Steve Jobs on life and death

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, some day you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an 　1 on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every 　2 and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the 　 3 has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to 　4 something.

Remembering that I’ll be 　5 soon is the most important tool I’ve ever used to help me make the big 　6 in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all 7 of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is 　8 important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to 　9 . You are already naked. There is no reason not to 　10 your heart.

Your time is limited, so don’t 　11 it living someone else’s life. Don’t be 　12 by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ 　opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the 　13 to follow your beliefs and goals. They somehow already know what you really want to 　14 . Everything else is 　15 .

1. A. expectation　　　　　 B. impression　　　　　　 C. imagination　　　　　 D. examination

2. A. minute　　　　　　　　　 B. night　　　　　　　 C. day　　　　　　　　 D. morning

3. A. answer　　　　　　　　　 B. solution　　　　　 C. result 　　　　　　 D. chance

4. A. accept　　　　　　　　　 B. hide　　　　　　　　 C. change　　　　　　　　　 D. avoid

5. A. famous　　　　　　　　　 B. dead　　　　　　　 C. old　　　　　　　　　 D. forgotten

6. A. decisions　　　　 B. contributions C. differences　　　　　　 D. mistakes

7. A. understanding B. certainty 　　　 C. fear　　　　　　　　 D. knowledge

8. A. mostly　　　 　　　　　　 B. hardly　　　　　　 　　 C. nearly　　　 　　　 　 D. truly

9. A. take　　　　　　　　 B. lose　　　　　　　　 C. give　　　　　　　　 D. win

10. A. break　　　　　　　　　　 B. catch　　　　　　　 C. warm　　　　　　　 D. follow

11. A. waste　　 　　　　　　 B. imagine　　　　　 C. spend　　　 　　　　　　 D. risk

12. A. confused　 B. trapped　　　　　 C. discouraged　　　　　 D. hurt

13. A. wisdom　　　　 B. idea　 　　　 　　　 C. desire　　 　　 D. courage

14. A. see　　　　　　　　 B. show　　　　　　　 C. become　　　　　 D. forget

15. A. necessary　　　　　　 B. natural　　　　　　　　　 C. secondary　　　 D. possible

　　　　　　　 Women turn to online shopping

Women have jumped ahead of men for the first time in using the Internet to do their holiday shopping，according to a study published last week in the US.

For years men have been more likely to shop on the Internet than women，but during the 2004 holiday season 58 percent of those making online purchases were women.

“It shows how mainstream the Internet is becoming”，said Lee Rainie，a director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project group，which carried out the study.

Rainie said it was only a matter of time before women shoppers caught up with men. This is because women traditionally make decisions about spending.

Users were more likely to shop online to save time. Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 were responsible for some of the most dramatic（显著的）increases in the online gift-buying population this time around.

However，three-quarters of the US Internet users did not buy holiday gifts online in 2004．They worried about credit card security，or just compared online prices with off-line prices，then dashed off to the shops to get the best deals.

“But even if shoppers don’t buy online，websites are becoming promotion tools for stores，”said Dan Hess，vice president of Comscore Networks Inc．Hess said that actually most stores’ websites can make shoppers fully believe the security of their credit card numbers. And most are able to ensure that gifts arrive on time.

“It’s all about making the shopping experience more efficient，more reliable and more comfortable，” Hess said.

57．Which of the following statements is true?

A．There were fewer women online shoppers than men in 2004．

B．Most of the Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are women.

C．People in the US were more likely to buy gifts online.

D．More women shopped online than men in 2004.

58．From the passage we can infer that________.

A．men usually decide how to spend money in the family

B．women usually decide what to buy in the family

C．the Internet is used in all the shops.

D．more and more shops will sell their goods online.

59．According to Dan Hess，shopping online___________.

A．is unsafe　 B．is convenient　 C．is a waste of time D．is cheaper

60．What can we know from the passage?

A．American people only buy gifts in holidays.

B．Shopping online is fun for women.

C．Shopping off-line provides better service.

D．Young people like to do gift-shopping online.

　 Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids(小行星) now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it , say some scientists.

　 Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.

　 Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now, Then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say , we’ll have a way to change its course.

　 Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn’t be cheap.

　 Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500 000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. “ If we don’t take care of these big asteroids, they’ll take care of us,” says one scientist. “ It’s that simple.”

　 The cure, though , might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them,” said a New York Times article.

1. What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids? _________.

A. They are heavenly bodies different in composition

B. They are heavenly bodies similar in nature

C. These are more asteroids than meteoroids

D. Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids

2. What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth? _______.

A It is unlikely but the danger exists

B. Such a collision might occur once every 25 years

C. Collision of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected

D. It’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur

3. What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids? _______.

　 A. It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem

　 B. It may create more problems than it might solve

　 C. It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely

　 D. Further research should be done before it is proved applicable

4. We can conclude from the passage that________.

　 A. while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world

　 B. asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future

　 C. the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime

　 D. workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth

第二节：短文改错（共10小题，每题1分，满分10分）

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行做出判断：

每行只有一个错误，请按下列情况改正：

　　该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

　　该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

　　该行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Fishing is my favorite sport. I often fished for         81________________

hour without catching anything, but this doesn’t worry      82. ________________

me. Some fishermen are unlucky, instead catching fish,     83. ________________

they catch old boots or rubbish. But I’m even less luck. I    84________________

never catch everything—even old boots after             85. ________________

spend a whole morning on the river. So I always go home   86. ________________

with empty bag. “You should give up fishing,” my friends   87. ________________

say, “It’s a waste time.” But they don’t realize one        88. ________________

important thing. I’m not real interested in fishing. I’m      89 ________________

only interested in sitting in a boat and do nothing at all.     90. ________________