Some people in Manchester, Britain, will soon be paying for goods and services with so-called "smart" credit cards. These cards are more secure than the traditional magnetic-strip version and can be used to travel on buses, check bank accounts and do shopping. The Manchester project is one of the biggest smart card schemes in the world. Every time people use the cards on a bus or train, the fare is deducted (reduced) from the value of the card. When they have no credit left, the cards can be recharged at a local shop. A smart card looks just like a normal plastic card but it has a silicon chip in it. It is possible for the same silicon chip to perform a number of different functions, so one plastic card in your pocket could do a large number of different jobs. The card has much more memory space than a magnetic-strip card, so many more things can be recorded on it.There are two types of smart cards. One is the contact card which is used in the same way as a magnetic-strip card. Information is transferred by running the card through a narrow opening in an electronic reader. In the slot, electronic probes make contact with the magnetic-strip or silicon ship and read the information. The other type is the contactless smart card where the electronic reader communicates with the card by short-range radio waves. This makes the card quicker and more convenient to use because it does not have to leave your wallet. It is also more reliable as it is not easily influenced by scratches or dirt. However, the biggest advantage that smart cards have over magnetic-strip cards is that they are more secure. They are much more difficult to make than conventional cards and they have to be made by specially trained manufacturers. In addition, they have a large number of extra security features on them and if a smart card gets lost or stolen a quick phone-call to the distributor ensures that its individual number is made invalid and unreadable. This can be done more quickly than with a magnetic-strip card. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? A) Contactless cards are more convenient to use than contact ones B) Smart cards are more expensive to manufacturer C) By means of long-range radio waves contactless cards can communicate with the electronic reader D) A smart credit card and a normal plastic card are the same thing
A
A small boy sat on the street with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: " I am blind, please help". There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked :"Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The man said: "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it." Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind. The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story. The first is: Be thankful for what you have. Someone else has less. Help where you can. The second is:Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way! The blind boy recognized the kind man by his _ . A) words B) smell C) voice D) Footsteps
D
Q: I discovered the power of fear when I became stuck to my driveway, as if my feet were crazy--glued to the cement .As much as I tried, I could not move them. The realization that my daughters were playing in Nancy's house, just one-half block away, paralyzed my legs, making me unable to move when I neared the end of our driveway. Dense, black smoke was rising from behind the Sycamore Maple trees on the other side of the street and was enveloping three houses, making them barely visible. Nancy's house was one of them. I tried to call out for my daughters hoping to see them run safely to my arms, but my voice was also stuck - stuck in my throat with no intention of coming out. There I stood, helpless, paralyzed and silenced by fear, unable to protect the two little girls I loved more than even I had realized. Although trapped in a body that couldn't move or speak, I could still hear. I could hear other mothers anxiously calling their children. I could hear a frightening silence that covered the neighborhood instead of the usual happy voices of children. And, finally, I could hear the alarm of the fire engine. As the alarm announced, "We're on our way," it instantly dissolved the crazy glue that had held my feet to the cement and it unlocked the soundproof box that had silenced my voice. I was free to make sure my daughters were safe. As I continued down the driveway, two little girls, my two little girls, ran toward me from across the street. They had come home to tell me about the fire in the garage next to Nancy's house. Not only did my feet and voice work now, but my eyes were also in good working order and had no trouble producing tears. What made the author able to move and speak again? A) Shouting from other anxious mothers. B) Strange silence in the neighborhood. C) The alarm of the coming fire engine. D) The courage to protect her daughters.
A: C
Q: "Ten pence for a view over the bay,"said the old man with the telescope. "Lovely clear morning, have a look at the old lighthouse and the remains of the great shipwreck of 1935." Ten pence was robbery, but the view was certainly magnificent. Cliffs stretched into the distance, shining waves beaten severely by the wind were unrolling on to the beach, and a few yachts , with creamy-white sails, were turning sharply and making a sudden movement gracefully on the sea. Just below, a flock of seagulls screaming at one another as they twisted and flew smoothly over the water. A mile out to sea, the old lighthouse stood on a stone platform on the rocks, which were being greedily licked by the waves. In no way indeed did I _ my money. As I directed the telescope towards the lighthouse, the man beside me tapped my wrist. "Have you heard about the terrible tragedy that occurred there in that lighthouse?" he asked in a whisper. "I imagine there may be plenty of legends attached to such a dramatic-looking place," I suggested. "It's no legend ," declared the old man." My father knew the two men involved. It took place fifty years ago. Let me tell you." His voice seemed to grow deeper and more dramatic. "For a whole week that lighthouse had been cut off by storms," he began, "with terrifying seas surging and crashing over the rocks. People on the shore were anxious about the two men working there. They'd been on the best terms until two or three weeks before, when they had a quarrel over cards in the village inn. Martin had accused Blake of cheating. Blake had swore to punish Martin for what he had said. But thanks to the wise advice of a man they both respected, they apologized to each other, and soon seemed to have got over their disagreement. But some slight resentment and bitterness remained, and it was feared that the stress of continued separation and rough weather might affect their nerves, though, needless to say, their friends had no idea how serious the consequence would be." ...... The old man paused and I... What was the weather like in the story? A) calm and sunny B) windy and grey C) rainy and cloudy D) windy and bright
A: D