单选题This reminds me of {{U}}lots of{{/U}} things. A. much B. some C. big D. many

单选题Mint. com has benefited from a cultural shift as well as a tectmological one. During the free-spending housing bubble, a Web site that encouraged people to manage spending, comparison, shop, and save was definitely out of step with the prevailing mood. But once the financial and housing markets tanked and the nation" went into recession, the zeitgeist (时代精神) shifted. Shrinking top lines have caused people to focus on the bottom line, and the savings rate has spiked. Third homes and luxury goods are out; coupons (优惠券) and growing your own vegetables are in. Saving is the new borrowing. Thus considered, Mint. corn, which launched in September 2007, timed the market perfectly. It hit the Web at a time when more Americans suddenly had the time, inclination, and motivation to manage their financial affairs more prudently. And it gave them a way to do it without having to spend a dime. What is the main reason that mint. com is successful?A. it offers free service.B. It came into the market at a perfect time.C. It meets people's expectations of websites.D. It catered to people's interest in planting vegetables.

单选题Mother Nature Shows Her Strength Tornadoes (龙卷风) and heavy thunderstorms moved across the Great Lakes and into Trumbull County on Saturday evening. The storms were dramatic and dangerous. George Snyder was driving the fire truck down Route 88 when he first noticed that a funnel (漏斗状的) cloud was behind him. "I stopped the truck and watched the funnel cloud. It was about 100 feet off the ground and I saw it go up and down for a while. It was moving toward Bradley Road and then suddenly it disappeared," Snyder said. Snyder only saw one of the funnel clouds that passed through northeastern Ohio on Saturday. In Trumbull County, a tornado turned trees onto their sides. Some trees fell onto houses and cars. Other trees fell into telephone and electrical wires as they went down. Amanda Symcheck was having a party when the storm began. "I knew something was wrong," she said. "I saw the sky go green and pink (粉红色). Then it sounded like a train rushing toward the house. I started crying and told everyone to go to the basement for protection. " The tornado caused a lot of damage to cars and houses in the area. It will take a long time and much money to repair everything. There was also serious water damage from the thunderstorms. The heavy rains and high wind caused the power to go out in many homes. The storms caused serious flooding in areas near the river. More than four inches of rain fell in parts of Trumbull County. The river was so high that the water ran into streets and houses. Many streets had to be closed to cars and trucks because of the high water. This made it difficult for fire trucks, police cars, and other rescue vehicles to help people who were in trouble. Many people who live near the river had to leave their homes for their own safety. Some people reported five feet of water in their homes, Local and state officials opened emergency shelters for the people who were evacuated (撤走), The Red Cross served meals to them. "This was a really intense storm," said Snyder. "People were afraid. Mother Nature can be fierce. We were lucky this time. No one was killed. /

单选题阅读下面的短文，文中有15处空白，每处空白给出了4个选项，请根据短文的内容从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案。 {{B}}An Intelligent Car{{/B}} Driving needs sharp eyes, keen ears, quick brain, and coordination between hands and the brain. Many human drivers have all{{U}} (51) {{/U}}and can control a fast-moving car. But how does an intelligent car control itself? There is a virtual driver in the smart car. This virtual driver has "eyes", "brains", "hands" and "feet", too. The minicameras {{U}}(52) {{/U}} each side of the car are his "eyes", which observe the road conditions ahead of it. They watch the{{U}} (53) {{/U}}to the car's left and right. There is also a highly{{U}} (54) {{/U}}driving system in the car. It is the built-in computer, which is the virtual driver's "brain". His "brain" calculates the speeds of{{U}} (55) {{/U}}moving cars near it and analyzes their positions. Basing on this information, it chooses the right {{U}}(56) {{/U}}for the intelligent car, and gives{{U}} (57) {{/U}}to the "hands" and "feet" to act accordingly. In this way, the virtual driver controls his car. What is the virtual driver's best advantage? He reacts {{U}}(58) {{/U}}. The minicameras are {{U}}(59) {{/U}} images continuously to the "brain." It {{U}}(60) {{/U}} the processing of the images within 100 milliseconds. However, the world's best driver {{U}}(61) {{/U}} needs one second to react. {{U}}(62) {{/U}}, when he takes action, he needs one more second. The virtual driver is really wonderful. He can reduce the accident {{U}}(63) {{/U}} considerably on expressways. In this case, can we let him have the wheel at any time and in any place? Experts {{U}}(64) {{/U}} that we cannot do that just yet. His ability to recognize things is still {{U}}(65) {{/U}} He can now only drive an intelligent car on expressways.

