Step into Moving to Mars, an exhibition of Mars mission and colony design at London’s Design Museum, and immediately you have good reasons not to move there.
Frightening glowing wall-texts announce that Mars wasn’t made for you； that there is no life and precious little water: that, dressed in a spacesuit, you will never touch, taste or smell the planet you now call “home”. As Lisa Grossman wrote for New Scientist a couple of years ago, “What’s different about Mars is that there is nothing to do there except try not to die”.
It is an odd beginning for such a celebratory exhibition, but it provides a valuable, dark background against which the rest of the show can sparkle (闪耀)—a show that is ,as its chief manager Justin remarks，“not about Mars ； this is an exhibition about people”.
Moving along, there is a quick yet clear flash through what the science-fiction writer Robinson calls “the history of Mars in the human mind”. A Babylonian clay tablet and a Greek vase speak to early ideas about the planet. A poster for the original Total Recall film reminds us of Mars’s psychological threat.
The main part of the show is our current plans for the Red Planet. There are real spacesuits and models of 3D-printed Martian settlements and suitable clothing and furniture. Mission architectures and engineering sketches line the walls. Real hammers meant for the International Space Station are wall-mounted beside a low-gravity table that has yet to leave, and may indeed never leave, Earth.
This, of course, is the great strength of approaching science through design: reality and assumption can be given equal visual weight, drawing us into an informed conversation about what it is that we actually want from a future on Mars.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A.How to move to Mars. B.How to survive on Mars.
C.What preparations we made for Mars. D.What the exhibition of Mars truly tells us.
2.What can we learn from Lisa Grossman?
A.It’s impossible to live on Mars. B.It’s no good settling on Mars.
C.You have nothing to do living on Mars. D.You can live on Mars in spacesuit.
3.What does the exhibition focus on?
A.The current plans for Mars. B.The advantages of living on Mars.
C.The early ideas about Mars. D.The history of Mars in the human mind.
4.What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A.An experience. B.An opinion. C.A fantasy. D.A solution.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Step into Moving to Mars, an exhibition of Mars mission and colony design at London’s Design Museum, and immediately you have good reasons not to move there.
Frightening glowing wall-texts announce that Mars wasn’t made for you； that there is no life and precious little water: that, dressed in a spacesuit, you will never touch, taste or smell the planet you now call “home”. As Lisa Grossman wrote for New Scientist a couple of years ago, “What’s different about Mars is that there is nothing to do there except try not to die”.
It is an odd beginning for such a celebratory exhibition, but it provides a valuable, dark background against which the rest of the show can sparkle (闪耀)—a show that is ,as its chief manager Justin remarks，“not about Mars ； this is an exhibition about people”.
Moving along, there is a quick yet clear flash through what the science-fiction writer Robinson calls “the history of Mars in the human mind”. A Babylonian clay tablet and a Greek vase speak to early ideas about the planet. A poster for the original Total Recall film reminds us of Mars’s psychological threat.
The main part of the show is our current plans for the Red Planet. There are real spacesuits and models of 3D-printed Martian settlements and suitable clothing and furniture. Mission architectures and engineering sketches line the walls. Real hammers meant for the International Space Station are wall-mounted beside a low-gravity table that has yet to leave, and may indeed never leave, Earth.
This, of course, is the great strength of approaching science through design: reality and assumption can be given equal visual weight, drawing us into an informed conversation about what it is that we actually want from a future on Mars.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A.How to move to Mars. B.How to survive on Mars.
C.What preparations we made for Mars. D.What the exhibition of Mars truly tells us.
2.What can we learn from Lisa Grossman?
A.It’s impossible to live on Mars. B.It’s no good settling on Mars.
C.You have nothing to do living on Mars. D.You can live on Mars in spacesuit.
3.What does the exhibition focus on?
A.The current plans for Mars. B.The advantages of living on Mars.
C.The early ideas about Mars. D.The history of Mars in the human mind.
4.What does the author want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A.An experience. B.An opinion. C.A fantasy. D.A solution.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
We’d been flying for hours, deeper and deeper into the desert of southeastern Niger. The mission: to find what is probably the last wild population of the great Saharan antelope called the addax (旋角羚)—the most endangered animal of its size in Africa.
