It’s a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an accout of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once once again not all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe it’s also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets. Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors .

The game between humans and their smart devices  is complex. It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be  way a wiser use of technology.   

If there is such a way, it should involve more than just  an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines. After all, we have lived with them for thousands  of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long .

 41 .What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident?           

 A. She was not familiar with the road.           

 B. It was dark and raining heavily then.   

C. The railway works failed to give the signal.

D. Her GPS device didn’t tell her about the crossing

   42.The phrase” near miss” (paragraph 2 ) can best be replaced by _______.             

A. close bit                    B. heavy loss             C.narrow escape         D. big mistake      

  43.Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with?             

A. Modern technology is what we can’t live without.            

B. Digital technology often falls short of out expectation.            

C. Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be.             

D. GPS error is not the only cause for Celery’s accident. 

44.In the writer’s opinion, Stevenson’s argument is________.

A. one-sided     B. reasonable      C.puzzling      D.well-based

45.What is the real concern of the writer of this article?

A.The major causes of traffic accidents and car thefts.

B.The relationship between humans and technology

C. The shortcomings of digital devices we use.           

D. The human unawareness  of technical problems.

Every day my husband parked his car in the same open-air car park in Zimbabwe. On this particular day, he had been running to his car with a huge bundle of office papers under his arm. As he opened the car door, he suddenly lost control of his body. He felt a stabbing pain in his arm, became totally breathless and lost consciousness. As he collapsed, half in, half out of the car, his last thought was “what a way to die”.

A young woman getting into her own car in the otherwise deserted car park noticed what was going on and at once ran to my husband’s aid, trying to resuscitate him. Realizing time was critical, she tried to move my husband to her car, calling the guard at the gate.

Fearing an ambulance would take too long to arrive, she felt it better to get to the hospital as quickly as she could. She raced through traffic lights sounding her car’s horn and screeched into the hospital car park, calling out, “I have an unknown man here who I think is having a heart attack.”

Once this Good Samaritan realized he was in capable hands she returned to the car park, found his keys on the ground, collected his scattered papers and stacked them in the car. Having seen my husband come out of a certain building each day, the security guard thought he knew where he worked. The young woman managed to locate his colleagues who in turn contacted my niece. She then waited for me to return home so she could break the news to me.

After extensive tests it turned out that my husband had had a grand mal epileptic seizure. We were naturally eager to find the kind stranger who had come to his aid. After some weeks we discovered where the young woman worked. She was overjoyed when my husband walked into her office with a huge bouquet(束) of flowers. She said she required no thanks, and preferred to remain anonymous(匿名的).

We now live in a different country, but each Christmas my husband remembers her act of kindness and sends a gift. We regard every day of his life as a bonus, all thanks to this kind stranger.

51. From the passage, we can infer that ______.

A. a heart attack hit the writer’s husband suddenly

B. there was few cars in her park that day

C. the young woman was at a loss at first

D. the woman was fined for breaking the traffic lights

52. The underlined word “resuscitate” in Paragraph 2 may mean ______.

A. get…out of                B. help…stand up   C. bring back to life D. wake…up

53. Who told the writer the news of her husband’s illness?

A. The young woman.                                   B. The security guard.

C. The colleague of her husband.                 D. The writer’s niece.

54. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A. The Gift of Life                                          B. An Act of Gratitude

C. The Attack of a Disease                                                           D. The Love of a Young Woman