Count Me Out

Call me old-fashioned. Call me old. Call me what you want, but refuse to become part of this new Internet world.

I do not possess a computer at home or at the office. Actually, I stopped going to an office 35 years ago, when all communications were done with a pen, a typewriter, or, if the matter was of world-shaking importance, over the telephone. Likewise, if you like something advertised in a newspaper or magazine, you visited the shop selling it at the given address, or you phoned, the number shown. Then you spoke to the fellow and asked for further details.

Tell me what you think of the following ad that appeared the other day in the newspaper. It was for a cure for cancer and this is what it said: “Awareness is the key. Visit spfulford. com at the awareness site.” There was no address or telephone number for the site. So what do unfortunate people without a computer do it they are seeking a cure for their illness?

There are, I am told, certain advantages in having access to the Internet. You can, for example, send love messages across the world or even get married to someone that you meet online. This bit doesn’t interest me; I have been happily married for 60 years. There are, of course, other activities for Internet users besides finding love. They can pay bills, order groceries, or discuss with their doctors.

And this is by no means all. More amazing things are yet to come in the near future. I read a newspaper report recently that quoted Stephen Hawking, an important British scientist. “The complexity of a computer as it exists today is probably less than the brain of an earthworm,” he said. “But, as technology advances, computers will become more complex, and a time may come when the Internet may develop ‘consciousness.’ In other words, the Internet will be able to think, have feelings, and may well be able to act on its own.”

If Professor Hawking is right, I may change my attitude about conjurers. As I grow older each day, I would like one of those that not only thinks for me but also accepts responsibilities for all my mistakes.

1.What’s the meaning of the title “Count Me Out”?

    A．Get me out of the Internet world.

    B．Computers are trying to take control of life.

    C．Modern technology pushes old people away.

    D．Do not expect me to be a supporter of the Internet.

2.According to Paragraph 2, the author thinks computers are          .

    A．unnecessary      B．convenient       C．expensive        D．advanced

3.What might the author like about the future computer?

    A．Taking blames.                       B．Curing illnesses.

    C．Delivering messages.                 D．Responding to emotions.

Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools?

       A supporter of co-educational schools would probably say that schools should be like the societies they belong to .In Hong Kong , men and women mix socially on a day-to-day basis .In many fields men are even likely to have female bosses .It is ,therefore, desirable that boys and girls grow up together ,go to school together ,and prepare themselves for a society that does not value sexual separation.

       Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of the opposite sex is important for personal development .Regular contact （接触）can remove the strange ideas about the opposite-sex and lead to more natural relationships .Single-sex conditions are seen as leading to more extreme opinions, and possibly even as encouraging homosexuality（同性恋）,though there is no proof that this is the case.

       Those who are against coeducation often also fix their attention on the sexual side .Some parents fear that close contact with members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers .They want their children to be attentive to their studies .Such parents feel uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the sexes.

       A stronger argument comes from research into school results .Girls grow up earlier than boys ,tend to be more orderly and are likely to be better at languages .In a mixed class ,boys who might do well in a single-sex class become discouraged and take on the rule of troublemaker .Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed （惊动）the government for it to be encouraging co-educational schools to have some single-sex classes .In the UK the best schools are all single-sex ,strongly suggesting that co-education is not the best answer .This may ,however ,not be as simple as it looks .It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be single-sex ,rather than that being single-sex makes them better schools.

72．In the third paragraph ,by saying “though there is no proof that this is the case” ,the writer means that         .

       A．students in single-sex schools will certainly become homosexual

       B．students in co-educational schools cannot have extreme opinions

       C．students in co-educational schools are likely to be homosexual

       D．single-sex school conditions may or may not have effects on the students.

73．All the following arguments can be found in the passage EXCEPT that       .

       A．co-education can produce a society-like situation

       B．co-educational schools may lead to love affairs between boys and girls

       C．co-education will help develop a better understanding about the opposite sex

       D．co-education can make boys perform well in mixed classes

74．Alarmed by the situation ,the UK government encourages        .

       A．co-education

       B．single-sex education

       C．single-sex classes in co-educational schools

       D．co-educational classes in single-sex schools

75．At the end of the passage the writer suggests that        .

