注释：

　　1.    virtual driver：虚拟驾驶员

　　2.    the brain is responsible for calculating the speeds objects surrounding the car are moving at：大脑负责计算汽车周围物体移动的速度。 the brain is responsible for calculating the speeds objects surrounding the car are moving at ＝ the brain is responsible for calculating the speeds at which objects surrounding the car are moving

　　3.    have the wheel：驾驶汽车

　　4.    this being the case：虽然情况是这样。 this being the case 是独立分词短语。

　　5.    highly intelligent cars are what the cars of the future should be like：未来的汽车就应该是高度智能化的汽车

练习：

　　a． experts say that we cannot do that just yet.

　　b． in the near future, intelligent cars will be  put into commercial operation.

　　c． this is the brain of the car.

　　d． but how does an intelligent car control itself?

　　e． it completes the processing of the images sent by the cameras within 100 milliseconds.

　　f． however, it cannot recognize moving people and bicycles on ordinary roads that have no clear markings on them.

答案与题解：

　　1.  d　"空1" 前面三个句子讲的是真人驾驶员驾驶汽车时脑、眼、耳、手、脚并用，而且要协调配合。"空1"之后话题转入虚拟驾驶员。"空1"之后的第一句 "apparently there isn’t anyone in the driver’s cab……"似来得有些突然。与前面句子接得很生硬。中间应该有个过渡句。选项 c 就是连接上下文的过渡句。

　　2.  c　"空2"前面一句说， 如果你打开车身后部的行李箱，你就能看到自动驾驶系统的最重要的部件，嵌入式电脑。"空2"后的句子中的 the brain of the car 自然是指前句的 built-in computer, 但接得太突然。选项 c 的 "this is the brain of the car "就把前后句子联系起来了。this 指代上一句的 built-in comupter.后面句子的 the brain of the car 是重复选项 c中 的 the brain of the car，显得很自然。所以，c是答案。

　　3.  e　"空3"前面一句说，虚拟驾驶员最大的优点是反应快。 "空3"后面一句说，最好的赛车手至少要1秒钟才能作出反应。"至少要1秒钟"已经暗示，虚拟驾驶员反应速度要比真人驾驶员快。一找，选项 e 果然说，虚拟驾驶员只需100毫秒就能作出反应。选项 e 使上下文的意思完整，因此是答案。

　　4.  a　"空4"前面是一句问句，即 "在这种情况下，是不是可以不分时间、不分地点都让虚拟驾驶员驾驶汽车?""空4"的句子应该回答这个问题："让还是不让？"选项 a 回答了这个问题，因此是答案。

　　5.    f　"空5"前面一句说，"the intelligent car determines its direction by the clear lines that mark the lanes clearly and recognizes vehicles according to their regular shapes. （智能汽车按清晰标出的车道线决定自己的行车方向，靠车辆的常规形状识别其它车辆。） 选项 f 的内容正好相反。上一句说"recognizes"，还有" mark the lanes clearly" ，而 f 说"cannot recognize"，又说" no clear markings".从意思表达上和词汇重复上，都能判断出，f 的句子应该出现在"空5"的位置上。

第十五篇

the arctic ice is thawing

      father christmas may have to move his “workshop¹” from the north pole because global warming is thawing the ice beneath his feet and his reindeers’ feet as well. his “workshop” is in dire straits. the “platform” for the “workshop” is melting, said stefan norris of the world wildlife fund environmental group’s arctic program.

      an eight-nation report by 250 scientists published recently predicted the arctic ocean could be ice-free in summer by 2100 because of a build-up of heat-trapping gases² in the atmosphere, mainly from burning fossil fuels in cars or factories. the north pole is getting more and more inhabitable to father christmas. ___1___. young people learn that father christmas’ “workshop” produces millions of gifts delivered by him on a flying, reindeer-drawn sleigh. hollywood movies like "the polar express³" tried to make viewers believe that father christmas lives at the north pole. ___2___.     

     the "fortress of solitude" is near the north pole that could be under threat in a warmer world⁵. alan boldt, spokesman of the danish ministry of science, suggested ways to rescue father christmas. ___3___. another alternative, he argued, would be building some electrical facilities to ensure the ice stays on the north pole for him. "this should be a subject for the united nations," he said. “danmark could build windmills to provide father christmas with power." denmark says father christmas’s real home is greenland, which will help, denmark thinks, to strengthen its position in claiming the sovereignty over the pole. ___4___.

     "doesn’t he already speak danish?" boldt said frostily when asked if father christmas would be forced to learn danish if denmark won international recognition of its claim to the pole. last month’s arctic report said the region is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe, partly because dark ground or water, once uncovered, soaks up more heat than ice or snow. finland has been most favored by father christmas and it has about 500,000 tourists a year to visit its christmas center in rovaniemi in lapland⁶. ___5___.

词汇：

　　thaw v. 融化，解冻

　　nordic adj. 北欧的

　　reindeer n. 驯鹿

　　rink n. （溜冰） 场

　　dire adj. 可怕的

　　danish adj. 丹麦的

　　build-up n. 增强，聚集

　　danmark n. 丹麦

　　sleigh n. 雪橇

　　sovereignty n. 主权

　　hollywood n. 好莱坞

　　frostily adv. 冷漠地

　　greenland n. 格陵兰

注释：

　　1.    workshop：工场。圣诞故事说，圣诞老人每年圣诞节向全世界儿童赠送礼物。礼物数量何止千千万万。于是，人们想象，圣诞老人住在北极，在冰块上一定拥有一个制造礼物的工场。

　　2.    heat-trapping gases：捕捉热量的气体。 heat-trapping gases = greenhouse gases

　　3.    the polar express：极地快车（好莱坞电影名）

　　4.    nordic countries：北欧国家。北欧国家包括芬兰、瑞典、挪威、丹麦、冰岛等五国。

　　5.    the "fortress of solitude" near the north pole that could be under threat in a warmer world： "孤独要塞"靠近北极，在变暖的世界中可能处于危险之中。that 引导的定语从句修饰 fortress of solitude.

