People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work. What is genius according to Thomas Edison?
| A．Hard thinking. | B．Hard work. |
| C．Useful ideas. | D．Useful inventions. |
How did Edison always deal with the secrets of nature after exploring them?
| A．To write down what he had learned. |
| B．To carry out a new experiment. |
| C．To make them useful in life. |
| D．To share them with others. |
What does the last sentence in the passage mean?
| A．Edison was born to be a great inventor. |
| B．Edison was able to live another 100 years. |
| C．Edison was ready to make his 100th invention. |
| D．Life was too short for Edison to work for human beings. |
In ancient times, there was a painter. He was good at painting flowers and birds. But he never stopped practicing until he became very famous.
An emperor(皇帝）of China also loved paintings,especially roosters(公鸡）. So he asked the famous painter to paint a rooster for him. He wanted the rooster to be the best among all his collections.
The painter promised to do so. The emperor waited and waited for one year.,but he didn’t get the picture. He couldn’t waited to see the painter. He became angry and wanted to kill him. So the painter hurried into the palace with paper,paint and a brush. In five minutes, a perfect rooster was on the paper.
After seeing this,the emperor became much angrier. “Since you can paint a rooster in five minutes, why did you keep me waiting for over a year?”he asked.
“Your Majesty(陛下），”said the artist. “I will let you know why.But you’ll have to come with me. “ he invited the emperor to his house. There, there were piles and piles of paper. On every piece of paper was a painting of a rooster.
“Your Majesty(陛下），”said the painter. “It took me more than one year to improve my painting skill in order to paint a perfect rooster for you. According to the writer, the emperor_____.
| A．loved beautiful paintings | B．did very well in painting |
| C．was good at painting roosters | D．Was very kind to the painter. |
The painter spent ______practicing painting roosters for the emperor.
| A．only a few months | B．only five minutes |
| C．more than a year | D．five minutes every day |
The emperor wanted to kill the painter because______.
| A．the painter refused to draw rooster |
| B．the painter couldn’t draw rooster well |
| C．he couldn’t find the painter anywhere |
| D．he couldn’t wait to see his painting |
In fact, during the whole year the painter______
| A．escaped from the emperor to live quietly |
| B．worked hard at practice drawing roosters |
| C．was invited to other places to draw roosters |
| D．drew piles and piles of paper to make a living |
From the passage we can learn that_______.
| A．it’s hard for painter to success | B．it’s easy to paint in a short time. |
| C．hard work causes perfect result | D．emperor was hard to deal with |
China’s Manned Space Program
| Spaceship: Shenzhou V |
Time: October 15th, 2003 Main events: Chinese spaceman Yang Liwei was sent up into space. He went around the earth 14 times in his one-day flight. China became the third country to succeed in manned space flight. |
| Spaceship: Shenzhou Ⅵ |
Time: October 12th, 2005 Main events: Chinese spacemen Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng were both sent up into space. On October 17th, the two Chinese space heroes safely returned to the earth. |
| Spaceship: Shenzhou Ⅶ |
Time: September 25th, 2008 Main events: Chinese spacemen Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng were sent up into space. Zhai Zhigang made our country's first spacewalk. This spacewalk took 20 minutes. |
| Spaceship: Shenzhou Ⅹ |
Time: June 11th, 2013 Main events: Chinese spacemen Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and the second spacewoman Wang Yaping were sent up into space and connected with the space station Tiangong I. Wang Yaping gave a space lesson about micro-gravity (微重力) to all Chinese teenagers. This space lesson lasted 40 minutes. |
According to the article, the Chinese spaceman traveling in space twice is ____________.
| A．Yang Liwei | B．Fei Junlong | C．Nie Haisheng | D．Zhai Zhigang |
Shenzhou V went around the earth in space _____________.
| A．Once | B．4 times | C．5 times | D．14 times |
Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng stayed in space for _____________.
| A．1 day | B．4 days | C．5 days | D．14 days |
Zhai Zhigang made our country’s first spacewalk in _____________.
| A．2013 | B．2008 | C．2005 | D．2003 |
The space lesson about micro-gravity to all Chinese teenagers lasted _____________.
| A．one day | B．three days | C．15 minutes | D．40 minutes |
阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。
It was early evening on September 14th. Glen James, a homeless man was passing by a store inBoston when he happened upon a black bag. To see whose the bag is, Glen opened it only to find that it was filled with money - $2,400 in cash and almost $40,000 in traveler’s checks, as well as, a passport and other papers.
While other people in similar situations would have been tempted (引诱), Glen who has been homeless since 2005, did not even think twice. He showed the bag to a police officer, and the police officer gave it back to a Chinese tourist who had reported it lost. What Glen did was reported by newspapers, all over the country.
While most people that read itfelt surprised at the man’s honesty, 27-year-old Ethan Whittington thought Glen should get money for what he did. So he decided to set up a money collection website. He set a goal of $50,000, which he believed was reasonable because it was more than what Glen had discovered in the bag. The marketing manager fromVirginia thought he would be lucky to raise a few hundred dollars. Instead, within just a day, the website had gone over the $50,000 goal, encouraging Ethan to set a higher goal of $250,000 so that he could help Glen buy a house and start a new life.
As of now, $113,000 has been raised. Ethan who has talked to Glen over the phone, plans to visit Boston soon and also help him manage the money wisely. Needless to say, the homeless man is surprised at whathe is receiving for doing the right thing – Honesty, certainly pays off!Did Glen find money in the black bag?
