1 . Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point, however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leads us to ask: What is a hero?

Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristic that instruct and inspire people. A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventure to tell and a community who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame.

Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage(电压) transformers, heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinary people.

The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience life with new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? What are they willing to live and die for? If the answer or evidence suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna and Michael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more abundant?

Heroes are catalysts(催化剂) for change. They have a vision from the mountain top. They have the skill and the charm to move the masses. They create new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of the British Empire. Without Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr, we might still have segregated(隔离的) buses, restaurants, and parks. It may be possible for large-scale change to occur without leaders with magnetic personalities, but the pace of change would be slow, the vision uncertain and the committee meetings endless.

1. Although heroes may come from different cultures, they      .

A．generally possess certain inspiring characteristics

B．probably share some weaknesses of ordinary people

C．are often influenced by previous generations

D．all unknowingly attract a large number of fans

2. According to the passage, heroes are compared to high-voltage transformers in that .

A．they have a vision from the mountaintop

B．they have warm feelings and emotions

C．they can serve as empowering examples of noble principles

D．they can make all people feel stronger and more confident

3. Madonna and Michael Jackson are not considered heroes because .

A．they are popular only among certain groups of people

B．their performances do not improve their fans morally

C．their primary concern is their own financial interests

D．they are not clear about the principles they should follow

4. Gandhi and Martin Luther King are typical examples of outstanding leaders who      .

A．are good at demonstrating their charming characters

B．can move the masses with the skill and the charm

C．are capable of meeting all challenges and hardships

D．can provide an answer to the problems of their people

5. The author concludes that historical changes would      .

A．be delayed without leaders with inspiring personal qualities

B．not happen without heroes making the necessary sacrifices

C．take place if there were heroes to lead the people

D．produce leaders with attractive personalities

2 . Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by a stunning view, or gobsmacked by the vastness of the night sky? Have you been transported by soaring music, a grand scientific theory or a charismatic person? If so, you will understand US novelist John Steinbeck’s response to California’s giant redwood trees, which can soar more than a hundred metres towards the sky. “They leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always,” he wrote. “From them comes silence and awe.”

Philosophers and writers have long been fascinated by our response to the sublime, but until a few years ago, scientists had barely studied it. Now they are fast realising that Steinbeck was right about its profound effects. Feeling awestruck can dissolve our very sense of self, bringing a host of benefits from lowering stress and boosting creativity to making us nicer people.

But what exactly is awe and where does it come from? “It’s a subjective feeling rooted in the body,” according to psychologist and pioneering awe researcher Dacher Keltner at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2003, he and Jonathan Haidt, now at New York University, published the first scientific definition. They described awe as the feeling we get when confronted with something vast, that transcends our frame of reference and that we struggle to understand. It’s an emotion that combines amazement with an edge of fear. Wonder, by contrast, is more intellectual – a cognitive state in which you are trying to understand the mysterious.   

You might think that investigating such a profound experience would be a challenge, but Keltner insists it’s not so hard. “We can reliably produce awe,” he says. “You can get people to go out to a beautiful scene in nature, or put them in a cathedral or in front of a dinosaur skeleton, and they’re gong to be pretty amazed.” Then, all you need is a numerical scale on which people can report how much awe they are feeling. Increasingly, studies are including a physiological measure too, such as the appearance of goosebumps (鸡皮疙瘩) – awe is the emotion most likely to cause them, and second only to cold as a source.     

In this way, Keltner and others have found that even mild awe can change our attitudes and behaviour. For example, people who watched a nature video that elicited awe – rather than other positive emotions such as happiness or pride – were subsequently more ethical, more generous and described themselves as feeling more connected to people in general.   Gazing up at tall eucalyptus trees left others more likely to help someone who stumbled in front of them.   And after standing in front of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, people were more likely to describe themselves as part of a group.   It might seem counterintuitive that an emotion we often experience alone increases our focus on others.   But Keltner thinks it’s because awe expands our attention to encompass a bigger picture, so reducing our sense of self.

“The desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant, that they make a person feel small,” wrote Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist.   He was right.   In a large study, Keltner found that after inspiring awe in people from the US and China, they signed their names smaller and drew themselves smaller, but with no drop in their sense of status or self-esteem.   Similarly, neuroscientist Michiel van Elk at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, found that people who watched awe-inducing videos estimated their bodies to be physically smaller than those who watched funny or neutral videos.

