Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun , see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.
With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.
E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.
We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.
1. The purpose of this passage is to ________.| A．explain how to use the Internet |
| B．describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology |
| C．tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the Internet |
| D．introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet |
| A．spend less time working |
| B．have more free time with his child |
| C．work at home on weekends |
| D．work at a speed comfortable to him |
| A．reach a group of people at one time conveniently |
| B．keep one’s communication as personal as possible |
| C．pass on much more information than the later |
| D．get in touch with one’s friends faster than the later |
| A．Computer: New Technological Advances |
| B．Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship |
| C．Computers Have Made Life Easier |
| D．Internet: a Convenient Tool for Communication |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】How would you feel if moving to a new town meant losing touch of your friends? What if the only way of getting news from faraway friends was writing letters that took a long time to arrive? This was how things worked not very long ago. Thanks to advances in technology, how we make friends and communicate with them has changed greatly.
Nowadays, we can move around the world and still stay in touch with the people that we want to remain friends with. Social media tools let us see what our friends are up to and maintain friendships. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection.
The digital age also enables us to find people who share our interests, such as collecting model cars. Whatever our hobbies, the Internet can connect us with others who also enjoy doing them, even if they live on the other side of the world.
But when you “friend” people online, does this mean that they really are your friends?
It depends.
If people always exchange true personal information online, then yes, these friendships can be real and meaningful. ① But we need to keep in mind that what we see on social media is often not the whole truth about a person. ② On social media sites, people tend to post only positive updates that make them appear happy and friendly.③ Remember the saying: On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. ④ A young person could be old; a woman could be a man; we could even be sharing our information with criminals.
But this doesn’t mean that we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. Although technology has changed the way we make friends, the meaning of friendship and our longing for friends remain the same. As Aristotle said, no one would choose to live without friends, even if he or she had all other goods.
1. How does technology impact friendship according to the passage?| A．It allows people to maintain friendships easier. |
| B．It helps people find less like-minded friends. |
| C．It enables people to write more letters to friends. |
| D．It makes online friendship better than traditional one. |
But smiling photos can hide real problems.
Where would the sentence best fit? 上面的句子还原，应该放在哪个序号处?
| A．Choice ①. | B．Choice ②. | C．Choice ③. | D．Choice ④. |
| A．Maintaining traditional friendships. |
| B．Rejecting online friendships completely. |
| C．Valuing friendships more than anything. |
| D．Making new friendships despite risks. |
| A．To prove that making friends was easier in the past. |
| B．To show how it is better to make friends online. |
| C．To advise people to give up traditional ways of making friends. |
| D．To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of making friends online. |
【推荐2】We walk, talk and sleep with our phones. But are we more — or less-connected? Just as remarkable as the power of mobility, over everything from love to global development, is how fast it all happened. It is hard to think of any tool, any instrument, any object in history with which so many developed so close a relationship so quickly as we have with our phones. Not the knife or match, the pen or page. Only money comes close—always at hand, don't leave home without it. But most of us don't take a wallet to bed with us. don't reach for it and check it every few minutes, and however useful money is in pursuit of fame, romance, revolution, it is inert compared with a smart phone — which can replace your wallet now anyway.
So how do we feel about this? To better understand attitudes about mass mobility, Time, in cooperation with Qualcomm, started the Time Mobility Poll, a survey of close to 5,000 people of all age groups and income levels in eight countries. Even the best survey can be only a snapshot in time, but this is revealing a lot about both where we are now and where the mobile wave is taking us next.
Not for a day — in most cases not even for an hour. In Time's Poll, 1 in 4 people check it every 30 minutes, 1 in 5 every 10 minutes. A third of respondents admitted that being without their mobile for even short periods leaves them feeling anxious. It is a form of sustenance, that constant feed of news and notes and nonsense, to be the point that twice as many people would pick their phones over their lunch if forced to choose. Three-quarters of 25-to 29-year-olds sleep with their phones.
Americans are grateful for the connection and convenience their phones provide, helping them search for a lower price, navigate a strange city, expand a customer base or track their health and finances, their family and friends. But in some ways Americans are still ambivalent （矛盾的）; more than 9 in 10 Brazilians and Indians agreed that being constantly connected is mostly a good thing. America's 76% was actually the lowest score.
