Bar codes are one way that the U.S. Postal Service streamlines mail of the wrong hands. A letter that comes without a bar code or cancelled stamp might not have been processed by the U.S. Postal Service and it might indicate that something's fishy.（可疑的）Can you decode a bar code the way the U.S. Postal Service can?

Here’s How

1．Here's how to read the bar code on your letter.

·Most U.S. letter bar codes have bars of two lengths: long and short.

·Every bar code should start and end with long bars; ignore those.

·Look at the rest of the bars in groups of five, starting with the second bar. Each group of five represents one digit.（数字）

2. Here's how to figure out what those digits are.

·The five bars stand for one of these numbers: 7, 4, 2, 1, 0.

·Some genius figured out that this range would allow you to come up with the digits 0 to 9. You do it by adding the numbers of the long bars together.

Say you have this bar code:

Here, the 4 and 2 places have long bars. Added together, they total 6, so this bar code stands for 6.

Say you have this bar code:

The 1 and 0 places have long bars. Added together, they total 1, so this bar code stands for 1.

Say you have this bar code:

The 7 and 4 pieces have long bars. Added together, they total 11, but there is no 11 in this system, so this bar code stands for 0.

3. Now let's look at the bar code on a letter.

Ignore the first and last bars of the whole bar code. Then look at the next 20 bars to find the zip code (0680). The next two sets of five bars give your mail carrier’s number (10153). The rest of the bars in the bar code indicate the house or maibox number. The house number is 32.

63．Why does US Postal Service just use five numbers for the five bars?

      A．They are easy to read.                          B．They are ohosen only by accident.

       C．They can stand for the long bars.          D．They are enough to make ten digits.

64．Which of the following bar codes otands for “7” according to the text?

65．According to the text, we know that          .

       A．the bar code often beings with a short bar                             

       B．the last short her is often ignored

       C．the mail route should follow the zip code

       D．the bar code can show your house color

66．The purpose of the text is to let us know how to           .

       A．create a bar code                                 B．recognize a bar code

       C．send a letter                                        D．make the maibox safe

Although the new year is already here, the great moments of the old year are still in the memory. Let’s look back at some of these.

   the United States

   One of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve parties was held in Times Square, New Year. The festival attracted hundreds of thousands of people to watch brightly-lit ball drop on a landmark building at the stroke(报时的钟声) of midnight.

   A great amount of confetti(五彩纸屑) was released from the sky at zero o’clock..

   Britain

   Painted in shining colours and blowing on whistles,50,000 party-goers arrived in London’s Millennium Dome to dance in the New Year. The Millennium Dome came to life at midnight as 50 DJs started up, competing on five separate dance floors to warm the crowd into the party mood.

   Russia

   New Year is the biggest holiday in Russia. It is traditional to put up a tree for celebrations with family and friends. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

   On the very last day of the years, Russians with a taste for a very cold swim braved freezing temperatures to plant traditional, festival trees on the bed of the Northern Ocean and at the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake.

   Malaysia

   Brave skydivers threw themselves off the world’s tallest buildings near midnight and floated towards the new year.

   The jump from the 452-metre Petronas Twin Tower was called a real leap from one year to the next since the group took off in the last second of the old year and landed a minute later in the new year.“That was really cool,”said Roland Simpson,“over crowds of onlookers to the landing spot.”

61. In New Year the brightly-lit ball dropped______.

A. from the sky onto the Times Square    B. to celebrate the stroke of midnight

C. to welcome the arrival of Christmas    D. at the point between the old and the new year

62. Which of the following is NOT true about celebrations in the world?

A. A large quantity of confetti was given out from the tallest building.

B. Skydivers in Malaysia jumped down from the world’s tallest buildings.

C. Some Russians planted trees on the bed of Lake Baikal.

D. In Britain 50 DJs competed on five separate floors.

63.The underlined word “landmark”means______ in the text.

