A Nobel Prize(诺贝尔奖) is considered by most people one of the highest international honors a person can receive. As you know, the prizes were started by a Swede(瑞典人) called Alfred Nobel. He was born in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Alfred Nobel was a great scientist. He made two important inventions, and so he became very rich. Although he was rich, Nobel was not a happy man. He never married or had children. Also, he was a sick man during his large part of life. When he died at the age of 63, he left a fund(资金) of $9,000,000. The money was to be used in giving prizes to those who made great achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature(文学), and for world peace.
The first Nobel Prizes were given on December 10, 1901, five years after Nobel’s death. Since then many famous people from all over the world have been given Nobel Prizes for their achievements.
Each prize has three parts. The first part is a gold medal. Second, a winner of a Nobel Prize is given a diploma saying that he has been given the prize. The third part of the prize is a large amount of money-about $40,000.
Often a prize is given to just one person, but not always. Sometimes a prize is shared. It may be given to two or more people who have worked together. It is also sometimes true that a prize is not given at all if there is no great achievement. In 1972, for example, no Nobel Peace Prize was given.When was Alfred Nobel born?
| A．In 1938. | B．In 1833. | C．In 1896. | D．In 1906. |
What kind of person would you say Alfred Nobel was?
| A．He was a rich, happy and lucky man. |
| B．He was a poor, unhappy and unlucky man. |
| C．He was a rich, but unhappy and unlucky man. |
| D．He was a poor, but happy and lucky man. |
When he died, Nobel left a large amount of money ________.
| A．to his wife | B．to his children |
| C．for helping the poor people in Sweden | D．for setting five prizes |
The underlined word “diploma” in the passage most probably means_________ .
| A．certificate(证书) | B．letter | C．ticket | D．card |
How many persons is a Nobel Prize given to?
| A．Not always one person. | B．Two persons. |
| C．Only one person. | D．Three persons. |
The students were having their chemistry（化学）class. Miss Li was telling the children what water was like. After that, she asked her students. “What’s water?” No one spoke for a few minutes. Miss Li asked again, “Why don’t you answer my question? Didn’t tell you what water is like?”
Just then a boy put up his hand and said, “Miss Li, you told us that water has no color and no smell. But where to find such kind of water? The water in the river behind my house is always black and it has a bad smell.” Most of the children agreed with him.
“I’m sorry, children.” said the teacher, “Our water is getting dirtier and dirtier. That’s a problem.”Miss Li was telling the children what _________ was like.
| A．water | B．air | C．earth | D．weather |
Most of the children __________ the boy.
| A．agreed with | B．wrote to | C．heard from | D．sent for |
The water in the river has color and smell because it is getting _________.
| A．more and more | B．less and less |
| C．cleaner and cleaner | D．dirtier and dirtier |
We can see walls everywhere in the world. But the Great Wall of China is the biggest of all. The Chinese call it. “The Ten-thousand-Li. Great Wall.” It’s in fact (事实) more than 6,000 kilometers long. It’s 4-5 meters wide. In most places, five houses or ten men can walk side by side. When you visit the Great Wall, you can’t help wondering (疑惑) how the Chinese people were able to build (建造) such a great wall thousands of years ago. Without any modern machine (机器), it was really very difficult to build it. They had to do all the work by hand. It took millions of men hundreds of years to build it.
The Great Wall has a history of over two thousand years. The kings began to build the first parts of it around two thousand seven hundred years ago. Then, Qin Shihuang had all the walls joined up (连起来). He thought that could keep the enemy (敌人) out of the country.
Today the Great Wall has become a place of interest. Not only Chinese people but also people from all over the world come to visit it.The Great Wall is the biggest of all walls in _______.
| A．China | B．Europe（欧洲） | C．the world | D．Asia (亚洲) |
How long is the Great Wall ?
| A．It’s less than six hundred kilometers. |
| B．It’s more than six million kilometers. |
| C．It’s six thousand kilometers. |
| D．It’s over six thousand kilometers. |
It took ________ men _________ years old to build the Great Wall.
| A．millions, millions | B．hundreds of, hundreds of |
| C．millions of, hundreds | D．hundreds of, millions of |
The Great Wall was built ________.
| A．by people all over the world |
| B．without any modern machines |
| C．with some other countries’ help |
| D．by all Chinese Kings. |
Your seat number is ___________.
| A．9, Row 6 | B．6, Row 9 | C．9, Row 1 | D．6, Row 1 |
If you are late for the play, you’d better ___________.
| A．walk around |
| B．call up your friends |
| C．make much noise |
| D．walk into the theatre quietly |
You should ____________ at the theatre.
| A．use cameras and videos |
| B．sell your ticket |
| C．check your seat number |
| D．talk with your friends freely |
Here is a 2-way student exchange. Fred, 19 , spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred knew little German when he arrived. But after 2 months of studying, the language became easy for him. School was very different from what he had looked forward to and it was much harder. Students stood up politely when the teacher came into the room. They took 14 subjects while American students usually took 6 in the US.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was the law(法律) . All the children had to do their activities with their family. Fred also missed having a car. In Germany, you should walk to go out to have a good time.
At the same time, in America, Mike was forming his own ideas. He says,’ American schools are too easy for our level but I have to say that I like it a lot in Germany , we do nothing except study. Here we take part in many other activities.
| Differences between American school life and German school life |
||
| Items |
American students |
German students |
| Class rules |
They don’t have to stand up when their teacher come in |
They have to __ |
| ____ |
They do their own things alone. |
They have to listen to their __ |
| School ___ |
They have six and they are very easy for them |
They have 14, but the lessons are much more _ |
| Going out |
They can _ |
They have to ___ |
| School activities |
They have____ |
They have to ___ |
Young people and older people don’t always agree. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special programme in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work. Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
There are several free hours each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo taking or painting. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time.
When people live together, rules are necessary. In this programme the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
One of the teenagers has this to say about his experience, “You stop thinking only about yourself; you learn to think about the group.”In one special programme in New York State, young and older people _______ .
| A．don’t work well together. |
| B．are friendly to one another. |
| C．teach one another new ways of building houses. |
| D．spend eight weeks together, working as farmers.. |
All the members work some time every day mainly to _______ .
| A．lead a busy life. |
| B．learn new skills of farming; |
| C．get used to the life on the farms |
| D．find value and pleasure in work |
Living together, _________ .
| A．the teenagers don’t have to obey the rules |
| B．the teenagers have to obey the rules the adults make |
| C．the members have no free time on weekends |
| D．the members are not allowed to break the rules they make together |
The last programme shows that the teenager thinks his experience in the programme is ____ .
| A．unpleasant | B．tiring | C．helpful | D．boring |
The best title for the passage is __________ .
| A．The rules of living together |
| B．Life in New York State |
| C．Teenagers in the special group |
| D．Free hours in the special work group |