ScientistsfromtheMaxPlankInsti-优题课

“Sesame Street” has been called “the longest street in the world”. That is because the television program by that name can now be seen in so many parts of the world. That program became one of American’s exports soon after it went on the air in New York in 1969.
In the United States more than six million children watch the program regularly. The viewers include more than half the nation’s pre-school children, from every kind of economic, racial, and geographical group.
Although some educators object to certain elements in the program, parents praise it highly. Many teachers also consider it a great help, though some teachers find that problems arise when first graders who have learned from “Sesame Street” are in the same class with children who have not watched the program.
Tests have shown that children from all racial, geographical, and economic backgrounds have benefited from watching it. Those who watch it five times a week learn more than occasional (偶然的) viewers. In the US the program is shown at different hours during the week in order to increase the number of children who can watch it regularly.
The programs all use songs, stories, jokes, and pictures to give children a basic understanding of numbers, letters and human relationships. But there are some differences. For example, the Spanish program, produced in Mexico City, devotes more time to teaching whole words than to teaching separate letters.
Why has “Sesame Street” been so much more successful than other children’s shows? Many reasons have been suggested. People mention the educational theories of its creators, the support by the government and private businesses, and the skillful use of a variety of TV tricks. Perhaps an equally important reason is that mothers watch it along with their children. This is partly because famous adult stars often appear on it. But the best reason for the success of the program may be that it makes every child watching feel able to learn. The child finds himself learning, and he wants to learn more.
49. “Sesame Street” is actually ____.
A. a street in the US B. a program for children
C. a program for teachers D. a program for students
50. Children who often watch the program ____.
A. can have problems in school
B. will find it a great help
C. will take no interest in their studies
D. will be well educated
51. What is special about the program?
A. It offers great fun.
B. It makes children feel able to learn.
C. It is shown at different hours during the week.
D. Children learn and enjoy themselves while watching.
52. Why is “Sesame Street” so popular in the world?
A. Because it is supported by the government and businesses.
B. Because it uses a variety of skillful tricks.
C. Because mothers watch it along with their children.
D. Because it makes every child watching it feel able to learn.

How do successful people think? What drives them? Interviews and investigations indicate that there are several keys to success that successful people share.
First of all, successful people never blame someone or something outside of themselves for their failure to go ahead. They realize that their future lies in their own hands. They understand that they cannot control things in life, such as nature, the past and other people. But in the meantime, they are well aware that they can control their own thoughts and actions. They take responsibility for their life and regard this as one of the most empowering things they can do. Perhaps what most separates successful people from others is that they live a life “on purpose”---- they are doing what they believe they are put here to do. In their opinion, having a purpose in their life is the most important element that enables them to become fully functioning people. They hold that when they live their life on purpose, their main concern is to do the job right. They love what they do ---- and it shows. People want to do business with them because of their commitment(忠诚). To live their life on purpose, successful people find a cause they believe in and create a business around it. Besides, they never easily give up. Once they have set up goals in their life, they are willing to work hard whatever it takes to achieve their goals. Top achievers always bear in mind what they don’t have.
Rather than be negative or depressing, they use the knowledge to spur themselves on and go after what they want energetically and passionately.
46. The underlined word “it ” refers to “____”.
A. the main concern of successful people
B. the job that successful people do
C. the commitment with which successful people do their jobs
D. the business that successful people do with other people
47. By living a life “on purpose”, successful people can do the following EXCEPT ____.
A. do a lot of work
B. concentrate on their jobs
C. do business with many people
D. control things in life
48. The underlined word “spur ” most probably means “____”.
A. encourage B. excite C. relieve D. compel

Most of us are used to seasons. Each year, spring follows winter, which follows autumn, which follows summer, which follows spring. And winter is colder than summer. But the earth goes through temperature cycles over much longer periods than those that we experience. Between 65,000 and 35,000 years, the planet was much colder than it is now .During that time the temperature also changed a lot, with periods of warming and cooling. Ice melted during the warm periods, which made sea levels rise. Water froze again during the cold periods.
A new study from Switzerland throws light on where ice sheets（冰川）inched during the ice age. It now seems that the ice melted at both ends of the earth, rather than just in either northern or southern regions.
This surprised the researchers from the University of Bern. Scientists have long assumed（假设）that most of the ice that melted was in the Northern hemisphere（半球）during the 30,000-year long ice age. That belief was held because the North Pole is surrounded by land, while the South Pole is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. It is easier for ice sheets to grow on land .If surrendered by sea the ice can easily just slip into the ocean instead of building up.
The researchers used a computer model to look at ways the ice could melt and how it might affect sea levels. They compared these results to evidence of how temperatures and currents actually changed during that time. The model showed that if it was only in the Northern hemisphere that ice melted, there would have been a bigger impact（影响）on ocean currents （洋流）and sea temperatures than what actually happened. Studies suggest that melting just in the Southern hemisphere would have been impossible, too. The only reasonable conclusion, the scientists could make, was that ice melted equally in the North and the South.
It is still a mystery as to what caused the temperature changes that caused the ice to melt.
The North Pole is surrounded by land ,while the South Pole is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. So scientists thought that .

