Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve got a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting-whatever. Making new friends becomes simple.

This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.

An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source-batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device, that sends out energy (for example, radio waves) that starts up the tag immediately.

Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.

Take a step back: 10 or 12 years ago, you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could be put everywhere and send information in a smart network that would make ordinary life simpler.

RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to be a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly,” predicts Dr. J. Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers. Accompanied by how many biscuits.

When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk.

The article is intended to           .

A. warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology

B. explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology

C. convince people of the uses of RFID technology

D. predict the applications of RFID technology

We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people           .

A. will have no trouble getting data about others

B. will have more energy for conversation

C. will have more time to make friends

D. won’t feel shy at parties any longer

Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of           .

A. scanning devices              B. radio waves              C. batteries            D. chips

Why are some people worried about RFID technology?

A. Because children will be tracked by strangers.

B. Because market competition will become more fierce.

C. Because their private lives will be greatly affected.

D. Because customers will be forced to buy more products.

The last paragraph implies that RFID technology           .

A. will not be used for such matters as buying milk

B. will be widely used, including for buying milk

C. will be limited to communication uses

D. will probably be used for pop music

Cittaslow has discovered China, and it is awarding a little village in Jiangsu the title of "slow city"

The bored teenagers of Gaochun are impatient with the leisurely pace of hometown life．For them there is no nightlife to speak of, no bright lights, no excitement and they cannot wait to grow up and leave for the urban attractions of the big cities．But it is this laid-back lifestyle that has attracted international attention．At least, a quiet village within Gaochun county has come under the spotlight．Yaxi village, population 20,000, is about to be designated China's first "slow city" by Cittaslow, the sustainable lifestyle movement that first surfaced in Italy 11 years ago．

At home, the residents at Yaxi are unfazed and pretty much unimpressed by the honor．To them, life has been like this for as long as they can remember．Here, growing old gracefully is natural．

Nobody living in this little county had heard of Cittaslow or the words "slow city" before this．

"The first time I heard the term was last July, when the vice-president of Cittaslow, Angelo Vassallo, visited Yaxi village," says Zuo Niansheng, the chief editor of local newspaper Gaochun Today．

"Vassallo was deeply impressed by this village's natural and cultural resources and said it perfectly fitted the requirements for a slow city," says Zuo．"That was how Yaxi became connected with Cittaslow．

The Slow City must also be committed to protect and maintain the natural environment as well as promote a sustainable way of development ?all of which are the current strategies adopted in Gaochun．"We've been doing this for years," adds Zuo．

Cittaslow was founded in Tuscany, Italy in 1999．It was a spin-off from the Slow Food movement which started, also in Italy, in 1986 as a protest against the first McDonald ' s opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome．The movement championed a return to healthy, nutritious home-grown, home -cooked food．

Slow Food has since expanded globally to more than 130 countries．Its mission has also broadened to include the promotion of sustainable foods and local small businesses, and the localization as opposed to globalization of food production．

Cittaslow is an expansion of the Slow Food movement, and it actively advocates a lifestyle that is sustainable, that will improve quality of life, and will preserve cultural and culinary （烹饪的）heritage．

According the passage, Cittaslow is a（n） ____．

       A．organization         B．person          C．lifestyle       D．honor

What' s the reaction of the residents at Yaxi to the award according the passage? They feel

       A．very excited．      B．very shocked            

       C．indifferent               D．very happy

Why is the village Yaxi awarded the title of “slow city”? Because           .

       A．it is full of excitement and activities of nightlife

       B．the residents at Yaxi enjoy a leisure life

       C．it is very rich and has a lot of attractions

       D．foreign people like small towns than big cities.

It can be inferred from the passage that          .

       A．young people at Yaxi enjoy their life very much

       B．China is more and more popular with foreign people

       C．the first McDonald’s in Europe was opened in Spain

       D．the lifestyle of “slow city” will be good to environment and people

I arrived in the classroom，ready to share my knowledge and experience with 76 students who would be my English literature class. Having taught in the US for 17 years，I have no doubt about my ability to hold their attention and to impress on them my admiration for the literature of my mother tongue.

    I was shocked when the monitor shouted,“stand up!” The entire class rose as I entered the room and l was somewhat confused about how to get them to sit down again，but once the embarrassment(尴尬) was over, I quickly regained my calmness and admiration. I went back to my office with the rosy glow which came from a strong sense of achievement.

