You need the right college

What’s out there? How can you learn all of America’s colleges? How do you find the best match— the best college for you? Big or small, conservative or liberal, private or public—        

Researches are essential for making a good college decision.          Don’t easily believe what others say, such as “Someone told me that Colorado College is too small” and “Someone told me that Michigan is too big.” Every college has something for someone.           Just because you have heard the name of a college it does not mean it will be a good place for you. Just because you have not heard the name of a college it doesn’t mean that you will not like it.

               That means in these colleges you can fit in with the other students, find the level of education you need and feel good on campus. Researching the colleges means finding several colleges where you really want to go.

    One quick way to research the colleges is to take a virtual (虚拟的) tour of the college on your computer.            Check out the hundreds of colleges on these two websites. When you find one that sounds like a place you would like to be, check out its website and learn more. Make a list of 20 colleges and then choose a short list of 10. 

www. campustours.com

www.youniversitytv.com

There is no college that is wonderful for everyone.

Here are the two top websites to get you started.

Get your parents involved in the decision-making process.

That means collecting information from many sources.

Don’t take too much time doing your research.

There are many things to consider.

There are many colleges where you will be happy.

To what degree can a computer achieve intelligence? The answer to this question may lie in a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet.

If you ran into Smarter Child online, you would be surprised at this kid’s huge memory. It can recite many facts. For example, Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season.

He knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US. However, if you ask Smarter Child other questions, you get strange answers. A question about Smarter Child’s age returns. “One year, 11 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds!” Asking where he lives，you get, “In a clean room in a high-tech building in California.”

Smarter Child uses the vast information on the World Wide Web as his memory bank. To answer questions about spelling, for instance, Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online. For the weather, he visits www.intellicast.com.

Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet, an artificial being with the combined knowledge of, say, Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears can be born. However, if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A. I. (Artificial Intelligence), he must overcome two problems.

The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are labeled in different ways. That’s why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather. It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself.

Another problem is that while Smarter Child can process information more exactly and faster than any human, he lacks common sense—a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious to any young child.

1. From the text we can infer that www.intellicast.com is a website          .

A. which is specially designed to help Smarter Child

B. where we people can find Smarter Child

C. where weather forecasts are made

D. which is about artificial intelligence

2.It is probably most difficult for Smarter Child to         .

A. tell us how to spell a difficult word         

B. tell us how the American government is run

C. provide us with a famous poem by Shakespeare

D. learn the ability to tell right behaviors from wrong ones

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. Smart Child has his own memory bank big enough for all kinds of information.

B. A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) is probably the name of a film about a boy-computer.

C. Smart Child can recognize different files and find information needed on his own.

D. We have similar product now which has the knowledge of Einstein, Nixon and Spears.

4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. A New Web Child                  B. Smarter Child

C. The Future of Internet                   D. Intelligence Development 

 

Tired of Working in Your Country"!

With over 500 instructors and 20 years of experience, we are the leader in the field of teaching foreign languages. We now have positions open in Osaka starting September/October 2004 for instructors of English, German, Spanish and French.

Teach many different kinds of classes using the latest technology in small classes of up to 3 students.

Accommodation and other necessary documents  will be ready before you leave. Applicants will teach their first language only.

Excellent teacher training programs.

If you are young with a university degree and are willing to experience different cultures, apply  now. Experience in teaching is an advantage but not specially required. Knowledge of the Japanese language is not necessary but good English skills and practical computer knowledge are basic requirements.

Apply with C. V. and send letters to:

NOVA France, Mr. Sampy (IHT3/2)

34, Bd. Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France

Fax: 33148014804

Or visit our website: www. teadyp. com

The manager expects to meet and talk with successful applicants in Paris in June and July.

What is the purpose of the text?

A. To introduce a language school in Japan.

B. To hire language teachers to work in Japan.

C. To describe working conditions in Japan.

D. To make clear the requirements for Japanese teachers.

We know from the text that those who are going to Japan will _______.

A. teach English only in Osaka          

B. receive a degree from a university

C. have free accommodation             

D. get trained for the job

Before going to Japan, you need _______.

