填空题Why Do People Shrink? Did you ever see the movie Honey, I shrunk the kids? It's about a wacky(乖僻的) dad (who's also a scientist) who accidentally(偶然的) shrinks his kids with his homemade miniaturizing(使小型化) invention. Oops ! The kids spend the rest of the movie as tiny people who are barely visible while trying to get back to their normal size. (46) It takes place over years and may add up to only one inch or so off of their adult height (maybe a little more, maybe less), and this kind of shrinking can't be magically reversed, although there are things that can be done to stop it or slow it down. But why does shrinking happen at all? (47) . As people get older, they generally lose some muscle and fat from their bodies as part of the natural aging process. Gravity (the force that keeps your feet on the ground) take hold, and the bones in the spine, called vertebrae(椎骨), may break down or degenerate, and start to collapse into one another. (48) . But perhaps the most common reason why some older people shrink is because of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis(骨质疏松症) occurs when too much spongy(海绵) bone tissue (which is found inside of most bones) is broken down and not enough new bone material is made. (49) . Bones become smaller and weaker and can easily break if someone with osteoporosis is injured. Older people -- especially women, who generally have smaller and lighter bones to begin with -- are more likely to develop osteoporosis. As years go by, a person with osteoporosis shrinks a little bit. Did you know that every day you do a shrinking act? You aren't as tall at the end of the day as you are at the beginning. (50) . Don't worry, though. Once you get a good night's rest, your body recovers, and the next morning, you're standing tall again. A. They end up pressing closer together, which makes a person lose a little height and become shorter. B. That's because as the day goes on, water in the disks of the spine gets compressed (squeezed) due to gravity, making you just a tiny bit shorter. C. Over time, bone is said to be lost because it's not being replaced. D. Luckily, there are things that people can do to prevent shrinking. E. For older people, shrinking isn't that dramatic or sudden at all. F. There are a few reasons.

填空题 阅读下面这篇短文，短文后有2项测试任务：(1)1～4题要求从所给的6个选项中为第 2～5段每段选择1个正确的小标题；(2)第5～8题要求从所给的6个选项中选择4个正确的选项，分别完成每个句子。请将答案写在相应的位置上。 {{B}}The Mir Space Station{{/B}} The Russian 'Mir Space Station, which came down in 2001 at last after 15 years of pioneering the concept of long-term human space flight, is remembered for its accomplishments in the human space flight history. It can be credited with many firsts in space. During Mir's lifetime, Russia spent about USS 4.2 billion to build and maintain the station. The Soviet Union launched Mir, which was designed to last from three to five years, on February 20, 1986, and housed 104 astronauts over 12 years and seven months, most of whorh were not Russian. In fact, it became the first international space station by playing host to 62 people from 11 countries. From 1995 through 1998, seven astronauts from the United States took turns living on Mir for up to six months each. They were among the 37 Americans who visited the station during nine stopovers by space shuttles. The more than 400 million the United States provided Russian for the visits not only kept Mir operating, but also gave the Americans and their partners in the international station project valuable experience in long-term flight and multinational operations. A debate continues over Mir's contributions to science. During its existence, Mir was the laboratory for 23,000 experiments and carded scientific equipment, estimated to be worth $ 80 million, from many nations. Experiments on Mir are credited with a range of findings, from the first solid measurement of the ration of heavy helium atoms in space to how to grow wheat in space. But for those favoring human space exploration, Mir showed that people could live and work in spacelong enough for a trip to Mars. The longest single stay in space is the 437.7 days that Russian astronaut Valery Polyakov spent on Mir from 1994 to 1995. And Sergie Avdeyev accumulated 747.6 days in space in three trips to the space station. The longest American stay was that of Shannon Lucid, who spent 188 days aboard Mir in 1996. Despite the many firsts Mir accomplished, 1997 was a bad year out of 15 for Mir. In 1997, an oxygen generator caught fire. Later, the main computer system broke down, causing the station to drift several times and there were power failures. Most of these problems were repaired, with American help and suppliers, but Mir's reputation as a space station was mined. Mir's setbacks are nothing, though, when we compare them with its accomplishments. Mir was a tremendous success, which will be remembered as a milestone in space exploration and the space station that showed long4erm human habitation in space was possible. But it's time to move on to the next generation. The International Space Station being built will be better, but it owes a great debt to Mir.

