B) the author was not accustomed to use fridges even in his fifties
C) there was no fridge in the author's home in the 1950s.
D)the fridge was in its early stage of development in the 1950s
12. Why does the author say that nothing was wasted before the invention of fridges?
A)People would not buy more food than was necessary.
B) Food was delivered to people two or three times a week.
C)Food was sold fresh and did not get rotten easily.
D)People had effective ways to preserve their food.
13. Who benefited the least from fridges according to the author?
A) Inventors B) Consumers
C) Manufacturers D) Travelling salesmen
14. Which of the following phrases in the fifth paragraph indicates the fridge's
negative effect on the environment?
A) "Hum away continuously" B) "Climatically almost unnecessary"
C) "Aitificially?cooled space" D) "With mild temperatures"
15. What is the author's overall attitude toward fridges?
A) Neutral B) Critical C) Objective D) Compromising
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.
The human brain contains 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a
thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to discourage us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with humanlike ability, but now that we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Quite soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain, and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the right software (软件) or by altering the architecture but that too will happen.
I think it certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon (硅) will
arise first to rival and then exceed their human ancestors. Once they exceed us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be able to reproduce themselves. Silicon will have ended carbon's long control. And we will no longer be able to claim ourselves to be the finest intelligence in the known universe.
As the intelligence of robots increases to match that of humans and as their cost declines through economies of scale we may use them to expand our frontiers, first on earth through their ability to withstand environments, harmful to ourselves. Thus, deserts may bloom and the ocean beds be mined. Further ahead, by a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, man-created world in space, home to thousands or millions of people, will be within our power.
16. In what way can we make a machine intelligent?
A) By making it work in such environments as deserts, oceans or space.
B) By working hard for 10 or 20 years.
C) By either properly programming it or changing its structure.
D )By reproducing it.
17. What does the writer think about machines with human-like ability?
A) He believes they will be useful to human beings.
B) He believes that they will control us in the future.
C) He is not quite sure in what way they may influence us.
D) He doesn't consider the construction of such machines possible.
18. The word carbon( Line 4, para. 2) stands for" _______"
A) intelligent robots B) a chemical element
C) an organic substance D) human beings
19. A robot can be used to expand our frontiers when _______.
A) its intelligence and cost are beyond question
B) it is able to bear the rough environment
C) it is made as complex as the human brain
D) its architecture is different from that of the present ones
20. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A) after the installation of a great number of cells and connections, robots will
be capable of self?reproduction.
B) with the rapid development of technology, people have come to realize the pos
sibility of making a machine with human-like ability.
C) once we make a machine as complex as the human brain, it will possess
intelligence
D) robots will have control of the vast, man-made world in space.
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report; The damage and deaih toll (死亡人数) could have been much worse.
More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, an earthquake of similar intensity that shook America in 1988 claimed 25, 000 victims:
Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 a.m.on
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