A new system that scans customers’ fingerprints and deducts (扣除) the grocery bill from their bank accounts has taken supermarkets in southwestern Germany by storm and is being picked up by hardware stores, school restaurants and even bars are picking it up.
The Edeka supermarket chain is the first retail (零售) business in Germany to use the new system. “Almost a quarter of our customers pay with their fingers,” said an employee at the headquarters. Edeka has tried the system at 70 of its supermarkets and customers like it.
“At first we thought that only the young who really keep up with the latest technology would be interested, but we were wrong,” said Stefan Sewoester from IT Werke. “Almost two-thirds of the people who use the system are 40 and older,” he said.
IT Werke, a computer company, is one of the pioneers of fingerprint payment software in Germany. It has helped about 150 shops, restaurants and bars to put in the fingerprint scanning machines.
To sign up for the service, customers must have their fingerprints taken and leave their addresses and banking details with the shop. The shop then takes the cost of goods directly out of the customer’s bank account.
“It is a godsend for elderly people because they do not have to remember their pin-code to pay with their bank cards, or to look around for their glasses or cash.” Sewoester said.
The stores benefit from the system, too. It saves more than time in the check-out line. It also cuts out the hidden costs of accepting electronic card payments.
Fingerprint date profiling has long been used to control access and for other security purposes in Germany’s airports, laboratories and nuclear power plants. IT Werke plans to keep refining the retail use of the system. It wants to introduce fingerprint payment in school restaurants with an additional feature that might appeal to parents-they could disable their children’s access to junk food.
1. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. Pay with Fingers.                                                B. New Development in Technology.
C. Supermarket Revolution.                                 D. Change in Computer Software.
2. Most of the people who use the fingerprint system are ______.
A. youngsters                B. housewives               C. IT fans              D. the elderly
3. The underlined word “godsend” probably means ______.
A. great fortune     sent by God                          B. good luck sent by God
C. good things that happen unexpectedly                    D. gift sent by God
4. What do we know by inference from the passage?
A. Fewer shops will try the new software because of the cost.
B. The new service requires certain personal information.
C. IT Werke should be the largest computer company in Germany.
D. The new change in payment only benefits elderly people.

小題1:A
小題2:D
小題3:C
小題4:B
練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


The ocean bottom, a region nearly 2.5 times greater than the total land area of the Earth, is even today largely unexplored.Until about a century ago, the deep-ocean floor was completely inaccessible and hidden beneath waters averaging over 3,600 meters deep.Totally without light and subjected to intense pressures hundreds of times greater than at the Earth’s surface, the deep-ocean bottom is a strangeenvironment to humans, in some ways as forbidding and remote as the outer space.
Although researchers have taken samples of deep-ocean rocks for over a century, the first detailed global study of the ocean bottom did not actually start until 1969, with the beginning of the National Science Foundation’s Deep Sea Drilling Project(DSDP).Using techniques first developed for the offshore oil and gas industry, the DSDP’ s drill ship, the Glomar Challenger, was able to maintain a steady position on the ocean’s surface and drill in very deep waters, taking samples of  rock from the ocean floor.
The Glomar Challenger completed 96 voyages in a 15-year research program that ended in November 1983.During this time, it sailed 600,000 kilometers and took almost 20,000 samples of rocks aroun d the world.Those samples have allowed geologists to reconstruct what the planet looked like hundreds of millions of years ago and to make out what it will probably look like millions of years in the fu ture, Today, largely on the strength of evidence gathered during the Glomar Challenger’ s voyages, nearly all earth scientists agree on the theories of plate tectonics (構(gòu)造學(xué))and continental drift that explain many of the geological processes.
The samples of rocks drilled by the Glomar Challenger have also provided a climatic record stretching back hundreds of millions of years.The information of past climatic change can be used to predict future climates.
68.What does the underlined word “inaccessible” in line 3 means?
A.unrecognizable     B.unreachable       C.unusable        D.unreasonable
69.Why does the author mention “outer space” in the first paragraph?
A.The Earth’s climate millions of years ago was similar to that in outer space.
B.It is similar to the ocean floor in being strange to the humans.
C.Rock formations in outer space are similar to those found on the ocean floor
D.Techniques used by scientists to explore outer space were similar to those used in ocean exploration
70.Which of the following is true of the Glomar Challenger?
A.It is a type of submarine.               B.It is an ongoing project.
C.It has gone on over 100 voyages.        D.It made its first DSDP voyage in 1968.
71.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being a result of the Deep sea Drilling Project?
A.Geologists were able to determine the Earth’s appearance millions of years ago.
B.Two geological theories became more widely accepted by scientists.
C.Geologists observed forms of life never before seen
D.Information was revealed about the Earth’s past climatic changes.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