The cause of this effect might lie in the brain. At the annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Vancouver, Canada, in June, van Elk presented functional MRI scans showing that awe quiets activity in the default mode network, which includes parts of the frontal lobes and cortex, and is thought to relate to the sense of self. “Awe produces a vanishing self,” says Keltner.   “The voice in your head, self-interest, self consciousness, disappears. Here’s an emotion that knocks out a really important part of our identity.”   As a result, he says, we feel more connected to bigger or collectives and groups.

1. The underlined word “transported” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．taken in

B．fired up

C．carried away

D．tuned out

2. According to the author, the “profound effects” of the feeling of awe enable us to ________.

A．hold more respect for redwood trees	B．enhance our connectedness to humanity
C．increase our self-consciousness	D．enjoy a completely stress-free life

3. According to Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt, the difference between “awe” and “wonder” lies in the fact that ________.

A．the former is beyond the range of our normal experiences while the latter of our intellect

B．the former involves a feeling of fright while the latter an element of puzzlement

C．the former has more to do with our body while the latter with our mind

D．the former is viewed as more personal while the latter more collective

4. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 imply?

A．It’s against our wish that awe makes us care more for others than for ourselves.

B．The feeling of awe automatically directs our focus to others from ourselves.

C．It’s common sense that awe, though felt alone, boosts our concern for others.

D．It seems odd that the emotion of awe tends to associate the individual with the world.

5. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．Getting close to something awesome makes us happier and nicer.

B．Awe can cause physical reactions in our body just as cold does.

C．The huge desert and distant horizons affect our attitudes and confidence.

D．MRI scans suggest that the emotion of awe has biological connections.

3 . (Read the following interview excerpt between a journalist (J) and a professor (P). Complete the interview except by using the questions in the box that best fits the professor’s answer. There are two extra questions that you may not need. )

Interview: is evolution predictable?

4th August 2017   
If we were to replay the tape of life here on Earth from scratch, would we as humans still evolve? That’s a key question new research in the area of experimental evolution is seeking to address. We speak to Jonathan Losos, professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and curator of herpetology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, ahead of publication of his first book Improbable Destinies: How Predictable is Evolution?
J:       1    
P:   In short, it’s new evidence. Stephen Jay Gould wrote in his seminal and highly influential book Wonderful Life that we were not fated to evolve the way we did; that if you could replay the tape of life and let evolution proceed from an early point, then the end result would not at all be the same. But Gould’s argument was based entirely on logic and thought experiments. Thirty years later, we have lots of data on how deterministic evolution is, how subject it is to the whims and flukes of history. We are finally in a position to re-assess whether Gould was right or not.
J:       2    
P:   The answer to that is somewhere in the middle, as with many debates. To some extent, if you put the same species in the same environment, experiencing the same selective pressures, they often do evolve in the same way. This is particularly common when you’re dealing with closely related species, and there’s a reason for that. Closely related species have the same genes and the same biology, so it’s very easy for them to evolve in the same way. Different species, however, have different ways of reacting to a given evolutionary pressure. So evolution is probably more deterministic than Gould was willing to recognize, but it’s not quite as pervasive as some others have argued. Where is the convergent duck-billed platypus, for example? If evolution is so convergent, why don’t we have this animal outside Australia? Evolution is often not predictable; it’s contingent on previous circumstances.
J:       3    
P:   I can’t really answer that question. What’s changed recently is our knowledge about how many Earth-like planets there may be, even within our own Milky Way galaxy. With the realization that these planets exist, many people think the likelihood that life has evolved on some of them is pretty high. We haven’t detected that yet, but it may be that we just haven’t figured out how to detect it yet.
J:       4    
P:   I have no evidence to argue that one way or the other. I do think, however, that if there are millions of moons and planets out there, the likelihood seems very high. If life has evolved, my expectation is that it would not look at all like life on Earth. Who knows what sort of chemical biology it might be based on, but the building blocks of life there would almost certainly be different to some extent from here on Earth. Even here on Earth, unrelated species react in different ways. My prediction would be that life evolved on other planets will not be at all recognisable with what we have here.
J:       5    
P:   Yes, I think we are. Our conception of life is biased by our own experience, but look at octopuses. We know they’re fairly intelligent, but their biology is completely different from ours. I’m not saying they have human-level intelligence, but they have a lot going on in their brains and they’re nothing like us.

A．Given the time evolution takes, is that why – so far as we know – Earth is the only planet on which evolution has made progress?

B．Does the evolutionary convergence of DNA make it vital for intelligent life?

C．What are the next steps in your research?

D．Why have you decided to revisit convergent evolution?