1. What can have a comparison with phones?| A．A pen. | B．A knife. |
| C．A match. | D．Money. |
| A．paying bills. | B．helping sleep. |
| C．pursuit money. | D．cutting things. |
| A．Because it wanted to cooperate with Qualcomm. |
| B．Because it wanted to know where the mobile wave was taking us. |
| C．Because it wanted to learn people's attitudes to mass mobility |
| D．Because it wanted to know how well the mobile wave went. |
| A．Mobile phones have become a tool to sleep with. |
| B．Mobile phones have become a way to get news. |
| C．Mobile phones have become a tool to order food. |
| D．Mobile phones have become a must in daily life. |
| A．likely to show appreciation to their phones. |
| B．constantly connected than Indians. |
| C．likely to search for a lower price. |
| D．likely to find ways in a strange city. |
【推荐3】China’s online population crosses 1 billion as of June, up 21.75 million compared with that in December, a report from the China Internet Network Information Centre said on Friday.
Of the total, nearly half of the netizens use the Internet to order food, a significant increase, according to the report.
It said the instant delivery business, especially for fresh food and medicine, had developed rapidly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report said this fast growth has benefited people and stabilized the economy together with regular food and drinks takeout.
In the report, the proportion of Internet users aged 50 and above accounted for 28 percent as of June, up 5. 2 percentage points from June 2020.
Considering the number of elderly netizens is rising, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, and relevant government departments, released guidelines to provide them easier access to Internet, it said. For example, in a guideline issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year,115 websites and 43 smartphone applications were required to be optimized (优化) to solve difficulties of the elderly and the disabled in the face of smart technologies, it said.
Internet enterprises were also asked to provide easier online services for COVID-19 control for elderly people, and increase barrier-free functions for the disabled in maps, news and other apps, it said, adding the aim was to ensure the scientific and technological innovation could be shared by all.
1. What delivery service developed quickly under the COVID-19 pandemic?| A．Drinks takeout. | B．Medicine. | C．Regular food. | D．Smartphones. |
| A．Relationship. | B．Measurement. | C．Percentage. | D．Coverage. |
| A．They offered them smartphones to connect when necessary. |
| B．They increased barrier-free functions in some news apps. |
| C．They provided easier online services for COVID-19 control. |
| D．They downloaded 43 smartphone applications free of charge. |
| A．To respond to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. |
| B．To promote our scientific and technological innovation among the old. |
| C．To serve China’s increasing online disabled population properly. |
| D．To guarantee technological innovation could benefit all the people. |
【推荐1】A new study reveals that pigeons (鸽子) can tackle some problems just like artificial intelligence, enabling them to solve difficult tasks that might challenge humans. Previous research has theorized that pigeons employ a problem-solving strategy, involving a trial-and- error approach, which is similar to the approach used in AI models but differs from humans’ reliance on selective attention and rule use. To examine it, Brandon Turner, a psychology professor at the Ohio State University, and his colleagues conducted the new study.
In the study, the pigeons were presented with various visual images, including lines of different widths and angles, and different types of rings. The pigeons had to peck (啄) a button on the right or left to indicate the category to which the image belonged. If they got it correct, they received food; if they were wrong, they received nothing. Results showed that, through trial and error, the pigeons improved their accuracy in categorization tasks, increasing their correct choices from about 55% to 95%.
Researchers believed pigeons used associative learning, which is linking two phenomena with each other. For example, it is easy to understand the link. between “water” and “wet”. “Associative learning is frequently assumed to be far too primitive to. explain complex visual categorization like what we saw the pigeons do,” Turner said. But that’s exactly what the researchers found.
The researchers’ AI model tackled the same tasks using just the two simple mechanisms that pigeons were assumed to use: associative learning and error correction. And, like the pigeons, the AI model learned to make the right predictions to significantly increase the number of correct answers. For humans, the challenge when given tasks like those given to pigeons is that they would try to come up with rules that could make the task easier. But in this case, there were no rules, which upsets humans.
What’s interesting, though, is that pigeons use this method of learning that is very similar to AI designed by humans, Turner said. “We celebrate how smart we are that we designed artificial intelligence: at the same time, we regard pigeons as not clever animals,” he said.
