C

This year is the seventh anniversary of the Olympic bid, which brought promises of reconstruction and improvements in East London. It was hoped that the area would experience more funding, higher employment, better tourism and greener environment. Yet is that the truth?

According to a study done on the role of sports in funding local communities, there is little evidence about the good effects of such sports events on local communities. Rather, huge Olympic projects take funding away from local communities. For example, the National Lottery(彩票)is contributing￡2. 2 billion to the Olympics. Sir Clive Booth, chairman of the Big Lottery Fund, commented on that, “I regret very much that it has been necessary to shift a further￡425 m of the Big Lottery Fund to support the 2012 Olympics construction. . . ”

The Olympic Delivery Authority has promised 11, 000 new jobs, with a target of 10%~15% of the workforce to be drawn from East London. But the number of people from the East End who have received jobs remains low and local people see 85%  to 90% of jobs going to outsiders. The largest area for work is in construction, with   30, 000 potential jobs. However, hiring is directly in the hands of the sub-contractor, who will simply use the cheapest labor, and not take the lead in hiring local people or give contracts to local suppliers.

If only time can truly measure the funding and employment opportunities of the Olympics, then can we be certain that the Olympics will bring a lot of tourists to the capital, benefiting the local economy? Well, we can’t. Previous Olympic hosts have overestimated the number of tourists, most recently with Beijing anticipating over 400, 000 and receiving almost half the amount.

The environment is also considered to be the pillar of Olympianism, and officials have been advertising 2012 as the greenest Olympics yet. But in reality, a lot of sacrifices have been made to see the Olympics go green. In 2000, a￡7. 8 m grant was given to Bully Fen community woodland to create a green legacy(遗产)in the area. This has now been closed to the public, along with the nearby Manor Gardens, which marked the end of the vegetable beds.

But whether we like it or not, London is the host for the 2012 Olympics. But perhaps the most important thing about the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part.

59. Sir Clive Booth’s comment tells that　　　.

A. he is sorry about the decision made by the Big Lottery Fund

B. he is unwilling to give lottery funds to the 2012 Olympics construction

C. some funding for local communities has been used in the Olympic projects

D. too much money has been spent on the Olympic projects

60. Paragraph 3 is mainly about the 2012 Olympics’ effect on　　　.

A. construction　　　　　　       B. tourism

C. environment         D. employment

61. The underlined word “pillar” in Paragraph 5 probably means“　　　”.

A. important part         B. tall column

C. long pole          D. great benefit

62. What can be concluded from the passage?

A. About 400, 000 foreign tourists went to the Beijing Olympics.

B. The effects of the 2012 London Olympics have aroused arguments.

C. 85%~90% of Londoners have got jobs because of the Olympics.

D. Londoners can’t benefit from the 2012 Olympics at all.

D

Before leaving work, Steve Lee likes to use his cellphone to turn on his heat and air condition system at home. So by the time he gets  through traffic into his front door, the temperature inside is perfect. You may wonder what a so-called smart home can do inside.

Lee works for a company called Smarthome. com, testing and living with many of his company’s home automation gadgets(自动化小配件), like this multifunction touch screen that controls devices around the house and even connects to the Internet traffic cameras.

“I have cameras, and they follow all the way down the freeway to work, ”said Lee with pride. “What’s going on at home when you are away? No problem, install some wireless cameras and controllers and from any computer in the world with an Internet connection, you can watch your house. ”

“I can check on the house, and I can look at the temperature. Believe it or not, if I want to turn on lights ahead of time, I can, ”added Lee.

We sat in Steve’s California kitchen and with the right password , turned on the kitchen counter lights at his boss’s house in Wisconsin. Steve did have permission to log on(登录).

“If you do know the password and you want to play a trick on your wife, you could turn lights on and off remotely. ”

This new technology, which can automatically turn on water sprinklers when humidity is low, or turn off a pool pump when it is not in use, is no longer expensive. Several hundred dollars for a basic system is enough and it is not hard to install.

Sure the convenience is nice but many people who like the security advantages like making sure kids are safe with the help of camera monitors and bedside alerts.

“I can notice that maybe one of my children wakes up in the middle of the night once the light switch is turned on. ”

What a smart home can’t do is get you a snack and you have to leave the couch for that.

63. What does the underlined word “password” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A. Security code.        B. Crossword.

C. Passport.         D. Touch screen.

64. What can be inferred from this passage?

A. Steve’s boss trusted him very much.

B. Steve doesn’t like to play jokes on his family.

C. Steve could log on his boss’s home because he had been given the key.

D. It’s expensive and difficult to apply a basic smart home system.

65. According to the passage, the following is often a must for a smart home EXCEPT a　　　.

A. cellphone        B. c omputer

C. camera         D. car

66. What can’t a smart home do according to the passage?

A. Turning on the light automatically.

B. Getting the owner some food.

C. Turning off a pool pump.

D. Watching over the home’s safety.