It is an odd coincidence(巧合)that in the year when the Oxford English Dictionary is being put on to a computer, which will be able to read all of it in 10 minutes, we should also be celebrating the bicentenary of the death of the last man to write an English dictionary only with single-handed-Dr. Samuel Johnson.

Johnson’s dictionary took him eight years from 1747 to 1755, working in the attic of his London home, now one of the city’s tourist sights. Then, it was like a counting house with his copyists on high stools, transcribing the works and their illustrative contexts, which he had underlined(勾画)in his wide range of reading.

He had six assistants and finished his task in eight years. The editor of the Oxford dictionary had 25 lexicographers(词典编纂人员)to assist him and, although the first volume was published in 1884, the last supplement(补编)would not be ready until next year-101 years later. The present editor, Robert Burchfield, had put 28 years into it.

Yet Johnson's dictionary was still being used until the Oxford dictionary replaced it, and it was regularly reprinted long after his death in 1784. It was written, he said, to refine the English language,“to clear it from colloquial barbarisms(不规范语言)and licentious idioms.”

It certainly bore the stamp of one man's personality. Many of his definitions(释义)show his sense of humor. “Novel”, for instance, is defined as “a small tale, generally of love”, and“dull” is illustrated by the sentence:“To make dictionaries is a dull work.”

 

72.We know from the passage that the Oxford English Dictionary     .

A.was put on to a computer in 1984

B.was published at the year when Dr. Johnson died

C.was published 200 years after Dr. Johnson died

D.was put on to a computer in 1985

73.The sharp contrast mentioned in the passage between Johnson’s dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary is     .

A.the former came before the latter.

B.the former bore the stamp of one man’s personality while the latter that of 25 lexicographers.

C.the latter was put on to a computer while the former was replaced by the latter.

D.the former was finished almost single-handed while the latter was the product of a group of lexicographers.

74.Dr. Johnson's dictionary is s dictionary of     .

A.colloquial barbarisms   B.licentious idioms 

C.standard English        D.colloquial barbarisms and licentious idioms

75.Which of the following is not true?

A.After Johnson joint efforts are employed to compile dictionaries.

B.The compiling of the Oxford English Dictionary was finished in 1985.

C.Johnson’s dictionary is popular for more than 100 years.

D.Johnson’s dictionary is the first English Dictionary.

The human brain contains ten thousand million cells and each of these may have a thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to discourage us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with human-like ability, but now that we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Quite soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble(装配)a machine as complex as the human brain, and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render(致使)it intelligent by loading in the right software or by altering(改变)the architecture but that two will happen.

I think it is certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon will arise first to rival(媲美)and then exceed their human ancestors. Once they exceed us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be able to reproduce themselves. Silicon will have ended carbon's long control. And we will no longer be able to claim ourselves to be the finest intelligence in the known universe.

As the intelligence of robots increased to match that of humans and as their cost declines through economies of scale(规模经济)we may use them to expand our frontiers, first on earth through their ability to withstand environments, harmful to ourselves. Thus, deserts may bloom and the ocean beds be mined. Further ahead, by a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, man-created world in space, home to thousands of millions of people, will be within our power.

 

68.In what way can we make a machine intelligent?

A.By making it work in such environments as deserts, oceans or space

B.By working hard for 10 or 20 years

C.By either programming it or changing its structure

D.By reproducing it

69.The word “carbon” stands for     .

A.intelligent robots                             B.a chemical element 

C.an organic substance                       D.human beings

70.A robot can be used to expand our frontiers when     .

A.its intelligence and cost are beyond question

B.it is able to bear the rough environment

C.it is made as complex as the human brain

D.its architecture is different from that of the present ones

71.It can be inferred from the passage that     .

A.after the installation of a great number of cells and connections, robots will be capable of self-reproduction

B.with the rapid development of technology, people have come to realize the possibility of making a machine with human-like ability

C.once we make a machine as complex as the human brain, it will possess intelligence.

D.robots will have control of the vast, man-made world in space

Americans are less inclined to get married than at any time in US history, posing social and public-policy dilemmas(困境)and the threatening to dissolve the “glue” that connects fathers to their children, experts say.

A report released by the US National Marriage Project found “a rather weakening of the institution(制度)of marriage” in America. The researchers said the US marriage rate has never been lower, births to unmarried women have skyrocketed, the divorce rate remains high and Americans’ marriages are less happy than in the past.

“There is no known society that has got along without marriage and has done a decent(体面的)job in rearing and sponsoring the next generation,” said Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, US National Marriage Project co-director.