填空题A. detect nearby objectsB. determine the depth of the ocean waterC. decide how fast you driveD. stop passing shipsE. map the ocean floorF. observe water flow

填空题 阅读下面这篇短文，短文后有2项测试任务；(1)第23～26题要求．从所给的6个选项中为第2～5段每段选择1个正确的小标题；(2)第27～30题要求从所给的6个选项中选择4个正确选项，分别完成每个句子。 {{B}} Some Knowledge in Physics{{/B}}1．The sun is the source of most of heat known to us. As a direct source of heat, the sun maintains life upon this planet, 150,000,000 kilometers distant. It is also an indirect source of heat. Since the earth is derived from the sun, it is to the latter that we must trace some of the earth's internal heat that reveals itself through volcanoes, geysers (喷泉),and hot springs.2．An insect is not afraid of gravity, but it is in deadly fear of another force of nature. This force is called surface tension (张力). A man coming out of a bath carries with him a film of water a bout one fiftieth of an inch in thickness. This weighs about a pound. A wet mouse has to carry its own weight in water. A wet fly has to lift many times its own weight, and, as everyone knows, a fly once wetted by water or any other liquid is in a very serious position indeed. An insect going for a drink is in as great danger as a man leaning over the edge of a cliff in search of food. If it once falls into the grip of the surface tension of the water--that is to say, gets wet--it is likely to remain so until it drowns. A few insects contrive to be unwettable; the majority keep away from their drink by means of long proboscis (喙).3．When the temperature of a liquid is raised enough, the liquid boils. This means that bubbles of vapor, containing millions of molecules form below the surface. In order for such bubbles to be produced, the pressure of the vapor inside them must be equal to the pressure of the air upon the surface of the liquid. If the air pressure is greater, the bubble will collapse. The boiling point of a liquid, then, is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the atmospheric pressure upon the liquid at the surface.4．Solids also expand with increase in temperature and contract when cooled. But they do not behave quite so uniformly (相同地) in this respect as liquids and gases do, particularly in the case of wide variations, in temperature. Most solids expand or contract by a definite amount for every degree of the temperature that rises or falls. The amount by which no substance expands and contracts for one degree is not usually the same as that for a different substance. Thus, for a given rise in temperature, a piece of brass expands a little more than a piece of copper and much more than a piece of steel of the same size.5．Electric trains have many advantages over those drawn by steam engines. There is no smoke to soil the passengers' clothes and the cushions in the train. Because they carry on heavy loads of coal and water, these trains can start and stop with less waste of power. In a station they are silent: there's no steam to produce noise to deafen the passengers.

填空题I"ll Be Bach 1 Composer David Cope is the inventor of a computer program that writes original works of classical music. It took Cope 30 years to develop the software. Now most people can"t tell the difference between music by the famous German composer J.S. Bach (1685-1750) and the Bach-like compositions from Cope"s computer. 2 It all started in 1980 in the United States, when Cope was trying to write an opera. He was having trouble thinking of new melodies, so he wrote a computer program to create the melodies. At first this music was not easy to listen to. What did Cope do? He began to rethink how human beings compose music. He realized that composers" brains work like big databases. First, they take in all the music that they have ever heard. Then they take out the music that they dislike. Finally, they make new music from what is left. According to Cope, only the great composers are able to create the database accurately, remember it, and form new musical patterns from it. 3 Cope built a huge database of existing music. He began with hundreds of works by Bach. The software analyzed the data: it broke it down into smaller pieces and looked for patterns. It then combined the pieces into new patterns. Before long, the program could compose short Bach-like works. They weren"t good, but it was a start. 4 Cope knew he had more work to do—he had a whole opera to write. He continued to improve the software. Soon it could analyze more complex music. He also added many other composers, including his own work, to the database. 5 A few years later, Cope"s computer program, called "Emmy", was ready to help him with his opera, The process required a lot of collaboration between the composer and Emmy. Cope listened to the computer"s musical ideas and used the ones that he liked. With Emmy, the opera took only two weeks to finish. It was called Cradle Falling, and it was a great success! Cope received some of the best reviews of his career, but no one knew exactly how he had composed the work. 6 Since that first opera, Emmy has written thousands of compositions. Cope still gives Emmy feedback on what he likes and doesn"t like of her music, but she is doing most of the hard work of composing these days!

