50. A. farmer B. worker C. manager D. scientist

51. A. borrowed B. sold C. owned D. provided

52. A. in which B. for which C. what D. where

53. A. pass down B. pass away C. pass off D. pass up

54. A. customers B. friends

C. competitors D. enemies

55. A. across B. to C. in D. over

第三部分 阅读理解（共２０小题；每小题２分，满分４０分）

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Scientists are developing the next generation of robot-driven cars and predict they could be carrying humans around by the year 2030.

The first wave of intelligent robot cars, capable of understanding and reacting to the world around them, will be tested this November in a competition run by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Scientists are developing vehicles which will not only be driven by robots independently, but will be able to operate in a complicated city environment. "In the past it was sufficient for a vehicle just to perceive the environment," said Sebastian Thrun, a professor at Stanford University.

"The new challenge will be to understand the environment. The robot must be able to recognize another car, to understand that it is moving and that it will interact with it as it gets closer." Stanford's entrant (参加竞赛者)"Junior" is a changed 2006 Volkswagen Passat whose steering, throttle (节流阀) and brakes all have been modified by engineers.

Lasers fitted on the car bumpers, radar and global positioning systems feed data into the on-board computer to determine its location and position. Thrun predicted that advances in artificial intelligence would lead to driverless cars on the roads by 2030.

"Today they can drive about 100 miles, by 2010 I expect this to go 1,000 miles, by 2020 up to a million miles," he said. "By 2030 you'll be able to see them on the highway, with driving reliability that will beat humans."

"We believe this technology will affect all of us. It is going to have enormous significance for people who can't drive because of disabilities or because they are ill or impaired." Thrun said he believed robot-driven vehicles would be deployed in war zones before they were seen in everyday civilian environments.

56. Compared with the old robot-driven cars, the new ones _____.

A. can understand orders from humans

B. can perceive the environment dearly

C. not only can understand the environment but also can react to it

D. are modified to be completely computer-controllable

57. The underlined word "sufficient" in the third paragraph means "_____".

A. unbelievable B. useful

C. enough D. wonderful

58. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true about "Junior"?

A. It was invented by Sebastian Thrun.

B. Some of its parts have been modified by engineers.

C. It is controlled by a robot or a computer.