When Babbage was working at Cambridge, a new idea occurred to him. He wanted to construct a calculating machine to work out the solutions（解法）to maths problems not only with correctness but also with a speed beyond the power of any human mind. His machine could solve problems involving（涉及）long rows of figures in one continuous operation（运算）.

       In 1822 Babbage exhibited his invention and won a prize from the government. After that, he immediately started to work on a larger machine designed to solve more difficult problems. Although he received some money left by his father, the money was not enough to support his design. He wrote to the government about his plan and was given ￡2500 to start with, a sum worth much more in those days than it is now.

       Babbage continued his work in London for four years. Then his health broke down, and he had to take a long holiday abroad. When he returned to London in 1828, he was at the end of his resources. Many bills remained unpaid. His chief assistant and co-workers quarreled with him and left with many expensive tools. For one year no work was done. During this period, Babbage, whose mind was always active, suddenly thought of a completely new idea for the machine. He rushed to meet the government officials to explain his new idea. But this time, they were unwilling to help him. For eight years, they refused to say whether they wanted the machine or not, and their final answer was “No.”

       From 1828 to 1839, Babbage held the position of professor at Cambridge very successfully. But his greatest work was the unfinished calculating machine which stood covered in dust in his house. It was the beginning of the modern computer.

60．The machine Babbage designed would solve difficult maths problems _________.

      A．in one operation with few mistakes

       B．in more than one operation without any mistakes

       C．in more than one operation with slight mistakes

       D．in one operation without any mistakes

61．Babbage failed to continue his research work in 1828 mainly because _______.

      A．he was in poor health    B．he almost ran out of money

       C．his co-workers argued with him         D．he spent all his money on his bills

62．Babage explained his new idea to the government officials, expecting that _________.

      A．they would agree to his plan    B．they would pay for his new idea

       C．they would support him with money   D．they would exhibit his new design

63．From the passage, we can infer that __________.

      A．Babbage failed to be a famous scientist at Cambridge

       B．Babbage always had new ideas but gave them up easily

       C．Babbage always needed support from the government officials

       D．Babbage was the first designer of the modern computer

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出可以填入空白的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was on my school’s playground the other day. Suddenly, an ice cream truck  36  right in front of one of the main common areas of the school. I never  37  an ice cream man would come  38  us — overgrown kids. So I was quite  39  when the sweet man in the truck  40 , “ Free ice cream!” I  41  him to confirm(证实) what he said. I asked, “ I’m sorry, but what did you say?”
“Free ice cream. You have your  42  of these four frozen treats: the rocket pop, the chocolate e clair, the strawberry shortcake, or the drumstick.”
After I make sure that this guy was really  43  free ice cream, I talked with him for a while. He told me that his  44  had always been to travel around giving people free ice cream, and that was  45  what he now does. He maxed out all his credit cards, slept in his  46 , and lived with his parents  47  he could continue to follow his dream during hard times. Now, he has  48  from large companies such as Levi’s to support him to do what he  49  .
The ice cream man told me that he was  50  inspiring people to do exactly what their  51  tell them to do in life: I  52  asking him with respect, “So your dream was just to  53  around and give people free ice cream” It seemed like such a  54  goal.
“Yes, just meeting people and making them  55 ,” he replied.
36. A. followed             B. passed               C. broke                D. stopped
37. A. explained            B. doubted             C. thought             D. proved
38. A. with                  B. before               C. for                    D. after
39. A. surprised            B. angry                C. worried             D. sad
40. A. broke in             B. stopped by         C. showed off        D. called out
41. A. went up to          B. knocked into      C. laughed at         D. looked into
42. A. attention             B. choice               C. way                  D. answer
43. A. picking out               B. giving away       C. going through    D. talking about
44. A. dream                B. job                   C. fear                  D. experiment
45. A. commonly          B. possibly            C. unluckily           D. exactly
46. A. building             B. bag                   C. truck                 D. hotel
47. A. in case                B. now that            C. as if                  D. so that
48. A. desire                 B. invitation          C. help                  D. experience
49. A. promises             B. suggests            C. loves                 D. remembers
50. A. sorry for             B. worried about    C. careful with              D. interested in
51. A. companies          B. teachers             C. parents             D. hearts
52. A. forgot                B. regretted           C. kept                  D. stopped
53. A. fly                            B. cycle                 C. drive                 D. look
54. A. normal              B. dangerous          C. difficult            D. special
55. A. request               B. smile                C. prepare             D. understand

Chinese netizens who like to create and use cyber words such as “geilivable” might find a new regulation very “ungeilivable”. The new regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication last week banned the use of Chinglish words created by netizens for publishing in the Chinese language.

“Geilivable”, combining the pinyin geili (giving strength) with the English suffix (后缀) for adjectives, literally means “giving power” or “cool”. Different suffixes and prefixes were then added to the word. “Hengeilivable” means “very cool”, and “ungeilivable” means “dull, not cool at all”.

Cyber language is popular among Chinese netizens, who create Chinglish words to reflect phenomenon in society. One example is “antizen”, which refers to college graduates who earn a meager salary and live in small rented apartments, like tiny and laborious ants.

