Federal regulators(调整者) Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergence alert (警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.
Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry’s trade association, CTIA, estimates（估计） more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.
The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires improvements to the nation’s emergency alert system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.
"The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.
Participation in the alert system by carriers –telecommunications companies is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.
The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.
There would be three different types of messages, according to the rules.
The first would be a national alert from the president, likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The second would involve "approaching threats," which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction (绑架) emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.
The service could be in place by 2010.
小题1:What is the purpose of the approved plan? | A．To warn people of emergencies via messages. | | B．To popularize the use of cell phones. | | C．To estimate the monthly number of messages. | | D．To promote the wireless industry. |
小题2:The improvement to the present system is in the charge of ____. | A．CTIA | B．the Warning Alert and Response Network | | C．FCC | D．federal regulators |
小题3:The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by _____. | A．the US federal government | B．mobile phone users | | C．the carriers themselves | D．the law of the United States |
小题4:Which of the following would be the best title for the text? | A．Cell Phone Alerts Protecting Students | B．Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless Industry | | C．Cell Phone Alerts of National Disasters | D．Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon |
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小题1:A
小题1:C
小题1:C
小题1:D |
小题1:根据Federal regulators(调整者) Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergence alert (警报) system 描述，可知选A。
小题1:根据The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.描述，可知选C
小题1:根据The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.描述，可知选C。
小题1:这篇短文主要介绍了通过的一项关于手机的计划，告诉我们手机提醒时代即将来临。故选D。 |
核心考点
试题【 Federal regulators(调整者) Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emerge】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
While all my classmates seem to be crazy about a one-way ticket to Mars, I’d rather say Mars is totally unsuitable for human existence. People won’t have enough food supplies there, and the terrible environment would make it impossible for them to live a long life. Besides, the journey won’t be safe. Can anybody explain to me just why people would go to Mars, never to return? Steve Minear, UK
Here are the things you can think of: the desire to explore a foreign and unique environment, the excitement of being the first humans to open up a new world, the expectation of fame and glory┅. For scientists there is another reason. Their observations and research will probably lead to great scientific achievements. Donal Trollop, Canada
There are already too many people on the Earth. I think that something before the end of the century, there will be a human colony on Mars. It will happen when people finally realize that two-way trips to the red planet Mars are unnecessary. Most of the danger of space flight is in the launches and landings. Cutting the trip home would therefore reduce the danger of accidents, save a lot of money, and open the way to building an everlasting human settlement in another world. Enough supplies can be sent on ahead, and every two years more supplies and more people will be sent to the new colony. Mars has all the materials for a colony to produce or make everything it needs, and Mars is far more pleasant than the other planets in the outer space. Paul Davies, USA
小题1:The main purpose of Steve Minear’s writing is_________. .| A．to report his classmates’ discussion | B．to invite an answer to his question | | C．to explain the natural state of Mars | D．to show his agreement on going to Mars |
小题2:Which of the following best states Donal Trollop’s ideas? | A．There is a plan to send humans to Mars | | B．There are many reasons for going to Mars | | C．Scientists become famous by doing research on Mars | | D．It is possible to build an Earth-like environment on Mars |
小题3: Paul Davies points out that______. | A．humans need only a one- way ticket to Mars | | B．two-way trips to mars will be made safe soon | | C．It is easy to reduce the danger and cost of flights to Mars | | D．It is cheap to build an everlasting human settlement on Mars |
小题4:What does Paul Davies think of human existence on Mars? | A．Humans will have to bring all they need from the earth | | B．Humans will find Mars totally unsuitable for living | | C．Humans can produce everything they need | | D．Humans can live longer in the colony on Mars |
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Watercolour is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colours found in the earth with water.
Fresco (壁画), one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolour. It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster (灰泥). Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo’s heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolour painting in the world.
The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolour was used mainly for doing sketches (草图) or as a tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolour as a serious art form. The English have a widely-known love for outdoors and also small private pictures. The softness of watercolour had a remarkably strong attraction for them.
The popularity of watercolour continued to grow until the twentieth century. The United States passed England as the center for watercolour, producing such well-known watercolour artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth.
小题1: The purpose of the passage is to introduce _____. | A．the gradual weakness of fresco painting | | B．oils’ power or influence over watercolour | | C．the discovery of watercolour in England | | D．the start and development of watercolour |
小题2: In the 16th and 17th centuries the artists thought _____. | A．watercolour was softer, and thus better | | B．oil painting lasted longer, and was better | | C．watercolour wasn’t fit for finished works | | D．watercolour was too hard to use in any works |
小题3:According to the passage, watercolour painting was put back in England because ____| A．it was easy to use outdoors | B．it was a strong medium | | C．it was extremely bright in colour | D．it was suited to popular tastes |
小题4:What would the next paragraph most probably deal with? | A．The works of famous US watercolour artists | B．Modern American oil painters | | C．The weakness of oils as popular paints | D．Techniques of producing watercolour |
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阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1—15各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The subject of what separates art and design has been debated for a long time. Artists and designers both create visual works using a/an 1 knowledge background, but their reasons for doing so are 2 different. Some designers consider themselves artists, but few artists consider themselves 3 .
