Isabella Stewart was born in New York City in 1840. Her father made a great deal of money in trade. During school,her parents took her to Italy to explore the country's many cultural treasures.
One of the private art collections Isabella visited in Milan had a deep influence on her. She wrote to her friends about her dream of owning a house one day with an art collection like the one she had seen in Italy.
In Paris, Isabella became a close friend of one of her classmates, Julia Gardner, whose family was from Boston. Julia would later introduce Isabella to her brother, Jack. In 1860, Isabella Stewart married Jack Gardner.
The couple had too much art to fit inside their home. So they decided to start planning a museum. Mrs. Gardner didn't like the cold and empty spaces of many museums during her time. She wanted a warm museum filled with light. She once said that she decided years ago that the greatest need in her country was art. America was a young country developing quickly in other areas. But the country needed more chances for people to see beautiful examples of art.
After her husband's death in 1898, Isabella knew she had no time to lose in building her museum. She bought land, hired a building designer, and supervised (监督)every detail of her museum's construction.
Mrs. Gardner opened her museum on January 1,1903. The museum was then called Fenway Court. She invited her friends that night for a special musical performance. The next month, she opened the museum to the public. At first, visits were limited to twenty days out of the year. Visitors paid one dollar to enter.
Isabella Stewart Gardner died in 1924 in Boston. In her will, she left the museum a million dollars and a series of requirements about how it should be managed. One requirement is that the permanent collection cannot be changed. The text is mainly about __________.
A.how Isabella Gardner realized her dream of being an artist |
B.how Mr. and Mrs. Gardner added to their collection of art |
C.how Isabella's museum was opened |
D.Isabella Stewart Gardner and her museum |
By saying“the greatest need in her country was art” in Paragraph 4 Mrs. Gardner meant that __________.
A.America was still a young developing country |
B.there were no museums in America at that time |
C.art fell far behind other fields of the American society |
D.Americans had no chance to enjoy beautiful art |
In order to achieve her dream of owning an art museum, Mrs. Gardner __________.
A.raised money from her friends and relatives |
B.sold out all her land and houses |
C.held special musical performances for money |
D.watched over the process of building the museum |
Which statement is NOT true according to the text?
A.Isabella and Jack were classmates when studying in Paris. |
B.The museums at that time were not comfortable. |
C.Isabella opened the museum about five years after Jack's death. |
D.Great as the museum was,visitors had to wait and pay to enter. |
From the passage, we can learn that the museum __________.
A.helps earn much money for its collections of art |
B.is called Fenway Court by the visitors |
C.was opened to the public on January 1st, 1903 |
D.is still affected by Isabella Gardner in management now |
Alaskan black bears hibernate for up to seven months a year, during which time they do not eat or drink, before waking up in virtually the same physical state they fell asleep in.
Now experts hope to develop methods of putting humans into a similar state which could help astronauts survive long missions and lead to new ways of treating severely ill patients.
While many studies have examined hibernation in mice and hedgehogs, little research has been done into the same condition in larger mammals such as bears.
But new research conducted at the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska monitored the animals' body temperature, heart rate and muscle movements while they slept.
The research results showed that during a five-month hibernation the bears’ body temeratures varied between 30℃ and 36℃ in cycles that lasted between two and seven days—a pattern that was previously unknown in hibernating animals.
The research project leader said, "If our research could help by showing how to reduce metabolic(新陈代谢的) rates and oxygen demands in human tissues, one could possibly save severely ill patients. We simply need to know how to turn things on and off to take advantage of the different levels of hibernation."
Craig Heller, of Stanford University, who contributed to the study, added: "There has always been a thought that, if there is ever long-distance space travel, it would be good to be able to put people into a state of lower metabolism or a state of hibernation. That's almost science fiction but you can see the logical basis."We know from the text that .
A.during winter Alaskan black bears sleep for more than half a yea![]() |
B.researchers have examined hibernation in humans |
C.experts have got no results from their research |
D.Craig Heller is a leader from the Institute of Arctic Biology |
The best topic of the text should be .
.
A.The Latest Research Results |
B.New Methods of Putting Humans into Hibernation |
C.Alaskan Black Bears Hibernate |
D.Astronauts Could Hibernate Like Bears |
According to the text, we can infer that.
A.many studies have examined hibernation in mice and bears as well |
B.humans' body temperatures vary between 30℃ and 36℃ while they sleep |
C.research into hibernation in animals may help deadly patients stay longer |
D.scientists have already take advantage of the different levels of hibernation in space missions |
What kind of life do you seek for? One that is frustrating and full of complaints every day? Or one that is filled with thankfulness, gratefulness and a positive mind?
The moment we open our eyes each day, we should be grateful that we are still alive.We are given a brand-new day.We are given another day to love.We are given another day of hope.We are given another chance to do whatever we have failed to accomplish.Those who have chosen to leave this place do not have any second chance.
We should be grateful every day.By being grateful, we will treasure the things around us.We will learn to appreciate life in a better way.Treat others better and f
ind ourselves in a better mood every day.When we are thankful and grateful for the things we have, the universe tends to give us more.
By being thankful and grateful for our personal health, we will focus our attention on it and we would want to have a better well-being for our health.We will want to eat healthier food to nourish our body.After all, the body is the temple of our soul.We have to treat it well so that it can carry us a longer journey in life.
When we face problems in life, be thankful and grateful too.They are designed specifically for us so that we will be stronger and wiser.We are like a strong oak tree, facing the harsh weathers time to time.After each storm, we will grow stronger and strengthen our foundations for the next harsh weather.
