B

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that.As soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

46. Why did the boy start his job young?

A. He wanted to be famous in the future.

B. The job was quite easy for him.

C. His mother had high hopes for him.

D. The competition for the job was fierce.

47. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A. excited     B. interested       C. ashamed       D. disappointed

48.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A. She forced him to continue.       B. She punished him.

C. She gave him some money.       D. She changed her plan.

49. What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

A. The war between the boy’s parents.

B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

D. The fight between the boy and his father.

50. What is the text mainly about?

A. The early life of a journalist.

B. The early success of a journalist.

C. The happy childhood of the writer.

D. The important role of the writer in his family.

C

Do you have bright ideas? Ideas or inventions that change society or, at least, make life easier for somebody? Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don’t often make the idea a reality. Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called British Designers for Tomorrow. The competition encourages young people to carry out their bright ideas. There were two groups in the contest: Group One was for schoolchildren under 16; Group Two was for schoolchildren over 16, and there were eleven prize-winners altogether.

Neil Hunt, one of the prize-winners, was called “Sunshine Superman”. It’s important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately. We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is. Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight. Neil’s is more accurate and this is very important for research into the way of using solar power.

You can do so much with animated cartoon. Look at Simon West’s idea for animated road signs. He uses pictures which appear to move as you go nearer to or farther from them. This isn’t a new idea. But it is new to use these pictures on road signs. “We found that people were more likely to see moving signs,” said Simon. So now, you can really see rocks falling, trains moving, horses running or a car falling over the edge of a cliff. Quite a warning!

The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised that British industry doesn’t ask more schoolchildren for suggestions. Perhaps this will be the start of “pupil power!”

51.The writer holds that people seldom      .

A. make their life easier             B. turn their bright ideas into reality

C. have bright ideas                D. think of inventing something

52. The organizers of the competition hoped the schoolchildren would      .

A. become good designers for future Britain

B. win as many prizes as they could

C. design something useful for the next day

D. invent something for immediate use

53. Neil Hunt’s design would finally lead to the improvement of the way of        .

A. recording direct sunshine

B. knowing how strong sunlight is

C. using the energy of the sun

D. recording the hours of sunshine

54. What’s the use of Simon West’s animated road signs?

A. To add to the beauty of a city.

B. To warn people on the roads of the danger ahead.

C. To help make a car trip more exciting.

D. To warn people to be careful while working.

55. The writer seems to be encouraging the British industry to          .

A. help schoolchildren in their studies

B. take better care of schoolchildren

C. stop asking schoolchildren for suggestions

D. pay more attention to schoolchildren’s inventive power

D

Artificial intelligence(人工智能) is the science and engineering of designing intelligent machines. The introduction of artificial intelligence into machines will enable them to think, learn and reason.Intelligent machines will be able to perform dangerous tasks, thus reducing the risk to human life. But there is another side to artificial intelligence.

Firstly, if robots start replacing human resources in every field, we will have to deal with serious issues like unemployment in turn leading to mental depression, poverty and crime in society. Human beings deprived of their work life may not find any ways to let their energies out and use their knowledge. Human beings will be left with empty time.

Secondly, replacing human beings with robots in every field may not be a right decision to make. There are many jobs that require the human touch. Intelligent machines will surely not be able to replace the caring behavior of nurses or the comforting voice of a doctor. Intelligent machines may not be the right choice for customer service.

One of the major disadvantages of intelligent machines is that they cannot be “human”. We might be able to make them think. But will we be able to make them feel? Intelligent machines will surely be able to work for long hours. But will they do it with dedication? Will they work with devotion? How will intelligent machines work wholeheartedly when they don’t have a heart?

Apart from these concerns, there are chances that intelligent machines might control human beings. Machines may make human beings their slaves and start ruling the world.

Some thinkers consider it ethically(伦理上)wrong to create artificial intelligent machines. According to them, intelligence is God’s gift to mankind. It is not correct to even try to create replicas(复制品)of human beings. Don’t you think so?

56.According to the passage, intelligent machines can help people to _______.

A .think in a logical way

B. make faster and better decisions

C. free from some dangerous work

D. reduce crime in society

57.What is the main idea of the passage?

A .Artificial intelligence can cause human beings many problems.

B .Artificial intelligence can reduce the risk to human life.

C. Intelligent machines can be made to think, learn and reason.

D. Intelligent machines bring great opportunities for human beings.