1. What is the purpose of the new study?| A．To test a theory. | B．To evaluate a model. |
| C．To employ a strategy. | D．To involve an approach. |
| A．Draw circles. | B．Correct errors. | C．Copy gestures. | D．Identify images. |
| A．They are of equal intelligence. |
| B．They are good at making rules. |
| C．They respond rapidly to orders from humans. |
| D．They employ simple ways to get things done. |
| A．Pigeons’ trial-and-error method is revealed |
| B．Pigeons outperform humans in tough tasks |
| C．“Not smart” pigeons may be as smart as AI |
| D．AI models after pigeons’ learning approach |
【推荐2】Last summer, the missing white-letter hairstreak butterfly was spotted in Scotland for the first time in 133 years. Conservationists wondered if the creature had established a breeding colony in the country. As Russell Jackson reports for the Scotsman, volunteer naturalists recently found a cluster of tiny white-letter hairstreak eggs on an elm tree in Lennel, a small village near the country of Berwick-shire.
Volunteers with the UK’s Butterfly Conservation have been carefully tracking white-letter hair-streak migrations for more than ten years. The butterfly is native to the UK and was once widespread in England and Wales. But white -letter hairstreak numbers have declined drastically in recent decades, largely due to an outbreak of Dutch elm disease, and illness that took hold in the 1960s. The disease has killed millions of British elm trees, which is the food source for white-letter hairstreak caterpillars (蝴蝶或蛾的幼虫).
Recently, there have been signs that the butterfly’s populations are recovering. The Butterfly Conservation team has observed the white-letter hairstreak gradually spreading northwards, possibly due to warming climates. But the white-letter hairstreak is still a very rare sight in Scotland, and the volunteers who found the cluster of eggs — Ken Haydock and Jill Mills — were thrilled by the discovery.
“It was a lovely sunny morning and we were searching the elm trees by the River Tweed at Lennel when Jill called me over,” Haydock says in a Butterfly Conservation statement, “I could see by the look on her face that she had found something. We were both smiling with disbelief and delight when we realized what Jill had found and within seconds I was fumbling in my pack for the camera —my hands were shaking!”
That Haydock and Mills managed to spot the eggs is quite remarkable; according to Vittoria Traverso of Atlas Obscura, white-letter hairstreak eggs are smaller than a grain of salt. The volunteers were also excited to discover an old, hatched eggshell amid the cluster of new eggs. According to the Butterfly Conservation, this suggests that the white-letter hairstreak could have been breeding in the area since at least 2016.
Paul Kirkland, the director of the Butterfly Conservation’ s Scotland chapter, says in the statement that conservationists will “need to have a few more years of confirmed sightings” before they can classify the white-letter hairstreak as a resident species of Scotland. “If this happens, it would take the total number of butterflies found in Scotland to 34,” he says, “which really would be something to celebrate.”
1. What mainly accounted for the sharp decrease of the special butterfly species?| A．An outbreak of the butterfly disease. | B．A great loss due to its mass migration. |
| C．The mass death of British elm trees. | D．The consequence of global warming. |
| A．It has been native to the US and spread to England. |
| B．Its population is decreasing due to global warming. |
| C．Signs have shown that its number is rising again now. |
| D．People can see them every now and then in Scotland. |
| A．It was on a rainy day that they made the discovery. |
| B．Ken looked puzzled the moment Jill called him over. |
| C．Jill made the discovery first and took a photo of it. |
| D．They felt it unbelievable to make their discovery. |
| A．Volunteers can find more eggs of the special butterfly in the future. |
| B．The total number of butterfly species found in the UK adds up to 34. |
| C．Conservationists will have more years of confirmed sightings. |
| D．The number of butterfly species found in Scotland increases again. |
【推荐3】With their long histories, the United Kingdom’s universities have earned reputation and become favored destinations for many international students. However, while many people dream of attending these institutions, a growing number of the schools have fallen victim to cheating scandals (丑闻) in recent years.
The Telegraph reported that investigations for cheating have risen at Leeds University, from 127 in 2014/15 to 516 last year. Over the same period, cases at Queen Mary University of London increased from 104 to 248, and Nottingham University tripled to 514.
The increase has been linked to the rise of essay mills (论文作坊). These are companies that, for a fee, provide original essays, written by real people, for specific university assignments. Widely advertised on social media, these essay mills target those who struggle with their university workloads.
