The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”

By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

1.The best title for the article is _______.

A. When the Computer Is Down         B. The Most Frightening Words

C. The Computer of the Airport           D. Asking the Computer

2.What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

A. She could sell a ticket.                    B. She could write out a ticket.

C. She could answer the passengers’ questions.   D. She could do nothing.

3.Why do you think they had not a backup computer?

A. Because it was easy down              B. Because it was very expensive.

C. Because it was not advanced enough.     D. Because it was not as big as the main computer.

4.The last paragraph suggests that _______.

A. a modern computer won’t be down.   

B. computers can take the place of humans

C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people  

D. there will be great changes in computers

 

Children, especially boys, tend to idealise their fathers when they are young.Every little boy wants to grow up to be just like his father, and every little girl thinks her father is the smartest man on the earth. It’s not very easy to be a good father, but it’s not that difficult either. Children will truly enjoy spending time with their fathers, not just when they are kids, but even when they are adults.

Not all children communicate well with their fathers. Communication is often left to mothers, while fathers dispense advice as and when necessary. Don’t expect all conversations to centre around the dinner table. Go to your children’s bedrooms and talk to them about school, their teachers or their friends. Remember that the conversation cannot be one-sided. When your children open up to you, you also need to open up to them.

If your children come home from school feeling upset, go up to them and ask them what is the matter. And if it is something which seems to you to be a silly reason to be upset, don’t voice your opinion. It may be silly to you, but to your children it is important enough. So don’t wave the topic away by telling them not to bother about such stupid things. Simply discussing their problems with them will help them feel better.

Don’t shy away from having discussions about your teenage children’s love lives. Generally speaking, your children are definitely not going to discuss intimate details with you. Try to let them know that you are relaxed about topics on love. Tell your children how you met your wife. It is perfectly normal for children to go through feelings for the opposite sex as they grow up, and by keeping the topic closed for discussion, you are only shutting them off from discussing their feelings with you. All they will do is turn to their friends.

1.To children their fathers are usually very ______.

A. important     B.great           C. serious      D. strong

2.From the second paragraph we can know that ______.

A. some children don’t like their fathers at all

B. talking with children around the dinner table is bad

C. it is better for mothers to communicate with their children

D. mothers usually communicate better with their children.

3. Suppose your children are worried about something you should _____.

A. have a talk with them            B.express your option

C. keep silent                     D. let them alone

4.Your children would not like to discuss their love lives with you probably

   because they think__________.

A. you are relaxed about topics on love

B. they should ask for help from their friends

C. they have already grown up                        

D. it is not normal to experience feelings of love

 

Ellis Island is located in New York Harbor. Ellis Island is open daily year-round from 9:30am to 5:00pm, with extended hours during summer. It is closed on December 25. There is no admission charge to Ellis Island; donations are gratefully accepted.

At Your Fingertips

Park information      (212) 363- 7620

Emergencies         (212 ) 363- 3260

Ferryboat information  (212) 269- 5755

Lost and found       (212) 344- 7620

Dining, gifts, & audio tour  (212) 344- 0996

Transportation

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry: Boats leave from Battery Park, Manhattan, and from Liberty State Park, New Jersey. They run about every 30 to 45 minutes beginning at 9: 15 am(ferry schedule subject to change).

Hours: May vary; call the number below

Closed: December 25

Ferry fees (Includes Liberty and Ellis Islands): adults, $ 7; senior citizens, $6; children(age 3 to 17), $ 3. (lower group rates are available for 25 or more adults)

Ticket & schedule information: (212) 269- 5755

1. In summer, visitors will have ___________ to visit Ellis Island.

A．no enough money

B．a longer time

C．a shorter time

D．a wonderful time

2.Which number would you call if your friends were suddenly ill?

A．(212) 344- 0996

B．(212) 363- 7620

C．(212 ) 363- 3260

D．(212) 269- 5755

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．People can visit Ellis Island free of charge.

B．The boats departure time from Battery Park is at 9:15 a.m. all the year round.

C．Ferry fees for children are cheaper than for adults.

D．Ferry fees for group visitors can be reduced.