The crumbling(崩溃)of the institution of marriage should not be viewed as a kind social trend with no costs to society at large, added the project’s other co-director, David Popenoe.

US government statistics cited(援引)in the Rutgers report detail a crisis(危机)in marriage whose origins can be traced back about 40 years. The report, citing census data(调查统计),said the marriage rate has quickly reduced by a third since 1960. It said there were about 73 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15 and up in 1960. In 1996, the last year for which such figures were available, the rate was about 49 per 1,000.

Popenoe said the US marriage rate now has dropped below a previous historic low recorded at the turn of the century. He said several factors have something to do with the trend. One is that Americans are delaying marriage until they are older.

In 1960, the median age for first marriages was 20 for women and 23 for men. In 1997, with many college-educated Americans delaying marriage until their 30s, the median age rose to 25 for women and 27 for men, the report said.

“The later the marriage, by and large, the lower the (overall) marriage rate in the long run. In other words, people delay too long and then they decide not to marry after a while,” Popenoe said.

In addition, many American women, particularly black women, are giving birth and raising children without getting married.

In 1960,5.3 percent of all US babies were born to unwed mothers, according to government statistics. In 1997,32 percent of all babies were born to unmarried women-and a startling 69 percent of black babies had unwed mothers.

The percentage of US children living without their father present also has ballooned. In 1960, nine percent of children lived in a single-parent household. Last year, 28 percent of all children and 55 percent of all black children lived with a single parent. Children in single-parent households overwhelmingly live with their mothers, with fathers absent.

 

64.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A.Children in Single-Parent Families. 

B.Experts’ Prediction of Birthrate for the Next Decade.

C.Babies Born out of Wedlock Presents Problems.

D.Americans Seem Less Inclined to Get Married Nowadays.

65.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A.Experts fear that the low marriage rate will pose grave social problems.

B.Researchers have found out that divorce rate has skyrocketed lately.

C.The current marriage rate is the lowest ever since the turn of the century.

D.Experts believe that delay in marriage will more likely make a person dismiss the idea of getting married.

66.Which of the following is closest in meaning to “inclined”?

A.likely.  B.encouraged.  C.happy.  D.optimistic.

67.Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the figures provided in the passage?

A.In the United States, more couples are experiencing marital crises than there used to be in the 1970s.

B.The later the first marriage, the happier the marriage will be.

C.More and more people are giving birth to children without getting married.

D.More children are living in a single-parent household than there used to be.

The newspaper must provide for the reader the facts, pure, unprejudiced(无偏见的), objectively selected facts. But in these days the complex news it must provide more; it must supply explanation, the meaning of the facts. This is the most important assignment facing American journalism―to make clear to the reader the problems of the day, to make international news understandable as community news, to recognize that there is no longer any such thing(with the possible exception of society news)as ”local” news, because any event in the international area has local reaction(反应)in the financial market, political circles, indeed, of our very way of life. There is in journalism a widespread view that when you consider giving an explanation, you are entering dangerous water, the swirling tides of opinion. This is nonsense.

The opponents(反对者)of explanation insist that the writer and the editor shall confine himself to the ”facts”. This insistence raises two questions; What are the facts? And are the bare facts enough? As for the first question, consider how a so-called ”factual” story comes about. The reporter collects, say, fifty facts; out of these fifty, his space being necessarily restricted, he selects the ten that he considers most important. This is Judgment Number One. Then he or his editor decides which of these ten facts shall constitute the beginning of the article. (this is an important decision because many readers do not proceed beyond the first paragraph) This is Judgment Number Two. Then. The night editor decides whether the article shall be presented on page one, where it has a large influence, or on page twenty-four, where it has little. Judgment Number Three.

Thus in the show of a so-called ”factual” of ”objective” story, at least three judgments are involved. And they are judgments mot at all unlike those involved in explanation, in which reporter and editor, calling upon their research resources(资源), their general background, and their “news neutralism”(新闻中性主义), arrive at a conclusion as to the importance of the news.

The two areas of judgment, presentation of the news and its explanation, are both objective rather than subjective processes―as objective, that is, as any human being can be. (Note in passing; even though complete objectivity can never be achieved, nevertheless the ideal must always be the light in the murky news channels) If an editor is intern on giving a prejudiced view of the news, he can do it in other ways and more effectively than by explanation. He can do it by the selection of those facts that support his particular viewpoint. Or he can do it by the play he gives a story promoting it to page one or putting it on page thirty.

 

60.The best title for this passage is     .

