down under those circumstances. If AURA finds a contradiction between the statement and the system's design assumptions, then this aspect of the reactor's design has been proved satisfactory. This strategy, known as the set of support strategy, lets AURA concentrate on the problem at hand and avoid the many fruitless steps required to explore the entire theory underlying the problem. Almost never does the program proceed by carrying out an exhaustive search. The chief use for AURA at this time is for electronic circuit design validation, but a number of other uses will arise. For example, there already exist \systems\that include a component for reasoning. An expert system is a special-purpose program designed to automate reasoning in a specific area such as medical diagnosis. These expert programs, unlike human experts, do not die. Such systems continue to improve and have an indefinite life span. Moreover, they can be replicated for pennies. A human who can expertly predict where to drill for oil is in great demand. A program that can predict equally well would be invaluable and could be duplicated any number of times. Will the computer replace the human being? Certainly not. It seems likely that computer programs will reproduce -- that is, design more clever computer programs and more efficient, more useful components. Reasoning programs will also analyze their own progress, learn from their attempts to solve a problem, and redirect their attack on a problem. Such programs will assist, rather than replace, humans. Their impact will be felt in design, manufacturing, law, medicine, and other areas. Reasoning assistants will enable human minds to turn to deeper and far more complex ideas. These ideas will be partially formulated and then checked for reasoning flaws by a reasoning program. Many errors will be avoided.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The primary purpose of AURA is to________. A . check human reasoning for possible errors
B . function as a safety mechanism in nuclear reactors C . develop expert human programs for technical fields
D . detect contradictions and other faults in computer programs
正确答案:check human reasoning for possible errors
题目详解:文章第一段最后两句提到，(人)要想不出逻辑推理方面的错误，关键在于使用一种计算机程序，这个程序是在过去20年中对自动定理证明领域的研究的基础上设计出来的。AURA(自动推理助手)就说明了计算机在这方面的应用，由此可知答案为“check human reasoning for possible errors”。
2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as areas from applying AURA? A . Medical diagnosis.
B . Mathematic and formal logic. C . Nuclear engineering. D . Electronic engineering.
正确答案:Mathematic and formal logic.
题目详解:由第三段第一句可以排除选项“Electronic engineering.”，再由第二段的后半段可排除“Nuclear engineering.”，此外根据第三段第三句可排除选项“Medical diagnosis.”。而文中并没有提到AURA在数学和形式逻辑方面的应用，因此答案为“Mathematic and formal logic.”。
3. All of the following are advantages of expert programs EXCEPT________. A . they cost little to reproduce B . they are self-analytical
C . they have an indefinite life span D . many copies can be made available
正确答案:they are self-analytical
题目详解:定位于文章第三段后半部分，其中第五句提到“这些专门用的程序可以不断提高，无限制地存在下去”可排除“they have an indefinite life span”；第六句“它们可以被廉价复制”从而排除“they cost little to reproduce”；最后一句提到“……而且这种程序可以无限制地被复制”可排除“many copies can be made available”，因此答案为“they are self-analytical”。
4. Which of the following titles best describes the content of the text? A . Some Suggested Applications for AURA. B . Scientific Applications of Logical Reasoning. C . Scientific Applications of Computers.
D . Using Computers to Assist Human Reasoning.
正确答案:Using Computers to Assist Human Reasoning.
题目详解:文章第一段直接点明主题“一种计算机程序AURA可帮助人们检查逻辑推理方面的错误”，再根据以上各题的题解，不难得出答案为“Using Computers to Assist Human Reasoning.”，而其他三个选项都不能准确表达此主题，不为答案。
5. The author's primary concern is to________. A . recommend a solution B . refute and objection
C . discuss recent developments D . correct a misconception
正确答案:discuss recent developments
题目详解:本文主要讨论了计算机在逻辑方面的研究上的最新动向，并重点探讨了AURA在目前以及将来的应用，由此可知答案为“discuss recent developments”。
It was 1961 and I was in the fifth grade. My marks in school were miserable and, the thing was, 1 didn't know enough lo really care. My older brother and I lived with Mom in a dingy multi-family house in Detroit. We watched TV every night. The background noise of our lives was gunfire and horses' hoofs from \\, we'd sprawl on Mom's bed and stare for hours at the lube. But one day Mom changed our world forever. She turned off the TV. Our mother had only been able to get through third grade. But she was much brighter and smarter than we hoys knew at liie time. She had noticed something in the suburban houses she cleaned—books. So she came home one day, snapped off the TV , sat us down and explained that her sons were going to make something of themselves. '' You boys are going to read two books every week,\what you read. We moaned and complained about how unfair it was. Besides, we didn't have any books in the house other than Mom's Bible. But she explained that we would go where the books were; \peevish boys sitting in her white 1959 Oldsmobile on their way to Detroit Public Library. I wandered reluctantly among the children's books. I loved animals, so when I saw some books that seemed to be about animals, I started leafing through them. The first book I read clear through was Chip die Dam Builder. It was about beavers. For the first time in my life I was lost in another world. No television program had ever taken me so far away from my sur?roundings as did this verbal visit to a cold stream in a forest and these animals building a home. It didn't dawn on me at the time, but the experience was quite different from watching TV. There were images forming in my mind instead of before my eyes. And I could return to them again and again with the flip of a page. Soon I began to look forward to visiting this hushed sanctuary from my other world. I moved from ani?mals lo plants, and then to rocks. Between the covers of all those books were whole worlds, and I was free to go anywhere in them. Along the way a funny thing happened ;I started to know things. Teachers started to notice it too. I got to the point where I couldn't wait to get home to my books. Now my older brother is an engineer and I am chief of pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore. Sometimes I still can't believe my life's journey, from a failing and indif?ferent student in a Detroit public school to this position, which takes me all over the world to teach and perform critical surgery. But I know when the journey began—the day Mom snapped off the TV set and put us in her Oldsmobile for that drive to the library.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. We can learn from the beginning of the passage that
A . the author had been very concerned about his school work. B . the author and his brother had done poorly in school.
