题目
题型：浙江省高考真题难度：来源：
Wales. She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path. That"s when she heard the whistle sounded by
the driver of a train. Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line. Seconds later, she watched the train
drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.
Ceely"s near miss made the news because she blamed it on the GPS (导航仪). She had never driven the
route before. It was dark and raining heavily. Ceely was relying on her GPS, but it made no mention of the
crossing. "I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train," she told
the BBC.
Who is to blame here? Rick Stevenson, who tells Ceely"s story in his book When Machines Fail Us, points
the finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but our digital helpers
are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small problems. And it"s not just GPS devices: Stevenson
takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards.
The problem with his argument in the book is that it"s not clear why he only focuses on digital technology,
while there may be a number of other possible causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper
map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for
poor signaling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really
is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn"t say.
It"s a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an account of the advanced
techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent
sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once again not
all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe it"s also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets.
Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors.
The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex. It is shaped by economics and
psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser
use of technology.
If there is such a way, it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines.
After all, we have lived with them for thousands of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long.
B. It was dark and raining heavily then.
C. The railway workers failed to give the signal.
D. Her GPS device didn"t tell her about the crossing.
B. heavy loss
C. narrow escape
D. big mistake
B. Digital technology often falls short of our expectation.
C. Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be.
D. GPS error is not the only cause for Ceely"s accident.
B. reasonable
C. puzzling
D. well-based
B. The relationship between human and technology.
C. The shortcomings of digital devices we use.
D. The human unawareness of technical problems.
答案
核心考点
试题【阅读理解。 One evening in February 2007, a student named Paula Ceely brought her 】；主要考察你对题材分类等知识点的理解。[详细]
举一反三
Different forms of maps are appearing. They allow independent travelers to get local knowledge of places
they are visiting, from the official to the unusual. Meanwhile, hi-tech developments are creating new ways for
us to map the world. Here are two of our favorites;
Green Maps
Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of environmentally friendly places and
attractions in the local areas. Users add information with a set of icons (图标, making It easy to read any map,
whatever the nationalities of those who produce it. At present there are over five hundred map projects being
developed in 54 countries Green Maps" advertised idea is "think global, map local". It is a wonderful way of
gaining all sorts of a place, running from community garden to good places of bird watching.
Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers. Not all of its maps are online, so it may be necessary
for some users to communicate with producers through the Green Maps website.
Maps Mashups
Many people use online maps developed by Google, but not many know about the mashups of them.
Working in a similar way to Green Maps, Maps Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to existing
maps to express a certain topic. The mashups is so called because it combine all the knowledge you could ever
need. It ranges from the extremely useful, such as where all the World. Heritage Site are, to the most bizarre
(古怪的), such as where America"s munkest cities are. With the mashups added to the basic Google Maps, a
multi-layered (多层的) map can be created.
B. Introducing local attractions with icons.
C. Offering advice to independent travelers.
D. Collecting icons worldwide for local maps.
B. 
C. 
D. 
