From Art to Zoo, the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex, has something to interest kids and students of all ages.
Plan ahead online with The Official Kids Guide to the Smithsonian Institution – an interactive guidebook just for kids.
The Last American Dinosaurs: Discovering a Lost World
November 25, 2014 – 2018
Museum: Natural History Museum
Location: 2nd Floor, West
Explore how we learn about past ecosystems and organisms through the study of their fossils and find what goes into making a large-scale fossil exhibition. Watch fossils being prepared in a working fossil preparation lab.
As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games
August 22, 2012 – Indefinitely
Museum: American Indian Museum
Location: 1st Floor, near Imaginations Activity Center
All children play. Native American children play like any others, but their toys and games are more than playthings. They are ways of learning about the lives of grown men and women and ways of learning the traditions of their families and their people. The toys, games, and clothing come from all over North, Central, and South America, representing many tribes and many time periods.
The First Ladies
November 19, 2011 – Indefinitely
Museum: American History Museum
Location: 3rd Floor, Rose Gallery
On view are more than two dozen gowns, including those worn by Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Four cases provide in-depth looks at Mary Todd Lincoln, Edith Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson and their contributions to their husband's presidential administrations.
Apollo to the Moon
July 1, 1976 – Permanent
Museum: Air and Space Museum
Location: 2nd Floor, East Wing
This gallery traces NASA's manned space program beginning with Project
Mercury's Freedom 7 (1961); then the Gemini Project (1965 – 66); followed by the Apollo Program
(1967 – 1972), with Apollo 17 as the last manned exploration of the moon.The purpose of the text is to ______.
A.promote some scientific projects |
B.highlight some children activities |
C.release some entertainment videos |
D.introduce some museum exhibitions |
If you are interested in American history and politics, you can go to ______.
A.the 1st Floor | B.the East Wing |
C.the Rose Gallery | D.the Natural History Museum |
Which of the following has been on for the longest time?
A.The First Ladies. |
B.Apollo to the Moon. |
C.As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games. |
D.The Last American Dinosaurs: Discovering a Lost World. |
If you visit all the four locations, you can _______.
A.see gowns once worn by Edith Roosevelt |
B.help prepare a dinosaur fossil exhibition |
C.learn about Apollo 17's space exploration |
D.play with children's toys from Central America |
C
Researchers are now using three-dimensional, or 3D printing to create models of the human heart to help heart specialists. The heart doctors can use the models to better help patients before an operation.
Surgeons regularly use digital images to explore the heart in close detail. But no two human hearts are alike. This led Matthew Bramlet to create exact heart models from those images. Dr. Bramlet is a pediatric or children's heart expert at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He says the 3-D models show information he cannot get any other way.
A 3-D printer uses images from a digital display to create a physical model of a human heart. Matthew Bramlet says doctors can use the model, in his words, "to understand the anatomy(解剖) for the first time."
Pictures from medical tests like CAT scan or MRI are sent to a 3-D printer to create a heart in a plaster or clay form. The printer then constructs the heart, thin layer by thin layer. Dr. Bramlet says the model matches the real heart in every detail.
Dr. Bramlet has built model hearts for different kinds of heart operations. All of the operations were successful. In his first case, digital images showed only one tiny hole in a baby's heart. But, the 3-D printed model showed several defects or problems that the baby was born with. Dr. Bramlet says those defects could not be seen easily in the images. The heart surgeon was able to change the type of surgery for the patient based on the 3-D model. He added that 3-D heart models saves time during heart operations.
Matthew Bramlet continues to research the technology. He is working with the National Institutes of Health to build a 3-D library that includes heart models and images that others can use.Researchers use three-dimensional, or 3D printing to__________.
A.create models of the human heart |
B.help heart specialists |
C.make the painting more concrete |
D.research human heart |
The reason why Matthew Bramlet created exact heart models is that________.
A.no two human hearts are alike |
B.surgeons regularly use digital images to explore the heart |
C.he created exact heart models from digital images |
D.3D painting is popular |
What does the underlined word mean__________?
A.failure to win or to realize a goal |
B.a change or changed state |
C.the protection of something |
D.a fault in someone or something |
How does a 3D model form__________?
A.a 3-D printer uses images from a digital display |
B.doctors can use the model to understand the anatomy |
C.pictures are sent to a 3-D printer, the printer then constructs the heart, thin layer by thin layer |
D.the model matches the real heart in every detail |
What's the main idea of the passage_________?
A.the use of 3D painting in medical care |
B.what is 3D painting |
C.how 3D painting works |
D.the research of 3D painting technology |
B
Many areas of cropland in Bangladesh(孟加拉国) are becoming unfit for farming. The land is becoming salty. It is a big problem for the small country. More than 155 million people live in Bangladesh. Growing crops is the most common way Bangladeshis support themselves.
