Mark Twain’s First Money
Mark Twain was asked one day if he could remember the first money he ever earned．
He thought a long time and then said , “Yes, it was at school．I can remember everything about it ．School boys in those days did not take good care of their chairs and desks．There was a rule in our school that if anyone damaged his desk or chair, he would have to pay five dollars or the teacher would beat him in front of the whole school．”
“One day I damaged my desk in some way, I had to pay five dollars or be beaten before the whole school．My father said it would be too bad to have our family disgraced in front of the whole school．He agreed to give me five dollars to hand over the teacher．But before he gave me the money, he took me upstairs and gave me a beating．”
“But as I had one beating and I decided I would take another beating at school and keep the five dollars．So that’s what I did．That was the first money I ever earned．”Mark Twain earned his first money _________．
| A．when he was a pupil | B．when he became a writer |
| C．when he taught at a school | D．when he was beaten by his father |
The school made the rule so that they could_____．
| A．teach the students well | B．give the students a beating |
| C．keep the desks and chairs well | D．ask the students for more money |
Mark Twain’s father______．
| A．was happy to give him the money |
| B．got angry when he knew what Mark Twain had done at school |
| C．said sorry to the teacher when he heard the news |
| D．agreed to beat Mark Twain and then give him the money |
Mark Twain was beaten_______．
| A．at home | B．only by his father | C．at school | D．both at school and at home |
Are you a gourmand(美食主义者)? Do you want to eat every delicious food in the world? Then do you watch the popular program?“A Bite of China(舌尖上的中国)” is a documentary on Chinese delicious food which has been broadcasted by Chinese central television. Is there any holiday that isn't celebrated with a special festival food? Here are several traditional Chinese foods:
Eggs hold a special meaning in many cultures, and China is no exception(例外). The Chinese believe eggs mean producing something new. After a baby is born, parents may hold a "red egg and ginger party," where they pass out eggs to announce the birth. In some areas of China the number of eggs represents the sex of the child, for example, an even number(1,3,5,---) for a girl, and an odd number(2,4,6---) if a boy has been born.
Noodles are a symbol of longlife in Chinese culture. They are as much a part of a Chinese birthday celebration as a birthday cake with lit candles is in many countries. Since noodles represent long life, it is considered very unlucky to cut it off.
Although westerners sometimes may be very sorry to see fish lying on a plate, in China a whole fish is a symbol of richness. In fact, at a party it is traditional to serve the whole fish last, pointed toward the valued guest. Fish also has a special meaning because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for richness or plenty, and it is believed that eating fish will help your wishes come true in the year to come.
A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat Festival is Zongzi. This tasty dish is made of rice dumplings with meat, peanut or other delicious food in bamboo leaves. The tradition of Zongzi is meant to remind us of a great man, Qu Yuan.
The 50-minute program tries to bring something new by presenting more cultural elements(元素),such as eating habits and the quality of eating.A bite of China is _______________.
| A．a book | B．a documentary |
| C．a guide book | D．a newspaper |
How many kinds of traditional food are mentioned in the passage?
| A．two | B．three |
| C．four | D．five |
A girl has been born in Mr. Li’s home. How many red eggs may he pass out to his friends according to Chinese tradition?
| A．two eggs | B．none |
| C．three eggs | D．six eggs |
Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?
| A．We can cut birthday noodles off in China if we think they are too long. |
| B．It is impolite to server a whole fish last at a party in China. |
| C．The program lasts for one hour. |
| D．There are many kinds of Zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival. |
What does the writer mean in the last paragraph?
| A．The writer thinks the program is too long. |
| B．The writer thinks the program has more meanings inside than the story itself. |
| C．The writer thinks everyone can have a good eating habit after watching the program. |
| D．The writer thinks the program has brought many kinds of delicious food to us. |
In some science fiction movies, evil robots refuse to die, no matter how hard people fight back.
Now science fiction has become science fact. For the first time, scientists have made a robot that can take a beating (挨打) and keep on going. Scientists from Cornell University made the robot, which looks like a spider with four legs.
Until now, even the most advanced (先进的) robot was almost certain to break down when it was damaged. That is because its computer inside simply doesn’t know how to make the machine work after its shape has changed.
To deal with this problem, the scientists put eight motors (发动机) and two sensors (传感器) that read how the machine is working. They all give signals to the machine’s software. Using this information, the computer can then figure out the machine’s shape at any moment.
The new technology is a big advance in robot-making, scientists say, and it’s far from scary. It may someday help scientists create better artificial (假的) arms and legs and give new freedom to people who lose them. It might also help scientists understand how people and animals figure out their own sense of place in space.
