上海市十三校2014届高三12月联考英语试题试卷(4)

67. In order to accomplish his goal, the writer did the following except ______.
A. asking for help from all over the world
B. making full use of his leisure time after work
C. reading until early next morning
D. appealing to writers to send him new books

68. What does the word "exotic" in the last paragraph most probably mean?
A. Unrealistic. B. Uncivilized. C. Strange. D. Unimaginable.

69. Which of the following best describe the writer’s experience in the year?
A. Original but tiring B. Hard but relaxing 
C. Busy but fruitful D. Helpful but challenging

(B)
Villa d'Este, Tivoli (Italy) - Official Site Useful Information
Call Center 199766166
Number to dial from all of Italy for pre-sales and reservations for: tickets, guided tours, school groups, instructional visits.
Bookings from abroad:
email: villadestetivoli@teleart.org
fax: 0039 0412770747
telephone: 0039 0412719036
Visiting Hours:
Opening 8.30 – closed one hour before sunset.  
The ticket office closes one hour before the closing of the monument.
The hydraulic organ of the Organ Fountain is active daily, from 10.30 am, every two hours.  
The Fontana della Civetta functions daily, from 10.00 am, every two hours.
Ticket Prices:
(from May 17 to October 20, 2013)
Full ticket (exhibition + villa and gardens, not divisible): € 11.
Reduced ticket: € 7.
These prices will be valid during the daytime openings of the Villa until the closure of the exhibition, due on the 20th of October, 2013
(From the 22nd of October, 2013)
Full ticket: € 8
Reduced ticket: € 4
These fares may vary in conjunction with exhibitions set inside the Villa.
The right to purchase reduced price tickets belongs to all citizens of the European Union between the ages of 18 and 24 as well as permanent teachers of state schools (upon presentation of identity documents).  
School Visits:
Reservations are required.  The management of Villa d'Este, in the aim of preserving the monument and better distributing the flow of students, has limited the number of students allowed into the Villa to 100 students per hour.   Should any school group arrive at the Villa without having made a reservation, it will be admitted to the Villa according to space availability at a particular time and asked to wait until such space becomes available.  Right of Reservation cost: € 1,00.
Notices:
Certain areas of the villa may be closed for restoration:  for information inquire at the ticket office.
Please pay particular attention to the areas marked with signs indicating danger (in Italian: pericolo).

70. How can a visiting Chinese professor of architecture in Rome make a booking?
A. By dialing 199766166.
B. By writing an email to villadestetivoli@teleart.org.
C. By calling 0039 0412719036.
D. By sending a fax to 0039 0412770747.

71. The receptionist at the ticket office may recommend you to see ______ first, if  you arrive at 10.25 am.
A. the exhibition inside the villa B. the Organ Fountain
C. the gardens D. the Fontana della Civetta

72. Why are reservations essential for school visits?
A. Reservations are more economical.
B. Reservations enable as many students as possible to visit the monument.
C. Reservations ensure a pleasant visit for students and a manageable one for the Villa.
D. Reservation fees can help preserve the site.

73. Which of following statements is NOT TRUE?
A. Villa d'Este is closed at night.
B. Ticket prices are usually higher than usual when there happens to be an exhibition.
C. Tourists are not allowed to enter areas marked with signs “pericolo”.
D. Visitors can buy reduced tickets as long as they make a reservation.

(C)
Have you ever seen harmful robots refuse to die, no matter how fiercely people fight back? As is known, it is always the case in some of the scariest science fiction.
Now, science fiction has changed into science fact. For the first time, researchers have created a robotic machine that can stand a beating and keep on walking. Developed by scientists from Cornell University and the University of Vermont, the new robot looks like a spider with four legs.
Until now, even the most advanced robot was almost certain to break down when damaged. That’s because its inside computer simply doesn’t know how to operate the machine after its shape has changed.
To get around this problem, the spidery robot’s developers equipped their invention with eight motors and two sensors that read how the machine is tilting(倾斜). The motors and sensors all provide electrical signals to the machine’s software.
Using this information, the system follows a new procedure to figure out the machine’s shape at any given moment. The program chooses from among 100,000 possible arrangements of parts.
From there, the computer considers a wide variety of possible next steps, and it calculates how best to move the robot forward the longest possible distance, before trying to move again.
“The new strategy is a major advance in robotics”, Professor Skehan, a scientist in Cornell University says, “and it’s far from scary”. The technology may someday help researchers create better artificial arms and legs that give new freedom to people who lack them. The new knowledge might also help scientists understand how people and animals figure out their own sense of place in space.
“Designing robots that can adapt to changing environments and can compensate(补偿) for damage has been a difficult problem,” says neuroscientist Olaf Sporns of Indiana University in Bloomington. “This work provides a new way toward solving this important problem.”