Machines in the home have a short history. Sewing machines, washing machines and tumble dries are common enough today, but a hundred years ago few people could even imagine such things. However, inventors have designed and built a wide range of household machines since then. In most cases the inventor tried to patent（申请专利）his machine, to stop anyone copying it. Then he tried to produce a lot of them. If the machine became popular, the inventor could make a lot of money.
In 1790 the first sewing machine was patented. The inventor was an Englishman called Thomas Saint. There was nothing to match his machine for forty years, and then someone built a similar device. He was a Frenchman, Bartelemy Thimonier. Neither of these early machines worked very well, however. It wasn’t until 1846 that an inventor came up with a really efficient（高效的）sewing machine. He was an American, Elias Howe and his machine was good enough to beat five skilled sewing women. He didn’t make much money from it, however. The first commercially（商业的）successful sewing machine was patented by Isaac Singer five years later.
Today, we take washing machines for granted, but there was none before 1869. The revolving drum（旋转桶）of that first machine set a pattern for the future, but it was crude by today’s standards. The drum was turned by hand, and needed a lot of effort. Eight years passed before someone produced an electric washing machine. The world had to wait even longer for a machine to dry clothes. The first spin-drier was another American invention, patented in 1924; but it was 20 years before such machines were widely used.
It was yet another American, called Bissell, who introduced the carpet sweeper. He patented the original machine back in 1876. It didn’t pick up dirt very well, but it was quicker than a dustpan and brush. Thirty-six years later, even the carpet sweeper was old-fashioned: modern homes now have a vacuum cleaner（吸尘器）with an electric motor to suck the dust.
57. Inventors patent the inventions so as to __________ .
A. produce more machines B. avoid being copied by others
C. make the inventions more popular D. make more money
58. Whose sewing machine could do far more than the work that was done by five skilled sewing women?
A. Thomas Saint’s. B. Bartelemy Thimonier’s.
C. Elias Howe’s. D. Isaac Singer’s.
According to the article, modern inventors __________ .
A. follow the pattern of the first revolving drum but improve it much
B. only imitate the first washing machine
C. power the first ever-made washing machine by electricity
D. have to wait for the first spin-drier for a long time
60. The underlined word “crude” in the sentence “but it was crude by today’s
standards”probably means __________ .
A. useless B. ugly-looking C. rough D. not skillfully made
Mr. Grey was the manager of a small office in London. He lived in the country, and came up to work by train. He liked walking from the station to his office unless it was raining, because it gave him some exercise.
One morning he was walking along the street when a stranger stopped him and said to him, “You may not remember me, sir, but seven years ago I came to London without a penny in my pockets, I stopped you in this street and asked you to lend me some money, and you lent me £ 5, because you said you were willing to take a chance so as to give a man a start on the way to success.”
Mr. Grey thought for a few minutes and then said, “Yes, I remember you. Go on with your story!” “Well,” answered the stranger, “are you still willing to take a chance?”Mr. Grey liked walking to his office because ________.
| A．he couldn’t afford the buses |
| B．he wanted to save money |
| C．he wanted to keep in good health |
| D．he could do some work on the way |
Mr. Grey had been willing to lend money to a stranger in order to_______
| A．give him a start in life | B．help him on the way to success |
| C．make him rich | D．gain more money |
One morning the stranger recognized Mr. Grey, and_______
| A．wanted to return Mr. Grey the money |
| B．again asked Mr. Grey for money |
| C．would like to make friends with him |
| D．told Mr. Grey that he had been successful since then |
In the second paragraph,“… take a chance” means ______.
| A．Mr. Gray happened to meet a stranger |
| B．Mr. Grey had a chance to help a stranger |
| C．Mr. Grey helped a stranger by chance |
| D．Mr. Grey took the risk that the stranger would not give back the money which he lent him |
Poet Dean Young has dealt with impermanence (无常) a lot in his career, but it’s a particularly strong theme in Young’s latest collection, Fall Higher. The new collection was published in April, just days after the poet received a life-saving heart transplant (移植) after about a decade of living with a weakening heart condition.
