完型填空：

                              ( 1 )

Recently, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph ran a humorous piece on unconvincing tech moments from some top movies.

Telegraph writer Tom Chiver's first example is from the   1   Independence Day, in which a character comes up with a   2   capable of destroying Windows, the computer system the alien spacecraft uses. “It's a good thing they didn't have Norton Antivirus,” Chivers   3  .

It's just one case of a movie that takes a lot of license with its   4  . Another one Chivers mentions is from Star Wars, where   5   beams of light traveling through   6   look very impressive. The problem is that in space there are no air particles (粒子) for the light to reflect off. In reality, they'd be   7  , which wouldn't look so cool on the big screen.

Chiver's second piece of Star Wars nonsense is the   8   the fighters make in the movies: “the bellow (咆哮) of an elephant mixed with a car driving on a wet road”. But sound needs a   9   to travel through, like air. In space, there wouldn't   10   be any sound at all.

Few people would deny that the Matrix films make for great   11  , but for Chivers, the science in the movies is   12  .

He comments “…the film is based on the idea that humans are kept   13   as electricity generator (發(fā)電機). This is not just unlikely – it's fundamentally   14  . They would need more   15   to stay alive than they would produce. …

1. A. case            B. computer                C. technology        D. movie      

2. A. giant            B. virus            C. monster         D. plan  

3. A. jokes          B. criticizes         C. suggests         D. reflects    

4. A. light            B. problem                 C. case            D. science    

5. A. tiny            B. unseen           C. shining           D. travelling  

6. A. space           B. oxygen           C. stones          D. buildings

7. A. huge            B. invisible           C. imaginable        D. impressive       

8. A. light           B. sound             C. mistakes      D. demands  

9. A. vehicle        B. space                   C. virus            D. medium

10. A. visually      B. generally         C. actually          D. necessarily      

11. A. viewing      B. evaluation        C. research         D. nonsense  

12. A. wonderful    B. brilliant              C. magnificent       D. silly  

13. A. working       B. dead              C. alive            D. producing

14. A. inefficient  B. impossible        C. unpopular       D. unimportant

15. A. energy       B. products         C. people           D. generators       

                                 ( 2 )

Soup kitchens in America started around 1929 when the effects of a growing depression (蕭條) began to be felt. The need for soup kitchens was felt even more   1   when the problems in the economy   2   in 1932, and 12 million Americans — about 25 percent of the normal labor force — were out of work.

When soup kitchens first appeared, they were   3   by churches or private charities. The Capuchin Services Center in southeast Detroit, for example,   4   1,500 to 3,000 people a day. That center opened on November 2, 1929. Volunteers of America also were   5   in setting up soup kitchens all over America.

By the mid-1930s, state and federal governments also were operating them.

Soup kitchens served mostly soup and bread. Soup was economical because water could be   6   to serve more people, if   7  .

At the outset of the Depression, Al Capone, the famous criminal from Chicago, established the first soup kitchen. He started it because he wanted to clean up his dirty   8  . Capone's kitchen served three meals a day to   9   that everyone who had lost a job could get a meal.

Every city and town had a soup kitchen. If a   10   person happened to be out in the country, he or she would have to   11   to a nearby community to get a meal. Kitchens would either be run outdoors, in churches, cafeterias, or service centers.

Soup kitchens still   12  , helping homeless people and   13   families across America. Some organizations that had started with kitchens expanded their   14  . For example, Volunteers of America are now   15   with children's daycare as well as family, elder, housing, correctional and emergency services.

                                  ( 3 )

My friends and I had just finished lunch at a hotel when it started to pour heavily. When it became   1  , I decided to brave the drizzle (細雨) to my   2   three streets away.

My friends   3   that I shouldn’t go, mainly because I was seven months pregnant. But I assured them that I’d be very   4  . One of them wanted to come with me but I insisted that she stayed with another friend who needed help with her baby.

I started making my way to the car. At some traffic lights, a van   5   and the passenger got out with a(n)  6  . Before I knew what was happening, he walked right beside me and told me he’d   7   me to my destination. I was very embarrassed and declined, but he was very    8  .

