Recently, I experienced a wonderful lesson in how little things still mean a lot. My brother, mother and I live in a very rural district on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our farm is at least a dozen miles from the most basic of services. Consequently, we take weekly trips to COSTCO to procure fuel and supplies. About a month ago, we’d finished loading up the SUV and prepared to leave. As I settled into my seat, I glanced down at the roadside, when a piece of paper caught my eye. I picked it up and read it carefully. Instantly, I was grateful I did.

The form turned out to be a receipt from the State Motor Vehicle Division, documenting the owners’ payment of their Vehicle’s Registration fees. Quickly, I put myself in their shoes and figured: no one would throw this out, especially if it was current. I also looked over the form for contact or any personal data, perhaps a license tag or telephone number. But that seemed impractical. Although the form had been born on the wind, where in the busy, crowded parking lot would I find the owners? Had it been lying there for a few minutes or a week? So I checked the date, the fees paid, noted the names of the owners and pocketed the receipt. Recalling the parable of the Good Samaritan, I concluded that the best and easiest step to take was to put the form in an envelope addressed to the couple and send it to them by post. Further, I imagined how crazy I’d be if I had misplaced my receipt. Much easier to attempt returning it than to leave them angry, upset, etc. over the loss.

By the end of the week, I received a beautiful thank-you letter from a very grateful and happy couple containing a hand written message and a gift card to use at any Starbuck’s. In her note, the wife explained how a gust of wind snatched their receipt from a pocket in her car’s passenger door. They had panicked and searched crazily for quite some time before giving up. It felt great to know I’d helped someone avoid a major loss by doing something that at first glance seemed minor or even unimportant.

1.What did the author really mean when he said “Instantly, I was grateful I did.”?

A．He was lucky to notice the paper on the roadside.

B．He was happy to do shopping in the district for it was convenient.

C．He was right to pick the paper up because it was important.

D．He was thankful to pick up the paper because he found it for a long time.

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the short passage?

A．I rode my car to COSTCO to buy supplies a month ago.

B．The receipt was out of date, so the owner threw it away.

C．I waited on the roadside for the receipt owner for half a day.

D．I called up the owner to take back the receipt.

3.The author decided to give the paper back to the owner because ______.

A．it was useless for him

B．he knew the owner was upset about losing it

C．the owner asked him to do so

D．he knew the owner would reward him for it

4.Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．How I helped the couple                  B．The loss of an important receipt

C．The owner of the receipt                 D．Little things still mean a lot

“Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft: a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.

The program allows users to display alerts on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.

Owners must report their laptop missing by visiting a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” sign appears on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version（版本）of the software, users can also send a spoken message.

The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it.” One customer sent a message saying,’ You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the company which produces the program, Retriever.

In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. For example, the laptop’s speakers will say: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, report me now.”

The Retriever software package, which costs $29.95 but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs .Owners can remotely switch to an alternative password if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access details.

If a thief accesses the internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.

Thousands of laptops are stolen every year form homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.

Other security software allows users to erase data remotely or lock down the computer.

1.The expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind “can be understood as “_______”

A. to give the thief an alert mind

B. to express the owners’ anger to the thief

C. to remind the thief of this conscience

D. to make the thief give up his mind

2.Different from other security software, Retriever can         .

A. record the stealing process          B. help recognize the lost laptop

C. lock down the computer remotely     D. send a spoken message

3.One function of the program is that it allows the owner to           at a distance.

A. change some access details for switching on the laptop

B. turn on the laptop by using the original password

C. operate the laptop by means of and alternative password

D. erase the information kept in the stolen laptop

4.Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?

A. With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year.

B. A new soft ware provides a means to reduce laptop theft.

C. Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers.

D. A new program offers a communication platform with the thief.

This morning I found red wallet on the campus. Girls usual like red, so I believed the wallet was belonged to a girl student. I opened it, try to find out whose it was. Therefore, I found nothing but 300 yuan in it. I was wondering what to do with it while suddenly my classmates Chen Yang passed by. She suggested she put up a Lost and Found notice and I did so. I wrote down my telephone number and ask the owner to call me after she saw it. Later, a girl came to claim it on 3 o’clock this afternoon.

Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobiliser (锁止器), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.

The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro- processor and memory, and a GPS (全球定位系统) satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.

In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. 'The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,’ says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.

Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.

But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting hold of the owner's keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.

If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.

Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle's movements via the car's GPS unit.

66. What's the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to a car?

A .To allow the car to lock automatically when stolen.

B. To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops.

C. To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief.

D. To prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner.

67. By saying 'The pattern of vehicle crime has changed' (Lines 1-2. Para. 3). Martyn Randall suggests that ____.

A. self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft

B. the thief has to make use of computer technology

C. it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing

D. the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old

68. What is essential in making a modern car tougher to steal?

A. A GPS satellite positioning receiver.　      B. A unique ID card.   

C. A special cellphone signal.                D. A coded ignition key.

69. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?

A. To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.

B. To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.

C. To keep police informed of the car's movements.

D. To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.

70. What will the operations centre do first after receiving an alarm?

A. Start the tracking system.         B. Locate the missing car.

C. Contact the car owner.　         D. Block the car engine

第三部分 阅读理解（共20小题。每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.
After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had been fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this” the owner said. The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change and headed west.
On the way out of town, he began to understand what the waiter did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all. “Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”
Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now, he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.
56. The young man was traveling across the country in 1971 to ______.
A. find a piece of work to do
B. hand out gifts to passers-by
C. look for a good restaurant
D. show his new car to others
57. The underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 means ______.
A. a wallet    B. his luck    C. the $20 bill    D. his tip
58. On the way out of town, the young man got to know that ______.
A. it was very honest of the owner to return his money
B. another man who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money
C. he could find a job in the restaurant
D. the owner helped him in a way that didn’t hurt his feelings.
59. From this text we can see that ______.
A. the man dropped $20 on the floor of the restaurant
B. the man did carry out his promise
C. Santa gives the man money each year
D. the man was not successful in the end
60. The best title for this passage may be ______.
A. Secret Santa of Kansas City
B. The Key to Success
C. A Kind Waiter in the Restaurant
D. Never Give Up