Is it difficult for you to get up in the morning? Hiroyuki’s bed will solve your problem! Here is how it works.
The bed is connected to an alarm clock(闹钟). First, the alarm clock rings. You have a few minutes to wake up. Next, a tape recorder in the bed plays soft music. The tape recorder in Hiroyuki’s bed plays a recording of his girlfriend. She whispered in a soft voice, “Wake up, darling, please.” After minutes later, Hiroyuki hears a recording of his boss. His boss shouts, “Wake up at once, or you’ll be late!”
If you don’t get up after the second recording, a mechanical(机械的) “foot” in the bed will kick you in the head. The bed waits a few more minutes. What! You’re still in bed! Slowly the top of the bed rises higher and higher. The foot of the bed goes lower and lower. Finally you slide(滑落) off the bed and onto the floor. You are out of bed awake!
Hiroyuki’s bed is not in stores. There is only one bed — the bed Hiroyuki made for a contest(比赛). Maybe someday a company will make Hiroyuki’s bed and sell it in stores. Maybe people will buy millions of beds. Then Hiroyuki will be rich. If the bed makes Hiroyuki rich, he won’t need to work, and he won’t need to get up early! The bed is useful to the people ________.
A. who can’t sleep well
B. who can’t get up early
C. who go to bed late The bed is not connected to ________.
A. an alarm clock B. a tape recorder C. a TVWhat will finally happen to Hiroyuki if he doesn’t get up?
A. He will slide onto the floor.
B. A tape recorder will play a recording of his boss.
C. A mechanical “foot” will kick him in the head. Which is TRUE of the following sentences?
A. Hiroyuki’s company has made many such beds.
B. Hiroyuki’s bed is the only one made for a contest.
C. Hiroyuki has made a lot of money.The word “whisper” in the second paragraph means “________”.
A. speak loudly
B. speak angrily
C. speak quietly
What colour is your name? What colour is Wednesday? These questions might sound strange to most people, but some can answer right away. One person says her name is the colour red. For another person, Wednesday is blue. These people have a condition called synesthesia. This means they experience two senses at the same time. For these people, the senses of smell, sound, sight, touch, and taste are not separate (分开的).They might see and also hear colours, for example, or hear as well as feel sounds.
The most common form of synesthesia is to hear sounds as colours, A person with synesthesia might hear the number three as blue or the letter D as red. Someone might always see green upon hearing the word April. Another person might see different colours while listening to music. Some people also taste colours. To one person, beef might taste blue and to another, yellow. Some people experience feelings in colour. For example, one person with synesthesia reports feeling pain as the colour orange.
Another form of synesthesia is to experience sounds or tastes as shapes. Some people see music as squares and circles. Some people taste a sweet as a smooth ball. There are other forms of synesthesia, as well. For one man, different words have different tastes. Some words taste like pork;others taste like potatoes or eggs.
Synesthesia is not a common condition. Perhaps only one person in every 5,000 has it. For these people, the everyday world can be a colourful and interesting place.What is this passage mainly about?
A.An unusual condition. | B.People who like colour. |
C.The colour of pain. | D.Music and art. |
How many people probably have synesthesia?
A.Only 5,000 in the world. | B.One out of every 500. |
C.About 5 million. | D.One out of every 5,000. |
Which is the most common form of synesthesia?
A.Experiencing tastes as shapes. |
B.Experiencing sounds as colours, |
C.Experiencing words as tastes. |
D.Experiencing music as shapes, |
Which of the following is NOT an example of synesthesia?
A.Feeling pain in red. |
B.Tasting beef as green. |
C.Feeling warm in April. |
D.Seeing music as squares. |
It was the first day of class. Two of her new ESL (English as a Second Language) classmates wanted to know where Tara was from. They were both from Korea. Because Tara looked Korean, one of the women asked Tara, in English, if she was from Korea. Tara replied, "No, I'm not." Then the women took turns asking Tara if she was from Japan, or Thailand, or China. To each question, Tara answered them a simple no. Laughing, one woman said to the other, "She's not from anywhere!" The two went to their desks, talking to each other in Korean.
The next day, the teacher divided the students into groups of four. The students in each group asked introductory(介绍的)questions of each other. A student in Tara's group asked her, "Where are you from?" Tara answered that she was from Korea. The two women who had questioned Tara the day before were sitting only a few feet away. Both of them heard Tara's answer.
"Aha!" they both exclaimed, "You ARE from Korea!" Tara smiled and said yes. Then she apologized(道歉)to both of them for lying the day before. She told them that she had not wanted to get into a Korean conversation with them. It had been her experience that many ESL students continued to speak their mother language in ESL class, and Tara had not come to ESL class to practice her Korean. In her opinion, ESL students should try to speak English only.
"I agree." said Rose.
"You're 100 percent right." agreed Jenny, "Rose and I must stop speaking Korean to each other. Right,Rose?" Rose nodded,and then said something in Korean. All three women laughed.
The next half a year, Tara became friendly with both women, although she never spoke a word of Korean to them during class or break.The underlined word "exclaimed" in Paragraph 3 means " ".
A.cried in fear |
B.shouted in surprise |
C.screamed with joy |
D.announced with excitement |
According to the passage, we can infer(推断)that .
