He could have been president of Israel or played violin at Carnegie Hall, but he was too busy thinking. His thinking on God, love and the meaning of life graces our greeting cards and day-timers.
Fifty years after his death, his shock(乱蓬蓬的一堆)of white hair and hanging moustache still symbolize genius. Einstein remains the foremost scientist of the modern time. Looking back 2,400 years, only Newton ,Galileo and Aristotle were his equals.
Around the world , universities and academies(研究院)are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s “miracle year” when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that basically changed our grasp of space, time ,light and matter. Only he could top himself about a decade later with his theory of relativity.
Born in the age of horse-drawn carriages, his ideas launched a technological revolution that has made more changes in a century than in the previous two thousand years. Computers, satellites, telecommunications, lasers, televisions and nuclear power all owe their invention to ways in which Einstein exposed a stranger and more complicated reality underneath the world.
He escaped Hitler’s Germany and devoted the rest of his life to human rights and peace with an authority unmatched by any scientist today, or even most politicians and religious leaders. He spoke out against fascism(法西斯主义)and racial prejudice. His FBI(美国联邦调查局)file ran 1,400 pages.
His letters expose a disorderly personal life ─ married twice and indifferent toward his children while absorbed in physics. Yet he charmed lovers and admirers with poetry and sailboat outings. Friends and neighbors fiercely protected his privacy.The first paragraph implies that Einstein .
A.had the gift for politics and music |
B.had run for president before he worked at his research |
C.was an excellent violinist |
D.was more a political leader of a musician than a thinker |
When you think of Einstein, what typical appearance was formed in your mind?
A.Funny and humorous, with an air of a musician. |
B.Wearing very wide trousers and a moustache, with an image of an actor. |
C.Rough untidy mass of white hair and hanging moustache , with an image of thinking . |
D.Black long hair and moustache, with his eyes deep set. |
Why was 1905 called Einstein’s “miracle year”?
A.Because he topped himself with the theory of relativity. |
B.Because he made important discoveries of space, time , light and matter. |
C.Because he published five papers on his theory of relativity. |
D.Because he wrote five important articles to help people understand space, time , light and matter better. |
Which of the following is not true about Einstein according to the passage?
A.When he was absorbed in his research ,he didn’t care for his family. |
B.He tried to amuse his family and friends in his spare time. |
C.He was so busy with the physical research that he showed no interest in politics. |
D.His theory led to much improvement in many technological fields. |
Kelly Reeves was getting ready for a trip when her phone slipped into a sink full of water. Panic moment! She quickly picked up the wet phone and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. Her first reaction? She got dressed, drove to the nearest store, and bought a new model at full price.
A new study finds that fear of losing your phone is a common illness. About 66 percent of those surveyed suffer from nomophobia or “no mobile phone phobia”. Interestingly, more women worry about losing their phone than men.
Fortunately, there’s a solution.
The first step is to figure out if you have nomophobia. Checking your phone too often is one thing, but the true sign of a problem is that you can’t conduct business or go about your routine when the fear becomes so severe.
Do you go to unusual lengths to make sure you have your phone? That’s another sign of a problem. If you find you check your phone plenty of times per hour, or a total of an hour per day, there may be a problem.
Some of the treatments are similar to those for treating anxiety attacks: Leaving the phone behind and not checking e-mail or text messages, and then learning to tolerate the after anxiety. Even if this leads to a high level of worry and stress, the solution is to push through the fear and learn to deal with not having your phone.
Of course, there are also technological alternatives. Luis Levy, a co-founder at Novy PR, says he uses an application called Cerberus that can automatically track the location of his phone. To find it, he can just go to a Web site and see the phone’s location.
He also insures his phone through a service called Asurion. The company’s description of its product reads like a prescription for anxiety: “60 million phones are lost, stolen or damaged each year. You’ll have complete peace of mind knowing that your phone is protected and you can quickly reconnect with family, friends and work, as soon as the very next day!”Why does the author mention Kelly’s experience in the first paragraph?
A.To inform us that mobile phones are useful. |
B.To introduce the topic for discussion. |
C.To tell us we should get phones ready for a trip. |
D.To warn us that we should be careful. |
The underlined word “nomophobia” in Paragraph 2 means ________.
A.Fear of losing mobile phones. |
B.Habits of using mobile phones |
C.Independence of mobile phones. |
D.Eagerness for new mobile phones. |
Which of the following is a way to treat nomophobia?
A.Learning more about modern technology. |
B.Avoiding using phone for some time |
C.Not using a mobile phone in one’s daily work. |
D.Protecting one’s phone against any damage. |
Why can the service called Asurion help to treat nomophobia?
A.It will give you a new phone through insurance. |
B.It lets you know other people also lose their phones. |
C.It gives you a prescription to treat nomophobia. |
D.It enables you to reconnect with your acquaintance. |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.New mobile phone technology. |
B.Attitude toward mobile phone. |
C.Solutions to nomophobia |
D.Disadvantages of mobile phone |
Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van(住房汽车)
A small car can hold(容纳)four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded(拥挤). A van hold seven persons easily, so a family three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together.
Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and buy a van. Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases(衣箱)when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents’ home , the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents.
Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.From the passage, a van is also called ____________.
A.a motor car | B.a motor home | C.a motorbike | D.a big truck |
Before Mr. Hagen and his wife bought a van, they__________.
A.sold their old house |
B.moved to their grandparents’ house |
C.built a new place for a van |
D.sold their second car |
A motor home is usually owned by a family with__________.
A.a baby | B.much money |
C.more than two children | D.interest in vans |
Americans usually use motor homes____________.
A.to travel with all the family members of holiday |
B.to do some shopping with all the family members |
C.to visit their grandparents at weekends |
D.to drive their children to school every day |
Motor homes have become popular because___________.
A.they can take people to another city when people are free |
B.they can let families have a happier life when they go out for their holidays |
C.some people think motor homes are cheap |
D.big families can put more things in motor homes |
“Cool” is a word with many meanings.Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold.As the world has changed,the word has had many different meaning.
“Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything.
When you see a famous car in the street,maybe you will say,“It's cool.”You may think,“He's so cool,”when you see your favorite footballer.
We all maximize(扩大) the meaning of “cool”.You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”.Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used.A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall(瀑布)they had visited.On one student's paper was Just the one sentence,“It's so cool.Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt.
But the story also shows a scarcity(缺乏)of words.Without “cool”,some people have no words to show the same meaning.So it is quite important to keep some credibility(可信性).Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word “cool”? I can.And I think they are also very cool. We know that the word "cool" has had ________.
A.only one meaning | B.no meanings |
C.many different meanings | D.the same meaning |
In the passage,the word “express” means “________”.
A.see | B.show | C.know | D.feel |
If you are _______ something,you may say,“It’s cool.”
A.interested in | B.angry about | C.afraid of | D.unhappy with |
The writer takes an example to show he is ______the way the word is used.
A.pleased with | B.strange to | C.worried about | D.careful with |
In the passage,the writer suggests(暗示)that the word “cool”________.
A.can be used instead of many words |
B.usually means something interesting |
C.can make your life colorful |
D.may not be as cool as it seems |
An old man died and left his son a lot of money. But the son was a foolish young man, and he quickly spent all the money, so that soon he had nothing left. Of course, when that happened, all his friends left him. When he was quite poor and alone, he went to see Nasreddin, who was a kind, clever old man and often helped people when they had troubles.
My money has finished and my friends have gone, said the young man. What will happen to me now?
Don't worry , young man, answered Nasreddin. Everything will soon be all right again. Wait ,and you will soon feel much happier.
The young man was very glad .Am I going to get rich again then? he asked Nasreddin.
No, I didn't mean that, said the old man. I meant that you would soon get used to being poor and to having no friends.An old man died and left his son_______.
A.nothing | B.some gold | C.much money | D.only a house |
When the son was________, he went to see Nasreddin.
A.short of money | B.quite poor and sick |
C.in trouble | D.quite poor and alone |
The young man was very glad because Nasreddin said that________.
A.he would become rich again |
B.he would soon feel much happier |
C.he would become clever |
D.he would have more friends |
Nasreddin meant the young man______.
A.would get rich again |
B.would get used to having nothing |
C.would get used to being in trouble |
D.would get out of poorness |
What this story tells us is________.
A.that money is everything |
B.that money makes the mare go |
C.to save each penny |
D.that misfortune tests the sincerity of friends |
Mexico's neighbours are the United States to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the south. Mexico is about one quarter of the size of the United States. Mexico has more than ninety million people. The language of Mexico is Spanish. This makes Mexico the world's largest Spanish-speaking country.
Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. The city is also very high. It is 7349 feet high (2240 metres). This makes it one of the highest capital cities in the world. The population, of Mexico City grows bigger every day. About thirty million people live there. It has more people than any other city in the world, even more than Tokyo.
Mexico also has its specialities. Many of the foods we eat started in Mexico. Foods like beans, maize, avocados, tomatoes, peanuts, chili peppers, vanilla, and chocolate come from Mexico. Mexico is also famous for its cactus (仙人掌) plants. Mexico has more kinds of cactus than any other country.Mexico is ____the USA.
A. on the south of B. on the north of
C. a part of D. as large asMexicans speak______.
A.English | B.Spanish | C.French | D.Latin(拉丁语) |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. |
B.The population of Mexico City is 30,000,000. |
C.Tokyo is one of the cities with the largest population. |
D.Mexico City is the highest city in the world. |
Tomatoes were originally (最初) grown in ______.
A.America | B.Spain | C.Tokyo | D.Mexico |
The best title (题目) of the passage is ___.
A.Mexico City | B.Mexico's plants | C.Mexico | D.Mexico's population |