St.Patrick's Day is Ireland's greatest national holiday as well as a holy(神圣的) day.Each year, millions of people world－wide celebrate this __1__on March 17, the date of St.Patrick's death.It is a happy holiday for the Irish living in Ireland and __2__.The day is celebrated with parades(游行), speeches, festival dinners, and dances.__3__ is the colour of the day, with thousands of little cloth shamrocks(三叶草) on.

   St.Patrick was born in Britain to __4__ parents near the end of the fourth century.At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders(入侵者)  __5__ his family's wealth.So he had to __6__ a shepherd, outdoors and away from people.__7__lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion(宗教) and became a Christian.

The first St.Patrick's Day parade  __8__ not in Ireland, but in the United States.Irish soldiers in the British army __9__ through New York City on March 17, 1762 with Irish music.Since then, St.Patrick's Day parades have become a way for Irish Americans to show their  __10__every year.In 1948, President Truman  __11__the New Year City's St.Patrick's Day parade, which was a __12__moment for many Irish people whose fathers and grandfathers had to fight against people who disliked them to find  __13__ in America.

It was in Boston where the Day was first celebrated in a public way. __14__ since 1762, the New York City's parade on St.Patrick's Day has __15___ more than one million people each year.

Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has __16__ a special tradition of colouring the river water green.It started in 1962 when 100 pounds of green paint was __17__ its rivers, enough to keep them green for a week.The __18__ has continued till today.Now, 40 pounds of a green food colouring keeps the rivers green for only a few hours.Historically, __19__the shamrocks and things green has become a __20__ symbol of declaring the Irish national and cultural identity(特性)．

1．A.holiday　　B．festival　　　C．honor　　　D．date

2．A.places    B．abroad       C．England    D．aboard

3．A.Green    B．Blue        C．Grass       D．Red

4．A.poor     B．cruel       C．unhealthy      D．wealthy

5．A.giving   B．stealing      C．attacking      D．processing

6．A.serve in  B．stand for     C．work as       D．act for

7．A.Feeling  B．Keeping     C．Remaining     D．performing

8．A.held up   B．took place  C．was occurred   D．happened

9．A.advanced  B．marched  C．processed  D．progressed

10．A.existence   B．anger  C．struggle  D．importance

11．A.led        B．attended  C．joining  D．acting

12．A.responsible  B．forgettable  C．proud  D．unthinkable

13．A.reception  B．acceptance  C．refusal  D．resistance

14．A.Celebrated          B．Completed

C．Held             D．Performed

15．A.attempted  B．drawn   C．driven   D．employed

16．A.developed  B．created   C．built   D．invented

17．A.added up  B．added up to  C．added to  D．risen to

18．A.custom   B．tradition   C．habit  D．practice

19．A.making up          B．dressing in

C．wearing           D．having

20．A.abstract  B．practical  C．false  D．powerful

A land free from destruction, plus wealth, natural resources, and labor supply—all these were important 1 in helping England to become the center for the Industrial Revolution. 2 they were not enough. Something 3 was needed to start the industrial process. That "something special" was men—4 individuals who could invent machines, find new 5 of power, and establish business organizations to reshape society.

　　The men who 6 the machines of the Industrial Revolution 7 from many backgrounds and many occupations. Many of them were 8 inventors than scientists. A man who is a 9 scientist is primarily interested in doing his research 10 .He is not necessarily working 11 that his findings can be used.

　　An inventor or one interested in applied science is 12 trying to make something that has a concrete use. He may try to solve a problem by 13 the theories 14 science or by experimenting through trial and error. Regardless of his method, he is working to obtain a 15 result: the construction of a harvesting machine, the burning of a light bulb, or one of 16 other objectives.

　　Most of the people who 17 the machines of the Industrial Revolution were inventors, not trained scientists. A few were both scientists and inventors. Even those who had 18 or no training in science might not have made their inventions 19 a groundwork had not been laid by scientists years 20 .

　　1.A.cases        B .reasons      C .factors      D .situations

　　2.A.But         B .And         C .Besides     D .Even

　　3.A.else         B .near         C .extra       D .similar

　　4.A.generating    B .effective     C .motivating   D .creative

　　5.A.origins       B .sources      C .bases       D .discoveries

　　6.A.employed     B .created      C .operated    D .controlled

　　7.A.came        B .arrived       C .stemmed   D .appeared

　　8.A.less         B .better        C. more       D .worse

　　9.A.genuine      B .practical     C .pure        D .clever

　　10.A.happily     B .occasionally  C. reluctantly   D .accurately

　　11.A.now        B .and         C .all         D .so

　　12.A.seldom      B .sometimes   C .all         D .never

　　13.A.planning    B .using        C .idea        D .means

　　14.A.of         B .with         C .to          D .as

　　15.A.single      B .sole         C. specialized   D .specific

　　16.A.few        B .those        C .many       D .all

　　17.A.proposed    B .developed    C .supplied     D .offered

　　18.A.little       B .much        C .some        D .any

　　19.A.as         B .if           C .because      D .while

　　20.A.ago        B .past         C .ahead        D .before

Can you remember the first time you learned to ride a bike or drive a car？Learning these skills changed your life forever and opened up new horizons（视野）.Learning about computers can be like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car.Once you have invested the time to master the skills，you will never go back to the old days.The new technology is simply too convenient and too powerful.

Technological developments through the years have enabled us to do more with less effort.We have continuously looked for better ways of doing things.Each invention and new development has allowed us to extend our capabilities.Today we see one of the most dramatic technologies ever developed—the computer.It extends the capabilities of our minds.

Computers have saved organizations millions of dollars. Furthermore，these same computer systems have opened up new opportunities that would have gone undiscovered or neglected.The computer may multiply what we can do，and the return on investment is high.The growth of computer usage is surprising. On the other hand，the computer can do serious damage.Invasion of privacy（侵犯隐私），fraud（欺诈），and computer-related mistakes are just a few shocking examples.?The computer is like a double-edged sword.It has the ability to cut us free from some activities，but it can also cut deep into profits，personal privacy，and our society in general.How it is used is not a function of technology.It is strictly a function of how people decide to use or misuse this new technology.The choice is yours，and only through a knowledge of computer systems will you be able to avoid the dangers while enjoying the many，many benefits of the computer age.

1.The writer thinks learning about computers is like learning how to ride a bike or drive a car because ______.

A.it is simple and practical　　　　　　　　 B.it needs a lot of practice

C.it leads people to new life experiences　 D.it takes much time to master the skills

2.According to the passage，computers bring people the following benefits except ______.

A.avoiding mistakes　　　　　　　　　 B.saving money

C.making money　　　　　　　　　　　 D.opening up opportunities

3.According to the writer，the bad effects of computers can be avoided if we ______.

A.have some knowledge of computer systems

B.tell people not to misuse computers

C.have strict rules over the use of computers

D.make more investments in the technology

4.This passage is probably written for ______.

A.computers　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B.computer producers

C.computer learners　　　　　　　　　 D.computer programmers