Global Positioning Systems are now a part of everyday driving in many countries. These satellite-based systems provide turn-by-turn directions to help people get to where they want to go. But they can also cause a lot of problems, sending you to the wrong place or leave you completely lost. Many times, the driver is to blame. Sometimes a GPS error is responsible. Most often, says Barry Brown, it is a combination of the two.
Barry Brown is with the Mobile Life Centre in Stockholm, Sweden. The center studies human-computer interaction, or HCI, especially communications involving wireless devices. We spoke to Mr. Brown by Skype. He told us about an incident involving a friend who had flown to an airport in the eastern United States. There he borrowed a GPS-equipped car to use during his stay.
Barry Brown: “And they just plugged in an address and then set off to their destination. And, then it wasn’t until they were driving for thirty minutes that they realized they had put in a destination back on the West Coast where they lived. They actually put their home address in. So again, the GPS is kind of “garbage in garbage out”. Mr. Brown says this is a common human error. But, he says, what makes the problem worse has to do with some of the shortcomings, or failures, of GPS equipment.
Barry Brown: “One problem with many GPS units is they have a very small screen and they just tell you the next turn. Because they just give you the next turn, sometimes that means that it is not really giving you the overview that you would need to know that it’s going to the wrong place.”
Barry Brown formerly served as a professor with the University of California, San Diego. While there, he worked on a project with Eric Laurier from the University of Edinburgh. The two men studied the effects of GPS devices on driving by placing cameras in people’s cars. They wrote a paper based on their research. It is called “The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS.”
Barry Brown: “One of the things that struck us, perhaps the most important thing was that you have to know what you’re doing when you use a GPS. There are these new skills that people have developed. There are these new competencies that you need to have to be able to use a GPS because they sometimes go wrong.” Barry Brown says this goes against a common belief that GPS systems are for passive drivers who lack navigational (導(dǎo)航) skills.
“The Normal, Natural Troubles of Driving with GPS” lists several areas where GPS systems can cause confusion for drivers. These include maps that are outdated, incorrect or difficult to understand. They also include timing issues related to when GPS commands are given.
Barry Brown says to make GPS systems better we need a better understanding of how drivers, passengers and GPS systems work together.
【小題1】What is the best title for this passage?

A．Is GPS system reliable to use?B．What is the use of GPS?
C．How to make the most of GPS? D．Blame! GPS or Passengers?
【小題2】What is the implication of the underlined part?
A．GPS is just a garbage device.
B．GPS will not correct human errors.
C．GPS adjusts your wrong destination.
D．GPS is just as smart as human beings.
【小題3】Which is NOT mentioned as a GPS shortcoming in the passage?
A．Small screen.B．Timing of commands.
C．Outdated maps.D．Dear cameras GPS uses.
【小題4】According to the passage, people commonly believe that ___________.
A．you have to know where to go when using GPS
B．you need to have new competencies to use GPS well
C．GPS is proper for drivers with little sense of direction
D．GPS is fit for people having good understanding of maps

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew (肌腱). And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.
Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch (縫合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection.
Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.
American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.
Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle (腳踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical. It could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.
However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement (侵犯). Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties (版稅). In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.
【小題1】Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because __________.

A．people did not know how to put out the fire
B．Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention
C．the sewing machines couldn’t work finally
D．workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire
【小題2】Why did the court force Isaac Singer to pay Elias Howe a lifetime of royalties?
A．Because the judge was against Singer for his unfriendly attitude.
B．Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer.
C．Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it.
D．Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine.
【小題3】Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A．A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
B．The Case between Howe and Singer
C．Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine
D．The Early History of the Sewing Machine

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of a comet (彗星). When the fragments (碎片) landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions(爆炸) were watched by scientists here on the earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet?
　The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the Earth. The news has caused panic.
　On 17 July, a fragment, four kilometers wide, enters the Earth's atmosphere with a huge explosion. About half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous(巨大的) wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometres an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned. The wave moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia.
　Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the Earth, but the north won't escape for long. Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later civilization has collapsed(崩潰). No more than 10 million people have survived.
　Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn't survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end?
【小題1】Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the author's description of the disaster in 2094?