During our walk, he kept telling me to walk more slowly, as the ground was   9  . When we got to the car-park, I thanked him and we parted ways. I did not get his name and may not even   10   him now. Did he   11   stop for me? I’ll never know.

So how did I pay it forward? I was at home when I   12   two Indian construction workers walking to work in the heavy rain. I immediately went out and passed them an umbrella. They were   13   by my gesture, and I told them to keep it. They were very   14   but like me, probably wondered why a stranger was offering such   15  .

1. A. lighter              B. easier            C. slower          D. warmer

2. A. home                     B. office           C. car             D. site

3. A. wondered          B. argued           C. joked           D. remembered 

4. A. quick                     B. brave            C. powerful       D. careful

5. A. passed                    B. stopped         C. crashed         D. disappeared

6. A. umbrella            B. ticket            C. offer            D. ride

7. A. follow               B. accompany      C. invite           D. drive

8. A. strange              B. strong           C. determined      D. delighted

9. A. hard                B. wet             C. rough          D. steep

10. A. recall                 B. like              C. expect         D. recognize

11. A. purposely           B. suddenly         C. carefully        D. naturally

12. A. caught                   B. had              C. heard          D. noticed

13. A. taken aback       B. taken away      C. taken apart       D. taken in 

14. A. upset              B. suspicious       C. grateful         D. shameful

15. A. trouble                   B. kindness         C. words          D. gestures

                                   ( 4 )

Have you ever been in a position where you were required to take music lessons even though you didn’t want to? 

My   1   was this: my father was a professional music teacher and my mother a piano player --- in fact, the whole family was very   2  . I was the only one not yet   3   in the playing of music. 

So, I was required to take   4   lessons even though I had no   5   in learning it. I sat through lesson after lesson but   6   to practice --- I'd rather be outside playing with my friends. Because I   7   practicing, my piano teacher told my parents that I was hopeless.   8   --- no more piano lessons. 

Now, I was   9   from practicing the piano. My parents still desired I learn another instrument, but I wasn’t interested in learning something that was   10   for me. Several years later however, I decided to learn the drums and loved it so much that I played in several bands for many years after that. 

It’s the same with most things in life: if you are not   11   to do something, no matter how much someone else wants you to do it, you won't do it. Or, at the very least, you won’t try hard and will   12   fail. 

This   13   to do what you want is also important in beginning a career, choosing to study or deciding where you want to live. We all make   14   sooner or later but they should not be   15   on us. 

1. A. decision                   B. situation              C. answer                            D. requirement

2. A. musical             B. athletic               C. practical              D. clever

3. A. required                   B. prohibited             C. involved               D. taught  

4. A. music              B. drum                 C. basketball             D. piano

5. A. plan                B. time                  C. interest               D. chance        

6. A. forgot              B. refused               C. pretended             D. continued

7. A. quit                B. enjoyed                C. finished               D. minded

8. A. Interesting                 B. Disappointing          C. Awful                  D. Great

9. A. free                B. different              C. separate                D. depressed

10. A. prepared           B. left                         C. invented               D. chosen

11. A. able               B. careful                      C. ready                   D. smart

12. A. occasionally       B. surely                C. necessarily             D. temporarily 

13. A. desire              B. possibility             C. instruction             D. practice

14. A. improvements   B. contributions           C. mistakes                D. choices

15. A. used               B. focused              C. forced                D. spent  

語法填空：

(1)

    Are space monsters attacking the Sea of Japan? Not exactly. But these huge boneless creatures are unwelcome   16   (visit) from another place. Called Nomura's jellyfish, the pink, soft-bodied giants can weigh up to 210 kilograms — as heavy   17   a male lion — and they're gathering by the millions.

The supersize sea creatures — normally   18   (find) off the coasts of China and North and South Korea —   19   (occasional) drift east into the

Sea of Japan to feed on tiny plants and animals. But now one hundred times the usual number of jellyfish are invading Japanese waters. And local fishermen are feeling as if they are under attack.

The fishermen's nets are getting weighted down, or even broken, by hundreds of jellyfish. The jellies crush and poison valuable fish in the nets, such as salmon(三文魚), which the fishermen rely on   20   (make) a living.

