The lost child desired nothing but _____ home.

“Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft: a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.

The program allows users to display alerts on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.

Owners must report their laptop missing by visiting a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” sign appears on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version（版本）of the software, users can also send a spoken message.

The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it.” One customer sent a message saying,’ You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the company which produces the program, Retriever.

In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. For example, the laptop’s speakers will say: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, report me now.”

The Retriever software package, which costs $29.95 but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs .Owners can remotely switch to an alternative password if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access details.

If a thief accesses the internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.

Thousands of laptops are stolen every year form homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.

Other security software allows users to erase data remotely or lock down the computer.

1.The expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind “can be understood as “_______”

A. to give the thief an alert mind

B. to express the owners’ anger to the thief

C. to remind the thief of this conscience

D. to make the thief give up his mind

2.Different from other security software, Retriever can         .

A. record the stealing process          B. help recognize the lost laptop

C. lock down the computer remotely     D. send a spoken message

3.One function of the program is that it allows the owner to           at a distance.

A. change some access details for switching on the laptop

B. turn on the laptop by using the original password

C. operate the laptop by means of and alternative password

D. erase the information kept in the stolen laptop

4.Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?

A. With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year.

B. A new soft ware provides a means to reduce laptop theft.

C. Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers.

D. A new program offers a communication platform with the thief.

But at other moments you will find him gentle and weak, _____ he cries about the lost lives of people drowned in ships that have sunk.

下面是美国著名游记作家Bill Bryson的几本作品，首先请阅读它们的封面信息：

下面是对这几本书的简要介绍，请把它们对应的封面信息找出来：

1. In this collection, Bill Bryson is writing from home. We find he assesses life both in New England and in the contemporary United States. With the telescopic perspective(远望视角) of one who has stepped out of the American mainstream and come back after 20 years, Bryson holds the mirror up to U.S. culture and feel strange to his motherland.

2.This book is a guide to the world’s unspoilt sights and experiences. It presents one thousand fresh and fascinating alternatives to hundreds of well-known tourist destinations and sights, including alternatives to the Carnival in Rio and the beaches of Thailand, the most-visited national parks, over-rated restaurants and holiday sites.

3.Returning to the U.S. after 20 years in England, Bill Bryson decided to reconnect with his mother country by hiking the length of the 2100-mile Appalachian Trail. Awed by merely the camping section of his local sporting goods store, he still goes into the wilderness and learns hard lessons about self-reliance.

4. A travelogue by Bill Bryson is as close to a sure thing as funny books get. This book is no exception. Following an urge to rediscover his youth, the author leaves his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that takes him to across 38 states in the country, which is like a small town in his opinion.

5.Born in Iowa, Bryson backpacked through Europe as a young man. While living in England some 20 years later, he revisited many of the same places from arctic Norway’s northern lights to romantic Capri in Italy. Here he jumps back and forth between old memories and new experiences.

One day newly wedded Nancy lost her ring while helping to plant potatoes. Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain. Later, when the pottoes were harvested, Everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost. Another year came round and all the farmers working in the field kept their eyes open. The following year was the same. And year after year, whoever had business in the field aways had Nancy’s ring in his mind.

Then the farm changed hands but it went no farther than to cousins. So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed. Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing the field behind a pair of horses. Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, and knew just which part of the field Nancy had lost it in. At this time, when he came there, he found it .He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horse, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy’s hand.

76.How did Nancy come to lose her ring?

A.She lost it while helping to harvest tomatoes in the field

B.She lost it while watering the plants in the field.

C.She lost it while working in the field.

D.She lost it while helping to plant potatoes in the field.

77.What was done so that the lost ring could be found?

A.Friends were asked to join in the search.

B.The field was searched for a long time.

C.Ｄogs were called to look for it.

D.Both A and B

78.Why did people keep looking for the ring even after the farm changed hands?

A.It was a very expensive ring

B.They all wanted to solve the mystery.

C.They all loved Nancy.

D.Everybody wanted to have this ring.

79.What did the ploughman do after finding the ring?

A.He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

B.He ran back to tell everybody in the village.

C.He placed it in a secret spot.

D.He returned it to the owner.

80.What can you infer from the story?

A.The ring was invaluable.

B.People on the farm were honest and helpful.

C.The ring’s mysterious disappearance was the work of supernatural power.

D.Nancy no longer expected that her ring would be found again.