单选题At present about 10% of American citizens possess a microcomputer.

单选题Some professional footballers Uearn/U more in a month than many of us do in many years.

单选题A peculiarly pointed chin is his most memorable facial characteristic.A. markB. featureC. traceD. appearance

单选题The expert used a picture to give out the illusation.A. lessonB. explanationC. practiceD. show

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} Pushbike Peril Low speed bicycle crashes can badly injure or even kill children if they fall onto the ends of the handlebars(车把) so a team of engineers is redesigning the humble handlebar in a bid to make it safer. Kristy Arbogast, a bioengineer at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, began the project with her colleagues after a study of serious abdominal(腹部的) injuries in children in the past 30 years showed that more than a third were caused by bicycle accidents. "The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with some countermeasures(对策)." she says. By interviewing the children and their parents, Arbogast and her team were able to reconstruct(重建；重构) many of the accidents and identified a common mechanism responsible for serious injures. They discovered that most occur when children hit an obstacle at a slow speed, causing them to topple over. To maintain their balance they turn the handlebars through 90 degrees, but their momentum (冲力) forces them into the end of the handlebars. The bike then falls over and the other end of the handlebars hits the ground, ramming it into their abdomen. The solution the group came up with is a handgrip(握柄) fitted with a spring and damping(制动的；减速的，缓冲的) system. The spring absorbs up to 50 per cent of the forces transmitted through the handlebars in an impact. The group hopes to commercialize(使商品化) the device, which should add only a few dollars to the cost of a bike. "But our task has been one of education because up until now, bicycle manufacturer were unaware of the problem. " says Arbogast. The team has also approached the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to try to persuade manufacturers to adopt the new design. A decision is expected later this year.

单选题{{B}}第二篇{{/B}} Explorer of the Extreme Deep Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. Yet, just a small fraction of the underwater world has been explored. Now, Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts are building an underwater vehicle hat will carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters (21,320 feet). The new machine, known as a manned submersible or human-operated vehicle (HOV), will replace another one named Alvin which has an amazing record of discovery, playing a key role in various important and famous undersea expeditions. Alvin has been operating for 40 years but can go down only 4,500 meters (14,784 feet). It's about time for an upgrade ,WHOI researchers say. Alvin was launched in 1964. Since then, Alvin has worked between 200 and 250 days a year, says Daniel Fornari, a marine geologist and director Of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at WHOI. During its lifetime, Alvin has carried some 12,000 people on a total of more than 3,000 dives. A newer, better versions of Alvin is bound to reveal even more surprises about a world that is still full of mysteries, Fornari says. It might also make the job of exploration a little easier. "We take so much for granted on land. " Fomari says. "We can walk around and see with our eyes how big things are. We can see colors, special arrangements. " Size-wise, the new HOV will be similar to Alvin. It'll be about 37 feet long. The setting area inside will be a small sphere, about 8 feet wide, like Alvin. It'll carry a pilot and two passengers. It will be just as maneuverable. In most other ways, it will give passengers more opportunities to enjoy the view, for one thing. Alvin has only three windows, the new vehicle will have five, with more overlap so that the passengers and the pilot can see the same thing. Alvin can go up and down at a rate of 30 meters every second, and its maximum speed is 2 knots (about 2.3 miles per hour), while the new vehicle will be able to ascend and descend at 44 meters per second. It'll reach speeds of 3 knots, or 3.5 miles per hour.

单选题The leader"s corruption undermined the image of the company.

