Inventions All Around Us
Every invention has a story. These stories often have a lesson to teach, too. Here are the stories of some everyday household inventions.
Canned Food and the Can Opener—Get It Right!
Peter Durand invented canned food in 1810, but there was a problem. Durand didn't have a good way to open the cans. In 1858, Ezra Warner invented a can opener. It used a piece of metal to cut and remove the top from the can, but it was difficult to use. Finally, in 1870, William Lyman added a wheel to the can opener. The metal went around the top of the can and removed it easily. Finally, people were able to open cans without a lot of work. Canned food was soon popular.
Frozen Food—A Little Good Luck Can Help!
Clarence Birdseye had the chance to go on a trip toe Arctic. When people there caught fish, they put the fish in a container (容器) of ice to freeze it quickly. When people cooked the fish later, it was still good! This gave Birdseye an idea. He thought people could also have this kind of food at home. In 1926, Birdseye invented frozen food. People were able to store food in freezers for a long time.
Air Conditioning—One Answer to Two Problems!
Printing companies make books, so they use a lot of paper. Sometimes, changes in the weather can hurt the paper. In 1902, Willis Carrier invented air conditioning to control the temperature inside his printing company. This saved the paper. People soon realized other benefits of air conditioning. They started to air condition their homes in the summer. Carrier's invention changed the world!When was canned food invented?
| A．In 1810. | B．In 1870. |
| C．In 1902. | D．In 1926. |
After the trip to the Arctic, Clarence Birdseye invented ____________.
| A．canned food | B．can openers |
| C．frozen food | D．air conditioning |
Changes in weather _____________ in Willis Carrier's company.
| A．helped to keep food |
| B．hurt printing paper |
| C．caused health problems |
| D．made rooms comfortable |
47. According to the passage, which of the following may lead to inventions?
| A．People's needs. | B．Public support. |
| C．Modern technology. | D．Practical suggestions. |
根据短文内容，回答下面的问题
What is a supermarket? In the dictionary, a supermarket is a large self-service department store. Some supermarkets have two floors. When you enter such a supermarket, an elevator will take you to the second floor. Here you can buy things such as CDs, pens, clothes, TVs and refrigerators. After you have collected the things you want to buy on the second floor, you can go downstairs to the first floor where food and drinks are sold. You can also buy fresh fruit, vegetables and meat on this floor.
People like to go shopping in the supermarket. Here are some of the reasons.
First, the prices are reasonable. The prices are lower than in special shops and you can choose whatever you want, without going place to place.
Second, the service is excellent. You can walk around freely and no one will ask you “What can I do for you?” If you can’t find something, just ask a service person and he or she will tell you where it is at once.
Third, the quality is good. If you get home and find the food has gone bad, you can return it and they will say sorry and change it for you.
Nowadays many people don’t have much time to walk from one shop to another, so people choose to go to the supermarket in order to save time and money.
What’s more, if you don’t want to buy anything, you can just come and look around in the supermarket. It’s a good place to have a walk.
London has a population of over 7,000,000. From about the year 1800 until World War II, London was the biggest city in the world. But now there are many cities which are much bigger than it. London is famous for many things. Tourists come from all over the world to visit its famous buildings and hear the famous clock, Big Ben. Like many big cities, London has problems with traffic and pollution which stop the city from developing. Over one million (百万) people a day use the London underground, but there are still too many cars on the streets. The air isn’t clear, but it is anyhow cleaner than it was 100 years ago. For me, the best things about London are the parks. There are five in the city center. But my children’s favorite place is Hamleys, the biggest toy shop in the world. What’s the Chinese for “underground” in the passage?
| A．隧道 | B．地铁 | C．地下 | D．通道 |
When was London the biggest city in the world?
| A．In 1750. | B．In 1850. |
| C．In 1950. | D．In the 21st century. |
What’s Big Ben in London?
| A．It’s a toy shop. | B．It’s a park. |
| C．It’s a clock. | D．It’s a museum. |
How many people use the London underground every day?
| A．Over half of its population. | B．Over three quarters of its population. |
| C．Over 100,000. | D．Over 1,000,000. |
How was the air in London 100 years ago?
| A．It was much cleaner than it is now. |
| B．It was the same as it is now. |
| C．It was the cleanest in the history of London. |
| D．It was not as clean as it is now. |
阅读理解
Bicycle tour and race
A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27 (Sat. & Sun.). At 5:30 a.m. the riders will leave Tian’anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometers as a training leg. Then the next 55 kilometers leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli.
The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaihe, covering a distance of 20 kilometers. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for playing at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing.
Cost: 200 yuan
Telephone: 4675027
Brazilian footballers
The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo’an Team at the Workers’ Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players. Also coming is 2004 US World Cup star Romario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes.
Ticket prices: 60, 100, 150 yuan
Time / Date: 4:30p.m., August 26 (Sat.)
Telephone: 5012372
Rock climbing
The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26-27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators.
Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou.
Time / Date: 9-12 a.m., August 26 and 27
Telephone: 7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua The main purpose of announcing the above events is to give information about ______.
| A．visiting teams | B．famous players |
| C．things to do for the weekend | D．prices to pay for the sports events |
If you take part in the bicycle tour, you will ride for ______ kilometers in the competition.
| A．35 | B．55 | C．75 | D．110 |
The underlined word “leg” in “Bicycle tour and race” probably means ______.
| A．race | B．part of the training |
| C．practice | D．part of the tour |
What is special about the rock climbing competition?
| A．A foreign team takes part in it. |
| B．You can watch it without paying. |
| C．You don’t have to be a sportsman to take part. |
| D．The bus trip to the place of the competition is free. |
If you want to find something to do for Saturday afternoon, you will call ______.
| A．4675027 | B．7143177 | C．5012372 | D．7144850 |
为下面4位同学找到他们需要的网站（71-74），并写出一个自己经常浏览的网站地址。Betty: I want to get some pictures of Beijing.
Tony: I would like to have some information about basketball.
Daming: I want to learn English.
Lingling: I want to buy a birthday present online.
A. www.NBA.com: The latest news about Rockets basketball players.
B. www.24en.com: You can speak, write, read and listen to English.
C. www.ebay.com: A really big shop online. You can buy anything you need.
D: www.beijingphoto.com: Pictures about some places in Beijing.ch______________________________.
“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. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Touching is helping us to see better. |
| B．Our skin 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. |