　　6.    rovaniemi in lapland：位于拉普兰地区的 rovaniemi（罗瓦涅米）。 rovaniemi 是芬兰拉普兰省首府，是一个充满北极风光的城市。市内有圣诞公园  （christmas park）。每年圣诞节，热闹非凡。 rovaniemi 被称为圣诞之都。

练习：

　　a． however, nordic nations all reject it by claiming that their countries are his home.

　　b． therefore the north pole is the most attractive place in the world.

　　c． if denmark’s claim were accepted internationally, it would have the legal right to search for oil and gas at the north pole.

　　d． one of them would be building a giant floating ice rink for the workshop if the pole thaws.

　　e． maybe father christmas has already moved to rovaniemi.

　　f． he may have to move from the north pole within our children’s lifetimes.

答案与题解：

　　1.  f　"空1" 前面两个句子讲的是,，受全球气候变暖的影响，北极的冰正在融化，估计到2100年夏天北极将成为无冰的世界。北极越来越不适合圣诞老人居住了。于是，读者或许会猜想，在这种情况下，圣诞老人该怎么办呢？选项 f 说， "he may have to move from the north pole within our children’s lifetimes"，其意思与上文配合得天衣无缝，北极住不下去了，只能移居他处。因此 f 是答案。

　　2.  a　"空2"前面一句说，好莱坞电影 "极地快车"想让观众相信圣诞老人的故乡在北极。下面该填什么呢？选项a说， "however, nordic nations all reject it by claiming that their countries are his home"，北欧国家不同意这种说法，都声称自己的国家才是圣诞老人的故乡。意思和上文配得上，但意思正好相反。所以，"空2"句子的句首用 however 与前一句接起来。a 是答案。

　　3.  d　"空3"前面一句说，丹麦科学部发言人提出拯救圣诞老人的几个办法。 "空3"的内容应该涉及具体的拯救办法。选项 d 符合这个要求。d 说其中一个办法是：如果北极的冰融化，就人工造个浮冰场地，上面可以承载圣诞老人的工场。从上下文意思的连接上，从 one of them （指代前一句的 ways）的用词上，都可以确定，d 是答案。

　　4.  c　选项 c 的句子一开始就用 "denmark’s claim"重复"空4"前面一句的 "claiming （to the sovereignty over the pole）"，从词汇重复上，我们可以判断，填入"空4"的句子应该是 选项 c 的句子。我们再从意思上分析一下。丹麦认为，说圣诞老人的故乡是格陵兰有助于加强丹麦声称自己拥有北极的主权的地位。选项 c 说，如果丹麦的这一要求得到国际社会认可的话，它就拥有合法的权利去勘测北极的石油和天然气。上下文意思是连贯的，所以 c 是答案。

　　5.  e　"空5"前面一句说，" finland has been most favored by father christmas and it has about 500,000 tourists a year to visit its christmas center in rovaniemi in lapland".当看到选项 e 中重复出现  rovaniemi，就知道 "空5"的位置上应该是选项 e 的句子。圣诞老人如此眷顾 rovaniemi，每年约有50万游客来参观 rovaniemi 的圣诞中心。e 的句子说 "maybe father christmas has already moved to rovaniemi （说不定圣诞老人已经移居罗瓦涅米了） "，是对前一句 "眷顾"的颇有风趣的总结，也是对与"空1"的句子 "he may have to move from the north pole within our children’s lifetimes" 遥相呼应。选项 e 是本题的答案。

第六部分  完形填空

（两篇）

第二篇

biological identification technologies

     when a person walks, the movement of his head, trunk, hipbones and limbs are all reflected in changes in his body. a computer     1     these changes into a database. later, the computers can     2     identify him according to these changes. this is a new biological identification method and it can quickly identify an examinee     3     disturbing him. it’s especially suitable for use in airports and supermarkets.

     everybody’s voice is     4    . when a person’s voice is recorded by an instrument, its voice frequency spectrum is called his sound print. like a fingerprint, everybody’s sound print is different. how can computers     5     his sound? first, his voice is recorded, which allows the computers to become familiar with his voice. it will then turn his sound characteristics into a     6     of digits. these digits represent the frequency, pitch and rhythm of the person’s voice. these are the     7     on which the computers can distinguish¹ his voice from     8    .

     when that person needs to be identified, after he says only one word or two, the computers can identify him. the computers can even identify sounds coming     9    the wires. this will provide a     10     guarantee to electric banks and electric purchases.

     we often bring id cards², work cards, or driver licenses with us to prove our identity. if all these cards are forgotten or lost, how can we prove     11     we are? in fact, it’s not difficult to prove whom you are, because your body     12     has identifying markers. some are physiological features, such as fingerprints, sounds, facial types and eye color. the computer can help to identify you. suppose your features have already been stored in the database³. to identify you, we have to take your picture with a camera and send it to a computer for     13    . first, the computer needs to reposition this picture according to the position of your eyes⁴, and then starts to read the message of your physiological features such as the     14     of your pupil⁵ to the whites of your eyes⁶ and the shape of his nose. next, it seeks matching records from the database. finally, it makes a     15    .