【正文】 kers B. the miserable sufferings of old puter panies C. the rapid development of new puter panies D. the interaction between old panies and newers 51. With wide applications of cloud puting customers can ________. A. pay less for the older IT systems B. gain more puting capacity quickly C. know better about defeating the hackers D. install software within weeks 52. The problem of “l(fā)ockin” can be dangerous because ________. A. it can make data easily be moved to another provider B. it can create a work of services connected with devices C. it may make it difficult for customers to recover their data D. it will discourage an argument about stricter rules 53. It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that ________. A. the European politicians? advice is perfect B. customers? demands play a role in setting standards C. lockin is caused by firms? storing information in their own centers D. Google enables users to provide services and move data 54. Which of the following sayings can best express the main idea of the passage? A. Everything has its time and that time must be watched. B. The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence. C. A candle lights others and consumes itself. D. Every white has its black, and every sweet has its sour. D “Why do we have to learn all this dumb stuff?” Of all the plaints and questions I have heard from my students during my years in the classroom, this was the one most frequently asked. I would answer it by telling the following legend. One night a group of nomads (游牧民 ) were preparing to retire for the evening when suddenly they were surrounded by a great light. They knew they were in the presence of a godly being. With great expectation, they awaited a heavenly message of great importance that they knew must be especially for them. Finally, the voice spoke, “Gather as many pebbles (鵝卵石 ) as you can. Put them in your bags. Travel a day?s journey and tomorrow night will find you glad and it will find you sad.” The nomads shared their disappointment and anger with each other. They had expected the inspiration of a great universal truth that would enable them to create wealth, health and purpose for the world. But instead they were given a silly task that made no sense to them at all. However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and store them in their bags while voicing their displeasure. They traveled a day?s journey and that night while making camp, they reached into their bags and discovered every pebble they had gathered had bee a diamond. They were glad they had diamonds. They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles. It was an experience I had with a student, whom I shall call Alan, early in my teaching career that illustrated the truth of that legend to me. When Alan was in the eighth grade, he majored in “trouble” with a minor in “suspensions (停學(xué) )”. He had studied how to be a bully and was getting his master?s degree in “thievery”. Every day I had my students memorize a quotation from a great thinker. As I called the roll (點名 ), I would begin a quotation. To be counted present, the student would be expected to finish the thought. “Alice Adams — ?There is no failure except...? ” “ ?In no longer trying.? I?m present, Mr. Schlatter.” So, by the end of the year, my young pupils would have memorized 150 great thoughts. “People nowadays know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” “No pains, no gains.” “If you can conceive it, and believe it, you can achieve it.” No one plained about this daily routine other than Alan — right up to the day he was expelled (開除 ) and I lost touch with him for five years. Then one day, he called. He was in a special program at one of the neighboring colleges and had just finished parole（假釋） . He told me that after being sent to juvenile hall (少管所 ) and finally being shipped off to the California Youth Authority for his wrong doings, he had bee so disgusted with himself that he had taken a razor blade and cut his wrists. He said, “You know what, Mr. Schlatter, as I lay there with my life running out of my body, I suddenly remembered that quote you made me write 20 times one day. “There is no failure except in no longer trying.” Then it suddenly made sense to me. As long as I was alive, I wasn?t a failure, but if I allowed myself to die, I would most certainly die a failure. So with my remaining strength, I called for help and started a new life.” At the time he had heard the quotation, it was a pebble. When he needed guidance in a moment of crisis, it had bee a diamond. And so it is to you, I say, gather all the pebbles you can, and you can count on a future filled with diamonds. 55. What does the underlined sentence “it will find you sad” (Para. 4) mean? A. The God told the nomads to gather pebbles that made no sense to them. B. The pebbles won?t enable the nomads to create fortune. C. The God didn?t give the nomads the message they expected. D. The nomads regretted not having gathered as many pebbles as possible. 56. Which of following sentences from the passage brings out the author?s sense of humor? A. They were given a silly task that made no sense to them at all. (Para. 5) B. He majored in “trouble” with a minor in “suspensions”. (Para. 8) C. People nowadays know the price of everything and the value of nothing. (Para. 13) D. You can count on a future filled with diamonds. (Para. 19) 57. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A. Not all the nomads gathered and stored some pebbles in their bags. B. Students who finished the halfsentence quotation were counted present. C. All students don?t like the daily routine of finishing the halfsentence quotation.