The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup(備用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t’t take you if you didn’t’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘IT’ can’t tell me.

By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

1.The best title for the article is _______.

A. When the Computer Is Down

B. The Most Frightening Words

C. The Computer of the Airport

D. A different travel

2.What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

A. She could sell a ticket.

B. She could write out a ticket.

C. She could answer the passengers’ questions.

D. She could do nothing.

3.Why do you think they had not a backup computer?

A. Because it was easy down

B. Because it was not relied on .

C. Because it was not useful.

D. Because it was very expensive.

4.The last paragraph suggests that _______.

A. a modern computer won’t be down.

B. computers can take the place of humans

C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people

D. there will be great changes in computers

5.What kind of feeling did passengers have when the computer was down?

A. upset B. determined

C. encouraged D. happy

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從下列A-F選項中選出能概括每一段主題的最佳選項。 選項中有一項為多余項。

1.__________

When it comes to your skin, there is an important fact that you must keep in mind: Your skin is the largest organ of your body. Therefore, skin health and protection is crucial. Your skin does everything for you. It can keep your body hydrated and regulate your body’s temperature.

Now, here are some helpful tips for you to protect your skin:

2.________

Protection against harmful rays from the sun is one of the most important steps that you need to take. With this in mind it is necessary for you to avoid strong sunlight as often as possible. As for sunscreen you need to buy products that contain UVA-1, UVA-2 and UVB protection.

3._______

Your diet also has a direct impact on the health of your skin. The most important aspect of your diet in relation to the health of your skin is to make certain that you eat a proper amount of food items that contain the proteins and nutrients necessary for cellular maintenance, repair and regeneration.

4._________

Water is also important to the health of your skin. While you certainly have heard it before, it actually is true that you should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fresh water every day. There are many health benefits to be derived from drinking water daily, including maintaining healthy skin.

5.________

Finally, when it comes to the health of your skin today and into the future you should avoid smoking all together. In addition, you should drink alcohol only in moderation. Both smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can negatively impact the health of your skin in significant ways.

I don’t think I am __________; it is said that _________ is the mother of success.

A. a failure; failure B. failure; a failure

C. a failure; a failure D. failure; failure

The government tried its best to ________ the people’s needs, but the people were still not _________ . In fact, what the government did was not ________.

A. satisfy; satisfying; satisfied

B. satisfy; satisfied; satisfying

B. satisfied; satisfied; satisfying

D. satisfying; satisfied; satisfied

I regret _______ that I’m busy ______ my lessons.

A. to say; to prepare B. to say; preparing

C. saying; to prepare D. saying; preparing

No matter where he is, he makes _________ a rule to go for a walk before breakfast.

A. him B. this C. that D. it

He was in the mountain for a year. He felt as if he was ________ from the outside world.

A. cut out B. cut in C. cut off D. cut up

Up to now nobody _______ do this better than Charlie Chaplin.

A. Is able to B. has been able to

C. have been able to D. are able to

–Why did she spend so much time searching shop after shop only for a blouse?

--- Oh, she was very ________ about her clothes.

A. Curious B. careful C. crazy D. particular

It is believed that if an event is ________ in the paper, it will surely ________ its readers.

A. astonished; astonish

B. astonishing; be astonished

C. astonishing; astonish

D. astonished; be astonished