阅读下列短文，从所给的四个选项中，选出佳答案

　It is true that times are changing for the old people in Britain．But not all the changes are bad ones．Modern medicine, for example, has made old people healthier than ever before．Another advantage is that there are many more old people than there used to be．This means that old people often have a good social life with their own clubs and organizations．Old people, too, have more money now than their own parents and grandparents had．

　The biggest disadvantage (不利条件) of modern life is loneliness (孤独)．The young leave home when they grow up and many old people live alone．Fewer old people have brothers and sisters．An old person's one or two children may have moved to another part of the country．Even when they live nearby, the young people have their own work to do and their own children to look after．They have not much time for the old. Problems of loneliness often start when people stop work．When people retire they often find it difficult to start a new life without their jobs．

　The world has changed so fast since 1900 that it is difficult for the old people to understand the problems of the young．And the world is changing even faster these days than it was fifty years ago．It makes you think, doesn't it? What will it be like when today's young people are old?

(1) To the old people, the changes in society are ________．

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A．better than they expected

B．not as good as they wish

C．both good and bad

D．difficult to understand

(2) According to this passage, the old people today ________．　　　

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A．often go to clubs with their brothers and sisters

B．prefer lonely life to social life

C．live more happily than their parents and grandparents

D．like to share their feelings and thoughts with other people

(3) Although some old people live near their sons or daughters, ________．

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A．they still feel lonely

B．they want to move to other places

C．they have no time to look after the young people's children

D．they like to live with their own brothers and sisters

(4) In the last century, old people did not have so many problems because ________．

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A．they had big families

B．they lived with their children

C．the young were king to the old

D．the society didn't change so rapidly

(5) What is the main idea of this passage?

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A．Modern society only belongs to the young．

B．Modern life has brought new problems to the old．

C．Today's young people are happier than their parents．

D．It is necessary to take better care of the old people．

阅读下面短文，从每小题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。

　　The more time scientists spend designing computers, the more they wonder at human brain． Tasks that puzzle the most advanced supercomputer-recognizing a face, reading a handwritten noteare child's play for the 3-pound organ． Most important, unlike any ordinary computer, the brain Can learn from its mistakes． Researchers have tried for years to program computers to imitate the brain’s abilities , but without success．

　　Now a growing number of designers believe they have the answer： if a computer is to work more like a person and less like an over-grown calculator, it must be built more like a brain, which distributes information across a vast interconnected web of nerve cells, or neurons．

　　Ordinary computers work by following a chainlike sequence of detailed instructions． Although very fast, their processors can perform only one task at a time． This approach works best in solving problems that can be broken down into simpler logical pieces． The processors in a neural-network computer, by contrast, form a network much like the nerve cells in the brain． Since these artificial (人造的) neurons are interconnected, they can share information and perform tasks at the same time． This two-dimensional approach works best at recognizing patterns．

　　Instead of programming a neural-network computer to make decisions, its maker trains it to recognize patterns in any solution to a problem by repeatedly feeding examples to the machine．

　　Neural networks come in all shapes and sizes． Until now most have existed as software simulations (模拟品) because redesigning computer chips took a lot of time and money． By experimenting with different approaches through software rather than hardware, scientists have been able to avoid costly mistakes．

1．It can be inferred from the first paragraph that the most advanced supercomputer ________．

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A．can recognize a face and read a handwritten note

B．can learn from its mistakes on its own

C．weighs only 3 pounds like a child’s brain

D．can not distribute information across the web of nerve cells

2．An ordinary computer can usually do the following except that________．

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A．it can be programmed before it works．

B．it can only solve one problem ~at a time

C．it can break down problems into simpler logical pieces

D．it can be trained to recognize patterns instead of making decisions

3．The main feature of a neural-network computer is that ________．

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A．its processors act as an interconnected web of neurons

B．it is programmed to make different decisions

C．its networks are of all shapes and sizes

D．its neurons are artificial

4．The expression “this two-dimensional approach” in the second paragraph refers to ________．

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A．the old computer and the neural computer

B．making decisions and recognizing patterns

C．sharing information and performing tasks

D．the computer and the human brain

5．Scientists use software rather than hardware in their experiments because ________．

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A．it can avoid redesigning computer chips

B．it can save a lot of time and money

C．it can avoid making any mistakes

D．it is more like human brain

阅读下列文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

The expression. “lame duck”, can be heard in almost any American town or city, especially where people discuss politics. Most often, they use it to describe a politician who has come to the end of power-a Congressman, for example, who has a few more weeks in office and will then be out of a job.

