16．The pretty woman that appears on the writer's computer screen was ____ ．

A．a woman working on the Internet

B．his brother's girlfriend

C．not a real person

D．the picture of his penfriend

15．The best title of this passage can be　　　　 ．

A．The Tips You Must Follow

B．How to Start out with a Computer

C．How to Use Your PC Better

D．How to Keep Your PC Stable(稳定)

(E)

When I opened my e-mail the other day，a pretty woman named Rachel appeared on my computer screen．She greeted me by name and started talking with great enthusiasm(热情)．

Every now and then she stopped to smile at me or blow a kiss．She was reading to me an e-mail from my brother，and a lot of it was about the trouble he had getting the phone company to give him a high-speed Internet connection．It was pretty cool．

Rachel was there thanks to a new technology called Facemail．Facemail lets you send e-mail that gets read to the recipient(收件人) by an attractive male or female form or by a clown(小丑)．The software，which is free，can be downloaded at www．facemail．com．

Facemail faces are lifelike，and they simulate(模拟)emotions based on emotions-for example，-that you put in your text．Type in： -X，and Rachel blows a kiss．

Life FX，the company that develops the Facemail，is sure there are broad business uses．The reason e-business is not popular，the company says，is that buying over the Internet lacks the human touch．But what if you went to the Nike website and Michael Jordan greeted you by name，waited on you and personally closed the sale？And it is talking with Whirlpool(惠而浦公司)about using the technology in a computer screen on a fridge．Then if Mom can't be home when the kids get back from school，she can leave a note with voice and image telling them what there is to eat．Facemail could get hot fast．Personally，I'm a fan．But Facemail should be used with care．The clown looks lively and funny at first．But if you select the clown，put a few rude words in an e-mail and add some angry emotions，you've got Psycho-mail(疯人型电子邮件)．

14．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ____ ．

A．your computer will copy the important information when the system fails

B．your computer might lose all the information when its hard　 drive crashes

C．you have to replace your computer one day

D．you must change your system regularly

13.How many pieces of advice on buying good hardware does the writer give us？

A．Three　　 B．Two　　 C．One　　 D．Four

12．If you want to use Windows 2000，but your computer only has 64MB．What will you have to do？

A．Enlarge its RAM to at least 256MB．

B．Put in good software in your computer．

C．Enlarge its RAM to at least 128MB．

D．Have Windows NT to match it．

11．Who do you think will support the“flextime”system？

A．The employers．

B．Both the workers and the employers．

C．White collar workers．

D．Manual workers．

(D)

Getting a new PC is one thing．Keeping it running smoothly is quite another．While a personal computer should continue to perform well for years，users know that system unsteadiness does exist．Yet you can reduce it to the smallest amount by following the tips below．

First，put in as little software(软件)as possible．You'll have fewer software-related problems and a system that is easier to manage．

Second，you should ensure that you have as much memory(RAM)in your PC as you need．If you run Windows 98，your computer should have at least 128 megabytes(MB)of RAM and more．You can also get by with 128MB of RAM if you use Windows NT or Windows 2000，but these operating systems will run much more smoothly if you have 256MB of RAM or more．

Third，make sure you buy good hardware(硬件)．No-name products may be cheaper and sometimes just as good as name-brand products， but name-brand products usually become well-known because of their steadiness．It's wise to buy products from famous companies because Windows will more often support the hardware that you buy．If you are starting out with computers，it's also a good idea to buy ready-made systems from major manufacturers(制造商)．

They are likely to have been tested thoroughly with your operating system，and you will generally experience fewer problems．Fourth，do prepare for disaster．No matter how well your system runs when you get it，the day will come when it will need to be replaced．Hopefully，you will replace it because technology has become outdated，but you may need to replace it also because the hard drive crashes(毁掉)or you begin experiencing problems that no one can figure out．That's why it's important to copy your important information regularly．Whether you use a tape backup device or a CD-RW drive，it's important to make a regular backup plan and stick to it．

10．One of the main advantages of“flextime”for workers is that ____ ．

A．they can greatly reduce their working hours

B．they can have better arrangements of their private life

C．they can get much higher pay

D．they can have a greater sense of duty

9．According to the“flexible”system，workers____．

A．needn't start work at the same time

B．needn't go to work every workday

C．have no limited working hours

D．can do less work and have more free time

8．What of the following do you think would be the best title of the passage？

A．Relationships between humans and pets

B．Four legs good, two legs bad

C．Want to be loved ？Get a dog

D．Pets and family life

(C)

A major new development in systems of work in Britain is taking place．Flexible working hours，or“flextime”，are catching on fast，and this trend(趋势)is continuing．In 1973，over 500organizations had adopted the idea，and by 1974，this number had risen to over 200，000．

Flexible working hours were invented in Germany in the late 1960's，but reached Britain only in 1972．The system allows workers to start and finish work whenever they want，with only two requirements．These are，firstly，that all workers must be present for certain“key”times in the day，and secondly，that all workers must work an agreed total number of hours per week．

The system has proved an almost total success wherever it has been tried．A survey of 700workers on flexible hours showed three main advantages：a better balance between working and private life，avoidance(避免)of the need to travel during rush hours and the ability to be able to finish a certain task before leaving．

From the employer's point of view，the system tends to increase productivity(生产力)， reduce labor turnover and give the workers a greater sense of duty．At first，“flextime”was mainly confined to white collar workers，but it is now being applied to manual(体力的)workers too．

7．In what kind of tone(口吻)do you think the author write the passage？

A．Realistic and serious．　 B．Delighted and hopeful．

C．Angry and pitiful．　　　 D．Light and humorous