No one knows for sure   21   is causing this jellyfish traffic jam. It's possible   22   oceans heated by global warming are creating the perfect egg-laying environment for jellyfish. Another theory is that overfishing has decreased   23   numbers of some fish,   24   may allow the jellies to search for food without competition. For now, all the fishermen can do is design special nets to try to keep the jellies out. Some of them hope to turn the disaster into cash   25   selling jellyfish snacks.

 (2)

When Englishwoman Jane Goodall went into Tanzania’s jungles in 1960 and returned with news that chimpanzees used tools, destroying the belief that humans were the only species to do so, many people expressed their wounded pride   1   disbelief.

Since then, not only has she been proven correct,   2   scientists have observed other apes, elephants, dolphins and birds using tools.

Now, there is video evidence   3   fish can be added to that list as well.

“Many people think fish don’t do all that much, but   4   you spend enough time you’ll see that   5   do very complex things,” ecology and evolutionary biology professor Giacomo Bernardi said.

Over the years there    6   (are) many research reports claiming that certain fish species use tools, but Bernardi is the first   7   (produce) video evidence. While he was in Palau,   8   island nation near New Zealand, he taped an orange-dotted tuskfish as it dug a shell-fish out of the sand, grabbed it in its mouth, swam to a suitable rock and hit the shell-fish against it   9   the shell cracked.

“The fish is doing a number of   10   (real) complex things,” Bernardi said. “First it removes the sand to take out the shell, and then swims for a long time to find the proper place to break it. The fish is planning the whole action.” 

(說明：本文有意識地只給了3個實詞，其它填功能詞。)

                                     ( 3 )

There’s been a lot going on at Disney. The company   16   (announce) last Tuesday that, 17   about 20 years of negotiations, a Disneyland-style theme park is finally coming to the Chinese mainland. Meanwhile, there’s   18   big move underway, maybe a risky one --- giving its   19   (remarkable) creation, Mickey Mouse, a makeover（轉型）.
    Eighty-one-year-old Mickey is the most familiar Disney character ever. For years, Mickey was best known for his   20   (friendly). And he’s been a character that the Disney Corp. dare not damage. He is   21   symbol of the Disney enterprise,   22   a perfect example of both cultural phenomenon and commercial success. In 2004, Mickey was rated by Forbes   23   the world’s most valuable character,   24   (earn) $5.8 billion (39 billion yuan) a year worldwide. However, in a new video game, Epic Mickey, the old nice, clean character can be ill-tempered and cunning.

"I wanted him to be able to be naughty.   25   you’re playing as Mickey you can misbehave and even be a little selfish," Warren Spector, the game developer, told The New York Times.

閱讀理解：

                                    ( 1 )

“Dear anybody. Your email address has been chosen by our computer. So, for no reason, we’d like to give you a million dollars. All you need to do is give us your bank account numbers. Can we interest you in some diet pills? And, by the way, I want to marry you.”

I hate to let you down, but there is no “million dollars”. The diet pills don’t exist – and your future “husband” or “wife” has just proposed to a million others. These and a hundred other stories have been made up to steal your personal information or money or maybe just to infect your computer with a virus. Welcome to the world of junk email.

Junk email – or spam – is probably the biggest global business that’s ever existed. Billions of spam emails are sent every day, making up around 80% of all email traffic. These incredible volumes of spam slow down the whole internet and cost businesses millions of dollars just trying to keep up with the next trick.

Your email programme probably includes a spam filter, which sorts out the mail you do want from the junk. But it’s impossible to stop it all and if you put together the seconds it takes to see through the deception (欺詐) in each one, they add up to a significant amount of lost time dealing with the spam that does get through.

But who could fall for such obvious tricks? Probably very few of us – one in a million, perhaps. But when you are sending billions of these every day, for next to no cost, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that someone is getting very rich.

But who? It’s incredibly difficult to find out. Most spam is sent using anonymous networks of infected computers, called “botnets”, some of which are made up of tens of millions of computers across dozens of countries. Maybe your own laptop is sending out marriage proposals right now. It’s enough to put you off using email again!

