Car Thieves Could Be Stopped Remotely

Speeding off¹ in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch². But he is in a nasty surprise³. The car is fitted with a remote immobilizer, and a radio signal from a control center miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine   1  , he will not be able to start it again.

For now, such devices    2   only available for fleets of trucks⁴ and specialist vehicles used on construction sites. But remote immobilization technology could soon start to trickle down to ordinary cars⁵, and    3   be available to ordinary cars in the UK    4    two months.

The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car incorporates⁶    5    miniature cellphone, a microprocessor and memory, and a GPS⁷ satellite positioning receiver.    6   the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the unit to block the vehicle’s engine management system and prevent the engine    7    restarted.

There are even plans for immobilizers    8   shut down vehicles on the moves⁸, though there are fears over the safety implications of such a system.

In the UK, an array of⁹ technical fixes¹⁰ is already making    9   harder for car thieves. “The pattern of vehicles crime has changed.” says Martyn Randall of Thatcham, a security research organization based in Berkshire¹¹ that is funded in part    10   the motor insurance industry.

He says it would only take him a few minutes to    11   a novice how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools¹². But only if the car is more than 10 years old.

Modern cars are a far tougher proposition¹³, as their engine management computer will not

  12   them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out¹⁴ by the ignition key. In the UK, technologies like this    13   achieve a 31 per cent drop in vehicle-related crime¹⁵ since 1997.

But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars. Often by getting hold of the owner’s keys in a burglary. In 2000, 12 per cent of vehicles stolen in the UK were taken by using the owner’s keys, which doubles the previous year’s figure.

Remote-controlled immobilization system would   14   a major new obstacle in the criminal’s way by making such thefts pointless. A group that includes Thatcham, the police, insurance companies and security technology firms have developed standards for a system that could go on the market sooner than the   15   expects.

词汇：    

immobilizer n．使车辆不能调动的装置
cellphone n．移动电话，手机
ignition / ɪɡˈnɪʃən / n．点火
trickle / "trɪkl / v．慢慢移动
immobilization / ɪˌməʊbəlaɪ"zeɪʃn / n．使车辆不能调动
burglary / "bɜ:ɡlərɪ / n．夜窃行为；盗窃

注释：

1. speed off：超速驾驶

2. catch：捕获物，猎获物

3. nasty：very unpleasant or annoying使人不愉快的；烦人的

4. fleets of trucks：卡车队。 Fleet：a group of vessels or vehicles owned or operated as a unit车队

5. trickle down to ordinary cars：慢慢地用到普通汽车上。 trickle：to move or proceed slowly or bit by bit慢慢地或一点一点地移动或前进

6. incorporate：to cause to merge or combine together into a united whole混合，合并到某一整体中

7. GPS：Global Positioning System全球定位系统

8. vehicles on the move：在行驶中的车辆

9. an array of：一群；一批

10. technical fixes：技术装置

11. Berkshire：a county of south-central England贝克郡，位于英格兰中南部

12. a bare minimum of tools：极少的工具。 bare：just sufficient；mere刚刚充足的；仅仅

13. Modern cars are a far tougher proposition：现代车远没有这么简单（偷盗现代车要困难得多 )。Proposition：a matter to be dealt with；a task任务，要处理的事务。

14. beam out：to emit or transmit发送，传送

15. drop in vehicle-related crime：涉及车辆犯罪案的下降。 drop：decrease下降

空10

A:about B:to C:by D:on

School Lunch

Research has shown that over half the children in Britain who take their own lunches to school do not eat (1) ______ in the middle of the day. In Britain schools have to (2) ______ meals at lunchtime. Children can (3) ______ to bring their own food or have lunch at the school canteen. One shocking (4) ______ of this research is that school meals are much healthier than lunches prepared by parents. There are strict (5) ______ for the preparation of school meals, which have to include one (6) ______ of fruit and one of vegetables, as well as meat, a dairy item and starchy food like bread or pasta.

Lunchboxes (7) ______ by researchers contained sweet drinks, crisps and chocolate bars. Children (8) ______ twice as much sugar as¹ they should at lunchtime. The research will provide a better (9) ______ of why the percentage of overweight students in Britain has (10) ______ in the last decade. Unfortunately, the government cannot (11) ______ parents, but it can remind them of the² (12) ______ value of milk, fruit and vegetables. Small changes in their children"s diet can (13) ______ their future health.

Children can easily develop bad eating (14) ______ at this age, and parents are the only ones who can (15) ______ it.词汇：

canteen / kaen"ti:n / n.食堂，小卖部

tarchy  / "stɑ:tʃi / adj. (食物)含有大量淀粉的

注释：

1. ... twice as much sugar as ... ：……2倍的糖分……

2. it can remind them of the ... ：提醒他们关于……

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A:increased   B:expanded   C:extended   D:added

Teaching and Learning

    Many teachers believe that the responsibilities for learning lie with¹ the student. If a long reading assignment is given, instructors expect student to be familiar with the (1) ______ in the reading even if they do not discuss it in class or take an examination. The (2) ______ student is considered to be one who is motivated to learn for the sake of² (3) ______, not the one interested only in getting high grades. Sometimes homework is returned (4) ______ brief written comments but without a grade. Even if a grade is not given, the student is (5) ______ for learning the material assigned. When research is (6) ______, the professor expects the student to take it actively and to complete it with (7) ______ guidance. It is the student’s responsibility to find books, magazines, and articles in the library. Professors do not have the time to explain (8) ______ a university library works; they expect students (9) ______ graduate students to exhaust the (10) ______ in the library. Professors will help students who need it, but (11) ______ that their students should not be (12) ______ dependent on them. In the United Statesprofessors have many other duties (13) ______ teaching, such as administrative or research work. Therefore, the time that a professor can spend with a student outside of class is (14) ______. If a student has problems with classroom work, the student should either (15) ______ a professor during office hours³ or make an appointment.

词汇：

assignment /ə"sainmənt/ n．任务，作业

motivate /"məutiveit/ v．刺激，激发……的积极性

exhaust /ig"zɔ:st/ v．耗尽，使筋疲力尽；彻底讨论

administrative /əd"ministrətiv/adj．管理的，行政的

appointment /ə"pɔintmənt/ n．约定，约会

注释：

1.    …lie with…：……是……的责任

2.    ....for the sake of learning…：……为了学习……

3.    …approach a professor during office hours…：……在办公时间见老师……

空10

A:selections B:collections C:sources  D:origins