Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. Studying was a breeze for
Nigel. The reward was certainly incomparable to the little effort that he had to put it. It begin when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories.
The peak of his school career came not when he topped the school but when he was selected for the nationwide competition. Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets and making something out of them. Nigel spent the next two months rebuilding the robot. It was during the time that Nigel found out about the prizes for the competition. Its well us auspices competitor. Alicia, from a neighboring school. His early intentions were forgotten. Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important than anything else. Nigel decided to befriend Alicia. Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition. He even helped her to put the finishing branches to her robot. He was glad with the way things had progressed. His robot looked even better than Alicia’s and it was able to become a ball with its arms, something Alicia had failed to do.
On the day of the competition, he says Alicia. Everything dawned on her the minute she saw him among the competition. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her.
The flashbulbs of the camera exploded in Nigel’s try. The robot bird performed actions so unique and different that the specialist judgments were the same. Nigel was so personal with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him. Without her, he would never win the competition.What reward did Nigel receive for doing well in his school work?
| A．He was offered a part-time job | B．He was honored with a scholarship |
| C．He helped his teacher construct a robot | D．He helped in the computer laboratories |
Nigel’s original intention of joining the contest was to ___.
| A．be the top student of the school | B．being great honor to his school |
| C．constructs a robot with the Lego sets | D．wins the thousand-dollar prize |
Why did Nigel help Alicia finish her robot?
| A．He tried to make friends with her | B．He was fond of building robots |
| C．He intended to help her | D．He didn’t want her to suspect him |
What is the author’s attitude towards Nigel’s actions?
| A．He is mildly critical | B．He is strongly critical |
| C．He is in favor of them | D．His attitude is not clear |
Pacific Science Center Guide
◆ Visit Pacific Science Center's Store
Don't forget to stop by Pacific Science Center's Store while you are here to pick up a wonderful science activity or souvenir to remember your visit. The store is located(位于) upstairs in Building 3 right next to the Laster Dome.
◆ Hungry
Our exhibits will feed your mind but what about your body? Our café offers a complete menu of lunch and snack options, in addition to seasonal specials. The café is located upstairs in Building 1 and is open daily until one hour before Pacific Science Center closes.
◆ Rental Information
Lockers are available to store any belongings during your visit. The lockers are located in Building 1 near the Information Desk and in Building 3. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are available to rent at the Information Desk and Denny Way entrance. ID required.
◆S upport Pacific Science Center
Since 1962 Pacific Science Center has been inspiring a passion(热情) for discovery and lifelong learning in science, math and technology. Today Pacific Science Center serves more than 1.3 million people a year and beings inquiry-based science education to classrooms and community events all over Washington State. It's an amazing accomplishment and one we cannot achieve without generous support from individuals, corporations, and other social organizations. Wish pacificorganzier.org to find various ways you can support Pacific Science Center.
21. Where can you buy a souvenir at Pacific Science Center?
| A． |
In Building 1. |
| B． |
In Building 3. |
| C． |
At the last Dome. |
| D． |
At the Denny Way entrance. |
22. What does Pacific Science Center do for schools?
| A． |
Train Science teachers. |
| B． |
Distribute science books. |
| C． |
Distribute scientific research. |
| D． |
Take science to the classroom. |
23. What is the purpose of the last part of the text?
| A． |
To encourage donations. |
| B． |
To advertise coming events. |
| C． |
To introduce special exhibits. |
| D． |
To tell about the Center's history. |
Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers.But now that information is being spread and monitored(监控) in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people's e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.
"The 'if it bleeds' rule works for mass media," says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. "They want your eyeballs and don't care how you're feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don't want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer."
Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication-e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations-found that it tended to be more positive than negative(消极的), but that didn't necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times' website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the "most e-mailed" list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times' readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.
Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused(激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, "Contagious: Why Things Catch On."
12 .What do the classic rules mentioned in the text apply to?
| A． |
News reports. |
B． |
Research papers. |
| C． |
Private e-mails. |
D． |
Daily conversations． |
13.What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?
| A． |
They're socially inactive. |
| B． |
They're good at telling stories. |
| C． |
They're inconsiderate of others. |
| D． |
They're careful with their words. |
14.Which tended to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger's research?
| A． |
A . Sports new. |
B． |
Science articles. |
| C． |
Personal accounts. |
D． |
Financial reviews. |
15 .What can be a suitable title for the text?
| A． |
Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide |
| B． |
B .Online News Attracts More People |
| C． |
Reading Habits Change with the Times |
| D． |
Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks |
If you are a fruit grower-or would like to become one-take advantage of Apple Day to see what's around.
It's called Apple Day but in practice it's more like Apple Month. The day itself is on October 21, but sinceit has
caught on, events now spread out over most of October around Britain.
Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see, and often taste, a wide variety of apples. To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets, it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence, such as Decio which was grown by the Romans. Although it doesn't taste of anything special, it's still worth a try, as is the knobbly(多疙瘩的) Cat's Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else.
There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you'll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it's a pipe dreamfor most apple lovers who fall for it.
At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple-themed fun and games.
Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit, including stately gardens and commercial orchards(果园).If you want to have a real orchard experience, try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham in Kent.
8.What can people do at the apple events?
| A． |
Attend experts' lectures. |
B． |
Visit fruit-loving families. |
| C． |
Plant fruit trees in an orchard. |
D． |
Taste many kinds of apples. |
9.What can we learn about Decio?
| A． |
It is a new variety. |
B． |
It has a strange look. |
| C． |
It is rarely seen now. |
D． |
It has a special taste. |
10.What does the underlined phrase "a pipe dream" in Paragraph 3mean?
| A． |
A practical idea. |
B． |
A vain hope. |
| C． |
A brilliant plan. |
D． |
A selfish desire. |
11.What is the author's purpose in writing the text?
| A． |
To show how to grow apples. |
| B． |
B .To introduce an apple festival. |
| C． |
To help people select apples. |
| D． |
To promote apple research. |
On one of her trips to New York several years ago, Eudora Welty decided to take a couple of New York friends out to dinner. They settled in at a comfortable East Side cafe and within minutes, another customer was approaching their table.
"Hey, aren't you from Mississippi?" the elegant, white-haired writer remembered being asked by the stranger. "I'm from Mississippi too."
Without a second thought, the woman joined the Welty party. When her dinner partner showed up, she also pulled up a chair.
"They began telling me all the news of Mississippi," Welty said. "I didn't know what my New York friends were thinking."
Taxis on a rainy New York night are rarer than sunshine. By the time the group got up to leave, it was pouring outside. Welty's new friends immediately sent a waiter to find a cab. Heading back downtown toward her hotel, her big-city friends were amazed at the turn of events that had changed their Big Apple dinner into a Mississippi.
"My friends said: 'Now we believe your stories,'" Welty added. "And I said: 'Now you know. These are the people that make me write them.'"
Sitting on a sofa in her room, Welty, a slim figure in a simple gray dress, looked pleased with this explanation.
"I don't make them up," she said of the characters in her fiction these last 50 or so years. "I don't have to."
Beauticians, bartenders, piano players and people with purple hats, Welty's people come from afternoons spent visiting with old friends, from walks through the streets of her native Jackson, Miss., from conversations overheard on a bus. It annoys Welty that, at 78, her left ear has now given out. Sometimes, sitting on a bus or a train, she hears only a fragment(片段) of a particularly interesting story.
5.What happened when Welty was with her friends at the cafe?
| A． |
Two strangers joined her. |
| B． |
Her childhood friends came in. |
| C． |
A heavy rain ruined the dinner. |
| D． |
Some people held a party there. |
6.The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 6 refers to Welty's＿＿＿＿.
| A． |
readers |
B． |
parties |
C． |
friends |
D． |
stories |
7.What can we learn about the characters in Welty's fiction?
| A． |
They live in big cities. |
| B． |
They are mostly women. |
| C． |
They come from real life. |
| D． |
They are pleasure seekers. |
Music
Opera at Music Hall:1243 Elm Street. The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The Opera honors Enjoy the Artsmembership discounts. Phone: 241-2742. http://www.cityopera.com.
Chamber Orchestra:The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 1406 Elm Street, which offers several concerts from March through June. Call 723-1182 for more information. http://www.chamberorch.com.
Symphony Orchestra:At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381-3300. Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer at Riverbend. http://www.symphony.org/home.asp.
College Conservatory of Music (CCM):Performances are on the main campus(校园) of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well-known LaSalle Quartet, CCM's Philharmonic Orchestra, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modern music. Students with I.D. cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by calling the box office at 556-4183. http://www.ccm.uc.edu/events/calendar.
Riverbend Music Theater:6295 Kellogg Ave. Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover (price difference).Big name shows all summer long! Phone:232-6220. http://www.riverbendmusic.com.
1.Which number should you call if you want to see an opera?
| A． |
241-2742. |
B． |
723-1182. |
| C． |
381-3300. |
D． |
232-6220. |
2.When can you go to a concert by Chamber Orchestra?
| A． |
February. |
B． |
May. |
C． |
August. |
D． |
November. |
3.Where can students go for free performances with their I.D. cards?
| A． |
Music Hall. |
B． |
Memorial Hall. |
| C． |
Patricia Cobbett Theater. |
D． |
Riverbend Music Theater. |
4.How is Riverbend Music Theater different from the other places?
| A． |
It has seats in the open air. |
| B． |
It gives shows all year round. |
| C． |
It offers membership discounts. |
| D． |
It presents famous musical works. |