評論
打印
第三部分 閱讀理解 （共20小題，滿分40分）
A
Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends．A new device（裝置） called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English, Korean or Japanese．Bow-Lingual Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks．They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, assertion and desire．
Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar．The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner．When the dog barks, the unit displays translated phrases．
Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual．“Who would pay $120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask．
But those who have purchased（購買） Bow-Lingual praise the device．Pet owner Keiko Egawa, of Japan, says it helps her sympathize（同情） with her dog Harry．“Before we go to the park, he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa, “and after a walk, he always says he is hungry．”
Bow-Lingual is not yet available（可用的） in Chinese．So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom, or soon your dog may know more English than you do!
56．This passage is mainly talking about _____．
A．Bow-Lingual’s inventors
B．dog barks and their different emotions
C．talking dogs
D．a little help for dog owners
57．Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Dog owners now can understand their dogs better．
B．Bow-Lingual enables dogs to talk in English, Korean or Japanese．
C．People who have used Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs．
D．More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs．
58．What does “scoffed at” mean in the fourth paragraph?
A．Shouted at． B．Questioned about．
C．Laughed at． D．Doubted about．
59．The writer of this passage is most likely to be _____．
A．a reporter B．a dog owner
C．an advertiser D．an expert on dog barks
B
To make an estimate means to guess the number of things in a group or guess a measurement of some kind. It sometimes means to make a calculation about the future which is based not on exact data（數據） but on past experience．This kind of estimate has some basis, but it generally has to be changed and corrected later．
When you estimate a number, a temperature, or a weight, you do not count things one by one or use a measuring tool．You look at a group of things without counting them and try to get a rough, general idea of their number, or you try to weigh something in your hand instead of on a balance．You feel hot and say “My temperature must be 38 degrees” or you look at a room and say that you estimate its area as 10+8 feet．
But in many situations in ordinary life we do not have time to measure things and must depend on estimates．Drivers do not have time to measure the distance between their own car and a car which is coming near．They must guess it; the guess or estimate will be based on their past experience．Experienced cooks do not trouble to measure the amount of salt they put into the soup or sugar they mix with flour．
Suppose a man comes into the house and says, “There are two inches of snow on the road．” His statement is only an estimate, but we believe it because we think that it is roughly correct．We put our boots on before we go into the snow．
For practical purposes in some situations it is safe to make an estimate, but in other situations it is obviously dangerous．If it is your job to weigh drugs or make airplanes, do not depend on guessing but use an accurate（精確的） instrument．
60．The writer suggests that in our daily life an estimate is _____．
A．usually corrected by further data
B．often checked by instruments
C．not accepted by others
D．often made according to one’s past experience
61．According to the passage, measuring instruments are not always used in measuring things in everyday life because _____．
A．people generally do not carry them along
B．it is more reliable to guess than to measure
C．they are not always ready when you need them
D．people are busy and a general idea of things is enough
62．We can know from the person’s statement on snow that _____．
A．he wants to inform people that it’s snowing heavily
B．it is necessary to depend on estimates
C．his estimate is quite exact
D．it is likely that he has measured the level of the snow
63．The writer thinks that depending on estimates _____．
A．may save us both time and money
B．may bring us a sense of safety
C．does not always keep us out of danger
D．is practical but dangerous