Pilot Peter Ragg flew our bright red helicopter low over two parallel dunes (沙丘). The pale sand below us was dotted by the black bushes, the plants that are favorite food for the addax. Then, almost as if the dune extruded (使突出) them, two perfect addaxes appeared. Their long tails swung from side to side as they ran, heads held high on thick necks, horns reaching for the sky. We made a few turns in the plane, then let them be. In just a few seconds they were swallowed again by the Sahara. Soon they could just as easily disappear from the planet.
In September 2004 the government of Niger and a small NGO called SOS Faune du Niger surveyed this last known pocket of wild addaxes. They counted 128 individuals. Since then, the number has dropped as hunters have taken more for meat. How many addaxes remain in the Sahara is anybody’s guess, but those that do survive could be considered the living dead: There may not be a viable (能生存的) population left to reproduce.
I’m now helping to make an emergency plan for the last wild addaxes. With a few hundred thousand dollars, some trucks, and a strong group with the local Toubou guides, we may just be able to save these guys from extinction.
36. What do the addaxes in the passage usually eat?
A. Vegetables. B. Black bushes. C. Grass. D. Fruits.
37. All of the following descriptions of the addax are true EXCEPT that ____.
A. its tail is long B. its neck is thick
C. its legs are short D. its horns are long
38. What does the writer probably mean by saying that “There may not be a viable population left to reproduce”?
A. Wild addaxes will die out soon unless effective measures are taken.
B. The number of wild addaxes will increase if they are not hunted.
C. Wild addaxes cannot support themselves any longer.
D. Humans cannot survive without enough addaxes.
39. It can be inferred that the writer of the passage might be ____.
A. a journalist B. an official C. an engineer D. a zoologist
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Step into an American preschool classroom today and you are likely to fall into a so-called print-rich environment，every surface colorfully decorated with instructional posters，classroom rules，chedules，and mottos，few of which a 4-year-old can understand in fact．
Besides the confusing things on classroom walls，teaching methods and curriculums have changed recently，by which more time is spent on what’s called “seat work”一workbooks and worksheets—but less time devoted to music and art．School—readiness skills are essential for the youngest learners to move on to a subsequent stage. As a result, expectations that may arguably have been reasonable for 5-and 6-year-olds, such as bemg able to sit at a desk and using pencil and paper，are now directed at even younger children, who lack the motor skills and attention span to be successful．
However，parents of preschoolers tend to be on board with these changes，because they fear that the old—fashioned pleasures of unhurried learning have no place in today’s highly competitive world．The stress is obvious：Pick the “wrong” preschool and your child might not go to college．She might not be employable. She might not even be allowed to start first grade!
As preschoolers are learning so much academic knowledge at earlier ages，they seem somehow less curious and less engaged．Some teachers say that more children today seem to lack the language skills．The real focus in the preschool years should not be just on vocabularv and reading，but on talking and listening．By talking with adults, and one another，they pick up information，learn how things work and solve puzzles that trouble them．For our littlest learners，what could be more important than that?
1.Which of the statements does the author probably agree with?
A．Younger children can fully understand the instructional things in classrooms．
B．3-and 4-year-olds shouldn’t be expected too much in school readiness skills．
C．More time should be spent on“seat work’’ instead of music and art．
D．Even 5-and 6-year-olds have good motor skills and attention span．
2.The underlined phrase “be on board with” in the third paragraph most probably means “ ”.
A．accept B．reject C．doubt D．worry
3.Why are parents so picky when choosing a preschool for their kids?
A．Because some preschools are too old fashioned．
B．Because a wrong preschool might ruin kids’ future．
C．Because the competitions between kindergartens are fierce．
D．Because it is easy for them to choose a right preschool．
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A．New Preschool Breaking down the Kids．
B．The Early Bird Gets the Worm．
C．Preschool，the Gatekeeper to Elementary School?
D．Seat work，a Better Choice for the Youngest Kids?
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
China launched its fifth Beidou orbiter into space on Sunday morning, moving it one step closer to its goal of building a navigation(导航) and positioning satellite network.
The Beidou, or Compass, system is being built to rival the US-developed GPS, the European Union's Galileo and Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System. It can allow travelers, drivers and military officials to know their locations.
The fifth orbiter was launched on top of a Long March 3A carrier rocket at 5:30 am on Sunday from Xichang of Southwest China's Sichuan province.
It is the third Compass satellite launched this year, following launches on Jan 17 and June 2.
The short interval of less than two months since the last launch demonstrated that "the country is stepping into a busy period of launching the Compass satellites", an unnamed official in charge of the project said last month.
