Imagine the situation. You are driving in a village or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car doesn’t work. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is used for finding your position(位置) with the help of satellites (卫星). A GPS can’t start your car, but at least you will know where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System(全球定位系统), is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find a GPS in cars, planes, or boats. Some of them have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to GPS. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites going around the Earth. The receiver communicates with at least four of the satellites and calculates its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations all over the world. They control (控制) the satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming better and cheaper. There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.
小题1:According to the passage, with the help of the GPS, people __________.
A．can’t be lost in a new city
B．can’t find their way in different countries
C．can learn about the culture of an unknown place
D．can spend the least time getting to another place小题2:We can learn from the passage that ____________.
A．there are three parts to the GPS
B．a GPS can’t be put into a watch
C．a GPS can help you start your car
D．the GPS are becoming more and more expensive小题3:The underlined word “They ” in paragraph 3 means “____________”.
A．Receivers
B．GPS
C．Satellites
D．Ground stations小题4:What can we infer(推断) from the passage?
A．All GPS devices have electronic maps.
B．People in many countries will use the GPS for free.
C．The receiver of the GPS communicates with at least five of the satellites.
D．The GPS will become more and more common in everyday life.