填空题Female Bullfighting It was a unique, eye-catching sight: an attractive woman in a shiny bullfighter's suit, sword in hand, facing the sharp horns of a black, 500-kilogram beast. Most people thought the days of female bullfighting were over in Spain. (46) . The first woman fighter, Cristina Sanchez, quit in 1999 because of male discrimination (歧视). But Vega is determined to break into what could be Spain's most resistant male field. (47) . Spanish women have conquered almost all male professions. (48) "The bull does not ask for your identity card," she said in an interview a few years ago. She insisted that she be judged for her skills rather than her femaleness. Vega became a matador (斗牛士) in 1997 in the southwestern city of Caceres. (49) She entered a bullfighting school in Malaga at age nine and performed her first major bullfight at age 14. She has faced as much opposition as Sanchez did. And the "difficulties have made her grow into a very strong bullfighter," her brother Jorge says. The 1.68-metre tall and somewhat shy Vega says her love of bullfighting does not make her any less of a woman. (50) .A She intends to become even better than Sanchez was.B Her father was an aspiring (有雄心壮志的) bullfighter.C But many bullfighting professionals continue to insist that women do not have what it takes to perform the country's "national show".D "I'm a woman from head to toe and proud of it," she once said.E She looks like a male bullfighter.F But recently, 29-year-old Mari Paz Vega became the second woman in Spanish history to fight against those heavy animals.

填空题When people are not allowed to dream during sleep, they become _____.

填空题The iPad 1. The iPad is a tablet computer (平板电脑) designed and developed by Apple. It is particularly marketed as a platform for audio and visual media such as books, periodicals (期刊), movies, music, and games, as well as web content. At about 1.5 pounds (680 grams), its size and weight are between those of most contemporary smartphones and laptop computers. Apple released the iPad in April 2010, and sold 3 million of the devices in 80 days. 2. The iPad runs the same operating system as iPod Touch and iPhone. It can run its own applications as well as ones developed for iPhone. Without modification, it will only run programs approved by Apple and distributed via its online store. 3. Like iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad is controlled by a multitouch display—a break from most previous tablet computers, which uses a pressure-triggered stylus (触控笔). The iPad uses a Wi-Fi data connection to browse (浏览) the Internet, load and stream media, and install software. Some models also have a 3G wireless data connection which can connect to GSM 3G data networks. The device is managed and synchronized (同步) by iTunes on a personal computer via USB cable. 4. An iPad has different features and applications one can use to execute different and interesting things. There are lots of iPad applications that the owner can use to enhance the way they communicate. Some of these are how to use social networking sites and other online options. One of the most common uses is for e-mail services, iPad applications like Markdown Mail allow the adoption of specific and particular options. They enable the owner to personalize their email accounts. 5. While the iPad is mostly used by consumers it also has been taken up by business users. Some companies are adopting iPads in their business offices by distributing or making available iPads to employees. Examples of uses in the workplace include lawyers responding to clients, medical professionals accessing health records during patient exams, and managers approving employee requests. A survey by Frost and Sullivan shows that iPad usage in workplaces is linked to the goals of increased employee productivity, reduced paperwork, and increased revenue.

