5. Passage Twenty-Six Today just as technology changed the face of industry， farmers have undergone an “agricultural revolution” . On the farm of today， machines provide all the power. One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records， so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant， how much livestock to buy， when to sell their products， and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog (猪) producers， grain farmers， potato farmers， and dairy farmers. In the future， farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm， students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power， and modern farms depend on machine power， farms of the future will depend on computer power. Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot， a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and， in some ways， think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present， farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear (修剪) sheep， drive tractors， and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example， in order to milk their cows， farmers must first drive them into the special barn (畜棚)， then connect them to the milking machines， watch the machines， and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future， this will all be done by robots. In addition， when the milking is completed， the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future， but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long. What is the best title for the whole passage?

2. Passage Thirteen Trees are useful to man in three important ways: they provide him with wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent droughts and floods. Unfortunately， in many parts of the world， man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important. In his eagerness to make money from trees， he has cut them down in large numbers， only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had. And besides， he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees. So the forests slowly disappear. This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees. The results are even more serious: for where there are trees， their roots break up soil——allowing the rain to sink in——and also bind the soil， thus preventing it from being washed away easily; but where there are no trees， the rain falls on hard ground and flows away， causing floods and carrying away the rich top-soil. When all the top-soil is gone， nothing remains but worthless desert. Two thousand years ago a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships， with which to gain itself an empire. It set up the empire but， without its trees， its soil became poor and it grew weak. When the empire fell to pieces， the home country found itself faced with floods and starvation.Why do forests in many parts of the world slowly disappear?

A. New trees are not looked after properly.

B. Many trees have been cut down by man.

C. Man has not paid enough attention to planting trees.

D. All of the above.

42. The man tried to force the locked door open but (_____)_.

A. 　 in vain

B. 　 in no way

C. 　 without effect

D. 　 at a loss

41.(_____)_ who she was, she said she was Mr.Johnson’s friend.

A. 　 Asking

B. 　 Asked

C. 　 To be asked

D. 　 When asking

32. Great changes have taken place in my hometown since the 1980s. Still (_____)_ changes will take place in the future.

A. 　 greater

B. 　 great

C. 　 more great

D. 　 greatest

48. If you associate with such people, I' m afraid you(_____)serious trouble.

A. 　 are heading for

B. 　 are making

C. 　 are avoiding

D. 　 are creating

33. Early in the day came the news (_____)_ Germany had declared war on Russia.

A. 　 which

B. 　 what

C. 　 that

D. 　 whose

1. Passage Twenty-Eight On November 19， 1863， Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett， a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere. It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night， alone in his hotel room and tired out， he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15，000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked， “I have failed again.” On the train back to Washington， he said sadly， “That speech was a flat failure， and the people are disappointed” . Some newspapers at first criticized the speech， but little by little as people read the speech， they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made. Today， every American school child learns Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history. In 1863， Abraham Lincoln was ( ) .

A. very critical

B. unpopular

C. very popular

D. very courteous

37. The firm’s promise to increase our pay was a concession (_____)_union demands.

A. 　 against

B. 　 for

C. 　 upon

D. 　 to

35. This shirt is much smarter than(_____) you were wearing yesterday.

A. 　 one

B. 　 the one

C. 　 which

D. 　 that

3. Passage Three Have you always dreamed of traveling to cool places， meeting lots of different people， and maybe picking up a language or two? No matter what country you live in， you can fly over the world’s highest waterfalls in Venezuela， learn world trade in Japan， study art in France， or take dancing lessons in Ghana. How? Join a study abroad program， where high school and college students live with a host family in a foreign country. Semester， summer， and year-long programs allow you to attend school， take intensive language courses， or perform community service in another country. Besides the excitement of travel， one reason to study abroad is that you will experience new customs， holidays， foods， art， music， and politics firsthand. “I learned the language and am now fluent， but perhaps more important was how much I learned about cultures， people， and myself. I learned this from the viewpoint of an active member of the community and my host family， not from the tourist’s point of view，” says Andrew， who studied in Poitiers， France. Another reason for studying abroad is that you’ll gain self-confidence. Christina studied in Caracas， Venezuela， a city of 10 million people and a huge change from her hometown of 35，000! Christina says she learned how to better stand up for herself and her beliefs and to express herself in another language. What could make you more confident than that? Living away from home can also help you adjust in the transition to college and adulthood. Matthew says he returned from studying in Australia with confidence， social savvy， and a genuine interest in international affairs that really set him apart from his peers. “After having gone abroad in high school， I found the transition to college to be a breeze—moving 560 miles from home didn’t seem particularly daunting after having lived thousands of miles away.” And speaking of college， improving your language skills might help you get into dream colleges and even land future jobs. Colleges and employers know that studying abroad provides leadership skills in a world that is increasingly globally interconnected. Most of all， it’s fun! You’re not likely to suffer from sophomore slump or general boredom while you’re studying in a different learning environment. From which viewpoint did Andrew learn about cultures， people， and himself?

A. From the viewpoint of a student from a different culture.

B. From the viewpoint of a curious and active person.

C. From the viewpoint of an active member of the community and his host family.

D. From the viewpoint of an active member of the host family.