When two Bangs meet
SHELDON Cooper is a scientific genius on the popular American TV show, The Big Bang Theory (《生活大爆炸》). He finally met his match last year: Stephen Hawking.
This is not the first time that the scientist has appeared on TV. He has also been on Star Trek (in 1987) and The Simpsons (in 1989). Each time, he played himself.
Hawking, 71, is perhaps the world’s most famous scientist after Albert Einstein. He has spent his whole life studying the beginning and the end of the universe, including the Big Bang (宇宙大爆炸) theory.
The Big Bang theory explains the early development of the universe. According to the theory, about 13.7 billion years ago everything was all squeezed together in a tiny, tight little ball, and then the ball exploded. The results of that explosion are what we call the universe.
Hawking has always tried to make science more popular with people. His book: A Brief History of Time was published in 1988. In the book he shares his understanding of the universe in simple language. The book tries to explain many subjects about the universe to common readers, including the Big Bang, black holes and light cones (光锥).
Hawking’s achievements are even greater if you think about his disability. When he was 21, Hawking caught a bad illness that slowly stopped him from moving or talking. Now he sits on a wheelchair with a computer by his side. To communicate, he moves two fingers to control the computer’s mouse. He chooses his words from the screen, which are then spoken by a voice synthesizer (合成器).
Hawking also believes that there might be aliens in space. However, he believes they are probably very dangerous, so we should not look for them. “I imagine they might exist in very big ships ... having used up all the resources from their home planet,” Hawking said in a British documentary named Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking. What does the “two Bangs” in the title refer to?
| A．The director of “The Big Bang Theory” and the founder of it. |
| B．The director and the actor of “The Big Bang Theory”. |
| C．The founder of the “Big Bang” theory and its spreader. |
| D．The scientific genius on TV show and the one alive in real life. |
Acting in The Big Bang Theory is Hawking’s _____ time on TV.
| A．first | B．second | C．third | D．fourth |
According to Paragraph 5, Hawking wrote the book A Brief History of Time especially for _____.
| A．scientists who study the universe |
| B．people who know a lot about the universe |
| C．people who know little about the universe |
| D．people who only know simple language |
The Big Bang theory mainly explains _____.
| A．how the universe started | B．what the universe is like |
| C．how old the universe is | D．how the universe exploded |
According to the passage, which of the following about Hawking is TRUE?
| A．He was born with a disability. |
| B．He uses a computer to communicate. |
| C．He believes aliens are our friends. |
| D．He encourages people to look for aliens. |
Why should you tour Spain with SpainExchange?
◇We design and personalize(个性化)your tour to fit your desires and needs.
◇We are Spain insiders: we are located in Spain and we know the country.
You get the tour you want. You do not have to follow a schedule, but we encourage you to make your own with our help. If you have a few cities in Spain that you want to visit or a specific theme for your tour that needs some fine-tuning(微调), we can do it for you. On the contrary, if you are not sure what’s here and need some extra help, we can help you. We can assist you in developing the tour that fits you and your students.
You get more for your money. Yes, it may cost you the same price as with the other companies—usually less—but you will receive more in return. With any other company you will be mixed with other groups. With SpainExchange, your tour is for yourself and your students only: your group alone will be in your bus; your students will be housed in double rooms; they will have 2 paid meals per day, and your entrance fees will be on us.
Your students will have an educational experience they’ll never forget. The students will learn about world history, not just Spanish history, art history, archeology, Spanish culture, and much more. Many students have “fallen in love” with Spain and make plans for future studies here. And teachers are amazed at how much Spain has to offer. As one teacher said, “I can’t wait to come back and see the rest.”
Only a professional Spain insider that is flexible to design the tour that fits your group can provide all that for you. Just tell us what you want and enjoy the ride.What is the advantage of SpainExchange over other touring companies?
| A．It is designed for your personalized needs. |
| B．It is much cheaper than the tours from other companies. |
| C．It is organized by a Spanish-speaking agency. |
| D．It offers double rooms and 2 paid meals per day. |
Who do you suppose this passage is written to?
| A．School teachers. | B．College students. |
| C．Spain locals. | D．Exchange professors. |
The passage is probably take from.
| A．Wild “Burning” Journey Back To Spain |
| B．Spain Teaching School Tries Something New |
| C．A World of Novels: Picks For Best Foreign Fictions |
| D．Tour Brochure（手册）: Learning Beyond Classroom |
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 answer 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 |
Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea．People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea．Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added．She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o’clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?
| A．The Britons got expensive tea from India. |
| B．Tea reached Britain from Holland. |
| C．The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea. |
| D．It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea. |
This passage mainly discusses_____________.
| A．the history of tea drinking in Britain | B．how tea became a popular drink in Britain |
| C．how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea | D．how tea-time was born |
Tea became a popular drink in Britain.
| A．in eighteenth century | B．in sixteenth century |
| C．in seventeenth century | D．in the late seventeenth century |
People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because.
| A．it tasted like milk |
| B．it tasted more pleasant |
| C．it became a popular drink |
| D．Madame de Sevinge was such a lady with great social influence that people tried |
to copy the way she drank tea
Tom Brennan was working in a Philadelphia office building when he noticed a black bag. The bag contained a book.
