| A．is not distributed, is to be found | B．are not distributed, are to be found |
| C．is not distributed, has been found | D．are not distributed, have been found |
| A．unless … but | B．although … and |
| C．when … where | D．even if … unless |
| A．who | B．when | C．which | D．where |
| A．Whatever | B．However | C．Though | D．Whether |
| A．thrived | B．swelled | C．prospered | D．flourished |
| A．struck, were trapped | B．being struck, trapped |
| C．struck, having been trapped | D．having been struck ; were trapped |
7 . Smartphones are our constant companions. For many of us, their glowing screens are a ubiquitous (十分普遍的) presence, drawing us in with endless distractions. They are in our hands as soon as we wake, and command our attention until the final moments before we fall asleep.
Steve Jobs would not approve.
In 2007, Jobs took the stage and introduced the world to the iPhone. If you watch the full speech, you will be surprised by how he imagined our relationship should be with this iconic (标志性的) invention. This vision is so different from the way most of us use these devices now.
In his remarks, Jobs spent an extended amount of time demonstrating how users could utilize (应用) its touch screen before detailing the many ways Apple engineers had improved the age-old process of making phone calls. “It’s the best iPod we’ve ever made,” Jobs exclaimed at one point. “The killer app is making calls,” he later added. Both lines drew thunderous applause.
The presentation confirms that Jobs imagined a simpler iPhone experience than the one we actually have more than a decade later. For example, there was no App Store when the iPhone was first introduced, and this was by design. Jobs was convinced that the phone’s carefully-designed native features were enough. He did not seek to completely change the rhythm of users’ daily lives. He simply wanted to take experiences we had already found important — listening to music, placing calls, generating directions — and make them better.
The minimalist (简约主义者) vision for the iPhone Jobs offered in 2007 is unrecognizable today — and that is a shame.
Under what I call the “constant companion model,” we now see our smartphones as always-on portal (通道) to information. We have become so used to it over the past decade that it is easy to forget the novelty (新奇) of the device. It seems increasingly clear to me that Jobs probably got it right from the very beginning: Many of us would be better-off returning to his original minimalist vision for our phones.
Practically speaking, to be a minimalist smartphone user means only using your device for a small number of features that do things of value to you. Otherwise, you simply put it away outside of these activities. This approach removes this gadget (小玩意) from the position of a constant companion down to a luxury object, such as a fancy bike, that gives you great pleasure when you use it but does not dominate your entire day.
Early in his 2007 keynote jobs said, “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” What he didn’t add, however, was the follow-up promise: “Tomorrow, we’re going to reinvent your life.” The smartphone is fantastic, but it was never meant to be the foundation for a new form of existence. If you return this innovation to its original role, you will get more out of both your phone and your life.
1. According to Steve Jobs, what was the main selling point of Apple’s first iPhone?| A．It allowed its users to have access to the Internet. |
| B．It was actually an iPod that could make phone calls. |
| C．It was installed with applications by third-party developers. |
| D．It could fulfill people’s desire to multitask in their daily lives. |
| A．expect to reinvent his life with the device |
| B．buy the latest model of iPhone and see it as a luxury |
| C．spend more time working than playing with his device |
| D．remove the unnecessary applications from the device |
| A．the native features of smartphones | B．the information on the Internet |
| C．the novelty of the device | D．the constant companion model |
| A．The minimalism of iPhone helps users bring out the best of the device. |
| B．Jobs expected iPhone to be the foundation for a new form of existence. |
| C．Smartphone users have changed their life to enjoy pleasant experiences. |
| D．The invention of App Store has made smartphones luxury objects. |
| A．tell readers why Steve Job created the iPhone |
| B．remind readers not to be addicted to their smartphones |
| C．show readers that smartphones can greatly change their lives |
| D．encourage readers to block Internet access on their smartphones |
8 . The high-tech revolution has inspired a pleasure endless stream of new and exciting electronic products that we just can’t live without. In fact, the speed of technological innovation can make last year’s must-have this year’s junk. And that’s the problem.
The average life span of a personal computer has been shortened to around 18 months and this has nothing to do with worn-mice or damaged disk drives. Simply put, electronic products can become out of date before you’ve even figured out how they work.
So what happens to all those old keyboards, monitors, organizers and CPUs? Most are stored away in a warehouse (仓库), taking up valuable space. But many end up in landfills, and that is where the trouble really begins. Computer monitors can contain up to 3.5 kg of dangerous waste once they are no longer in use.
Unfortunately, this problem is not going to disappear anytime soon. In fact, it is growing by the minute. In Japan alone, people throw away some 20 million TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners each year. What is to be done with all this techno-trash?
One way to reduce waste is to avoid throwing away in the first place. Many companies reuse parts from old products in new models. This is not cheating-it makes both environmental and economic sense. Cannon, for example, has adopted a philosophy known as “kyosei”, meaning “living and working together for the common good?” — a goal of achieving balance between the environment and the corporate (公司的) activities. The company has even gone so far as to say that environmental assurance should come before all business activities, and that companies unable to achieve such assurance do not deserve to remain in business.
