Section C

Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

(D)

A. the future of computer-human relationship

B. the programming system of the computer

C. the reason of the complexity of the human brain

D. the possibility of a real supercomputer

E. the way for computers to kill humans

F. the shortages of the computer compared with a human brain

76. ____________________

The difference between a human brain and a computer is more complicated than we can imagine. The large mammalian brain is the most complicated thing, for its size. Though the human brain only weighs three pounds, in that three pounds are ten billion neurons and a hundred billion cells. The many billions of cells are interconnected in such a vastly complicated network that we can’t begin to explore as yet.

77. ____________________

Even the most complicated computer man has yet built can’t compare with the brain.  Computer switches and processes number in the millions rather than in the billions. What’s more, the computer switch is just an on-off device, whereas the brain cell is itself possessed of a complex structure.

78. ____________________

It’s frequently said that computers solve problems only because they are “programmed” to do so. They can only do what men have them do, in which way it is like the human brain. We can also do what we are “programmed” to do. Our genes “program” us the instant the zygote (授精卵) is formed, and our potentialities are limited by that “program.”

79. ____________________

Surely, though, if a computer can be made complex enough, it can be as creative as people.  If it could be made as complex as a human brain, it could be the replacement of a human brain and do whatever a human brain can do. Then the real supercomputer comes along.

80. ____________________

In other words, once we pass a certain critical point, the computers will gain a dominating position and present a complexity explosion. In a very short time thereafter, computers may exist not only taking after the human brain, but far passing it. When the time comes, we might as well step aside and hand over all our work to them and really have them serve us.

 

  Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet

Explanation of Contents

This is the fourth edition of these pages. It is hard to believe, but once again they are new and improved. My motive in publishing these pages remains to help and stimulate others in Shakespeare studies, and especially those who might contribute their work to the Internet. The spirit of altruism (利他主义) that originally built the Internet is not quite gone, though, sadly, through the pressure of time and profit has lessened.

A major new addition to the pages is a Shakespeare Timeline, which is an online biography mounted at this site. The problems with searching for Shakespeare resources using the available Search Engines are:

---- It is difficult to focus most searches so that you get a manageable number of relevant hits;

---- It is impossible by simply reading an abstract to make any distinction between the output of a Junior High School student and that of a professional researcher.

Another change in these pages over previous editions is the “What’s News” page.  If you come away from these pages with the feeling that they are very useful but slightly pedantic (学究的), I will have realized my goal.

An Apology

I am continually apologizing to the many who have written me requesting revisions of the pages. We are all too busy. I simply have not had the time to dedicate to these pages that I wish. But I love the material and so have, at long last, made some time to update them.

A Reminder to Young Students

These pages contain the best links I can find to Shakespeare on the Internet. As a reminder, I would say I very much enjoy hearing from people who view and use these pages. If you want to do Shakespeare research using the web, this page is a great starting point, and I keep it as current as I can. The web is in its infancy in bringing good, scholarly content to students. Don’t forget the best, if not quickest, resources are still in your library.

57. The passage is written to ____.

   A. introduce the fourth edition of these pages

   B. make an apology to readers

   C. show off these pages to readers

   D. let Shakespeare researchers buy these pages

58. Which of the following is the new addition to the pages?

   A. The writer’s apology.     

   B. Search Engines.

   C. A Shakespeare Timeline.

   D. Receiving readers’ e-mails.

59. When searching for Shakespeare resources using Search Engines, you ____.

   A. will waste some time in finding what you want

   B. can easily recognize what the abstract means

   C. will often come into the “What’s News” pages

   D. will find something special on your computers

60. Which of the following can best conclude the last paragraph?

   A. The writer will often read letters from those who use these pages.

   B. The writer of the passage is very selfish.

   C. The web was just created four years ago.

   D. Shakespeare researchers should first of all refer to these pages.

I love science and science fiction. Like many science fiction fans, I am fascinated by the possibility of time travel. However, one must combine romance with reasoning and look into the chances of time travel critically.

First of all, we must remember the whole universe is in motion. If we want to go back to yesterday, our "time machine" has to move back in time and space. If someone claimed he was at home when he suddenly travelled 200 years back in time, he either had an illusion or made the story up. Two hundred years ago, Earth was in a different place in space, so how can you travel back 200 years without moving in space? Don't get me wrong. I am not knocking the genius of science fiction writers. H.G. Wells's "The Time Machine" is a great work of fiction, but that’s all. I have read many other time travelling science fiction stories since reading H.G. Wells, but none address this problem of displacement.

My own argument for the impossibility of time travel is that physical states of the past no longer exist and those of the future are not here yet. To be able to move back and forth in time requires everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen everywhere in the whole universe at every single moment in time－past, present, and future－to be stored as a "reality" somewhere－like the save game file of a computer game that contains every single byte of information of the game at the point it was saved, but you would need an almost extremely large file and almost extremely many of them－so it can be re-entered and communicated with, and not just light signals for viewing. To me, I don’t buy it.

1.Which of the following can be the best title?

    A. How to make time travel possible?

    B. Why am I fascinated by time travel?

    C. Why do I think time travel is not possible?

    D. How to explain the possibility of time travel?

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “illusion”?

