The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”

By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

The best title for the article is _______.

A. When the Computer Is Down             B. The Most Frightening Words

C. The Computer of the Airport       D. Asking the Computer

What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

A. She could sell a ticket.                    B. She could write out a ticket.

C. She could answer the passengers’ questions.   D. She could do nothing.

Why do you think they had not a backup computer?

A. Because it was easy down              B. Because it was very expensive.

C. Because it was not advanced enough.     D. Because it was not as big as the main computer.

The last paragraph suggests that _______.

A. a modern computer won’t be down.   

B. computers can take the place of humans

C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people  

D. there will be great changes in computers

For some people, music is no fun at all. About four percent of the population is what scientists call “amusic.” People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes (音调). Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two-songs. Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are far apart on the musical scale.

As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. Their ability to enjoy music sets them apart from others. It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition. In fact, most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painfull. That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in withdrawal and social isolation. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret, a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists arc finally learning bow to identify this unusual condition.

Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music. The difference is complex, and it doesn’t involve defective hearing. Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can't sec certain colors.

Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed (诊断). For years. Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music. Now she knows that she is not alone. There is a name for her condition. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert I just say. “No thanks. I'm amusic,”* says Margaret. “I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy.”

65. Which of (he following is true of amusics?

A. Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them.

B. They love places where they are likely to hear music.

C. They can easily tell two different songs apart.

D. Their situation is well understood by musicians.

66. According to paragraph 3, a person with “defective hearing” is probably one who ______ .

A. dislikes listening to speeches                     B. can hear anything nonmusical

C. has a bearing problem                               D. lacks a complex hearing system

67. In the last paragraph, Margaret express that ______ .

A. her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier

B. she were seventeen years old rather than seventy

C. her problem could be easily explained

D. she were able to meet other amusics

68. What is the passage mainly concerned with?

A. Amusics’ strange behaviours.                   B. Some people’s inability to enjoy music.

C. Musical talent and brain structure.             D. Identification and treatment of amusics.

对话填空（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

请认真阅读下面对话，并根据各题所给首字母的提示，在答题卡上标有题号的横线上，写出一个英语单词的完整、正确的形式，使对话通顺。

L = Lucy   J = Jim

L : Oh, I’ve just had a (76) t        day today.        76．     

J : What (77) h         ?                 77．     

L : Well, I overslept in the morning. I didn’t hear the       

   (78) a        clock.                    78．     

J : Oh, everyone does that once in a (79) w          79．     

L : I was late for class, so I drove a little (80) f       . Guess who saw me?

                            80．     

J : A policeman? You got a ticket?

L : Yeah. He didn’t care that I was late. Anyway, I got to class,

   (81) b        I had brought the wrong book. The teacher wasn’t     81．     

   (82) h         .                  82．     

J : That’s really had.

L : What’s (83) w        , I have a paper due tomorrow. It’s on a 83．     

Hard drive (硬盘). I went to the computer lab and I couldn’t

(84) f          my file. I forgot to save the information.       84．     

J : Oh, not!

L : And now I need to go home. And you know (85) w       ?       85．     

   My car keys are missing.

从A、B、C、D四个选项中，找出其划线部分与所给单词的划线部分读音相同的选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

cloth       

       A．host      B．comment        C．bone      D．polite

butter      

       A．duty      B．butcher              C．busy  D．custom

measure     

       A．pleasure    B．sugar C．prison       D．settle

pear               

       A．fear     B．near      C．bear       D．hear

technology        

       A．check           B．chemical   C．achieve    D．march

 (10·江西A篇)

Andy rode slowly on his way to school, day-dreaming about the fishing trip that his father had promised him. He was so busy dreaming about all the fish he would catch that he was unaware of everything else around him.

He rode along until a strange sound drew him to the present. He came to a stop and looked curiously up to the heavens. What he saw shocked and terrified him. A huge swarm of bees filled the sky like a black cloud and the buzzing mass seemed to be heading angrily towards him.

With no time to waste, Andy sped off in the opposite direction, riding furiously—but without knowing how to escape the swarm. With a rapidly beating heart and his legs pumping furiously, he sped down the rough road. As the bees came closer, his panic increased. Andy knew that he was sensitive to bee stings(蜇). The last sting had landed him in hospital—and that was only one bee sting! He had been forced to stay in bed for two whole days. Suddenly, his father’s words came to him. “When you are in a tight situation, don’t panic. Use your brain and think your way out of it.”

On a nearby hill, he could see smoke waving slowly skywards from the chimney of the Nelson family home. “Bees don’t like smoke,” he thought. “They couldn’t get into the house.” Andy raced towards the Nelson house, but the bees were gaining ground. Andy knew he could not reach the house in time. He estimated that the bees would catch up with him soon.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a small dam used by Mr. Nelson to irrigate his vegetable garden. Off his bike and into the cool water he lived, disappearing below the surface and away from the savage insects. After holding his breath for as long as he could, Andy came up for air and noticed the bees had gone. Dragging himself out of the dam, he struggled up the hilly slope and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Nelson took him inside and rang his mother.

“You’ll really need that fishing break to help you recover,” laughed his mother with relief. “Thank goodness you didn’t panic!” But Andy did not hear her. He was dreaming once again of the fish he would catch tomorrow.

56. Why did Andy fail to notice the swarm of bees earlier?

A. He was riding to school.

B. He was listening to a strange sound.

C. He was going fishing with his father.

D. He was lost in the thought of the fishing trip.

57. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the swarm of bees in the passage?

A. They crowded like a black cloud.

B. They shocked and terrified Andy.

C. They tried to attack Andy in a mass.

D. They made Andy stay in hospital for two days.

58. How did Andy avoid the bees in the end?

A. He asked Mr. Nelson for help.

B. He did himself under the water.

C. He rushed into the Nelson house.

D. He rode off in the opposite direction.

59. Which of the following can best describe Andy’s escape from the bees?

A. No pains, no gains.

B. Once bitten, twice shy.

C. Where there is a will, there is a way.

D. In time of danger, one’s mind works fast.