Farmers in the country are learning to grow vegetables in so-called "vertical gardens." The soil in these gardens is better because heavy rains have removed much of the salt.
A vertical garden is easy to make. Villagers fill containers with good soil and natural fertilizers. They put the containers on bricks so they are off the ground. They add pieces of the bricks to the soil to help water flow and drain.
The farmers cut small holes into the sides of the containers. This permits vegetables with short roots a place to grow. Vegetables with long roots grow on top of the container. One bag of soil can produce up to eight kilograms of vegetables in one season.
Villagers also grow vegetables in containers made from large, thin pieces of plastic supported by bamboo. This "vertical tower" measures more than a meter wide. Each of these towers can produce more than 100 kilograms of vegetables. It costs about $12-$13 to build.
The village of Chandipur is in southwestern Bangladesh. Pumpkins and other gourds(葫芦) grow on vines on top of small homes. The vegetables get the food they need from soil placed in containers on the ground.
Shobitha Debna is a 35-year-old farmer in the village. Her garden space is very small. But she is able to grow hundreds of kilograms of vegetables each season.
She says she grows gourds, including pumpkin, as well as green beans, red amaranth, beets, carrots, cauliflower and more.
Ms. Debna depends on the vegetables to earn money. She makes a few dollars a day.
This kind of farming is new in Chandipur. But it may spread across the country.The reason why cropland is becoming unfit for farming is that________.
A.the soil has been polluted |
B.more and more land is used for planting trees |
C.the land is becoming salty |
D.there is too much rain |
Why the soil in vertical gardens is better_______?
A.because there is much less salt in the soil |
B.because there is much salt in the soil |
C.because there is enough water in the soil |
D.because there is many nutrients in the soil |
From paragraph 4, we can learn that_______?
A.vegetables with long roots grow in the sides of the containers |
B.vegetables with short roots grow out of the small holes in the sides of the containers |
C.vegetables with short roots grow on top of the container |
D.vegetables in vertical gardens are not productive |
Ms. Debna grows many kinds of vegetables EXCEPT________.
A.gourds | B.carrots | C.pumpkins | D.cucumbers |
What can we infer from the passage__________?
A.Many areas of cropland in Bangladesh(孟加拉国) are becoming unfit for farming |
B.155 million people in Bangladesh are short of food |
C.This kind of farming may spread across Bangladesh |
D.Ms. Debna earns a lot of money through selling vegetables |
A
A Swiss airplane powered only by energy from the sun left from Abu Dhabi early on March 9. Its creators hope the plane will make the first around-the-world journey without any fuel.
The plane is called Solar Impulse 2. It has one seat and is made from carbon fiber. The plane weighs only as much as a car but its wings are wider than a Boeing 747. The plane's wings stretch 72 meters across.
Those wings include 17,000 solar units, or cells, that capture the sun's energy. The energy allows the plane to fly day and night.
Two Swiss scientists built the plane. Bertrand Piccard is also an explorer who made the first non-stop flight around the world in a balloon. Andrew Borschberg is an engineer and trained fighter pilot.
The scientists say they are not trying to change the airplane industry. Instead, they want to show that new energy sources and technologies can achieve what some say is impossible.
"We want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop of fuel,'' Mr. Piccard said.
Some parts of the trip will require the pilots to be in the tiny plane for five to six days and nights in a row. So it is good that the pilot's seat is also a toilet.
The plane's route begins in the United Arab Emirates. The pilots also plan stops in Oman, India, and China. They will cross the Pacific Ocean, stop in the United States, and continue over southern Europe or North Africa. They plan to arrive back in the United Arab Emirates in late July or early August.
Internet viewers can go to the Solar Impulse website to see the plane's location and listen to broadcasts from the pilots.What does the passage mainly discuss___________?
A.A new airplane-Solar Impulse 2 |
B.A Swiss airplane |
C.The first around-the-world journey |
D.The airplane industry |
What’s the main idea of Paragraph 2___________?
A.the weight of Solar Impulse 2 |
B.the material of Solar Impulse 2 |
C.an introduction of Solar Impulse 2 |
D.the wings of Solar Impulse 2 |
Form the passage, what do we know about Bertrand Piccard__________?
A.He made the first non-stop flight around the world. |
B.He is a trained fighter pilot. |
C.He is from the United Arab Emirates. |
D.He built the plane alone. |
Which one is NOT true_________?
A.New energy sources and technologies can achieve what some say is impossible. |
B.The scientists are trying to change the airplane industry. |
C.The plane's route begins in the United Arab Emirates. |
D.The pilots plan to arrive back in the United Arab Emirates |
In which part of newspaper can you most probably find this passage____________?
A.Health | B.Life | C.Travelling | D.Technology |
D
In June, an isolated tribe known to semi-permanently reside in Peru emerged from the forest on the neighboring Envira River in Brazil to make contact with the outside world. Such contact happens surprisingly often, but it is usually brief. “This is unique in that they’ve chosen to stay,” says Chris Fagan, director of the nongovernmental group Upper Amazon Conservancy.
