11.One evening in February 2007,a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in Wales.She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path.That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train.Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line.Seconds later,she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.
Ceely'snear missmade the news because she blamed it on he GPS (導(dǎo)航儀).She had never driven the route before.It was dark and raining heavily.Ceely was relying on her GPS,but it made no mention of the crossing."I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train,"she told the BBC.
Who is to blame here?Rick Stevenson,who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail Us,points the finger at the limitations of technology.We put our faith in digital devices,he says,but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job.They are filled with small problems.And it's not just GPS devices:Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards.
The problem with his argument in the book is that it's not clear why he only focuses on digital technology,while there may be a number of other possible causes.A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map.Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention.Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system.Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment.But Stevenson doesn't say.It's a problem that runs through the book.
The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex.It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in.Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser use of technology.
If there is such a way,it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines.After all,we have lived with them for thousands of years.They have probably been fooling us for just as long.
8.What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident?D.
A.She was not familiar with the road.
B.It was dark and raining heavily then.
C.The railway workers failed to give the signal.
D.Her GPS device didn't tell her about the crossing.
9.The phrase"near miss"(Paragraph 2)can best be replaced byC.
A.close hit
B.heavy loss
C.narrow escape
D.big mistake
10.Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with?B.
A.Modern technology is what we can't live without.
B.Digital technology often falls short of our expectation.
C.Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be.
D.GPS error is not the only cause for Ceely's accident.
11.What is the real concern of the writer of this article?B.
A.The major causes of traffic accidents and car thefts.
B.The relationship between human and technology.
C.The shortcomings of digital devices we use.
D.The human unawareness of technical problems.
分析 文章是一篇故事類閱讀,屬于記敘文,主要講述了一個因為導(dǎo)航儀出錯誤而引起的事故,告訴大家現(xiàn)代的儀器也會出問題,不要過于依賴他們.人類對于很多技術(shù)并不是完全了解,需要加強學(xué)習(xí).
解答 8.D.推理判斷題.根據(jù)第二段1行Ceely's near miss made the news because she blamed it on her GPS (導(dǎo)航儀)可知Paula Ceely 認為事故的原因是她的導(dǎo)航儀沒有告訴她這里有十字路口,故選D.
9.C.推理判斷題.根據(jù)第一段One evening in February 2007,a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in Wales.She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path.That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train.Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line.Seconds later,she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.可知,他很幸運,九死一生,沒有被撞.故選C.
10.B.推理判斷題.根據(jù)文章第三段We put our faith in digital devices,he says,but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job.可知現(xiàn)代的很多裝置經(jīng)常不能符合我們的期望值.故選B.
11.B.推理判斷題.根據(jù)文章最后一段If there is such a way,it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines.可知作者擔心的是人類和科技的矛盾關(guān)系,故選B.
點評 本文是一篇故事類閱讀,題目涉及多道推理判斷題.做題時學(xué)生應(yīng)仔細閱讀原文,把握文章主要內(nèi)容,聯(lián)系文章上下文內(nèi)容并結(jié)合所給選項含義,從中選出正確答案,一定要做到有理有據(jù),切忌胡亂猜測