E．Could evolution be happening elsewhere in the Universe and can you tell from your research what it might look like?

F．Are we constrained in our concept of intelligent life by our own large-brained, humanoid existence?

G．Is evolution a fixed programme, steered only by environment and accidents?

4 . I was enjoying this afternoon more than I had expected. Often, the tryouts for the spring musical tested the limits of my patience and nerves, with one hopeful girl after another taking turns walking onto the wooden stage, delivering an adequate but uninspired version of some Rodgers & Hammerstein number, and then being politely excused by Mrs Dominguez as the next name on the list was called.

However, this was to be my third straight year in the musical, and the confidence that my seniority afforded me around the more nervous newcomers allowed me to take pleasure in radiance of my own balance.

I had already sung my audition (试唱) song an hour ago, starting the day’s ceremonies. This year, I used “God Bless the Child”, a choice I found to be quite sophisticated since Billie Holiday’s version of it was familiar mostly to adults, and even then, mostly to adults of the previous generation. More importantly, it required a reserved performance, which I felt showcased my maturity, especially because most of the other auditioners chose songs that would show their enthusiasm, even if it meant their technical mastery would not be on full display.

Normally, the first audition was feared by most. Mrs Dominguez would ask if anyone wanted to volunteer to “get it over with”, but no one would make a sound. Then, she would call the first name off her list and the room would drop into an uncomfortably serious silence as the first student walked nervously up to the stage. I often imagined during those moments that I was witness to a death-house liver taking his march toward a quick curtain.

But not this year. I had decided to make a show of my own self-confidence by volunteering to go first. Such a fearless act, I had figured, would probably instill even more fear into my competition because they would realize that I had something they clearly lacked. Mrs. Dominguez had seemed neither surprised nor charmed by my decision to go first. Although she was annoyed by my escalating pride, I also acknowledged that I was one of the more talents actors and was probably correct in assuming myself a winner.

At this late stage of the afternoon, I felt like a queen, sitting in the back of the auditorium with my royal court of friends and admirers. They took care to sit far enough away from Mrs Dominguez that they would not be caught in the act of belittling the other students’ auditions.

To me, the endless parade of the ambitious who sang their hearts out for three minutes each were like clowns performing for my amusement. As Mrs Dominguez read another name off her list, I prepared myself for a special treat.

1. What did the writer do one afternoon?

A．She enjoyed her time watching the audition.

B．She performed in the school spring musical.

C．She attended the selective trial of the school musical.

D．She helped Mrs Dominguez to select musical talents.

2. The writer believed the song she chose for her audition ________.

A．would be the most inspiring Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers

B．was the most sophisticated song in Billie Holiday’s versions

C．would likely be more recognizable to her parents than to her friends

D．would allow her to more effectively showcase her enthusiasm

3. The main purpose of the underlined statement in paragraph 5 is to ________.

A．offer a contrast created by the writer’s choice of audition

B．present reasons why this year’s audition was the strangest

C．suggest that the writer’s imagination no longer involved the same imagery

D．inform the reader that students’ fears of going first were something of the past

4. Why did the writer volunteer to perform the first audition of the day?

A．To guarantee her a part in the play.

B．To impress and charm Mrs Dominguez.

C．To add her confidence in her performance.

D．To make the others feel they could not compete with her.

5. The passage portrays the writer as ________.

A．concerned and nervous	B．arrogant and indifferent
C．friendly and inclusive	D．confused and surprised

5 . Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once.

A. then            B. while            C. as            D. down E. that            F. but               G. away            H. within

The eighth chapter is exceedingly brief, and relates that Gibbons, the amateur naturalist of the district,     1     lying out on the spacious open downs without a soul     2     a couple of miles of him, as he thought, and almost dozing, heard close to him the sound as of a man coughing, sneezing, and     3     swearing savagely to himself; and looking, beheld nothing. Yet the voice was indisputable. It continued to swear with that breadth and variety     4     distinguishes the swearing of a cultivated man. It grew to a climax, diminished again, and died     5     in the distance, going     6     it seemed to him in the direction of Adderdean. It lifted to a spasmodic sneeze and ended. Gibbons had heard nothing of the morning's occurrences,     7     the phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that his philosophical tranquillity vanished; he got up hastily, and hurried     8     the steepness of the hill towards the village, as fast as he could go.

6 . In the future, we will be competing against medically-enhanced workers who can work longer and harder than us. Artificial intelligence will make it easier to monitor our every move in the office. This may sound like science fiction, but it’s a likely _______, according to a new report by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.     

