It is difficult to imagine what life would be like without memory. The meanings of thousands of everyday perceptions, the bases for the decisions we make, and the roots of our habits and skills are to be found in our past experiences, which are brought into the present by memory. Memory can be defined as the capacity to keep information available for later use. It includes not only “remembering“ things like arithmetic or historical facts, but also involves any change in the way an animal typically behaves. Memory is involved when a rat gives up an eating grain because he has sniffed something suspicious in the grain pile. Memory is also involved when a six-year-old child learns to swing a baseball bat. Memory exists not only in humans and animals but also in some physical objects and machines. Computer, for example, contains devices for storing data for later use. It is interesting to compare the memory storage capacity of a computer with that of a human being. The instant-access memory of a large computer may hold up to 1,000 ,000“words“ ready for instant use. An average U. S. teenager probably recognizes the meaning of about 100,000 words of English. However, his is but a fraction of the total amount of information which the teenager has stored. Consider, for example, the number of faces and places that the teenager can recognize on sight. The use of words is the basis of the advanced problem solving intelligence of human beings. A large part of a person’s memory is in terms of words and combinations of words.

(annoy) Much to our , we couldn’t see anything from the back row of the theatre.

(employ) Four out of five U. S. corporations with more than 500 now offer educational opportunities to workers, and many professional associations have educational programs for their members.

(active) If you weren’t so______you wouldn’t be so fat.

(world) This has been the dream of many linguists over the centuries, and almost a thousand languages have been invented for this purpose, not to replace the native languages but to provide a second language for______ communication.

(surround) Animals in zoos are not in their natural

Authority ease from unfamiliar refer cumbersome forth improve exclude complicate up knowledge I do and Interlingua followed Esperanto and improved it, by cutting out some of the 【G1】______ Latin grammar that still remained. In 1928, Otto Jespersen, the famous Danish linguist who is known as the greatest 【G2】______on the English language, put 【G3】______ a concoction of his own called Novial. It was an 【G4】______ on Esperanto but still had the same basic approach. Jespersen thought that the best type of international language was one that offered the greatest 【G5】______ of learning to the greatest number of people. But when Jespersen thinks of the “greatest number of people“ he is 【G6】______ to Europeans or people of other continents whose language and culture derives 【G7】______Europe. This completely 【G8】______native populations of the continents of Asia and Africa and of the Pacific Islands, for whom Novial would be totally 【G9】______ Still, if the language is a well-constructed one and not too 【G10】______, perhaps it could nevertheless be adopted by those unfamiliar with its roots and structure. (From Bricks from the Tower of the Babel)

Television that most pervasion and persuasive of modern technologies, marked by rapid change and growth is moving into a new era, an era of extraordinary sophistication and versatility, which promises to reshape our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, made possible by the marriage of television and computer technologies. Very simply put, television works in this way: through a sophisticated system of electronics, television provides the capability of converting an image into electronic impulses,which can be sent through a wire or cable. These impulses, when fed into a receiver (television set),can then be electronically reconstituted into that same image. The field of television can be divided into two categories determined by its means of transmission. First, there is broadcast television, which reaches the masses through broad-based airwave transmission of television signals. Second, there is one broadcast television, which provides for the needs of individuals or specific interest groups through controlled transmission techniques. Traditionally, we are most familiar with broadcast television; ABC, NBC and CBS have been the major purveyors of news,information, and entertainment. But now, in addition, we have CNN, Cable News Network, the first global TV news company. With its advent, the very definition of news was rewritten from something that has happened to something that is happening at the very moment you are hearing of it. In 1991 ,one of the most eventful years of this century, the world witnessed the dramatic and transforming impact of live televised news coverage on the latest developments. For turning viewers in 150 countries into instant witnesses of history, whereby influencing the dynamic of events, Robert Edward Turner president of CNN, was Time’s Man of the Year for 1991.

All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. 【C1】______. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours. I speak,of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited Such stories set us thinking,wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What events, what experiences, what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? 【C2】______? Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. 【C3】______ , but most people would be chastened by certainty of impending death. In stories, the doomed hero is usually saved at the last minute by some stroke of fortune, but almost always his sense of values is changed. 【C4】______ . It has often been noted that those who live, or have lived, in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do. Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. 【C5】______ . We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty task, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life. The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. 【C6】______. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill. I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. 【C7】______ Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed. “Nothing in particular. “She replied. 【C8】______, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little. How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? 【C9】______. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough shaggy bark of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud, the first sigh of awakening Nature after her winter’s sleep. I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolution; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy shiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. 【C10】______. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my fingertips. (From Three Days to see) A. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty-four hours B. This is a basic fact to keep in mind C. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties D. He becomes more appreciative of the meaning of life and its permanent spiritual values E. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound F. There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of“Eat, drink, and be merry“ G. In this way, the survivors can become all-powerful H. I who cannot see find hundred of things to interest me through mere touch I. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable J. I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such responses K. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug L. What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets

