A university math tutor has discovered the science behind “singledom”, finding that our chances of finding the perfect partner are just 1 in 285,000. Peter Backus, a tutor at the University of Warwick, published his “Why I Don’t Have a Girlfriend” paper after a three-year love drought.
His unconventional study uses a famous math formula called The Drake Equation(德雷克等式), which was first used to estimate the existence of extra-terrestrial(地球以外) life.
The results don't look promising for British singles. 30-year-old Mr. Backus found that out of the 30 million women in the UK, only 26 would be suitable girlfriends for him.
The dull equation takes into account the number of women aged 24 to 34, living in his home city of London, and who are single, meaning his chances of meeting his dream woman on a night out are slim.
The economics expert said: “There are 26 women in London with whom I might have a wonderful relationship. So, on a given night out in London there is a 0.0000034% chance of meeting one of these special people. That’s a 1 in 285,000 chance, so it’s not great.”
The puzzling Drake equation reads: N = R* x Fp x Ne x Fi x Fc x L, and helped pioneering scientist Professor Drake to predict that there could be 10,000 civilizations in our galaxy.
Mr. Backus simply replaced the original equation with his own criteria for a dream date, which included the percentage of women likely to find him attractive, and the number of girls aged 24-34 in London. He said: “The research may sound depressing to people looking for love, but the good news for singles is, it’s probably not your fault!”
1. Mr. Backus’ discovery in this passage is mainly concerned about ______.
A. whether there exists life out of our planet
B. the possibility of his being able to find love
C. how to get rid of singledom
D. what math can do to serve our daily life
2. What does Mr. Backus think of the result of his research?
A. Optimistic. B. Depressing. C. Unrealistic. D. Exciting.
3. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Mr. Backus’ major research field is “singledom”.
B. Mr. Backus found a girlfriend three years ago.
C. Mr. Backus’ new thesis will surely be well received.
D. Mr. Backus has been searching for love for long.
4. By “the good news for singles” in the last sentence, Mr. Backus probably mean _____.
A. you don’t have to blame yourself for remaining single
B. maybe the discovery is not reliable at all
C. the result was based on his own criteria
D. there might be more dream date out of London
5. Which of the following statements is true?
A. This passage could be published in a scientific magazine.
B. The passage intends to prove there are other civilizations.
C. The passage writer doesn’t really understand the Drake equation.
D. Most women in London are not suitable for university teachers.
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：053
This week, we talk about the application process for American colleges and universi-ties. This is part eight in our Foreign Student Series. Earlier, we explained how to begin a search for schools by going to one of the American educational advising centers around the world. We also discussed the rules for entering the United States. And we talked about programs that can be completed on-line.
But if your goal is to come to the United States to study, then it is time to make a list of colleges or universities that interest you.Be sure to choose more than one. Directors of foreign students admissions say students should apply to at least three schools.
Some students want to attend a small college; others want to go to a big university.If a really big university appeals to you, then there are ones like Ohio State University.That university in Columbus, Ohio, in the Midwest, has almost 52 000 students. There are students this year from around one hun-dred fifty countries. Ohio State provides in-ternational students with an application on its website. You can pay the application charge online with a credit card. Or you can print the forms and mail them with the pay-ment.
Many colleges and universities have their applications and also their catalogs on-line. A catalog is the publication in which a school tells about its programs. You should start on your applications at least two years before you want to begin studies. Completing a college application can take some time. But answering all the questions is not enough.Another important step is taking admission tests. The SAT is the college entry test that American high school students most com-monly take. Another one is the ACT. Colle-ges and universities may also require interna-tional students discussing these tests next week.
(1) This passage mainly tells us about________.
[ ]
A．how to apply for American colleges and universities
B．how to begin a search for a school in the United States
C．a series of programs for foreign students into America
D．the rules for foreign students to enter the United States
(2) From this passage we can infer that_______
[ ]
A．many American students want to study abroad
B．Foreign Student Series has lasted for weeks
C．less and less American universities will admit foreign students
D．the process of applying to American big universities is more complicated
(3) The writer mentions the Ohio State Uni-versity so as to________.
[ ]
A．recommend foreign students to apply for the university
B．offer some steps for entering the uni-versity
C．explain how to apply for American big universities
D．explain how big the university really is
(4) If a Chinese student wants to study in the United States, he/she may take the fol-lowing tests EXCEPT________.
[ ]
A．SAT
B．ACT
C．TOEFL
D．HSK
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科目：高中英语 来源：江西省南昌市2012届高三下学期第一次模拟测试卷英语试题 题型：050
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012届江西省新干二中高三下学期第一次夜模考试英语试卷（带解析） 题型：阅读理解
In a few years，you might be able to speak Chinese，Korean，Japanese，French，and English-and all at the same time. This sounds incredible，but Alex Waibel，a computer science professor at US's Car-negie Mellon University (CMU) and Germany's University of Karlsruhe，announced last week that it may soon be reality. He and his team have invented software and hardware that could make it far easier for people who speak different languages to understand each other.
