ay important to you? Your use of the computer will help you decide which characteristics are necessary, which are nice, and which are unnecessary. Fourth, when you have limited your choices to a few computers, look at the secondary uses and programs. For example, if your main reason for buying a home computer is to play games, you may take computer A instead of computer B because computer A also can be used as a word processor. Fifth, think of the price. There are prices to think about. The first price is the price you must pay to take the computer home. The second is the price of additional programs and possible additions that you might want to buy at a later date. Be sure to try out the computer before you buy it. Sales people at computer shops are happy to help you choose the computer that will best fit your needs and cost you least. 1. How to select a computer. Here “select” means . A. buy B. choose C. examine D. find 2. Computers are very versatile. This sentence means . A. computers are very expensive B. computers can do many things C. computers are very good to play with D. computers come in different sizes 3. You should take steps before you buy a computer. A. five B. six C. four D. seven 4. Which step is the most important for you to buy a computer? A. The first step B. The last step C. The fifth step D. The second step 5. This passage tells us . A. about computers B. how to buy a computer C. what computers are good to use D. which computers are expensive 4 The water level of oceans rises and falls twice every day. This movement of water is called the tide. Tides are caused by the pull of the sun and the moon on the earth's surface; since the moon is closer, it affects the tides more than the sun. When the moon is directly overhead, it actually pulls on the water that is below it. This causes the water level to rise because the water is pulled away from the earth. As the moon disappears over the horizon, the pull lessens and the water level settles back towards the ocean bottom.   When the water reaches its highest level, we have high tide. And when the water comes to its lowest level, we have low tide. From its lowest point, the water rises gradually for about six hours until it reaches high tide. Then it begins to fall continuously for about six hours until it reaches low tide. Then the cycle begins again. 1. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage? A. The Moon and Ocean B. The Moon and the Tide C. Water Levels D. The Pull of the Moon and the Sun 2. The pull of the moon on the earth's surface is stronger than that of the sun because ________. A. The moon is directly over the earth B. The moon pulls the water away from the earth C. The moon is closer to the earth D. The moon moves around the earth 3. Water level reaches its low point when __________. A. the moon is hidden by clouds B. the moon's effect is indirect C. the moon moves far away D. the sun is overhead 4. High tide occurs __________. A. every 12 hours B. every 6 hours C. every 24 hours D. every 18 hours 5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true? A. Weather sometimes affects tides. B. The force directly affecting the earth's surface comes form the moon only. C. The effect to the sun on the ocean water can be neglected. D. Tides are the result of the pull of the moon and the sun. 5 According to an old story, a farmer once found that a bag of corn had been stolen from his house. He went to the judge and told him about his loss. The judge ordered all the people of the farm to come before him. He took a number of sticks of equal length and gave one stick to each man. He then said, “Come before me again tomorrow. I shall then know which of you is the thief because the stick given to the thief will be one inch longer than the others.” The thief was afraid of being found out, and so he cut an inch off his stick. The next day the thief’s stick was found to be one inch shorter than any of the others. In this way the thief was found out, and was at once taken away to prison. 1. A bag of corn was found ________.    A. to be stolen        B. be stolen              C. being stolen      D. having stolen 2. The judge gave each man a stick _______.    A. to change back the farmer’s corn       B. to beat the thief    C. as a tool to find out the thief                 D. so as to play a game together 3. According to the judge, the next day the thief's stick would be one inch longer than the others’ because _______. A. the thief’s stick would grow one inch longer B. something wrong would happen to the thief’s stick C. the other’s sticks would become one inch shorter D. the judge had given the longer stick to the thief 4. The thief cut the stick an inch shorter and _______. A. he was finally found out B. the judge couldn’t catch him C. his stick had an equal length with the others’ D. his stick wouldn’t be any longer 5. The wise way the judge found out the thief in the end was to make ______. A. the thief to cut an inch off the stick B. the thief cut an inch off the stick C. the stick grow an inch longer D. the thief tell him what he had done 6  My Aunt Edith was a widow of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious heart illness. Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily. She began studying medical reports in the library and found an article in a magazine about a well-known heart doctor, Dr. Michael DeBakey, in Houston, Texas. He had saved the life of someone with the same illness. The article said Dr. DeBakey’s fees were very high; Aunt Edith couldn’t possibly pay them. But could he tell her of someone whose fees she could pay? So Aunt Edith wrote to him. She simply listed her reasons for wanting to live: her three children, who would be on their own in three or four more years and among them a little girl who always dreamed of traveling and seeing the world. There wasn’t a word of self-pity—only warmth and humor and the joy of living. She mailed the letter, not really expecting an answer. A few days later, my doorbell rang. Aunt Edith didn’t wait to come in; she stood in the hall and read aloud: Your beautiful letter moved me very deeply. If you can come to Houston, there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation. Signed: Michael DeBakey That was seven years ago. Since then, Aunt Edith has been around the world. Her three children are happily married. For her age, she is one of the youngest, most alive people I know. 1. “Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily” means that . A. she is very beautiful B. she is very strong C. she is very brave D. she is very warm-hearted 2. Why did Aunt Edith write to Dr. DeBakey? Because . A. she had no time to visit him B. she didn’t know the way to Houston C. she didn’t believe in him D. she wanted to get some help from him 3. In fact, Aunt Edith’s letter to Dr. DeBakey was full of . A. courage B. illness C. pity D. sadness 4. After reading Dr. DeBakey’s letter, Aunt Edith felt . A. discouraged B. frightened C. disappointed D. encouraged 5. The reason why Aunt Edith remains young is that . A. she had an operation by a famous doctor B. she has been light-hearted all the time C. her three children take good care of her D. she has lost heart to live on 7 The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.” “If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.” “I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.” I looked down the counter and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?” “We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.” “So when it goes down, you go down with it.” “That’s very good, sir.” “How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know. “I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There is no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.” After the girl told me they had not a backup computer, I said, “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?” “I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.” “Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington,” I suggested. “I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.” “Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?” “I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘IT’ just can’t tell me. ” By this time there were quite a few people standing in line. Word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage. 1. “The computer is down” means . A. the computer doesn’t work B. the computer is backward C. the computer is important D. the computer is cheap 2. What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer? She could . A. sell a ticket B. write out a ticket C. answer the passengers’ questions D. do nothing 3. Why do you think they had not a backup computer? Because it was . A. easy to go down B. very expensive C. not advanced enough D. not as big as the main computer 4. According to this passage how long would the computer be down? A. For 10 minutes B. For an hour. C. It would be down for two hours. D. It wasn’t clear. 5. The last paragraph suggests that . a modern computer won’t be down computers can take the place of humans C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people D. there will be great changes in computers 8 Do you have a self-image that can help you succeed or one that can make you fail? Let’s discover what self-image is all about. Get a picture in your mind of two empty chairs. In these two chairs let’s imagine two visitors. In the first chair let’s seat a young man who is deaf. In the second one let’s seat a young man who was born with part of one foot missing. The first young man was a musician who composed many great songs and symphonies (¤NÍTPN). When he was still a young man he lost his hearing. It is generally believed that a person cannot be a professional musician or composer without hearing, but this man had a special talent that enabled him to write some of the most beautiful music ever written. This man was Beethoven. The visitor in the second chair was a young boy who was born with part of one foot missing. He loved sports, especially football. As a young boy and later a young man he had always dreamed of playing football with a major league football team. He had a thirst that could not be quenche