第三部分 阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
                              A
    The engineer Camillo Oliver was 40 years old when he started the company in 1908.
At his factory in Ivrea, he designed and produced the first Italian typewriter, Today the company 's hea d office s still in Ivrea, near Turin, but the company is much larger than it was in those days and there are offices all around the world.
By 1930 there was 1 staff of 00 and the company turned out 13,000 machines a year. Some went to customers in Italy, but Olivetti exported more typewriter to other countries.
Camillo's son, Adriano, started working for the company in 1924 and later he became the boss. He introduced a standard speed for the production line and he employed technology and design specialists. The company developed new and better typewriters and then calculators(计算机) .In 1959 it produced the ELEA  compu ter in Italy.
After Adriano died in 1960,the company had a period of financial problems. Other companies, especially the Japanese, made faster progress in electronic technology than the ITalian company.
In 1978,Carlo de Benedetti became the new boss. Olivetti increased its marking and service networks and  made agreements with other companies to design and produce more advanced office equipment. Soon it became one of the world's leading companies in information  technology and communications. There are now five independent  companies in the Olivetti group – one for personal computers, one for Systems and services, and two for telecommunications.
56.From the text we learn that ______________.
A. by 1930 Olivetti produced 13,000 typewriters a year
B. Olivetti earned more in the 1960s than in the 1950s[来源:Z_xx_k.Com]
C. some of Olivetti’s 700 staff regularly visited customers in Italy
D.Oliv etti set up offices in other countries from the very beginning
57.What was probably the direct result of Olivetti’s falling behind in electronic technology?
A. Adriano’s death .                         B.A period of financial problems.
C. Its faster progress.                        D. Its agreements with other companies.
58.What do we know about Olivetti?
A. It produced the best typewriter in the world.
B. It designed the world’s first mainframe computer.
C. It exported more typewriters than other companies.
D. It has five independent companies with its head office in Ivrea.
59.The best title for the text would be ____________.
A. The Origin of Olivetti                      B. The Success of Olivetti
C. The History of Olivetti                     D. The Production of Olivetti

B
Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY . The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet（喷射）stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures（建筑物）float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string（细绳）,it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Switching off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space.
60.What information can we get from the first passage?
A. It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.
B. Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.
C. It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.
D. The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic.
61.The word “shoot” underlined in the 2nd passage probably means “__________”.
A. send for                                          B. move quickly
C. come out                                         D. grow quickly
62.It can be inferred that without gravity _____________.
A. buildings and other structures would float away
B. trees and buildings would not so easily fly off
C. something around your head would not float away
D. everything outside buildings would fly off into space
63.Where can we most probably read this text?
A. In a research paper.                                B. In a short story.
C. In a travel magazine.                               D. In a student’s book

C
American cities are similar to other cities around the world: In every country, cities reflect the values of the culture. American cities are changi ng, just as American society is changing.
After W