The world would be a very different place if someone hadn’t invented the lift. There would be few, if any, high-rise buildings because people would refuse to climb many stairs. By the time workers reached their offices on the top floors of a tower building, it would be time to go home – if they were not too tired for the long walk down！
The first lift that we know about was used by the Greek scientist, Archimedes, in about 230 BC. It was a simple place that could be pulled up and down with a rope. A lift like this was used much later in the 12th century by priests who lived on top of a mountain at Metereo in Greece. Because they were afraid of killers, the priests had not built any stairs up the mountain. The only way up was by lift, which priests worked from the top of the mountain.
A few hundred years later, a Frenchman, Villayer, invented a ‘flying chair’ which used a rope and a place. A number of rich people had these ‘flying chairs’ built in their homes, including Queen Anne of England in Windsor Castle and Louis XVI of France at Versailles. Unluckily, Louis’ daughter was badly hurt when using one of the chairs, and Villayer ran away, afraid that he would be punished.
The main problem for lift engineers was that either humans or animals were needed to pull the ropes. This problem was not worked out until the discovery of steam power. But even steam powered lifts were not always safe because they also used ropes which sometimes broke. If the rope broke - which it sometimes did - the lift fell to the ground and people in it were killed or hurt. This problem worked out in 1854 when an American, Elisha Otis, invented something which stopped the lift from falling if the rope broke. At first Otis lifts were used only in factories, then in 1857 he built one in a large New York store. Now lifts use electric power and are completely safe. They also travel very quickly. Some lifts travel faster than 60 kilometers an hour.The writer thinks that lifts are important today because __________.
| A．people like playing on them |
| B．they are the best way of using steam power |
| C．we need them for tall buildings |
| D．workers are lazy |
The 12th century priests had a simple lift instead of stairs because ___________.
| A．they thought the stairs were broken |
| B．they liked having stairs and a lift |
| C．the lived at the bottom of a mountain |
| D．they were afraid of killers |
Villayer thought he would be punished because ____________.
| A．poor people could not afford his ‘flying chair |
| B．someone was hurt in one of his ‘flying chairs’ |
| C．his ‘flying chair’ did not work at all |
| D．he ran away with Louis XVI’s daughter |
Steam power meant that ________ .
| A．they did not need a living thing to pull the ropes |
| B．Elisha Otis could invent a lift that would not fall |
| C．the rope always broke |
| D．they could use lifts in factories |
阅读下面短文，简要回答所给问题。
The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are small and light and you do not need much space for them. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can only buy telephone cards, and some cards cost up to ￡4,000. The first Japanese card has a value of about ￡28,000. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors’ magazine. When were the first Italian telephone cards produced? _________________________________________________
How many countries can produce telephone cards now? _________________________________________________
Where can we find a market to buy telephone cards?
_________________________________________________What is the price of the first Japanese telephone card?
_________________________________________________In which magazine do most people see cards with prices?
_________________________________________________
Hands play an important part in our daily life. But do you know which of your two hands you use more? Very few people use both hands equally well. Most of us are right-handed. Only about five people out of a hundred are left-handed. New-born babies can take hold of things with either of their hands, but in about two years they usually use their right hands. Scientists don’t know why this happens.
Monkeys are our close relatives in the animal world. Scientists have found that monkeys like to use one of their hands more than the other, but it can be either hand. There are as many right-handed monkeys as left-handed ones. Next time you visit a zoo, watch the monkeys carefully, you will see that some of them will use their right hands and others will use their left hands. But most of the people use their right hands better and this makes life difficult for those left-handed people. We live in a right-handed world.How many people among 100 people use their left hands better?
A. 5%. B. 50%. C. 95%.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “equally” in Chinese?
A.公正地 B.均等地 C.平凡地New-born babies can use ____ ____ __.
A. both of their hands B. neither of their hands C. their right handsWhich of the following is true?
A. There are more monkeys using their right hands than left hands.
B. There are more monkeys using their left hands than right hands.
C. There are as many right-handed monkeys as left-handed ones.“We live in a right-handed world.”means ____ ____ __.
A. Most people use their right hands better.
B. Few people use their right hands better.
C. Half of the people use their right hands better.
As Sam slowly woke, he got a funny feeling in his stomach. He knew he would have to do something that he had been afraid to do for a long time.
The school bus came on time, and he sat with his friend, Billy. They chatted about baseball. It was a great way to get his mind off what he had to do later. As they got close to the school, he could feel his heart beating. His hands were starting to sweat. He hated this!
He entered Mrs. Owens’ class. She was smiling, and saying hello to all her students as she did every morning.
“Hi, Sam!” she said as he walked in.
“Hi,” he said and quickly sat in his seat. Then the class began to take their spelling test. He looked at the clock. The time was near. He hoped he was not first! Mrs. Owens said it was time to begin their special day.
“Sam, you’ll be first.” Mrs. Owens said to the class, “Sam has worked very hard on his report on Hawaii, and I know it is very interesting.”
Sam nervously greeted his class. Then, he thought about the fun things he had read about surfing, volcanoes, and pineapples in Hawaii, and he started to talk. He talked in front of the whole class, and it was fun. The class clapped as he finished and Mrs. Owens was smiling. It wasn’t terrible at all and he knew he would do better the next time. How did Sam feel after he woke?
A. Excited. B. Nervous. C. Happy.What did Sam have to do that day?
A. To have a baseball match.
B. To take a reading test.
C. To do something special. What does the underlined word “ sweat ” probably mean?
A. 触摸 B. 鼓掌 C. 出汗Which could be inferred(推断) from this passage?
A. Sam hated chatting about baseball.
B. Sam learned about Hawaii by travelling.
C. The class enjoyed Sam’s talk very much. Which is the best title for this passage?
A. A special day B. An interesting lesson C. A nice teacher
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If you want to make an advertisement, which number will you call?
A. 5160594. B. 3655488. C. 5161982.Mary wants a room for herself, which room should she choose?
A. Family Home. B. Double. C. Single.The title “Classified Advertisements” probably means ____ .
A. advertisements only for students to read
B. advertisements giving us useful information
C. advertisements divided into different groupsIf you want to find a part-time job, you will read ____ .
A. Help Wanted B. For Sale C. For RentIf a person has $115, he can buy ____ .
A. TV and recorder B. coat and recorder C. coat and mp3 player
This is a picture of a classroom（教室）. The classroom is big and clean（干净）. You can see a teacher’s desk, five desks and six chairs. You can see a girl and a boy.
Three books are on the teacher’s desk. A pencil case is on a desk. Two pens are in the pencil case. A schoolbag is behind a chair. A ball is on the floor.
The girl is Lucy Smith. She is eleven. The boy is Mike Miller. He is twelve. They are good friends. Their（他们的） teacher is Miss Green. She is not here.What is Lucy’s family name?
_____________________________________________________________.Where are the two pens?
______________________________________________________________.Is the ball on the desk?
______________________________________________________________.Are Mike and Lucy good friends?
______________________________________________________________.Who（谁）is their teacher?
______________________________________________________________.