The first two orbiters were launched in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
Sun Jiadong, the Beidou program's chief designer, said on June 21 in a TV interview that China would launch 13 to 15 Beidou navigation satellites into orbit by 2012 to form a network that provides regional service covering the neighboring areas.
And in about 10 years, the network would be expanded to include more than 30 satellites covering the globe, he said.
The system is a crucial part of the country's space infrastructure for providing navigation and positioning services in transportation, meteorology, petroleum prospecting, forest fire monitoring, disaster forecasting, telecommunications and public security.
In addition, a global positioning system is crucial to any country's national security and defense, said Ran Chengqi, an official in charge of the program, referring to the fact that the US initially built its GPS system for military purposes.
It is unimaginable for China to go without such a system, he said.
Earlier reports cited（引用） Song Xiaojun, a Beijing-based military expert, as saying that 90 percent of the world's current weapons systems need a global positioning system.
1.This news report was probably released________.
A．in January, 2010 B．in June, 2010 C．in July, 2010 D．in August, 2010
2.The Compass System is expected to finally cover________in the future.
A．China B．China and its neigh boring areas
C．Asia, Europe and Oceania D．the earth
3.At the very beginning, the GPS system was built to help________.
A．military officers to judge their locations B．travelers to know their locations
C．drivers to reach their destinations easily D．hunters to find wild animals smoothly
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
It’s never easy to admit the mistakes you make, but doing so is an important step toward moving forward.
National Geographic magazine recently published an article with the title “For decades, our coverage was racist. To rise above our past, we must acknowledge it.” It was written by the magazine’s editor-in-chief Susan Goldberg, the first woman and first Jewish person to hold the position. National Geographic has acknowledged that its coverage of the black and racial minorities in America and the wider world has been historically racist, frequently promoting caricatures of the “noble savage” and barely featuring the US’s minority population.
According to Goldberg, the 130-year-old publication’s April issue “explores how race defines, separates, and unites us”. In honor of 50 years since the killing of Martin Luther King, who is known for fighting racial inequality in the US, the issue is devoted to race.
The publication republished a number of examples of historical racism in its coverage. One 1916 article about Australia included a photo of two Indigenous Australians with the wording: “South Australian Blackfellows: These savages rank lowest in intelligence of all human beings.”
To review its previous coverage of race, Goldberg asked University of Virginia historian John Edwin Mason to look back at the magazine’s text, choice of subjects, and photography of people of color from the US and abroad. “Until the 1970s, National Geographic all but ignored people of color who lived in the United States, rarely acknowledging them beyond laborer or domestic workers,” Goldberg wrote about Mason’s findings. “Meanwhile, it pictured ‘natives’ elsewhere as exotics, famously and frequently unclothed happy hunters, noble savages.”
Mason also found that the magazine often ran photos of “uncivilized” natives amazed by “civilized” Western technology.
In recent years, however, the magazine has improved. For example, in a 2015 project, National Geographic gave cameras to young people in the Caribbean country of Haiti and asked them to shoot pictures of their everyday lives.
“The coverage wasn’t right before, because it was told from a white American point of view, and I think it speaks to exactly why we needed a variety of storytellers,” Goldberg told the Associated Press.
National Geographic’s look at its past also inspired other media organizations to revisit their own historical coverage of race. The New York Times admitted that most of its obituaries(讣告) were about the lives of white men, and has started publishing obituaries of famous women in a special section titled “Overlooked”. After all, recognizing overlooked mistakes is what makes us grow.
1.The April issue of National Geographic magazine is special because ______.
A.readers can see Mason’s investigation report in this issue
B.it is released to mark National Geographic’s 130th anniversary
C.it focuses on the issue of race in memory of Martin Luther King
D.it is the first issue since Susan Goldberg became the editor-in-chief
2.Which of the following may prove National Geographic’s coverage was racist?
A.It often pictured coloured people with decent jobs.
B.Natives were often presented as undressed happy hunters.
C.It asked ordinary people to shoot pictures of their daily lives.
D.It only featured minority groups in America but overlooked others.
3.What can we learn about the National Geographic?
A.It used to tell stories from the perspective of a white Jewish woman.
B.The overall image of natives in it was brave, intelligent but uncivilized.
C.Its texts and choice of subjects were diverse and had no racial prejudice.
D.It inspired other media organizations to reflect on their coverage of race.
4.According to the writer, acknowledging the mistakes may .