One application，called Lecture Translation，can easily translate a speech from one language into an-other. Current translation technologies typically limit speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary. Us-ers also have to be trained how to use the programme.
Another machine can send translations of a speech to different listeners depending on what languagethey speak. “It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you，”Waibel said
Prefer to read? So- called Translation Glasses transcribe(转录) the translations on a tiny liquid-crystal display(LCD) screen.
Then there's the Muscle Translator. Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements made naturally when a person is mouthing words. The signals are then translated into speech.The electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a person's face，according to research-ers.
During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMU's Pittsburgh campus，a Chinese student named Sang Jun had 11 tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks，neck and throat. Then he mouthed-without speaking aloud- a few words in Mandarin(普通话) to the audience. A few seconds later，the phrase was displayed on a computer screen and spoken out by the computer in English and Spanish: “Let me introduce our new prototype.”
This particular instrument，when fully developed，might allow anyone to speak in any number of lan-guages or，as Waibel put it，“to switch your mouth to a foreign language”. “The idea behind the universi-ty's prototypes is to create'good enough' bridges for cross- cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world，”Waibel said.
With spontaneous(自发的) translators，foreign drivers in Germany could listen to traffic warnings on the radio; tourists in China could read all the signs and talk with local people;leaders of different coun-tries could have secret talks without any interpreters there.
【小题1】What can't be learned from the text?
| A．The spontaneous translators will help us a lot. |
| B．There is no Muscle Translator in the world now. |
| C．Muscle Translators can translate what you think into speech if you just move your mouth. |
| D．A lecture translation can translate what you said into other languages easily. |
| A．happening at at the same time. | B．happening by itself. |
| C．similar in size. | D．Similar in quality. |
| A．To make cultural exchanges between different countries easier. |
| B．To help students learn foreign languages more easily. |
| C．To make people live in foreign countries more comfortably. |
| D．To help people learn more foreign languages in the future. |
| A．The translator is so good that it can translate any language into the very language you need. |
| B．The translator is becoming more and more common in the world as a bridge. |
| C．With the help of the translator，you only need to open your mouth when you want to say something without saying the exact words at all. |
| D．The translator needs to be improved before being put into market. |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A magazine on science. |
| C．A fairy tale. | D．A scientific fantasy book. |
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科目：高中英语 来源：江西省模拟题 题型：阅读理解
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
In a few years，you might be able to speak Chinese，Korean，Japanese，French，and English-andall at the same time. This sounds incredible，but Alex Waibel，a computer science professor at US's Car-negie Mellon University (CMU) and Germany's University of Karlsruhe，announced last week that it may soon be reality. He and his team have invented software and hardware that could make it far easier forpeople who speak different languages to understand each other.
One application，called Lecture Translation，can easily translate a speech from one language into an-other. Current translation technologies typically limit speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary. Us-ers also have to be trained how to use the programme.
Another machine can send translations of a speech to different listeners depending on what languagethey speak. “It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you，”Waibel said
Prefer to read? So- called Translation Glasses transcribe(转录) the translations on a tiny liquid-crystal display(LCD) screen.
Then there's the Muscle Translator. Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements made naturally when a person is mouthing words. The signals are then translated into speech.The electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a person's face，according to research-ers.
During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMU's Pittsburgh campus，a Chinese student named Sang Jun had 11 tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks，neck and throat. Then he mouthed-without speaking aloud- a few words in Mandarin(普通话) to the audience. A few seconds later，the phrase was displayed on a computer screen and spoken out by the computer in English and Spanish: “Let me introduce our new prototype.”
This particular instrument，when fully developed，might allow anyone to speak in any number of lan-guages or，as Waibel put it，“to switch your mouth to a foreign language”. “The idea behind the universi-ty's prototypes is to create'good enough' bridges for cross- cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world，”Waibel said.
With spontaneous(自发的) translators，foreign drivers in Germany could listen to traffic warnings on the radio; tourists in China could read all the signs and talk with local people;leaders of different coun-tries could have secret talks without any interpreters there.
71.What can't be learned from the text?
A.The spontaneous translators will help us a lot.
B. There is no Muscle Translator in the world now.
C. Muscle Translators can translate what you think into speech if you just move your mouth.
D. A lecture translation can translate what you said into other languages easily.
72. What does the underlined word mean?
A. happening at the same time. B. happening by itself.
C. similar in size. D. Similar in quality.
73.What's the final destination of inventing the language translators?
A. To make cultural exchanges between different countries easier.
B. To help students learn foreign languages more easily.
C. To make people live in foreign countries more comfortably.
D. To help people learn more foreign languages in the future.
74. What can be inferred from the seventh paragraph?
A. The translator is so good that it can translate any language into the very language you need.
B. The translator is becoming more and more common in the world as a bridge.
C. With the help of the translator，you only need to open your mouth when you want to say something without saying the exact words at all.
D.The translator needs to be improved before being put into market.
75. Where can we probably find this passage?
A.A newspaper. B.A magazine on science.
C .A fairy tale. D. A scientific fantasy book.
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