Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobiliser (锁止器), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.
The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro- processor and memory, and a GPS (全球定位系统) satellite positioning receiver. ff the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle's engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted. daoahngtigong
In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. 'The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,' says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.
Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won't allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.
But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting bold of the owner's keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.
If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.
Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle's movements via the car's GPS unit.
31. What's the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to a car?
A) To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief.
B) To allow the car to lock automatically when stolen.
C) To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops.
D) To prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner.
32. By saying 'The pattern of vehicle crime has changed' (Lines 1-2. Para. 3). Martyn Randall suggests that
A) it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing
B) self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft
C) the thief has to make use of computer technology
D) the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old
33. What is essential in making a modem car tougher to steal?
A) A coded ignition key. C) A special cellphone signal.
B) A unique ID card. D) A GPS satellite positioning receiver.
34. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?
A) To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.
B) To keep police informed of the car's movements.
C) To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.
D) To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.
35. What will the operations centre do first after receiving an alarm?
A) Start the tracking system. C) Block the car engine.
B) Contact the car owner. D) Locate the missing car.
Passage Four
Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:
Psychiatrists 精神病专家) who work with older parents say that maturity can be an asset in child rearing - older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents' biggest, and often unspoken, fear. Having late-life children, says an economics professor. often means parents, particularly fathers, "end up retiring much later." For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream.
Henry Metcalf. a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he's also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he's been taking afternoon naps (午睡) daohang to keep up his energy. "My body is aging," says Metcalf. "You can't get away from that."
Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. "They worry they'll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they'll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school," says Joann Galst, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: "that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their child," she says.
Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of fertilily (受孕) treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband. Randy, had twins. "We both wanted children," says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years, "a sense of family." Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. 'The dads are older, more mature," says Dr. Silber, "and more ready to focus on parenting."
36. Why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an asset in child rearing?
A) Older parents are often better prepared financially.
B) Older parents can take better care of their children.
C) Older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children.
D) Older parents can better balance their resources against children's demands.
37. What does the author mean by saying "For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream" (Lines 7-8, Para. 1)?
A) They are reluctant to retire when they reach their retirement age.
B) They can't obtain the retirement benefits they have dreamed of.
C) They can't get full pension unless they work some extra years.
D) They have to go on working beyond their retirement age.
38. The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that
A) older parents should exercise more to keep up with their athletic children
B) many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age
C) older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies
D) taking afternoon naps is a good way to maintain energy
39. What's the biggest fear of older parents according to New York psychologist Joan Galst?
A) Approaching of death. C) Being laughed at by other people.
B) Slowing down of their pace of life. D) Being mistaken for grandparents.
40. What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen?
A) They thought they were an example of successful fertility treatment.
B) Not until they reached middle age did they think of having children.
C) Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family.
D) They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter.