A.spoil the image of the world famous magazine
B.remove racial discrimination around the world
C.help the magazine to move forward and grow better
D.discourage the editors from reporting bravely and honestly
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Step into Wonderland and follow any of the many tracks around Kinabalu Park. Even though it is the most explored and studied place in Borneo, new discoveries of rare plants are frequently being made here.
So take a map and set off on your own or follow Park Naturalists as they take you on guided path walks and point out the various wonders. There are also visual shows advertising rare plants and animals here. If you are a first time visitor, sign up for these shows and you’ll be excited when you find yourself identifying the same plants and animals on your walks or during your climb up Mt. Kinabalu.
Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden is one of the biggest attractions at the Park Started in 1981. This 5-acre Garden is an excellent collection of different kinds of plant—life on the mountain, as plants from all over the Park has been replanted here. There are hotels, inns and chalets at Kinabalu Park to suit one’s budget. For more information, click www.sabahtourism.com.
TLMETABLE GUIDEUNE
PLACE / INTEREST TIME (HRS)
1 KINABALU PARK HQ：
. Botanical Garden
. Guided Walk
. Slide Show 9:00 — 15:00
11:00
14:00 (and 19:30 on weekends)
2. PORING
. Butterfly Farm
. Tropical Garden
. Night Walk 9:00 — 16:00
13:30
By Prior (提前）Arrangement Only
3. MESILAU
Guided Nature Walk
. Monday to Friday
. Saturday and Sunday
9:30, 11:00, 14:00
7:30, 10:30, 14:00
4. KUNDASANG WAR MEMORIAL
. Daily (Monday to Sunday)
. Memorial Services and Special Programmes 10:00-17:00
By Prior Arrangement
Note：
Adult: $ 20. Kid under twelve: 50% off
Family including two adults and a kid under twelve: $40.
1.It can be learnt that _______.
A. Mt Kinabalu is a more explored and studied area than Borneo
B. there’re still some unknown rare plants in Kinabalu Park
C. Mt Kinabalu Botanical Garden attracts visitors due to its long history
D. visitors should follow the Park Naturalists so as not to get lost
2.The underlined word “chalets” (in Paragraph 3) most probably refers to “_______”.
A. plants B. garages C. cottages D. tracks
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Botanical Garden and Butterfly Farm open at the same time.
B. Guided Nature Walk is a favorite of first time visitors.
C. Slide Show is unavailable unless it is arranged in advance.
D. Visitors can have access to Night Walk anytime they wish.
4.If a couple visit the Park with their son aged 19, how much will they pay?
A. $30. B. $40. C. $50. D. $60.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Step into Wonderland and follow any of the many tracks around Kinabalu Park. Even though it is the most explored and studied place in Borneo, new discoveries of rare plants are frequently being made here.
So take a map and set off on your own or follow Park Naturalists as they take you on guided path walks and point out the various wonders. There are also visual shows advertising rare plants and animals here. If you are a first time visitor, sign up for these shows and you’ll be excited when you find yourself identifying the same plants and animals on your walks or during your climb up Mt. Kinabalu.
Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden is one of the biggest attractions at the park, which started in 1981. This 5-acre garden is an excellent collection of different kinds of plants on the mountain, as plants from all over the park have been replanted here. There are hotels, inns and chalets(牧人小屋) at Kinabalu Park to suit one’s budget. For more information, click www.sabahtourism.com.
| TIMETABLE GUIDE | |
| PLACE / INTEREST | TIME (HRS) |
| 1. KINABALU PARK HQ: Botanical Garden Guided Walk Slide Show | 9:00—15:00 11:00 14:00 (and 19:30 on weekends) |
| 2. PORING Butterfly Farm Tropical Garden Night Walk | 9:00—16:00 13:30 By Prior (提前) Arrangement Only |
| 3. MESILAU Guided Nature Walk Monday to Friday Saturday and Sunday | 9:30, 11:00, 14:00 7:30, 10:30, 14:00 |
| 4. KUNDASANG WAR MEMORIAL Daily (Monday to Sunday) Memorial Services & Special Programs | 10:00—17:00 By Prior Arrangement |
| Note: Adult: $20. Kid under twelve: 50% off Family including two adults and a kid under twelve: $40. |
1.What can we infer according to this text?
A. There’re still some unknown rare plants in Kinabalu Park.
B. Mt Kinabalu is a more explored and studied area than Borneo.
C. Mt Kinabalu Botanical Garden attracts visitors due to its long history.
D. Visitors should follow the Park Naturalists so as not to get lost.
2.Which of the following is a fact based on this text?
