{{B}}Reading Section Directions{{/B}}
In this section you will read five passages and answer reading comprehension questions about each passage. Most questions are worth one point, but the last question in each set is worth more than one point. The directions indicate how many points you may receive.
You will have 60 minutes to read all of the passages and answer the questions. Some passages include a word or phrase that is underlined in blue. Click on the word or phrase to see a definition or an explanation.
When you want to move on to the next question, click on Next. You can skip questions and go back to them later as long as there is time remaining. If you want to return to previous questions, click on Back. You can click on Review at any time and the review screen will show you which question you have answered and which you have not. From this review screen, you may go directly to any question you have already seen in the reading section.
When you are ready to continue, click on the Continue icon.
{{B}}Set 1{{/B}}
{{B}} Science Fiction? Not Any More{{/B}}
Science fiction has often been the source of inspiration for new technologies. The exoskeletons and head-mounted displays featured in the film "Aliens", for example, spawned a number of militaryfunded projects to try to create similar technologies. Automatic sliding doors might never have become popular had they not appeared on the television series "Star Trek". And the popularity of flip-top or "clamshell" mobile phones may stem from the desire to look like Captain Kirk flipping open his communicator on the same program.
Now it seems that "Star Trek" has done it again. This month, American soldiers in Iraq will begin trials of a device inspired by the "comm badge" featured in "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Like crew members of the starship Enterprise, soldiers will be able to talk to other members of their unit just by tapping and then speaking into a small badge worn on the chest. What sets the comm badge apart from a mere walkie-talkie, and appeals to "Star Trek" fans, is the system's apparent intelligence. It works out who you are calling from spoken commands, and connects you instantly.
The system, developed by Vocera Communications of Cupertino, California, uses a combination of Wi-Fi wireless networking and Voice-overInternet Protocol (VoIP) technologies to link up the badges via a central server, akin to a switchboard. The badges are already being used in 80 large institutions, most of them hospitals, to replace overhead paging systems, says Brent Lang, Vocera's vice-president.
Like its science-fiction counterpart, the badge is designed so that all functions can be carded out by pressing a single button. On pressing it, the caller gives a command and specifies the name of a person or group of people, such as "call Dr. Smith" or "locate the nearest anesthesiologist". Voice-recognition software interprets the commands and locates the appropriate person or group, based on whichever Wi-Fi base-station they are closest to. The person receiving the call then hears an audible alert stating the name of the caller and, if he or she wishes to take the call, responds by tapping the badge and starting to speak.
That highlights a key difference between the "Star Trek" comm badge and the real-life version: Vocera's implementation allows people to reject incoming calls, rather than having the voice of the caller patched through automatically. But even the most purist fans can forgive Vocera for deviating from the script in this way, says David Batchelor, an astrophysicist and "Star Trek" enthusiast at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. For there are, he notes, some curious aspects to the behavior of the comm badges in "Star Trek".
单选题 According to the passage, through which of the following, new technologies are often the results of the inspirations?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】
单选题 The word inspiration in the passage is closest in meaning to
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】
单选题 It can be inferred from the paragraph 2 which of the following is right?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】
单选题 The word intelligence in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】
单选题 According to paragraph 4, the word it refers to
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】
单选题 Which of the following statements is INCORRECT about the voice badges?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】
单选题 Which of the following is true about the vocera badge is different from the fictional version.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】
单选题 Which of the following features of the Vocera system are not mentioned in the passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】
单选题 Which of the following would be not very likely to use the new communicating technology of the Vocera?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】
单选题 According to the passage, Why is Vocera's system particularly suitable for hospitals?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】
单选题 Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. In particular, the fictional badge seems to be able to predict the future. Where would the sentence best fit?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】