填空题 下面的短文后有2项测试任务：(1)第23～26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第3～6段每段选择1个最佳标题：(2)第27～30题要求从所给的6个选项中为每个句子确定1个最佳选项。 Face Masks May not Protect from Super-flu If a super-flu strikes, face masks may not protect you. Whether widespread use of masks will help, or harm, during the next worldwide flu outbreak is a question that researchers are studying furiously. No results have come from their mask research yet. However, the government says people should consider wearing them in certain situations anyway, just in case. But it's a question the public keeps asking while the government are making preparations for the next flu pandemic. So the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came up with preliminary guidelines. "We don't want people wearing them everywhere, " said the CDC. "The overall recommendation really is to avoid exposure. " When that's not possible, the guidelines say to consider wearing a simple surgical mask if you are in one of the three following situations. First, you're healthy and can't avoid going to a crowded place. Second, you're sick and think you may have close contract with the healthy, such as a family member checking on you. Third, you live with someone who's sick and thus might be in the early stages of infection, but still need to go out. Influenza (流行性感冒) pandemics (全国流行的) can strike (打击) when the easy-to-mutate flu virus shifts to a strain that people never have experience D. Scientists cannot predict when the next pandemic will arrive, although concern is rising that the Asian bird flu might trigger one if it starts spreading easily from person to person. During the flu pandemic, you should protect yourself. Avoid crowds, and avoid close contract with the sick unless you must care for someone. Why can't mask added to this self-protection list? Because they help trap virus-laden droplets flying through the air with a cough or sneeze (打喷嚏). Simple surgical masks only filter the larger droplets (小滴). Besides, the CDC is afraid? masks may create a false sense of security. Perhaps someone who should have stayed home would don an ill-fitting (不合的) mask and hop on the subway instead. Nor does flu only spread through the air. Say someone covers a sneeze with his or her hand, then touches a doorknob or subway pole. If you touch that spot next and then put germy hands on your nose or mouth, you've been exposed. It's harder to rub your nose while wearing a mask and so your face may get pretty sweaty under masks. You reach under to wipe that sweat, and may transfer germs caught on the outside of the mask straight to the nose. These are the problems face masks may create for their users. Whether people should or should not use face masks still remains a question. The general public has to wait patiently for the results of the mask research scientists are still doing. A. Reasons for Excluding Masks from the Self-protection List B. Effort to Stop Flu Spreading C. When to Use Face Masks D. Guidelines on Mask Use E. Warnings from the CDC F. Danger of Infection through Germy Hands and Masks

填空题The Value of Motherhood In shopping malls, the assistants try to push you into buying "a gift to thank her for her unselfish love". When you log onto website, a small pop-up invites you to book a bouquet for her. Commercial warmth and gratitude are the atmosphere being spread around for this special Sunday in May. 1 The popularity of Mother"s Day around the world suggests that Jarvis got all she wanted. In fact, she got more--enough to make her horrified. 2 They buy, among other things, 132 million cards. Mother"s Day is the No. 1 holiday for flower purchases. Then there are the various commodities, ranging from jewelry and clothes to cosmetics and washing powder, that take advantage of the promotion opportunities. Because of this, Jarvis spent the last 40 years of her life trying to stop Mother"s Day. One protest against the commercialization Mother"s Day even got her arrested—for disturbing the peace, interestingly. 3 As Ralph Fevre, a reporter at the UK newspaper "The Guardian", observes, traditionally "motherhood is something that we do because we think it"s right." But in the logic of commercialism, people need something in exchange for their time and energy. A career serves this purpose better. 4 So they work hard and play hard. Becoming a mother, however, inevitably handicaps career anticipation. 5 According to "The Guardian" , there are twice as many child-free young women as there were a generation ago. Or, they put off the responsibility of parenting until later in their lives. So, Fevre writes that the meaning of celebrating Mother"s Day needs to be updated: "It is to persuade people that parenting is a good idea and to honor people for their attempt to be good people. " A. Commercial warmth and gratitude are the atmosphere being spread as early as 1905, by Anna Jarvis, as a way of recognizing the real value of motherhood. B. But what"s more, commercialism changes young people"s attitude towards motherhood. C. Obviously, the best girl will be a phone call or a visit. D. According to a research by the US card company Hallmark, 96 percent of American consumers celebrate the holiday. E. As a result, motherhood has suffered a huge drop in status since the 1950s. F. In addition, women are being encouraged to pursue any career they desire.

