It is natural that children are curious (好奇的) about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.
As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.
Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world. Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry .
These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world. For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.
Of course, scientists cannot answ
er all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.
We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．People are curious in the same way. |
| B．People in different countries are interested in different things. |
| C．Men and women are curious about different things. |
| D．People of different ages are interested in different things |
Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.
| A．the earth , the oceans and the sky | B．man-made things |
| C．plants and animals | D．ocean water |
When you run, your muscles need ____.
| A．more nutrition and oxygen | B．more signals |
| C．more salt | D．water |
A rock cracks _____.
| A．in wet regions | B．in dry regions |
| C．at very high or very low temperatures | D．when salty water falls in |
People are always curious because ____.
| A．they cannot explain many things | B．they know nothing about the world |
| C．they know little about the world | D．they want to be scientists |
It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It’s a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library’s final touches, the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.” In what way is the library “pedestrian-friendly”?
| A．It owns a yellow roof. |
| B．It stands near a sidewalk. |
| C．It protects book lovers from the sun. |
| D．It uses palm-tree stickers as decorations. |
The library was built __________.
| A．by a ship supply company |
| B．on the basis of toy horses |
| C．like a mailbox |
| D．with glass |
What can we infer about the signboard?
| A．It was made by a user of the library. |
| B．It marked a final touch to the library. |
| C．It aimed at making the library last long. |
| D．It indicated the library was a family property. |
The passage tells us that the users __________.
| A．donate books to the library |
| B．get paid to collect books for the library |
| C．receive thank-you notes for using the library |
| D．visit the library over 5 times on average daily |
D
| The Worst Journey in the World Cherry-Garrard 665 pages Price: $ 16.95 This book is about courage, misery, exploration and friendship. The “Worst journey” referred to is a five-week journey undertaken by Cherry-Garrard in the depths of the Antarctic night and winter to obtain eggs of the emperor penguin. At one point their tent blew away in a gale, they were forced to remain in their sleeping bags for a further 48 hours as they were unable to take any action in the terrible storm. |
Endurance, the Greatest Adventure Story Ever Told Alfred Lansing 277 pages Price: $33.78 This is the story of crossing the Antarctic continent. Shackleton and his men never came close to the pole, but theirs was one of the greatest adventures of all time. His ship, Endurance, was trapped and then crushed by sea ice, leaving Shackleton and 27 men adrift on ice floes. The story of how Shackleton saved all of them and reached South Georgia Island is one of the epics in the history of survival. |
| South with Endurance: Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917 Frank Hurley 320 pages Price:$28.00 I am so pleased that this book has been published. Frank Hurley, a young Australian photographer was crucial to the 1914-1917 expedition to Antarctic. The book is an oversized collection featuring all of the official photographer’s pictures. Photography buffs, historians and adventure lovers alike will relish (喜爱) the images from one who was surely one of history’s greatest documentary photographers. |
Let heroes Speak: Antarctic Explorers, 1772-1922 Michael H. Rosove 320 pages Price: $ 45.73 An excellent and unique historical overview of Antarctic voyages, from the very first by Captain Cook in 1772 to the end of the heroic age when Shackleton died aboard the Quest at South Georgia in 1922. This book gives a hugely readable synopsis(梗概) of each of the major journeys. You can therefore choose which expedition you would have most liked to be on, and which you would have least liked. |
The writer has written this passage in order to______.
| A．show us how people live on the North pole |
| B．recommend some books on Antarctic to us |
| C．tell us some interesting stories about adventure |
| D．advertise us to travel to the Antarctic continent |
If you want to learn about the adventure to Antarctic through pictures you can choose to read _____.
| A．Endurance, the Greatest Adventure Story Ever Told |
| B．Let heroes Speak: Antarctic Explorers, 1772-1922 |
| C．South with Endurance: Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917 |
| D．The Worst Journey in the World |
We can learn from Endurance, the Greatest Adventure Story Ever Told that Shackleton and his men _____.
| A．overcame various troubles to survive | B．enjoyed the adventurous experiences |
| C．arrived at the North Pole as planned | D．were the first to get to South Georgia |
We are fortunate to be living in a time when all people have the ability to access any knowledge they desire. This digital society that we live in affords us opportunities that our ancestor only dreamed of having. We should not take this privilege for granted.
In the not so distant past of the 1950s, people who wanted to research an idea, a product, or anything else, had to go to a library where they could look up information in books. Not all people had the same access to the books, and the information they contained. In America, if your skin was black, you could not use the same library that a person with white skin used. If a black skinned person was allowed access to a library, it most likely was stocked with outdated books that white skinned people had discarded.
In the digital society we live in today, the color of your skin does not determine the access you have to information. Technology has brought to us the powerful tools like the Internet where we can find information on almost every subject.
Access to the Internet has allowed us to research the things we are planning to purchase. We are capable of comparing prices on things like insurance, appliances, entertainment, clothing, and all other things. We also now have the ability to purchase items online without ever leaving our homes. We have been freed from the restrictions of store hours, and regional sales. A person in America can purchase a product from a person in Germany, without leaving home.
