I still remember the days when l was a youthful student in an engineering school．I lived a casual life，without caring about the future．I smoked，drank with friends and made girl friends．Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss．

    Two years had passed and l was staring down a report card that highlighted FAII in more than half the subjects．I didn’t care，at least not till my dad found out about it．You see．I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education，my dad financed me．

    Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking．He lost his temper but he just told me，“Son，your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”．It hit me like a roundhouse kick（回旋踢） from Bruce Lee．I was jolted（震摇）out of my bones！I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college．I owed everybody money：the grocery store，the bars．the restaurants，my friends，etc．I was living a life filled with credit．

    When I went back to college，I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off．So I decided to make some changes．drastic changes．I quit smoking，cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road，starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books．

    One year later，I went from a miserable failure to a magna curn laude（优等成绩）．Life was never the same again．This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it，however small or large．Even today it still motivates me when I feel that l’m about to lose or give up．It reminds me that I can do it！

1.The author wrote this text with the purpose of       ．

    A．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

    B．showing you can overcome any difficulty if you take action

    C．calling on the readers not to develop bad habits in college

    D．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

2.The author didn’t care about his study until      ．

    A．he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear             B．he decided to give up smoking

    C．his allowance was cut in half   D．he entered the engineering school

3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that the author      ．

    A．removed his bad habits and didn’t lead a casual life

    B．never hung out with his friends but studied all day

    C．began to live a happy life due to his good grades

    D．paid off his debt and life wasn’t hard for him any more

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE？

    A．The author did well in making good friends in the school．

    B．The author made great progress with the help of his friends．

    C．Students were encouraged to do part-time jobs in Indian schools．

    D．Students tended to earn money for college expenses in America．

 

（BBC）The "father of the personal computer" who kick-started the careers of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen has died at the age of 68．Dr Henry Edward Roberts was the inventor of the Altair 8800, a machine that led to the home computer age．

Gates and Allen contacted Dr Roberts after seeing the machine on the front cover of a magazine and offered to write software for it．The program was known as Altair-Basic, the foundation of Microsoft's business．"Ed was willing to take a chance on us - two young guys interested in computers , and we have always been thankful to him," the Microsoft founders said in a statement.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told technology website CNET that Dr Roberts had taken " a critically important step that led to everything we have today"．

Dr Roberts was the founder of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), originally set up to sell electronics parts to model rocket hobbyists．The company went on to sell electronic calculator parts, but was soon overshadowed by bigger firms．

In the mid-1970's, with the firm struggling with debt, Dr Roberts began to develop a computer kit(配套零件) for hobbyists．The result was the Altair 8800．The $395 kit (around £1,000 today) was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975, resulting in a flood of orders．

Among those interested in the machine were Paul Allen and Bill Gates．The pair contacted Dr Roberts, offering to write software that would help people program the machine．The pair finally moved to Albuquerque - the home of MITS - where they founded Micro-Soft, to develop their software．

Dr Roberts sold his company in 1977．He died in hospital on 1 April after a long period of pneumonia (肺炎) ．

1.Why did Dr Roberts probably decide to sell his company?

         A．Because he was in heavy debt in the mid-1980's．

         B．Because he wanted to take a chance on Gates and Allen.

         C．Because he wanted to develop a computer kit for hobbyists.

         D．Because he had difficulty competing with big companies．

2.What do we know about MITS?

         A．It was set up by Steve Wozniak.

         B．It sold electronics parts to big firms.

         C．It is located in Albuquerque.

         D．It is a technology website.

3.We can learn that Popular Electronics is likely to be  ____.

         A．a newspaper                    B．a magazine  

         C．a Website                 D．an organization

4.What is the best title of this passage?

         A．The story of the Altair 8800

         B．The founder of MITS

         C．Father of the personal computer died

         D．The story of Dr Roberts

 

  I still remember the days when l was a youthful student in an engineering school．I lived a casual life，without caring about the future．I smoked，drank with friends and made girl friends．Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss．

    Two years had passed and l was staring down a report card that highlighted FAII in more than half the subjects．I didn’t care，at least not till my dad found out about it．You see．I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education，my dad financed me．

    Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking．He lost his temper but he just told me，“Son，your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”．It hit me like a roundhouse kick（回旋踢） from Bruce Lee．I was jolted（震摇）out of my bones！I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college．I owed everybody money：the grocery store，the bars．the restaurants，my friends，etc．I was living a life filled with credit．

    When I went back to college，I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off．So I decided to make some changes．drastic changes．I quit smoking，cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road，starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books．

    One year later，I went from a miserable failure to a magna curn laude（优等成绩）．Life was never the same again．This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it，however small or large．Even today it still motivates me when I feel that l’m about to lose or give up．It reminds me that I can do it！

