A 15-year-old student who invented a flashlight(手电筒) getting power from the holder's body heat is going home today from California with a big prize and a chance to do further research.
Ann Makosinski was the only Canadian among the four winners at Google's international science competition. Thousands of young scientists from around the world took part in the competition.
Winning the science and technology competition was "a surprise". Ann said, "I think it will have a great influence on my future."
Ann thanked her family for encouraging her interest in science and said that her first toy was a box of transistors(晶体管).
Ann's prize includes $ 25,000 and a "once in a-lifetime expericnce" from Google for her Hollow Flashlight, which has no moving parts or batteries.
The idea for the invention came from seeing unwanted batteries and her friend's experience. When Ann visited a friend in the Philippines, she saw the friend couldn't study when it became dark because there was no electricity or light. She saw the need for a flashlight that has no batteries - Hollow Flashlight.
In her project, Ann wrote "I made two flashlights that do not use any batteries or harmful materials. They do not create any noise and will always work. The flashlight needs at least a 5℃ temperature difference between the holder's body and the environment around to produce light."
A video of Ann explaining how she creatcd the flashlight has been watched more than 1.4 million times on the Internet.
Though Ann was successful, she has not made a decision about her career path. Ann hopes that she can find a way to join her love of film and science together.
The four winners were chosen from 15 final competitors from eight countries. The competition attracted thousands of students in 120 countries.
In which part of a newspaper can we probably read this passage?
| A．Travel. | B．Culture. | C．Technology. | D．Advertisement. |
The first paragraph is written to be a(n) ________.
| A．introduction | B．warning | C．argument | D．discussion |
Paragraph 6 mainly tells us ________.
| A．what Ann saw in the Philippines | B．why Ann invented Hollow Flashlight |
| C．how Ann's family encouraged her interest | D．what prize Ann got for Hollow Flashlight |
According to the passage, we learn ________.
| A．easy to win the international science competition |
| B．Hollow Flashlight is safe, noiseless and can save energy |
| C．Ann has made a decision to be a scientist in the future |
| D．few people are interested in how Ann created the flashlight |
At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a holdup,” the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part-close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.
Then while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took hills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.
The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted.
As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were examining the bank’s records, George was called into Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed, too. I retired yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box-all six thousand. ”This passage tells us ________.
| A．a serious case | B．one part of a play |
| C．a humorous story | D．a meaningful story |
In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means “______”.
| A．to make everyone work hard |
| B．to keep everyone standing straight |
| C．to make everyone do a kind of exercise |
| D．to keep everyone paying attention to the coming danger |
Which sentence can be used to end the story?
| A．George turned cold with fear. |
| B．George turned red with anger. |
| C．George was pleased with the end. |
| D．George was disappointed with the end. |
“How many common English words were invented by Shakespeare?”
How long did it take people to find the answer to this question 15 years ago? And now! You can google it and find the answer immediately!
Google is the most popular Internet search engine（搜索引擎）in the world. It was invented by two students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They met in 1993, when they were studying computer science at Stanford University, USA. They dreamed of producing something that could also answer any question in seconds.
Internet search engines at that time were slow and gave many websites that weren’t useful. In January 1996, Page and Brin decided to make a better and faster search engine. They thought the results should be based on the most popular websites.
Nobody would give them money for their project, so they used their own money. They also borrowed money from family and friends. Then, in 1998, they were given a cheque for $100,000, and they started their own company(公司). Their first office was in a friend’s garage(车库).The company name is Google, a word which comes from mathematics. A “google” is a very high number — 1 followed by a hundred zeros.
The Google search engine was soon used by thousands of people worldwide because it was fast, easy and correct. By 2002 it was the biggest search engine on the Internet. Now, more questions have been answered by Google than any other Internet service, from sport to science, and from music to medicine. Google hopes that in the future all the world’s information will be put on the Internet, so that everybody can find everything.Why did the writer begin this passage by asking you a question?
| A．Because he or she liked to begin this passage by asking readers a question. |
| B．Because he or she was afraid that the readers didn’t know this question. |
| C．Because he or she wanted to make the readers interested in this passage. |
| D．Because Shakespeare is one of the most famous people in the world. |
The underlined word “cheque” in the fifth paragraph means _______.
| A．楼房 | B．账单 | C．订单 | D．支票 |
From the passage we know that at the beginning of their project, _______.
| A．there was not any search engine on the Internet |
| B．nobody supported them except their family and friends |
| C．Larry Page and Sergey Brin dreamed to answer any question |
| D．one of the most popular websites gave them a cheque for $100,000 |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Now the Google search engine is widely used in the world. |
| B．The Google search engine was not the biggest one before 2002. |
| C．Larry Page and Sergey Brin named google after a hundred zeros. |
| D．The service of the Google search engine is very popular. |
The passage mainly tells us _______.
| A．the development of the Google search engine |
| B．about Larry Page and Sergey Brin |
| C．how to find information on the Internet |
| D．how to use the Google search engine |
Twenty-three-year-old Michael Phelps has become a phenomenon (神话) in swimming.
At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, he won eight gold medals. That was more than the whole Australian team could put together. He beat (打败) Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven wins in the pool at the one Olympics. Phelps has put his name next to seven world records.
Nine days, 17 games, morning and night he competed and won. He had to beat former (从前的) world record-holders and gold medalists. He had to turn their wins into old news.
