B
Shopping carts are such a ubiquitous presence in stores today that it is hard to imagine a time without them．And yet it wasn’t until the year 1937 when the first shopping cart was introduced．
The shopping cart was the brainchild of Sylvan Goldman，the owner of a grocery food chain in 0klahoma．Goldman noticed that his customers struggled to carry their food in heavy hand-held baskets．He decided there must be an easier way for his costomers to carry the food around in his supermarkets．Observing a folding chair, Goldman decided to use that as the prototype for his new shopping cart.
With the aid of a mechanic, Fred Young ,Goldman designed the first shopping cart based on the folding chair.Wheels were placed where the bottoms of the chair legs were. In place of the chair seat, Young and Goldman , placed two metal baskets on top of each other. This cart could be stored by folding it up like a folding chair．
At first there was a bit of difficulty getting the public to accept shopping carts．Men thought using them was effeminate(女人气的)while younger women considered the use of the shopping carts to carry products around to be somewhat unstylish．Goldman solved this problem by hiring men and women models to use shopping carts in his stores．In addition，store greeters instructed customers in how to use the shopping carts．In short order，the shopping carts became incredibly popular because it made shopping much easier for customers．By 1940 the popularity of shopping carts had grown to such an extent that there was a 7 year waiting list in store orders for new shopping carts．
45.. The underlined word“ubiquitous”is closest in meaning to”_________”．
A．strange B．pleasant C．common D．possible
46.. The idea of shopping carts came from _____________．
A．Goldman’ s imagination B．customers’needs
C．Fred Young’ s suggestion C．other shops’examples
47.. Why was it difficult to get the public to accept shopping carts at first?
A．Both men and women were afraid they would not look good if they used them．
B. People thought it unnecessary to use them because they never did much shopping．
C. The early shopping carts were too difficult to use．
D. Only men and women models were supposed to use such modern things．
48.. How popular did Goldman’s invention finally become?
A．Men and women models used shopping carts in his stores．
B．Store greeters instructed customers in how to use the shopping carts．
C．Some stores had to wait several years to get his shopping carts．
D．His shopping carts had improved so much that both men and women liked to use them．
Wikipedia is a free-access, free content Internet encyclopedia(百科全书), supported and hosted by the non-profit Wikipedia Foundation. Wikipedia is ranked among the ten most popular websites and is considered the Internet’s largest and most popular general reference book. Now, Wikipedia is becoming Wookiepedia as scientists hope the informative website will help us reach out to intelligent life forms. So aliens can learn about the human race.
Astronomers would like to beam (播送) the entire contents of Wikipedia into space in the hope of contacting aliens. They want to send messages to hundreds of star systems and planets 20 light years away using radio telescopes. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, in California, wants to use powerful radio telescopes to try to reach Chewbacca and his mates in a galaxy（银河系）far away.
The plans will be discussed by astronomers at the weekend as some scientists fear the reply from ET might not turn out to be friendly. Institute scientist David Black said, “One question is if there are dangerous creatures we might be drawing their attention to ourselves. Another is if we go ahead, what message should be sent? There could be many civilizations out there，but if they are all listening and no one is broadcasting or responding, then nothing will happen.”
Professor Stephen Hawking, who has warned that intelligent aliens probably exist and we should keep a safe distance from them, is among those. “If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans,” he said.
Signals from Earth’s radio and TV broadcasts have been heading out in space for some 60 years reaching around 5,000 stars.What does the underlined word those in the fourth paragraph refer to?
| A．aliens from space |
| B．astronomers sending signals |
| C．scientists for the plans |
| D．scientists against the plans |
What has Prof. Stephen Hawking warned?
| A．intelligent aliens would probably land in America. |
| B．the plans will be in vain and nothing will happen. |
| C．none of the civilizations would reply. |
| D．aliens would bring disasters to the human race. |
Which can be the best title?
| A．Wikipedia, the most popular website |
| B．Wikipedia to be beamed into space |
| C．Wikipedia, aliens’ best friend |
| D．Wikipedia to result in a disaster |
Anyone who has worn a cast (石膏) knows that rebuilding muscle strength once the cast is removed can be difficult. Now researchers at the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI) at Ohio University have found that the mind is critical in maintaining muscle strength following a long period of not moving and that mental imagination may be key in reducing the associated muscle loss.