A．The whole world becomes extremely cold
B．All the coastal cities in Africa are destroyed
C．The visit of the comet results in wars
D．The whole mankind becomes extinct
【小題2】Why does the author mention dinosaurs at the end of the passage?
A．Because they could only live in the warm climate
B．Because their extinction indicates future disasters
C．Because they once dominated(控制) the earth
D．Because dinosaurs and humans never live in the same age
【小題3】 In writing the passage, the author intends to ______.
A．give an accurate description of the possible disaster in the future
B．prove that humans will sooner or later be destroyed
C．warn of a possible disaster in the future
D．tell the historical development of the Earth
【小題4】It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a(n) ______.
A．a(chǎn)rticle of popular science B．news report
C．research paper D．horror story

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

We know that sugary sodas aren’t good for our bodies. Now it turns out that they may not be good for our minds, either. A new study of more than 260,000 people has found a link between sweetened soft-drinks and depression, and diet sodas may be making matters worse.
Americans drink far more sodas than people in other countries— as much as 170 liters per person per year. But the impact of this study isn’t limited to the United States. “Sweetened drinks, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical consequences. And they may have important mental-health consequences as well,” study author Dr Honglei Chen said in a statement.
The study studied 263,925 people between the ages of 50 and 71. Researchers followed their consumption of drinks like soda, tea coffee, and other soft drinks from 1995 to 1996 and then. 10 years later, asked them if they had been diagnosed with depression since the year 2000. More than 11,3000 of them had.
Participants who drank more than four servings of sodas per day were 30 percent more likely to develop depression than participants who did not drink sodas at all. People who stuck with fruit punch(雞尾酒), had a 38 percent higher risk than people who didn’t drink sweetened drinks. And all that extra sugar isn’t the actual problem. Researchers say that the artificial sweetener aspartame may be to blame.
The study found a link but could not surely determine whether sodas and other sweet soft drinks cause depression. Still, the results “are consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be linked to poor health outcomes.”
But there’s a bright side for those who can’t live without their daily sodas. Adults who drank coffee had a 10 percent lower risk of depression compared to people who didn’t drink any coffee, according to the study. “Our research suggests that cutting out or down on sweetened diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may naturally help lower your depression risk,” said Chen.
【小題1】What has the new study of more than 260,000 people found?

A．Sugary sodas aren’t good for the physical health of old people. 
B．Americans have a special tooth for sweet foods. 
C．Sweetened soft-drinks may increase the risk of depression. 
D．Sweetened soft-drinks have important physical consequences. 
【小題2】What do we know about the process of the study?
A．About twenty-six thousand people participated in it. 
B．The oldest participants were below 80 when the study was over. 
C．Most of the participants had depression when the study was over. 
D．The study lasted more than ten years from the beginning to the end. 
【小題3】We infer that the underlined word “aspartame” in Paragraph 4 refers to something that _____.
A．can reduce the harm of sweetened drinks 
B．is used to reduce the risk of depression 
C．is mainly used to make fruit punch 
D．is used to make something .sweet 
【小題4】It is implied in the passage that ______.
A．more research is needed to confirm the new findings 
B．the new findings aren’t consistent with any previous findings 
C．cutting one’s sodas intake will surely reduce one’s depression 
D．the new findings won’t have an impact on people’s drinking habits 
【小題5】What should you drink in order to reduce the risk of depression?
A. Sodas.
B: Unsweetened coffee.
C. Sugary coffee.
D. Fruit punch.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

What exactly is intelligence? There aren’t any easy answers．Despite the progress that has been made in genetics and psychology, human intelligence has remained one of the most controversial areas of modern science，until now, that is, for the discovery of a gene linked to intelligence has made the experts think again．
Robert Plomin of the Institute of Psychiatry in London and his colleagues in the US have been looking into genetic make-up．From their research, they have discovered that a slightly different gene is more common in those with a high IQ．Plomin analyzed DNA from two groups of 51 children aged between 6 and 15．What he found was that the first group had an IQ of 136, putting them in the top 5% of the population, while the other group had an average IQ of 103．An analysis of their genes showed that 32% of children in the higher group had the gene in question, while only 16% in the second group did．However, there is a lot more research to be done, and Plomin himself is cautious at this early stage．He suggests that there are probably many genes that contribute to intelligence, rather than just one. Several studies have shown a strong link between IQ and career success, although some psychologists remain unconvinced about this．Professor Michael Rowe, who has written a book called Genius Explained, is one of these．“The people with the highest IQs are not usually the ones who do best in their careers．”
Many psychologists now believe that when it comes to intelligence, IQ isn’t everything．Many alternative views have been put forward recently．One example is the idea of multiple intelligences, which was developed in the 1980s by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner．This offers a much broader view than the IQ theory, including creativity and communication skills as relevant factors in intelligence．
Tony Buzan, brain expert and author of Master your Memory, is enthusiastic about this belief, arguing that true geniuses do indeed appear to combine high levels of each type of intelligence．He lists Alexander the Great, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein as examples．At the same time, Buzan believes that everyone can develop their intelligence, only if they take the trouble to exercise their brain．Perhaps there’s hope for us all!
【小題1】What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The development of intelligence 
B．The idea of multiple intelligences 
C．IQ isn’t everything for intelligence 
D．Alternative views have been put forward 
【小題2】Why does the author use data in Paragraph 2?
A．To make a suggestion． B．To draw a conclusion 
C．To prove an idea． D．To give an example 
【小題3】What can we learn from the passage?
A．Robert Plomin confirms genes have something in common 
B．Howard Gardner thinks intelligence includes various factors 
C．Michael Rowe approves of a strong link between IQ and career 
D．Tony Buzan agrees geniuses exercise brain to improve intelligence 
【小題4】What might be the best title of the passage?
A．The relationship between genes and intelligence 
B．IQ benefits a lot from high intelligence 
C．How to develop intelligence． 
D．What makes intelligence. 