A. an easily recognizable object, such as a tall tree or building

B. something that marks an important point in one’s life

C. something marking the limits of a piece of land

D. a building that is marked on a map

64. The text shows that_____.

A. New Year has been the starting point for people to have dreams

B. people in different countries welcomed New Year in different ways

C. people’s ways of celebrations are exciting

D. the new year is better than the old year

Mariah Evans at the University of Nevada, Reno, led a 20-year study which asked adults in 27 countries to tell the number of books that were in their home while they were growing up. Their answers showed that children raised around books spend more years in school, even if their parents are poor and illiterate (没文化的).
Mariah Evans said, “What we found was that there is a very big effect of growing up in a bookish home on children’s success in school. Children who grow up in homes where there are more books go further in education. And additional(额外的) books are especially important for children who come from families where the parents aren’t terribly highly educated. The books can be stories, sports, travels and anything. But there, we’re seeing that the books that have the most effect are history and science.”
“It says that there really is a contribution that parents can make to their children’s education. And it doesn’t mean that you have to turn into somebody like me whose walls are lined with books. “But it really does mean that if you spend a few minutes most days a week reading to your children, and if they see you reading from time to time, and if you talk about books with them from time to time, and when somebody asks a question, say ‘let’s look it up’ instead of discussing it as a matter of opinion—that all those things can actually make quite a great difference to children in their education.”
56. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. it is more difficult for children raised around books to finish school
B. highly educated parents prevent a child going further in education
C. more books are needed by children from poor and illiterate families
D. children with poor parents don’t spend as many years in school
57. According to the author, the books most important for the children are _______.
A. history and science                               B. sports and education
C. stories and travels                              D. all kinds of subjects
58. Wise parents can make quite a great difference to children in their education by_______.
A. turning themselves into somebody whose walls are lined with books
B. spending some minutes most days a week playing with their children
C. discussing them rather than looking up questions with their children
D. talking about books with their children from time to time
59. This passage mainly talks about_______.
A. the effect of bookish home on children     B. the importance of parents
C. the necessity of reading more books              D. the interest of children in books

   In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!
For each prediction that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn’t consider how people would want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let’s look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.
Robot Helpers
Where’s the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he’s probably not coming anytime soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.
Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people’s homes.
So why hasn’t it happened?  Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.
Telephones of Tomorrow
In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn’t caught on yet.
Why? The technology worked fine, but it over—looked something obvious: people’s desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just step out of the shower?  Probably not---it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available doesn’t always mean people will want to use it.
And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It’s not so crazy anymore! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news, or perhaps the sky outside your window, to see what the future will bring.
64. The whole passage is mainly about ________________.
A. predictions that have come true.
B. predictions that haven’t come true.
C. why predictions don’t come true easily.
D. what technology will bring about.
65. The author of this passage won’t believe that _________________.
A. predictions needn’t consider people’s practical use of technology.
B. the future isn’t always easy to guess.
C. not all past predictions have come true.
D. many of the high—tech things our parents thought we’d be using by now simply never appeared.
66. The underlined word “weird” probably means __________.
A. wonderful   B. stupid    C. practical    D. strange
67. What does the author think of the flying car?
A. It is too difficult to imagine.
B. It is too crazy an idea.
C. It is likely to be made.
D. It is often reported in the news. 

In the Harry Potter films, Hermione Granger is better than her male friends and is considered the brightest pupil in her grade. Isn’t it often the same in schools of our real world?
“It’s surprising but true that most of the top students have been girls since primary school. Girls are class leaders, club presidents and the top ones in exams,” said Wang Feixuan, 15, who studies at a Chengdu school. By any measure, Wang herself is a high-achiever. She is a top student, a team leader in her school’s sports club and a winner in national English and IT competitions.
But why do so many girls outperform their male peers?
In Sun Yunxiao’s latest book Save Our Boys, he points out that the education system is “more suited to girls, who are good at memorizing and like to sit quietly and read.” Yet he also says that girls have to do so much more when they compete with males for honors, top universities and later good jobs. They can feel great pressure nearly every day.
This seems to be the same in most countries in the world. Young women in the United States are also reported to feel the same pressure to be perfect.
“Let’s look at what we ask of our teenage girls,” says Professor Stephen Hinshaw in an interview. He thinks that it’s no longer enough that a girl does well in school and is a caring friend. On the TV, on the Internet and everywhere, girls see images of impossible perfection.
Today’s young women must be good learners, good athletes, and fill their after-school lives with other activities. But they are also asked to have the styles and looks of popular stars. “Be pretty, sweet and nice. Be athletic, competitive and get straight. Be impossibly perfect.” Stephen Hinshaw sums up.
【小题1】The passage suggests that               .