So what can you do to defend yourself? You could set up a separate email account for online use, or maybe leave out the @ symbol when you write your email address online. An up-to-date web browser and antivirus program will help too. And of course, never open strange email, even from a friend’s account. Never click on the links. And never ever reply!

1. The passage is mainly about ________.

A. the problem of junk mail            B. the profits of junk mail

C. protection against junk mail          D. the harmful effects of junk mail

2. The first paragraph serves as ________.

A. an important notice to the reader

B. a joke to make the readers laugh

C. some examples of junk mails

D. suggestions to some personal problems

3. The underlined word “others” (in paragraph 2) refers to ________.

   A. other dollars     B. other pills    C. other stories     D. other people

4. From paragraph 4, we know that _________.

A. the spam filter is the only solution to junk mail

B. dealing with junk mail wastes much of our time

C. spam filters do not really work and email programmes are to blame

D. using a spam filter takes up a significant amount of time

5. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The only purpose of junk mail is to infect your computer.

B. The majority of emails which are sent are junk emails.

C. Businesses spend millions of dollars sending spam.

D. Botnets are networks of laptops used to send spam.

                                     ( 2 )

Those covered, wooden bridges of Madison County, the ones brought to the world’s attention about two decades ago by a best-selling book The Bridges of Madison County, were covered for a reason: to protect them from weather damage.

Now engineers at Iowa State University are working to shelter them from human damage by using high-tech supervision.

There were once 19 bridges in Madison County. Only five remain, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several have been damaged by people in recent years, and researchers at Iowa State are developing remote monitoring devices to prevent further damage.

In September 2002, the 1883 Cedar Covered Bridge, which is featured in the book, was destroyed by a deliberately lit fire, just before the annual Madison County Covered Bridge Festival. The bridge was rebuilt using the original plans and authentic materials, but county residents were shocked that a piece of their history had been destroyed.

The 1884 Hogback Covered Bridge was damaged in a fire about a year after the Cedar Bridge burned. "People around here respect the bridges," says Debbie Zacharias, who works at the Madison County Historical Museum. "It would be nice to find the person who did this, to close this chapter on the bridge."

The Iowa State team received $126,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Product Laboratory to develop and install a monitoring system for one of the bridges. After that, county officials will assess the benefits and decide if it should be installed on the remaining bridges.

This technology has been designed for the outdoors. Because the system has multiple sensing devices, it will not require any human interaction once installed. Law enforcement and Iowa State officials will automatically be notified if a disturbance is detected.

The bridges in Madison County and elsewhere were built as covered structures to protect the floors. It was considered cheaper to build walls and a roof than to replace the large flooring timbers.

The covered bridges have always been important to Madison County, says Chris Nolte, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. He says the movie made them a tourist attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to the area every year.

"They are something that people appreciate and enjoy," Nolte says. "They represent old-world craftsmanship and stability."

1. What has made the bridges referred to in the passage well known?

A. Their interesting design.        B. The mysterious attacks on them.

C. A popular novel.              D. The technology being used to protect them.

2. Why are remote monitoring devices going to be installed for the covered bridges?

A. To protect them from weather damage.

B. To protect them from visitors to the area.

C. To warn the people who try to destroy the bridges.

D. To warn the police of possible damage caused by people.

3. The underlined part “to close this chapter on the bridge” in paragraph 7 probably means _____.

A. to bring to an end the mystery about the bridge

B. to stop the use of the bridge and treat it as a monument

C. to write another book about the covered bridge

   D. to protect the bridge by closing it to any visitors

4. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Both Cedar Covered Bridge and Hogback Covered Bridge were burned by fire.

B. Monitoring systems will be installed on all the covered bridges at the same time.

C. Madison County Covered Bridge Festival is held every year around September.

D. After the monitoring systems are installed, they will be tested to see whether they work.

5. Which of the following has NOT been talked about in this passage?

A. Why the bridges were built with covers.

B. How important the bridges are to Madison County.

C. Why people wanted to burn down the bridges.

D. How the monitoring systems will work.

                                   ( 3 )

Boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.

