Austin Children’s Museum
This 7,000-square-foot museum aims to entertain and educate children up to age 9. In its Global City exhibit, people can go sh
opping for groceries, order lunch at a diner, pretend that they’re doctors or construction workers, and more. In other fun exhibits, they learn about Austin’s history, explore the world of water, and experience life on a large Texas farm.
Open time: From Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.
On Sunday, 12:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.
Address: 201 Colorado St, Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-4722499
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Founded in 1899, it is the world’s oldest children’s museum, featuring interactive exhibits, workshops, and special events. The Mystery of Things teaches children about cultural and scientific objects and Music Mix welcomes young virtuosos (名家).
Open time: From Wednesday to Friday, 2:00 p.m.～5:00 p.m.
On Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.
Address: 145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, New York 1213
Phone: 718-7354400
Children’s Discovery Museu
m
This museum’s hand-on exhibits explore the relationships between the natural and the created worlds, and among people of different cultures and times. Exhibits include Streets, a 5/8-scale copy of an actual city, with streets lights, and waterworks, which shows how pumps can move water through a reservoir system.
Open time: From Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.
On Sunday, from noon. Closed on holidays.
Address: 180 Woz Way, Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, California 95110
Phone: 408-2985437
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
This museum is the largest of its kind. Exhibits cover science, culture, space, history, and explorations. Among them are the Space Quest Planetarium (additional fee), the 33-foot-high Water Clock, the Playscape gallery for preschools, and the Dinosphere exhibit, along with hand-on science exhibits.
The largest gallery, the Center for Exploration, is designed for ages 12 and up.
Open time: From Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m.～5:00 p.m.
Closed on Thanksgiving Day and December 25.
Address: 3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208
Phone: 317-3343322 Suppose that December 25 is Tuesday, which of the following museums can you visit?
| A．Austin Children’s Museum. | B．Brooklyn Children’s Museum. |
| C．Children’s Discovery Museum. | D．Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. |
If you want to see how pumps can move water through a reservoir system, you should visit the museum in _____.
| A．Texas | B．New York | C．California | D．Indiana |
After entering the museum you need to pay an additional fee to see _____.
| A．the Center for Exploration | B．the Space Quest Planetarium |
| C．the Global City exhibit | D．Waterworks |
Which of the following is not exhibited in Children’s Museum of Indianapolis?
| A．culture | B．history | C．explorations | D．special events |
The purpose of writing this passage is to _____.
| A．ask adults to visit museums |
| B．compare some museums and decide which one is the best |
| C．introduce some museums and encourage parents to visit them with their children |
| D．introduce some exhibits and museums to foreigners |
Pierre is a 25-year-old penguin at the California Academy of Sciences. Due to his old age, he was going bald, which made him feel too cold to swim in the pool. Therefore, biologists at the academy had a wetsuit created for this penguin to help him get back in the swimming pool.
Unlike marine mammals, which have a layer of fat to keep them warm, penguins depend on their waterproof feathers. Without them, Pierre was unwilling to jump into the swimming pool and ended up trembling on the side of the pool while his 19 peers played in the water.
"He was cold; he would shake," said Pam Schaller, a senior biologist. Schaller first tried a heat lamp to keep Pierre warm. Then she got another idea: if wetsuits keep humans warm in the cold Pacific, why not make one for Pierre?
Schaller designed the suit, which covered Pierre’s body and had small openings for his flippers.
“I would walk behind him and look at where there were any gaps, and cut and refit and cut and refit until it looked like it was extremely suitable,” she said.
One concern was that the other penguins would reject Pierre in his new suit, but in fact, they accepted his new look. He swam freely and got along with others well, although he was the only penguin with a black stomach.
Schaller couldn’t say for sure whether the wetsuit allowed Pierre to recover his fine feathers, but “certainly we were able to keep him comfortable during a period of time that would have been very difficult for him to stay comfortable”.
Pierre will take off his suit after his new feathers grow back. Pierre felt too cold to swim in the pool because of _____.