    There are a number of ideas as to where “lame duck” came from although the picture is clear enough—-a duck that has had its wings clipped, or its web feet injured, and can no longer walk or waddle ( walk with short steps, bending from one side to the other) like a healthy one.

    The term seems to have crept (move slowly and quietly with the body close to the ground) into the American language some time after the Civil War of 1861~ 1865. One explanation is that it came from the language of hunters who felt that it was foolish to waste power or time on a dead duck.

    Another explanation, however, says that the expression came from England. There it was used to describe a man who lost all his money in stocks (股票交易), was cleaned out (倾家荡产) and could not pay his debts. And—so the story does,—people showed little mercy (kindness or pity) for the poor fellow.

    But in the United States people took the phrase to describe a congressman who failed to get reelected but still had a little time in office until his successor was sworn in (be sworn in take office).

    In time, the expression was used in a broader sense, generally describing any man whose days of power were coming to the end. It has often been to describe the position of an American president in the last 2 years or so of his 2nd term. It is a difficult time for him, when Congress is ready to oppose him at every turn (at every moment; in every place). It may refuse to work with him simply because his days in the White House are numbered. His sun is setting. It is not a happy time. It is like old age coming on. And people, like animals, are cruel to lame ducks, ready to drive him out. Their eyes are already turned towards the new leader, the new man in command.

1．  It is likely that the expression “lame duck” ________.

A. has been widely used in the American language before the Civil War

    B. has quietly come into the American language some time after the year of 1865

    C. was used in the old English

    D. has been used in both the USA and the UK since 1865 to express the same meaning

2．When a person lost all his money in stocks, people ________.

    A. usually showed mercy for him

    B. always has sympathy with him

    C. hardly has sympathy with him

    D. never drove him out

3．Who was the lame duck in the USA last term?

A. George Bush.

B. Ronald Reagan.

C. John Kennedy.

D. Bill Clinton.

阅读理解

阅读下列文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

The expression. “lame duck”, can be heard in almost any American town or city, especially where people discuss politics. Most often, they use it to describe a politician who has come to the end of power-a Congressman, for example, who has a few more weeks in office and will then be out of a job.

    There are a number of ideas as to where “lame duck” came from although the picture is clear enough—-a duck that has had its wings clipped, or its web feet injured, and can no longer walk or waddle ( walk with short steps, bending from one side to the other) like a healthy one.

    The term seems to have crept (move slowly and quietly with the body close to the ground) into the American language some time after the Civil War of 1861~ 1865. One explanation is that it came from the language of hunters who felt that it was foolish to waste power or time on a dead duck.

    Another explanation, however, says that the expression came from England. There it was used to describe a man who lost all his money in stocks (股票交易), was cleaned out (倾家荡产) and could not pay his debts. And—so the story does,—people showed little mercy (kindness or pity) for the poor fellow.

    But in the United States people took the phrase to describe a congressman who failed to get reelected but still had a little time in office until his successor was sworn in (be sworn in take office).

    In time, the expression was used in a broader sense, generally describing any man whose days of power were coming to the end. It has often been to describe the position of an American president in the last 2 years or so of his 2nd term. It is a difficult time for him, when Congress is ready to oppose him at every turn (at every moment; in every place). It may refuse to work with him simply because his days in the White House are numbered. His sun is setting. It is not a happy time. It is like old age coming on. And people, like animals, are cruel to lame ducks, ready to drive him out. Their eyes are already turned towards the new leader, the new man in command.

1．  It is likely that the expression “lame duck” ________.

A. has been widely used in the American language before the Civil War

    B. has quietly come into the American language some time after the year of 1865

    C. was used in the old English

    D. has been used in both the USA and the UK since 1865 to express the same meaning

2．When a person lost all his money in stocks, people ________.

    A. usually showed mercy for him

    B. always has sympathy with him

    C. hardly has sympathy with him

    D. never drove him out

3．Who was the lame duck in the USA last term?

A. George Bush.

B. Ronald Reagan.

C. John Kennedy.

D. Bill Clinton.

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。

Our dog, Rex used to sit outside our front gate and barked. Every time he wanted to come 1 the garden he 2  barkd until someone open  3 gate. As the neighbors complained 4 the noise, my husband spent weeks 5 him to press his paw on the latch to let 6 in. Rex soon became an expert 7 opening the gate. 8 , when I was going out 9 last week, I 10 him in the garden 11 the gate. This time he was barking so that 12 would let him out! Since then, he has 13 another bad habit. As soon as he 14 the gate from the 15 ,he comes into the garden and waits until the gate shuts. 16 he sits and barks until someone 17 him out. After this he 18 lets himself in and begins barking again. Yesterday my husband 19 the gate and Rex got 20 annoyed that we have not seen him since.

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