Passage Two

You’ve just got a new computer and you are delighted with it. It is doing everything you want it to do. But what are you going to do with your old computer?

In the past consumers often paid high prices for their computers, but how much do you think these computers are worth now? Few people want to buy a computer which has become out-of-date or has been replaced by a newer mode. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do with a computer which you have had for five or six years is to throw it away with your other garbage

What do many people do when they try to sell their old computers? Foolishly, they take into account its original cost and then reduce the price according to the age of the computer rather like a second-hand car. They forget that new computers are becoming cheaper every day, making old computers almost worthless. In 1985, for example, a good computer cost over $4,000. Then years later its owner would be lucky to get $ 400.

One well-known computer magazine recently compiled a list of 10 things to do with an old computer. One suggestion was to donate it to charity or give it as one of the small prizes in a competition. The final suggestion was to keep it in a safe place and hope that it would become a collector’s item in 15 or 20 years - though the article in the magazine admitted that in 15 or 20 years, there may be so many old computers that they will all be worthless.

26. What does the word “out-of-date” mean?

 A. Fashionable

 B. No longer fashionable

 C. Second hand

 D. Worthless

27. According to the computer magazine, the best way to do with an old computer is _____.

 A. to throw it away

 B. to eva luate it and sell it

 C. to donate it to the poor

 D. to keep it at home

28. How many ways are mentioned in the passage to do with an old computer?

 A. 10

 B. 12

 C. 5

 D. 4

29. The title of the passage could be

 A. Throw Away Your Old Computer

 B. How Much Does An Old Computer Cost Now?

 C. What To Do With Your Old Computer

 D. Useless Computer

30. Is it worth to preserve the computer for 15 years according to the author?

 A. Yes

 B. No

 C. Perhaps

 D. He doesn’t mention it.

Ⅲ.标音。用国际音标标出下列单词中划线字母或字母组合的读音。（本大题共20小题，每小题0.5分，共10分）（注意：使用新式或老式音标均可）

31. shall                                                          32. smooth

33. is                                                               34. them

35. circle                                                         36. start

37. book                                                          38. caught

39. rain                                                           40. town

41. fear                                                           42. known

43. all                                                              44.cup

45. teach                                                          46.thick

47. swear                                                          48. few

49. knit                                                            50. Single