A. to see the manager of NOVA France  

B. to take some computer courses

C. to write a letter to Japan             

D. to find a place to live

If you want to work in Japan you should _______.

A. have some working experience        

B. know how to use computers

C. present good teaching plans          

D. speak several languages

“Most experiences of absent-mindedness ,forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room , are caused by a simple lack of attention, ” says Schacter. “You’re supposed to remember something, but you haven’t encoded（编码） it deeply.”

　Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impression on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create troublesome situations. If you　put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don’t pay attention to what you did because you’re involved in a conversation, you’ll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in your cupboard.  “Your memory itself isn’t failing you, ” says Schacter, “Rather, you didn’t give your memory system the information it needed.”  http://wx.jtyjy.com/

　Lack of interest can also lead to absent -mindedness. “A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago, ” says Zelinski, “ may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox.”Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory depends on just that.

　　“Visual cues（ 视觉提示 ）can help prevent absent--mindedness, ”says Schacter, “But be sure the cue is clear and available. ”If you want to remember to take a medicine with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table—don’t leave it in the medicine box and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.

　　Another common experience of absent - mindedness: walking into a room and wondering why you’re there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. “Everyone does this from time to time, ”says Zelinski. “The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you’ll likely remember.”

1.The writer of the passage thinks that encoding properly is very important because ________.

　　A. it enables us to recall something from our memory

　　B. it slows down the process of losing our memory

　　C. it helps us understand our memory system better

　　D. it helps us to get back to where we were

2.One possible reason why women have a little better memories than men is that________.

　　A. they rely more on the environment

　　B. they have a wider range of interests

　　C. they have an unusual power of focusing their attention

　　D. they are more interested in what’s happening around them

3.Why can a note in the pocket hardly serve as a reminder? ________.

　　A. It will easily get lost

　　B. It is out of your sight

　　C. It’s not clear enough for you to read

　　D. It might get mixed up with other things

4.From the last paragraph we can learn that________.

　　A. repetition might help improve our memory

　　B. memory depends to a certain extent on the environment

　　C. we’d better return to where we were if we forget things

　　D. we should think about something else while doing one thing

5.The passage is mainly about ________.

　　A. the memory system of persons

　　B. a way of encoding and recalling

　　C. the causes of absent-mindedness

　　D. the impression of the environment on memory

 

A gadget which makes water out of air could become the greatest household invention since the microwave. http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

Using the same technology as a dehumidifier（除湿器），the Water Mill is able to create a ready supply of drinking water because it can always get it from an unlimited source—the air．http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

The company behind the machine says not only does it offer an alternative to bottled water inhttp://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

developed countries, but it is a solution for the millions who face a daily water shortage．http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

The machine works by drawing in wet air through a filter（过滤器）and over a cooling instrument which changes it into water droplets．It can produce up to 12 liters a day．The Water Mill will also produce more water when storms pass over, as the amount of water which is contained in the air increases. In keeping with its eco-development, the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three lights.     Inventor Jonathan Ritchey said, “The demand for water is off the chart. So people are looking for freedom from water distribution systems that are shaky and unreliable.”

The machine, which is about 3 feet wide, is likely to cost ￡800 when it goes on sale here in the spring. Its maker, Canadian Firm Element Four, roughly calculates that a liter of water costs around 20 pence to produce.

Environmentalists state that half the world’s population will face water shortage because of climate change by 2080. One in five is said to lack access to safe drinking.

The Water Mill is not effective in areas where the amount of water contained in the air is below about 30 percent, but in Britain that won’t be much of a problem.

What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A．Drinking water.  B．Invention.    C．Microwave.      D．Water Mill.

What do we learn about the machine?

A．It works in the same way as microwaves.

B．It is very expensive for families to afford.

C．It absorbs wet air and turns it into water.

D．It helps to make the water clean to drink. http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

What does the passage lead us to believe? http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

A．The cost of water will go up.  B．Bottled water will disappear soon.

C．The machine is energy saving. D．The machine will be popular worldwide.

What’s the best title for the passage? http://www..com/gaokao/beijing/

A．A New Way to Solve Water Problem.  B．A Machine to Make Water out of Air.

C．A Dehumidifier to Produce Water.  D．An Absolutely New Invention