Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and 1200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.
Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. He started experimenting at a young age.
When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time in experimenting his first patent(专利权) in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.How often did Edison make a new invention?
A.About every fourteen days | B.About every seven days |
C.About once a week | D.About twice a week |
The underlined word “fired” in the passage means “__________”
A.Gave somebody a job | B.Set fire to somebody |
C.Let somebody down | D.Forced somebody to leave his job |
Edison considered his deafness as______.
A.something bad | B.a gift from god | C.a kind of ability | D.a disadvantage |
which of the following sentence is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Edison had only 8 hours rest each day after his deafness |
B.Edison got his education mostly by self-teaching |
C.Edison had his first job in 1869 |
D.Edison’s inventions greatly improved the quality of people’s life |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The function of the electric light | B.Edison and his experiments |
C.The importance of inventions | D.The whole life of Edison. |
I'm writing this article in China, far away from my home in the United States. You might wonder what I do to remember my mom on Mother's Day. Well, l certainly call her to say "Happy Mother's Day" and promise that I will visit home soon.
I still remember the first time I forget Mother's Day. When I finally figured it out, I asked, "Why does mom get a special holiday? Why isn't there a Children's Day for us?"
My mom explained, in that way that only moms seem to be able to explain, "Because every day is Children's Day !"
I knew that I had messed up. I thought about all the time love my mom had given me. I thought about the food she had made, the toys she had bought and the long hours she had spent with me. There might not be a perfect mom, but there is mom's love, which can fix anything. After that day,for 364 days,I was looking forward to the next Mother's Day.
That was the first year l forgot Mother's Day. It was also the last year I forgot.
Are you struggling to consider what to do for your mom on Mother's Day?
Common things are to write a message that thanks for the love she has given you, send her a card or buy her a gift. But the most important thing is 一DON'T FORGET!
(1)How does the writer celebrate Mother's Day this year?
A. |
He calls his mom. |
B. |
He send his mom a card. |
C. |
He visits home to see his mom. |
(2)What might the underlined phrase " figure out" means?
A. |
弄清楚 |
B. |
预料到 |
C. |
归纳出 |
(3)Why did the writer begin to expect Mother's Day?
A. |
Because he missed his mom far in the United States. |
B. |
Because he wanted to spend more time with his mom. |
C. |
Because he realized he had got much care from his mom. |
(4)What is the purpose of the passage?
A. |
To explain why there isn't a Children's Day |
B. |
To advise us not to forget o keep our own promises. |
C. |
To remind us to remember the love mom has given us. |
(5)Which is the best title for the passage?
A. |
An Interesting Talk |
B. |
An Important Day |
C. |
An Expensive Gift |
House fires often happened. So it appears necessary to learn something useful to protect family from them. The following poster in the neighbourhood will tell you how to do it.
Fire Safety
Put a smoke alarm in your house and test it every month. Half of all house fire deaths happen between 11 pm and 7 am. The risk of dying in a house fire is cut in half with working smoke alarms.
Make sure your hearing aid, wheelchair or eyeglasses are next to your bed. Fire can spread throuh a house soon. You may have as little as two minutes to escape(逃离) safely. Be ready to act at once.
Create a fire escape plan. 77% of families don't have a house fire escape plan to follow. That's one of the reasons why at least one child dies and 293 children are injured in a house fire every day.
Don't call 119 until you are safely outside. During a fire, the first thing to do is to get out of house as fast as you can.
(1) makes the risk of dying in a house fire smaller.
A. |
A smoke alarm |
B. |
A pair of eyeglasses |
C. |
A wheelchair |
(2)We may have only to escape from a house firm safely.
A. |
half an hour |
B. |
2 minutes |
C. |
293 seconds |
(3)According to the poster, can help save you from a house fire.
A. |
stopping the fire from spreading |
B. |
making and following a plan to escape |
C. |
keeping awake between 11 pm. and 7 am. |
(4)Call 119 for help .
A. |
after you reach safely |
B. |
as soon as you are ready to escape |
C. |
when you find out what causes the house fire |
(5)The poster is put up in the neighborhood to help people learn to .
A. |
plan their live as they wish |
B. |
save time as much as possible |
C. |
protect themselves in a right way |
Everyone faces challenges in their life,but some are more important than others.Daniel Kish had serious problems with his eyes when he was born.And doctors took away both of his eyes before he was fourteen months old.
Soon after,however,he started to do an amazing thing.He started to make clicking(咔嗒)sounds with his tongue(舌头)to help him move around.Much like a bat(蝙蝠),he now moves about using sonar(声呐).He is so good at it that he can ride a bicycle in traffic.He and his group, World Access for the Blind,teach others how to use sonar.In this interview with National Geographic,Kish explains how the process works.
How does sonar work ?
"When I make a clicking sound,it makes sound waves.These waves reflect(反射)off surfaces all around and return to my ears.My brain then processes the sounds into images(图象).It's like having a conversation with the environment."
When you click , what do you see in your mind ?
"Each click is like a camera flash.I make a 3D image of the things around me for hundreds of feet in every direction."
What is it like riding a bike using sonar ?
"It's exciting and enjoyable but requires a lot of focus.I click up to two times per second,much more than I usually do."