填空题A will be constant B to absorb infrared radiation C is becoming the potential problem D prepare ourselves to be chemists, physicist E increasing capacity of the atmosphere to absorb infrared radiation F escape from the earth much more easily

填空题Today, Extreme Free Diving sinks to depths approaching 400 feet, sing weights to help them descend vertically into the big blue depths of cold and darkness that surround the earth. ______ Extreme Free Diving is truly a breathtaking sport. One day adding the word" Deeper" to the Olympic motto of" Swifter, Higher, Stronger" looks like a sure bet. The legendary Yorgos Haggi Statti would wipe water from his eyes, smile, and nod in approval.A. Free divers like Italian Umberto Pelizzari and Cuban Pipin Ferreras frequently break world records by diving without the use of wet suits, fins, or oxygen tanks.B. Extreme Free Diving has become very competitive and is exploding in popularity with "extreme" divers wherever athletes live near a sea.C. If accepted into the Olympics, EFD could make the Olympics' organizers think about adding a new Latin term into the motto that we could translate as "Deeper,"D. Most of us think of deep water diving as the use of snorkels (通气管), masks, and fins to help us dive down beneath the surface of the water.E. Scuba (水中呼吸器) divers wear wet suits made out of material to protect against the cold; they need oxygen and other equipment that enable them to safely breathe while traveling deep beneath the surface of the sea.F. But is it the ultimate underwater extreme sport for those who like to live on the edge?

填空题Geology and Health 1. The importance of particular metals in the human diet has been realized within the past few decades, and the idea that geology might be related to health has been recognized for a number of elements such as iodine, zinc and selenium. For example, soils with low iodine contents produce crops, and animals deficient in iodine. A lack of iodine in the human diet leads to some serious diseases. 2. The ultimate source of metals within the human body is rocks, which weather into soil, gaining or losing some of their chemical constituents. The crops we eat selectively remove from the soil the elements that they require for growth. The water we drink contains trace elements leached from rock and soil. Thus the geology and geochemistry of the environments have effects on the chemistry and health of plants, animals and people. 3. So far there is no data to suggest that people living on metal-rich soils experience a potential health hazard. The levels of metals within naturally contaminated soils are generally not high enough to cause serious health problems. Living on metal-rich soils does not represent a health risk unless large quantities of soil are digested or metal-rich dust is inhaled. However, small children are particularly exposed to metal-rich topsoil in playgrounds and gardens. They are also the most likely ones to eat potentially dangerous metal-rich soil. 4. Heavy metals are persistent: they do not break down to other chemicals in the environment. Industrially polluted sites usually undergo intensive clean-up and rehabilitation because heavy metals are a health concern once they enter the food chain. Some trace metals are alleged to cause cancer and are also known to cause poisoning. 5. In contrast, naturally contaminated soils have not been subject to risk assessment studies and re- habilitation measures, despite the fact that they frequently possess metal concentrations well above those of such polluted by humans and above environmental quality criteria. 6. There is a vital need to understand the potential risks and long-term health effects of living on naturally contaminated soils. Future environmental investigations of naturally polluted soils should concentrate on the potential pathways of metals into the food chain and human body. Geologists should be part of such studies as they can provide the essential background information on rock and soil chemistry as well as the chemical forms of heavy metal pollution.