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

Our senses aren't just delivering a strict view of what’s going on in the world; they're affected by what’s going on in our heads. A new study finds that hungry people see food-related words more clearly than people who've just eaten.
Psychologists have known for decades that what's going on inside our head affects our senses. For example, poorer children think coins are larger than they are, and hungry people think pictures of food are brighter. Rémi Radel of University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France, wanted to investigate how this happens.
Does it happen right away as the brain receives signals from the eyes or a little later as the brain’s high-1evel thinking processes get involved. Radel recruited 42 students with a normal body mass index. On the day of his or her test, each student was told to arrive at the lab at noon after three or four hours of not eating. Then they were told there was a delay. Some were told to come back in 10 minutes; others were given an hour to get lunch first. So half the students were hungry when they did the experiment and the other half had just eaten.
For the experiment, the participant looked at a computer screen. One by one, 80 words flashed on the screen for about l/300th of a second each. They flashed at so small a size that the students could only consciously perceive. A quarter of the words were food-related. After each word, each person was asked how bright the word was and asked to choose which of two words they’d seen-a food-related word like cake or a neutral word like boat. Each word appeared too briefly for the participant to really read it.
Hungry people saw the food-related words as brighter and were better at identifying food- related words. Because the word appeared too quickly for them to be reliably seen, this means that the difference is in perception, not in thinking processes, Radel says. "This is something great to me. Humans can really perceive what they need or what they strive for. From the experiment, I know that our brain can really be at the disposal of our motives and needs. "Radel says.
【小題1】Why was there a delay on the day of the experiment?

A．Because hungry people needed time to fill their stomach.
B．Because Radel wanted to create two groups of testers, hungry and non-hungry.
C．Because noon was not the right time for any experiment.
D．Because Radel needed time to select participants in terms of body mass index.
【小題2】What does the writer want to tell us?
A．Human’s senses aren’t just delivering a strict view of what’s going on in the world.
B．What’s perceived by our senses affects our way of thinking.
C．Human brains can really be at the disposal of our motives and needs.
D．Thinking processes guarantee the normal functions of our senses.
【小題3】What can we infer from the passage?
A．42 participants are too small a number for a serious investigation.
B．An experiment with hungry and non-hungry participants is not reliable.
C．Our thinking processes are independent of our senses.
D．Humans can perceive what they need without involving high-level thinking processes

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：完型填空

The first ancient Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BC. Coroebus won the only event at the Olympics. This made him the first Olympic champion in history. Then the Olympic Games developed and continued to be held every four years. In 393 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, put a stop to the Games.
In 1892, a young Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin suggested starting the Olympic Games again but failed. Two years later, Coubertin organized a meeting with 79 people representing nine countries. At this meeting he got what he wanted. All the delegates at the meeting voted for the Olympic Games. They also decided to have Coubertin found an international committee (委員會(huì)) to organize the Games. This committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Demetrious Vikelas from Greece was chosen to be its first president. Athens was chosen for the revival (復(fù)興) of the Olympic Games and the planning began.
The first modern Olympic Games opened in the first week of April, 1896. Since the Greek government didn’t have enough money to build a stadium, a wealthy Greek man, Georgios Averoff, donated over $100,000 to repair the Panathenaic Stadium built in 330 BC.Since the Games were not well publicized (宣傳) internationally, athletes were not nationally chosen but rather came by themselves. Some athletes were tourists who happened to be in the area during the Games.
【小題1】What can we know about the first Olympic Games?

A．There was only one event in it.
B．It opened in the first week of April 1896.
C．Coroebus was the first man to take part in it.
D．It was stopped by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
【小題2】Coubertin made his dream come true in ________.
A．776 B．1892 C．1894 D．1896
【小題3】Which of the following is the right order according to the passage?
a. Coubertin first brought forward his idea to start the Olympic Games.
b. Demetrious from Greece was selected as the first president of IOC.
c. Coroebus became the first Olympic champion.
d. Georgios donated money to repair the Panathenaic Stadium.
A. acdb       B. cabd       C. bdac  D. dcba
【小題4】The best title for the passage would be ________.
A．The History of the Olympics
B．How Coubertin Set up IOC
C．The First Modern Olympic Games
D．Great Changes in Olympic Games

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