The author wrote this text with the purpose of       ．

    A．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

    B．showing you can overcome any difficulty if you take action

    C．calling on the readers not to develop bad habits in college

    D．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

The author didn’t care about his study until      ．

    A．he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear  B．he decided to give up smoking

    C．his allowance was cut in half   D．he entered the engineering school

The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that the author      ．

    A．removed his bad habits and didn’t lead a casual life

    B．never hung out with his friends but studied all day

    C．began to live a happy life due to his good grades

    D．paid off his debt and life wasn’t hard for him any more

Which of the following statements is TRUE？

    A．The author did well in making good friends in the school．

    B．The author made great progress with the help of his friends．

    C．Students were encouraged to do part-time jobs in Indian schools．

    D．Students tended to earn money for college expenses in America．

（BBC）The "father of the personal computer" who kick-started the careers of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen has died at the age of 68. Dr Henry Edward Roberts was the inventor of the Altair 8800, a machine that led to the home computer age.

Gates and Allen contacted Dr Roberts after seeing the machine on the front cover of a magazine and offered to write software for it. The program was known as Altair-Basic, the foundation of Microsoft's business. "Ed was willing to take a chance on us - two young guys interested in computers , and we have always been thankful to him," the Microsoft founders said in a statement.

 Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told technology website CNET that Dr Roberts had taken " a critically important step that led to everything we have today".

Dr Roberts was the founder of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), originally set up to sell electronics parts to model rocket hobbyists. The company went on to sell electronic calculator parts, but was soon overshadowed by bigger firms.

In the mid-1970's, with the firm struggling with debt, Dr Roberts began to develop a computer kit(配套零件) for hobbyists. The result was the Altair 8800. The $395 kit (around ??1,000 today) was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975, resulting in a flood of orders.

Amongst those interested in the machine were Paul Allen and Bill Gates. The pair contacted Dr Roberts, offering to write software that would help people program the machine. The pair finally moved to Albuquerque - the home of MITS - where they founded Micro-Soft, to develop their software.

Dr Roberts sold his company in 1977. He died in hospital on 1 April after a long period of pneumonia．(肺炎)

Why did Dr Roberts probably decide to sell his company?

A. Because he was in heavy debt in the mid-1980's .

B. Because he wanted to take a chance on Gates and Allen.

C. Because he wanted to develop a computer kit for hobbyists.

D. Because he had difficulty competing with big companies. 

What do we know about MITS?

A. It was set up by Steve Wozniak.

B. It sold electronics parts to big firms.

C. It is located in Albuquerque.

D. It is a technology website.

We can learn that Popular Electronics is likely to be  ____.

A. a newspaper   B. a magazine   C. a Website   D. an organization

What is the best title of this passage?

A. The story of the Altair 8800

B. The founder of MITS

C. Father of the personal computer died

D. The story of Dr Roberts

I still remember the days when I was a youthful student in an engineering school. I lived a casual life, without caring about the future. I smoked, drank with friends and made girl friends. Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss.

     Two years had passed and I was staring down a report card that highlighted FAIL in more than half the subjects. I didn’t care, at least not till my dad found out about it. You see, I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education, my dad financed me.

     Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking. He lost his temper but he just told me, “Son, your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”. It hit me like a roundhouse kick (回旋踢) from Bruce Lee. I was jolted (震摇) out of my bones! I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college. I owed everybody money: the grocery store, the bars, the restaurants, my friends, etc. I was living a life filled with credit.

     When I went back to college, I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off. So I decided to make some changes, drastic changes. I quit smoking, cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road, starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books.

     One year later, I went from a miserable failure to a magna cum laude (优等成绩). Life was never the same again. This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it, however small or large. Even today it still motivates me when I feel that I’m about to lose or give up. It reminds me that I can do it!

The author wrote this text with the purpose of ________.

  A. introducing his university life to the teenage readers

  B. encouraging those lazy students to study hard at school

  C. showing you can overcome any difficulty if you take action

  D. calling on the readers not to develop bad habits in college

The author didn’t care about his study until _______.

  A. he entered the engineering school   B. he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear

  C. he decided to give up smoking     D. his allowance was cut in half

The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that the author ________.

  A. paid off his debt and life wasn’t hard for him any more

  B. removed his bad habits and didn’t lead a casual life

  C. never hung out with his friends but studied all day

  D. began to live a happy life due to his good grades

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

  A. Students tended to earn money for college expenses in America.

  B. The author did well in making good friends in the school.

  C. The author made great progress with the help of his friends.

  D. Students were encouraged to do part-time jobs in Indian schools.