Is it dangerous to move around the world in this way ?
"Much of the world lives in fear of things that we mostly imagine.I have a habit of climbing anything and everything,but I never broke a bone(骨头)as a kid."
How challenging is it to teach people to use sonar ?
"Many students are surprised how quickly results come.Seeing isn't in the eyes;it's in the mind."
(1)What's the main idea of Paragraph 2?
A. |
Kish explains how sonar works. |
B. |
Kish teaches people how to use sonar. |
C. |
Kish started to move around using sonar. |
D. |
Kish is good at riding a bicycle in traffic. |
(2)How does sonar work?Choose the right order .
a.The sound waves reflect off surfaces.
b.The person makes a clicking sound.
c.The brain makes images with the sounds.
d.The sound waves reach the person's ears.
A. |
b﹣a﹣c﹣d. |
B. |
b﹣d﹣a﹣c. |
C. |
a﹣b﹣d﹣c. |
D. |
b﹣a﹣d﹣c. |
(3)What can we know about Kish from the passage?
A. |
He always challenges himself bravely. |
B. |
He lives in fear of things that he imagines. |
C. |
He became blind when he was 14 years old. |
D. |
He broke his bone when climbing as a child. |
(4)What would be the best title for the passage?
A. |
How Sonar Works. |
B. |
Riding a Bike Using Sonar. |
C. |
Seeing with the Mind. |
D. |
How the Blind Move Around. |
C
Playing video games and getting money for it seems like a dream job for many of today's teenagers. But is it all fun and games?
Big business
Pro (professional) gaming is certainly big business. In 2017, there were more than 3,000 gaming competitions and over 10,000 professional players worldwide. A large number of people watch their competitions online, and successful gamers can get more than 1,000,000 dollars from prize money and ads. The industry is clearly thriving.
What it takes
Becoming a professional is not just about being good at playing games﹣ it also takes a lot of hard work. Some pro gamers practice for fourteen hours a day. "You need to spend much time and put all your efforts to it", says ex﹣gamer George.
Not all fun and games
It can be a difficult job as well. Stress is a big problem for gamers. Tiredness is another, and injuries(受伤) are common. Top player Hai Lam had wrist(手腕) problems after years of pro gaming. Careers(生涯)are short, and many gamers retire (退休) before they are 30 and try to find another job.
However, the bad points probably won't change the dreams of many teenage gamers. And angry parents are still likely to hear the excuse, "But I'm just practicing for my future job!"
(1)How many professional players were there around the world in 2017?
A. |
130,000. |
B. |
More than 3,000. |
C. |
Over 1,000,000. |
D. |
More than 10,000. |
(2)What does the underlined word "thriving" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. |
Getting worse. |
B. |
Doing well. |
C. |
Developing slowly. |
D. |
Changing quickly. |
(3)What can we infer from the last sentence of the passage?
A. |
Children are angry with their parents. |
B. |
Teenagers practice games for their future jobs. |
C. |
Some teenagers are crazy about playing games. |
D. |
Parents stop their children playing games successfully. |
(4)What's the main idea of the passage?
A. |
Pro gaming isn't all fun and games. |
B. |
The career as a pro gamer doesn't last long. |
C. |
Being a pro gamer is a good choice for teenagers. |
D. |
Being a pro gamer is an easy way to make money. |
I am Turere.I come from Kitengela,a farming community on the edge(边缘)of Nairobi National Park of Kenya(肯尼亚).Since the age of nine,I have helped to look after my family's cows.As a child,in my free time,I enjoyed playing with electronics.I made my own inventions,such as electronic toys from car parts and other things.I also built other electronic devices(仪器)for my neighbors.
At the age of 13,I invented something that changed my life.It also changed the lives of many people in my community.One night,a lion from the park came into my family's farm and killed one of our cows.I was angry.However,killing the lion,I thought,was not the best way to solve the problem.Instead,I decided to invent a solution.
The first idea I got was to use fire,because I thought lions were scared of fire.But I came to realize that that didn't really help,because it was even helping the lions to see through the cowshed(牛棚).So I didn't give up.I continued.
And a second idea I got was to use a scarecrow(稻草人).I was trying to trick the lions [into thinking] that I was standing near the cowshed.But lions are very clever.They will come the first day and they see the scarecrow,and they go back.But the second day,they'll come and they say,this thing is not moving here. itis always here!So he jumps in and kills the animals.
So one night,I was walking around the cowshed with a torch(手电筒),and that day,the lions didn't come.And I discovered that lions were afraid of a moving light.So I had an idea…
(1)What was Turere interested in when he was a child?
A. |
Tricking the neighbors. |
B. |
Looking after cows. |
C. |
Playing with electronics. |
D. |
Making car parts. |
(2)What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. |
The lion. |
B. |
The scarecrow. |
C. |
The cow. |
D. |
The cowshed. |
(3)What's the solution to driving the he lion away?
A. |
Using a moving light. |
B. |
Using a torch. |
C. |
Using a scarecrow. |
D. |
Using fire. |
(4)What can we get from the passage?
A. |
The lion killed all the cows. |
B. |
Turere killed the lion at last. |
C. |
The lion no longer lived in the park. |
D. |
Turere's invention made peace with lions. |