This chance discovery ended a 12-day search by the Library Company of Philadelphia for a historical treasure-a 120-page diary kept 190 years ago by Deborah Logan,” a woman who knew everybody in her day,” James Green ,the librarian told the magazine American Libraries.
Most of the diary is a record of big events in Philadelphia. It also includes a description of British soldiers burning Washington D.C. in the war of 1812. She describes President James Madison on horseback as "perfectly shaking with fear “during the troubled days. George Washington, she writes, mistook her for the wife of a French man and praised her excellent English.
The adventure of the lost book began on September 4 when Cory Luxmoore arrived from England to deliver the diary of his ancestor(祖先)to the Library Company, which he and his wife considered to be the best home for the diary.
Green told American Libraries he had the diary in his possession “ about five minutes” when Luxmoore took it back because he had promised to show it to one other person. On returning to his hotel after showing the precious book to Green, Luxmoore was shocked to realize that he had left it in the taxi.
Without any delay, Green began calling every taxi company in the city, with no luck, "I've felt sick since then," Luxmoore told reporters.According to Green, no one has yet learned how the diary came to the office building .
Tom Brennan received a reward(奖励)of 1,000, Philadelphia gained another treasure for its history , and Luxmoore told reporters, "It's wonderful news. I'm on high".This article mainly tells about the story of ___________.
| A．a lost diary | B．Deborah Logan |
| C．Cory Luxmoore | D．the Library Company |
From the text, we learn that the diary is now owned by ___________.
| A．Tom Brennan | B．an unknown person |
| C．a Philadelphia magazine | D．the Library Company of Philadelphia |
Philadelphia is thought to be the best home for the diary because ___________.
| A．it was written in Philadelphia |
| B．it tells stories about Philadelphia |
| C．people in the city are interested in old things |
| D．the British and the Americans once fought in Philadelphia |
Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to the diary?
a:Tom Brennan found the book in an office building.
b:The book was shown to James Green.
c: Cory Luxmoore arrived from England.
d: The book was left behind in a taxi.
| A．a.b.c.d | B．c.b.d.a | C．a.c.d.b | D．c.a.b.d |
What did Cory Luxmoore mean when he said "I'm on high"?
| A．I'm rich | B．I'm famous | C．I'm excited | D．I'm lucky. |
Glynis Davis:
I first piled on the pounds when I was in the family way and I couldn’t lose them afterwards. Then I joined a slimming(减轻体重的) club. My aim was 40 pounds and I lost 30 pounds in six months. I felt great and people kept saying how good I looked. But Christmas came and I started to slip back into my old eating habits. I told myself I’d lose the weight at slimming classes in the new year…… but it didn’t happen. Instead of losing the pounds, I put them on. I’d lost willpower and tried to believe that the odd bag of fish and chips didn’t make any difference but the scales don’t lie.
Roz Juma:
To be honest, I never weigh myself any more---I’ve learned to be happy with myself. It seemed to me that I would feel sorry about every spoonful of tasty food that passed my lips. My idea is simple. You shouldn’t be too much thinking about food and dieting. Instead, you should get on with life and stop dreaming of a super-thin body. This is obviously the size I meant to be and , most of all, I’m happy with it.
Lesley Godwin:
I was very happy about winning Young Slimming of the Year. I’d look in the mirror unable to believe this slim lady was me ! That might have been my problem—perhaps from then on I didn’t pay any attention to myself. Winning a national competition makes everything worse, though, because you feel the eyes of the world are fixed upon you. I feel a complete failure because I’ve put on weight again.
Ros Langford:
Before moving in with my husband Gavin, I’d always been about 110 pounds, but the domestic bliss(福佑) went straight to my waist and I put on 15 pounds in a year. Occasionally I try to go on a diet…I’m really good for a few days, then end up having the children’s leftovers(吃剩的食物) or eating happily chocolate—my weakness. I’d like to be slim, but right now my duty is the children and home. I might take more exercise when my kids are older.What do you think the four women were all talking about ?
| A．Their life after marriage | B．Their own slimming matter |
| C．Their work as a housewife | D．Different diets they prefer |
Where are these short texts most likely to be taken from?
| A．Talks on the air | B．Advertisements in the newspaper |
| C．Books in a library | D．Magazines for children |
What does the underlined word “ scales”(paragraph 1 ) mean?
| A．the coach in the slimming club | B．some tool to measure weight |
| C．Glynis Davis’ dear husband | D．The salesperson in a food shop |
Which of the following best describes each of the four women’s attitudes towards slimming ?
1. Glynis Davis a. I put on weight soon after I got married
2. Roz Juma b. Fame(名声) doesn’t necessarily mean success.
3 Lesley Godwin c. Facts speak much louder than words
4. Ros Langfordd. I like myself as I am.
| A．1-c ,2-d, 3-b, 4-a | B．1-c ,2-b, 3-d,4-a | C．1-d,2-a,3-b,4-c | D．1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d |