填空题 Keeping Cut Flowers 1. While everybody enjoys fresh cut flowers around their house, few people know how to keep them for as long as possible. This may be done by keeping in mind a few simple facts. 2. An important thing to remember about cut flowers is that they are sensitive to temperature. For example, studies have shown that cut carnations(康乃馨) retain their freshness eight times longer when kept at 12℃ than when kept at 26℃. Keeping freshly harvested flowers at the right temperatures is probably the most important aspect of flower care. 3. Flowers are not intended by nature to live very long. Their biological purpose is simply to attract birds or insects, such as bees, for pollination(授粉). After that, they quickly dry up and die. The process by which flowers consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide(二氧化碳), called respiration(呼吸), generates the energy the flower needs to give the flower its shape and color. The making of seeds also depends on this energy. While all living things respire, flowers have a high level of respiration. A result of all this respiration is heat, and for flowers the level of heat relative to the mass of the flower is very high. Respiration also brings about the eventual death of the flower. Thus the greater the level of respiration, the sooner the flower dies. 4. How, then, to control the rate at which flowers die? By controlling respiration. How is respiration controlled? By controlling temperature. We know that respiration produces heat, but the reverse is also true. Thus by maintaining low temperatures, respiration is reduced and the cut flower will age more slowly. 5. Another vital factor in keeping cut flowers is the quality of the water in which they are placed. Flowers find it difficult to "drink" water that is dirty or otherwise polluted. Even when water looks and smells clean, it almost certainly contains harmful substances that can endanger the flowers. To rid the water of these unwanted substances, household chlorine bleach(含氯漂白剂) can be used in small quantities. It is recommended that 15 drops of chlorine bleach (at 4% solution) be added to each litre of water. The water and solution should also be replaced each day.

填空题下面的短文有5处空白，短文后有6个句子，其中5个取自短文，请根据短文内容将其分别放回原有位置，以恢复文章原貌。 The Value of Motherhood In shopping malls, the assistants try to push you into buying "a gift to thank her for her unselfish love". When you log onto(登录到])website, a small pop-up(弹出式菜单) invites you to book a bouquet(花束) for her. {{U}}(46) {{/U}} The American version of Mother's Day was thought up as early as 1905, by Anna Jarvis, as a way of recognizing the real value of motherhood. The popularity of Mother's Day around the world suggests that Jarvis got all she wanted. In fact, she got more -- enough to make her horrified. {{U}} (47) {{/U}} They buy, among other things, 132 million cards. Mother's Day is the No. 1 holiday for flower purchases. Then there are the various commodities, ranging from jewelry and clothes to cosmetics and washing powder, that take advantage of the promotion opportunities. Because of this, Jarvis spent the last 40 years of her life trying to stop Mother's Day. One protest against the commercialization(商品化) Mother's Day even got her arrested for disturbing the peace, interestingly. {{U}} (48) {{/U}} As Ralph Fevre, a reporter at the UK newspaper The Guardian, observes, traditionally "motherhood is something that we do because we think it's right. " But in the logic of commercialism, people need something in exchange for their time and energy. A career serves this purpose better. In addition, women are being encouraged to pursue any career they desire. So they work hard and play hard. {{U}}(49) {{/U}} {{U}} (50) {{/U}} According to The Guardian, there are twice as many child-free young women as there were a generation ago. Or, they put off the responsibility of parenting until later in their lives. So, Fevre writes that the meaning of celebrating Mother's Day needs to be updated : "It is to persuade people that parenting is a good idea and to honor people for their attempt to be good people." A. Commercial warmth and gratitude are the atmosphere being spread around for this special Sunday in May. B. But what's more, commercialism changes young people's attitude towards motherhood. C. Obviously, the best girl will be a phone call or a visit. D. According to a research by the US card company Hallmark, 96 percent of American consumers celebrate the holiday. E. As a result, motherhood has suffered a huge drop in status since the 1950s. F. Becoming a mother, however, inevitably handicaps career anticipation.