Even though many students have the ability to complete work on their own, it is believed that the pressure of too many deadlines and a lack of discipline encourage them to use essay mills.
In response, many universities have introduced new measures, such as oral exams to test students’ knowledge of assignments and subject areas. New software is also helping catch cheaters. Currently, most UK universities use Turnitin to check assignments for plagiarism (剽窃). Now it is being used to analyze students’ natural writing styles. This way, it may detect abnormal changes in their written assignments.
Despite the risks, essay mills seem like an easy ticket to a degree. However, a majority do not deliver the A+ essays they promise, and students are vulnerable to being cheated and blackmail (敲诈). According to the BBC, multiple Coventry University students were blackmailed up to $5,000 (35,190 yuan) after using an essay-writing service last year.
A Nottingham University spokesman told the Guardian, “The best way to deal with essay mills is for the government to legislate (立法) against them and block their webpages at a national level.”
Currently, these sites are legal in the UK, but other countries, including New Zealand and Australia, have banned them altogether. Students in Australia could even face two years in jail and a $210,000 fine if found guilty of cheating.
1. Why do many students turn to essay mills, according to the writer?| A．Because they want to pay for top marks. |
| B．Because essay mills are popular on social media. |
| C．Because they find college work is too difficult. |
| D．Because they have heavy workloads and they are undisciplined. |
| A．knowing little about something |
| B．paying close attention to something |
| C．well prepared for something |
| D．likely to suffer from something |
| A．The government should make laws to ban them. |
| B．Students found guilty of cheating should be put into jail. |
| C．Teachers should change the way of testing their students. |
| D．Universities should better manage their campus websites. |
| A．The increase of cheating at UK universities. |
| B．The rise of essay mills in the UK. |
| C．Pressures faced by students in the UK. |
| D．Attitudes toward plagiarism in different countries. |
【推荐1】My father had always been an alert observer of human character. Within seconds of meeting someone, he could sum up their strengths and weaknesses. It was always a challenge to see if any of my boyfriends could pass Dad’s test. None did. Dad was always right—they didn’t pass my test either. After Dad died, I wondered how I’d figure it out on my own.
That’s when Jack arrived on the scene. He was different from any other guy I’d dated. He could sit for hours on the piano bench with my mother, discussing some composers. My brother Rick loudly announced that Jack wasn’t a turkey like the other guys I’d brought home. Jack passed my family’s test. But what about Dad’s?
Then came my mother’s birthday. The day he was supposed to drive, I got a call. “Don’t worry,” he said, “but I’ve been in an accident. I’m fine, but I need you to pick me up.”
When I got there, we rushed to a flower shop for something for Mom. “How about gardenias(栀子花)?” Jack said, pointing at a beautiful white corsage (胸花). The florist(花商) put the corsage in a box.
The entire ride, Jack was unusually quiet. “Are you all right?” I asked. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he said. “I might be moving.” Moving? Then he added, “Moving in with you.” I nearly put the car on the sidewalk. “What?” I asked. “I think we should get married,” he said. He told me he’d planned his proposal in a fancy restaurant, but after the accident, he decided to do it right away. “Yes,” I whispered. We both sat dumbfounded, tears running down our cheeks. I’d never known such a tender moment. If only Dad were here to give his final approval.
“Oh, let’s just go inside.” Jack laughed. My mother opened the door. “Happy Birthday!” we shouted. Jack handed the box to her. She opened it up. Suddenly, her eyes were filled with tears. “Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping her eyes. “This is only the second gardenia corsage I’ve ever received. I was given one years ago, long before you kids were born.” “From who?” I asked. “Your father,” Mom said. “He gave me one right before we were engaged.” My eyes locked on Jack’s as I blinked away(眨掉) tears. Dad’s test? I knew Jack had passed.
1. According to the text, we know the writer’s father was __________.| A．interested in observing things around | B．good at judging one’s character |
| C．strict with her boyfriend | D．fond of challenges |
| A．Jack got the family’s approval except Dad’s. | B．Jack was different from any other boy. |
| C．Jack was getting on well with Mother. | D．Jack knew a lot about piano. |
| A．piece of advice | B．wedding ceremony |
| C．celebration of birthday | D．offer of marriage |
| A．pleased | B．worried | C．surprised | D．disappointed |
【推荐2】“You know, the soft subjects,” says the boy in maths. “The easy ones: the stupid girls at the bottom take them. Like dance. It shouldn’t even be a subject. ” We’re choosing subjects for our A-level taster day at school. I see the raised eyebrows (眉毛) when I explain two of my GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) choices are dance and drama(戏剧).
