Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.
Video games have become increasingly popular in both arcades and the average American home. People of all ages and from all walks of life are enjoying hours of entertainment by feeding their time and quarters into these flashing, beeping machines. Many skeptics as well as prospective arcade owners have asked what it is that gives Pac Man, Centipede, and a multitude of other popular games their magnetic appeal to millions of players. As a video player myself, I believe there are many answers to that question but three are outstanding.
Before a full-scale attack is launched against young video players for "throwing away" their quarters, one should first consider the rising costs of more traditional forms of entertainment. For instance, eighteen holes of miniature golf or ten frames of bowling will cost the player at least two dollars, and one movie costs four bucks. For just two dollars, a video player can get at least eight games, and the better he gets, the longer he can play. Compare that record with the game of miniature golf, where the better one becomes, the shorter amount of time he gets to play.
Not only are the games less expensive than other forms of entertainment, hut they are also more in tune with the important issues of the day. Even those people who have never been interested in science are beginning to appreciate how much science influences our lives today. Video games, which are the products of advanced technology and uncontrolled imagination, have brought today's youth closer than ever to the exciting world of science by games. In fact, there are even cartridges which teach garners how to program computers. It is exciting to be involved with the most up-to-date ideas of the day, and video games help provide people with the opportunity to be involved.
Besides the fact that they help people to get involved in technology, video games also pro vide an outlet for the emotions and the ego. If a man gets frustrated with his boss, for example, he can go to the arcade after work to destroy enemy cruisers rather than drown his anxieties in liquor. Also, for those who feel they are not capable of excelling at anything, the games provide am. challenges which are easily mastered with patience and practice. It gives a person a good feeling to know that he has broken his own record or that of someone else.
It can be inferred that Pac Man and Centipede are ______.
A. traditional video games
B. home video games
C. popular game machines
D. prevalent video games
Navigation computers, now sold by most car makers, cost $2000 and up. No surprise, then, that they are most often found in luxury cars, like Lexus, BMW and Audi. But it is a developing technology meaning prices should eventually drop-and the market does seem to be growing.
Even at current prices, a navigation computer is impressive. It can guide you from point to point in most major cities with precise turn-by-turn directions spoken by a clear human sounding voice, and written on a screen in front of the driver.
The computer works with an antenna that takes signals from no fewer than three of the 24 Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. By measuring the time required for a signal to travel between the satellites and the antenna, the car's location earl be pinned down within 100 meters.
The satellite signals, along with inputs on speed from a wheel speed sensor and direction from a meter, determine the car's position even as it moves. This information is combined with a map database. Streets, landmarks and points of interest are included.
Most systems are basically identical. The differences come in hardware—the way the computer accepts the driver's request for directions and the way it presents the driving instructions. On most systems, a driver enters a desired address, motorway junction or point of interest via a touch screen or disc. But the Lexus screen goes a step further: you can point to any spot on the map screen and get directions to it.
BMW's system offers set of cross hairs that can be moved across the map (you have several choices of map scale) to pick a point you'd like to get to. Audi's screen can be switched to TV reception.
Even the voices that recite the directions can differ, with better systems like BMW's and Lexus's having a wider vocabulary. The instructions are available in French, German, Spanish, Dutch and Italian, as well as English. The driver can also choose parameters for determining the route: fastest, shortest or no freeways, for example.
We learn from the passage that navigation computers ______.
A. will greatly promote sales of automobiles
B. may help solve potential traffic problems
C. are likely to be accepted by more drivers
D. will soon be viewed as a symbol of luxury
W: Thank you. I'11 just sit here and read the magazine in the meantime.
Q: What can you conclude about the train from the conversation?
(19)
A. It's on time.
B. It's crowded.
C. It's empty.
D. It's late.
A.His bitter experience abroad.B.What he saw in the Asian countries.C.Made-up stories
A. His bitter experience abroad.
B. What he saw in the Asian countries.
C. Made-up stories based on his imagination.
D. The stories about his family.