China’s Tianhe-1 has a computing speed of 2,507 trillion（万亿）calculations a second, making it the fastest computer in the world. It is also 40 percent faster than the world’s second fastest supercomputer, Cray XT5 Jaguar, in the US, kept at a national laboratory in Tennessee, according to the New York Times. Jack Dongarra, a University of Tennessee computer scientist, told NYT that the Chinese supercomputer is faster than the existing Number One machine.

Building the fastest supercomputer has become a source of national pride, as these machines are valued for their ability to solve problems in areas like defense, energy and science. These problems are related to national interests. Supercomputing technology is also found in business. Oil and gas companies use supercomputers to find oil and gas.

Obviously, research centers with large supercomputers attract top scientific talents. This adds extra importance to the machines—they’re more than just huge computers.

China’s new supercomputer will be used to speed up greatly scientific calculations, such as hurricane and tsunami modeling, cancer research, car design and even studying stars.

In 2008, two US scientists put together a step-by-step guide on how to build a supercomputer using PlayStation 3 video-game consoles（控制台）. Modern supercomputers are built by combining thousands of small computer servers（服务器）and using software to turn them into one large computer. Really, any organization with enough material and technology can create a fast machine.

The Chinese system follows that model by linking thousands upon thousands of computer servers. But the secret behind the system—and the technological achievement—is China’s own networking technology. “That technology was built by them,” Dongarra said. “They are taking supercomputing very seriously and using a lot of time and money.”

“China is still a developing country,” said Sha Chaoqun, manager at Dawning Company which is the leading supercomputer maker in China. “Maybe one day, China’s total computing power can be greater than that of the US, but there is still a long way to go before we get there.”

任务型阅读(共10小题,每题1分，满分10分)
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：每个空格填1个单词。
China’s Tianhe-1 has a computing speed of 2,507 trillion（万亿）calculations a second, making it the fastest computer in the world. It is also 40 percent faster than the world’s second fastest supercomputer, Cray XT5 Jaguar, in the US, kept at a national laboratory in Tennessee, according to the New York Times. Jack Dongarra, a University of Tennessee computer scientist, told NYT that the Chinese supercomputer is faster than the existing Number One machine.
Building the fastest supercomputer has become a source of national pride, as these machines are valued for their ability to solve problems in areas like defense, energy and science. These problems are related to national interests. Supercomputing technology is also found in business. Oil and gas companies use supercomputers to find oil and gas.
Obviously, research centers with large supercomputers attract top scientific talents. This adds extra importance to the machines—they’re more than just huge computers.
China’s new supercomputer will be used to speed up greatly scientific calculations, such as hurricane and tsunami modeling, cancer research, car design and even studying stars.
In 2008, two US scientists put together a step-by-step guide on how to build a supercomputer using PlayStation 3 video-game consoles（控制台）. Modern supercomputers are built by combining thousands of small computer servers（服务器）and using software to turn them into one large computer. Really, any organization with enough material and technology can create a fast machine.
The Chinese system follows that model by linking thousands upon thousands of computer servers. But the secret behind the system—and the technological achievement—is China’s own networking technology. “That technology was built by them,” Dongarra said. “They are taking supercomputing very seriously and using a lot of time and money.”
“China is still a developing country,” said Sha Chaoqun, manager at Dawning Company which is the leading supercomputer maker in China. “Maybe one day, China’s total computing power can be greater than that of the US, but there is still a long way to go before we get there.”

任务型阅读(共10小题,每题1分，满分10分)

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。

注意：每个空格填1个单词。

China’s Tianhe-1 has a computing speed of 2,507 trillion（万亿）calculations a second, making it the fastest computer in the world. It is also 40 percent faster than the world’s second fastest supercomputer, Cray XT5 Jaguar, in the US, kept at a national laboratory in Tennessee, according to the New York Times. Jack Dongarra, a University of Tennessee computer scientist, told NYT that the Chinese supercomputer is faster than the existing Number One machine.

Building the fastest supercomputer has become a source of national pride, as these machines are valued for their ability to solve problems in areas like defense, energy and science. These problems are related to national interests. Supercomputing technology is also found in business. Oil and gas companies use supercomputers to find oil and gas.

Obviously, research centers with large supercomputers attract top scientific talents. This adds extra importance to the machines—they’re more than just huge computers.

China’s new supercomputer will be used to speed up greatly scientific calculations, such as hurricane and tsunami modeling, cancer research, car design and even studying stars.

In 2008, two US scientists put together a step-by-step guide on how to build a supercomputer using PlayStation 3 video-game consoles（控制台）. Modern supercomputers are built by combining thousands of small computer servers（服务器）and using software to turn them into one large computer. Really, any organization with enough material and technology can create a fast machine.

