题目内容
Reading Comprehension
Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.
The uses of computersNot very long, the computer was a strange machine. Not many people understood it. Not many people said yes to it. Today much of that is changing. The first computer system was introduced for use in business in the mid－1950s, Since then, the number of computer systems used in business, government offices, ad institutions has grown rapidly. In 1975, about 250,000 systems were in use in the United States. This is growing by tens of thousands every year.
The electric computer is an important factor in our lives. Each year we use computer more and more to help us to collect data and to provide us with in formation. At one time people thought computers were only useful to banks, department stores, and governments. But today the rapidly increasing number of computers are used for many other purposes. Have you ever stopped to think how you are affected by a computer? The clothes you wear were probably made with the help of a computer. The newspaper you read could have been edited and typed by a computer. Even radio programmes are often prepared by computers.
Computers today are playing important roles in education, transportation and medicine. They are used to predict the weather, to examine the ocean, and to develop defense systems. They are being used by businesses, governments, and institutions. There is no reason to think that their uses will become a greater part of our lives.
The influence of the computer is great. The list of its uses could go on and on. Computers now affect millions of people in countless ways every day.
1．Before the 1950s the computer was ________.
[ ]
A．widely used
B．no use at all
C．not understood by many people
D．liked by people
2．The computer today is ________ than it was before.
[ ]
A．reduced
B．increasing fast
C．not changed
D．increasing slowly
3．The computer today is ________ than it was before.
[ ]
A．less useful
B．the same as in the 1960s
C．more useful
D．less important
4．The writer thinks our lives are affected, but we ________.
[ ]
A．don't quite notice it
B．have known it clearly
C．don't want to know about it
D．don't like it
5．Although the first computer system was only introduced in the mid－1950s, computers now affect millions of people in countless ways every day. This means the writer ________.
[ ]
A．doesn't like computers
B．liked computers
C．thinks computers have developed rapidly
D．thinks, we can't lie without computers
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ents are mostly from nontraditional families| Welcome to my Message Board! | |
| Subject Slimming down classics? | |
| Mr. Handsome  2007-5-12&24 AM | Orion Books,which decides there is a market in creating cut-down classics(经典著作)，is slimming down some novels by such great writers as L.Tolstoy,M.Mitchell and C.Bronte.Now,each of them has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to 40 per cent of the original,with words,sentences,paragraphs and,in a few cases,chapters removed.The first six shortened editions,all priced at ￡6.99 and advertised as great reads “in half the time”,will go on sale next month,with plans for 50 to 100 more to follow.The publishing house believes that modern readers will welcome the shorter versions. |
| Mr. Edwards  2007-5-12 9:40 AM | Well,I’m publisher of Orion Group.Thanks for your attention,Mr.Handsome. I must say,the idea developed from a game of “shame”in my office.Each of us was required to confess(承认)to the most embarrassing blanks in his or her reading.I admitted that I had never read Anna Karenina and tried but failed to get through Gone with the Wind several times.One of my colleagues acknowledged skipping(跳读)Jane Eyre.We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones. As a leading publishing house,we are trying to make classics convenient for readers but it’s not as if we’re withdrawing the original versions.They are still there if you want to read them. |
Ms.Weir 2007-5-12 11:35 AM | I’m director of the online bookclub www.lovereading.co.uk. Mr.Edwards,I think your shortened editions is a breath of fresh air.I’m guilty of never having read Anna Karenina,because it’s just so long.I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book.I am looking forward to more shortened classics! |
| Mr. Crockatt  2007-5-124:38 PM | I’m from the London independent bookshop Crockatt & Powell. In my opinion,the practice is completely ridiculous.How can you edit the classics?I’m afraid reading some of these books is hard work,and that is why you have to develop as a reader.If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina,then fine.But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing. |
| A．opposes the reading of original classics |
| B．is embarrassed for cutting down classics |
| C．thinks cut-down classics have a bright future |
| D．is cautious in its decision to cut down classics |
| A．make them easier to read |
| B．meet a large demand in the market |
| C．increase the sales of literary books |
| D．compete with their original versions |
| A．speaks highly of the cut-down classics |
| B．shows gailty of the original classics |
| C．feels guilty of not reading the classics |
| D．disapproves of shortening the classics |
| A．reading the classic works is a confusing attempt |
| B．shortening the classics does harm to the original |
| C．publishing the cub-down classics is a difficult job |
| D．editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs |
Britain is set to face an increase in cold winters, with up to one-in-seven hitting the UK with longer periods of time when temperatures are below freezing, a study has suggested．The prediction was based on research that found out how low solar activi
ty affected winter weather patterns．
However, the researchers were eager to stress that their findings did not suggest that the region was about to fall suddenly into a "little ice age"．The findings appear in the journal Environmental Research Letters．"We could get to the point where one-in-seven winters are very cold, as we had at the start of last winter and all through the winter before last," said co-author Mike Lockwood, professor of space environment physics at the University of Reading．
Using the Central England Temperature （CET） record, the world's longest instrumental data series that dates back to 1659, the team said that in general temperatures during recent winters had been obviously lower than the longer-term temperatures．"The mean CET for December, January and February for the recent relatively cold winters of 2008 ~ 2009 and 2009~2010 were 3．50℃ and 2．53℃ respectively," they wrote．
"However, the mean value for the previous 20 winters had been 5．04℃．The series of lower winter temperatures in the UK during the last three years had raised questions about the probability of more similar, or even colder, winters occurring in the future．"
Last year．Professor Lockwood and colleagues published a paper that found a link between fewer sunspots and atmospheric conditio
ns that "blocked" warm westerly winds reaching Europe during winter months, opening the way for cold easterly winds from the Arctic and Russia to sweep across the region．Professor Lockwood, while acknowledging that there were a range of possible meteorological factors （气象因素） that could influence blocking events, said the latest study moved things forward by showing that there was "impro
vement in the predictive skill" when solar activity was taken into consideration．
【小题1】We can know from the second paragraph that _____．
| A．research shows that Britain will soon fall into an ice age |
| B．Mike Lockwood's research focuses on space environment physics |
| C．it was quite cold in Britain over the entire winter last year |
| D．so far one-in-seven winters have been very cold in Britain |
| A．average | B．stable | C．ungenerous | D．changeable |
| A．It was sunspots that blocked warm westerly winds reaching Europe． |
| B．Meteorological factors hardly have any influence on blocking events． |
| C．The latest study done by Professor Lockwood was of little practical value． |
| D．Considering solar activity or not affects the accuracy of weather forecasting． |
| A．Another big danger approaching the UK |
| B．Research finds out solar activity is to blame for the cold |
| C．UK faces more cold winters due to weaker solar activity |
| D．Changes in weather patterns should be responsible for low solar activity |