The report, which _______ a team of science researchers and a survey of more than 10,000 workers based in China, Germany, India, the U.K., and the U.S., predicts that rapid advances in technology, resource _______, and population demographics are among the key forces that would radically _______ the future of work by 2030.

According to PwC, these forces will result in four potential futures: one where “humans come first,” one where “innovation _______,” one where “companies care,” and one where “corporate is king.”

In the future world where corporations reign, PwC states that “human effort is _______ through sophisticated use of physical and medical enhancement techniques and equipment, and workers’ performance and _______ are measured, monitored and analysed at every step. A new breed of elite super-workers emerges.”

This is a world where performance is everything, and workers will need to create every _______ to stay ahead. This may sound like a stressful objective, but the majority of people surveyed _______ the challenge.

Seventy percent of the workers surveyed said that they would undergo ________ to improve their body and mind if it would improve their chances of employment. This could be because we believe it’s up to us to improve our careers — even if that means pill-popping performance-enhancing drugs. Of those surveyed, 74% said it was their individual ________ “to update their skills rather than relying on any employer.”

To visualize this ________ future, PwC created a mock news article reporting from 2030 that detailed the first large-scale use of brain-enhancing drugs in the workplace.

But you don’t need a fake news report to see this future; real news reports about augmented bodies in the office have existed for some time. Companies in the U.S. and Europe are already offering microchip implants to workers, so they can enter company buildings and get their chips from the vending machine with the ________ of a hand.

PwC predicts that the idea of a cyborg workforce will go from science fiction novelty to mainstream in the next few decades.

“So implants at work are already possible and happening and people will use it ________ to pay for things and to get on to buses and public transport. Why would they not 10 years later go, sure, put one in my brain to make me think harder or for ________ ?” Jon Williams, PwC’s people and organizations division leader told The Australian about its survey. “It’s just natural progression.”

1.

A．dimension

B．vision

C．integrity

D．reality

2.

A．drew upon

B．counted on

C．signed in

D．made up

3.

A．availability

B．scarcity

C．rivalry

D．privatization

4.

A．demolish

B．induce

C．alter

D．shape

5.

A．exceeds

B．offsets

C．rules

D．withdraws

6.

A．dwarfed

B．maximized

C．converted

D．marginalized

7.

A．wellbeing

B．priority

C．emotions

D．ideology

8.

A．fantasy

B．interference

C．advantage

D．expertise

9.

A．resented

B．welcomed

C．ventured

D．overcame

10.

A．reassurance

B．violation

C．reformation

D．treatments

11.

A．dream

B．expectation

C．responsibility

D．perspective

12.

A．corporate-dominated

B．career-oriented

C．human-centered

D．cognitive-enhanced

13.

A．wave

B．pulse

C．check

D．strike

14.

A．urgently

B．socially

C．privately

D．solely

15.

A．farther

B．closer

C．longer

D．shorter

7 . （Complete the following passage by using the words or phrases in the box. Each word or phrase can only be used once. Note that there is one word or phrase more than you need.）

A. need explanation       B. abandoned       C. managed to make       D. pilot airplanes E. without chewing     F. instead        G. experiment on   H. as a matter of fact I. digesting an elephant            J. exhausting for children K. put myself on his level     L. in the course of my life

Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book about a jungle, called True Stories. It showed a boa constrictor swallowing a wild beast.

In the book it said: "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole,     1    . Afterward they are no longer able to move, and they sleep during the six months of their digestion."

In those days I thought a lot about jungle adventure, and eventually     2     my first drawing, using a colored pencil. My Drawing Number One.

I showed the grown-ups my masterpiece, and I asked them if the drawing scared them.

They answered: " Why be scared by a hat?"

My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor     3    . Then I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could understand. They always     4    .

The grown-ups advised me to put away my drawings of boa constrictors, the inside or the outside, and apply myself     5     to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. That is why, I     6    , at the age of six, a magnificent career as an artist. I had been discouraged by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is     7     to provide explanation over and over again.

So then I had to choose another career, and learned to     8    . I have flown almost everywhere in the world. And     9    , geography has been a big help to me. I can tell China from Arizona at first glance, which is very useful if you get lost during the night.

So I have had,     10    , lots of encounters with lots of serious people. I have spent lots of time with grown-ups. I have seen them at close range… which hasn’t much improved my opinion of them.