E
After a busy day of work and play, the body needs to rest. Sleep is necessary for good health. During this time, the body recovers from the activities of the day. The rest that you get while sleeping makes it possible for your body to prepare itself for the next day.
There are four levels of sleep, each being a little deeper than the one before. As you sleep, your body relaxes little by little. Your heart beats more slowly, and your brain slows down. After you reach the fourth level, your body shifts(變換) back and forth from one level to the other.
Although your mind slows down, you will dream from time to time. Scientists who study sleep point out that when dreaming occurs, your eyeballs begin to move more quickly (although your eyelids are closed). This stage of sleep is called REM, which stands for rapid eye movement.
If you have trouble falling asleep, some people recommend(建議) breathing very slowly and very deeply. Other people believe that drinking warm milk will make you drowsy. There is also an old suggestion that counting sheep will put you to sleep.
49. During REM, ______
A. you move restless                                         B. you start dreaming
C. your mind stops working                                         D. your eyeballs move quickly
50. A good title for this text might be_________
A. Dreams                     B. Sleep                C. Good Health      D. Work and Rest

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


第三部分:閱讀理解(共20小題;每小題2分,滿分40分)
閱讀下列短文,從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)(A、B、C和D)中,選出最佳選項(xiàng),并在答題
卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。
The 2009 outbreak of HINI is a new kind of influenza virus, commonly referred to as “swine flu”. It is thought to be a break of four known kinds of influenza. A virus subtype H1N1: one endedmic(流行病) in humans, one endemic in birds, and two endemic in pigs (swine). The source of the outbreak in humans is still unknown, but cases were first discovered in the U.S. and soon after in Mexico.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC),it is not yet clear how serious this new virus actually is compared with other influenza viruses, although on May 26 they stated that new cases in the U.S. have probably reached the hightest point, and most cases have so far been mild relative to “seasonal flus”. But because this is a new virus, most people will not have immunity(免疫性) to it, and illness may eventually become more severe and widspread. The H1N1 flu mainly spreads in the same way that regular “seasonal influenza” spreads through the air from coughs and sneezes or touching those infected. It cannot be transmitted from eating cooked pork or by being in close contact with pigs.
As yet there is no vaccine(疫苗) available to prevent infection although companies are in the planning stages for having one available later this year. But there is concern that the virus could vary again over the coming months, leading to a new and potentially more dangerous flu outbreak later in the year, and a vaccine that will be less effective in preventing its spread.
As of May 27, the virus had spread to more than 50 countries; however, over 80% of reported deaths have taken place in Mexico. According to the CDC, the fact that the flu’s infection activity is now monitored more closely may help explain why more flu cases than normal are being recorded in Mexico, the United States and other countries.    
1. The 2009 outbreak of H1N1 is thought to      .
A.be concerned with four endmics                                             
B.have come from the virus from pigs
C.occur because of unknown virus in Mexico
D.be caused because of people without immunity
2.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ______.
A.most people won’t be infected with the flu                                           
B.the H1N1 will not be too mild to cause many deaths in the world
C.the present situation allows of no optimist
D.H1N1 can be transmitted by touching pigs                             
3.To make people worried more is that      .
A.no effective vaccine can prevent the virus from spreading
B.the virus will mutate in the following months
C.a seasonal influenza will break out
D.the newly-developed vaccine will lose effectiveness
4.From the passage we can learn that      .
A.every country is watching closely the spreading of the H1N1                        
B.more than one-fourth of the deaths from the H1N1 are in Mexico                          
C.only the United States and Mexico recorded the cased of influenza                                                                     
D.effective medicine has been produced to cure the H1N1         