A．not ha ving a layer of blubber |
B．having few feathers due to old age |
| C．having no wetsuit | D．others penguins rejecting him |
The idea of making a wetsuit for Pierre came from _____.
| A．total invention | B．waterproof feathers |
| C．the use of wetsuit on humans | D．the use of heat lamp |
Schaller followed Pierre in order to see
_____.
| A．whether other penguins would reject him |
| B．if anywhere of wetsuit needed to be cut and refit |
| C．if the wetsuit kept warm |
| D．whether the wetsuit would keep the feathers from recovering |
The best title of the
passage is _____.
A．Wetsuit for An Old Penguin |
B．Old Penguin Getting Bald |
| C．Unwilling to Swim | D．Strange Look of Pierre |
Based on cultural traditions and the changing face of contemporary British communities, the Festival of Muslim Cultures joins young people from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds together through the creation of innovative(创新的), high quality cultural activities.
We have been working with arts and educational institutions across the UK to promote the mainstreaming of Muslim cultures within UK everyday life. The Festival was created out of the need to encourage a better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, to promote respect for Muslim cultures and to show how culture creates the pathways that connect us all together.
The program launched with a visit by the Festival’s patron(赞助人), the Prince of Wales, to the exhibition “Palace and Mosque” in Sheffield and since then there have been more than 100 events that have ranged from a Somali community day in Cardiff at the National Museum of Wales to a late-night Dance with Radio Tarifa (from Spain) and Dimi Mint Abba (form Mauritania) in the Royal Albert Hall and from a home-grown play in Nottingham about the Kashmir earthquake to the exhibition“Beyond the Palace Walls” at the Royal Museum Edinburgh of Islamic art from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
We are now working on a number of long-term projects which stay true to our commitment to promoting Muslim cultures through arts collaborations(协作) and build on the extensive network of local, national and international partners that Festival has created. These include a three-year national program that connects young Muslims to their local cultural institutions; a UK Muslim cookbook; an exhibition of the Ottoman architect Sinan; and a project for schools around the 1000-year old story “The Animals’ Lawsuit against Humanity”.
For more information about the Festival, please click on another page: Who’s Who.The best title of this passage would be _______.
| A．Welcome to the Celebration of Muslim Cultures |
| B．The History and Development of Muslim Cultures |
| C．The Exhibition of “Beyond the Palace Walls” |
| D．New Ways to Connect Muslims to Local Cultures |
Which is NOT the purpose of holding the Festival of Muslim Cultures?
| A．To promote people’s respect for Muslim cultures. |
| B．To show to people how cultures join the people together. |
| C．To try to change the beliefs of various religions. |
| D．To make Muslims and non-Muslims understand each other better. |
This passage was probably taken from _________.
| A．a website | B．a newspaper | C．a book | D．a magazine |
Researchers have found more evidence that suggests a relationship between race and rates of lung cancer among smokers. A new study shows that black people and Native Hawaiians are more likely to develop lung cancer from smoking. It compared their risk to whites, Japanese, Americans and Latinos.
The study, however, found almost no racial or ethnic differences among the heaviest smokers. These were people who smoked more than thirty cigarettes each day.
Other comparisons have shown that blacks are more likely than whites to get lung cancer from smoking. But the scientists say few studies have compared the risks among Native Hawaiians, Asians and Latinos.
Researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii did the new study. The New England Journal of Medicine published the findings.
The eight-year study involved more than 180,000 people. They provided details about their tobacco use and their diet as well as other information. They included current and former smokers and people who never smoked. Almost 2,000 people in the study developed lung cancer.
Researchers say genetics might help explain the racial and ethnic differences. There could be differences in how people’s bodies react to smoke. But environmental influences, including the way people smoke, could also make a difference.
African-Americans and Latinos in the study reported smoking the fewest cigarettes per day. Whites were the heaviest smokers. But the scientists note that blacks have been reported to breathe cigarette smoke more deeply than white smokers. This could fill their lungs with more of the chemicals in tobacco that cause cancer.
Many researchers disagree not only about the effect of race on the risk of disease, but even about the meaning of race. Yet scientists know that some diseases affect different groups differently. And some drug companies have begun to develop racially targeted medicines.
