Theaeroplane____shewastravelingwasdelayedforthreehoursatleast.

Wearepleasedto_____youthat6000dozenofshirtsunderSalesConfirmationNo.C123,L/CNo.5678havegoneoffonS.S."Dongfeng"

Thereisatree____agroupofLeaguemembersoftenplaychess.

Passage2

Questions6to10arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

Thehumanbraincontains10thousandmillioncellsandeachofthesemayhaveathousandconnections.(77)Suchenormousnumbersusedtodiscourageusandcauseustodismissthepossibilityofmakingamachinewithhuman-likeability,butnowthatwehavegrownusedtomovingforwardatsuchapacewecanbelesssure.Quitesoon,inonly10or20yearsperhaps,wewillbeabletoassembleamachineascomplexasthehumanbrain,andifwecanwewill.Itmaythentakeusalongtimetorenderitintelligentbyloadingintherightsoftware(软件)orbyalteringthearchitecturebutthattoowillhappen.

(78)Ithinkitcertainthatindecades,notcenturies,machinesofsilicon(硅)willarisefirsttorivalandthenexceedtheirhumanancestors.Oncetheyexceedustheywillbecapableoftheirowndesign.Inarealsensetheywillbeabletoreproducethemselves.Siliconwillhaveendedcarbon’slongcontrol.Andwewillnolongerbeabletoclaimourselvestobethefinestintelligenceintheknownuniverse.

Astheintelligenceofrobotsincreasestomatchthatofhumansandastheircostdeclinesthrougheconomiesofscalewemayusethemtoexpandourfrontiers,firstonearththroughtheirabilitytowithstandenvironments,harmfultoourselves.Thus,desertsmaybloomandtheoceanbedsbemined.Furtherahead,byacombinationofthegreatwealththisnewagewillbringandthetechnologyitwillprovide,theconstructionofavast,man-createdworldinspace,hometothousandsormillionsofpeople,willbewithinourpower.

6.Inwhatwaycanwemakeamachineintelligent?

A)Bymakingitworkinsuchenvironmentsasdeserts,oceansorspace.

B)Byworkinghardfor10or20years.

C)Byeitherproperlyprogrammingitorchangingitsstructure.

D)Byreproducingit.(C)

7.Whatdoesthewriterthinkaboutmachineswithhuman-likeability?

A)Hebelievestheywillbeusefultohumanbeings.

B)Hebelievesthattheywillcontrolusinthefuture.

C)Heisnotquitesureinwhatwaytheymayinfluenceus.

D)Hedoesn’tconsidertheconstructionofsuchmachinespossible.

8.Theword“carbon”(Line4,Para.2)standsfor________.

A)intelligentrobotsB)achemicalelementC)anorganicsubstanceD)humanbeings(D)

9.Arobotcanbeusedtoexpandourfrontierswhen________.

A)itsintelligenceandcostarebeyondquestion

B)itisabletobeartheroughenvironment

C)itismadeascomplexasthehumanbrain

D)itsarchitectureisdifferentfromthatofthepresentones(A)

10.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethat________.

A)aftertheinstallationofagreatnumberofcellsandconnections,robotswillbecapableofself-reproduction

B)withtherapiddevelopmentoftechnology,peoplehavecometorealizethepossibilityofmakingamachinewithhuman-likeability

C)oncewemakeamachineascomplexasthehumanbrain,itwillpossesintelligence

D)robotswillhavecontrolofthevast,man-madeworldinspace

SectionC

WhatalovelyplaceXeroxistoworkKimMoloney,aclientservicesexecutive,can’tsayenoughnicethingsaboutheremployer.‘It’saveryspecialenvironment,’shesays.‘PeopledescribeXeroxasafamilyandIwasamazedatthenumberofpeoplewhohaveworkedhereforsolong.’It’stemptingtotakeMoloney’scommentswithapinchofsalt,especiallyconsideringthatwhenyou’vebeenworkingsomewhereforonlytwoyears,asshehasatXerox,everyoneseemsoldandestablished.Butthere’struthbehindherenthusiasm.