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


Increasing affluence(富裕)and currency appreciation are behind the spike in Chinese students traveling abroad for their undergraduate studies, industry insiders said.
The Ministry of Education last month reported that a record 840,000 high school graduates did not register for the gaokao (university entrance exam) this year. Those numbers are fueling speculation that this was due to the increasing number of Chinese students wanting to study abroad.
The total number of students traveling abroad to study increased from 144,000 in 2007 to 170,000 last year. This figure will probably top 200,000 this year, said Feng Jishang, marketing manager of Wiseway, a consulting firm that advises students and their parents about overseas schools.
Years ago, most Chinese students who went abroad would first complete their undergraduate studies in China before applying to an overseas graduate school. But this traned is changing. According to industry estimates, the proportion of students seeking their first degree abroad has risen to 30 to 50 percent of all overseas-bound students. That means there could be as many as 60,000 to 100,000 such students this year—— triple the number in 2003.
Foreign college campuses are beginning to notice the trend. A source tat the University of San Francisco told China Business Weekly that the campus used to accept three or four Chinese undergraduate students every year. Today, the number has hit 80, the university source said.
Rapid economic growth, coupled with a currency that has risen by more than 20 percent against the US dollar over the last four years, is making an overseas education more affordable for Chinese students. That’s making US campuses such as the University of San Francisco, or USF, more of a bargain. “ Students used to tell me that they did not have the money to go to USF, and they needed full scholarships. That is not the case now,” said Stanley Nel, vice-president of international relations at the San Francisco campus.
Another reason is that there simply aren’t enough places in Chinese colleges, especially the higher-rated ones, to satisfy the demand for a university education. “ Four in ten students taking the gaokao won’t get university places. Furthermore, of those that do many don’t get into the schools of their choice. That is why more are going abroad,” Feng of Wiseway said.
A widespread perception among students is that going overseas for college improves their career prospects, sources said. “ For Chinese students, capability is not a problem, but they need work experience and communication skills,” said Alan McNeilly, assistant dean at Teeside University in the United Kingdom. “ If they get a degree overseas, they can expect higher salaries and better positions when they return,” McNeilly said. His university will set up an office in China next month to attract more students, Mc Neilly added.
1.More and more Chinese students have recently traveled abroad for studines because______.
A.they don’t want to take part in the gaokao
B.most Chinese students want to study abroad
C.many Chinese people become richer and US dollar has been devalued
D.it is easy to complete their undergraduate studies
2.Which of the following statistics-related statements is NOT true?
A.The number of students seeking their first degree abroad is around 20,000 to 33,000 in 2003.
B.The increment of the total number of students traveling abroad to study is probably bigger from 2008 to 2009 than that from 2007to 2008.
C.The number of Chinese undergraduate students accepted at USF is about 20 to 26 times of that in the past.
D.200,000 out of the 840,000 high school graduates who did not take the gaokao this year started their undergraduate study abroad.
3.Students interested in studying abroad take the following factors into account EXCEPT_____.
A.financial affordability    
B.work opportunities after graduation
C.a(chǎn)ccommodation standard
D.the chance of getting into a more desirable university
4.What can be inferred from this passage?
A.If the Chinese RMB decreases 20 percent against the US dollar, the number of Chinese students traveling abroad to study will decrease 20 percent.
B.If more universities are established in China, fewer students will choose to study abroad.
C.Teeside University will set up an office in China to attract those students who have been admitted to USF but have not been offered full scholarships.
D.Without a degree overseas higher salaries and better positions are not impossible if you are experienced and have outstanding communication skills.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practising grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists,the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange(交流)of ideas and information. It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently(流利地). They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly. "But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They're English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo(做過頭)it. They should put communication(交際)first. 
1.Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself               B. practice grammar rules
C. talk with foreigners only            D. learn lists of words
2.Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.
A. never makes mistakes            B. often makes mistakes
C. can't avoid making mistakes         D. always makes mistakes
3."Foreigners often speak English too correctly. "This sentence means that ________.
A. foreigners speak correct English   
B. foreigners speak incorrect English
C. foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules
D. foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English
4.If too many native speakers break a rule,  ________.
A. what they use will become right       B. they are against the law
C. they should say sorry to others        D. they will become heroes