A. Guided Nature Walk is a favorite of first time visitors.
B. Botanical Garden and Butterfly Farm open at the same time.
C. Slide Show is unavailable unless it is arranged in advance.
D. Visitors can have access to Night Walk anytime they wish.
3.If a couple visit the Park with their son aged 19, how much will they pay?
A. $30. B. $40. C. $50. D. $60.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
For one tired out from work, autumn is one of the best times to step into the open air to kick back and enjoy some great music. And that’s what many Beijingers have done this past weekend.
Family, friends, laughter; beautiful grass, fresh air and live music echoing (回响) off the forest and the Great Wall that surround this place. A weekend in this music paradise（乐园） just seems too short. Besides, a brand new world-class outdoor theater has just been open at this year’s festival, which will surely make the festival a better and more permanent experience.
A full house is before the new outdoor amphitheater (圆形剧场). Even the thunderstorm couldn’t break up the crowd completely absorbed in the music. Thanks to the new theater, this year’s Great Wall Forest Festival offers even more superb acoustics（音效的）and an overall outdoor theatrical experience, even though the project is still half complete.
The festival is now in its fourth year. Since its first show in 2010, the festival has seen a steady increase in festival-goers and has expanded its length from two days to four days, divided over two weekends. It has also been experimenting with a variety of styles, from classical to pop, with this year’s theme “Celebrating 20 Years of Chinese Folk Song.” Folk Song legend Lao Lang explains how folk songs have helped encourage more amateur folks to express themselves through music.
“Before music was reserved for the professionals. But folk songs made young people realize that they can express themselves through music as well. And that’s what characterizes folk songs. It’s popular music and it always has a story.” said Lao Lang.
Unlike some of the other outdoor festivals, the Great Wall Forest Festival appeals to a wide range of audiences. It’s a rare place where teens, parents and families can all enjoy the outdoors and have a great time.
Great music and scenery aside, many children’s workshops, master music classes, and interactive art activities have also been introduced this year. If music is the reason to come to the festivals, you’ll find even more reasons not to leave.
1.What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “kick back” in Paragraph 1?
A. to hit with legs. B. to work harder
C. to relax oneself D. to make people leave
2.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The place where the Festival is held is near the Great Wall.
B. The completed project adds to the attraction of this year’s Festival.
C. The audience attending the festival bury themselves in the music.
D. The year 2010 saw the beginning of the Great Wall Forest Festival.
3.The 2014 Great Wall Forest Festival has got improved in the following aspects except that _________.
A. it has included different types of music
B. it has attracted a wide range of audiences
C. it has introduced more activities besides music
D. it has been expanded from 2 days to 4 days in a week
4.According to Lao Lang, we can know that _________.
A. folk songs can help amateur singers become famous easily
B. folk songs are the ones just intended for the professionals
C. a folk song, always with a story, belongs to popular music
D. popular songs are used by the young to express themselves
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
HOW would you like to step into the world of other people’s dreams? That’s just what Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) does. His work is to steal secrets from people when they are asleep and dreaming. He has an even rarer ability: He can plant an idea in someone’s sleeping mind, and watch it grow and take root in reality. This ability is called inception.
The movie Inception (《盗梦空间》) was on show in Chinese cinemas not long ago. It is imaginative, of course. The movie leads one to wonder just how much we know about dreams. For years, scientists and researchers have been trying to solve sleep’s greatest mystery.
Is it possible to enter someone’s dreaming mind? In the movie, DiCaprio uses a drug and a dream machine to put a scenario (某一特定情节) into someone’s sleeping mind. He then goes to sleep himself, connected to the machine, and enters the other person’s dream.
In real life, there is a machine that can read someone’s mind. A brain scanner takes pictures of brain activity, and then the software recreates images of what the person was looking at.
Researchers say it may be possible one day to record someone’s dream – without the danger (or the fun) of actually sharing that dream.
What’s a dream, anyway? A dream is a group of images and sounds our brain creates when we’re sleeping. In the 1950s, researchers discovered a sleeping condition that happened around every 90 to 120 minutes during sleep: rapid eye movement, or REM. During this period you’re fast asleep, yet your eyes move around quickly under your eyelids (眼皮) and your brain is nearly as active as during the day. That’s when most dreams happen.