As part of that effort, the company has started a global recycling program with a goal to reduce, reuse and recycle more than 90% of its used products. In 1999, for example, Cannon collected 128, 000 copying machines and 12, 175 tons of toner cartridges (色粉盒) in Japan, Europe and the United States.
Some argue that electronic garbage can also be controlled during the design phase. This concept, called “design for the environment”. Not only does this make environmental sense, but it saves the customer money. IBM, meanwhile, recently planned programs in Canada and the US that, for a small fee, will take back not just an IBM but also any manufacturer’s computer. Depending on the age and condition, the equipment will then be either donated to charity, or broken down for reusable parts and recyclable materials.
1. With the rapid development of science and technology high-tech products can ____.| A．last for many years |
| B．become worn out soon |
| C．become old and useless soon |
| D．be used forever |
| A．Too much room is needed for their probable storage. |
| B．People do not know how to deal with them at all. |
| C．The amount of this techno-trash is increasing everyday without stop. |
| D．Harmful substances contained within may pollute the environment. |
| A．Business must be achieved at the cost of environment. |
| B．Environment holds great importance than business. |
| C．Business and environment has little impact on each other. |
| D．Recycling makes only environment sense instead of economic benefits. |
| A．while designing products, we must make something to contain garbage |
| B．while designing products, don’t throw away garbage away |
| C．while designing, we must work out how much garbage the new product will bring about |
| D．while designing, we must take environment into consideration. |
| A．The problem caused by high-tech products can’t be solved in short time |
| B．The techno-trash problem can easily be solved in big countries |
| C．The problem can be solved to some degree if enough attention is paid |
| D．It is still hard to say whether this problem can be solved or not |
9 . Gone are the days when a mother’s place was in the home: in Britain women with children are now as likely to be in paid work as their unburdened sisters. Many put their little darlings in day care long before they start school. Mindful that a poor start can spoil a person’s chances of success later in life, the state has intervened ever more closely in how babies and toddlers are looked after. Inspectors call not only at nurseries but also at homes where youngsters are minded; three-year-olds follow the national curriculum. Child care has increasingly become a profession.
For years after the government first began in 2001 to twist the arms of anyone who looked after an unrelated child to register with the schools, the numbers so doing fell. Kind but clueless neighbours stopped looking after little ones, who were instead herded into formal nurseries or handed over to one of the ever-fewer registered child-minders. The decline in the number of people taking in children now appears to have halted. According to data released by the Office for Standards in Education on October 27th, the number of registered child-minders reached its lowest point in September 2010 and has since recovered slightly.
The new lot are certainly better qualified. In 2010 fully 82% of nursery workers held diplomas notionally equivalent to A-levels, the university-entrance exams taken mostly by 18-year-olds, up from 56% seven years earlier, says Anand Shukla of the Daycare Trust, a charity. Nurseries staffed by university graduates tend to be rated highest by inspectors, increasing their appeal to the pickiest parents. As a result, more graduates are being recruited.
But professionalization has also pushed up the price of child care, defying even the economic depression. A survey by the Daycare Trust finds that a full-time nursery place in England for a child aged under two, who must be intensively supervised, costs £194 ($310) per week, on average. Prices in London and the south-east are far higher. Parents in Britain spend more on child care than anywhere else in the world, according to the OECD, a think-tank. Some 68% of a typical second earner's net income is spent on freeing her to work, compared with an OECD average of 52%.
The price of child care is not only eye-watering, but has also become a barrier to work. Soon after it took power the coalition government pledged to ensure that people are better off in work than on benefits, but a recent survey by Save the Children, a charity, found that the high cost of day care prevented a quarter of low-paid workers from returning to their jobs once they had started a family. The government pays for free part-time nursery places for three-and four-year-olds, and contributes towards day-care costs for younger children from poor areas. Alas, extending such an aid during stressful economic times would appear to be anything but child’s play.
1. Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?| A．Nursery education plays a leading role in one’s personal growth. |
| B．Pregnant women have to work to lighten families’ economic burden. |
| C．Children in nursery have to take uniform nation courses. |
| D．The supervision of the state makes child care professional. |
| A．the registered child-minders are required to take the university-entrance exams |
| B．the number of registered child-minders has been declining since 2001 |
| C．anyone who looks after children at home must register with the schools |
| D．the growing recognition encourages more graduates to work as child-minders |
| A．prevents mothers from getting employed |
| B．may further depress the national economy |
| C．makes many families live on benefits |
| D．is far more than parents can afford |
| A．Objective. | B．Skeptical. | C．Supportive. | D．Biased. |
| A．The professionalization of child care has pushed up its price. |
| B．The high cost of child nursing makes many mothers give up their jobs. |
| C．The employment of more graduates makes nurseries more popular. |
| D．Parents in Britain pay most for child nursing throughout the world. |
| A．that; that | B．that; when | C．when; that | D．when; when |