Young, whose work is often frank and rich with twisted humor, tells NPR’s Renee Montagne that as he recovers from operation, he’s also slowly returning to his everyday writing habits.
“I’m getting back to it,” Young says, “not with the sort of concentration and sort of flame that I look forward to in the future, but I am blackening some pages.”
And on those blackened pages you’ll find poems like “How Grasp Green”, which carries themes of springtime and rebirth. It’s one of the first poems Young has written since his transplant.
It’s easy to spot clues (线索) to Young’s awful health situation in the lines of his poetry.
Fall Higher’s “Vintage” opens with “Because I will die soon, I fall asleep, during the lecture on the ongoing emergency.” And the poem “The Rhythms Pronounce Themselves Then Vanish”—published in The New Yorker in February—opens with the CT scan that revealed Young’s heart condition.
Hearts tend to come up a lot in poetry, and that’s especially true if Young’s work, which has clearly been influenced by the troubles of his own heart.
“A lot of times, it’s not just a metaphor (暗喻),” Young says. “For me, it’s an actual concern because I’ve been living with this disease for over 10 years. My father died of heart problems when he was 49, so it’s been a sort of shadowy concern for me my whole life.
But Young’s poems also deal with more abstract matters of the heart. He wrote Fall Higher’s, “Late Valentine” for his wife. “We’ve been married since late November and most of it has been spent in the hospital,” Young says of his marriage to poet Laurie Saurborn Young, who says “‘Late Valentine’ is very sweet.”
His work also touches on themes of randomness and fate—two factors that contributed to him getting a second chance in the form of transplanting a new heart from a 22-year-old student. “I just feel enormous gratitude,” he says of his donor (捐献者). “He gave me a heart so I’m still alive … I’m sure I’m going to think about this person for the rest of my life.”The poetry collection Fall Higher .
| A．was published in February |
| B．is Young’s latest collection of poetry |
| C．makes darkness as its main theme |
| D．was written after Young’s heart transplant |
We can learn from the text that Young .
| A．was born with heart disease |
| B．received a heart transplant in February |
| C．married a female poet after he wrote “late Valentine” |
| D．wrote a poem for his wife in his collection |
What does the write try to say in Paragraph 3?
| A． The writer had less enthusiasm than before, but he still kept on writing. |
| B． The writer expected some bright future, but he was disappointed. |
| C． The writer devoted more time to poems, so he grasped a good chance. |
| D． The writer wrote poems with less enthusiasm, so he quitted fora while. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A． “How Grasp Green” is the first poem in FaU Higher |
| B． Young began all his poems with his illness. |
| C． Young’s fether died when Young was 49 years old. |
| D． Young’s health situation is mentioned in his poetry. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The meaning of Fdl Higher. |
| B．Dean Young and his heart problems. |
| C．Dean Young and his latest collection. |
| D．An analysis of Dean Young’s poems. |
When talking about his present life, Young seems to be .
| A．grateful | B． pessimistic | C． guilty | D．considerate |
For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people from one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.
Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest (征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured (忍受). The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow windows of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.
Then there is the time spent being ‘processed’ at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being ‘processed’ at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.
Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday-maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and the limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people’s lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing—or so we are told. Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today. They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master. What does the writer try to express in Paragraph 1?
| A．Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages. |
| B．Man has been fond of traveling rather than staying in one place. |
| C．The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short. |
| D．The freedom of movement has helped people realize their dreams. |
How does the writer support the underlined statement in Paragraph 2?
| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By giving instructions. |
| C．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| D．By following the order of time. |
According to Paragraph 3, passengers are turning back to modern high-speed trains because ______.
| A．they pay less for the tickets |
| B．they feel safer during the travel |
| C．they can enjoy higher speed of travel |
| D．they don’t have to waste time being ‘processed’ |
What does the last sentence of the passage mean?
| A．They could travel with their master. |
| B．They needed the clock to tell the time. |
| C．They preferred traveling on horseback. |
| D．They could enjoy free and relaxing travel. |
Tayka Hotel De Sal
Where: Tahua, Bolivia
How much: About $95 a night
Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses (床垫) and blankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where: Vythiri, India
How much: About $240 a night
Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where: Cottonwood, Idaho
How much: $92 a night
Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where: Ayvali, Turkey
How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.
Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉in summer. (Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)What do we know about Tayka Hotel de Sal?
| A．It is located on a prehistoric wet lake. |
| B．It must be protected against rain. |
| C．Everything in the hotel is made of salt. |
| D．You have to cross a rope bridge to the hotel. |
What is the similarity of the four hotels?
| A．Being unique | B． Being expensive. |
| C．Being beautiful. | D．Being natural. |
What does the underline part “Sweet Willy" refer to?
A. The name of the hotel.
B. The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner
C. The building of Dog Bark Park InnB&B.
D. The name of the hotel owner.Which of the hotel makes you have a feeling of living in the for past?
| A．Tayka Hotel De Sal |
| B． Green Magic Nature Resort |
| C．Dog Bark Park InnB&B |
| D． Gamirasu Cave Hotel |
What may be the purpose of the writer writing the passage?
| A．To show his wide knowledge. |
| B．To introduce some interesting hotels. |
| C．To develop business in tourism. |
| D．To attract attention from the readers. |
Big Brothers Big Sisters is based on the simplicity and power of friendship. It is a program which provides friendship and fun by matching vulnerable young people (ages 7-17) with a volunteer adult who can be both a role model and a supportive friend.
Volunteer tutors come from all walks of life—married, single, with or without children. Big Brothers and Big Sisters are not replacement parents or social workers. They are tutors: someone to trust, to have fun with, to talk and go to when needed.
A Big Sister and Little Sister will generally spend between one and four hours together three or four times each month for at least twelve months. They enjoy simple activities such as a picnic at a park, cooking, playing sport or going to a football match. These activities improve the friendship and help the young person develop positive self-respect, confidence and life direction.
Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations exist throughout the world. It is the large and most well-known provider of tutor services internationally and has been operating for 25 years.
Emily and Sarah have been matched since 2008. Emily is a 10-year-old girl who has experienced some difficulties being accepted by her schoolmates at school. “I was pretty sure there was something wrong with me.”
Emily’s mum came across Big Brothers Big Sisters and thought it would be of benefit to Emily by “providing different feedback (反馈) about herself other than just relying on schoolmates to measure her self-worth.”
Sarah wanted to get involved in a volunteer program. “I googled it and found out how to be a part of it. I thought it would be fun for me to get involved in making time to do something because sometimes it is all work and no play.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters has been of great benefit and enjoyment to both Emily and Sarah. They love and look forward to their time together and the partnership has certainly helped Emily be more comfortable in being the wonderful, happy and unique girl she is!What is the aim of Big Brothers Big Sisters?
| A．To offer students public services. |
| B．To help students improve their grades. |
| C．To organize sport activities for young people. |
| D．To provide partnership and fun for young people. |
A volunteer is usually expected to work within a year for at least ________.
| A．24 hours | B．36 hours | C．48 hours | D．72 hours |
According to Emily’s mother, this program may provide Emily with ________.
| A．advice from her teachers |
| B．a new way to judge her schoolmates |
| C．a new way to assess herself |
| D．more comments from her schoolmates |
Why did Sarah want to get involved in the program?
| A．She used to be a volunteer. |
| B．She felt a bit bored with her life. |
| C． She needed a part-time job. |
| D．She wanted to get a challenging job. |
According to the passage, “vulnerable young people” are probably those who are ________.
| A．popular at school | B．rather weak physically |
| C．confident in themselves | D．easily hurt emotionally |