英语报刊阅读练习(四)

初二英语报刊阅读四

（1）

Question : What is more astonishing than a 6000 ton whale on a flatbed truck being driven down the street ?

Answer : A 6000 ton whale on a flatbed truck exploding and raining blubber (fat of whales ) all over the sidewalk .

That’s what happened in Taiwan recently, when a dead sperm whale being shipped to the Halobios Research Centre for an autopsy (尸体解剖) developed an extremely bad case of gas and blew up before it reached its destination .

The whale was found alive on a Taiwan beach last weekend, and died shortly after it was discovered. Since the 56-foot whale was the largest whale ever beached on Taiwan’s shores , scientists wanted to study it and perform an autopsy for educational purpose .

Obviously, too much time passed between when the animal died and the time it was set to be moved to the autopsy location, because it had already started to go bad .When things rot , they give off gases as a by-product . In the whale’s case , the gases were trapped in its belly . The pressure inside the rotting creature grew so much that it popped like an over-filled balloon . Unfortunately , it was on a truck in the middle of the city of Taiwan at the time; cars and shops lining the street were covered with whale bits an d juices , much to their owners’ discouragement . According to news reports , traffic was tied up for hours while officials tried to clean up the streets .

Newspaper editors worldwide were probably smiling to themselves , since they had a ready-made headline; several reports about the inciden t were titled “There She Blows!” after the famous line from the book Moby Dick .

1．The purpose of the question at the beginning of this news report is to ______.

A．explain the reason B．sell newspapers

C．attract readers D．give an immediate answer

2．The whal e’s explosion is the result of _________.

A．pressure from gases building up in the creature as it began to rot

B．the long transport of the creature from the beach to the center

C．the extremely busy traffic in the streets it passed by

D．the quick process of rotting of the animal

3．What is the correct order of the incidents ?

a. The whale was set to a flatbed truck .

b. The whale was discovered .

c. The whale exploded .

d. The whale died .

A．b; c; a ; d B．d; c; b; a C．b; d; a; c D．d; b; a; c

4．What do we know from the last paragraph ?

A．Some newspaper editors were laughed at .

B．Moby Dick is the name of a woman writer .

C．All the newspapers reported the story under the same title .

D．The title “There She Blows!” is taken from the book Moby Dick .

（2）

The three biggest lies in America are : (1) “The check is in the mail.” (2) “Of course I’ll respect you in the morning .” (3) “It was a computer error.”

Of these three little white lies , the worst of the lot by far is the third . It’s the only one that can never be true . Today , if a bank statement cheats you out of $ 900 that way , you know what the clerk is sure to say : “It was a computer error .” Nonsense . The computer is reporting nothing more than what the clerk typed into it .

The most annoying case of all is when the computerized cash register in the grocery store shows that an item costs more than it actually does . If the innocent buyer points out the mistake, the checker , bagger and manager all come together and offer the familiar explanation : “It was a computer error .”

It wasn’t, of course . That high-tech cash register is really nothing more than an electric eye . The eye reads the Universal Product Code; that ribbon of black and white lines on the package; and then checks the code against a price list stored in memory . I f the price list is right , you’ll be charged accurately .

Grocery stores update the price list each day; that is , somebody sits at a keyboard and types in the prices . If the price they type in is too high , there are only two explanations : carelessness or dishonesty . But somehow “a computer error” is supposed to excuse everything .

One reason we let people hide behind a computer is the common misunderstanding that huge , modern computers are “electric brains” with “artificial intelligence.” At some point there might be a machine with intelligence , but none exists today . The smartest computer on earth right now is no more “intelligent” than your average screwdriver (螺丝刀). At this point in the development of computers the only thing any machine can do is what a human has instructed it to do .

1．We are told that a high-tech cash register is really just ______.

A．a simple adding machine B．an electric instrument of sight

C．a way to keep employees honest D．an expensive piece of window dressing 2．Grocery store price lists are updated by________ .

A．an employee B．a telephone receiver C．an adding machine D．a typewriter 3．According to the passage, which of the following statements is true ?

A．That high-tech cash register is anything but an electric eye .

B．The grocery stores update the price list every other day .

C．There is no machine with intelligence today.

D．There are four biggest lies in America .

4．Which of the following describes the main idea of the passage ?

A．Computers are stupid and inefficient .

B．Computer errors are basically human errors .

C．Computers can help department stores update the price list .

D．Supermarket price errors are often made through dishonesty .

（3）

Robots frequently star in science fiction movies and books. But, that wasn’t enough and they’ve begun jumping off the screen and into r_____1____. So if you have some things you’d like a robot to do, you’d better make a(n) l_____2____ right now. They may be here faster than you can snap your fingers.

Last week in HongKong, for example, customers were attracted to a restaurant not because of the

food, but because of a robot waiter. The robot g____3_____ customers and took their orders. The customers could give the names of the dishes they wanted by tapping on the robot’s screen to complete the order. Robot Waiter 1, as it’s known, can only take orders --- it still can’t serve. But restaurant owners say they have plans to add another robot-waiter to the s____4____ in the near future.