    A. success          B. dream                C. switch               D. support

3. According to the author, which of the following is RIGHT?

    A. We can go back to the past by time travel.

    B. People can travel to the future by moving in space.

C. “The Time Machine” is nothing more than a science fiction.

    D. Everything that happened, is happening and will happen can be stored somewhere.

4.In the author’s opinion, time travel might be possible if                            .

    A. people could combine romance with reasoning

    B. people could stop the movement of the whole universe

C. people could use time machine under the instruction of H.G. Wells

    D. people could “save” everything in the past, present and future in a certain space

 

After our early morning wake-up, we are still a couple of

hours away from the overlooks.It is pitch black.I can feel the

heavy humid fog left behind my last night's rain. This is why

the tour memo listed "flashlight". Unfortunately; the majority

of our hiking party of nine must have missed the memo, so we

have only four flashlights between us.

    An hoar later,we are on the trail. It is dark, foggy, wet and the rocks are alippery.We alternate places between the flashlights "haves" and "have-nots". As we march, the only voices heard are from the "haves": "Step up, step down, watch out for the rock on your left."

    We reach Intipunku with only 15 minutes to spare. The view at sunrise is not what we were told in the travel brochures. Three feet in front of our faces is a white substance called "fog".

    As we walk towards the Machu Picchu ruins, my anticipation is mounting. When will the fog lift? Slowly, as if someone is cranking up a curtain, Huayna Picchu begins to appear,overlooking Machu Picchu. First there are fleeting glimpses, and then finally, there is, in its full splendor.

    When I envisioned going to Machu Picchu, I always thought of mysterious ruins and the famous postcard picture looking toward Huayna Picchu. But there is more to this man-made / natural wonder of the World. It is the adventure of getting there. I knew I wanted to experience the feel of the Inca culture and the energy of this sacred valley, I also knew I didn't want to take the train, but needed to hike. Depending on your starting point,the Inca Trail is 25 to 33miles of semi-arid desert, breathless mountain passes and stunning tropical cloud forest. Our hike took us four nights and 25 miles to finish.

    Our local guide MaurO keeps telling us "no worries, the hike is 90 percent mental and only 10 percent physical. "I am not convinced that the physical percentage is correct, but I definitely become more and more excited as we are now getting closer to Machu Picchu.By getting myself into good shape, running 20 miles and hiking a 500-foot-high hill five to seven times per week before I left for Peru, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the hike and not worry much about aching muscles and lungs.

About flashlights, which of the following statements is true?

    A. The local guide had asked them to take flashlights for the hike.

    B. They had taken enough flashlights for the hike.

    C. Before they got to Intipunku, they depended a lot on their flashlights.

    D. They used flashlights all the time.

Put the following events into the right order.

     a. They reached Intipunku,

     b. They read the travel brochures.

     c. They walked on the trail in the dark.

     d. They advanced to get closer to Maehu Picchu.

     e. They enjoyed the splendor of Huayna Picchu.

     A. ebade        B. bacde         C. abced         D. bcaed

What does the underlined word "anticipation" in Paragraph Four mean?

     A. expectation   B. excitement      C. disappointment  D. enthusiasm

What can NOT be inferred from the text?

     A. The writer made good preparation for the tour.

     B. The Inca Trail took them four nights.

     C. Machu Picchu is in the country of Peru.

     D. They reached Intipunku ahead of time.

According to the writer, what attracted him most in the tour?

     A. Mysterious ruins.               B. The famous post-card picture.

     C. The hiking.                     D. The Inca culture.

Most people think that the older you get, the harder it is to learn a new language. That is, they believe that children learn more easily and efficiently than adults. Thus, at some point in our lives, maybe around age 12 or 13, we lose the ability to learn languages well. Is this idea a fact or myth(悬念)？

Is it true that children learn a foreign language more efficiently than adults? On the contrary, research studies suggest that the opposite may be true. One report, on 2,000 Danish children studying Swedish, concluded that the teenagers learned more, in less time, than the younger children. Another report, on Americans learning Russian, showed a direct improvement of ability over the age range tested; that is, the ability to learn increased as the age increased, from childhood to adulthood.

There are several possible explanations for these findings. For one thing, adults know more about the world and therefore are able to understand meanings more easily than children. Moreover, adults can use logical(逻辑的) thinking to help themselves see patterns in the language. Finally, adults have more self-discipline (self-control) than children.

All in all, it seems that the common idea that children are better language learners than adults may not be a fact, but a myth.

1.The main idea of the passage is that         .

A．teenagers are more difficult to teach

B．Danish teenagers can learn Swedish faster than younger children

C．adults are more logical than children

D．the ability to learn languages increases with age

2. If most people’s idea of learning languages is true, people may lose ability to learn languages well         .

A．at an early age	B．when they reach their twenties
C．at an old age	D．after they become young men

3.According to the passage, teenagers can learn a foreign language __________ than younger children.

A．harder

B．more efficiently

C．more slowly

D．more carefully

4.The reason why adults understand meanings more easily than children is that         .

A．adults have more self-discipline

B．adults like to play more than children

C．adults have more knowledge than children

D．adults accept new things more easily than children

5.The explanation for older student’s better achievement not mentioned in the above passage is that       .

A．adults know more about the world.	B．adults can use logical thinking
C．adults have more self-discipline.	D．adults can read better.