In the computer age, most of us take a broadband（宽带）Internet connection for granted. Whether cable or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files download much faster than ten years ago. And the files are much bigger too.

There’s a catch, of course: You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don’t, it’s slow dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all.

Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations. In cities and suburbs, it’s relatively easy to provide access for everyone. It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries. Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely (稀疏地) populated areas. The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense.

But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere.

Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables (光纤电缆) promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users.

Still, the “last mile” problem remains hard to deal with. There will always be somewhere that doesn’t have an affordable broadband connection. But someday that might not matter. If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication (迹象), it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go.

1.The underlined part “a catch” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “_____”.

A．a rare challenge    B．a desirable plan     C．an efficient device   D．a hidden problem

2.What can we know from the third paragraph?

A．Internet connection has not been popular in most cities.

B．Internet service providers care about rural（农村的）customers.

C．Computer is popular in developing countries.

D．It is hard to bring Internet access to users in remote areas.

3.Paragraph 4 mainly tells us that technological advancements _____.

A．make TV and telephone available everywhere

B．bring great change to people’s everyday life

C．make it possible for more people to use the Internet

D．bring faster Internet connections to users

4.What may eventually settle the “last mile” problem?

A．The broadband connection’s getting faster.

B．More and more Internet users.

C．more and more Internet connections.

D．The rapid progress in cell phone technology.

In the computer age, most of us take a broadband（宽带）Internet connection for granted. Whether cable or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files（档案文件）download much faster than ten years ago. And the files are much bigger too.
There’s a catch, of course: You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don’t, it’s slow dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all.
Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations. In cities and suburbs（郊区）, it’s relatively easy to provide access for everyone. It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries. Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely (稀疏地) populated areas. The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense.
But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere.
Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables (光纤电缆) promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users.
Still, the “last mile” problem remains hard to deal with. There will always be somewhere that doesn’t have an affordable broadband connection. But someday that might not matter. If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication (迹象), it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go.
【小题1】The underlined part “a catch” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “_____”.

根据对话情景和内容，从对话后的选项中选出能入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
E
We’ve all got a lot going on in our lives. Some things are fun, some aren’t. I think I’ m a fairly positive person. 1   In fact, being positive means different things to different people. 2  
Focus on what you have not what you don’t. It’s impossible for one to have all the nice things in the world. Focus on what you already have. This can create feelings of happiness.
3  If you can express thanks for everything you have, you leave little room for bad thoughts. It’s a great practice. When you focus on what really matters, so many worries go away.
Forget the past and don’t cling to(紧紧抓住) the future:  4  If you cannot forget mistakes and missed opportunities from the past, you probably find you blame yourself all the time. Clinging to the future is a bad one, too. It truly may never happen. So pay more attention to the present .
 5  It always makes me wonder what people are saying about me if they speak so ill of someone else when they aren’t around. If you don’t do this, you never have to worry about what you’ve said getting back to someone.  

完型填空 （共20小题，每小题1分，满分20分）
I was tired and hungry after a long day of work. When I walked into the living room, my 12-year-old son looked __26__ at me and said, “I love you.” I didn’t know what to say. __27__ several seconds all I could do was to stand there and __28__ down at him. My first thought was that he must need __29__ with his homework or he was trying to __30__ me for some news. Finally I asked, “What was that all about?”
“Nothing.” He said, “My teacher said we should __31__ our parents that we love them and see what they say. It’s a(n) __32__.”
The next day I called his teacher to __33__ more about this “experiment” and how the other parents had __34__.
“Basically, most of the fathers had the __35__ reaction as you did.” The teacher said, “When I first __36__ we try this, I asked the children what they thought their parents would say. Some of them thought their parents would have heart trouble.” “The __37__ is,” the teacher explained, “feeling loved is an important part of __38__. It’s something all human beings __39__. What I’m trying to tell the children is that it’s too __40__ that we don’t all express those feelings. A boy should be __41__ to tell his dad that he loves him.”
The teacher, a middle-aged man, understands how __42__ it is for some of us to say the things that would be good for us to say.
When my son came to me that evening, I held on to him for __43__ second. And just __44__ he pulled away, I said in my deepest, most manly voice, “Hey, I love you, too.”
I don’t know if saying that made either of us healthier, but it did feel pretty good. Maybe next time if my child says “I love you”, it would not take me a whole day to think of the right __45__.

In the computer age, most of us take a broadband Internet connection for granted. Whether cable or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files download much faster than ten years ago. And the files are much bigger too.

There’s a catch, of course. You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don’t, it’s slow dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all.

Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations. In cities and suburbs, it’s relatively easy to provide access for everyone. It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries. Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely(稀疏地) populated areas. The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense.

But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere. Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables(光纤电缆) promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users.

Still, the “last mile” problem remains hard to deal with. There will always be somewhere that doesn’t have an affordable broadband connection. But someday that might not matter. If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication(迹象), it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go.

1.The underlined part “ a catch” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “________”.

A. a rare challenge                         B. a desirable plan   

C. an efficient device                       D. a hidden problem

2.What can we know from the third paragraph?

A. Internet connection has not been popular in most cities.        

B. Internet service providers care about rural customers.         

C. Computer is popular in developing countries.        

D. It is hard to bring Internet access to users in remote areas.

3. Paragraph 4 mainly tells us that technological advancements ________.

A. make TV and telephone available everywhere                           

B. bring great change to people’s everyday life

C. make it possible for more people to use the Internet

D. bring faster Internet connections to users

4.What may eventually settle the “last mile” problem?

A. The broadband connection’s getting faster.

B. More and more Internet users.

C. More and more Internet connections.

D. The rapid progress in cell phone technology.