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


The best way to improve your reading ability is, of course, to read. The student must make a real effort to improve his speed, and if necessary his comprehension, with each exercise. Too many students read passages passively(被動(dòng)的) and without judgment: they simply start at the first word and read through to the end. You should read a passage actively, selectively(選擇地) and purposely. You must believe that you indeed have the ability to read faster and understand, and that you will.
Reading, like everything else in life, is best done when you’re relaxed. The key to improve it is concentration. You must be willing to break some old habits and form new ones. Extra body movement, such as turning the head from side to side, pointing at the line with a finger or pencil, or moving the lips, should be stopped immediately. Reading is mostly a mental process(大腦活動(dòng)過程) and body movement helps neither speed nor comprehension. Then you should see words as part of a whole sentence or paragraph, not just in isolation(孤立), This is why a slow, word-by-word student often understands far less, or misses much of the joy and excitement of reading.
The student must learn to improve reading skills on their own, and not just when a teacher is looking over his shoulder. Reading improvement takes discipline(紀(jì)律) and effort. Don’t give up.
1. According to the author, how should we not read a passage?
A. actively        B passively.   C. purposely        D. selectively
2. You may conclude that whether you can improve your reading depends on________.
A. your attitude                      B. your good habits of reading
C. discipline                         D. all of the above
3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?        
A. When reading, you’d better point at the line with a pencil.   
B. When reading, you should turn your head from side to side.
C. When reading, you should pay attention to basic unit of meaning, that is a phrase or sentence that contains an idea.    
D. Body movement will help you to improve reading.
4. The best title for this passage is___________.
A. Reading Faster                         B. Understanding Better
C. How to Improve Your Reading             D. Don’t Give Up

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Water goes around and around Earth in a never ending journey called the water cycle(循環(huán)). The sun heats up lakes, oceans, and other wet places on Earth. When the water gets warm enough, it changes into vapour. Plants also give off lots of water vapour. Some of this water vapour cools off high in the sky and becomes clouds. Then it falls back to Earth in a new place as rain or snow. This cycle happens over and over again.
The ground can absorb water like a sponge (海綿). If you could see this groundwater, it wouldn’t look like a lake or river. The groundwater is mixed in with the rocks and sand that lie in layers(層) below Earth’s surface.
Groundwater moves along slowly. How slowly? Maybe 1.5 kilometres in one century. Some of this water has been underground for thousands of years. And once groundwater is pumped out of the ground from a deep well(井) by people, it may take hundreds of years for another water to take its place.
小題1:In which order does water go around Earth?
a .Fall down as rain or snow.  b. Heated up by the sun on lakes, oceans and other wet places.
c. Cool off high in the sky.     d.  Form clouds.     e.  Change into vapour.
A.dacbeB.becdaC.caebdD.bceda
小題2:The groundwater seems to________.
A.be just on the groundB.be pure water like that in a lake or river
C.exist in rocks and sandD.flow along like rivers or streams
小題3:The underlined word “pumped” in the passage can be replaced by________.
A.runB.pushedC.drawnD.picked
小題4:What conclusion(結(jié)論) can we draw from the passage?
A.Groundwater can be quickly replaced by other water once pumped out.
B.Groundwater is very valuable.
C.Groundwater has nothing to do with human beings.
D.Groundwater travel in an unknown way.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a script from a doomsday(世界末日,最后審判日)movie. Many climatologists and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a concerted global effort to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.  
In the decades to come, Asia -- home to more than half the world's 6.3 billion people -- will lurch(突然傾斜)from one climate extreme to another, with impoverished farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels.
"It's not a pretty picture," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam. Global warming and changes to weather patterns are already occurring and there is enough excess carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come.
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse are likely to come, Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread humanitarian crises. (人道主義危機(jī))
According to predictions, glaciers will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate or build sea defenses, storms will become more intense and insect and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms.
All this comes on top of rising populations and spiraling demand for food, water and other resources. Experts say environmental degradation(環(huán)境惡化) such as deforestation(森林砍伐) and pollution will likely magnify the impacts of climate change. In what could be a foretaste of the future, Japan was hit by a record 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two-thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill. The year before, a winter cold snap(寒流,寒潮,驟冷)and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India. 
59. Which of the following has the similar meaning to rein in?
A. slow down, control        B. increase, enhance    C. bring in                      D. take in
60. According to the passage, which one is true?
A. The changes of weather will never lead to mass migration and widespread humanitarian crises.
B. The number of the population in Asia is the largest of all continents.
C. Global warming and changes will happen in the near future if we don’t take any actions.
D. Deforestation and pollution will not magnify the impacts of climate change.
61. The reason why glaciers will melt faster is that                
A. there is more and more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
B. there is less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
C. the weather changed suddenly.   
D. The reason is still unknown.
62. This passage is mainly about              .
A. what kind of weather we like best.
B. the whole world will not be suitable for us to live in.
C. how to improve our environment.
D. the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案