The Chinese system follows that model by linking thousands upon thousands of computer servers. But the secret behind the system—and the technological achievement—is China’s own networking technology. “That technology was built by them,” Dongarra said. “They are taking supercomputing very seriously and using a lot of time and money.”

“China is still a developing country,” said Sha Chaoqun, manager at Dawning Company which is the leading supercomputer maker in China. “Maybe one day, China’s total computing power can be greater than that of the US, but there is still a long way to go before we get there.”

    So，when Philip Wong and his Sister Anna left school and took over their father’s tourist shop in Tsim Sha Tsui，they were not surprised to find that many tourists were interested in these small．relatively inexpensive goods．“Even so, We found that business was not really very good．We had a lot of competition and only made a small profit on most of the items we sold，”said Philip，“then Anna had the idea of selling arts and crafts from other countries as well. ”

  The pair went on a “shopping trip” around the Southeast Asian region，making contacts in Thailand， Indonesia and Malaysia．They bought jewellery， clothes and artwork in all these countries and displayed them in a special section of their shop．They were surprised at how popular these goods were not only among foreign tourists，but also local people．

    Now they have opened a new shop in North Point which sells goods from even more countries．including some in Europe and South America．The shop is proving especially popular with Hong Kong people such as businessmen，who travel abroad a lot，but never have the time to buy gifts while they are away．“Actually some of our customers just want to impress their friends by pretending that they have actually visited the country，”added Anna With a smile．

1．What does the word exotic mean?

A．strange and unusual

B．common and popular

C．pretty and attractive

D．strange but usual

2．Why did Philips say they could make little money from their business?

A．Because there were too many traders in their business field．

B．Because their goods are not good enough．

C．Because lots of competitions were held in the field．

D．Because they don’t know how to make a big profit from their business．

3．Who were surprised at the goods in a special section of the shop?

A．Philip，Anna and tourists．

B．Tourists from other countries．

C．Philip，Anna and local residents．

D．Both travelers abroad and people in Hong Kong．

4. How do you like some trade-men who buy some articles in Hong Kong?

A．They want to make themselves understood that they’ve visited the country．

B．They’ve not got enough money to get them in the country they’re visiting．

C．They find no time to take them while they’re visiting the country．

D．Though they travel a lot，they’ve never bought the articles at all．

    For many people，one of the pleasures of traveling abroad is buying the arts and crafts of a foreign culture．English tourists in Hong Kong，for example， like Chinese arts and crafts because they think they are exotic．Even things as common as pair of chopsticks, or a name stamp，are popular items for visiting tourists．They are typical examples of Chinese culture which make attractive ornaments for the home and good presents for friends．

    So，when Philip Wong and his Sister Anna left school and took over their father’s tourist shop in Tsim Sha Tsui，they were not surprised to find that many tourists were interested in these small．relatively inexpensive goods．“Even so, We found that business was not really very good．We had a lot of competition and only made a small profit on most of the items we sold，”said Philip，“then Anna had the idea of selling arts and crafts from other countries as well. ”

  The pair went on a “shopping trip” around the Southeast Asian region，making contacts in Thailand， Indonesia and Malaysia．They bought jewellery， clothes and artwork in all these countries and displayed them in a special section of their shop．They were surprised at how popular these goods were not only among foreign tourists，but also local people．

    Now they have opened a new shop in North Point which sells goods from even more countries．including some in Europe and South America．The shop is proving especially popular with Hong Kong people such as businessmen，who travel abroad a lot，but never have the time to buy gifts while they are away．“Actually some of our customers just want to impress their friends by pretending that they have actually visited the country，”added Anna With a smile．

1．What does the word exotic mean?

A．strange and unusual

B．common and popular

C．pretty and attractive

D．strange but usual

2．Why did Philips say they could make little money from their business?

A．Because there were too many traders in their business field．

B．Because their goods are not good enough．

C．Because lots of competitions were held in the field．

D．Because they don’t know how to make a big profit from their business．

3．Who were surprised at the goods in a special section of the shop?

A．Philip，Anna and tourists．

B．Tourists from other countries．

C．Philip，Anna and local residents．

D．Both travelers abroad and people in Hong Kong．

4. How do you like some trade-men who buy some articles in Hong Kong?

A．They want to make themselves understood that they’ve visited the country．

B．They’ve not got enough money to get them in the country they’re visiting．

C．They find no time to take them while they’re visiting the country．

D．Though they travel a lot，they’ve never bought the articles at all．