“It has been difficult to design robots that can work well when the environment changes or when it’s damaged,” says Olaf Sporns of Indiana University in US. “With this work, we are nearer to solving this problem.”
Why do robots easily break down when they are damaged?
| A．They cannot repair themselves. |
| B．The computer has changed a lot. |
| C．They have no computers inside. |
| D．The computer cannot work if the robot changes. |
The new technology allows the robot to _________.
| A．do house work for humans |
| B．keep working after being damaged |
| C．remember a lot of information |
| D．tell people where it is |
The underlined word “them” in Paragraph5 refers to ________.
| A．sensors | B．robots |
| C．arms and legs | D．scientists |
How do the sensors in the robot work?
| A．They can replace the computer when it’s broken. |
| B．They can find out where the damage comes from. |
| C．They help the computer learn the robot’s condition. |
| D．They can send signals to the person who uses the robot. |
The passage is probably from_____________.
| A．a newspaper | B．an advertisement |
| C．a tour guide | D．an application |
No one can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read correctly the signs around us, we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting.
For many centuries and in all countries, people have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasting. Rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. That many people feel their joints(关节) hurt is a sign of wet weather. Some birds fly high if fine weather is coming, but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is on the way. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening. If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.
Most of the above sayings have been made by the people who have used their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting.Which of the following can be used here to replace(取代) the underlined phrase “on the way”?
| A．away | B．gone |
| C．disappearing | D．coming |
When you see the stars twinkle clearly at night, the weather will be_________.
| A．warm | B．rainy |
| C．clear and fine | D．cold |
Which of the following signs can tell the weather will probably be rainy?
| A．A rainbow appears in the morning. |
| B．Some birds fly high. |
| C．The stars twinkle clearly at night. |
| D．Fogs appear in the morning just above a river. |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Nobody can control the weather. |
| B．If the sunset is red in colour, then the next day will be fine. |
| C．If many people feel their joints hurt, it may be a sign of wet weather. |
| D．People only use their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting. |
Which of the following sentences can suitable according to the passage?
| A．活到老，学到老。 | B．朝霞不出门，晚霞行千里。 |
| C．早起的鸟儿捉虫多. | D．一日之计在于晨。 |
★生词提示：valid有效的
SIDE A No.293083 Student Bus CardName: Lilian From: April1st,2014 To: June30th,2014 Price: $180 College: University of Chichester Not valid for travel unless it’s used in the bus companies of Stagecoacn, Season, Goldrider and Busabout in the UK |
| SIDE B No.293083 Thank you for travelling with  If the card is found, please return to any Stagecoach driver. |
The card is used for________.
| A．taking a taxi | B．travelling by train |
| C．taking a bus | D．entering the college |
Lilian is________________.
| A．a bus driver | B．a university student |
| C．a teacher in a college | D．a middle school student |
The card can be used in any of the four_____________.
| A．cities | B．colleges |
| C．universities | D．companies |
According to the reading material, if you find a lost card, you can ___________.
| A．sell it |
| B．phone Lilian |
| C．use it for travelling |
| D．give it back to any Stagecoach driver |
You can not find _________in the card.
| A．Lilian's age | B．the price |
| C．the card number | D．the time limit |
Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out. Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless at science and finished bottom of his class. Now, aged 79，the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka.
Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance can lead.
When he was 15 in 1948，Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon’s high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was “quite ridiculous”.
In spite of his teacher’s criticisms, Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab early and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.
“My own belief is that we will, in the end，understand everything about how cells actually work，”Gurdon said.
In 1962, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create Dolly the sheep in 1996，the first cloned mammal in the world.
In 2006，Gurdon’s work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample of a person’s skin can be used to create stem cells. Using this technique, doctors can repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack.
“Luck favors the prepared mind，”Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization. “Ninety percent of the time things don’t work, but when they do, you have to seize the chance. ”
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。Who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine?
| A．Sir John Gurdon |
| B．Shinya Yamanaka. |
| C．Sir John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka. |
| D．Gurdon’s science teacher. |
What does the underlined word “ridiculous” mean?
| A．无知的 | B．无畏的 |
| C．荒废的 | D．荒谬的 |
According to the passage, which statement is TRUE?
| A．As a boy, he was told he was hopeful. |
| B．He ranked first at his high school in biology. |
| C．It’s impossible for the doctors to repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack. |
| D．In spite of his teacher’s criticisms, he kept working hard. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Ninety percent of the time things don’t work. |
| B．Luck favors the prepared mind. |
| C．Life is full of pleasure. |
| D．How to know cells actually work. |