So what exactly is the difference between art and design? Perhaps the most fundamental difference that we can all agree on is their 4 . Typically, the process of creating a work of art starts with nothing, a blank sheet of paper. A 5 of art is born from a view or value that the artist holds within himself or herself. They create the art to share that feeling with others, to 6
the viewers to relate to it, learn from it or be 7 by it. The most renowned and successful art today is something that establishes the strongest 8 connection between the artist and their
9 .
By contrast, when a designer sets out to 10 a new piece, they almost always have a
11 starting point, whether a message, an image, an idea or an action. The designer’s job isn’t to invent something 12 , but to communicate something that already exists, for a purpose. That purpose is almost always to motivate the audience to do something: buy a product, use a
13 , visit a location, or learn certain information. The most 14 designs are those that most effectively 15 their message and motivate their consumers to carry out a task.
| 小题1: | | A．unique | B．separate | C．shared | D．accepted |
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| 小题2: | | A．entirely | B．occasionally | C．hardly | D．unnecessarily |
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| 小题3: | | A．inventors | B．designers | C．writers | D．viewers |
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| 小题4: | | A．purpose | B．product | C．interest | D．cost |
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| 小题6: | | A．stop | B．allow | C．require | D．move |
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| 小题7: | | A．understood | B．fooled | C．inspired | D．discouraged |
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| 小题8: | | A．political | B．social | C．physical | D．emotional |
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| 小题9: | | A．supporters | B．audiences | C．buyers | D．enemies |
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| 小题10: | | A．sell | B．imagine | C．create | D．draw |
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| 小题11: | | A．fixed | B．good | C．strange | D．positive |
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| 小题12: | | A．surprising | B．special | C．creative | D．new |
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| 小题13: | | A．phone | B．service | C．language | D．name |
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| 小题14: | | A．important | B．creative | C．successful | D．unusual |
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| 小题15: | | A．learn | B．receive | C．confuse | D．communicate |
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Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub．But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes（失礼）for the newcomers．
A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs - starting with the difficulty of getting a drink．Most pubs have no waiters - you have to go to the bar to buy drinks．A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own．This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose．
Pub culture is designed to promote sociability（社交）in a society known for its reserve．Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served．The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior．“If you haven’t been to a pub, you haven’t been to Britain．” This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists’ Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers’ rule of conduct for those wanting to sample “a central part of British life and culture”．
The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat．For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks．Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order．
小题1:The underlined word “sample” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．| A．taste | B．experience | | C．test | D．record |
小题2:The culture of pub in Britain is so developed to ________．| A．encourage people to communicate with each other | | B．encourage more people to consume drinks | | C．attract more tourists to the pubs | | D．form its own character of culture |
小题3:If you don’t follow the local rules in a pub, ________．| A．you won’t buy good local drinks | | B．you may annoy the regular customers and bar staff | | C．you may fail to feel the local culture | | D．you might get into a dangerous place |
小题4:What may be the best title for the passage?| A．Self-service Pubs in Britain | | B．British Local Pubs: Special Chat Places | | C．Local Pub Culture in Britain | | D．Manners in British Local Pubs |
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Scientists say they now have proof to support the old-fashioned advice that it’s best to sleep on a problem．They say sleep strengthens the memory and helps the brain organize the masses of information we receive each day．
The lead researcher Bob Stickgold at the Harvard Medical School said, “Sleep helps us draw rules from our experiences．It’s like  knowing the difference between dogs and cats even if it’s hard to explain．”
The US research team studied how w ell students remembered connections between words and symbols, reports New Scientist．They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing the words and having the test, and if they had not slept．They found that people were better able to remember lists of related words after a night’s sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day．They also found it easier to remember themes that the words had in common．But they forgot around one in four more themes if they had been awake．
Prof．John Groeger, of Survey University’s Sleep Research Centre, said, “People have been trying for years to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative （促使康复的）value．”
“We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way the brain deals with them all．”
小题1:The phrase “to sleep on a problem” in Paragraph 1 most likely means “________”．| A．to pay full attention to a problem | | B．to wait until the next day for a decision | | C．to sleep to forget a problem | | D．to have difficulty in sleeping |
小题2:In the study by the US research team, students were asked to ________．| A．put together words of similar meanings | | B．remember words and their meanings | | C．show their knowledge of words | | D．make up lists of related words |
小题3:Which of the following may be easier to remember?| A．Themes learned right before the test． | | B．Rules from personal experiences． | | C．Words learned before a good sleep． | | D．Ideas stored together in the brain． |
小题4:What may be the importance of the research?| A．It shows that sleep may help us manage information． | | B．It helps find out the common themes of words． | | C．It tells us that more sleep can improve health． | | D．It proves the value of old-fashioned advice． |
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