Parents in three Midwestern states will soon know just how good or bad their kids' driving is when their children take the car for a spin (疾驶).

Starting today, American Family Insurance is offering customers with teen drivers free cameras that record what happens when a sudden change in the car's movement occurs.

The cameras record the action inside and in front of the car in 20 - second audio - video clips (剪辑). The clips are then transmitted to Drive Cam, a San Diego company that analyzes the clips for risky behavior.

Among things the analysts look for is the response time of the drivers and if they are paying attention to the road. Parents can receive a report on their kids' driving and view the clips on a home computer.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death among U. S. teens, according to the NHTSA

(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

"There will be fewer accidents," Rick Fetherston, vice president at American Family said of the new system. American Family will test the system out by offering it for free for one year to 30.000 families in Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota to see whether the system results in fewer accidents. If the system is proven to prevent accidents, customers who volunteer to use it might see their insurance premiums (保险费) drop. The company would not be viewing the videos or individual score cars, unless there is an accident.

Bruce Moeller, president of Drive Cam, says his company's system is already being used by companies with lots of cars. "Some of our customers are reporting a 30% to 90% reduction in their risky driver events," Moeller says.

But a lawyer in Minneapolis says. "If I felt I needed a camera in the car to watch over my kids, I shouldn't be letting them drive."

American Family tested the system in two high schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Megan Ireland, 17, said the camera caught her stopping too late and taking turns too fast. The student at Prior Lake High School in Savage, Minn., said she didn't like it because she felt it invaded her privacy (侵犯隐私) but has warmed up to the system. "Now I don't really have a problem with it because it's made me a better driver," she says. "For real."

69.The camera is being offered to________by________free of charge now.

A.teen drivers; a company called Drive Cam

B.insurance companies; a San Diego company

C.families with teen drivers; an insurance company

D.American Family Insurance; the NHTSA

70.The camera is used to________.

A.record what the teen driver does while driving

B.prevent the teen drivers from speeding

C.reduce the insurance premiums

D.provide videos and score cards for the police

71.Which of the following states is NOT true according to the passage?

A.Drive Cam will analyze the clips to find if the driver drives riskily.

B.All the students in Minnesota and Wisconsin don't like the system.

C.The insurance company will never look at the clips or score cards of the customers.

D.If the system can reduce the number of accidents, the fees for insurance will be reduced.

72.The best title for this passage might be________.

A.Teens, drive carefully     B.A free camera for kids

C.Cameras invade Privacy     D.Cameras keep watch on teen driving

 

A diligent work, however, does not necessarily _____much achievements or honor which are expected by someone.

A.take over             B.result in           C.hold on                      D.keep to

Have you winterized your horse yet? Even though global warming may have made our climate more mild, many animals are still hibernating(冬眠)．It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate．In fact, as a species, we almost did．

Apparently, at times in the past, peasants in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation．So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French peasants．As soon as the weather turned cold people all over France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months on end．

In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed fundamentally since the invention of artificial(人造的) lighting and the electric bulb．

When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though．Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods．The business of eight hours’ uninterrupted sleep is a modern invention．

In the past, without the artificial light of the city to bathe in, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves around midnight．The late night period was known as ”The Watch” It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbours ．

According to some sleep researchers, a short period of insomnia(失眠) at midnight is not a disorder ．It is normal．Humans can experience another state of consciousness around their sleeping, which occurs in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning．This period can be an extraordinarily creative time for some people．The impressive inventor, Thomas Edison, used this state to hit upon many of his new ideas．

Playing with your sleep rhythms can be adventurous, as anxiety may set in．Medical science doesn’t help much in this case．It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory, it is really the opposite of what we need．

1.The example of the French peasants shows the fact that________．

 A．people might become lazy as a result of too much sleep

 B．there were signs of hibernation in human sleeping habits

C．people tended to sleep more peacefully in cold weather

D．winter was a season for people to sleep for months on end

2.The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people_______．

 A．to set traps to catch animals        B．to wake up their family and neighbours

 C．to remind others of the time       D．to guard against possible dangers

3.What does the author advise people to do?