Reportedly under threat from illegal loggers, a few dozen tribespeople remain near the village where they first emerged. They are under the supervision of FUNAI, Brazil’s agency for Indian affairs. During many past contact events, members of the isolated groups died after encountering modern diseases for the first time. But experts hope the group that emerged in June will fare (进展) better because members have stayed long enough to receive medical care. There’s still concern that other members of the group’s tribe may have remained in the forest, vulnerable to disease and unreachable by medical personnel.
“The worst-case scenario (方案) is that some people get sick and go back to the original tribe,” says University of Missouri anthropologist Robert Walker, who studies Amazonian populations. “That’s the huge worry.”
Walker, who studies satellite imagery (卫星图) of the rainforest for evidence of isolated villages, says four or five such nomadic hunter-gatherer groups live in the Envira River watershed, though he estimates between 50 and 100 isolated indigenous (土生土长的) groups live in Greater Amazonia. These groups often make fleeting (短暂的) contact to steal tools from frontier towns, but most, he says, remain isolated out of fear. “Some of these folks’ ancestors have been massacred,” he says. “They were contacted, violently, in the past.”
Now, with illegal loggers and drug smugglers invading land reserves established to protect the tribespeople’s way of life, these isolated groups are feeling pressured out of their homes. And although activist groups and government anthropologists train locals to temporarily leave the area when isolated tribes arrive as a way to prevent the spread of disease, lack of official protocols (协议), consistent enforcement and regular compensation for villagers often make it an ineffective solution.
These tribespeople “have a right to continue their lifestyle as long as they want to,” Fagan says. “There are land reserves set up to allow them to do that, and those reserves are failing.”Where do the tribespeople who make contact with the outside world live?
A.In the US. | B.In Brazil. |
C.In Peru. | D.In Cuba. |
Mr Walker is __________.
A.director of the nongovernmental group Upper Amazon Conservancy |
B.an official from the Brazilian government |
C.an official from FUNAI, Brazil’s agency for Indian affairs |
D.an anthropologist from America |
What does the underlined word “massacred” mean?
A.killed in a large number. |
B.given enough medical treatment. |
C.helped with tender care. |
D.treated in a friendly way. |
From what Fagan says in the last paragraph, we can know _______.
A.It is unique that the tribespeople should ask to stay |
B.The government did a lot to set up land reserves but ended up in vain. |
C.These tribespeople don’t have a right to continue their lifestyle as long as they want to. |
D.The worst-case scenario is that some people get sick and go back to the original tribe. |
C
A Swiss airplane powered only by energy from the sun left from Abu Dhabi early on March 9. Its creators hope the plane will make the first around-the-world journey without any fuel.
The plane is called Solar Impulse 2. It has one seat and is made from carbon fiber. The plane weighs only as much as a car but its wings are wider than a Boeing 747. The plane’s wings stretch 72 meters across.
Those wings include 17,000 solar units, or cells, that capture the sun’s energy. The energy allows the plane to fly day and night.
Two Swiss scientists built the plane. Bertrand Piccard is also an explorer who made the first non-stop flight around the world in a balloon. Borschberg is an engineer and trained fighter pilot.
The scientists say they are not trying to change the airplane industry. Instead, they want to show that new energy sources and technologies can achieve what some say is impossible.
“We want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop of fuel,” Mr. Piccard said.
Some parts of the trip will require the pilots to be in the tiny plane for five to six days and nights in a row. So it is good that the pilot’s seat is also a toilet.
The plane’s route begins in the United Arab Emirates. The pilots also plan stops in Oman, India, and China. They will cross the Pacific Ocean, stop in the United States, and continue over southern Europe or North Africa. They plan to arrive back in the United Arab Emirates in late July or early August.Which of the following is the plan stops of the tour made by the solar-powered plane?
A.Abu Dhabi---Oman---China---the United States--- southern Europe ---the United Arab Emirates |
B.the United Arab Emirates--Oman--- India---the United States--- North Africa--- Abu Dhabi |
C.the United Arab Emirates--Oman--- India ---China---southern Europe --- Abu Dhabi |
D.Abu Dhabi--Oman--- India ---China---the United States--- the United Arab Emirates |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.The plane’s wings include 17,000 solar units, or cells, that capture the sun’s energy. |
B.The plane weighs only as much as a car but its wings are narrower than a Boeing 747. |
C.Bertrand Piccard is one of the co-builders of the plane. |
D.The scientists are trying to change the airplane industry. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
A.Solar Powered Plane Starts World Tour |
B.A Plane Powered By Solar Energy |
C.A Plane’s Route Begins in the United Arab Emirates |
D.A Tour Around the World |