One evening in February 2007 . a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote in Wales . She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path . That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train.Her Renault Clio parked across a railway line. Second later,she watched  the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.
Ceely's near miss  made the news because she blamed it on her GPS device(導(dǎo)航儀).She had never driven the route before .It was dark and raining heavily . Ceely was relying on her GPS. But it made no mention of the crossing ."I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train ,"she told the BBC.
W ho is to blame here ? Rick Stevenson ,who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail US, finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says,
but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small  problems. And it’s not just GPS devices: Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless key boards.
The problem with his argument in the book is that it’s  not clear why he only focuses digital technology,while  there may be a number of other possible  causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the CPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn’t say.
It’s a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an accout of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once once again not all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe it’s also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets. Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors .
The game between humans and their smart devices  is complex. It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be  way a wiser use of technology.   
If there is such a way, it should involve more than just  an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines. After all, we have lived with them for thousands  of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long .
【小題1】
What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident?           

A.Shewasnotfamiliarwiththeroad.
B.Itwasdarkandrainingheavilythen.
C.The railway works failed to give the signal.
D.Her GPS device didn’t tell her about the crossing
【小題2】
The phrase”near miss” (paragraph 2 ) can best be replaced by _______.    
A.closebitB.heavylossC.narrow escapeD.bigmistake
【小題3】
Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with?          
A.Moderntechnologyiswhatwe can’tlivewithout.
B.Digitaltechnologyoftenfalls shortofoutexpectation.
C.Digitaldevicesaremore reliablethantheyusedtobe.
D.GPSerrorisnottheonly causeforCelery’saccident.
【小題4】
In the writer’s opinion, Stevenson’s argument is________.
A.one-sidedB.reasonableC.puzzlingD.well-based
【小題5】
What is the real concern of the writer of this article?
A.The major causes of traffic accidents and car thefts.
B.The relationship between humans and technology
C.Theshortcomingsofdigital devicesweuse.
D.Thehuman unawarenessoftechnicalproblems.


【小題1】D
【小題1】C
【小題1】B
【小題1】A
【小題1】B

解析

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科目:高中英語 來源:浙江省模擬題 題型:完形填空

完形填空。
     It seems like everywhere a person goes there is at least one person with a cell phone to his ear. Even
in places   1   cell phone usage is banned such as concert halls or movie theatres there is the   2   offender, or at least a few people using the text messaging feature   3   their phones.
    Cell phone usage has   4   over the past decade and continues to rise. Nearly 200   5   people in the
United States have cell phones and there are   6   over one billion users worldwide. That means there are
a lot of phones   7   their frequencies over the airwaves at any given time.
    Concern has arisen over whether or not cell phone usage   8   harm a person's health. Brain cancer
rates in the United States have risen since call phones were   9  , leading some people to wonder if cell
phone usage is the reason for the   10  .
     Some people say the biggest danger   11   cell phones isn't from the either real or perceived potential
to develop cancer, but from   12   while using the cell phone. How many of us have seen vehicles
driving   13   erratically (不穩(wěn)定地) down the road. And we often see when we get near the vehicle the
driver on a cell phone is   14   on a cell phone. It is a proven fact that a driver on a cell phone is   15  
attentive and more likely to get in an accident. And, hands-free sets aren't the   16   that some people
may believe. Yes, they   17   both hands for driving and prevent a person from getting a sore (酸疼的)
arm,   18   the driver's mind is still   19   the conversation and therefore less attentive to what is   20  
around him or her on the road.
(     )1. A. which    
(     )2. A. busy    
(     )3. A. under    
(     )4. A. been exploded
(     )5. A. millions   
(     )6. A. well    
(     )7. A. delivering
(     )8. A. may      
(     )9. A. allowed  
(     )10. A. increase
(     )11. A. with    
(     )12. A. attention
(     )13. A. quite  
(     )14. A. using  
(     )15. A. more    
(     )16. A. problem
(     )17. A. hold up
(     )18. A. therefore
(     )19. A. taken up  
(     )20. A. happening to
B. where  
B. always
B. on    
B. exploded
B. millions of
B. good  
B. carrying
B. must  
B. invented
B. decline  
B. before
B. attractive
B. almost
B. talking
B. less  
B. question
B. pick up  
B. as    
B. filled by
B. going on
C. there  
C. occasional
C. from  
C. been exploding
C. million  
C. better
C. taking
C. can    
C. introduced
C. improvement
C. in  
C. careless
C. hardly
C. moving  
C. least  
C. mean  
C. put up
C. but    
C. occupied with
C. talking about
D. here          
D. occasionally  
D. to            
D. exploding      
D. million of    
D. best          
D. sending        
D. should        
D. bought        
D. rose          
D. on            
D. inattentiveness
D. nearly        
D. handing        
D. fewer          
D. answer        
D. free up        
D. though        
D. picked up      
D. moving about  

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