Februaryhaslongbeenamonthofrom-优题课

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Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout. All electric power would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps this suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion. A blackout was impossible.
On the day of Edison's funeral, many people silently dimmed their lights. In this way they honored the man who had done more than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips.
55．This selection says that Thomas Edison ________.
A．was the only important American inventor B．received the first American patent
C．received more patents than any other American D．was the first American inventor
56．People decided to honor Edison when ________.
A．he made the first electric light B．electric power was 100 years
C．the country realized electricity's importance D．he died in 1931
57．The suggested plan was to ________.
A．turn off the lights in factories and schools B．observe a few minutes of total silence
C．dim all electric lights D．shut off all electricity for a short time

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第三部分阅读理解（共10小题，每题2分，满分20分）
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda（大熊猫）eats only one particular type of bamboo（竹子）. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly（蝴蝶）will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet（多样化饮食）. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.
51. We can infer from the text that humans and animals _________.
A. depend on one sense in choosing food B. are not satisfied with their food
C. choose food in similar ways D. eat entirely different food
52. Which of the following eats only one type of food?
A. The white butterfly. B. The small bird.
C. The bear.D. The fox.
53. Certain animals change their choice of food when ___________.
A. the season changes B. the food color changes
C. they move to different places D. they are attracted by different smells
54. We can learn from the last paragraph that __________.
A. food is chosen for a good reason
B. French and British food is good
C. some people have few choices of food
D. some people care little about healthy diet

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Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be. Places of business that used to keep daytime "business hours" are now open late into the night. And on the Intemet, the hour of the day and the day of the week have become irrelevant. Half a century ago in the United States, most people experienced
strong and precise dividing lines between days of rest and days of work, school time and summer time.Today the boundaries still exist but seem less clear.
The law in almost all states used to require stores to close on Sunday; in most, it no longer does. It used to keep schools open in all seasons except summer and in most, it still does. And whether the work week should strengthen its legal limits, or whether it should beco:me more¨flexible"' is often debated.How should we, as a society, organize our time? Should we go even further in relaxing the boundaries of time until we live in a world in xvhich every minute is much like every other?
These are not easy questions to ask. Part of the difficulty is that we rarely recognize the“law of time". even When we meet it face to face. We know as children that we havcto artend school a certainnumber of hours. a certain number of davs, a certain nLunbcr or x'etlrs --- bLll unless x~'e meet the truanrofficer (学监) , we may well think that we should go to school due to social customs and parents' demand, rather than abide by. As adults, we are familiar with ';extra pay for overtime work" , but less familiar with the fact tiat what constitutes (构成) "overtime" is a matter oflegal definition,
When weturn the clock forward to start daylight-saving time, have we ever thought to ourselves: '*Here is the law in action"? As we shall see, the law has a great influence on how we organize and use time: compulsoryeducation law, overtime law, and daylight-saving law as well as laws about Sunday closing,holidays, being late for work, time zones and so on. When we begin to look more closely, we will haveno trouble finding a law of time to examine and assess!
71. Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word irrelevant?
A. different B. unrelated C. connectedD. useless
72. By saying, "Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be" . in Paragraph l, the author means that_______
A. work time is equal to rest time
B. many people have a day off on Monday
C. it is hard for people to decide when to rest
D. the line between work time and rest time is unclear
73. The author raises the questions in Paragraph 2 to introduce the fact that people_______
A. fail to make full use oftheir time
B. enjoy working overtime for extra pay
C. are unaware of the law oftime
D. welcome flexible working hours
74. According to the passage, most children tend to believe that they go to school because they_______
A. need to acquire knowledge
B. have to obey their parents
C. need to find companions
D. have to observe the law
75. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Our life is governed by the law of time.
B. How to organize time is not worth debating.
C. New ways of using time are changing our society
D. Our time schedule is decided by social customs.

