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

The National Geographic Channel has unearthed a time capsule (时光宝盒)? buried by late Apple chairman and co-founder Steve Jobs thirty years ago.

???? The time capsule was buried in Aspen .Colorado .in 1983, shortly after Jobs attended the International Design Conference being held in that city. Organizers called the device the Aspen Time Tube and contributed items like Rubik's cubes(魔方) and some iconic music. Jobs added his own items to the capsule ,including the " Lisa"? ( also known as an "Apple" )"mouse he used for his presentation at the conference. '

??? Younger readers may not recognize the name but the Lisa Apple mouse was one of the first commercial mice released to consumers. The mouse was specially designed for the Apple? Lisa computer. It's also the first personal computer to offer users a graphical user interface(图形用户界面)

??? Initially ,the plan was to dig up the time capsule in the year2000,but organizers forgot its exact location. Recently .they brought in researchers working with the National Geographic Channel show Diggers to find the device. Eventually they came across the 13-foot-long.1. 5-foot-diameter tube. inside they found a lot of 1980s artifacts(人工制品）that are still being catalogued.

??? “When the end came off .literally things just poured out .”noted Diggers host Tim Saylor "There must be literally thousands of things in there.”

??? “They had the foresight to put a bunch of stuff in? plastic bags." Saylor said .“I could see at least a dozen plastic bags and other items. But I know for sure there got to be photographs in there. People had hand-written things on the back of the photographs ,so there will be some really interesting things inside.”

??? Among the artifacts researchers expect to discover inside :a Steve Jobs speech in which the Apple visionary outlines his predictions? for future technologies. We should know more about the researchers ,discoveries once the Diggers program airs this fall.

1.Which of the following is true about the Lisa mouse?

A .The mouse was the first? commercial one for consumers

B. The mouse was created only for the Apple Lisa computer

C. The mouse was buried in Aspen ,Colotado for two decades.

D. The mouse was invented after the International Design Conference

2.Why wasn't the time capsule dug up in 2000?

A. Because it was not the time set by Steve Jobs.

B. Because it could not be accurately located.

C. Because organizers forgot its precise shape .

D. Because the local government didn't? approve.

3.From the passage we can infer that_______.

A. there were some special photographs found-inside the time capsule

B. a Steve Jobs speech with future predictions was found inside the cap

C. Steve Jobs? predictions for future technologies have come true

D. more about the capsule will be discovered in the Diggers program

4.The best title for the passage might be _______.

A. The "Lost" Steve Jobs Time Capsule

B. The Mystery of Steve Jobs Speech Solved

C. Steve Jobs' 1983 Time Capsule Recovered

D. Co-founder & Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs

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 cell phone 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?

You are a German living in Berlin. One day you’ re walk??ing down the street, minding your own business, when sudden??ly a stranger comes up with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device (装置) close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English," Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or (c) Listen closely for the device to say in German," Konnen Sie mir bitte sagen, welches sauerkraut haufen kann?"

The most proper answer would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The de??vice is said to be the world’s first portable(便携的) translator — a hand-held microcomputer that at the same time translates one spoken language into another. The four-pound, battery-op??erated product is called the Voice, and it is the invention of Advanced Products and Technologies, an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the Unite States in late April — at a price of (1,500 — it will be used to trans??late spoken English into Italian, German, French and Span??ish. The product comes with separate cartridges(盒式存储器) for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. It will be sold in Eu??rope soon after the US introduction, with cartridges that trans??late Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.

The Voice uses a microchip(微型集成电路片) to trans??late languages. It is Started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. When the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another language.

The device held by the stranger is probably a kind of________.

A. a two-way radio                            B. language translator

C. easily-carried speaker                     D. a multi-functioned computer

What does the last sentence of the first paragraph mean?

A. Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?

B. Can I ask for some information from the police?

C. Would you like to try my device?

D. Would you not run away if I ask you where to buy some sauerkraut?

When the stranger says," Can you tell... sauerkraut?" he is ________.

A. learning German from his device

B. asking you the way to the sauerkraut shop

C. making fun of you with his device

D. testing his device for fun

Which of the following is not mentioned in the text?

A. The price of the hand-held microcomputer.

B. The function of the product Voice.

C. The producer pf the small electronic device.

D. The number of the device sold to the European coun??tries.

LAS VEGAS (AFP) — Children may not like it but a British technology firm has invented an electronic babysitter -- a wristwatch-like device that lets parents know where their children are at all times.
The GPS Child Locator, or num8, attaches securely to a child’s wrist and contains a Global Positioning System (GPS), said Matthew Salmon, a spokesman for the manufacturer, lok8u.
"It uses GPS and GSM (Global System for Mobiles) technology with an accuracy of 10 feet (three meters)," he said. "It tracks your child."
"It only starts working when the device is connected to the child’s wrist," Salmon said, and is "very difficult to get off."
"Even if the child managed to get it off it would send an emergency text message through to your mobile phone," he said. "It would give you a Google Maps image with their exact location, the street name and the zip code."
When a child is wearing the device, a parent sends the text message "wru" and the child’s current location is sent back to a mobile phone or computer.
Parents can also log on to the company website to discover their child’s present location.
"You can also set up a perimeter, an invisible fence, and if they wander out of this invisible fence which you put on the Internet it will warn you," Salmon said. "It will text you immediately."
Salmon said the device is waterproof and shockproof and lasts for three days with a full charge.
It will be available in both Britain and the United States this year and retails for 200 dollars with a 10 dollar a month subscription fee.
He said the company had received thousands of inquiries about the device since launching it this week. "Fifty percent are positive, 50 percent are negative, that it’s a bit Big Brotherish," he said. "But it’s really just about letting you have freedom of mind."
【小题1】Only when       does the device begin to work.