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 immobilizer (发动机防盗系统), 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 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 ten 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 key (汽车等的点火开关).

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.

1.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

2.By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed” (Lines1-2,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

3.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

D. A code ignition key

4.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 operation 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

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 immobilizer（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.

1. The remote immobilizer is fitted to a car to ______.

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

B．help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief

C．prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops

D．allow the car to lock automatically when stolen

2. By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed”, Martyn Randall suggests that ______.

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

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

C．the thief has to make use of computer technology

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

3. _______ is essential in making a modern car tougher to steal.

A．A coded ignition key                  B．A unique ID card

C．A special cellphone signal        D．A GPS satellite positioning receiver

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

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

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

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

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

5. The operations centre will first ______ after receiving an alarm.

A．start the tracking system.                     B．contact the car owner.

C．block the car engine.                            D．locate the missing car.

My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.
If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN （个人身份号码）to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.
Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console (控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.
The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.
I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today.
I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?”
【小题1】What does the passage mainly discuss?