What do dreams mean? Dreams are not always filled with meaning. Sometimes dreams are just your mind playing with thoughts and images from your life, or things you may have read or seen on TV. But at other times, dreams show things that you want to achieve in real life, or things that cause you trouble or stress.
1.The movie Inception is mentioned at the beginning of the article to ______.
A. encourage readers to watch the movie
B. tell readers about people with special dreaming abilities
C. inform readers about the science of dreams
D. warn reader about the threat of dream stealers
2.According to the article, how does a brain scanner work?
A. It records dreams.
B. It uses a special drug that causes no pain.
C. It finds out what dreams mean.
D. It takes pictures of brain activity and recreates images.
3. According to the article, which of the following statements about REM sleep is TRUE?
A. Most dreams occur in REM sleep.
B. Over the last ten years scientists have solved the mystery of REM sleep.
C. People always remember what they have dreamed in a REM sleep.
D. People can have REM sleep all night.
4. The article claims that ______.
A. dreams tell us a lot about a person’s character
B. dreams are connected to real life
C. dreams are useful and help keep our brains active
D. dreams are usually about meaningful things
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Computer power is moving into the “cloud”—networks of data centres that use the Internet to supply all kinds of services, from e-mail and social networks to data storage and analysis.
The rise of cloud computing is rapid and causing huge changes in the tech industry. The old guard is suffering: this week’s $67 billion merger (合并) between Dell and EMC, makers of computers and storage devices respectively (分别), was a marriage forced by the rise of the cloud. Disruptive (捣乱的) newcomers are blooming: if Amazon’s cloud-computing unit were a stand-alone public company, it would probably be worth almost as much as Dell and EMC combined.
The gains for customers have been equally dramatic. Compared with older IT systems, cloud computing is often much cheaper. It adds tremendous flexibility: firms that need more computing capacity no longer have to spend weeks adding new servers and installing software. In the cloud they can get hold of it in minutes. Their applications can be updated continually, rather than just every few months. Individual users can reach their e-mails, files and photos from any device. And cloud services also tend to be more secure, since providers know better than their customers how to protect their computing systems against hackers.
But cloud computing makes one problem worse. In the old IT world, once a firm or a consumer had decided on an operating system or database, it was difficult and costly to switch to another. In the cloud this “lock-in” is even worse. Cloud providers go to great lengths to make it easy to upload data. They accumulate huge amounts of complex information, which cannot easily be moved to an alternative provider.
Cloud firms also create a world of interconnected services, software and devices, which is convenient but only for as long as you don’t venture (冒险) outside their universe. Being locked in to a provider is risky. Firms can start to tighten the screws by increasing prices. If a cloud provider goes bust (崩溃), its customers may have trouble getting back their data.
These risks have already caused a debate about whether the cloud needs stricter regulation. Some European politicians want to force cloud providers to ensure that data can be moved between them. That is too heavy-handed, because strict rules will inhibit (阻碍) innovation in what is still a young industry. The history of computing suggests that common standards may well appear naturally in response to customers’ demands—just as in personal computers, where it is now much easier to use the same files on different systems.
In the meantime, a few commonsense measures can reduce the risk of lock-in. Firms that use more than one cloud provider to host their data are less affected. So are those that keep their most important information in their own data centres. Consumers can take precautions, too. Some services are better than others at enabling users to move data between providers (Google does well on this score). Cloud computing promises its users many benefits, but don’t mistake it for some sort of digital heaven.
1.The author takes “the merger between Dell and EMC” for example to show ________.
A. the influence of cloud computing on computer and storage device makers
B. the miserable sufferings of old computer companies
C. the rapid development of new computer companies
D. the interaction between old companies and newcomers
2.With wide applications of cloud computing customers can ________.
A. pay less for the older IT systems
B. gain more computing capacity quickly
C. know better about defeating the hackers
D. install software within weeks
3.The problem of “lock-in” can be dangerous because ________.
A. it should ensure data can easily be moved to another provider
B. it can create a network of services connected with devices
C. it may make it difficult for customers to recover their data
D. it will discourage an argument about stricter rules
4.It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that ________.
A. the European politicians’ advice is perfect
B. customers’ demands play a role in setting standards
C. lock-in is caused by firms’ storing information in their own centres
D. Google enables users to provide services and move data
5.Which of the following sayings can best express the main idea of the passage?
A. Everything has its time and that time must be watched.
B. The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence.
C. A candle lights others and consumes itself.
D. Every white has its black, and every sweet has its sour.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析