The technology is great. Without it we wouldn’t have been able to put a man on the moon, explore the ocean’s depths or eat microwave sausages. Computers have revolutionized our lives and they have the power to educate and pass on knowledge. But sometimes this power can create more problems than it solves.
Every doctor has had to try their best to calm down patients who’ve come into their surgery waving an Internet print-out, convinced that they have some rare incurable disease, say, throat cancer. The truth is usually far more ordinary, though: they don’t have throat cancer, and it’s just that their throats are swollen. Being a graduate of the Internet “school” of medicine does not guarantee accurate self-health-checks.
One day Mrs. Almond came to my hospital after feeling faint at work. While I took her blood sample and tried to find out what was wrong, she said calmly, “I know what’s wrong；I’ve got throat cancer. I know there’s nothing you doctors can do about it and I’ve just got to wait until the day comes.”
As a matter of routine I ordered a chest X-ray. I looked at it and the blood results an hour later. Something wasn’t right. “Did your local doctor do an X-ray?” I asked. “Oh, I haven’t been to the doctor for years,” she replied. “I read about it on a website and the symptoms fitted, so I knew that’s what I had.”
However, some of her symptoms, like the severe cough and weight loss, didn’t fit with it—but she’d just ignored this.
I looked at the X-ray again, and more tests confirmed it wasn’t the cancer but tuberculosis (肺結(jié)核)—something that most certainly did need treating, and could be deadly. She was lucky we caught it when we did.
Mrs. Almond went pale when I explained she would have to be on treatment for the next six months to ensure that she was fully recovered. It was certainly a lesson for her. “I’m so embarrassed,” she said, shaking her head, as I explained that all the people she had come into close contact with would have to be found out and tested. She listed up to about 20, and then I went to my office to type up my notes. Unexpectedly, the computer was not working, so I had to wait until someone from the IT department came to fix it. Typical. Maybe I should have a microwave sausage while I waited?
【小題1】Mrs. Almond talked about her illness calmly because ______.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”
Remembering that I’ ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choice in life.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’ code for preparing yourself to die.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another examination and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’ m fine now.
This was the closest I’ve been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
Your time is so limited that you shouldn’t waste it repeating someone else’s life. Don’ t be trapped by dogma（教條）—which is living with the results of other people’ s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
【小題1】The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because_________.

A．Hopeless

B．Excited

C．Optimistic

D．Angry

I cry easily. I cried when a boy in the film suffered from an incurable disease. I cried when an athlete broke a world record.
One night my wife and I were going to dinner at a friend ' s．As we went towards the house, I noticed a car pulling out from the sidewalk．Just ahead, another car was waiting to back into the parking space．But before he could do so a yellow car came up from behind and sneaked into the space．
While my wife went ahead into our friend' s house, I stepped into the street．
“Hey,” I said, “this parking space belongs to that guy．” I gestured towards the man ahead, who was looking back angrily．At that moment I was feeling pretty manly．
“ Mind your own business!” the driver told me．
“No,” I said．“You don' t understand．That fellow was waiting to back into this space．”
Things quickly heated up, until finally he jumped out of the car．My God, he was extremely large．He grabbed me and shook his rock of a fist at me．I tasted blood．I was terrified．
Almost in a panic, I ran to my friend ' s front door．As a former Marine （海軍） , as a man, I felt absolutely embarrassed as my wife and friends asked me what had happened．All I could say was that I had had an argument about a parking space．They were sensitive and let it go at that．
Perhaps half an hour later, the doorbell rang．For some reason I was sure that the huge man had returned for me．My blood ran cold．My hostess got up to answer it, but I stopped her．I knew I had to face up to my fear．
I opened the door．There he stood．“I came back to apologize,” he said in a low voice．“I am ashamed of myself．The Brooklyn Navy Yard where I've worked for ten years is closing．Today I got laid off．I' m not myself．I hope you’ ll accept my apology．”
I remembered that after I closed the door, I stood there for a few minutes alone with tears in my eyes．
【小題1】What did the author do when a yellow car drove into the parking space?

B
I believe that it is important to be brought up with a firm belief in the good. I was fortunate in this respect. My parents not only gave me a happy home, but they had me study half a dozen foreign languages and made it possible for me to travel in other countries. This made me more tolerant and helped me to bridge many difficulties in later life.
Soon after I got married, my husband and I left our native Czechoslovakia and went to live in Shanghai, China. Here was a really international city. People of all races and beliefs lived and worked together.
In Shanghai, in 1941, when I was only twenty years old, the doctors discovered that I had diabetes. It was a terrible shock, because diabetes is incurable. But it can be controlled by insulin (胰島素). Although this drug was not manufactured in China, there were enough stocks of imported insulin available. This enabled me to continue a normal, happy life.
Then bombs fell on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese occupied Shanghai. The import of insulin was cut off. Before long, there was not enough for the diabetics. I was on a starvation diet to keep my insulin requirements as low as possible. Many diabetics had already died, and the situation became desperate. In spite of all this, I never stopped believing that with the help of my husband’s love and care, I would survive.
I continued to teach in Chinese schools. My faith and my husband’s never-ending efforts to get the manufacture of insulin started gave me courage. In his small laboratory the production of insulin was attempted. I served as the human guinea pig（實驗品）on which it was tested. I’ll never forget the day when my husband gave me the first injection of the new insulin, which had worked on rabbits. It helped! Can you imagine our happiness and relief?
I received the greatest strength from the deep love and complete understanding between my husband and me. And next to that was the kindness and help of many, many friends of many nationalities. To me, the experience of living in Shanghai during the special times was unforgettable.
After the Second World War, my husband and I sailed to the Untied States, which is also known as a melt pot. Wherever we live, I believe, with faith and love, love between families and friends from different nationalities, we can make it our cherished home.
61. What can we know about the author?
A. She visited China before twenty.        B. She was given an unhappy home.
C. She got married in Czechoslovakia.      D. She could hardly tolerate her parents.
62. As a diabetic, the author could still live normally in 1941 because        .
A. she was able to buy enough insulin         B. she received good medical treatment
C. she was looked after by her husband      D. she was helped by people of different races
63. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refers to        .
A. a small rabbit    B. an ever lasting effort  C. the new insulin      D. the human guinea pig
64. How does the author feel about her stay in China?
A. Unbearable.       B. Unbelievable.    C. Unfortunate.   D. Unforgettable.
65. We can infer from the text that the author’s husband was        .
A. a doctor            B. a researcher  C. a teacher             D. a sailor    

The CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs’ story about death

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered（遇到）to help me make the big choice in life.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’ code for preparing yourself to die.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another biopsy（活組織檢查）and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.

Your time is so limited that you shouldn’t waste it repeating someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma（教條）----which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

1.The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because_________.

2. How did the author feel after the diagnosis?

3.What does the author think of death?

4. In the author’s opinion, we should ____________.

A. follow others’ advice

B. take no notice of diseases

C. take exercise and keep healthy

D have the courage to follow our heart