III、完形填空(共20分)
It’s a question anyone might ask in the future: Should your household robot be cool? Or practical?
For Sony Corporation, robots ought to be entertaining. The company’s 41 robot, SDR—4 X, can sing and dance.
But for automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd, such 42 should perform useful tasks for their 43 masters.
“It is in the end a machine, a 44 ,” said Masato Hirose, Honda’s chief engineer.
Sony’s chief researcher Toshi Doi said robots performing such tasks as 45for ill or disabled people would not necessarily need a human 46  .
“The attractiveness of the SDR—4 X is its 47”, he said.
“It has feelings. It has instincts(直觉).”
Drawing from its 48of 60,000 words, an SDR—4 X robot 49 last week that it can ask a 50 in a high voice: “Please 51still for a minute while I memorize your face.”
It also 52 off its ability to walk on uneven(不平的)floors, and come to its owner when it’s 53.
While Honda’s robot is 54 used mainly for entertainment, it is 55 that one day it will be a useful companion.
So its robot have been 56to be 120cm tall – more than twice the height of the SDR—4 X. Hirose said 120cm is the 57a robot that moves around a home should be.
“If you are going to have something that can move with 58 in a human surroundings(环境), then it is better to 59 the robot like a human,” he said.
Hirose said that he hopes the robot will be 60 enough so that he can buy one for himself and let it get him a beer.
41. A. earliest        B. latest          C. coolest                     D. smallest
42. A. matters        B. people        C. machines           D. inventions
43. A. human         B. own           C. creative             D. all
44. A. tool             B. robot         C. toy                   D. slave
45. A. looking        B. working     C. leaving              D. caring
46. A. form           B. character    C. job                   D. ability
47. A. appearance   B. purpose      C. personality        D. material
48. A. storage        B. use            C. making             creation
49. A. said             B. announced  C. showed             D. imaged
50. A. friend          B. partner              C. servant              D. guest
51. A. hold            B. lie             C. take                  D. make
52. A. left                     B. showed      C. put                   D. dropped
53.A. tired             B. called         C. controlled          D. made
54.A. also              B. still            C. again                D. even
55. A. sure             B. hoped        C. reported            D. described
56. A. expected      B. raised         C. proved                     D. designed
57 A. cheapest     B. dearest              C. smallest             D. biggest
58. A. ease             B. care          C. difficulty           D. foot
59. A. buy             B. use            C. invest               D. design
60. A. useful          B. smart         C. cheap                D. small

At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.

One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.

On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.

Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.

1.The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because _______.

2.People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.         .

3.___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.

4.What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

In recent years many countries of the world have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts claim the answer is to make jobs more varied. But do more various jobs lead to greater productivity? There is evidence to suggest that while variety certainly makes the worker’s life more enjoyable, it does not actually make him work harder. As far as increasing productivity is concerned, then variety is not an important factor.

Other experts feel that giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own way is important, and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery which must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is usually very little that can be done to create it.

Another very important consideration is how each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories the worker sees only one part of the product. Some car factories are now experimenting with having many small production lines rather than one large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his line. It would seem that not only is degree of the worker contribution an important factor, therefore, but it is also one we can do something about.

To what extent does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this is important. But perhaps they want more money only because the work they do is boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if we succeed in making their jobs more interesting, they will neither want more money, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them.

Which of the following is the best way to make workers work harder according to the author?

A. Increasing their pay.

B. Giving them more spare time.

C. Making the work itself meaningful.

D. Replacing large production lines with small ones.

The reason why a worker cannot have freedom in doing the job in his own way is that _______.

A. the machinery is so complex that it should be fixed

B. the production lines are too large in modern factories

C. the bosses can create very little freedom of choices for workers

D. the machines must be operated strictly according to instructions and rules

For a worker on an assembly line in a car factory, the job is not enjoyable because _______.

A. he can only make a part of a car

B. he does not know what he is doing

C. his life in spare time is more interesting

D. the importance of his job is not clear to him

In the article, the word “productivity” means _______.

A. the activity of producing something

B. the production volume in a time unit

C. the plan and the method of production

D. both the quantity and quality of a product

The best title for this passage may be _______.

