英语阅读(二)
（A）
Several days ago，a Beijing-based IT company fired about 400people overnight．No one had expected the job cuts，which broke with traditional ways of letting go of workers in China．Moreover，what was special about this case was that the day before the 400 were fired，they all received from their boss a gift—the book“Who Moved My Cheese？”
The book—a bestseller in the US—is being used by men and women to deal with changes in their lives and work．Some large organizations， including Coca-Cola，Kodak and General Motors，ask their employees to read it in order to encourage them to be active towards changes．
Cheese is something related to everyone's livelihood—our jobs，the industries we work in， relationships and love as well．With China's official entry into the WTO， the whole nation will face more changes and challenges．So what should we do once this“cheese” on which we are so dependent is moved？
“Whatever challenges and changes we meet，we should face up to them bravely，”Jiang Hengwei，a civil servant said after reading the book．
Professor Zhang Yang in Renmin University of China agrees．“We should change our way of thinking．The coming competitive foreign companies and products provide us with great chances to learn from them and improve our own products to meet international standards and be more competitive．”
“With hardwork and wisdom，we will create a much larger and better piece of cheese．” Zhang smiled confidently．
1．The whole passage is about ____ ．
A．people's opinions about a bestseller of the US
B．what people think about China's entry into the WTO
C．the change in people's attitude towards changes and challenges
D．how a book influences the Chinese workers
2．The company in Beijing gave each of the 400 fired workers a copy of“Who Moved My Cheese”in order to ____ ．
A．be more competitive with foreign firms
B．find an excuse for their job cuts
C．let the workers make a living on their own
D．encourage the fired workers
3．The word“cheese”in the passage can refer to．
A．something we depend on for a living
B．a most important kind of food
C．change or challenge D．way of life
4．From what Hengwei and Professor Zhang
Yang said，we can know that ____ ．
A．they have different opinions on changes and challenges
B．people are not afraid of competition from foreign companies
C．the Chinese people are ready to face any changes and challenges
D．they are both greatly encouraged by the book
（B）
Some people take lots of exercise．Others keep to strict diets．But according to recent research，the best way to live a long and happy life is simple．Get a dog．
“We have known for many years that the company of a pet can increase well-being in a number of ways，”says Dr Bonnie Beaver，an animal behaviour specialist at Texas University．“For example，the survival rates of heart attack victims with pets are much greater than those of people without pets．”
According to Dr Beaver，pet owners are less likely to need a doctor．They recover more quickly when they do get ill．They have lower blood pressure，take more exercise and are more socially active．
Above all，they are happier．Seventy per cent of the families Dr Beaver surveyed said that their family environment was happier after they got a pet．And this is what Dr Beaver and other researchers are trying to achieve．They want to find a scientific link between human happiness and a long life．
There is no final answer to this question yet，but it seems to be something to do with emotional ties．People with someone or something to love live longer．“There are many forms of animal-human relationship and some are very helpful，”says Dr Beaver．It seems that the more lovely an animal is，the more it benefits our health．As the saying goes，“if you want to be loved，get a dog．”
Pet ownership benefits men and women equally．Other life experiences divide the sexes．“Women are more sensitive to bad marriages than their husbands because they work harder at their relationships，”says Dr Janice Glaser of Ohio State University．
The message seems to be that a woman is better off with a good dog than a bad husband．Yet in some ways，men are similar to dogs．They like getting dirty and making a mess．They forget birthdays．They can disappear for days on end．How can they be better trained？
5．According to the author，the company of a pet does good to a person in the following ways except ____ ．
A．having less chance of dying of heart attacks
B．being more active in society
C．being better off than others
D．having their family environment improved
6．It can be inferred from the article that ____ ．
A．a woman may prefer to have the company of a good dog than that of a bad husband
B．scientists are sure about the relationship between happiness and a long life
C．all life experiences have different effect on men and women
D．women can benefit more from owning a pet than men can
7．In what kind of tone（口吻）do you think the author write the passage？
A．Realistic and serious． B．Delighted and hopeful．
C．Angry and pitiful． D．Light and humorous
8．What of the following do you think would be the best title of the passage？
A．Relationships between humans and pets
B．Four legs good, two legs bad
C．Want to be loved ？Get a dog
D．Pets and family life
（C）
A major new development in systems of work in Britain is taking place．Flexible working hours，or“flextime”，are catching on fast，and this trend（趋势）is continuing．In 1973，over 500organizations had adopted the idea，and by 1974，this number had risen to over 200，000．
Flexible working hours were invented in Germany in the late 1960's，but reached Britain only in 1972．The system allows workers to start and finish work whenever they want，with only two requirements．These are，firstly，that all workers must be present for certain“key”times in the day，and secondly，that all workers must work an agreed total number of hours per week．
The system has proved an almost total success wherever it has been tried．A survey of 700workers on flexible hours showed three main advantages：a better balance between working and private life，avoidance（避免）of the need to travel during rush hours and the ability to be able to finish a certain task before leaving．