　　Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (陽剛), the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to conform to a stereotype, a US study says.

　　Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to conform to the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man".

　　The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.

　　Tony Little, headmaster of the British boys-only school, Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.

　　The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.

　　But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys' learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study's author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.

　　Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around, James found.

Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to conform to a stereotype that men should be "masterful and in charge" in relationships. "In mixed schools boys feel compelled to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported.            (本題來源：2011英語四級真題)

1. The author believes that a single-sex school  ________.

A. forces boys to hide their emotions to be "real men"

B. helps to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys

C. encourages boys to express their emotions more freely

D. naturally reinforces in boys the traditional image of a man

2. It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys _______.

A. perform relatively better            B. behave more responsibly

C. grow up more healthily             D. receive a better education

3. What does Tony Little say about the British education system?

A. It fails more boys than girls academically.

B. It focuses more on mixed school education.

C. It fails to give boys the attention they need.

D. It places more pressure on boys than on girls.

4. According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ______.

A. teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys

B. boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted

C. boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in

D. teaching can be designed to promote boys' team spirit

5. Which of the following is characteristic of boys according to Abigail James' report?

A. They enjoy being in charge.         B. They have sharper vision.

C. They conform to stereotypes.        D. They are violent and sexist.

                                  ( 4 )

SAN FRANCISCO — In the western U.S., Hawaii and elsewhere across the globe, moon watchers were treated Saturday to a rare celestial phenomenon: a total lunar eclipse (月全食).

For about 50 minutes starting at 6:06 a.m. PST, the moon was completely blocked by the Earth's shadow. With only some indirect sunlight able to reach it after passing through the Earth's atmosphere, the moon took on a reddish glow. Since the atmosphere scatters blue light, only red light struck the moon, giving it a dark red color.

Dally Sam, who runs a public relations firm in Hawaii, said it had been cloudy and rainy, but the weather cleared just in time for the eclipse. Around 3 a.m., he awoke, as he usually does, and remembered to step outside the house in time to catch the eclipse about a half hour later. No one else in the neighborhood was up.

"It was turning that dark red color," Sayre, 47, said, "I’d better grab a camera. To be able to see it just right outside our house was really cool." At the local observatory in Los Angeles, some 300 people, many clutching coffee cups in the cold morning air, sat with blankets and chairs on the observatory's great lawn. "It's really a celestial festival out here," John Peter, 39, told the Los Angeles Times as he set up his camera.

Lying on a slope north of downtown near the Hollywood sign, the place offers clear views of the sky. Observatory officials alerted the crowd when the eclipse began and spontaneous applause erupted when the celestial event ended.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon goes through the long shadow cast by the Earth and is blocked from the sunlight that brightens it.

The last total lunar eclipse was on June 15 although that was not visible from the U.S. The next one is on April 15, 2014, and will be seen in the U.S.

1. What do we know about the lunar eclipse from the passage?

A. The lunar eclipse began at about 3:30 a.m.

B. The lunar eclipse ended at about 6:56 a.m.

C. The lunar eclipse ended at about 6:56 in the evening.

D. The lunar eclipse began at about 6:06 in the evening.

2. When a total lunar eclipse occurs, ________.

   A. the moon looks blue

   B. the light will hurt our eyes

   C. nothing of the moon except a dark red light around its rim can be seen

   D. another planet comes between the earth and the moon

3. We can infer from paragraph 3 that at 3:30 a.m. Dally Sam ______.

   A. found it was still raining heavily

   B. saw a total lunar eclipse

   C. went out walking as he usually does

D. still had to wait for a long time to see the total lunar eclipse

4. According to the 6^th paragraph, which of the following is NOT true?

A. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is blocked by the sun.

B. The source of moonlight is the sun.

C. The earth comes between the moon and the sun during an eclipse.

D. With the sunlight, the earth casts its shadow over the moon.

5. What is the main purpose of the passage?

   A. To inform us of the next total lunar eclipse.

   B. To tell us about a rare celestial event.

   C. To alert us of the natural disaster.

   D. To draw people’s attention to the news.