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A maths talent who won fame this week for giving up a million-dollar prize is living with his mother in a simple flat in St Petersburg, co-existing on her ~30-a-month pension, because he has been
unemployed for many years.
The Sunday Telegraph tracked down the strange recluse (隐士 ) who shocked the maths world when he solved a century-old puzzle known as the Poincare Conjecture.
Grigory Perelman's trouble comes from a split with a leading Russian mathematical institute, the
Steklov, in 2003. When the Institute in St Petersburg failed to re-elect him as a member, Dr Perelman
was left feeling an "absolutely ungified and untalented person", said a friend. He becEune unconfident and cut himself off.
Other friends say he cannot afford to travel to the International Mathematical Union's congress inMadrid, where many people want him to receive the maths equivalent(等价物) of the Nobel Prize, and that he is too modest to ask anyone to pay for his trip.
Interviewed in St Petersburg, Dr Perelman insisted that he was unworthy of all the attention, and
was uninterested in the prize.“I do not think anything that I say can be ofthe slightest public interest"
he said. "I am not saying that because I value my privacy, or that I am doing anything I want to hide.
There are no top-secret projects going on here. Ijust believe the public has no interest in me."
He continued: "I know that self-promotion happens a lot and if people want to do that, good luck
to them, bjt I do not regard it as a positive thing. I realised this a long time ago and nobody is going to
change my mind. Newspapers sliould be more discerning(有洞察力的) over who they write about.
They should have more taste. As far as I am concerned, I can't offer anything for their readers."
Dr Perelman has some small savings from his time as a lecturer, but is apparently unwilling to increase them with the $1 million offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge,Massachusetts, for solving one ofthe world's seven "Millennium Problems".
66. Grigory Perelman lives with his mother because
A. he has to look after her
B. his mother has a million dollars
C. he has been out of work for a long time
D. he is badly paid at the mathematical institute
67. The phrase "absolutely ungified and untalented person" shows that Dr Perelman felt
A. angry B. discouraged C. proud D. confident
68. Grigory Perelman refused to accept the prize because .
A. he thought the prize was worthless
B. he didn't believe the news
C. he couldn't afford to travel to Madrid
D. he showed no interest in it
69. From the passage, we can infer that Grigory Perelman
A. solved the most difficult maths problem
B. has a strong personality
C. wanted to make himself known to all
D. didn't get on well with the press
70. What's the best title for the passage?
A. Great Mathematician Leads Simple Life
B. Maths Genius Abandons a Million-dollar Prize
C. Mathematics Institute Offers Grigory $1 Million
D. One ofthe World's Seven "Millennium Probtems" Solved

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Some couples spend every waking minute together. Others fill their hours with personal hobbies,outside interests and even part-time jobs, just to keep their distance from each other! "There should beprivate time and couple time," suggests Dr. Stephen Treat at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia."You don't want your latter years to turn into a process where two people unite as one. If you hold tootightly to your partner, it's going to cause resentment and anger. If you're completely separate, you'llboth be lonely and disconnected. You need balance. So you have to talk about how vou'll achieve that."
The right baiance? It's different for every couple. "Having a conversation about time can be difficult,but it's important for both partners to process those feelings out loud," Dr. Treat says. "You should notbe accusing and act as a judge - ask the difficult questions, but do it in a loving way. You could saysomething like, 'How are we going to be as individuals and how are we going to be as a couple?' "
Barbara and Chris Christensen have achieved the balance that works for them. In addition to daily
routines that keep them close - including about 10 minutes for a daily check-in and about a half hourof relaxation time - they each maintain separate interests and friendships.
"We have found that we need time apart," Barbara says. "I have a group of women friends that Ihave known for the last 30 years. We have dinner out once a month. We women also have parties and weekend or weeklong vacations as a group at a beach or somewhere. Chris, a former fighter pilot, has
many aviation-oriented(航空的) groups and friends and also a penny-ante poker-playing (玩扑克)
group of our friends. I may be with him during the poker night, but I don't play, and the wives usually
watch a cchick flick' DVD or something while the poker group has an evening of fun. We have found itimportant to have separate time as well as together time."
61. The author writes the passage to _ .
A. offer some suggestions on how to spend the time afier retirement
B. advise couples to develop their separate hobbies
C. warn couples not to be accusing of each other
D. give people some advice on how to entertain themselves after retirement
62. Dr. Stephen suggests that after retirement.
A. couples stay together all the time
B. couples express their feelings in a loving way
C. couples be separate
D. wives make many friends
63.1t can be inferred that
A, many couples are faced with problems after retirement
B. America has a large population of retired people
C,. most people join various sociai groups after retirement
D. playing poker is a popular activity among retired people
64. Barbara and lier friends do the following except
A. having dinner regularly
B. holding parties
C. having weekly vacations at the beach
D. having fun playing poker
65. The second paragraph is mainlv intended to
A. warn the husband not to act as ajudge
B. suggest couples have discussions about difficulties
C. suggest how to keep the correct balance
D. require couples to be considerate

A．get gifts	B．honor a priest
C．enjoy romance	D．get married

A．Valentine’s Day	B．A Brave Priest
C．Valentine’s Day in China	D．A Romantic Man