The year 2010 has come to an end.Have you achieved what you aimed for in the past year? Be grateful for those you have achieved and especially for those you have not—both successes and failures.Failures and mistakes will give you valuable lessons.So, pick yourself up and try again this year.Good luck! According to the text, how many kinds of life are mentioned?
A.One. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Four. |
What does the word "harsh" underlined in the text refer to?
A.severe | B.pleasant | C.fine![]() |
D.mild |
According to the text, the life filled with thankfulness should be the following except that we.
A.learn to enjoy our life in a better way |
B.face problems in life and choose to leave |
C.focus our attention on our health |
D.treat others better and find ourselves in a better mood |
The sentence "We are like a strong oak tree…" in the fifth paragraph, we can see that the author used the writing technique of ____.
A.telling a fairy story | B.stating facts |
C.discussing matters | D.imitating things |
What would be the best title for the text?
A.Kinds of Life | B.Be Positive |
C.Be Grateful Every Day | D.Pick Yourself Up |
Four common bad habits combined—smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet—can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests.
The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Overall, 300 people studied had all four unhealthy behaviors. Among them, 90 died during the study, or 30 percent. Among the 400 healthiest people with none of the four habits, 8 percent of them died.
The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.
These habits combined substantially increased the risk of death and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo.
The healthiest group included never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers, women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men who had fewer than three; those who got at least two hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.
"You don't need to be extreme" to be in the healthy category, Kvaavik said. "These behaviors add up, so together it's quite good. It should be possible for most people to manage to do it."
The US government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level, and about 2 hours of exercise weekly.
What problem may you have, if you smoke often and eat few fruits and vegetables?
A.You would have difficulty in walking. | B.You would feel tired, lack of energy. |
C.You may look older than you really are. | D.You may face the risk of death of cancer. |
How many of the 400 healthiest people with none of the four habits died?
A.32. | B.24. | C.56. | D.120. |
What does this text mainly talk about?
A.Suggestions to smokers. | B.The results of four bad life habits. |
C.The findings of a new research. | D.The recommends from the US government. |
A middle-aged stranger visited us late on a dark rainy night when my father was working the night shift (a job for a period during the night). The stranger asked if he could wait under the eaves of our roof for the rain to stop. Then he disappeared, and we started hearing footsteps and creaking boards in the attic(the space or room at the top of a building, under the roof, often used for storing things). Was the stranger inside our house? My whole body couldn’t help but stiffen. In my mind’s eye, I could imagine the stranger pushing through the attic door and approaching us.
We immediately called Jerry, our neighbor, for help. He searched everywhere, but the visitor was nowhere to be found. As Jerry looked in the garage, he found the stranger lying underneath the car. Jerry exclaimed with fright, “You are not allowed to enter the house. Get off the property right now.”
We were determined to leave the house immediately. As we drove away, we saw the man blocking our way on the road and staring at us. We had to swerve to miss him. After that, I never saw the stranger again.The text is mainly about.
A.the neighbor Jerry | B.a strange dream |
C.a strange visitor | D.footsteps in the attic |
Based on the text, which of the following statements is true?
A.The family h it the stranger with their car. |
B.The stranger pushed through the family’s door. |
C.Jerry was hurrying back from the night shift. |
D.The author’s father wasn’t at home that night. |
Why did the family leave their house on a late, dark night?
A.It was raining hard and the eaves of their roof were broken. |
B.There was a ghost wandering around the house. |
C.They did not feel safe in their house. |
D.The stranger was still somewhere inside the house. |
The text was written in order of.
A.time | B.space | C.importance | D.age of the family |
Edmund Halley was an English scientist who lived over 200 years ago. He studied the observations of comets(彗星)which other scientists had made. The orbit(轨道) of one particular comet was a very difficult mathematical problem. He could not figure it out. Neither could other scientists who dealt with such problems.
However, Halley had a friend named Isaac Newton, who was a brilliant mathematician. Newton thought he had already worked out that problem, but he could not find the papers on which he had done it. He told Halley that the orbit of a comet had the shape of an ellipse(椭圆形).
Now Halley set to work. He figured out(解决,计算出)the orbits of some of the comets that had been observed by scientists. He made a surprising discovery. The comets that had appeared in the years 1531, 1607, and 1682 all had the same orbit. Yet their appearance had been 75 to 76 years apart.
This seemed very strange to Halley. Three different comets followed the same orbit. The more Halley thought about it, the more he thought that there had not been three different comets as people thought. He decided that they had simply seen the same comet three times. The comet had gone away and had come back again.
It was an astonishing idea! Halley felt certain to make a prediction(预言)of what would happen in the future. He decided that this would appear in the year 1758. There were 53 years to go before Halley’s prediction could be tested. In 1758 the comet appeared in the sky. Halley did not see it, for he had died some years before. Ever since then that comet had been called Halley’s comet, in his honor.Edmund Halley figured out the orbit of ____.
A.some different comets appearing several times |
B.the same comet appearing at different times |
C.three different comets appearing at the same time |
D.several comets appearing at the same time |
Halley made his discovery ____.
A.by doing experiments |
B.by means of his own careful observation |
C.by using the working of other scientists |
D.by chance |
Halley made a surprising, but correct prediction in the year____.
A.1704 | B.1705 | C.1706 | D.1707 |
This passage in general is about ____.
A.Halley and other scientists |
B.the orbit of a comet |
C.Newton and Halley |
D.Halley and his discovery |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Edmund Halley was an American ![]() |
B.Halley made his discovery by doing experiments. |
C.Isaac Newton was a famous mathematician. |
D.The orbit of a comet had the shape of an around. |