Michael Phelps started to swim at the age of 5. Guess which stroke (动作) he first tried? The backstroke. It’s because he didn’t want to put his face in the water.
By the age of 7, he had taken part in a lot of swimming competitions. At 11, he met Bob Bowman who saw the kid’s great talent.
How did Phelps become so good? He was born with the body of a swimmer. He stands 1.87meters high and has a wide wingspan (臂展). He knows how to use his body to full advantage. His hands and feet are like paddles (踏板) in the water and he has a strong kick.
But that’s not all；he also has the heart and will to win. He thinks that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it.
Swimming is Phelps’ life. Every day he spends five hours in the water, swimming about 11 kilometers. He never takes a day off. This is a young man who knows what he wants.
“If I didn’t swim my best, I’d think about it at school, at dinner, and with my friends. It would drive me crazy,” he said.
“There are no limits (限制). The more you dream, the further you get.”Who did best in swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games?
| A．Bob Bowman. | B．Mark Spitz. |
| C．Phelps. | D．The Australian team. |
How many games did Phelps take part in at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games?
| A．8. | B．9. | C．7. | D．17. |
Why did Phelps try backstroke first?
| A．Because he was born with the body of a swimmer. |
| B．Because his hands and feet were like paddles in the water. |
| C．Because he didn’t want to put his face in the water. |
| D．Because he had a wide wingspan. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Phelps is the best swimmer in Australia. |
| B．It was Mark Spitz who saw the kid’s great talent. |
| C．Phelps won 8 gold medals and broke 7 world records. |
| D．At the age of seven, Phelps started to swim. |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．The Australian team got 8 gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. |
| B．If you have a wide wingspan, you must be a good swimmer. |
| C．Phelps was made to spend all his time swimming every day. |
| D．Nothing is impossible if you put your heart into it. |
In American schools there is something called Home-coming Day. Many high schools and colleges with a football team have a home-coming game. This can be the most important event of the year except graduation (毕业) day. Students plan Home-coming Day for many weeks in advance.
Several days before Home-coming ,students start to decorate (装饰)the school. There are signs to wish luck to the team, and many other signs to welcome all the graduates. Many people still come to Home-coming twenty or thirty years after their graduation.
The members of school clubs build booths (摊位) and sell lemonade, apples and sandwiches. Some clubs help to welcome visitors.
During the day people like to look for teachers that they remember from long ago. Often they see old friends and they talk together about those happy years in school.
Everyone soon comes to watch the football game. When the game is half over, the band (乐队)comes onto the field and plays school songs. Another important moment is when the Home-coming Queen or King appears. All the students vote a most popular student Home-coming Queen or King. It is a great honor to be chosen.
Home-coming is a happy day, but it is not perfect unless the football team wins the game. Even if the team loses, the students still enjoy Home-coming. Some stay at the school to dance, and others go to a party. For everyone it is a day worth remembering.The most important event of the year in high schools and colleges is_______.
| A．Home-coming | B．the football game |
| C．graduation | D．winning the game |
When do students begin to do everything for Home-coming?
| A．The day before Home-coming. |
| B．Many weeks before the day. |
| C．When the guests arrive. |
| D．Several hours before Home-coming. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned (提及) on Home-coming Day?
| A．To see old friends. |
| B．To visit teachers they remember. |
| C．To watch the football game. |
| D．To go home to see their family. |
Who can probably become Home-coming Queen or King?
| A．The teacher who is kind to the students. |
| B．The student who is popular with the students. |
| C．The visitor who is famous to the students. |
| D．The player who plays best in the football game. |
What’s the best title of this article?
| A．Home-coming Day | B．A Happy Day |
| C．The Most Important Event | D．Home-coming Queen or King |
Dear Mr Zhu,
I am writing to your magazine’s “Teenagers Now” column(专栏) to ask for some help with my 16-year-old son. At the moment, he refuses to do almost everything his mother and I ask him to do. He is our only child and we treat him very well. His grandparents buy him many things, and yet he is still rude to us. He refuses to spend time with us or do as we tell him. Sometimes he acts as if he doesn’t even love us at all.
Now he refuses to do his homework, and instead insists on wasting his time watching DVDs and listening to foreign music. I cannot understand this music, but I don’t like it. He also spends too much time in Internet cafes, where he either plays games or chats online. He is wasting valuable time during this important period in his life!
What am I to do? At present, to prevent making his mother unhappy with an argument, I am allowing him his freedom. However, I am worried that if I keep allowing him to do what he wants, he may fail at school, or worse.
How can I help my son without harming our relationship?
Yours,
Liu ZhenhuaWhat’s Mr. Zhu’s job?
| A．A teacher. | B．A magazine columnist. |
| C．A youth worker. | D．A doctor. |
From the passage, we can know that Mr. Liu’s son is _______ to his parents.
| A．friendly | B．thankful | C．polite | D．rude |
What does Liu Zhenhua write to Mr. Zhu for?
| A．To blame his son. |
| B．To ask for help with his son. |
| C．To say something about his son. |
| D．To complain to him about his son. |
Mr. Liu’s son always spends his time _______.
| A．doing his homework |
| B．playing games online |
| C．chatting with his parents |
| D．doing everything his parents ask him to do |
What do you think is the possible answer for the father?
| A．The father should let the son alone. |
| B．The father should give his son a beating. |
| C．The father should allow his son his freedom. |
| D．The father should be patient enough to have communication with the son. |