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.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 |
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 |
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 |
Tears came into this mother’s eyes when she talked about waking up her son. Every morning, her ten-year-old boy puts up one finger with his eyes still closed, begging for one more minute to sleep.
Why is he so sleepy? Because, like thousands of student “early birds” in China, he has to get up before 6 a.m. every morning.
School students usually need eight to ten hours’ sleep a night. But in Shanghai, it’s reported that 90% of the students do not get enough sleep. And studies show that without a good night’s sleep, students seem to be weaker than they should be. Many become near-sighted as a result.
Li Ming, a student at Qinghua High School, said that he usually goes to bed after 11 p.m. But when he has exams coming up, he can stay up as late as midnight. This “night bird” lifestyle has made many students nod off in class. Li Ming said that it is during afternoon classes that he feel most sleepy. “My parents are usually happy to see me studying so late,” he said. “They think I work very hard and they make me cups of coffee.”
However, not all parents are happy about this. “My daughter gets up so early. She looks tired and it really hurts me.” said one of the parents. Why don’t so many students get enough sleep? Now many members of society began to think about it.Why did the ten-year-old boy’s mother talk about waking up her son with tears in her eyes?
| A．Because her son’s lack of sleep hurt her but she had to wake him up. |
| B．Because her son wasn’t good at lessons. |
| C．Because she thought her son was too lazy. |
| D．Because her son was badly ill. |
Which is NOT the result of lack of sleep?
| A．The body’s weakness. | B．Nodding off in class. |
| C．Near-sighted eyes. | D．Poor academic developments. |
How does Li Ming’s mother feel to see him studying late?
| A．Sorry. | B．Worried. | C．Not unhappy. | D．Angry. |
Which one is True according to the passage?
| A．All the parents hope their children stay up. |
| B．No students complain about their lack of sleep. |
| C．Most students watch TV or play computer games deep into night. |
| D．Some parents are worried about the fact that most of the students don’t have enough sleep. |
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green － a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.The passage is mainly about _____________.
| A．color and its surprising effects. |
| B．women being luckier than men |
| C．danger caused by color blindness |
| D．color blindness |
According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can_______________.
| A．tell different shapes | B．see in a weak light |
| C．kill mosquitoes | D．tell orange from yellow |
Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
| A．Women are more careful. |
| B．There are fewer color-blind women |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men. |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking. |
Which of the statements about the color- blind is true?
| A．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color. |
| B．None of them can see deep red. |
| C．None of them can tell the difference between blue and green. |
| D．All of them see everything in shades of green. |
We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a _____________.
| A．red light | B．yellow light | C．blue light | D．green light |
“If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!”
That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better.
Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too. You can even feel sounds against your skin. Have you ever wanted to know why some people like very loud music? They must like to feel the sounds of music.
All children soon learn what “Don't touch!”means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it. The bottoms of our feet can feel things, too. You know this when you walk on warm sand, cool grass or a hard floor. All feel different under your feet.
There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them!
Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. Their signs say, “Do touch!” There you can feel everything on show.
If you want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see!By touching things, .
| A．you will have a strange feeling |
| B．you will learn how to reach out your hand |
| C．you can learn more about them |
| D．you can tell what colors they really are |
Which of the following can be the best title of the story?
| A．Touching by Feeling | B．To See or to Feel |
| C．To See Better—Feel | D．Ways of Feeling |
Which of the following parts can tell you the difference between two coins in your pocket?
| A．Your fingers. | B．Your eyes. | C．Your skin. | D．Your back. |
What can't your skin feel according to the passage?
| A．Sounds. | B．Darkness. | C．Water. | D．Coins. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Touching is helping us to see better. |
| B．Our skips may help us enjoy music. |
| C．People don't have to learn to feel. |
| D．Visitors can't feel the things on show in any museums. |
Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time; if corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, children learn to do all the other things without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle…They compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake. If it is a matter in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time in such routine(日常的) work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what he does not know.According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by_____.
| A．listening to skilled people’s advice. |
| B．asking older people many questions |
| C．making mistakes and having them corrected |
| D．doing what other people do |
Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?.
| A．Give children correct answers |
| B．Allow children to mark mistakes. |
| C．Point out children’s mistakes to them. |
| D．Let children mark their own work |
According to the writer, teachers in school should _____
| A．allow children to learn from each other |
| B．point out children’s mistakes whenever found |
| C．correct children’s mistakes as soon as possible |
| D．give children more book knowledge |
The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are____
| A．different from learning other skills |
| B．the same as learning skills |
| C．more important than other skills |
| D．not really important skills |
The title of this passage could probably be_____
| A．Let Us Teachers Stop Work |
| B．Let Us Make Children Learn |
| C．Let Children Correct Their Exercises |
| D．Let Children Learn by Themselves |
There have been big changes in the attitudes of most parents over the last few years. Physical punishment is banned in schools in most countries ,and in many countries, there are moves to ban all physical punishment of children even at home. However, many parents still believe that they have the right to use some physical punishments to deal with certain misbehavior at certain ages.
It ‘seasy to find reasons to allow some physical punishments. One issue is that many parents find it very difficult to abandon physical punishment completely. Parents argue that this was the way they were brought up and that it didn’t do any harm to them. They believe that for the child’s sake they have the right to discipline the child in any way they consider fit ，including using some physical punishments. The other one is that physical punishment can be quick and effective. There is not much point reasoning with a screaming child in the supermarket.
However, there are several reasons why we should stop using physical punishment. One point is that most parents are not trained to deal with misbehaving children. They don’t have enough resources or choices to handle the situation. As a result, they immediately react by hitting the child even if there are other solutions to the problem. Another point is that unless people are challenged or forced to change their belief, they may keep following negative habits. An example is seat belt use ——now most people wear seat belts without thinking, while years ago the idea of using seat belts was strange to most people. In the same way, banning physical punishment will force people to change their habits.
In conclusion, parents have to change some of their belief and ideas about how children should be raised. It is possible to avoid the use of physical force,and doing so will help us move closer to the dream of removing violence from our society.According to the first paragraph, many parents think that _____
| A． they are free to use physical punishment on their children |
| B． most of the children behave badly in their daily life |
| C． they have changed their attitudes towards their children |
| D． physical punishment is effective to educate their children |
Many parents won’t give up physical punishment because _____.
| A． they are disappointed with their children |
| B． they were brought up just in the same way |
| C． they don’t want to hurt their children badly |
| D． they don’t know what to do with their children |
The author gives the example of using seat belts in order to show _____.
| A． most people are used to wearing seat belts |
| B． it’s not difficult to change some negative habits |
| C． seat belts are really very necessary and useful |
| D． people won’t change their old habits unless forced |
The main purpose of the author in writing this passage is to _____.
| A． talk about a ban on using physical punishment |
| B． tell us we should educate our children in other ways |
| C． advise parents to give up using physical punishment |
| D． suggest physical punishment should be used at home |