Strength is controlled by a number of factors----the most studied by far is skeletal muscle. However, the nervous system is also an important, though not fully understood, determining factor of strength and weakness.
Brian C. Clark and colleagues set out to test how the system functions in strength development. They designed an experiment to measure changes in wrist (腕) muscle strength in three groups of healthy adults. Twenty-nine subjects wore a hard cast that extended from just below the elbow (肘) past the fingers, effectively preventing the hand and wrist from moving, for four weeks. Fifteen subjects who did not wear casts served as the control group.
Of the 29 people wearing a hard cast, half were asked to regularly perform an exercise, imagining they were strongly contracting their wrist for five seconds and then resting for five seconds. This was repeated four times in a row followed by a one-minute break for a total of 13 rounds per session and five sessions per week. The other half performed no imagination exercises.
At the end of the four-week experiment, both groups who wore casts had lost strength in their unmoving limbs (肢体) when compared to the control group. But the group that performed imagination exercises lost 50% less strength than the non-imagination group. The nervous system’s ability to fully make the muscle recover also returned more quickly in the imagination group compared to the non-imagination group.What does the underlined word “critical” mean in the first paragraph?
| A．Serious. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Significant. | D．Criticizing. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Scientists have partly understood the nervous system. |
| B．Whoever has worn a cast for long may have difficulty in muscle recovery. |
| C．Scientists have already spent a lot of time in studying skeletal muscle. |
| D．The number of the subjects in the experiment was 29 in all. |
What can we learn from the experiment?
| A．The control group lost 50% less strength than the non-imagination group. |
| B．The imagination group lost more strength than the non-imagination group. |
| C．The control group wore casts but didn’t perform the imagination exercise. |
| D．The speed of non-imagination group’s muscle recovery was slower. |
Where can you most probably find the passage?
| A．In a science magazine. | B．In a storybook. |
| C．In a textbook . | D．In a book review. |
Beaches are not only great for lying on and doing water sports, and in fact one of the best ways of enjoying them is a classic beach walk. Here at iWantSun. Co. Uk, we’ve been searching the globe to find you the world’s best and most glorious beach walks, and here’s our pick of the top.
The Footpath of the Gods, Amalfi Coast, Italy
The name says it all really and you truly do feel up there to walking along this wonderful mountain coastal path, which offers some of the most striking views on the planet. The path begins at town of Bomerano to charming Positano along the UNESCO World Heritage area of the Amalfi Coast. The whole walk will take you approximately four and a half hours to complete and pass over narrow rocky paths, past sheer cliffs and shining blue bays.
Sydney’s Great Coastal Walk, Australia
Sydney’s coastline is one of the most beautiful and diverse in the world. Here you have national parks, historic sites, steep cliffs, sparkling beaches and quiet bays all in one place. Sydney’s Great Walk runs all the way from Barrenjoey in the north to Royal National Park in the south and takes an incredible seven days to complete. However, if you’re not up to doing the full walk, then there are many different parts of the walk that you can do right in the city. Walking from the city’s famous Bondi Beach to the sweeping curve of Bronte Beach takes just an hour, which takes in some top scenery.
Great Ocean Walk, Australia
The Great Ocean Walk stretches 104 km along Victoria’s famous Great Ocean Road, located on the southern coast of Australia, from the resort town Apollo Bay to the magnificent Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles are the area’s famous stone landmarks which stand out like giants from the sea. The walk passes through a range of landscapes and sights, from national parks, famous surfing spots and deserted beaches, to wild coastlines, cascading waterfalls, lush forests, historic lighthouses and ghostly shipwrecks. Day walks and shorter three-hour walks such as the Wreck Beach Walk or the Lighthouse Cemetery and Lookout Walk can also be enjoyed.
So next time when you’re looking for a beach holiday don’t just think about the resorts and the sand, but consider a more active sun holiday, discovering some of the best beaches in the world.The author intends to tell us ____________.
| A．the world’s best places for beach walks |
| B．the wonderful beaches in the world |
| C．the ideal tourism resort for health |
| D．the beautiful beaches in Australia |
When you arrive at the Amalfi Coast _______________.
| A．you must be fed up with the footpath |
| B．you will be fascinated by the scenery |
| C．you can start walking from Positano |
| D．you may be trapped in narrow rocky paths |
What is special about Sydney’s Great Coastal Walk?