B. it gathers various kinds of information
C. it shares icons with Green Maps
D. it is a branch of Google Maps
B. They are environmentally friendly.
C. Users can edit maps on the Internet.
D. Users need to communicate with produces.
used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. launched B. unpleasant C. applying D. technically E. impact F. coating G. fixed H. miraculously I. superior J. advances |
| Reading comprehension. |
  |
| 1. According to Quick Facts, a humpback whale _____. |
| A. cannot survive in waters near the shore B. doesn"t live in the same waters all the time C. lives mainly on underwater plants D. prefers to work alone when hunting food |
| 2. To make a breach, a humpback whale must _____. |
| A. use its tail flukes to leap out of the water B. twist its body sideways to jump high C. blow two streams of water D. communicate with a group of humpbacks |
| 3. From the passage we can learn that a humpback whale _____. |
| A. has its unique markings on it tail flukes B. has black and white fingerprints C. gets its name from the way it hunts D. is a great performer due to its songs |
| 阅读理解。 |
| Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK researchers. Their study found that theobromine, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present. The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could lead to more effective cough treatment. "While coughing is not necessarily harmful (有害的) it can have a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem," said Professor Peter Barnes. Ten healthy volunteers (志愿者) were given theobromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicine is stopping coughs. The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin need to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they need only slightly higher levers of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo. The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a verve activity (神经活动), which cause coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side effects such as sleepiness. |
| 1. According to Professor Barnes, theobromine _____. |
| A. cannot be as effective as codeine B. can be harmful to people"s health C. cannot be separated from chocolate D. can be a more effective cure for coughs |
| 2. What was used in the experiment to cause coughing? |
| A. Theobromine. B. Codeine. C. Capsaicin. D. Placebo. |
| 3. We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment _____. |
| A. were patients with bad coughs B. were divided into the three groups C. received standard treatments D. suffered little side effects |
| 4. Which of the following would be the best title for the text? |
| A. Codeine: A New Medicine B. Chocolate May Cure Coughs C. Cough Treatment: A Hard Case B. Theobromine Can Cause Coughs |
| 阅读理解。 |
| Plants can"t communicate by moving or making sounds, as most animals do. Instead, plants produce volatile compounds, chemicals that easily change from a liquid to a gas. A flower"s sweet smell, for example, comes from volatile compounds that the plant produces to attract insects such as bugs and bees. Plants can also detect volatile compounds produced by other plants. A tree under attack by hungry insects, for instance, may give off volatile compounds that let other trees know about the attack. In response, the other trees may send off chemicals to keep the bugs away-or even chemicals that attract the bugs" natural enemies. Now scientists have created a quick way to understand what plants are saying: a chemical sensor (传感器) called an electronic nose. The "e-nose" can tell compounds that crop plants make when they"re attacked. Scientists say the e-nose could help quickly detest whether plants are being eaten by insects. But today the only way to detect such insects is to visually inspect individual plants. This is a challenging task for managers of greenhouses, enclosed gardens that can house thousands of plants. The research team worked with an e-nose that recognizes volatile compounds. Inside the device, 13 sensors chemically react with volatile compounds. Based on these interactions, the e-nose gives off electronic signals that the scientists analyze using computer software. To test the nose, the team presented it with healthy leaves from cucumber, pepper and tomato plants, all common greenhouse crops. Then the scientists collected samples of air around damaged leaves from each type of crop. These plants had been damaged by insects, or by scientists who made holes in the leaves with a hole punch (打孔器). The e-nose, it turns out, could identify healthy cucumber, pepper and tomato plants based on the volatile compounds they produce. It could also identify tomato leaves that had been damaged. But even more impressive, the device could tell which type of damage - by insects or with a hole punch-had been done to the tomato leaves. With some fine tuning, a device like the e-nose could one day be used in greenhouses to quickly spot harmful bugs, the researchers say. A device like this could also be used to identify fruits that are perfectly ripe and ready to pick and eat, says Natalia Dudareve, a biochemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. who studies smells of flowers and plants. Hopefully, scientists believe, the device could bring large benefits to greenhouse managers in the near future. |
| 1. We learn from the text that plants communicate with each other by _____. |
| A. making some sounds B. waving their leaves C. producing some chemicals D. sending out electronic signals |
| 2. What did the scientists do to find out if the e-nose worked? |
| A. They presented it with all common crops. B. They fixed 13 sensors inside the device. C. They collected different damaged leaves. D. They made tests on damaged and healthy leaves. |
| 3. According to the writer, the most amazing thing about the e -nose is that it can _____. |
| A. pick out ripe fruits B. spot the insects quickly C. distinguish different damages to the leaves D. recognize unhealthy tomato leaves |
| 4. We can infer from the last paragraph that the e-nose _____. |
| A. is unable to tell the smell of flowers B. is not yet used in greenhouses C. is designed by scientists at Purdue D. is helpful in killing harmful insects |