2019年上半年学位英语考试备考习题及答案（三）_第3页

　　Passage Three

　　Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:

　　What are the zebra stripes on the tomato soup cans and potato chip bags? They are special black and white vertical lines. These black and white stripes can be read by an optical scanner, or computer. The "scanner", which reads the lines of code, is a small laser beam of light. When the light ray is broken by the black stripes, the computer "reads" the information about the product.

　　The code is called the Universal Product Code (UPC). It is designed to add speed and efficiency to stores by using computers. It can do this in several ways. First, it is not necessary for workers to put individual prices on items. Errors in prices are eliminated, or done away with. Also, the time spent checking out is reduced. UPC gives an itemized receipt to the customer with all the items, prices, and totals. The store clerk does not need to spend time checking the price on the item and punching it into cash register. This UPC computerized system will probably save as much as 45 percent of the checkout clerk's time.

　　What do the stripes mean? How does the computer interpret the stripes? The number printed below the vertical bars identifies the manufacturer and the manufacturer's item. As many as 10 trillion individual machine-readable numbers can be used with this system. In the example, the 0 on the left side means that it is a grocery item. The numbers 51000 indicate the manufacturer. In this case it is the Campell Soup Company. The last five digits, 00011, mean it is a can of tomato soup. The light rays from the light beam read these lines, and the message is sent directly to the computer. The computer then finds the information about this product (price, inventory data) and sends it instantly back to the terminal at the checkout counter. At the same time, it keeps an inventory for the store manager. Many products have labels with these stripes.

　　21. The Universal Product Code _____.

　　A) makes grocery shopping easier

　　B) makes grocery shopping complicated

　　C) cuts down on efficiency

　　D) will never be practical

　　22. Codes are scanned by _____.

　　A) the checkout clerk B) a laser beam of light

　　C) the customers themselves D) the cash register

　　23. Computers are beneficial because they _____.

　　A) eliminate price errors

　　B) give itemized printout to the customer

　　C) save time in the checkout lane and help control inventory

　　D) all of the above

　　24. What information CANNOT be obtained from the UPC?

　　A) Manufacturer. B) Grocery store name.

　　C) Item. D) Price.

　　25. A possible title for this article could be _____.

　　A) Animals and Food

　　B) The Benefits of the Universal Product Code

　　C) Production Made Easy

　　D) Stripes in Food Advertising

　　Section B

　　Directions: In this section, there is one passage followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. Read the passage carefully, then write your answers on the Answer Sheet.(10%)

　　Motorways are, no doubt, the safest roads in the country. Mile for mile, vehicle for vehicle, you are much less likely to be killed or seriously injured than on an ordinary road. On the other hand, if you do have a serious accident on a motorway, fatalities are much more likely to occur than in a comparable accident elsewhere on the roads.

　　Motorways have no sharp bends, no roundabouts or traffic lights and thus speeds are much greater than on other roads. Though the 70 m. p. h. limit is still in force, it is often treated with the contempt that most drivers have for the 30 m. p. h. limit applying in built up areas in Britain. Added to this is the fact that motorway drivers seem to like travelling in convoys with perhaps barely ten metres between each vehicle. The resulting horrific pileups (involving maybe a hundred vehicles) when one vehicle stops for some reason -- mechanical failure, driver error and so on -- have become all too familiar through pictures in newspapers or on television. How many of these drivers realize that it takes a car about one hundred metres to brake to a stop from 70 m.p.h.? Drivers also seem to think that motorway driving gives them complete immunity (免疫) from the caprices (反复无常) of the weather. However wet the road is, whatever the visibility in mist or fog, on they plough (继续向前) at ludicrous (荒唐的) speeds oblivious of (不在意的) police warnings or speed restrictions until their journey comes to a premature conclusion.

　　Perhaps one remedy for this motorway madness would be better driver education. At present, learner drivers are barred from motorways and are thus, as far as this kind of driving is concerned, thrown in at the deep end. However, much more efficient policy is required, for it is the duty of the police not only to enforce the law but also to protect the general public from its own folly.

　　26. What are the general ideas of para.1 and para.. 2 ?

　　27. At which speed can the drivers drive on the motorways?

　　28. The resulting horrific pileups are __________

　　29. What does the sentence "Drivers also seem to ... of the weather" mean?

　　30. How to remedy the madness of this motorway?

　　参考答案：

　　11-25. ACDCA BCADD ABDBB

　　26. The safest roads and speeds are much greater than on other roads.

　　27. More than 70 m.p.h.

　　28. mechanical failure, driver error

　　29. Motoways driving gives them safety from the changeable weather.

　　30. Better driver education