C . the author had spent much time watching TV after school. D . the author had realized how important schooling was.
正确答案:the author had spent much time watching TV after school.
题目详解:在短文第一段作者就提到“We watched TV every night．”而后又列出一堆当时播
出的电视剧的名称，并且这些电视里的声音已经成为the back ground noise of our lives，可见文中的我和哥哥放学后消磨了大部分的时间在电视上。所以the author had spent much time watching TV after school.为正确答案。
2. Which of the following is NOT true about the author's family? A . His mother worked as a cleaner.
B . His mother had received little education. C . He came from a single-parent family. D . He came from a middle-class family.
正确答案:He came from a middle-class family.
题目详解:短文中第一段就提到“My older brother and l lived with Mom．．．”说明他是来自单亲的家庭，由此排除He came from a single-parent family.；在短文的第二段提到“She had noticed something in the suburban houses she cleaned．．．”也就是说妈妈的工作是给其他人家打扫卫生，可排除His mother worked as a cleaner；同样是在这段里“Our mother had only been able to get through third grade\说明妈妈没有受过太多的教育，排除His mother had received little education.。只有He came from a middle-class family.是答案。
3. The mother was_______ to make her two sons switch to reading books. A . reluctant B . determined C . unprepared D . hesitant
正确答案: determined
题目详解:短文没有直接说妈妈要她的两个孩子去读书的态度：而是从一些行为表现出来的。当妈妈在他人家里发现了很多书以后，回到家她就snapped off the TV，即猛然关上电视；而后就给她的两个孩子提出了要求“You boys are going to read two books every week，and you are going to write me a report on what you read”，由于家里除了圣经什么书也没有，所以妈妈告诉她的孩子“I?ll drive you to the library．”从这一系列的行动来看，妈妈的态度是果断的，所以应该选determined。
4. How did the two boys feel about going to the library at first? A . They were eager to go. B . They were indifferent. C . They were afraid. D . They were reluctant.
正确答案:They were reluctant.
题目详解:当妈妈要求孩子们读书以后，文中的我和哥哥的反应是“We moaned and complained about how unfair it was．”由此可以推断出两个孩子最开始的反应是不愿意，
即They were reluctant.。
5. The author began to love books for the following reasons EXCEPT that_______ A . he could visualize what he read in his mind.
B . he realized that books offered him new experience. C . he could go back to read the books again. D . he began to see something in his mind.
正确答案:he could go back to read the books again.
题目详解:短文中写到：当文中的我开始读书以后，就发现自己“...taken．．．to a cold stream in a forest and these animals building a home”，并且感到“There were images forming in my mind instead Of before my eyes”，对他来说这种experience was quite different from watching TV。只有he could go back to read the books again.没有提到
In the case of mobile phones, change is everything. Recent research indicates that the mobile phone is changing not only our culture, but our very bodies as well. First, let's talk about culture. The difference between the mobile phone and its parent, the fixed-line phone, is that a mobile number corresponds to a person, while a landline goes to a place. If you call my mobile, you get me. If you call my fixed-line phone, you get whoever answers it. This has several implications. The most common one, however, and perhaps the thing that has changed our culture forever, is the \need to make firm plans about when and where to meet. Twenty years ago, a Friday night would need to be arranged in advance. You needed enough time to allow everyone to get from their place of work to the first meeting place. Now, however, a night out can be arranged on the run. It is no longer \see where we all are . Texting changes people as well. In their paper, \Social and Psychological Effects of SMS Text Messaging\,two British researchers distinguished between two types of mobile phone users; the \and the \—those who prefer voice to text messages and those who prefer text to voice. They found that the mobile phone's individuality and privacy gave texters the ability to express a whole new outer personality. Texters were likely to report that their family would be surprised if they were to read their texts. This suggests that texting allowed texters to present a self-image that differed from the one familiar to those who knew them well. Another scientist wrote of the changes that mobiles have brought to body language. There are two kinds that people use while speaking on the phone. There is the \head is held high, in a self-confident way, chatting away. And there is the \these people focus on themselves and keep out other people. Who can blame them? Phone meetings get cancelled or reformed and camera-phones intrude on people's privacy. So, it is understandable if your mobile makes you nervous. But perhaps you needn't worry so much. After all, it is good to talk.