David Tool, a professor with the Beijing International Studies University, said it’s very interesting to combine Chinese with English to create new words. “English is no longer mysterious to the Chinese people. They can use the language in a flexible way according to their own experiences,” Tool said.

At the announcement of the regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication, netizens expressed their concern.

“The administration is totally ‘ungeilivable’,” said a netizen named laoda1713. “I know other netizens will shed tears with me... it is a good chance to enrich our language”.

“Language is always developing,” said a columnist, Wang Pei. “It needs to be updated to absorb foreign culture and folk wisdom.”

But an unnamed official with the administration said that, in fact, many senior staff from news media who supported the regulation were worried that years later, the younger generation would forget how to use formal Chinese expressions. The official also pointed out that the regulation was only for formal publications in Chinese language, and it only banned Chinglish words in the publication.

The new regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication may be aimed at         .  

A. simplifying the Chinese language    B. limiting the development of language

C. banning the use of Chinglish     D. making the netizens more serious

The underlined word meager in the third paragraph probably means        .

A. poor           B. flexible       C. high        D. plentiful

From this passage we can infer that         .  

A. the Chinese people like their own language only

B. the English words are considered informal in China

C. nobody in China will support the new regulation

D. “geilivable” will be popular among Chinese netizens

On which column of China Daily can you find this passage?   

A. Entertainment  B. Business       C. Travel         D. Opinion

Language as a System of Symbols

Of all systems of symbols(符号), language is the most highly developed. It has been pointed out that human beings, by agreement, can make anything stand for anything. Human beings have agreed, in the course of centuries of mutual(相互的) dependency, to let the various noises that they can produce with their lungs, throats, tongues, teeth, and lips systematically stand for certain happenings in their nervous systems. We call that system of agreements language.

There is no necessary connection between the symbol and that which it stands for. Just as social positions can be symbolized by feathers worn on the head, by gold on the watch chain, or by a thousand other things according to the culture we live in, so the fact of being hungry can be symbolized by a thousand different noises according to the culture we live in.

However obvious these facts may appear at first glance, they are actually not so obvious as they seem except when we take special pains to think about the subject. Symbols and the things they stand for are independent of each other, yet we all have a way of feeling as if, and sometimes acting as if, there were necessary connections. For example, there are people who feel that foreign languages are unreasonable by nature: foreigners have such funny names for things, and why can’t they call things by their right names? This feeling exhibits itself most strongly in those English and American tourists who seem to believe that they can make the natives of any country understand English if they shout loud enough. Like the little boy who is reported to have said: “Pigs are called pigs because they are such dirty animals,” they feel the symbol is inherently(内在地) connected in some way with the things symbolized.

69．Language is a highly developed system of symbols because human beings _________.

       A．have made use of language for centuries

       B．use our nervous systems to support language

       C．have made various noises stand for any events

       D．can make anything stand for anything by agreement

70．What can we conclude from Paragraph 2?

       A．Different noise may mean different things.

       B．Our culture determines what a symbol stands for.

       C．The language we use symbolizes our social positions.

       D．Our social positions determine the way we are dressed.

71．In Paragraph 3, “take special pains” probably means “________”.

       A．try very hard                                       B．take our time       

       C．are very unhappy                                 D．feel especially painful

72．The example of the little boy is used to show that ___________.

       A．adults often learn from their young

       B．“pig” is a dirty word because pigs are dirty

       C．words are not connected with the things they stand for

       D．people sometimes have wrong ideas about how language works

I have always loved kids. However, the children here at Shanti Bhavan are unlike any that I have ever met. They have a strong drive and determination and are thankful for the wonderful opportunity they have been given. While at Shanti Bhavan, I taught 3^rd graders writing, language, and literature, 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th graders public speaking, 9^th and 10^th graders basketball, and piano lessons. I found teaching the children was the most rewarding experience of my life. They are really fast learners and really have an interest in knowledge. It was easy to get on with such polite, well-mannered, and hard-working students. They dream big and I only hope that I can continue to be a part of helping them achieve their goals.

As far as my day-to-day living went, I was perfectly comfortable here and came to consider it as a second home. My room was clean and comfortable and the staff could not have been nicer.

In addition, I really appreciated the support of all the teachers. They were so welcoming and kind that it truly cleared away my fears and culture shock. They often gave me advice and befriended me and I owe much to them for their warmth.

I honestly feel that Shanti Bhavan is the most beautiful place on earth. It has love and learning, and I am very sad to be leaving. I am looking forward to my return to this newly found family as soon as possible. Thank you so much Miss Beena and Mrs. Law for all of your love and support. The experience that I worked with them will always come into my mind. This has been the greatest experience of my life.

50．What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. Kids liked basketball lessons best.

B. Kids at Shanti Bhavan helped the author a lot.

C. The author is a fast learner and dreams big.

D. The author taught different lessons at the same time.

51．What does the author think of the students at Shanti Bhavan?

A. Generous B. Clever   C. Brave    D. Funny

52．Which of the following words can best describe the author’s day-to-day living at Shanti Bhavan?

A. Lonely   B. Simple   C. Disappointed D. Comfortable

53．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The author will come back soon.

B. The author has decided to settle at Shanti Bhavan.

C. The author once felt uneasy at Shanti Bhavan.

D. The author was forced to come to Shanti Bhavan at first.