Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of US technology giant Apple, has died at the age of 56. Mr Jobs had announced he was suffering from cancer in 2004. Apple said he had been "the source of countless innovations（创新）that enrich and improve all of our lives" and had made the world "immeasurably（无法衡量的）better".
Tributes(赞美之辞) have been made by technology company bosses and world leaders, with US President Barack Obama saying the world had "lost a visionary（有远见卓识的人）". "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators —— brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it," said Mr Obama.
A statement from Mr Jobs's family said they were with him when he died peacefully on Wednesday. "In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he loved his family deeply," they said, requesting privacy and thanking those who had "shared their wishes and prayers" during his final year.
Apple said the company had "lost a visionary and creative genius(天才) and the world have lost an amazing human being". Tim Cook, who was made Apple's CEO after Mr Jobs stood down in August, said his predecessor had left behind "a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple". Flags are being flown at half mast outside the Apple headquarters（总部） in Cupertino, California, while fans of the company have left tributes outside Apple shops around the world.
The heads of other leading technology companies have also paid tribute, including Microsoft boss Bill Gates, who said "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been a great honour. I will miss Steve very much."
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thanks Mr Jobs for "showing that what you build can change the world" while Sony Corp president and CEO Howard Stringer said: "The digital age has lost its leading light." South Korea's Samsung, which is involved in a case with Apple over patents(专利), admired Mr Jobs for his "Completely new and different changes to the IT industry".
【小题1】Hearing of Steve Jobs’ death, the heads of other leading technology companies have paid tribute and __________.

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. This is about the family standing ahead of us.

The family had eight children. Their clothes were not expensive but clean.

The children were well-behaved. They stood in line, two by two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly talking about the clowns, elephants and other acts they would see that night. You could tell that they had never been to the circus before.

The tickets lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly replied, “I want eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets please, so I can take my family to the circus”.

The ticket lady quoted(报）the price. The man stopped holding his hand. The man’s lips started to quiver(颤抖). He leaned toward her and asked again, “How much did you say?”

The ticket lady quoted the price again. The man didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he couldn’t take them to the circus.

My dad put his hand into his pocket, pulling out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground, though we weren’t rich. Then he reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”

The man knew what was going on. He looked into my dad’s eyes, he replied, “Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.”

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn’t get to see the circus that night, but we didn’t care.

74.The children were talking about ________ .

A) clowns　　　　　　　　　 　 B) other acts they would see that night　　
C) elephants　　　　　　　　　　D) all the above

75. 　 The underlined word ‘well-behaved’ in the third paragraph means ________.

A) holding hands　　　 　　　 　 B) talking excitedly

C) showing good manners　　　　 D) showing bad manners

76. How many tickets would the man buy altogether?

A) six　　　　　　　　　　　　 B) eight

C) ten　　　　　　　　　　　　 D) twelve

77. Why was the man disappointed when he heard the price of the ticket?

A) Because he had lost his money. 　　　　

B) Because he didn’t want to buy them.

C) Because he thought the circus was dull.

D) Because he didn’t have enough money for tickets.

78.Which of the following is NOT True?

A) The family didn’t go to the circus that night.

B) The writer and his father helped the family.

C) The father couldn’t afford the tickets.

D) The writer didn’t go to the circus that night.

79.From the passage we know that the big family was poor ________.

A) but worked very hard

B) and they felt very sad

C) but they were very happy

D) and they often asked for help from others

Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of US technology giant Apple, has died at the age of 56. Mr Jobs had announced he was suffering from cancer in 2004. Apple said he had been "the source of countless innovations（创新）that enrich and improve all of our lives" and had made the world "immeasurably（无法衡量的）better".
Tributes(赞美之辞) have been made by technology company bosses and world leaders, with US President Barack Obama saying the world had "lost a visionary（有远见卓识的人）". "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators —— brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it," said Mr Obama.
A statement from Mr Jobs's family said they were with him when he died peacefully on Wednesday. "In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he loved his family deeply," they said, requesting privacy and thanking those who had "shared their wishes and prayers" during his final year.
Apple said the company had "lost a visionary and creative genius(天才) and the world have lost an amazing human being". Tim Cook, who was made Apple's CEO after Mr Jobs stood down in August, said his predecessor had left behind "a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple". Flags are being flown at half mast outside the Apple headquarters（总部） in Cupertino, California, while fans of the company have left tributes outside Apple shops around the world.
The heads of other leading technology companies have also paid tribute, including Microsoft boss Bill Gates, who said "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been a great honour. I will miss Steve very much."
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thanks Mr Jobs for "showing that what you build can change the world" while Sony Corp president and CEO Howard Stringer said: "The digital age has lost its leading light." South Korea's Samsung, which is involved in a case with Apple over patents(专利), admired Mr Jobs for his "Completely new and different changes to the IT industry".

1. 1.

   Hearing of Steve Jobs’ death, the heads of other leading technology companies have paid tribute and __________.

   1. A.
      shared the treasure with his family
   2. B.
      suffered from the sad news
   3. C.
      been involved in a case with Apple
   4. D.
      spoken highly of him
2. 2.

   Obama made a speech at Steve Jobs’ death because _________________.

   1. A.
      they had been friends for years
   2. B.
      they had set up an excellent company
      C Jobs had played an important role in the development of the IT industry
      D. Jobs had changed Obama’s political(政治的) life
3. 3.

   Who became Apple's CEO after Mr Jobs?

   1. A.
      Tim Cook
   2. B.
      Howard Stringer
   3. C.
      Mark Zuckerberg
   4. D.
      Barack Obama

阅读理解

“Life is speeding up(加快速度). Everyone is getting unwell.” This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person wrote it.

Inventions can change our lives. But have all these things really improved our lives? Imagine this. You’re doing your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings and the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer is turned off and you lose all your work. How do you feel? Inventions have speeded up our lives, but they often leave us feeling tired.

One family in England went “back in time” to see what life was like without these inventions. The grandparents, with their daughter and grandsons Ben 10 and Tom 7, spent nine weeks in an old house. They had no computers or mobile phones. The grandmother, Linda, said, “The more things you have, the harder life becomes.” And Ben also noticed that his grandmother had changed. She cooked delicious food for them!

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

1.The writer uses the quotation(引语) at the beginning to _____.

2.In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions _____.

3.The family chose to spend some time in an old house because _____.

4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

5.The passage is mainly about _____.