At the end of last month, a robot Albert Einstein was on display in NewYork. He not only gave physics grades but also r______5____ different faces with a camera in his eyes. And in October, hundreds of robots around the world will show up in Suzhou for the RobotCup, a World Cup Soccer Game --- for robots.

Some people are afraid of the robot revolution --- sci-fi novelist Isaac Asimov d_____6____ this in his work “Robot revolution, the making of I”. But many more people can’t wait to e____7___ the fascinating world that robots can bring us in the future.

（4）

I'm Susan Clark with the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Young Mister Smith had an idea for his employer. It was an idea for saving money for the company by increasing prices. At the same time, Smith suggested that the company sell goods of

less value.

If his employer liked the idea, Smith might be given more pay. Perhaps he might even get a better

job with the company.

Business had been very slow. So Mister Smith's employer thought a few minutes about the idea. But then she shook her head. "I am sorry, Smith," his employer said. "It just will not wash." Now, the meaning of these English words should be, "It will not get clean." Yet Smith's idea did not have anything to do with making something clean. So why did his employer say, "It will not

wash?"

Most word experts agree that "it will not wash" means it will not work. Eric Partridge wrote that the saying probably developed in Britain in the eighteen hundreds. Charlotte Bronte used it in a story published in eighteen forty-nine. She wrote, "That wiln't wash, miss." Mizz Bronte seems to have meant that the dyes used to color a piece of clothing were not good. The colors could not

be depended on to stay in the material.

In nineteenth century England, the expression came to mean an undependable statement. It was used mainly to describe an idea. But sometimes it was used about a person.

A critic once said of the poet Robert Browning, "He won't wash." The critic did not mean that the poet was not a clean person. He meant that Browning's poems could not be depended on to

last.

Today, we know that judgment was wrong. Robert Browning still is considered a major poet. But very few people remember the man who said Browning would not wash.

Happily for the young employee Smith, his employer wanted him to do well in the company. So the employer "talked turkey" to him. She said, "Your idea would be unfair to our buyers. Think

of another way to save money."

A century ago, to talk turkey meant to talk pleasantly. Turkeys in the barnyard were thought to be speaking pleasantly to one another. In recent years, the saying has come to mean an attempt to

teach something important.

Word expert Charles Funk tells how he believes this change took place.

He says two men were shooting turkeys together. One of them was a white man. The other was an American Indian. The white man began stating reasons why he should get all the turkeys for himself. But the American Indian stopped him. He told the white man, "Now, I talk turkey to

you."

Mister Smith thought of a better idea after his employer talked turkey to him. He was given an increase in pay. So if your idea "will not wash," try "talking turkey" to yourself and come up

with a better idea.

（5）

High school students in Asia often do better than American students on international math and science tests. Experts say part of this is because schools in countries like China and South Korea do better at preparing students to take tests. Yet some of these same countries want to learn what makes American students good at creativity and critical thinking.

Foreign educators often visit Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington. This past summer, seventy-five school principals visited from China.

Evan Glazer, the principal of Thomas Jefferson, says the school combines science and math with literature and other liberal arts.

EV AN GLAZER: “Curriculum, when it’s seen within one particular context, you’re really just developing knowledge and skills. But if you want to look at the complexity of real problems and original solutions, it requires people to come at them from different angles. And so we foster a lot of team teaching, with pairing up teachers from different disciplines so that, when they’re offering challenges to students, that they hav e a variety of perspectives as they approach problems.”

The admissions process is intensely competitive. Thomas Jefferson is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools but serves a wider area. The number of students from families of Asian ethnicity at the school reached fifty percent this past year.

The program was created in partnership with local businesses in nineteen eighty-five. The goal was to improve education in science, math and technology.

Some students do university-level research in fields such as microelectronics, neuroscience and biotechnology. Students can also learn from working with professionals, says Mr. Glazer.

EV AN GLAZER: “We certainly cultivate a culture of inquiry and research so that students can do original work. That’s part of our m indset. But I think, as Americans, I think we pride ourselves in our ability to constantly generate new ideas for the benefit of humanity.”

In East Asia, the focus of high school is often to prepare students for college entrance exams. But Mr. Glazer says in recent years China has been developing experimental schools. These offer more student-centered learning the way many top American schools do.

EV AN GLAZER: “And I think that’s part of the American mindset that we’ve had pride in as a country for so many years -- of the idea that everyone can bring original ideas. And I think East Asia senses that, and they certainly see the benefit to our innovation as a country.”

He points out that as East Asian countries consider greater freedom for their schools, American education is headed in the opposite direction. Most states have recently approved common standards in math and reading.

EV AN GLAZER: “In China and in Korea there is a strong interest in trying to get students to be more creative. And in America there is a strong interest in standardization. And, you know, the reality is we don’t operate in one world or the other. It’s trying to find that right balance."