A person has to be sixteen to drive, seventeen to see certain movies, and eighteen to vote. People can get terrific discounts on all sorts of stuff－provided they’re over sixty-five. Everywhere we look there are age limits that define what people can and can’t do. But creativity has no boundaries, no limitations. Anyone can invent. And they do. Inventors are popping up at the youngest ages.
Sitting in the car waiting for her mom to return from shopping, Becky decided she might as well try to finish her math homework. But it was growing dark and getting hard to see the paper.
“I didn’t have a flashlight, and I didn’t want to open the car door because then the whole car would light up.” recalled Becky. “So I thought it would be neat to have my paper light up somehow, and that’s when the idea came to me.”
It isn’t every day that a ten-year-old invents a product eagerly sought by several businesses, but that’s exactly what Becky Schroeder did when she created a tool that enabled people to write in the dark. Her invention? The Glo-sheet.
That night Becky went home, trying to imagine different ways of making her paper glow in the dark. She remembered all sorts of glow-in-the-dark toys－like balls and Frisbees－and wondered how they were made. She was determined to find a solution. So they very next day, Beck’s dad took her on an outing to the hardware store. They returned with a pail (桶) of phosphorescent paint. She took the paint and stacks of paper into the darkest room in the house－the bathroom. There, she experimented.
“I’d turn on the light, turn it off, turn it on,” said Becky. “My parents remember me running out the room saying ‘It works, it works! I’m writing in the dark!’ ”
She used an acrylic board and coated it with a specific amount of phosphorescent paint. She took a complicated idea and made it work rather simply. When the coated clipboard is exposed to light, it glows. The glowing board then illuminates or lights up the paper that has been placed on top. Two years after her initial inspiration, in 1974, Becky became the youngest female ever to receive a U.S. patent.
She didn’t actively market her Glo-sheet. She didn’t need to. The New York Times wrote an article about an incredible invention－patented by a twelve-year-old, and the inquiries and orders streamed in.From Paragraph 1 , we can draw a conclusion that _________.
| A．it is illegal for one to drive under sixteen |
| B．people enjoy privileges when over sixty-five |
| C．one is never too old or too young to invent |
| D．people hate the limitations that define our behavior |
What caused Becky to invent Glo-sheet?
| A．She was trying to do homework when it got dark. |
| B．She was having trouble with math problems. |
| C．She was trying to earn some money. |
| D．She was working on a school project. |
What is the meaning of the underlined words “phosphorescent paint” in paragraph 5?
| A．paint that acts as a glue |
| B．paint that covers a mark |
| C．paint that becomes hard |
| D．paint that glows in the dark |
What does it mean that Beck “didn’t actively market her Glo-sheet” according to paragraph 8?
| A．She kept the original one for her own use. |
| B．Other people came to her for the Glo-sheet. |
| C．Becky’s father tried to sell the Glo-sheet. |
| D．She gave away patent to the government. |
With which statement would Becky most likely agree?
| A．Experience is needed to be a good inventor. |
| B．Only by inventing things can you know what people need. |
| C．Always try to sell patent rights to large companies. |
| D．You never know what you can do unless you try. |
I was fifteen months old, a happy, carefree kid until the day I fell．It was a bad fall．I landed on a glass rabbit which cut my eye badly enough to blind it．Trying to save the eye, the doctors stitched the eyeball together where it was cut, leaving a big ugly scar in the middle of my eye．And as I grew, this sightless eye in so many ways controlled me．
Yet Mama would say to me, at every turn, "Hold your head up high and face the world．" It became a litany that I relied on．She had started when I was young．She would hold me in her arms and stroke my hair and say, "If you hold your head up high, it will be okay, and people will see your beautiful soul．" She continued this message whenever I wanted to hide．
Those words have meant different things to me over the years．As a little child, I thought Mama meant; "Be careful or you will fall down or bump into something because you are not looking．" As an a dolescent, even though I tended to look down to hide my shame, I found that sometimes when I held my head up high and let people know me, they lilted me．My mama’s words helped me begin to realize that by letting people look at my face, I let them recognize the intelligence and beauty behind both eyes even if they couldn’t see it on the surface．
In high school I was successful both academically and socially．I was even elected class president, but on the inside I still felt like a freak．Ail I really wanted was to look like everyone else．When things got really bad, I would cry to my mama and she would look at me with loving eyes and say, "Hold your head up high and face the world．Let them see the beauty that is inside．"
When I met the man who became my partner for life, we looked each other straight in the eye, and he told me I was beautiful inside and out．He meant it．My mama’s love and encouragement were the spark that gave me the confidence to overcome my own doubt．I had faced adversity, encountered my problems head on, and learned not only to appreciate myself but to have deep compassion for others．
"Hold your head up high," has been heard many times in my home．Each of my children has felt its invitation．The gift my mama gave me lives on in another generation．How did the writer have her eyes hurt?
| A．She was attacked by a glass rabbit． | B．Her eyes were hurt by accident． |
| C．The doctor made a mistake． | D．A serious illness blinded her． |
When she heard her mother told her to hold her head up high for the first time, she_____．
| A．didn’t fully understand these words |
| B．was greatly encouraged and moved |
| C．was puzzled by these words |
| D．was surprised by these words |
Why did the writer still feel unhappy when she was successful both academically and socially?