Last June, the United State Food and Drug Administration approved a drug designed to treat heart failure in black patients. The name is BiDil. The agency called it “a step toward the promise of personalized medicine”. Which of the following orders is right from higher to lower risk of having lung cancer?
| A．Whites---Native Hawaiians. |
| B．African-Americans---Latinos |
| C．Asians---Native Hawaiians |
| D．African-Americans---Hawaiians |
From the passage, researchers agree that it is _______ that may probably determine blackpeople’s risk of lung cancer.
| A．the bigger amount of smoking than the white |
| B．the living style or habit of the blacks to form |
| C．the depth of cigarette smoke into their lungs |
| D．the physical strength to react to cigarette smoke |
The subjects that the smoking researchers investigate are made up of _______.
| A．heavy smokers in America |
| B．the black and white people |
| C．the Asians and Hawaiians |
| D．smokers and non-smokers |
The production of BiDil is referred to in the last paragraph in order to _______.
| A．explain different races react to some diseases differently |
| B．tell the readers that racial differences exist in smokers |
| C．show a big step people have taken in the medicine area |
| D． support the idea that it is easy for blacks to have cancers |
Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away. Besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.
All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift. While her teacher was giving a lecture¸ Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”
“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”
“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”
Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”
Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”
“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.
“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.
Vicki’s cheeks flushed.We can learn from the text that Vicki_______.
| A．often received gifts from her father |
| B．expected Uncle Tom to give her a doll |
| C．was sad because of her father’s death |
| D．liked and respected Uncle Tom |
What do the underlined words “done it” refer to?
| A．Guessed the result |
| B．Opened the box |
| C．Realized Uncle Tom’s purpose |
| D．Known what her birthday gift was |
What kind of person is Uncle Tom?
| A．Thoughtful | B．Humorous | C．Mysterious | D．Funny |
What did Uncle Tom want to teach Vicki?
| A．How to respect others | B．The meaning of gifts |
| C．How to deal with gifts | D．The value of a promise |
We like to consider ourselves the superior race, and we are. It’s true that we are getting to know more and more, and we actually live in “the information age”. Our human vanity(虚荣心) makes us believe that we really have to know everything! Surprisingly, we do not have this ability. The question “what is happening in the Bermuda Triangle” is the very proof.
Where is the Bermuda Triangle located? The mysterious triangle is believed to be situated between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, where too many unusual events have happened.
On December the 5th 1945, five U.S. military planes took off from Florida on a clear day only to disappear over Bermuda. Furthermore, some other disappearances took place; in 1947, an American C54 plane simply disappeared at 100 miles from Bermuda; at 80 miles, a Star Tiger plane disappeared in 1948.
Even Columbus had trouble in Bermuda. Some of his journals were about the strange happenings there: “the waters are changing their colors” and “compasses are going wild”.
Maybe it’s why it is called the Devil’s triangle or the Atlantic cemetery.
Many hypotheses were stated in order to explain the strange events. In spite of these attempts, the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle remains unsolved.
Some people get to say that maybe aliens are involved in it. Other imaginative scientists relate the happenings in Bermuda to Einstein’s theory, saying that the missing ships and planes are translated to another dimension of space and time and taken into another world.
Maybe we will just have to wait to go to Heaven and ask the One who made it. The answer will surely be a satisfying one!The writer may probably think that______.
| A．humans have to and can know everything strange |
| B．the missing ships are taken into another world |
| C．humans can know more in “the information age” |
| D．God created the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle |
Columbus’ journals told us that in Bermuda _______.
| A．an American C54 plane disappeared |
| B．there were some strange happenings |
| C．the compasses were lost |
| D．a cemetery was found |
The underlined word “hypotheses” in the 6th paragraph probably means______.
| A．guesses | B．reports | C．places | D．stories |
The purpose of the writer is to______.
| A．tell some stories about the Bermuda Triangle |
| B．warn people not to travel to the Bermuda Triangle |
| C．laugh at man’s vanity to know everything |
| D．prove man does not have the ability to know all |