Who gave the bag back to the Chinese tourist?
What did Ethan decide to do after he read the news of Glen?
How much money has been raised by now?
What can we learn from Glen and Ethan?
Imagine having an idea, drawing it on paper, bringing it to a store and seeing it turned into an object. This is now possible with the help of 3D printers. Such machines were once used just by universities and big companies, but now, stores with 3D printing services are appearing around the United States.
Bryan Jaycox and his wife opened The Build Shop LLC in Los Angeles two years ago. The Jaycoxs offer 3D printing classes and services for anyone who is interested.
“I think 3D printing is going to be huge. It’s going to have a huge influence on society as a whole.” says KiChong Tran, one of the students in a recent class. He plans to open a 3D printing business in Cambodia (柬埔寨).
3D printing services are coming into American people’s life. The UPS Store is a nationwide retailer (零售商) that provides copying and other services. The UPS Store recently put 3D printers in three of its independently-owned stores. Burke Jones owns one of the stores in San Diego.
“The demand has been amazing. There has been a lot of interest from people. It’s been much more than I would have imagined.”
The UPS Store plans to add 3D printers in three more stores.
For $11, someone used a 3D printer to produce two small plastic parts as part of a knuckle (指节) for a hand. He works for the company which is testing finger prosthetics (假肢). He says the same–day or next-day printing services will speed up testing of parts and get them to patients faster.
Staples, an American store, is selling 3D printers on its website for as low as about $1,300. As with any technology - experts expect the printing speed to increase and the price to go down.
Bryan Jaycox requires $15 an hour to print an object. He also sets the price depending on the size of the object and up to $50 an hour for design and labor services.
Mr Jaycox thinks that within five years, 3D printing technology could become more user friendly. But KiChong Tran says even today’s technology can make a difference in a developing country like Cambodia.
“With 3D printing you can give them tools, so they are responsible more for their own development and they learn skills beyond just like learning English and becoming a tour guide or something like that. You can actually create things that give value to the world.”
He says it’s not just Cambodia but anywhere where there is a 3D printer, it can turn a good idea into reality.What can 3D printers do according to the passage?
| A．Come up with an idea. |
| B．Draw on a piece of paper. |
| C．Help users to spend less money. |
| D．Turn an idea into a physical object. |
What does the underlined part mean in this passage?
| A．Make users’ life better. |
| B．Make friends with users. |
| C．Make 3D printers easier to use. |
| D．Use 3D printers to make money. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．3D printing is becoming popular in the world. |
| B．There is no 3D printing business in Cambodia. |
| C．The UPS Store is the biggest 3D printing company. |
| D．3D printing plays the most important role in daily life. |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．The future of 3D printing in the world. |
| B．The 3D printing business in Cambodia. |
| C．The development and growth of 3D printing business. |
| D．The 3D printing classes and services in different places. |
| Paperboy By Vince Vawter  |
What’s the basic story line? Little Man works as a paperboy for the summer, but has no idea that it will change his attitudes towards life forever. His unexpected adventure leads him to new friends, problems, and worries. The job even puts his life in danger. What would you say about this book? It tells an interesting story, providing a deep understanding of the life of someone in a special situation. — By Zach Lewis |
| House of Secrets By Ned Vizzini  |
What’s the basic story line? A man writes a novel calledThe Book of Doom and Desire.The book is magical and has powers that could be harmful if misused. The writer puts a spell (符咒) on the book so nobody can use it. Some people want to find the book. Their search is very dangerous. What happens during their adventure? Read the book and find out. What would you say about this book? It includes funny stories, bravery and love. It is a great book from start to finish. — By Abhinav Piplani |
| Better to Wish By Ann Martin  |
What’s the basic story line? Abby Nichols is 8 years old and living with her parents in a small town in Maine during the Great Depression. She can’t imagine whatherfutureholds for her.ButAbby’s world is changing fast. There will be good-byes to say and hard choices to make. The story follows the ups and downs of Abby’s life. What would you say about this book? It is a book about how a girl deals with her problems. The writershowsreadersthewayafamilygrows. The story is about hope and life. — By Alaa Osman |
| My Brother Is A Big, Fat Liar By James Patterson  |
What’s the basic story line? Georgia Khatchadorian is entering Hills Village Middle School and thinks everything is going well. But things are different at HVMS. Her brother, Rafe, was kicked out because he broke all the rules. The teachers think that Georgia is just like her brother, so they give her bad grades. To make matters worse, some boys often pick on her. Will Georgia be able to change her reputation? What would you say about this book? It is very humorous, and readers will never want to put it down! — By Rylan J. Daniels |
What do Paperboy and House of Secrets have in common?
| A．They both tell honest people’s stories. |
| B．They both include some adventure stories. |
| C．They both present a deep understanding of life. |
| D．They both give advice on how to solve problems. |
According to My Brother Is A Big, Fat Liar, why is Georgia given bad grades?
| A．She puts her brother’s life in danger. |
| B．She breaks all the rules like her brother. |
| C．Her teachers believe that she will behave badly. |
| D．She doesn’t study well and picks on her classmates. |
Where can we probably read this text?
| A．A personal diary. | B．A website book review. |
| C．A science report. | D．A chemistry textbook. |