I HEAR America beeping(嘟嘟响)．

 Beep，says my cellophane when it gets a text message．

  Beep，says my microwave oven when my sandwich  is warmed up． 

 Sometimes  I long for a natural sound：a bird singing，dog barking，children laughing， anything to drown out  the maddening beeps that have become the soundtrack(配乐)to modern life．

  My cellophane? It isn’t enough that its ring tone offerings seem to stretch from  “annoymg” toextremely “annoying”． It also has to beep whenever someone texts messages me． 

The microwave? A bell rings when it's finished heating my food．But is that enough? No．If I don’t rush to it right away, it starts beeping，like an impatient child tugging(用力拉) at my sleeve(袖子)．

 The smoke detector(探测器) is the worst offender．When its batteries are in need of replacement，it 1ets out a series of chirps．The things that don’t beep buzz(嗡嗡响)．And for some reason，beeping and buzzing is beneath them，they clear their throats and perform a symphony． Like my TV, each time I turn it on, it performs an aria(咏叹调)：La di da di dum．Salutions! Here I am! Same thing when I turn it off: La di da di dum．Good bye, kind sir! Until the next time

But at 1east I know where each of these sounds is coming from．That isn’t always the case．For weeks, my wife and I were awoken in the night by a beeping．There，in the stillness， we went through the possible suspects．Could we have a text message? Could it be any of the devices(装置)able to make a sound? Curling iron, rice cooker, smoke detector, TV set，clock radio．．．

The only way to tell was to chase the sound down ，but no sooner  would we pull on our bathrobes than the beeping would stop. We didn’t hear it every night but often enough that we would climb into bed wondering whether our sleep  would be interrupted by that maddening sound，that beep．

  Finally,early one morning，my wife found it：in the study,under a desk，a big plastic cube that was plugged into the wall．It was an uninterruptible power supply that we’d inherited(继承)from my wife’s mother．We’d never known it was capable of speech． 

I think it just wanted someone to talk to.

14．What does the writer truly mean by saying“I hear America beeping”?

A．American people like devices that beep．

B．Americans are crazy about sending text messages．

C．In modern society people are dependant on technology．

D．The soundtrack to modern life is no longer natural．

15．Why couldn’t the author and his wife find the source of the noise in their house in the beginning?

A．There were too many devices for them to check．

B．They were unwilling to get up at midnight．

C．They had never known that thing could beep too．

D．The noise didn’t come every day．

16．After reading this passage，we can probably tell the author    ．

   A．enjoys being surrounded by beeps  B．has a touch of humor in his writing

C．tries to avoid using anything that beeps

D．understands the beeping is designed to be user-friendly

Read the following introduction about Jay Chou, then write an introduction to a singer you are familiar with, tell why you like or dislike him／her.

　　Multi-talented singer才艺歌手－周杰伦

　　Mumbling (喃喃低语) is a talent (才能)? Sure, anyone can mumble, but no one can do it as pleasurably as the multi-talented Jay Chou. His unique blend (混合) of R&B and Hip Hop sounds differentiates him away from his fellow competitors.

　　Jay knows how to play the piano, the cello (大提琴) ,　the guitar, and the drums, therefore making his musical potential (潜力) endless. He mixes Western instruments with Chinese instruments, like the di (Chinese flute) and the sanxian (three-string). “My music, ”he explains, “my music should be like magic. It should have variety (多样的). It should be ephemeral (瞬息的), changing and progressing. ”

　　He won Best Producer for Fantasy Life and Eight Dimensions. He continues to succeed with his music and inspires people. The way he thinks of shocking people is to do things that people don’t expect in his music, in his performances. He explains, “Whatever you do, you don't try to follow others. Go your own way.” It is also his personal philosophy (人生哲学) .

Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.

Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.

E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.

The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.

With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.

E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.

We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.

1.The purpose of this passage is to ________.

2.The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to ________.

3.According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former helps one ________.

4. The best title for this passage is ________.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A,B,C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents．They are very busy working to __36_ the family．They don’t act in the _37__ ways that I read in books or I see on TV．__38__ flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more __39__．

One day，my mother was sewing a quilt．I __40__ sat down beside her and looked at her．“Mom，is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a __41__ voice.

My mother stopped and raised her head with __42 _ in her eyes．She didn’t answer immediately．Then she __43__ her head and continued to sew the quilt．At last my mother said:

“Susan,” she said，“Look at this thread．Sometimes it appears，but most of it __44__ in the quilt．The thread really makes the quilt strong and __45__．If life is a quilt，then love should be a __46__．It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime，but it’s really there．Love is __47__.”

The next spring，my father suddenly got sick seriously．When they returned from the hospital，mother looked rather pale and it seemed __48__ of them had had a serious illness．Every day in the morning and dusk，my mother helped my father __49__ slowly on the country road．My father had never been so __50__．Along the country road，there were many beautiful flowers，green grass and trees．The sun gently glistened through the leaves．All of these __51__ the most beautiful picture in the world.

“Dad，how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.

He said gently．“__52__，I just like walking with your mom．I like this kind of life.” __53__ his eyes，I know he loves my mother deeply.

__54__ I thought love meant flowers，gifts and sweet kisses．But from this __55__，I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life．Love is inside，making life strong and warm.

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9.．A．lost          B．turned out      C disappeared       D．came up

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11.．A．needle            B．cloth                C  thread         D．sheet

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18.．A．Seeing        B．Reading       C  Watching       D．Observing

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20.．A．process           B．way                 C matter              D．experience