Whenever I encountered a grown-up who seemed to me at all enlightened, I would     11     him with my Drawing Number One, which I have always kept. I wanted to see if he really understood anything. But he would always answer, "That is a hat." Then I wouldn’t talk about boa constrictors or jungles or stars. I would     12    . I would talk about bridge and golf and politics and neckties. And the grown-up was glad to know such a reasonable person.

8 . Everybody has heard of Jimmy Carter. As president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, he oversaw a particularly _________ time in American history. Americans taken hostage in the Middle East, major gasoline shortages around the _______, and a poor relationship with a potential enemy – the Soviet Union – are hardly the stuff of pleasant memories.

Yet even though Carter held America’s most powerful office, he will probably be _______ more for the work he has done since he left the White House. His _______ on humanitarian issues around the world sets him apart as a caring, dedicated person who wants to see those of low economic or social status _______ from the great wealth, power, and generosity of this country.

One of the major _______ Carter has focused on throughout his career is peace in the Middle East. He _______ a national energy policy designed to reduce American dependence on foreign oil long before it was popular to do so and negotiated peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. _________, he was among the first to insist publicly on basic human rights for everyone around the world, and he founded a non-profit organization, The Carter Center, to work towards that end. In his opinion, this includes _______ modern health care to developing nations in order to contain disease and improve quality of life around the world.

However, Carter does not focus all his efforts abroad. He works actively to improve the standard of living __________ as well. He and his wife Roslyn are enthusiastic supporters of Habitat for Humanity. This volunteer-based organization devotes itself to building affordable but quality housing for those who ________ might not be able to buy a home. Voluntary workers come together in their own free time to construct, paint, and landscape simple homes, working side-by-side with the families that will ________ the residences. Habitat does more than build houses; it builds ________.

For all these reasons, Carter deserves respect for dedicating his career to public ________. Everyone can agree with his impressive charity and acknowledge his obvious __________ to all of humanity.

1.

A．powerful

B．tough

C．different

D．unique

2.

A．world

B．country

C．West

D．East

3.

A．remembered

B．criticized

C．well-known

D．admired

4.

A．speech

B．theory

C．record

D．suggestion

5.

A．survive

B．start

C．benefit

D．develop

6.

A．activities

B．policies

C．ideas

D．issues

7.

A．promoted

B．questioned

C．studied

D．rejected

8.

A．Similarly

B．Namely

C．Traditionally

D．Unexpectedly

9.

A．selling

B．continuing

C．extending

D．returning

10.

A．in neighborhood

B．at home

C．on campus

D．in cities

11.

A．instead

B．rather

C．otherwise

D．moreover

12.

A．occupy

B．purchase

C．organize

D．leave

13.

A．confidence

B．communities

C．organizations

D．civilization

14.

A．relationship

B．performance

C．transportation

D．service

15.

A．challenge

B．dream

C．qualification

D．contribution

9 . The term “Iron Man” has many connotations, including references to a song, a comic book icon, even a movie. Yet only one definition of the term truly lives up to its name: the Ironman Triathlon held annually in Hawaii, a picturesque setting for a challenging race, which demands amazing physical prowess and the ability to swim, bike, and run a marathon, all in less than 12 hours with no break. Very few individuals are up to the task.

However, Gordon Haller is a notable exception. Growing up in the 1950s, Haller developed an interest in many sports categorized as endurance athletics and welcomed their physical demands. As he pursued a degree in physics he drove a taxi to pay the bills, but competitive training proved his passion. So when he heard about the race in 1978, the first year it was held, he immediately signed up.

The race originated in a somewhat amusing way. The members of the two popular sports clubs, the Mid-Pacific Road Runners of Honolulu and the Waikiki Swim Club of Oahu, had a long-standing and good-natured debate going over who made better athletes: runners or swimmers. However, some local bikes thought both clubs were wrong, claiming that they, in fact, deserved the title. Wanting to settle the dispute once and for all, they decided to combine three separate races already held annually on the island into one massive test of endurance. Thus, the Waikiki Roughwater Swim of 2.4 miles, the Around-Oahu Bike race of 112 miles, and the Honolulu Marathon of 26.2 miles were all put together to form the Ironman Triathlon.

Haller was one of only fifteen competitors to show up that February morning to start the race. He quickly scanned the few pages of rules and instructions, and on the last page he discovered a sentence that would become the race’s famous slogan: “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!” Haller took that to heart, and at the end of the day, he became the first Ironman champion in history. ____

In the approximately thirty years since that very first race, the Ironman has become a tradition in Hawaii and now boasts approximately 1500 entrants every year. The competitors who complete the race don’t have to be the first across the finish line to claim success: just finishing is a victory onto itself.