       A．single-sex schools are the best schools in the UK

       B．being single-sex does not necessarily make a school better

       C．co-educational schools are better for both sexes in personal development

       D．because boys cannot compete with girls in study ,they go to single-sex schools

Removing the sleeve(封套), you will find a book that is entirely white, except for the names of its author and subject in elegant black type on the cover. It is the perfect design for the biography of a man who insisted that even the insides of his products be perfectly constructed, and that his factory wails flash in the whitest white.
The cover was the only part of the book Steve Jobs wanted to control, writes Isaacson in his introduction. Though Mr. Jobs pushed the biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin to write in his own way, generously allowing the writer more than 40 interviews, this book offers quite a different view of Mr. Jobs, who won much praise from his fans after his death on October 5th at the age of 56.
As a biographer of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Isaacson knows how to celebrate long-dead genius, but he claimed that "Steve Jobs" would not be entirely praiseful words. The picture he paints, particularly in the first half of this book, is not nice. Mr. Jobs emerges as a controlling and often cold-blooded character. A child of the 1960s counter-culture (反主流文化), he hated, materialism and lived in simply furnished houses ( in part because he was too particular about furniture). But when Apple went public in 1980, he refused to give any share to Daniel Kottke, a Iongtime supporter and soul mate from college. "He has to abandon the people he is close to," observes Andy Hertzfeld, an early Apple engineer.
Mr. Jobs was undoubtedly possessing an extraordinary ability to attract others and inspire a kind of faith that could not be questioned. But also he could be cold and cruel. If he disapproved of an employee's work, he often shamed him. "This is who I am," he once said after being challenged,"and you can't expect me to be someone I'm not. " This disgusting personality wasn't always helpful,but it served a purpose, writes Mr. Isaacson, many would "end their chain of horror stories by saying that he got them to do things they never dreamed possible. "
Mr. Isaacson treats "Steve Jobs" as the biography of record, which means that it is a strange book to read so soon after its subject's death.   
【小题1】The biography for Jobs is believed to have the perfect design because __

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 7 — At 26, many people haven’t even decided on a career. Luke Ravenstahl, cashing in on his family’s political tradition, is already the mayor of Pittsburgh, the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. Although mayors elsewhere have been younger, Jeff Dunkel was 18 in 2001 when he was elected mayor of Mount Carbon, small towns in New York, and elsewhere have also elected teenagers as mayors. But, Tallahassee, is the only other city with a population over 100,000 that has had a mayor as young as Mr. Ravenstahl. A supporter of Mr. Ravenstahl said concerns about Mr. Ravenstahl’s age would dissipate once the city saw his work ethic.

 But now comes the hard part. As he strives to be taken seriously and take charge of a city only recently back from the brink of bankruptcy, the baby-faced mayor said that even the smallest decisions felt weighty, even what to wear in the Steelers game matters.

And another pressing issue is to strengthen the city’s economy. Pittsburgh has lost all its mills, nearly half its population and much of its downtown commercial district in the last several decades. “But Pittsburgh has 50,000 college students, and our challenge is to figure out how to retain them and to increase downtown development.” He said.

But one of the biggest uncertainties is how long he will remain in office. According to the city charter, Mayor Ravenstahl’s term will not expire until November 2009. Some city lawyers, however, have argued that he must face the electorate next year. And residents in Pittsburgh are still withholding judgment on him. Deli, Jimmy Cvetic, a sandwich shop owner, said “I call him Cool Hand Luke. He’ll be all right, but he’s going to need a cool hand to get through this.”

Mayor Ravenstahl said he was still coming to terms with the challenge he faced.

41. About Luke Ravenstahl, which of the following statements is correct?

He is the youngest mayor in the U.S.A.

His family background has contributed to his successful political career.

His young age has won support from media and young voters.

He will be mayor of Pittsburgh at least until 2009.

42. The underlined word “dissipate” in the first paragraph probably means________.

A. disappear                 B. appear                      C. spread               D. reduce

43. What can you infer from the article about Pittsburgh?

A. It is a small town in New York famous for steel mills.

B. It has always enjoyed prosperous economic success.

C. Many young college students there are the new hope of the district.

D. It is a major city in the U.S.A with a population slightly smaller than 100,000.

44. Where can you find this article?

A. A magazine      

B. A brochure about politicians

C. A newspaper

D. An advertisement about some mayor candidates

45. What kind of Challenges will not Luke Ravenstahl cope with?

A. Distrust from his citizens                      B. pressure from other outstanding young majors

C. economical standstill of his city              D. decreasing population in his city

Count Me Out

Call me old-fashioned. Call me old. Call me what you want, but I refuse to become part of this new Internet world.

I do not possess a computer at home or at the office. Actually, I stopped going to an office 35 years ago, when all communications were done with a pen, a typewriter, or, if the matter was of world-shaking importance, over the telephone. Likewise, if you like something advertised in a newspaper or magazine, you visited the shop selling it at the given address, or you phoned the number shown. Then you spoke to the fellow and asked for further details.

Tell me what you think of the following ad that appeared the other day in the newspaper. It was for a cure for cancer and this is what it said: “Awareness is the key. Visit spfulford. com at the awareness site.” There was no address or telephone number for the site. So what do unfortunate people without a computer do if they are seeking a cure for their illness?

There are, I am told, certain advantages in having access to the Internet. You can, for example, send love messages across the world or even get married to someone that you meet online. This bit doesn’t interest me; I have been happily married for 60 years. There are, of course, other activities for Internet users besides finding love. They can pay bills, order groceries, or discuss with their doctors.

And this is by no means all. More amazing things are yet to come in the near future. I read a newspaper report recently that quoted Stephen Hawking, an important British scientist. “The complexity of a computer as it exists today is probably less than the brain of an earthworm,” he said. “But, as technology advances, computers will become more complex, and a time may come when the Internet may develop ‘consciousness.’ In other words, the Internet will be able to think, have feelings, and may well be able to act on its own.”

If Professor Hawking is right, I may change my attitude to computers. As I grow older each day, I would like one of those that not only thinks for me but also accepts responsibilities for all my mistakes.

1.

What’s the meaning of the title “Count Me Out”?

2.

According to Paragraph 2, the author thinks computers are         .

3.

What might the author like about the future computer?