I was told by advisers that dance and drama wouldn’t help me to get a suitable career. My friends told me I’d get bored of dance and switch to science within the first month.
But taking GCSE dance was the best decision I ever made. Dance gives me something to pour my head and heart into. It gives me a feeling of belonging, creativity, security and freedom.
The education secretary Nicky Morgan has put emphasis on (强调) science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), saying that students who focus on the arts risk their careers. Stopping young people from expressing themselves at such a young age is not doing them any favours. Perhaps Nicky Morgan has forgotten to open the door of having a drive to study that subject day in, day out. It shouldn’t matter what that subject is.
I don’t doubt the influence that STEM subjects can have on the people that love them. But to force children into one field is cruel. As much as I try, I’m not good at and don’t love physics, biology or maths. I don’t want a career in these areas.
There has been a decrease in the number of state schools offering arts subjects taught by specialist teachers. I can’t even imagine how it feels to be told that you don't teach a “real subject” by an 8-year-old boy.
To the teachers, the parents, the government I say: Let children make their own decisions. Let them live in the present. Let them have a real, unlimited education.
1. How does the boy in maths feel about dance?| A．Useless. | B．Difficult. | C．Beautiful. | D．Important. |
| A．lost interest in it | B．kept her mind on it |
| C．turned to other subjects | D．struggled with Her lessons |
| A．She encourages students to learn soft subjects. |
| B．She suggests students take a risk in their careers.. |
| C．She underlines the importance of STEM subjects. |
| D．She allows students to express themselves freely. |
| A．They attract much attention worldwide. |
| B．They are taught by non-professionals. |
| C．They are considered less important. |
| D．They have made great progress. |
【推荐3】Golden eagle populations in the UK are set to increase as some chicks are reintroduced to the north of England. Ten birds will be released (释放) from south of Edinburgh in summer 2018, with the hope of bringing the species back from disappearing in England. More eagles will be released in the summertime of the next five years.
The project received £ 1.3 million of lottery funding in March and has now been awarded a further £ 150,000 to employ workers to run the operation. Project manager Cat Barlow said: “This is a really exciting time as the project is now starting to happen and we will soon start to see its benefits. Work will start next summer, when we will collect a number of golden eagle chicks in the Highlands and bring them south to be reared and released from an already selected place.”
The birds will be released with satellite tracking tags that will allow the scientists to gather information about their behavior and find if they suddenly go offline.
Recently, golden eagles have died out in England as the last known individual is believed to have died. Due to the popularity of shooting birds of prey (食肉猛禽), those birds in the wild struggle to survive. Main causes of death are systematic poisoning, shooting and nest disturbance by gamekeepers.
It is hoped that the newly released birds will move further south in search of new living areas and food supplies. The project expects to see the number of wild birds in Scotland and England increase as the range of the animals develops. While the birds were gone in England, in the Highlands of Scotland the number of golden eagles rocketed with up to 500 breeding pairs, the chicks will be sourced from here. It is hoped that golden eagles may finally return to the north of England, and if all goes well, numbers should grow steadily.
1. Why will some golden eagles be set free from south of Edinburgh?| A．To keep the balance of nature. | B．To encourage more birds to live in the wild. |
| C．To bring back the number of other species. | D．To prevent eagles from dying out. |
| A．Sold. | B．Stored. |
| C．Raised. | D．Exhibited. |
| A．Reasons for golden eagles’ dying out. |
| B．Why animal hunting should be forbidden. |
| C．Harmful effects of shooting birds. |
| D．The difficult situation golden eagles face. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Hopeful. |
| C．Sceptical. | D．Cautious. |
【推荐1】Rashema Melson, 18, will graduate from Anacostia High School on June 11. She lives with her mother and two brothers in one room at the D. C General homeless shelter. Here is an interview with her.
What will you talk about at graduation?
My speech is going to be for all the teachers who pushed me and who 1 could talk to in a time of need and who helped me when I didn't have anything like food or clothing.
