Commuting (乘车上下班) doesn’t have to be terrible. I used to hate jumping on the train or taking the bus, but not any longer now. I always have a book ready, or my iPod loaded up with materials for me to listen to. I’ve learned a lot while sitting on trains, buses and airplanes. Here are a few things you can do while commuting:

 1. Read a Book

    You may not have time to read books, but if you’re commuting and doing nothing, you’re wasting a good opportunity to get friendly with the interesting world of books. If you aren’t a good reader, it may feel hard to get started, but as you keep reading, you’ll find it more and more fun.

 2. Write

    If you’re eager to become a writer of any kind, you can carry a laptop, put on some music and start writing while sitting on the train or bus. If you don’t have a laptop, there are a lot of ways to find a really cheap one. If you’re only using it for writing and surfing the web, you don’t really need the best one.

 3. Listen

    If you’re commuting and can’t really read or write, you can always buy audio books and audio courses on many different topics. There really are no excuses to waste your commuting time.

 4. Learn a Language

    I’ve recently started learning Spanish and I am having a lot of fun doing it. Language learning can be fun. You don’t need to sit in school and study grammar to learn a language. If you can devote 30~60 minutes to a language per day, you will make progress. If you can do more, you will learn more.

    Commuting may at first seem boring，but when you really think about it, it’s an opportunity for you to do valuable things while the world passes you by.

21. While commuting now the writer always makes use of the time to ________.

22. While commuting reading books can help you ________.

23. What does the underlined word “one” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to?

    “Iris scan (虹膜扫描), please,” the bank’s computer voice tells you . You step up and the computer reads your eye, comparing it to the stored file it has of your iris. The images had better match—otherwise you won’t be able to get your money.

    Iris scanning and other technologies, such as fingerprint and voice scanning, have appeared in many science fiction movies in the past. Today, these advanced technologies are part of the real world. They are common at work, the bank, the airport, and your local prison. The iris scan, fingerprint scan, and voice scan are all examples of biometrics(生物测定学), a fast developing area of automatic personal identification technology. Basically, biometrics uses various ways to verify a persons identity, based on the individual’s unique characteristics, including fingerprints, voices, irises, body heat patterns, facial images, handprints, signatures and so on.

    Biometrics identification systems have a number of advantages over password systems. The primary advantage is that an individual has to be physically present in order to be identified. Another important advantage is that there are no passwords to remember, forget, lose or steal.

    The voice scan is the simplest and most affordable form of biometrics. It only requires a computer, a microphone and the correct software. The software records a subject’s voice and then compares it to a stored voice sample for identification purposes.

    For additional safety, fingerprint and handprint scans can also be employed. Fingerprint scans take the image of a fingerprint and compare it to a stored file of prints. Handprint scans identify the unique features of a hand.

    Iris scans currently give the highest level of accuracy among all the available biometrics systems. Another technology, full facial scans, is currently in use at border crossings and airports. Facial scanning equipment can actually track and identify moving faces within a crowd.

    The potential of biometrics is exciting and encouraging. With continued development, testing and application, current technologies will become even more effective in the future. Soon, the days of password and car keys will be gone. Just don’t leave home without your fingerprints!

24. The first paragraph serves as a(n)         .

  A. conclusion   B. explanation   C. comment   D. example

25. The underlined word “verify” in Paragraph 2 probably means “         ”.

  A. change   B. confirm   C. develop   D. protect

26. Which is the most accurate form of biometrics?        

  A. The iris scan  B. The fingerprint scan  C. The voice scan D. The facial scan

27. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of biometrics?        

  A. He is uncertain about it.    B. He feels doubtful about it.

  C. He feels hopeful about it.   D. He is worried about it.

    A famous foreign company in China wanted to employ a secretary for its public relation department.

    A beautiful girl with a master degree became a winning candidate(候选人) through the competition. At its last stage she faced an oral(口述的) test together with another girl who was her equal not only in good looks but also in education standard. The girl we talk about was confident in herself and successful in the oral test. It seemed that she would get the chance. The examiner told her on behalf of（代表）the company that she could come to office of the company next Monday as a new employee. At last he asked her, “Have you anything else to say?” Shocked by the unexpected question, the beautiful girl was quite at a loss, saying with hesitation(犹豫不决), “I have to talk with my parents before I give an answer.” Surprised, the examiner said calmly, “In that case, let’s wait till you are ready.”

