【2011·西南师大附中第六次月考】A

When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm. In the winter especially, we were quite far away from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that my life has its problems too.

One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma (哮喘), and the air is so serious polluted that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.

Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment (娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising — and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.

Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens (十几岁) or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.

45. What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?

A. Staying on the farm.                             B. Leaving home for the city.

C. Moving to the countryside.                      D. Running away from the school.

46. Which of the following is true about the writer?

A. He lives in the city now.                        B. He is in good health.

C. He prefers driving a car.                        D. He is very old now.  

47. In the passage, the writer tries to __________.

A. persuade the reader to live in the city         B. describe his life in the countryside

C. show an interest in the outside world       D. express his opinions about the way of life

48. How is the passage mainly developed?

A. By inferring.                                       B. By listing examples.       

C. By comparing.                                  D. By giving explanations.

Wings of Angel 

I used to hate myself because I wasn’t “normal”. Everyone else could play on the monkey bars and ride on a bicycle, but not   21  . I had a severe spinal cord disorder (脊髓病) and I knew I would always be much   22   than others.

I hated going to school and I hated people   23   at me. I hated seeing others smiling broadly and standing   24   and tall. And most of all, I hated looking in the   25   and seeing an ugly hunchback (驼背).

My friends found me   26   because I didn’t let others get close to me. I thought I was going to go on like this for the rest of my life   27   Angela appeared.

That afternoon, I was sitting by myself in a corner of the school — a spot where no one would   28   me. That’s when I first heard her voice.

“Hi. Can I sit down?”

I raised my head and there she was, with an irresistible smile on her round face.

“What are you looking at?” she asked.

“Ants.”

“What are they doing?”

“No   29  .”

“I bet they’re playing games and making friends. Don’t you think so?”

That was how our   30   started and it didn’t stop. We talked about everything under the sun—the ants, the clouds, my little niche (处境) — until it was sunset.

Then suddenly, she saw my   31  . She just stared.

    My heart   32  . What I feared most had happened and I knew for sure she would   33   me now.

She stood up, pointed at my back and said, “I know   34   your back is hunched.”

I closed my eyes like a criminal waiting to be   35  . I begged in my heart for her to   36  , but she just kept on going. “I know what you’ve got in there. Do you?”

“No,” I answered   37  .

She bent and whispered in my ears.

“Your back is hunched because you’ve got a pair of wings from the angels.”  

I was   38  . I looked into her eyes and her   39   touched my heart. From that day on, I started to learn to   40   myself because I have the wings of an angel and a kind-hearted friend.

A. them          B. it              C. me            D. her  

A. sadder          B. shorter               C. weaker           D. slower

A. looking       B. smiling       C. aiming          D. glaring  

A. still            B. alone          C. straight          D. together

A. street           B. sun             C. corner          D. mirror

A. distant          B. disappointed   C. hopeless         D. unlucky 

A. after           B. while         C. since            D. until

A. disturb        B. seek             C. comfort          D. ignore

A. wonder        B. idea             C. way             D. problem

A. games         B. performance   C. conversation      D. competition

A. face           B. back             C. eyes             D. wings

A. sank          B. beat             C. broke           D. ached

A. look up to   B. catch up with   C. look down upon D. put up with

A. that          B. how            C. whether          D. why

A. tied          B. arrested       C. punished      D. sentenced

A. relax         B. leave            C. stop             D. forbid

A. shyly          B. weakly         C. proudly       D. firmly  

A. astonished  B. ashamed          C. annoyed        D. upset

A. wisdom      B. beauty           C. honesty       D. kindness 

A. control       B. like            C. forgive        D. forget

Global Positioning Systems are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But, they can also cause a lot of problems, send you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two.
We spoke to Mr. Brown by Skype. He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay. Barry Brown: “And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn’t until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of 'garbage in garbage out'.”
Mister Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment. Barry Brown: “One problem with a lot of the GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it’s going to the wrong place.”
Barry Brown formerly served as a professor with the University of California, San Diego. While there, he worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people’s cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called “The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS.” It lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given.
Barry Brown says to make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together.
【小题1】In Paragraph 2, Mr. Brown mentioned his friend in the conversation to _____________.

Global Positioning Systems are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But they can also cause a lot of problems, sending you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two.

         Barry Brown is with the Mobile Life Centre in Stockholm, Sweden. The center studies human-computer interaction, or HCI, especially communications involving wireless devices. We spoke to Mr. Brown by Skype. He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay.

         Barry Brown: “And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn’t until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they had put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of “garbage in garbage out”. Mr. Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment.

         Barry Brown: “One problem with many GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it’s going to the wrong place.”

         Barry Brown formerly served as a professor with the University of California, San Diego. While there, he worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people’s cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called “The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS.”

         Barry Brown: “One of the things that struck us, perhaps the most important thing was that you have to know what you’re doing when you use a GPS. There are these new skills that people have developed. There are these new competencies that you need to have to be able to use a GPS because they sometimes go wrong.” Barry Brown says this goes against a common belief that GPS systems are for passive drivers who lack navigational (导航) skills.

         “The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS” lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given.

         Barry Brown says to make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together.

1.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Is GPS system reliable to use?                         B. What is the use of GPS?

C. How to make the most of GPS?                 D. Blame! GPS or Passengers?

2.What is the implication of the underlined part?

A. GPS is just a garbage device.

B. GPS will not correct human errors.

C. GPS adjusts your wrong destination.

D. GPS is just as smart as human beings.

3.Which is NOT mentioned as a GPS shortcoming in the passage?

A. Small screen.         B. Timing of commands.    

C. Outdated maps.     D. Dear cameras GPS uses.

4.According to the passage, people commonly believe that ___________.

A. you have to know where to go when using GPS

B. you need to have new competencies to use GPS well

C. GPS is proper for drivers with little sense of direction

D. GPS is fit for people having good understanding of maps