For years and years people have been saying that railways are dead. “We can do without railways,” people say—as if cars and planes have made railways unnecessary. We all keep hearing that trains are slow, lose money and are dying. But this is far from the truth. In these days of expensive oil, railways have become highly competitive with cars and planes. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they’re cheaper than planes. And they have much in common with planes. A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway. What is more, a railway takes you from the heart of a city center. It doesn’t stop you as a car does on crowded roads. And no plane or car can ever carry as many goods as one train does.
Far from being dead, railways are much alive. Modern railway lines give you a comfortable journey. Where else can you eat well, sleep comfortably, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at the same time? And we are only the beginning, for we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, which are traveling 150 miles an hour and more. Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on highways and planes we can’t fly in because we don’t have enough money to buy the oil.
【小题1】Some people think railways are dying because______.

The computer is fast and hardly makes a mistake，while people are slow and make mistakes sometimes．That's what people often say when they talk about computers．For many years，scientists have been improving computers．Now a computer can do a lot of everyday jobs wonderfully．It is widely used in factories，hospitals，post offices and airports．A computer can report，decide and control in almost every field（领域）．With the help of a person，a computer can draw pictures，write music，talk with people，play chess，translate languages and so on．Many computer scientists are now thinking of making computers “think” like a man．Perhaps computers will one day really think and feel．Some people are afraid that one day computers will be too clever to listen to them．But scientists tell us that such thing will not happen．

1．The computer can work _________ than people．

A．more wonderfully                                 B．more slowly

C．more often

2．Computers can do _________ for people．

A．few jobs            B．all jobs            C．many jobs

3．What will perhaps happen in the future?

A．Computers can think like men and women．

B．People will no longer use computers．

C．Computers will only be used to talk with people．

4．The author of the passage mainly tells us something _________．

A．about the danger of the computer                 B．about computer scientists

C．about the computer

5．Which of the following is right according to the passage?

A．People are slow and full of mistakes when using computers．

B．Computers can translate language~ without people's help．

C．Computers will never be cleverer than people．