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1、AOne evening in February 2007, a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in Wales. She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path .Thats when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train. Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line. Seconds later,
2、 she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.Ceelys near miss made the news because she blamed it on he GPS (导航仪). She had never driven the route before. It was dark and raining heavily. Ceely was relying on her GPS, but it made no mention of the crossing. “I put my
3、 complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train,” she told the BBC.Who is to blame here? Rick Stevenson, who tells Ceelys story in his book When Machines Fail Us, points the finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but
4、 our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small problems. And its not just GPS devices: Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards.The problem with his argument in the book is that its not clear why
5、 he only focuses on digital technology, while there may be a number of other possible causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor singalling system. Or maybe someone has
6、studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment. But Stevenson doesnt say.Its a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an account of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based
7、 locking systems for cars. He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once again not all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe its also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets. Or changing social circ
8、umstances. Or some combination of these factors.The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex. It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser use of technology.If there is such a way,
9、it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines. After all, we have lived with them for thousands of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long.41.What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident？A. She was not familiar with the road.B. It wa
10、s dark and raining heavily then.C. The railway workers failed to give the signal.D. Her GPS device didnt tell her about the crossing.42.The phrase “near miss” (Paragraph 2) can best be replaced by_.A. close hit B. heavy loss C. narrow escape D. big mistake43. Which of the following would Rick Steven
11、son most probably agree with?A. Modern technology is what we cant live without.B. Digital technology often falls short of our expectation.C. Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be.D. GPS error is not the only cause for Ceelys accident.44. In the writers opinion, Stevensons argument i
12、s _.A. one-sided B. reasonable C. puzzling D. well-based45. What is the real concern of the writer of this article?A. The major causes of traffic accidents and car thefts.B. The relationship between human and technology.C. The shortcomings of digital devices we use.D. The human unawareness of techni
13、cal problems.【解析】41答案 D。主人翁对这件事情发表的原因，我们因为着重关注第二段。她完全依靠GPS 帮她引路，但是这个高科技居然把她带到了火车铁轨上，害得她险些送命。根据第二段最后一个话得出。C 答案，主人翁没有提到， B 选项是天气影响因素，并不是造成此次事件的主要原因。A 很有迷惑性，但是我们仔细想一下，既然使用 GPS，说明她本来就对路线不熟，才会借助高科技。42. 答案 C。GPS 把她带到了飞速运行的火车线路上，这是一次非常危险的经历，但是她并没有发生意外，算是死里逃生，near miss， narrow escape 表达的就是这层含义。其实根据第一段最后一句 t
14、he train drag her car almost a kilometer down the railway tracks，火车拖着她的车差点就进入铁轨了，所以是死里逃生啊。43. 答案 B。出现 Stevenson 观点就 3、5，所以我们要着重把这三段看仔细了。 “We put our faith in digital device, he says, but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job.”我们把信仰关注在数码设备上，但是往往，他们却不合我们的心意，所以数码技术常常没有达到我们的期望。词眼“expectati
15、on”和“faith”相关，值得关注。44. 答案 A。选项四个褒贬都有，说明文章中肯定存在着与他看法相悖的理论。我们看第四段， “while there may be a number of other possible causes. A map makes might have left the. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention, Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system work out that there re
16、ally is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment.”造成此次事故或者其他高科技失灵事件，可能还有其他很多原因，比如主观人为的，或者是火车信号系统不好等等，But Stevenson doesnt say. 所以他的观点是片面的。45. 一般性最后一体都会问到主旨大意，作者的观点等等，要做好这一题，我们要继续往后看，6、7 两段点出了文章的主题思想。The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex . 是人与科技之间的游戏是复杂的，所以文章讲的是人类与科技之间的关系。One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 18