1. The “Iron Man” in the passage above refers to ________.

A．a folk song	B．a theatre movie
C．a book icon	D．a sport event

2. What do we know about Gordon Haller from the passage?

A．He had a great interest in all kinds of sports.

B．He was a member of the Waikiki Swim Club of Oahu.

C．He became a taxi driver after he graduated from school.

D．He was a champion in the first Ironman Triathlon.

3. What does the underlined word “prowess” in the first paragraph mean?

A．muscles

B．skills

C．balance

D．reaction

4. Which of the following statements can be added to the end of paragraph 4 to effectively emphasize Haller’s achievement?

A．Twelve other people also finished the race that day.

B．No women raced this year, but that was soon to change.

C．There were points in the race when Haller thought he couldn’t possibly finish.

D．Haller’s physical strength enabled him to do what no one else in the past had accomplished.

5. What does the last paragraph of the passage try to tell us?

A．The level of interest the race attracts in the present day.

B．The way the current race is different from the race that Haller ran in 1978.

C．How the victors respond when they cross the finish line.

D．Why 1500 people would be willing to compete in such a difficult race.

10 . Think about a remote control. Something so simple in function is seemingly capable of invisible magic to most of us. Only those with an engineering and electronics background probably have any real idea of why a remote control works. The rest of us just assume it should. And the longer a given technology exists, the more we take it for granted.

Consider for a moment a split screen showing modern remote control users versus the first remote control users: the original users would be carefully aiming the remote directly at the television, reading the names of the buttons to find the right one, and intentionally pressing the button with a force that adds nothing to the effectiveness of the device. The modern users would be leaning on a sofa, pointing the remote any which way, and instinctively feeling for the button they desired, intuiting (凭直觉知道) its size, shape, and position on the remote.

Humans are known for being handy with tools, so it is no surprise that we get so comfortable with our technology. However, as we become increasingly comfortable with how to use new technologies, we become less aware of how they work. Most people who use modern technology know nothing of its underlying science. They have spent neither mental nor financial resources on its development. And yet, rather than be humbled by its originality, we consumers often become unfairly demanding of what our technology should do for us.

Many of the landmark inventions of the twentieth century followed predictable tracks: initial versions of each technology (television, video games, computers, cell phones, etc.) succeeded in impressing the general public. Then, these wonderful new inventions quickly became commonplace. Soon, the focus of consumer attitudes towards them changed from gratitude with respect to discriminating preference.

Televisions needed to be bigger and have a higher resolution. Video games needed to be more realistic. Computers needed to be more powerful yet smaller in size. Cell phones needed to be smaller yet capable of performing other tasks such as taking pictures, accessing the Internet, and even playing movies.

For children of the last twenty years born into this modern life, these technological marvels seem like elements of the periodic table: a given ingredient that is simply part of the universe. Younger generations don’t even try to imagine life without modern conveniences. They do not appreciate the unprecedented (史无前例的) technology that is in their possession; rather, they complain about the ways in which it fails to live up to ideal expectations. “My digital video recorder at home doesn’t allow me to program it from my computer at work.” “It’s taking too long for this interactive map to display on my portable GPS”.

If it sounds as though we’re never satisfied, we aren’t. Of course, our complaints do actually motivate engineers to continually refine their products. After all, at the root of our tool-making instinct is the notion that “there must be a better way.” Thus, the shortcomings of any current version of technology are pinned on the limitations of its designers, and the expectation is that someone, somewhere is working on how to make the existing product even better.

1. The second paragraph is used to illustrate the idea that ________.

A．modern humans do not pay enough attention to instructions

B．remote controls have become far more effective over the years

C．consumer behavior toward new forms of technology changes over time

D．the first consumers of new technology used new devices with ease and comfort

2. The passage states that original users of remote controls likely did all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A．aim the remote directly at the television	B．feel instinctively for the desired button
C．read the names of the buttons carefully	D．use more strength pressing the button than is necessary

3. One form of consumer behavior the author describes is a discriminating preference for ________.

A．less realistic video games	B．wanting to make sacrifices
C．more powerful computers	D．needing to understand technology

4. The author uses the underlined statement in paragraph 6 most nearly to mean that ________.

A．space exploration gives us most of our technology

B．children learn technology while they learn chemistry

C．consumers complain when modern conveniences break down

D．consumers regard many technological inventions as unremarkable

5. The principal tone of the passage can best be described as ________.

A．critical

B．sympathetic

C．frightened

D．satisfied