A.Tara said she was from Korea because she knew the student in her group was also from Korea |
B.Tara said she was from Korea because she wanted to make friends with the student in her group |
C.Tara said she wasn't from Korea because she didn't like Rose and Jenny and wasn't willing to speak Korean with them |
D.Tara said she wasn't from Korea because she didn't want Rose and Jenny to speak Korean with her the following days |
What can be the best title of this passage?
A.Let's Speak English | B.An ESL Class |
C.Don't Tell Lies | D.Three Korean Women |
People think of ice cream as an American food. Yet, ice cream really came from Asia. In the late 1200s Marco Polo, the great explorer, is said to have seen rich Asians eating dishes of ice. Camels had brought the ice from distant mountains. Before it was served, the ice had been flavored (调味)with fruits.
Marco Polo brought this new dish to Italy, In France cooks changed the ice recipe (配方)and made ice cream.
At first, cooks tried to keep the recipe a secret. They wanted it to be a special dish for rich people. By the late 1700s, though, ice cream was sold throughout Europe and America.
Some great Americans loved ice cream. George Washington was the first to buy a special machine for making it. When Thomas Jefferson returned from France, he brought an ice cream recipe home with him. Dolly Madison, wife of President James Madison, also liked ice cream, and she often served it at the White House. Actually, a famous brand (品牌)of ice cream was even named after her.
In the late 1800s, the ice cream industry began to grow. A way of keeping ice cream frozen had been found, so ice cream makers did not have to worry about ice cream melting(融化)anymore.When did ice cream become well-known in many countries?
A.In the 1200s. | B.In the 1500s, |
C.In the 1600s. | D.In the 1900s. |
Who do you think was the most important person in the history of ice cream?
A.Marco Polo. | B.Dolly Madison, |
C.Thomas Jefferson. | D.George Washington. |
Why can ice cream be sold everywhere today?
A.Because people can afford to buy it. |
B.Because there are many recipes for it, |
C.Because it is easy to keep it frozen. |
D.Because many people like ice cream. |
The 2014 FIFA World Cup, the twentieth World Cup football match, was held in Brazil from June 12th, 2014 to July 13th, 2014. Thirty-two teams from different countries brought us sixty-four wonderful games during the World Cup. This is the second time the World Cup is held in this country and the fifth in South America. Thousands of football fans watched the games. |
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A Bite of China(舌尖上的中国), a mouth-watering documentary TV program featuring delicious Chinese food, has interested a large number of people. The program has become very popular since it was shown on TV. The documentary provides not only Chinese delicious food but also the relationships between people and food. “We made this documentary with our respect and love for food. I hope it will help people learn more about Chinese food as well as Chinese culture.” said the director Mr. Chen. |
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Lu Jialei, a school girl from Hangzhou, China, won the championship of the first Chinese Character Dictation Contest, which made her become famous overnight. Lu is a hard-working girl and always comes top at school. “I like reading and I’m crazy about learning Chinese characters. I enjoy the contest and hope more and more people become interested in learning Chinese characters.” said Lu Jialei after winning the contest. |
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How long did the 2014 FIFA World Cup last?
A.About a week. | B.About two weeks. |
C.About a month. | D.About two months. |
Which is NOT true according to the articles?
A.Lu Jialei always gets good grades at school. |
B.The World Cup has been held in South America twice. |
C.Many people like watching the TV program A Bite of China. |
D.Lu Jialei hopes more people can take much interest in Chinese characters. |
Where may the articles probably come from?
A.A story book. | B.A science report. |
C.A sports magazine. | D.The Internet. |
The landmark(划时代的) success of Tu Youyou, the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel prize in science, has aroused great national pride(骄傲) and hopes on the future of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Tu, born in 1930, shared the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology(生理学) or Medicine with Irish-born William Campbell and Japan’s Satoshi Omura for her discoveries against malaria(疟疾).
She discovered Artemisinin (青篙素), a drug that has greatly reduced the death number for patients suffering from malaria. “Artemisinin is a gift for the world people from the traditional Chinese medicine. It is of great importance for curing malaria and other diseases and for protecting the health of the world people,” Tu said in Beijing. “ The discovery of Artemisinin is a successful example of collective research on traditional Chinese medicine. The prize winning is an honor for China’s science cause(事业) and traditional Chinese medicine.”
“Tu’s winning the Nobel Prize shows China’s great progress in science and technology. It also shows China’s growing strength and rising international standing,” Premier Li Keqiang said in a letter Monday evening.Why is Tu Youyou’s winning considered the landmark success?
A.Because she is the first Chinese woman to win the Nobel prize. |
B.Because she arouses great national pride and hopes. |
C.Because she improves the future of traditional Chinese medicine. |
D.Because she shares the Nobel prize with Japan’s Satoshi Omura. |
People use Artemisinin to ______.
A.control death number of patients in hospital |
B.reach out to the different parts of world |
C.cure patients suffering from the malaria |
D.make people work on Chinese medicine |
Where may you read this passage?
A.From an advertisement. | B.In a story- book. |
C.In a magazine. | D.In a newspaper. |
How old was Tu Youyou when she won the Nobel Prize?
A.81. | B.85. | C.45. | D.25. |
What is the best title of the passage?
A.Cheers, hopes as Chinese pharmacologist(药物学家)wins Nobel prize. |
B.William Campbell, Satoshi Ōmura and Youyou Tu win Nobel prize |
C.The discovery of Artemisinin is a very successful example of research. |
D.The breaking news makes at least tens of thousands of people excited. |