A．most of the ice melted in the Northern hemisphere

B．most of the ice melted in the Southern hemisphere

C．The North Pole is colder than South Pole

D．The South Pole is colder than North Pole

We can learn from the passage .

A．the ice can easily just slip into the ocean

B．volcanoes caused the ice to melt

C．melting just in the Northern hemisphere would have been impossible

D．researchers often use the computer models to help their research work

The scientists are not sure.

A．how long the ice age lasted

B．where ice sheets melted during the ice age .

C．what caused the temperature changes

D．what the earth is made up of

Which of the following is NOT right ?

A．The researchers want to know how the melting of ice might affect sea levels by the
computer model.

B．Studies show ice melted equally in the North and the South during the ice age.

C．Most of the ice melted in the Northern hemisphere（半球）during the 30,000-year long
Ice age.

D．The temperature changes caused the ice to melt.

May : Happenings from the Past
May 5 , 1884
Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby. He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times.
May 9 , 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon , showing a snake cut in pieces , with the words “Join or Die” printed under the picture.
May 11 , 1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, the result of years of drought (干旱) , blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D. C.
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s, died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64.
May 24, 1844
Samuel F. B. Morse taps (轻敲) out the first message, “What hath God wrought,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D. C, to Baltimore, Md.
We know from the text that Buchanan is _______________.

A．Isaac’s father

B．a winning horse

C．a slave taking care of horses

D．the first racing horse in Kentucky

What is the title of the first American political cartoon?

A．Join or Die

B．Pennsylvania Gazette

C．What Hath God Wrought

D．Kentucky Derby

In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die?

A．1934

B．1960

C．1964

D．1994

Which of the following places has to do with (与...有关)the first telegram in history?
A. Washington, D. C.
B. New York City
C. Kentucky
D. Pennsylvania

When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald's in January 2004, the world's biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia, but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining．One exception was France, where Mr．Hennequin had done a reliable job as head on the group's French subsidiary（子公式） to sell more Big Macs to his relatives, His task was to copy this success in all 41 of the European countries where anti-globalisers’ favourite enemy operates．
So far Mr．Henncquin is doing well．Last year European sales increased by 5．8% and the number of customers by 3．4%, the best annual results in nearly 15 years．Europe accounted for 36% of the group's profits and for 28 of its sales．December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain, and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly（垄断）．
Mr．Hennequin's recipe for revival（复兴） is to be more open about his company's operations, to be "locally relevant", and to improve the experience of visiting his 6.400 restaurants． McDonaId's is blamed for making people fat, exploiting workers, treating animals cruelly, polluting the environment and simply for being American．Mr．Hennequin says he wants to engage in a dialogue with the public to address these concerns．
He introduced "open door" visitor days in each country which became hugely popular．In Poland alone some 50,000 visitors came to McDonaId's through the visitors' program last year．The Nutrition Information Initiative（倡议）launched last year, put detailed Sables on McDonaId's packaging with data on calories, protein, fat, carbohy drates and salt content, "the details are also printed on tray-liners．
Which of the following statement is RIGHT?

A．Denis Hennequin has been boss of McDonald since 2004．

B．The sales of McDonald is increasing in France．

C．Denis Hennequin tries his best to increase the sales of McDonald in the world．

D．The nutrition information is always launched on McDonald products．

McDonaId's is blamed in Europe for the following reasons EXCEPT.

A．making people fat	B．exploiting workers
C．treating animals cruelly	D．earning too much

Which of the following is not included in the McDonaId's packaging?

A．attentions

B．fat

C．protein

D．salt content

What did Denis Hennequin do to increase the sales of McDonald in Europe?

A．He visited all the McDonaId's branches in Europe．

B．He introduced "open door" visitor's days in each country．

C．He had done a reliable job as head of the group's French subsidiary．

D．He engaged in a dialogue with the public．