4. We may infer from the passage that _____________.

A．visitors prefer to go to Ellis Island by boat	B．there are more visitors in winter
C．Ellis Island is open every day	D．Boat is the only transportation to Ellis Island

 

Respect your teachers．   

First of all，students should respect the teachers．They should pay attention in the classes．That means to salute him，to stand from his chair when the teacher enters the classroom etc．Attend any lesson attentively．In class of a certain subject or teacher you don’t like very much，if it’s total anarchy，how can we talk about respect?

Play by the rules．

If your teacher wants you to use wide-lined paper--do it ! If she tells you to sharpen your pencils only before class starts，listen to her．If she doesn’t accept late homework，do yours on time．Sometimes classroom rules seem strict or even silly，but most teachers know what’s necessary to make things run smoothly，what it takes to let the learning begin．And the better the learning environment，the smarter you’ll be!

Expect her／him to like you．

Teachers are teachers because they like kids．Given the chance，most teachers want to be your friends too．Respect your teacher，but don’t be afraid of her／him．She／He wants you to have a great school year just as much as you want to have!

Put first things first．

Friends are a fun part of school．But they’re not the most important part．When your teacher is teaching，give her／him your full attention．Even when it's hard to do．— recess_ will come soon enough，and that’s the time for playing with your friends．

1.Which of the following would be the best title for the text? ______

A．Advice Before You Go To School	B．What You Should Do At School
C．How To Get Along With Your Teacher	D．How To Plan Your Time At School

2.What do you think the title of the second paragraph“ Play by the rules’’ mean ?

A．Don’t play if you haven’t completed your homework．	B．Follow what the teacher says．
C．Work is work and play is play．	D．Make the learning environment as good as possible．

3.According to the last paragraph，what do you think the first thing is?

A．The teacher．	B．The teacher’s lecture．
C．The students．	D．Friends．

4.The underlined word “recess” most probably means ______  ．

A．break

B．play

C．parents

D．news

 

 

Everyone knows we must exercise regularly to maintain good health．Indeed, staying physically fit is a big part of our culture．We consider （and rightly so） that healthy people are attractive people．Since most of us want to be attractive, there is no shortage of exercise clubs, training videos, magazines, and books offering to help us stay physically fit．

Unfortunately, however, our culture does not place the same emphasis on mental fitness．Although we admire and love men and women with strong and healthy-looking bodies, we don’t have the same degree of respect or attraction for smart, educated and mentally healthy people．This is a shame, because there are immense rewards for people who have developed the ability to think well．

If your mind is well trained and flexible, you will be able to understand a great deal of what happens around you．And if you are also well educated--- that is, if you understand basic science, mathematics, music, art, literature, history and so on--- you will find it much easier to make good decisions throughout your life．Over the long run, this leads to a sense of control over your destiny and a much better life than otherwise．

People who are poorly educated or who don’t think well--- that is, people who are not mentally fit see things differently．Their world is controlled by mysterious, but often malevolent (恶意的) forces．Such people live within a system they will never master, forced to follow the rules they will never understand．Although it may not be obvious, most people spend their lives being manipulated (控制) by others．They are told what to do, what to think, how to spend their money, and what they should and should not aspire (渴求) to in life．

In my opinion, if you want to live well, you must be able to use your mind well．For this reason, I want you to be able to concentrate, solve problem, understand complex ideas, and think clearly and quickly．Such skills will make it easier for you to make informed decisions, understand current events, choose good friends, manage your money well, make wise long-term decisions, and appreciate music, art and literature．

The key to developing such skills is to enjoy learning, and to have the ability and motivation to teach yourself．

67．The writer of the passage feels disappointed that______________．

     A．some people have not the skill to make good decisions

     B．the world of the physically healthy people is controlled by mysterious forces

     C．mentally healthy people are not as popular as physically people

     D．too much has been done to help people stay physically fit

68．The underline word “this” refers to___________．

     A．the understanding of a great deal of what goes on around you

     B．the understanding of basic science and mathematics

     C．good training in body and mind

     D．being able to make good decisions in life

69．The writer of the passage thinks that those who are not mentally fit___________．

     A．live a poor and mysterious life              B．can’t control over their life

     C．often do what others do           D．enjoy being fooled and ruled

70．The best title of the passage will most probably be______________．

     A．Mind Helps You More                    B．Train Your Mind

     C．Make Informed Decisions                 D．Learn More to Help Yourself