英语周报：2008年12月四级听力模拟试题(十一)

　　At the end of the nineteenth century, a new idea was introduced. It permitted prisoners to work together in groups during the day. It also reduced problems of administration. Afterwards, many prisons were built in America and abroad which operated on this idea.

　　About the time of the American Civil War, a new institution for young offenders was built in Elmira, New York. This new system worked on the principles of classifying prisoners on the basis of age, giving them an education and training them.

　　Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　33. When were prisons used as a place for preliminary detention?

　　34. Who got rid of the idea of isolating prisoners?

　　35. According to the passage, which is not a way to punish prisoners?

　　Section C

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

　　Like all electronic equipment, computers have become smaller and more (36)sophisticated with time. They have (37) evolved from the enormous mainframes of the 1970s to thin little laptops, financially (38) accessible to a growing number of people and capable of performing innumerable tasks.

　　Personal computers have (39) revolutionized countless aspects of modern life. With scanners and digital cameras, for example, the world of publishing and (40) photography has entered the home. Long-distance learning has been made possible for students in isolated or distant areas thanks to (41) computer-assisted teaching. Computer games have added a whole new (42) dimension to home entertainment. They are so much fun that they can become (43) addictive.

　　Perhaps no other machine has had a greater impact on our lives than computers. With modems and servers, (44) personal computers can now be connected through telephone lines to create networks of people and businesses who are able to communicate with each other almost instantly by e-mail. Like most aspects of computer culture, the Internet has its positive and its negative side. For example, electronic mail has become so popular and so easy that it has become a problem. (45) In some offices it has reduced real interpersonal relationships and forced employees to read hundreds of useless messages every day.

　　Computer technology has affected virtually every aspect of our lives from satellites in outer space that relay television programs to the microchip in our hand calculator. (46) Computer technology has added considerably to the efficiency and quality of life, but it has also contributed to the stress of modern life, especially in the workplace.