From the employer's point of view，the system tends to increase productivity（生产力）， reduce labor turnover and give the workers a greater sense of duty．At first，“flextime”was mainly confined to white collar workers，but it is now being applied to manual（体力的）workers too．
9．According to the“flexible”system，workers____．
A．needn't start work at the same time
B．needn't go to work every workday
C．have no limited working hours
D．can do less work and have more free time
10．One of the main advantages of“flextime”for workers is that ____ ．
A．they can greatly reduce their working hours
B．they can have better arrangements of their private life
C．they can get much higher pay
D．they can have a greater sense of duty
11．Who do you think will support the“flextime”system？
A．The employers．
B．Both the workers and the employers．
C．White collar workers．
D．Manual workers．
（D）
Getting a new PC is one thing．Keeping it running smoothly is quite another．While a personal computer should continue to perform well for years，users know that system unsteadiness does exist．Yet you can reduce it to the smallest amount by following the tips below．
First，put in as little software（软件）as possible．You'll have fewer software-related problems and a system that is easier to manage．
Second，you should ensure that you have as much memory（RAM）in your PC as you need．If you run Windows 98，your computer should have at least 128 megabytes（MB）of RAM and more．You can also get by with 128MB of RAM if you use Windows NT or Windows 2000，but these operating systems will run much more smoothly if you have 256MB of RAM or more．
Third，make sure you buy good hardware（硬件）．No-name products may be cheaper and sometimes just as good as name-brand products， but name-brand products usually become well-known because of their steadiness．It's wise to buy products from famous companies because Windows will more often support the hardware that you buy．If you are starting out with computers，it's also a good idea to buy ready-made systems from major manufacturers（制造商）．
They are likely to have been tested thoroughly with your operating system，and you will generally experience fewer problems．Fourth，do prepare for disaster．No matter how well your system runs when you get it，the day will come when it will need to be replaced．Hopefully，you will replace it because technology has become outdated，but you may need to replace it also because the hard drive crashes（毁掉）or you begin experiencing problems that no one can figure out．That's why it's important to copy your important information regularly．Whether you use a tape backup device or a CD-RW drive，it's important to make a regular backup plan and stick to it．
12．If you want to use Windows 2000，but your computer only has 64MB．What will you have to do？
A．Enlarge its RAM to at least 256MB．
B．Put in good software in your computer．
C．Enlarge its RAM to at least 128MB．
D．Have Windows NT to match it．
13.How many pieces of advice on buying good hardware does the writer give us？
A．Three B．Two C．One D．Four
14．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ____ ．
A．your computer will copy the important information when the system fails
B．your computer might lose all the information when its hard drive crashes
C．you have to replace your computer one day
D．you must change your system regularly
15．The best title of this passage can be ．
A．The Tips You Must Follow
B．How to Start out with a Computer
C．How to Use Your PC Better
D．How to Keep Your PC Stable（稳定）
（E）
When I opened my e-mail the other day，a pretty woman named Rachel appeared on my computer screen．She greeted me by name and started talking with great enthusiasm（热情）．
Every now and then she stopped to smile at me or blow a kiss．She was reading to me an e-mail from my brother，and a lot of it was about the trouble he had getting the phone company to give him a high-speed Internet connection．It was pretty cool．
Rachel was there thanks to a new technology called Facemail．Facemail lets you send e-mail that gets read to the recipient（收件人） by an attractive male or female form or by a clown（小丑）．The software，which is free，can be downloaded at www．facemail．com．
Facemail faces are lifelike，and they simulate（模拟）emotions based on emotions—for example，—that you put in your text．Type in： -X，and Rachel blows a kiss．
Life FX，the company that develops the Facemail，is sure there are broad business uses．The reason e-business is not popular，the company says，is that buying over the Internet lacks the human touch．But what if you went to the Nike website and Michael Jordan greeted you by name，waited on you and personally closed the sale？And it is talking with Whirlpool（惠而浦公司）about using the technology in a computer screen on a fridge．Then if Mom can't be home when the kids get back from school，she can leave a note with voice and image telling them what there is to eat．Facemail could get hot fast．Personally，I'm a fan．But Facemail should be used with care．The clown looks lively and funny at first．But if you select the clown，put a few rude words in an e-mail and add some angry emotions，you've got Psycho-mail（疯人型电子邮件）．
16．The pretty woman that appears on the writer's computer screen was ____ ．
A．a woman working on the Internet
B．his brother's girlfriend
C．not a real person
D．the picture of his penfriend
17．The main advantage of Facemail is that．
A．you can hire a beautiful woman to read the e-mail to you
B．you can see the person who sends you the e-mail
C．you can put your own emotions in the e-mail as you like
D．e-mail can be read in a more lovely way
18．We can infer from the passage that Face-mail ____ ．
A．is likely to be used in other aspects（方面）of our daily life
B．can destroy your e-mail if not properly used
C．can be downloaded free of charge
D．will take the place of the e-mail system
19．The writer mentioned Nike website and Michael Jordan to show that ____ ．
A．famous people like Michael Jordan also like to use Facemail
B．Facemail can make shopping on the Internet more interesting
C．Nike company is increasing its sales through the fame of Jordan
D．Michael Jordan will serve you himself on Nike website
20．What is the writer's attitude towards Face-mail？
A．He thinks it needs further improvement．
B．He thinks it cool and funny．
C．He thinks it a danger to the Internet．
D．He thinks people should be careful with Facemail．
参考答案(二) 1---5 CDACC 6---10 ADBAB 11---15 BCABD 16---20 CDABB