【正文】 educational system has reduced the illiteracy rate in that country dramatically 5. As used in the last sentence, the word “venture” means A. to take the risk B. to study C. to take the exam of D. to specialize Passage 11 For centuries, in the countries of south and Southeast Asia the elephant has been an intimate part of the culture, economy and religion. And nowhere more so than in Thailand. Unlike its African cousin, the Asian elephant is easily domesticated(馴化 ). The rare socalled white elephants have actually lent the authority of kingship to its rulers and until the 1920s the national flag was a white elephant on a red background. To the early Western visitors the country?s romantic name was“ Land of the White Elephant” . Today, however, the story is very different. Out of work and out of land, the Thai elephant struggles for survival in a nation that no longer needs it. The elephant has found itself more or 1ess abandoned by previous owners who have moved on to a different economic world and a westernized society. And while the elephant?s problems began many years ago, now it rates a very low national priority. How this reversal from national icon(圣像 )to neglected animal came about is a tale of worsening environmental and the changing lives of the Thais themselves. According to Richard Lair, Thailand?s expert on the Asian elephant and author of the report Gone Astray, at the turn of the century there may well have been as many as 100000 domestic elephants in the country. In the north of Thailand alone it was estimated that more than 20200 elephants were employed in transport, 1000 of them alone on the road between the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Saen. This was at a time when 90 per cent of Thailand was still foresta habitat(棲息地 )that not only supported the animals but also made them necessary to carry goods and people Nothing ploughs through dense forest better than a massive but surefooted elephant. By 1950 the elephant population had dropped to a still substantial 13397, but today there are probably no more than 3800, with another l350 roaming free in the national parks. But now, Thailand?s forest covers only 20 per cent of the land This deforestation(采伐森林 )is the central point of the elephant?s difficult situation, for it has effectively put the animals out of work. This century, as the road work grew, so the elephant?s role as a beast of burden declined. 1. What can we know about African elephants from the passage? A. It is easy to tame them B. It is hard to tame them. C. They are living a better life than Asian elephants. D. Their fate is quite similar to that of Asian elephants 2. Thailand was once called“ Land of the White Elephant”because A. white elephant is rarely seen and thus very special B. white elephant was a national symbol until the 1920s C. white elephant has helped kings to gain the ruling authority D. this name was so romantic that it was popular among visitors 3. Why is the Thai elephant“ out of work”, according to the author? A. Because the elephants are no longer useful to their owners. B. Because their owners are westernized and neglect them C. Because the government pays little attention to the problem. D. Because there are too many elephants and too few jobs. 4. Which of the following statements is tree about the elephant population at various times? A. There were 100000 tamed elephants at the turn of the century. B. 20200 elephants were employed in transport in Thailand at the turn of the century. C. By 1950 the elephant population in Thailand has been quite small. D. Today the elephant population is estimated at 5150. 5. The passage is most probably from A. a travel magazine B. a history book C. a research report D. an official announcement Passage 12 The munications explosion is on the scale of the rail, automobile or telephone revolution. Very soon you?ll be able to record your entire life electronicallyanything a microphone or a camera can sense you?ll be able to store. In particular, the number of images a person captures in a lifetime is sure to rise dramatically. The thousand images a year I take of my children on a digital camera are all precious to me In a generation?s time, my children?s children will have total image documentation of their entire lives—a visual diary of tremendous personal value. In Cambridge, we?re already working on millimetersquare (平方毫米 ) puting and sensing devices that can be linked to the Inter through the radio work. This sort of connectivity will expand dramatically as tiny munications devices bee dirtcheap and multiply. Just imagine what the paint on the wall could do if it had this sort of munications dust in it： change color, play music, show movies or even speak of you. Falling costs raise other possibilities too. Because launching space vehicles is about to bee very much cheaper, the number of satellites is likely to go up greatly. There?s lots of space up there so we could have millions of them. And if you have millions of loworbit satellites you can establish a global munications work that pletely does away with towers and poles. Speech is so flexible that I expect voice munication to bee almost free eventually： you?ll pay just a monthly fixed charge and be able to make as many calls as you want. By then people will also have fixed links with business contacts, friends and relatives. One day I anticipate being able to keep in touch with my family in Poland on an opticalfiber audiovideo link；we?ll be able to sit down “together” to eat. Cars arc an interesting ITplatform because they have big batteries and the lots of so far unconnected digital devices. Soon each one will be on the Inter so your children can play games while you?re t