Because of the digital society we live in our children can learn about anything they are interested in. When they ask you what the dinosaurs ate, you can look it up, and tell them the answer. Because of this people will be smarter in the future, and technology will only improve.By “We should not take this privilege for granted”, the writer means that ______.
| A．we have special right to do anything |
| B．it is wrong to make use of the privilege |
| C．knowledge is important in the digital society |
| D．we should seize the chances the modern society offers |
The main idea of the fourth paragraph is that ______.
| A．the Internet brings us a lot of convenience |
| B．people in modern society are mostly wealthy |
| C．we would like to stay at home every day |
| D．we can find anything we like in the world |
The dinosaurs are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to tell us that _____.
| A．people will be much clever than ever |
| B．what the dinosaurs ate seems strange to us |
| C．finding out what the dinosaurs looked like is easy |
| D．we can learn knowledge with the help of technology |
The writer’s attitude toward the digital society is ______.
| A．critical | B．positive | C．neutral | D．negative |
When I first told people I was going to work in Cameroon, the most common reaction was: “Why?” The second was: “It’s in Africa; you’ll die!” The third: “Where is that?”
So let me give some answers. I was offered a job that looked interesting in a part of the world I’d never been to before. I’d also long had an interest in Africa, so I decided it was time to find out the reality.
A small amount of research showed that in more than 40 years since gaining independence, Cameroon has been a peaceful country with no wars. Not only are there no wars, but Cameroon is a food exporter to the region.
Now, after three years, I can say that these have been the healthiest years of my life! No malaria or any of the other frightening diseases you read about when Africa is mentioned. The worst thing that ever happened to me was a bout of food poisoning — once.
So what is it like to teach here? Well surprisingly not so different from teaching anywhere else.
Most students come to us with a bit of English in their heads. Cameroon is a bilingual country with French and English as official languages, while there are also close to 200 local ethnic languages in a country of 16 million people. French is the dominant language, spoken by about 80% of the population.
The local school system is very traditional and somewhat strict. Perhaps not surprisingly when there can be up to 150 students in the classroom (of which maybe 30 have the books, and there are probably seats for 70).
Like anywhere else, students appreciate it if you know a bit about their country, and not just Roger Milla (the top scorer of the 1990 World Cup, in case you’re wondering). It helps if you know the names of the ten provinces, know who the first president was, or can say a word in a local language.
So in conclusion: Cameroon isn’t just football. Not is it war, poverty and disease. It’s just life and people, like anywhere else. On hearing the writer’s decision, most people _____.
| A．didn’t understand him | B．considered it as a joke |
| C．admired him | D．laughed at him |
According to the passage, Cameroon is _____.
| A．a country full of diseases | B．peaceful after liberation |
| C．a poor country, especially lack of food | D．quite different from others in education |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Food export may lead to many frightening diseases. |
| B．Most students in Cameroon do not need books |
| C．Cameroon is not as bad as people commonly believed |
| D．There must be a lot of people suffering from food poisoning. |
What does the underlined word in the sixth paragraph mean?
| A．leading | B．easy | C．only | D．wonderful |
My parents always raised me to have strong values and hold firm to my confidence in life, and this was never more proved than when a situation arose when it would be easy for most people to ignore it.
A gentleman at my father’s work smelled awful and neglected his behavior, and as the months went by, he showed signs of confusion. After being told to pick up papers at another building, he would be found sitting at his desk staring at his shoes; after being reminded (to which he would completely believe he hadn’t been told the first time), he would be found once again sitting at his desk in the same position. This happened to worsening degrees over a few months and his coworkers either ignored it or were ignorant to this due to a lack of social association with the man.
My father began to mentally record all of this and finally sat down with him one day when he was found two hours after work was out, sitting in his car, looking like he didn’t know where to go. Apparently the gentleman was in the beginning/middle stages of Alzheimer’s and there was someone who used his forgetfulness as a reason to ask him for money every few days. My father took this man to a hospital (for the first time in years) to be properly treated, and then got a caretaker to watch over his condition. He then went to the man’s house and helped him sort out all of his financial matters and get his retirement set up; they went to the bank and had a government worker ensure that his bills would be paid for and his children would no longer get to treat him like a personal ATM.
That my father took his much personal time to help another man that so many had forgotten or would choose to neglect, or even make fun of, truly shows his character.The author presents this passage by ______.
| A．telling an instructive story | B．describing his father |
| C．reasoning with some facts | D．giving causes and effects |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The gentleman was ignored by his co-workers. |
| B．The gentleman was so serious that no one liked him. |
| C．The gentleman was good at communication with his co-workers. |
| D．The gentleman was in great need of help because of his illness. |
In the eyes of the author, his father is ______.
| A．hopeful | B．strict | C．stubborn | D．helpful |
Which proverb is suitable for the story?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| B．A friend to all is a friend to none. |
| C．Friendship cannot stand always on one side. |
| D．False friends are worse than open enemies. |