    The next day the girl came to tell that her parents agreed to her beginning work next Monday. But the examiner said regretfully, “Sorry, the job position is filled by another suitable candidate. You had better have a try in another place.” The beautiful girl was surprised. She asked for an explanation and was told, “What is needed here is a person who knows her own mind.”

    That was how a good opportunity slipped away right under the nose of a beautiful girl.

28. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

  A．the other girl who failed at the last oral test was most likely to get the job.

  B．other girls chosen in next test held the company.

  C．the company lost its best employee.

  D．the examiner was surprised at his first choice.

29. What did the examiner value most?

  A．One’s beautiful looks.                B．One’s independence.

  C．One’s young age.                      D．One’s knowledge.

30. Why did the beautiful girl want to ask her parents for advice?

  A．She knew what to do.

  B．She hadn’t expected the examiner would ask such a question.

  C．She couldn’t answer the question.

  D．Her parents would scold(责备) her if she agreed without their permission.

31. The best title of this passage probably is ________.

  A．Make your Decision Quickly             B．Seize your Chance in Time

  C．Have your Own Judgment                    D．Hesitation Leads to Failure

   Many countries follow special customs when a child’s baby teeth fall out. Many of these customs tell stories about animals taking the teeth.

   For example, Koreans have the custom of throwing the fallen tooth onto the roof of a house so that a magpie (喜鹊) can take the tooth away and bring a new tooth for the child. This custom is also followed by some other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam. Other countries, though, have tooth customs about other animals. In Mexico and Spain, for example, it is thought that a mouse takes a fallen tooth away and leaves some money. But in Mongolia, it is dogs that take children’s teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture. It is believed that the new tooth will grow strong if the baby tooth is fed to a dog, so parents in Mongolia will put their children’s fallen teeth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog.

   In France and the USA, a child will put a fallen tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. It is thought that in the early morning, when the child is still sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take the tooth away and leave something else under the pillow. What she will leave is hard to know. It is said that in France the Tooth Fairy may leave some candies; however, in the United States, she may leave money.

32. Koreans throw a tooth onto the roof of a house in order to __________.

  A. get money        B. feed magpies

  C. get candies       D. get a new tooth

33. In Vietnam, if a child’s tooth falls out, he or she will __________.

  A. throw it onto the roof of a house

  B. feed it to a mouse

  C. put it in a piece of meat and feed the meat to a dog

  D. leave it to the Tooth Fairy

34. From the last paragraph, we can know that in France and the USA _________.

  A. a child will put his or her fallen tooth beside the pillow

  B. the Tooth Fairy takes the fallen teeth away at midnight

  C. the Tooth Fairy will leave some candies to the children after taking the fallen teeth 

   away

  D. no one knows for sure what the Tooth Fairy will leave to the children after taking the

   fallen teeth away

35. The passage is mainly about ___________.

  A. customs about fallen teeth in western countries

  B. customs about fallen teeth in different countries

  C. stories about human teeth

  D. stories about some animals

A. Now what are you waiting for?

B. Reading can help you make more friends, too.

C. Why not do some reading while you are hungry?

D. Just like your stomach, your mind is also hungry.

E. Also this plays an important part in enriching your vocabulary.

F. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed.

G. Hunger of the mind can be actually solved through wide reading. 

If you are hungry, what do you do? Have your favorite meal and stay quiet after that?   36    But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your friends or favorite stars. So it silently serves your needs and never lets itself grow. When mind loses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think “What happens next?”, “Why can’t I think?”
        37    Why reading but not watching TV? It is because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from childhood. Since it develops other aspects of our life, we have to get help from reading.
    Once you read a book, you run your eyes through the lines and your mind tries to explain something to you.     38    Now this seed is unknowingly used by you to develop new ideas. If it is used many times, the same seed can give you great help to relate a lot of things which you would have never thought of in your wildest dreams!
    This is nothing but creativity.     39    Within no time you can start talking with your friends in English or any other language and never run out of the right words.
    So guys, do give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading.     40    Go and get a book!