A.Function of the Night Editor                                    B.Explaining the News. 

C.Subjective versus(对)Objective Processes            D.Choosing Facts

61.The author implies that     .

A.in writing a factual story, the writer must use judgment

B.the writer should limit himself to the facts

C.reporters give a prejudiced view of the facts

D.editors control what the reporters write

62.The beginning sentence should present the most important fact because     .

A,it will influence the reader to continue 

B.most readers don’t advance beyond the first paragraph

C.it is the best way to write according to the schools of journalism

D.it details the general attitude of the writer

63.Readers are justified in thinking that the most important aspect of the news reported in the newspaper is that it should be     .

A.explained in detail          B.edited properly         C.objectively reported          D.impartial(不偏袒的)

What are the specific traits that will assist executives to climb the ladder of success? Opinions vary widely. Given almost equal qualifications and circumstances, some claim the success factor is largely a matter of luck―being in the right place at the right time. Others speak of an almost crazy devotion to work, combined with a degree of ruthlessness. One“expert” believes that it’s undoubtedly a matter of how much education your mother had.

To make it big, executives must possess four basic skills:

First, drive(动力). Business success takes an unusual amount of energy. A successful executive ― almost by definition―is a striver. He will get tense when he is not striving.

Second, people sense. Some say being able to judge people is more important than a high IQ. The skill can be instinctual(本能的), but in most cases it is painstakingly learned.

Third, communications ability. Different executives make themselves understood in different ways, Some transmit ideas best face to face; others are masters of the telephone call; still others are persuasive writers. One way or another, they all communicate clearly.

Fourth, calm under pressure. No businessman will get very far if he chokes up.

 

56.Some people claim that besides hard work, the success also requires      .

A.equal qualifications     B.specific traits      C.much education  D.a degree of cruelty

57.According to the passage, a high IQ is      .

A.instinctual                              B.painstakingly learnt                  

C.in existence by nature             D.more trivial than people sense

58.The successful executives must      .

A.change ideas face to face    B.depend on telephones 

C.be persuasive writers          D.express themselves distinctly

59.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A.Four skills for successful executives   

B.Some opinions about the success.

C.Specific characteristics for successful executives.

D.Qualifications and circumstances for climbing the ladder.

Bill was a very good pilot(飞行员).He had been in the air force for several years, and had been very successful. Now he was sent to a small field in the middle of a forest,  36  planes were able to attack the enemy very easily,  37  it was near the front line, but  38  to find. The forest tress were very tall and very  39  on all sides, so planes had to go down very quickly and then stop their falling very  40  before they  41  on the ground. Only the  42  pilots were able to land safely, and even some of those lost their planes and  43  because they hit the trees on the ground.

After Bill had arrived, he was not  44  until he was able to fly closer to the trees than any of  45  pilots, and soon all the pilots who used that field were trying to  46  each other at flying  47  over forest. Every time one of their planes came back from the attack on the enemy, the other pilots used to run  48  and watch, to see how near the trees  49  pilot took it, if the succeeded in taking very near, they laughed and shouted.

Bill soon  50  exactly how near he was able to go safely, and then one day he flew so close to the  51  of the trees that some of the branches  52  the bottom of his plane. The other men in the plane seemed rather  53 , but Bill only laughed as he landed the plane without any  54  in the middle of the field  55  the other pilots on the ground shouted happily. ”How silly I am!” he said. ”I forgot that the trees had grown since yesterday!”

36.A.from which

B.in which

C.on which

D.at which

37.A.for

B.when

C.where

D.so

38.A.difficult

B.easy

C.tough

D.strong

39.A.old

B.near

C.close

D.secret

40.A.slowly

B.suddenly

C.quickly

D.carefully

41.A.fell

B.struck

C.landed

D.hit

42.A.young

B.best

C.old

D.able

43.A.were killed

B.were wounded

C.were shot

D.were defeated

44.A.skilled

B.fit

C.trained

D.satisfied

45.A.other

B.the other

C.all the

D.others

46.A.help

B.understand

C.beat

D.see

47.A.low

B.high

C.up

D.fast

48.A.nearer

B.in

C.inside

D.outside

49.A.its

B.whose

C.their

D.a

50.A.found

B.thought

C.realized

D.learnt

51.A.nearest

B.branches

C.tops

D.leaves

52.A.touched

B.scratched

C.snatched

D.knocked

53.A.surprised

B.pleased

C.helpless

D.frightened

54.A.trouble

B.danger

C.stones

D.trees

55.A.so

B.when

C.while

D.as

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