TakeCarolePalmer,thegroupresourcesdirector.ShejoinedXeroxin1978asatempandhasbeeninherpresentroleforsevenyears.‘Xeroxhasbeengoodtomeovertheyears,’shesays.‘Ithassupportedmethroughqualifications…andlastyearItookpartinthevice-presidentincumbentprogram.’HumanresourcesistakenseriouslyatXerox,Palmersays,andthecompanyhasapolicyofpromotingfromwithin(whichwouldexplainMoloney’samazementathercolleagues’longevity).ThecompanytakesononlyfifteentotwentygraduateseachyearandMoloneywaspartofanintakewhojoinedhavingalreadyacquiredacoupleofyears’workexperience.ShestartedasaprojectmanagerforXeroxGlobalServicesbeforemovingintosales.Nowherresponsibilityisto‘growandmaintaincustomerrelationships’.

MoloneyisbasedattheheadofficeinUxbridge.‘It’sgreatintermsofworkingenvironment,’shesays.‘We’vejustgotanewproviderinthecanteenand…wehavebrainstormingroomsandbreakoutareas.’MuchofMoloney’sroleisvisitingclients,soshedoesn’thaveapermanentdeskatheadoffice.‘I’mahot-desker,whichisgoodbecauseyougettositwithdifferentpeopleinthehot-deskareas.Andyou’regivenaplacetostoreyourthings.’Headofficestaffnumbersbetween1,200and1,500people,Palmersays.ThecompanyhasfourothermainofficesintheUK.Thenatureoftheorganization,whichencompassessalesandmarketing,globalservices(thebiggestdivision),developingmarkets,researchanddevelopmentandmanufacturing,meansthattheopportunitiesatthecompanyvaryfromserviceengineerstosalesrolesandconsultants.

Perksincludeafinal-salarypensionschemeandvariousdiscountschemes.Therewardandrecognitionschemeisalittledifferent,andrathernice:‘Eachmanagerhasabudgeteveryyeartorecognizeandrewardstaff,’Palmersays.‘Itcanbeintheformofamealfortwo,orabottleofwine.Itcanbeupto£1,000.There’stherecognition,andthenthere’sputtingmoneybehindit.’Moloney,however,likesthenon-cashrewards.‘Xeroxtakescareofallitsstaffbutitalsorecognizesthepeoplewhoputintheaddedeffort,’shesays.‘Itoffersonce-in-a-lifetimeincentivetrips,andrecentlyIorganizedasailingtripformyteam.’

Theideaofworkingabroadwiththecompanyappealstoher,andshesaysthathercareergoalistobepartoftheseniormanagementteam.Here’sanotheremployee,itwouldseem,whoisinitforthelonghaul.

()1.Thejournalistofthisarticlethinksthat.

A.staffatXeroxarenottellingthetruthabutthecompany.

B.Xeroxoffersgreatbenefitstostaff.

C.Xeroxisthebestcompanyintheworld.

D.Xeroxhasthebestworkingenvironment.

()2.Thecompanytendstofinditsnewmanager.

A.onlyformgraduatesB.ontrainingcourses

C.fromexistingstaffD.fromjobmarkets

()3.Whatdoesthephrase“totakeon”inthesentence“Thecompanytakesononlyfifteentotwentygraduateseachyearand…”ofthesecondparagraphmean?.

A.TotrainB.Toemploy

C.TointerviewD.Tomaintain(A)

()4.Aswellasrecognizingitsstaffthroughpromotion,Xerox.

A.givescashbonuses

B.givesunpaidleavetotaketripsofalifetime.

C.providesanumberofperks.

D.provideshugeend-of-yearbonuses.

()5.OnecommonfeatureofXeroxstaffisthattheytend.

A.toworkhardB.togetpromoted

C.worklongerhourseachdayD.nottochangeemployer