| A．It takes about more than five hours to complete. |
| B．It starts from Royal National Park in the south. |
| C．It provides visitors a variety of great landscapes. |
| D．It really has the longest coastline in the world. |
According to the fourth paragraph we can know that __________________.
| A．Apollo Bay is at the end of the Great Ocean Walk |
| B．the Twelve Apostles exists below the surface of the sea |
| C．the Wreck Beach Walk can also give visitors pleasure |
| D．most visitors can finish the 104 km walk in three hours |
October sixteenth is World Food Day．This day is also the anniversary of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization(F．A．O．)．The UN agency leads international efforts to defeat world hunger．It was created in 1945．
The F．A．O．says more than one hundred fifty countries are to hold special events to celebrate World Food Day．At F．A．O．headquarters in Rome，for example，runners will compete in a five-kilometer race through the city’s historical area．Events in other countries include discussions among experts，press conferences and musical programs．
The message of this year’s World Food Day is “investing in agriculture for food security”．The F．A．O．says，“During the early 1990s，the foreign aid for agriculture was nine thousand million dollars each year．But now, it has declined to less than five thousand million dollars a year．”Yet, the F．A．O．estimates that more than eight hundred and fifty million people around the world do not get enough food．
The UN agency notes that seventy percent of the world’s hungry lies in the farmers who grow small amount of food．Many also face problems of feeding themselves．The F．A．O．says agricultural aid could help small farmers make a profit from their crops．Farmers would also be able to feed their families throughout the year and re-invest in their farms．They could buy better seeds，equipment and chemical fertilizers to help their crops grow．
Muhammad Yunis．the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to improve the lives of poor people，as well as his Bangladesh microfinance organization，the Grameen Bank，has lent small amount of money to poor people who are unable to get traditional loans，especially women．Minister Yunis says that he plans to give his share of the one million three hundred thousand dollars Nobel award to good causes．He says he wants to establish an eye hospital and start a project to produce low-cost food for the poor．To celebrate the World Food Day, how many kinds of activities are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Two． | B．Three． | C．Four． | D．Five． |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．The F．A．O．is established to invest in agriculture for food security．
B．The foreign aid for agriculture has reduced by nearly 50％in recent decades．
C．The Grameen Bank has provided large amount of loans for poor farmers．
D．Yunis will donate his entire Nobel award to help solve the hunger for the poor．With agricultural aid，farmers can_________________.
| A．promote the production of crops |
| B．produce low-cost food |
| C．invest money in other fields |
| D．buy better food |
The writer wrote the passage mainly to____________．
A．give an introduction of the F．A．O．
B．inform us of the situations of the world food
C．appeal for more investment in agriculture
D．show how to deal with the world’s hunger
One cold morning in winter, I went alone to a hillside to do some hunting. I sat there waiting for about an hour. Suddenly, a big beautiful deer appeared less than 20 feet away from me. There was no cover near him. Surely I could shoot him.
To my surprise, he came toward me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid. For this was not a youngster, but a fully grown-up one. He must have known about men and their guns. But this deer came closer, and I still waited. His big eyes never moved away from my face. His wonderful head with a set of antlers (鹿角) was clear in sight.
I was getting a bit nervous as he walked closer. A big deer can do a lot of damage. Well, he walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me.
What happened next was hard to believe. But it all seemed quite natural. I held out my hands and scratched his head right between the antlers. And he liked it. The big, wild, beautiful deer bent his head.
I scratched and touched his head and body. His nose touched my shoulder. I fed him with my last sandwich.
Well, he finally went his way, down the hill. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn’t, either. Not after that. I just watched him go, a strong deer carrying a proud head.
I picked up my gun, and started walking back. Suddenly, I heard two shots, one after another. If you have hunted much, you will know what two shots mean. They mean a kill. I had forgotten that there were other hunters around.
You will now understand why I gave up hunting from that day on.How the deer behaved toward the writer shows that______.
| A．it pretended to be friendly to the writer |
| B．it wanted to attack the writer |
| C．it was too scared to run away |
| D．it was quite friendly to the writer |
You can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．a grown-up deer usually will not get close to men with guns |
| B．the writer was a little nervous at first as he had been attacked by a big deer before |
| C．the writer felt afraid to kill the deer the moment the deer walked up to him |
| D．the writer had waited for more than an hour before the deer appeared |
After reading the whole passage, we can know that the passage is written in a(n)______tone.
| A．worried | B．excited | C．sad | D．happy |