In the old days, when a glimpse of stockings was looked upon as something far too shocking to distract the serious work of an office, secretaries were men. Then came the First World War and the male secretaries were replaced by women. A man’s secretary became his personal servant,charged with remembering his wife’s birthday and buying her presents;taking his suits to dry-cleaners; telling lies on the telephone to keep people he did not wish to speak to at bay; and, of course, typing and filing and taking shorthand. Now all this may be changing again. Hie microchip (集成块)and high technology is sweeping the British office, taking with it much better of the routine clerical work that secretaries did. “Once office technology takes over generally, the status of the job will rise again because it will involve only the high-powered work and then men will want to do it again. “ That was said by one of the executives (male) of one of the biggest secretarial agencies in this country. What he has predicted is already under way in the U. S.. Once high technology has made the job secretary less routine, will there be a male takeover? Men should beware of thinking that they can walk right into better jobs. There are a lot of women secretaries who will do the job as well as they not just because they can buy negligees (妇女长睡衣) for the boss’ wife, but because they are as efficient and well-trained to cope with word processors and computers as men.

If culture is learned, there must be channels of transmission. This is the task of agents of socialization people and organizations charged with conveying the rules. Chief among these are parents, peers, teachers, the media, and religious authorities. The first and most important agent of socialization is those who care for infants. In the earliest months,messages from nur-turers constitute the child’s basic understanding of the world around it. This is the infant’s first introduction to the language that shapes perception and elicits emotions. What the child learns is the culture as mediated through others. A desire for continued interaction with the nurturers, combined with a fear of losing these sources of pleasure, motivates the infant to become sensitive to the cues of those entrusted with its care. Another powerful source of information and socialization is the friendship group of age peers. Peers are equals, whereas parents are superiors in relation to the child. The greater power of parents makes some kinds of learning difficult. A distance and formality must be observed even in the most indulgent homes. Peers, on the other hand, are those one can deal with on the same level as oneself: tease, insult, let imagination loose upon, share dreadful mistakes with, and so on, but without the heavy emotional overlay of family relationship. Much formal socialization is placed in the hands of professionals. Teachers from kindergarten are specifically designated agents of socialization, and are paid for the task. Ideally, a teacher is one who has both knowledge and the skills to present it. In an earlier time,parents,friends,and teachers would comprise the list of primary childhood socializers. Children’s books, comics, and magazines might also have been mentioned as sources of information on norms and role models. Today one must add four powerful indirect socialization agents: radio, movie, television and computer. Many people learn about politics, form a vision of the good life,and develop attitudes toward others from what they see on the screen and hear through loudspeakers.

New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It’s now a“global village“where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly enhanced by foreign language skills. Deeply involved with this new technology is a breed of modern business people who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts. Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks, the executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind“. He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more prevalent (普通的). Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets. English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal. The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.

When we accept the evidence of our unaided eyes and describe the Sun as a yellow star, we have summed up the most important single fact about it at this moment in time. It appears probable, however, that sunlight will be the color we know for only a negligibly small part of the Sun’s history. Stars, like individuals, age and change. As we look out into space, we see around us stars at all stages of evolution. There are faint bloodred dwarfs so cool that their surface temperature is a mere 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, there are searing ghosts blazing at 100,000 degrees Fahrenheit and almost too hot to be seen, for the great part of their radiation is in the invisible ultraviolet range. Obviously, the “daylight“ produced by any star depends on its temperature; today (and for ages to come) our Sun is at about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and this means that most of the Sun’s light is concentrated in the yellow band of the spectrum, falling slowly in intensity toward both the longer and shorter light waves. That yellow “hump“ will shift as the Sun evolves, and the light of day will change accordingly. It is natural to assume that as the Sun grows older, and uses up its hydrogen fuel—which it is now doing at the spanking rate of half a billion tons a second — it will become steadily colder and redder.

(liquid) The farmer had to his farm.

(warm) A baby’s needs are quite basic—food, and love.

(inhabit) The machine lands on a desolate beach where the Time Traveler discovers the only are giant, evil-looking crabs.

(pace) The instruments of war have far______the instruments of peace.

(scorn) Their Emperor did not believe that Britain would go to war for “a bit of paper“, which was______ his description of Palmerston’s treaty.

What kind of things does a hacker do? In what ways are hackers harmful to the network security?

What threat have hackers posed to the American government? How the government deal with these problems?

According to the passage, memory is considered to be ______. ( )

The comparison made between the memory capacity of a large computer and that of a human being shows that ( )

The whole passage implies that . ( )

The phrase“in terms of“ in the last sentence can best be replaced by ( )

What will be accounted for after the last paragraph of this passage? ( )