Your mom must be excited about your being the valedictorian
My mom knows how happy I am to be the valedictorian, but sometimes she tells me to stop stressing and to relax and just live life. I've been stressing for years about grades. It has to be A, A, A. I can’t accept a B. I’m going to be the first one to graduate and get out of college and get a real job something that can really help me.
How hard is it to study at the shelter?
It's very hard. I have to put my headphones on to focus. It's hard because sometimes I have bad days, and I don't want to get up. Like, what's the point? After all these years, we're still in the same situation. We haven't had a home in five or six years. But you have to keep going because education is the only way out.
What will your classmates remember you for?
I'm really understanding. I don't really judge people. And I try to help people as much as possible, even when I'm down.
1. What will Melson do at graduation?| A．Share her excitement. | B．Express her appreciation. |
| C．Describe her shelter life. | D．Introduce her learning methods. |
| A．Find a real job. | B．Raise her family |
| C．Educate her brothers. | D．Concentrate on studies. |
| A．childish | B．Friendly | C．carefree | D．intelligent |
【推荐2】Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth's surface. But earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. In comparison with the total number of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small
The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect （直立的）set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it completely destroyed the city. If a building is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earthquakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush into narrow streets, more deaths will result.
The UN has played an important part in reducing the damage done by earthquakes. It has sent a team of experts to all countries known to be affected by earthquakes. Working with local geologists and engineers, the experts have studied the nature of the ground and the type of most practical building code for the local area. If followed, these suggestions will make disastrous earthquakes almost a thing of the past.
There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length, but when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", because they reach a sizable height only in harbors.
Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An adequate warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves, but this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground. There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.
1. The destruction of Agadir is an example of .| A．ineffective instruments | B．faulty building construction |
| C．an earthquake's strength | D．widespread panic in earthquakes |
| A．Put forward advice. | B．Construct strong buildings. |
| C．Monitor earthquakes. | D．Detect disastrous earthquakes. |
| A．By the seaside. | B．On the mountain. |
| C．In the harbor. | D．Under the water. |
| A．notice them out at sea | B．be warned early enough |
| C．find ways to stop them | D．develop warning systems |
【推荐3】Maybe it’s because it was our first purchase as homeowners. The salesman must have spotted just how green we were, so he began persuading. And soon he led us to a classic leather chair. All these years later, I remember he used words like handsome, useful and the thing every living room needed.
We believed him. So we bought that chair just less than $ 100, a great deal in the 1970s for a young couple!
How we loved that chair! It always occupied a place of honor in our various living rooms, moving with us from our first tiny house to our beloved new house.
Somehow, conversations were better on that chair, and life was more fun around it. Three daughters spilled their secrets on it. Old friends seemed to be attracted by it on those wonderful occasions. Crazy as it sounds, that leather chair seemed to have--well, powers. All for good.
At first, we didn’t really care that the leather was showing signs of wear or that it had lost its sheen（光泽）. But in our most recent move, when the chair was moved in our new living room, it suddenly looked terribly lonely sitting close to newly painted walls and a couple of shiny new tables.
My husband and I tried but still we couldn’t ignore the rough spots. Our chair had a skin disease. Even our adult kids raised eyebrows, urging us to at least remove the chair to some dark corner of the room. Neither of us could imagine such a retirement for it.
So we had an idea. We’d call in an upholsterer（修理工）to give our old chair a whole new life. Our friend Joe studied the chair and then took out a simple leather conditioner. He explained that although it wouldn’t work miracles, it would definitely get our weary chair looking younger again. It certainly doesn’t look new, but its seat and back are shining, and some of its deeper wrinkles have lightened.
Best of all, it’s back in the living room, looking like a wise old friend to the furniture around it. And, yes, there it will stay. Because some things, like some people, just deserve a happy old age.
1. How did the salesman persuade the author into buying the chair?| A．By thinking highly of the author. | B．By saying that the author was green. |
| C．By describing how great the chair was. | D．By comparing the chair with others. |
| A．Family activities and parties of friends. | B．Various functions of the chair. |
| C．People’s comments on the chair. | D．Sweet memories with the chair. |
| A．Because it couldn’t match her new house. |
| B．Because she didn’t have enough money. |
| C．Because it showed signs of damage. |
| D．Because she was persuaded by Joe. |
| A．East or west, home is best. | B．From saving comes having. |
| C．It is never too late to mend. | D．Old friends and wine are best. |
