Group buying websites are getting popular in Hong Kong since people like to spend their money more wisely. Thus it is not _______ to see the trend (趋势) that the number of such websites 15 growing. However, consumers are facing a problem—too much information. They have to _______ many sites to know about the best offer. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a single place that combined all the information and presented it to the users so that they could _______ make a better purchase decision?

Ronald, a student in Hong Kong, recognized this was a good business _______ and he started to do some research. Ronald found that there was no such app in the market at that time. He decided to _______ one himself.

Ronald knew that he had to step up the speed. He had to learn from other sites so as to develop one that provided great user experience. He had to put himself in the buyers’ _______ so as to know what they want. The process was not without difficulties. The most _______ one was the automatic system that is required to actively retrieve (检索) the information from the various group buying sites. To make matters worse, Ronald was _______ that some other people were starting to work on it. Finally, he spent about two weeks on the development and had it done.

The app was then submitted to Apple. It took a few days to get approved. The app was finally launched on 18 February. On 24 February, it reached the number one position in the _______ of Top Free iPhone Apps. In just three days’ time, it ________ over 30 thousand downloads.

1.

A．touching

B．frightening

C．exciting

D．surprising

2.

A．found

B．close

C．control

D．surf

3.

A．easily

B．hardly

C．normally

D．carefully

4.

A．decision

B．chance

C．fair

D．card

5.

A．buy

B．discover

C．try

D．develop

6.

A．hands

B．shoes

C．advice

D．way

7.

A．attractive

B．challenging

C．dangerous

D．successful

8.

A．aware

B．afraid

C．glad

D．sad

9.

A．form

B．list

C．album

D．program

10.

A．bought

B．ignored

C．lost

D．achieved

Following the old saying of “early to bed and early to rise”, I used to go to bed at 10 p.m. and get up early at 6 a.m. to get ready for school. But on that day, as it was cloudy, I continued to sleep for long.

Suddenly, I heard a loud voice which startled me up and made me sit upright. It was my mother’s voice who was knocking and shouting simultaneously, “Get up honey, it’s 6:45 a.m. already!” As it was a cloudy day, I hadn’t realized that it was almost 7 and continued dozing for long!

But thankfully our pick-up person got late due to the showers and arrived just in the nick of time when I was ready. However, by the time we reached school it was a quarter to eight and the rain from previous night had finally stopped. I entered the classroom fearing the teacher’s anger, but saw only a few students had made it to school. Hence, the principal declared a holiday.

“Hurray!” We all cheered in a chorus at the unexpected holiday and decided to walk back home.

With shoes in our hands, we paraded on the muddy streets. We were excited and our hearts were filled with joy at the sight of the green and fresh leaves on the trees; the croaking frogs drew our attention as we tried to catch butterflies.

We finally reached home busily playing and laughing with mud-spattered uniforms and shoes. We hurriedly changed our clothes, washed up and sat watching TV with a bowl of piping hot soup!

No doubt, I thoroughly enjoyed this day and secretly prayed for many such days in the future! To this day when it pours, the memories of that eventful rainy day bring a smile on my face!

16. In the second paragraph, the word startled is closest in meaning to ________.

A．started

B．shocked

C．gave

D．brought

17. According to the passage, why did the author get up late?

A．He didn’t set an alarm clock.

B．He didn’t awake at six o’clock.

C．His mother forgot to remind him.

D．The cloudy weather made him mistake the time.

18. What happened to the author when he got to school?

A．All of his classmates were having classes as usual.

B．The teacher was very angry with his being late.

C．The principal declared a holiday unexpectedly.

D．He remembered that the school didn’t have classes on that day.

19. What can we infer when the author says “To this day when it pours, the memories of that eventful rainy day bring a smile on my face”?

A．He doesn’t want a rainy day.

B．The rainbow after rain makes him happy.

C．That rainy day helped him keep good memories.

D．He wants more rainy days in the future.

20. Which title can best summarize the main idea of the passage?

A．Childhood Memories	B．When You Are Late for School
C．An Unforgettable Rainy Day	D．Games We Used to Play

Global Positioning Systems (全球定位系统) are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. However, they can also cause a lot of problems, sending you to the wrong place or leaving you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS mistake is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two.

Barry Brown is with the Mobile Life Centre in Stockholm, Sweden. He told about an incident involving a friend who had flown to the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS equipped car to use during his stay.

Mr. Brown says,“They just plugged (插) in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn’t until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they actually put in their home address on the West Coast. So again, the GPS is kind of‘garbage in garbage out’.”

Mr. Brown says this is a common human error, but what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings of GPS equipment. He says,“One problem with a lot of the GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Sometimes that means it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know, and it’s going to the wrong place.”

Barry Brown has written a paper based on his research. The paper lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand.

To make GPS systems better, says the paper, we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together.

21. According to Barry Brown, in most cases, ________ are blamed for the problems.

A．human errors

B．GPS errors

C．errors caused by both drivers and GPS

D．errors caused by putting in a wrong address

22. What does the underlined phrase “garbage in garbage out” most probably imply in the third paragraph?

A．Rubbish in rubbish out.

B．GPS is just as smart as human beings.

C．The GPS system is useless.

D．GPS will not correct human errors.

23. What is one of the GPS’s shortcomings according to Mr. Brown?

A．It provides turn to turn for the driver.

B．The screen is too small to be seen clearly.

C．It has the latest maps in the device.

D．It doesn’t give the driver the overview.

24. What can be inferred from the whole passage?

A．A GPS system is not always reliable.

B．Maps nowadays are not correctly printed.

C．A larger screen is needed in a car.

D．A GPS system tells you where to turn.

25. What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．GPS system is very important for drivers.

B．GPS system is useless in guiding our drive.

C．GPS system has weakness.

D．How GPS system works to help drivers find their way.