| A．Because she was not satisfied with what she has． |
| B．Because she thought she could have done better． |
| C．Because she wanted to live a normal life． |
| D．Because she really wanted to be different． |
What is the point of the story?
| A．A mother’s love for a daughter is a treasure． |
| B．One should not be controlled by others． |
| C．The real beauty is inside out． |
| D．Where there is a will．there is a way． |
Holding a cell phone against your ear or stalling it in your pocket may be hazardous to your health．
This paraphrases a warning that cell phone; manufacturers include in the small print that is often tossed aside when a new phone is purchased．Apple, for example, doesn’t want iP hones to come closer to you than 1．5 centimeters; Research In Motion, Blackberry’s manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters．
If health issues arise from cell phone use, the implications are huge．Voice calls - Americans chat on cell phones 2．26 trillion minutes annually - generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers．
Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cell phone radiation, "Disconnect." The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled.
Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis examines. Over all, there has not been an increase in its incidence since cell phones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population.
"Most cancers have multiple causes," she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer.
Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid. No studies have yet been completed on cell phone radiation and children, she says.
Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation had damaged DNA in their brains.
Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone’s speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen.We can infer from the passage that________．
| A．Cell phone may do harm to our health if we hold it against our ear or store in our pocket |
| B．Devra Davis thinks that there are many factors contributing to cancer． |
| C．The increase in brain cancer in the young adults may have something to do with cell phone |
| D．Children are more likely to be affected by radiation |
According to the passage, how could children avoid being hurt by cell phone radiation?
| A．They can keep cell phones away from the abdomen． |
| B．They can send short massage instead of making phone calls directly． |
| C．They can pay more attention to the small print on the phone． |
| D．They should use more advanced cell phones． |
From this passage we can learn that．________．
| A．American cell phone manufacturers did not give any warning to their customers |
| B．American cell phone manufacturers benefit greatly from their products |
| C．Scientists have found the connection between brain cancer and ceil phone |
| D．Cell phone should be banned because of the increase in brain cancer |
In which column can we most probably read this passage?
| A．Advanced technology． | B．Entertainment． |
| C．Science and life． | D．Celebrity． |
Nine out of 10 people have run up unsecured debt and many fear they will never be able to pay back what they owe, a survey has claimed.
Around 89% of people aged between l|8 and 35 said they owed money on a credit card, loan or overdraft, the research showed．
A third of people admitted they did not think- they would ever be debt-free, 54% of whom said they would always need to borrow money in order to fund the lifestyle they wanted．
One in five of these people also claimed they were not worried about the possibility of their debts being passed on to their next of kin if they died before they were repaid．
Just over half who owed money said they did not feel in control of their debt, with 8% admitting they had needed to ask for help with repayments from a friend or family member．Eight out of 10 people also told the research for discount website MyVoucherCodes．co．uk that they thought it was too easy to borrow money through their bank or on credit cards．
Farhad Farhadi, MyVoucherCodes．co．uk’s personal finance expert, said: "The majority of British adults owe money m some way, shape or form, but to see that almost a third think they’ll never be free c ^ from debt is quite alarming．
"When borrowing money from any source, how you are going to repay it should always be in the back of your mind．
"A lot of people don’t-really think about ’die consequences of borrowing money and it can be easy to get complacent, but keeping it all under control should be a priority from the off．Only borrow what you really think you can afford to pay back．"The best title for this passage is_________．
| A．I’ll die in debt, say one in three | B．Desperate British |
| C．The beginning of the end | D．Borrowing money from any source |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Most British adults are in debt in some v/ay． |
| B．It is hard for the British to borrow money through their bank． |
| C．Lots of people do not take repaying money seriously． |
| D．This passage is a warning for the British． |
What does the underlined phrase mean?
| A．end with | B．from the start |
| C．ever since | D．fore ever |
What does Farhad mean by saying "the majority of British adults owe money in some way, shape or form"?
| A．It is natural to owe money m Britain so there in no need to worry． |
| B．It is natural to owe money in Britain as long as you are in control． |
| C．It does not matter to owe money in Britain if you are rich enough． |
| D．It seems that the British enjoy owing money in some way． |
Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts hardly lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20---25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK. “Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender (性别)difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink.
They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease.
The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart, said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to _________.
| A．health | B．long life | C．ageing | D．effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
| A．men’s heart cells | B．women’s ageing process |
| C．the gender difference | D．hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that _________.
| A．women have more cells than men when they are born |
| B．women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat |
| C．the female heart loses few of the cells with age |
| D．women never lose their pumping power with age |
We can know from the passage that _______.
| A．the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out |
| B．scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells |
| C．the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss |
| D．women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20 |
While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to compete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold – his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.From the passage we can learn that the young man .
| A．made his turn to start back pitifully | B．was skillful in freestyle in the game |
| C．swam faster than the average swimmer | D．was not capable enough to win the medal |
The crowd changed their attitudes because .
| A．they felt sorry for the young man | B．they were moved by the young man’s courage |
| C．they wanted to show their sympathy | D．they meant to please the young man |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Compete for Gold! | B．Try again! | C．Break a Record! | D．Go for it! |