Reading Comprehension
Directions: There are 6 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by five questions. For each question there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Passage One
This is not the world we know. This world is controlled by computers. Men and women can be seen, but they are following orders given to them by machines. The machines were designed by mad scientists, but at some point even the mad scientists were taken over by their super-inventions.
Does this sound familiar? You have probably read something like it in magazines or books, or seen it in a film. Why is it so popular? One of the reasons is that it reflects the fears of many people; fear of the unknown, fear of what is not understood or, at least, fear of something that is not completely understood.
The fact is that every day it seems that computers take control of another area of our lives. Some factory jobs are now done by robots and the robots are controlled by computers. Our bank accounts are managed by computers. At the airport, our tickets are sold by a computer. Certainly, many of these operations are made more efficient by computers, but our admiration is sometimes mixed with unsafe feelings. And this lack of safety is caused by the fact that we do not know how computers do these things, and we really don’t know what they might do next.
But we can find out how computers work, and once we understand them, we can use computers instead of worrying about being used by them. Today, there is a new generation of computer wizards (奇才) who know exactly how computers get things done. These young men and women, usually university students, are happy to sit for hours, sometimes for days, designing programs, not eating, not sleeping, but discovering what can be done by these wonderful slaves which they have learned to control. These computer wizards have learned to use the computer and search for new tasks for their machines.
1. We can know that the scientists who designed the machines _____________.
A. are careless in their daily life B. are unkind and cruel
C. are out of their mind D. have great abilities
2. The reason why many people are afraid of computers is that ____________.
A. they don't know anything about computers B. they haven't really understood computers
C. there are so many computer games D. computers are often down
3. The author mentions computer wizards in order to point out that ____________.
A. computers can be controlled by man
B. there should be more people devoted to computers
C. only young people are interested in computers
D. more time and energy is required to control computers
4. This passage is probably written to suggest that ____________.
A. some day computers can deal with all human problems
B. computers can be used in place of traveling to our jobs
C. people should not fear computers
D. computer technology will not meet people’s needs in various situations
5. The author's attitude (态度) towards widely used computers is_________.
A. positive B. anxious C. worried D. curious