 A．Sleep in the way animals do．    B．Consult a doctor if they can’t sleep．

 C．Follow their natural sleep rhythm．D．Keep to the eight-hour sleep pattern．

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To give a prescription for insomnia．   

B．To urge people to sleep less．

C．To analyze the sleep pattern of modern people．  

D．To throw new light on human sleep．

 

At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a holdup（持枪拦劫）,” the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part – close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.

Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.

The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted (晕倒).

As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.

The next morning, while the others were examining the bank’s records, George was called into Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.

“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed too. I have retired (退休), but I’m always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes (保持警觉). Now, I have put the money back in your money-box— all six thousand.”

1. George was happy because ______.

A. he didn’t lose his money box         B. he wasn’t killed by the robber

C. he got eight thousand dollars         D. he was introduced to Mr. Carruthers

2.What did George do when he was taken to the bedroom?

A. He counted money.                 B. He examined the bank’s record.

C. He put some money into his pocket.        D. He lifted the top part of the money box.

3.Who might be the robber?

A. George.     B. Mr. Burrow.   C. A retired lady.     D. Mr. Carruthers.

 

A classic series of experiments to determine the effects of overpopulation on communities of rats was conducted by a psychologist，John Calhoun．In each experiment，an equal number of male and female adult rats were placed in an enclosure（场地）．The rat populations were allowed to increase．Calhoun knew from experience approximately how many rats could live in the enclosures without experiencing stress due to overcrowding．He allowed the population to increase to approximately twice this number Then he fixed the population by removing the children that were not dependent on their mothers．At the end of the experiments，Calhoun was able to conclude that overcrowding causes a breakdown in the normal social relationships among rats，a kind of social disease．The rats in the experiments did not follow the same patterns of behavior as rats would in a community without overcrowding．

       The females in the rat population were the most seriously affected by the high population density（密度）．For example，mothers sometimes deserted their children，and，without their mothers’care，the children died．The experiments showed that in overpopulated communities，mother rats do not behave normally．Their behavior may be considered diseased and pathological（病理学的）．

       The leading males in the rat population were the least affected by over population．Each of these strong males claimed an area of the enclosure as his own．Therefore，these individuals did not  experience the overcrowding in the same way as the other rats did．．However leading males did behave pathologically at times．Their antisocial（反社会）behavior consisted of attacks on weaker male，female，and immature rats．This unusual behavior showed that even though the leading males had enough living space，they too were affected by the general overcrowding．

       Non-leading males in the experimental rat communities also exhibited unusual social behavior．Some withdrew（缩回） completely ,avoiding contact with other rats．Other non-leading males were too active，chasing other rats and fighting each other．

       The behavior of the rat population has similarity in human behavior．People in densely（密） populated areas exhibit unusual behavior similar to that of the rats in Calhoun’s experiments．In large urban areas，such as New York City，London，and Cairo，there are deserted children．There are cruel，powerful individuals，both men and women．There are also people who withdraw and people who become too active．Is the major cause of these disorders（混乱）overpopulation?

       Calhoun’s experiments suggest that it might be．In any case，social scientists and city planners have been influenced by the results of this series of experiments．

Which of the following inferences（推断）can NOT be made from the first paragraph?

       A．Overpopulation causes pathological behavior in rat populations．

       B．Calhoun had experimented with rats before．

       C．Calhoun’s experiment is still considered important today

       D．Stress does not occur in rat communities unless there is overcrowding．

The author implies that the behavior of the leading male rats is sometimes similar to that of

       A．people who would like to keep to themselves 

       B．people who abandon their children

       C．too active people

       D．cruel，powerful people

The main point of this passage is that _______________．

       A．although rats are affected by overcrowding，people are not

       B．overcrowding may be an important cause of social pathology

       C．the social behavior of rats is seriously affected by overcrowding

       D．Calhoun's experiments have influenced many people