    My students kept diaries. However, as I read them the rosy glow was gradually replaced by a strong sense of sadness．The first diary said, “Our literature teacher didn’t teach us anything today perhaps her next lecture will be better.” Greatly surprised．I read diary after diary, each expressing a similar theme “Didn’t I teach them anything? I described the entire Western philosophy and laid the historical background for all the works we will study in class,” I complained. “How should they say I didn’t teach them anything?”

    It was a long term, and it gradually became clear that my ideas about education were not the same as those of my students. I thought a teacher’s job was to raise interesting questions and provide enough background so that students could draw their own conclusions. My students thought a teacher’s job was to provide exact in formation as directly and clearly as possible. What a difference!

    However, I also learned a lot，and the experience with my Chinese students has made me a better American teacher, knowing how to teach in a different culture.

51.We can know that on the first day the writer__________.

    A. was disappointed at her students’ performance

    B. was very confident in her students

    C. felt she didn’t teach them much

    D. felt very confident in herself at first

52.At the beginning of the lesson，the writer got confused because of__________.

    A. cultural differences      B. students’ admiration

    C. students’ embarrassment    D. the same experience

53．The writer learnt from their diaries that the students wanted to___________.

    A. raise interesting questions    B. know about background

    C. draw their own conclusions     D. know more exact facts

54.Which of the following is FALSE according to the passage?

    A. The writer doubted about her ability of teaching.

    B. The writer became better at teaching foreign students.

    C. The writer had taken up her career for years.

D. The writer was upset when reading the students’ diaries．

55. The underlined word “philosophy” would probably NOT be _________．

A.  set of beliefs

B．outlook on life

C．study of the principles

       D.  understanding of art

Michael, a normal American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn't talk to any other human beings, and he doesn't see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from communicating with our fellow human beings.

     The world of business is one area in which technology is separating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their job at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they're dealing with. Also, the way employees are paid will change. Workers' salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.

     Another area in which technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.

The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means _______.

A. Michael is a person full of imagination and his dreams can come true

B. Michael is not a real person but the life style does exist

C. Michael has ambitions but he can't make his dreams come true

D. Michael is full of imagination and his life style is common nowadays

What does the author discuss in the last paragraph ?

A. Technology is changing ways of entertainment.

B. People will never go to the concert in future.

C. How to borrow videotapes at home.

D. How to see a movie at home.

What is the main idea of the passage?

A. We may no longer need to communicate with other people.

B. Modern technology seems to be separating people.

C. We may no longer need to work in the office.

D. Modern technology makes it possible for us to work at home.

The storage of classified (分类的) research at all 24 labs run by the US Department of Energy was shut down this week after officials decided that the security (安全) problems recently found at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico might also exist elsewhere.

Several computer disks went missing at Los Alamos earlier this month, forcing Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to stop all work at the lab until the problems are found out. As of 26 July, two missing disks had still not been found, and 15 employees had been suspended in connection with the disappearance.

Now all energy labs will stop doing classified research that involves(需要) removable storage devices --- such as computer disks ---  until all the devices are given explanation for and new procedures are in place for monitoring their handling by laboratory employees.

"While we have no evidence that the problems being investigated are present elsewhere, we have a responsibility to take all necessary action to prevent such problems, "Abraham said on 23 July.

The shut-down isn't quite as dramatic（惊人的）as it sounds, experts say. Only two labs will be seriously affected: Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in  California. Together with Los Alamos, these two labs conduct the most part of the country's nuclear weapon programmes. At Livermore, 876 employees will be suspended during the storage of some 12,000 items of classified removable material.

At other labs, far fewer people will be affected. "The impact (影响) should be the smallest," says Martha Krebs, former director of the energy department's science office.

Why was the storage of classified research at all 24 labs shut down?

A. Because the security problems might be present elsewhere.

B. Because the security problems existed elsewhere.

C. Because two missing computer disks had still not be found.

D. Because officials decided to stop doing such research.

How many labs conduct the country's nuclear weapon programmes according to the text?

A. About 24. B. Only 2. C. More than 2. D. Over 15.

The underlined word "suspended"in the second paragraph probably means "______”.

A. hung from above  B. stopped from holding a position C. doubted D. fired

It can be inferred from the text that _____.

A. the computer disks must have been stolen by terrorists

B. the people living in the United States have little security

C. the United States is a country whose security is very bad

D. the missing of the computer disks caused great fear among Americans