Do you ever wonder how some things came about? For instance, who figured out that there was something worth eating inside a banana peel? Or how astonishing do you have to be to discover that an artichoke has edible parts? Well, we may not know how either of those foods was discovered, but we do know how potato chips were invented.
Potato chips originated in New England as one man’s variation on the French-fried potatoes, and their production was the result not of a sudden inspiration of cooking invention but of a fit of annoyance.
It was the summer of 1853 and Commodore Vanderbilt, a wealthy railroad magnate, was vacationing at a hotel named Moon Lake Lodge in New York. On the restaurant menu were French-fried potatoes, prepared in the thick-cut French style that was popularized in France in the 1700s and enjoyed by Thomas Jefferson as ambassador to that country.
At dinner one night, Vanderbilt complained that his French-fried potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen. Offended by his snobbyguest, chef George Crum decided he would give Mr. Vanderbilt exactly what he asked for! He decided to annoy the guest by producing French fries too thin and crisp. The chef angrily gather
ed up some potatoes and sliced them paper-thin. He threw the slices into hot oil to fry, drained and salted them and then personally served the new dish to Mr. Vanderbilt.
Surprised to see the chef in the dining room, the other diners fell into silence and everyone held their breath, waiting for Vanderbilt’s reaction.
Vanderbilt immediately popped a crisp potato slice into his mouth and the loud “Crunch” broke the silence. He continued to crunch away, delighted with his new dish. The plan backfired. Vanderbilt was interested in the browned, paper-thin potatoes. Clapping a surprised Chef Crum on the back, Vanderbilt praised him on the impressive potatoes. And other diners requested Crum’s potato chips, which began to appear on the menu as “Saratoga Chips”, a house specialty. Soon they were packaged and sold, first locally, then throughout the New England area. Crum eventually opened his own restaurant, featuring chips. At that time, potatoes were peeled and sliced by hand. It was the invention of the mechanical potato peeler in the 1920s that paved the way for potato chips to rise quickly from a small specialty item to a top-selling snack food. .
The author wrote the first paragraph to .
| A．tell us how potato chips were invented |
| B．introduce the topic dealt with in the passage |
| C．give examples of how some things came about |
| D．explain why we do know how those foods were discovered |
.
. According to the passage, chef George Crum .
| A．invented potato chips by accident |
| B．opened his own restaurant, featuring potatoes |
| C．served the new dish to Mr. Vanderbilt in private |
| D．helped promote potato chips to a top-selling snack |
.
. The production of potato chips was the result of .
| A．Mr. Vanderbilt’s praise for the new dish |
| B．Thomas Jefferson’s appreciation of the French Fries |
| C．George Crum’s anger at Mr. Vanderbilt |
| D．the invention of the mechanical potato peeler |
.
The underlined word “backfired” in the 6th paragraph probably means .
| A．developed in a successful way | B．made a big difference |
| C．happened in a particular way | D．had an opposite result |
We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book．Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down．While I watched mouth open in surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold．She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop（拖把）．She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.” “Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered．She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe （拖一下）of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall．I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book．After a long time Mum came back．Her eyes were shining.
She quickly put the mop back and took my hand．As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”
Outside, Mum told me “Grandma is fine．No fever.”
“You saw her, Mum?”
“Of course．I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow．Dad will stop worrying as well．It’s a fine hospital．But such floors! A mop is not good．You need a brush.”When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was ______.
| A．to clean the floor |
| B．to please the nurse |
| C．to see a patient |
| D．to surprise the story-teller |
When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a ______.
| A．nurse | B．visitor |
| C．patient | D．cleaner |
After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital? ______
| A．The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard. |
| B．It has strict rules about visiting hours. |
| C．The conditions there aren’t very good． |
| D．It is a children’s hospital. |
Which of the following words best describes Mum? ______.
| A．Clever | B．Warm-hearted |
| C．Strange | D．Hardworking |
Scientists have long understood the key role that oceans play in regulating the Earth’s climate. Oceans cover 70 percent of the globe and store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere does. What’s newer is the understanding of how this key component of our climate system responds to global warming.
A brake on global warming — for now
One of oceans’most important climate functions is absorbing heat and carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the gases that cause global warming. Acting as a heat sponge (海绵), oceans have absorbed huge amounts of heat and CO2 in the last forty years.
Fujita explains that "oceans are saving us from faster climate change — they are a big flywheel that delays rapid overheating of the Earth, putting a brake on the climate system."
"That’s the good news," he adds. "The bad news is that oceans only slow the atmospheric warming. Once oceans come to balance with a greenhouse gas warmed earth, the extreme heat will remain in the atmosphere and things will get much hotter." But where and how oceans release this accumulated (积累的) heat is uncertain. And as oceans store heat, fragile underwater ecosystems are struggling.
The most recent scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also notes with concern that oceans are acidifying because of increased absorption of atmospheric CO2, and thus causing a threat for shell-forming species. Sharp increases in carbon dioxide levels will cause further acidification of oceans.
Currents distributing heat
Another important role oceans play is that of distributor. Oceans deliver heat and life-sustaining nutrients around the globe. Just as blood vessels bring oxygen and nutrients to cells in the human body, oceans’ currents carry oxygen, nutrients and heat throughout the Earth. Oceans distribute 25 percent to 50 percent of the energy the planet receives from the sun. For example, the Gulf Stream carries heat across the Atlantic. This warm current gives northwestern Europe a milder climate than it would normally have so far north. A change to oceans’ circulation (循环) patterns could throw Europe into a colder period, even as the rest of world experiences warmer temperatures.
This passage mainly talks about .
A.the roles of oceans B.global warming
C.ocean currents D.carbon dioxide
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in a strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．From India to Australia. |
| B．Living in a New Country. |
| C．Turning Trash to Treasure. |
| D．In Search of New Friends. |
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The purpose of the passage is to _______.
| A．show readers how to use the four books |
| B．help children to learn English |
| C．enrich students knowledge about nature |
| D．sell the four books to students. |
More and more people are taking their iPads to bed with them to surf the web, check facebook or send e-mails before switching off the light. But researchers are warning that the blue light their screens give off can stop users getting a good night’s sleep. That is because this type of light is similar to daylight, convincing the brain that it is still daytime. Blue light prevents the production of a brain chemical called melatonin, which helps us fall asleep. By contrast, light which is more orange or red does not prevent melatonin production, perhaps because our brains recognize it as a cue that the day ends.
Scientists have known for years that staring at screens late in the evening can affect sleep ---- they are television screens, computer screens or mobile phone screens. However, because mobiles and iPads are by nature portable ---- not to say addictive ---- more people are taking them into the bedroom. Users also tend to hold them much closer to their eyes than a computer or television screen.
Researchers are warning that looking at iPad displays for more than two hours leads to lower natural melatonin levels as the devices give off blue light. They say, “Turning off the devices at night is the final solution. But if you have to use these devices at night, dim the display to cut down irritation of the eyes and limit the time you spend on them before bed.”
They wrote in the journal Applied Ergonomics(应用人类工程学) that iPad makers should adjust the spectral power distribution(光谱功率分布) of the devices so that they affect the sleep patterns of users less.
It is not just a good night’s sleep that could be harmed by too much late night screen time. Researchers know that long-term harm to sleep patterns can lead to an increased risk of obesity and even cancers.
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Scientists are warning that blue light is bad for our health. |
| B．People should limit the use of electronic devices |
| C．Using iPads before bed can cause a poor night’s sleep. |
| D．Looking at screens of iPads increase chances of sleeplessness. |