A. Problems of Modern Workers

B. Making Jobs More Interesting

C. Pushing Workers to Produce More

D. How to Improve Labor Conditions

James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.

“J. C.” , he replied.  

She thought he had said “Jesse”, and he had a new name.

Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second-year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.

A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.

The stage was set for Owens’ victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic (体育的) but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African-American winners.

“It was all right with me,” he said years later. “I didn’t go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway.”

Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone call from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.

Owens’ Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles, and dogs.

“Sure, it bothered (烦扰) me,” he said later. “But at least it was an honest living had to eat.”

In time, however, his gold medals (奖牌) changed his life. “They have kept me alive over the years,” he once said. “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”

Owens got his other name “Jesse” when _______.

A. he went to Ohio State University

B. his teacher made fun of him

C. his teacher took “J. C.” for “Jesse”

D. he won gold medals in the Big Ten meet

In the Big Ten meet, Owens _______.

A. hurt himself in the back             B. succeeded in setting many records

C. tried every sports event but failed     D. had to give up some events

We can infer from the text that Owens was treated unfairly in the U.S. at that time because _______.

A. he was not of the right race          B. he was the son of a poor farmer

C. he didn’t shake hands with Hitler     D. he didn’t talk to the US president on the phone

When Owens says “They have kept me alive over the years”, he means that the medals ________.

A. have been changed for money to help him live on

B. have made him famous in the U.S.

C. have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life

D. have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs

Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A. Jesse Owens, a Great American Athlete

B. Golden Moment—a Life-time Struggle

C. Making a Living as a Sportsman

D. How to Be a Successful Athlete

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分,满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36～55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Last night, I was about to pull out of the parking lot when I noticed a hitchhiker (搭便车的人). I know that picking up a hitchhiker can be   36  , but I want a try, as they may have a sincere need to reach their   37  . I rolled down my window and called the man to my car. I asked him where he was
38   and he told me that he needed a ride to his doctor’s office which would   39   in 15 minutes.
40   he got in he told me that the person who was supposed to drive him there didn’t appear. He continued to tell me that he is a   41   and goes out to sea for weeks at a time. He needs to take
42  for his nerves,   43  which, he told me, it would be impossible for him to work.
With some   44   driving we managed to get there in about ten minutes. I told him I would wait and bring him back. He   45   me and said he should be back only in fifteen minutes.
Shortly after, he came back to tell me that the doctor was still with other   46  and it was going to take a while  47  . I told him that I was going to grab a coffee while I   48   . But it ended up taking about forty-five minutes,   49   we had a bit more time than   50  .
Afterwards he got back in my car and  tried his hardest to   51   for keeping me waiting so long. I tried my best to make him feel at   52   and drove him back to where I had picked him up. Again he   53   his thanks and we said our good-byes.
I feel that the universe or God always   54   us with what we need. Maybe God did put him in my path. In his case it was a   55  , in mine the opportunity to help someone else.
36. A. pleasing                     B. helpful                         C. dangerous                 D. surprising
37. A. home                  B. destination                C. office                       D. clinic[
38. A. coming               B. leaving                     C. living                       D. heading
39. A. close                  B. open                        C. end                          D. stay
40. A. Once                  B. Since                       C. Before                            D. While
41. A. doctor                B. salesman                  C. fisherman                 D. postman
42. A. rest                    B. medicine                  C. temperature                     D. advice
43. A. without               B. with                         C. of                               D. for
44. A. careful                B. exciting                   C. quick                       D. relaxing
45. A. praised               B. thanked                    C. encouraged               D. refused
46. A. relatives                 B. patients                    C. guests                      D. nurses
47. A. later                   B. sooner                      C. faster                       D. longer
48. A. waited                B. visited                      C. examined                 D. drove
49. A. turning up           B. taking out                 C. making up                D. turning out
50. A. promised            B. suggested                 C. limited                        D. expected
51. A. explain               B. excuse                      C. apologize                 D. forgive
52. A. rest                    B. safety                       C. ease                         D. sorrow
53. A. expressed            B. supplied                   C. announced                D. exchanged
54. A. offers                 B. provides                   C. combines                  D. connects
55. A. car                            B. treatment                  C. gift                          D. Ride