单选题The Book of Life So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species (特种), and that's just a small part of what probably exists on Earth. With so many plants, animals, and other creatures covering the planet, it can be tough to figure out what type of spider is moving up your leg or what kind of bird is flying by. A soon-to-be-launched Web site might help. An international team of researchers has announced the creation of a Web-based Encyclopedia (百科全书) of Life (EoL). The project aims to catalog every species on Earth in a single, easy-to-use reference guide. To get the encyclopedia started, the creators will use information from scientific databases (数据库) that already exist. And eventually, in special sections of the site, non-scientists with specialized (专门的) knowledge will get to join in. Bird-watchers, for example, will be able to input which birds they've seen and where. The technology for this kind of tool has only recently become available. As the EoL develops, you might find it useful for school projects. The site will feature special pa ges for kids who are studying ecosystems (生态系统) in their neighborhoods. To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate, scientists will review much of the information added to it. People who visit the site will be able to choose to leave out pages that haven't been reviewed. Another convenient feature of the EoL is that you'll be able to pick the level of detail you see to match your interests, age, and current knowledge. If you wanted to learn about bears for a science class report, for example, you could use the "novice " setting to get basic information about the animals. On the "expert" setting, on the other hand, you could get much more detailed information about the history, literature, and exploration of bears. It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species. The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process.

单选题The indecisive man was readily persuaded to change his mind again.

单选题A．notably short man, he plays basketball with his staff several times a week. A．practically B．considerably C．remarkably D．fairly

单选题Magaplane (巨型飞机) The Boeing Corp. and Europe's Airbus consortium (财团) are preparing to offer bigger airplanes to the world's airlines. Now that talks on a joint project have broken down, Boeing is pushing a stretched (拓展的) version of 747, and Airbus is designing an all-new aircraft, known as the A3XX. Seating 550 passengers in the basic model, and 650 in a stretched version, the 1.2 million pound A3XX will not only be the largest airplane in the world, but it will also be one of the most advanced. The outer wings and the horizontal stabilizer (as big as a smaller jet's wing) will be made of carbon-fiber composite materials, and will be the largest such structures on any aircraft except the B-2 stealth bomber (隐形轰炸机). Metal skins will be welded (焊接) together with lasers, removing thousands of fasteners. When a strong wind strikes the A3XX's 260-foot wing, movable control surfaces will prevent it from flexing (扭曲) like a giant spring. This will make the ride smoother and will save weight by reducing the load on the wing spars (翼梁). A flexible-skinned flap (副翼) will subtly change the wing's curvature (曲面) to match the airplane's changing weight as it burns fuel on each journey. The A3XX will carry up to 1,600 meals, filling more than 100 food and beverage (饮料) carts. To make more room for passengers, Airbus plans to put the carts in the lower hold; automatic conveyors and elevators will deliver them to the two passenger decks. Airlines have asked Airbus to look at extra features ranging from lower-deck sleeper cabins to a children's playroom.

单选题It is reasonable to accept his plan.A. usefulB. sensibleC. practicalD. feasible

单选题Her faith upheld her in times of sadness.

单选题Shopping habits in the United States have changed greatly in the last quarter of the 20th century. As early as in the 1900s most American towns and cities had a Main Street. Main Street was always in the heart of a town. This street was (51) on both sides with many varied businesses. Here, shoppers walked into stores to look at all sorts of merchandise: clothing, furniture, hardware, groceries. (52) , some shops offered service. These shops included drugstores, restaurants, shoe repair stores, and barber or hairdressing shops. (53) in the 1950s, a change began to take place. Too many automobiles had crowded into Main Street (54) too few parking places were (55) shoppers. Because the streets were crowded, merchants began to look with interest at the open spaces (56) the city limits. Open space is what their car driving customers needed. And open space is what they got (57) the first shopping centre was built. Shopping centres, or rather malls, (58) as a collection of small new stores (59) crowded city centres. (60) by hundreds of free parking space, customers were drawn away from (61) areas to outlying malls. And the growing (62) of shopping centres led (63) to the building of bigger and better stocked stores. (64) the late 1970s, many shopping malls had almost developed into small cities themselves. In addition to providing the convenience of one stop shopping, malls were transformed into landscaped parks, (65) benches, fountains, and outdoor entertainment.

单选题Because of Oden's uniqueness, he is always performing in the spotlight and subject to public Uscrutiny/U.

单选题You should cultivate the habit of reading carefully.