填空题Teach Your Child Science 1 It is important to make your child interested in science from an early age. Most young children ask a lot of questions and you should give careful scientific answers. Don"t only give facts, but try to give explanations as well. 2 Science is not just knowledge; it is a way of thinking, a method of finding out about the world. We see something. We try to explain it, and we test our idea by setting up an experiment. One day you come home and find the plant on the table has fallen over. You think it might be the wind from the open window or the cat, so you close the window, but leave the cat in and see what happens (You can also try leaving the window open and shutting the cat out). Of course, you remember there may be a third explanation. 3 Ask your child to get a piece of string, some salt, a glass of water and an ice cube (冰块). Tell her to put the ice in the water, and then put one end of the string on the ice, leaving the other end over the side of the glass. Put a little salt on the ice. Wait a minute, and then pull the string; it should be attached to the ice. Ask the child: "What has happened?" 4 Probably she won"t know. Ask her whether fresh water or salt water freezes into ice first. If you live near the sea and have a cold winter, she should know fresh water freezes first as she will have seen that happen. Show her how to test the idea by half-filling two paper cups with water, adding salt to one. Then put them in the icebox and check every three minutes. Write the results in a table. The conclusion will be that salt changes the behaviour of water. Thinking about the string, we see the salt turned some of the ice into water. Then the salt went away into the water and the ice froze again leaving the string attached. 5 Then you can ask, "Will water with salt boil at the same temperature as water without salt?" She can think, tell you her idea and (taking care because of the heat) you can test it in the kitchen.

填空题It is believed that the widespread use of the "grid" will become possible in the next ______.

填空题A Different opinion in Britain B The lie detectors are misleadingly attractive C The recognition of a method D The example of using lie detectors E The principle to find a person's guilt F The problem of using lie detectors

填空题阅读下面这篇短文，短文后有2项测试任务：(1)第23～26题要求从所给的6个选项中为规定段每段选择1个正确的小标题；(2)第27～30题要求从所给的6个选项中选择4个正确选项，分别完成每个句子。 While a personal computer should continue to perform predictably for years, veteran Windows users know all too well that system instability is a fact of life. Yet you can minimize the glitches that you experience with your computer by heeding the tips below.2. If you run Windows 98 or Windows Millennium, your computer should have at least 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM--and more if you find that your hard drive is churning a lot as you work with your applications. You can also get by with 128 MB of RAM if you use Windows NT or Windows 2000, but these operating systems will run much more smoothly if you have 256 MB of RAM or more.3. Beta software, by its very nature, is pre-release software—meaning that it still has significant known bugs (or defects). The same goes, unfortunately, for many shareware programs. The authors of shareware programs, typically, have much less time and fewer resources available for testing their programs. Consequently, it' s far more common to find shareware software that is buggy.4. No-name hardwares may be cheaper and sometimes just as good as name-brand products, but name-brand products usually became well-known because of their reliability. It's also wise to buy products from reputable companies because Windows will more often support the hardware that you purchase. If you are starting out with computers, it's also a good idea to buy ready-made systems from major manufacturers. These are likely to have tested thoroughly with your operating system, and you will generally experience fewer problems.5. No matter how well your system runs when you get it, the day will come when it will need to be replaced. Hopefully, you will replace it because the technology has become outdated, but you may need to replace it also because the hard drive crashes or you begin experiencing problems that no one can figure out. That's why it's important to back up your important files regularly. Whether you use a tape backup device or a CD-RW drive, it's important to map out a regular backup schedule and to stick to it.

填空题Conservation or Wasted Effort? The black robin (旅鸫) is one of the world's rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins there; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. (46) Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin. (47) The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a "reserve", for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be restocked (重新准备) with the robin's food. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in New Zealand. Is all this concern a waste of human effort? (48) Are we losing our sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable? In the earth's long, long past hundreds of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success and died out. In the long, long future there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. (49) This is nature's proven method of operation. The rule of selection—"the survival of the fittest"—is the one by which human beings have themselves arrived on the scene. We, being one of the most adaptable creatures the earth has yet produced, may last longer than most, (50) You may take it as another rule that when, at last, human beings show signs of dying out, no other creature will extend a paw (爪) to postpone our departure. On the contrary, we will be hurried out. Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. I leave you to judge whether we should try to do anything about it.A. Some creatures, certain small animals, insects and birds, will almost certainly outlast (比……长久)man, for they seem even more adaptable.B. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early.C. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has been made.D. Both represent orders in the classification of life.E. Is it any business of ours whether the black robin survives or dies out?F. These are the only black robins left in the worl