PLACESTOGOSoll(Austria)ChiangM-优题课

Have you ever heard of "a ball of energy"？People often use it to describe very active children．But today we tell about an invention called the soccket，that is a real soccer ball of energy．Julia Silverman explains that in fact the soccket is a portable generator（便携式发电机）．

Julia Silverman and Jessica Matthews developed the soccket as part of a group project for an engineering class at Harvard University．

There are mechanisms（装置） in a soccket．When you kick，hit or throw it，energy is then kept in it by these mechanisms instead of disappearing into the environment．

Then the user can put something directly into the ball，like a lamp，or a mobile phone charger so that they can get energy from it．

For every fifteen minutes of the game play，the soccket can provide enough electricity（电） for an LED lamp for three hours，and the ball can store（储藏） up to 24 hours' electricity．

The International Energy Association reported last year that nearly one and a half billion people in the world had no electricity to use，and most of them live in sub Saharan Africa and in India and other countries in Asia．

Julia Silverman and Jessica Matthews both had experiences in developing countries before they began the project．They knew that power shortages are a serious problem in really areas．

There's an energy crisis in the world．One out of every five people in the world don't have any electricity．And besides that，there are a lot of health problems because what people use instead of the electricity are harmful choices like kerosene（煤油） lamps，which produce a lot of smoke．

Julia Silverman says the soccket ball is one small solution（解决方法） to a big problem．

Jessica Matthews and Julia Silverman hope their soccket ball will shine more light on the problem of power shortages．It offers people a chance to put their energy into the world's most popular sport and get some energy in return．

41．From the passage，we know the soccket is　　．

A．an active child　　

B．an invention

C．a lamp　

D．a mobile phone

42．If you play the soccket for half an hour，it can provide an LED lamp with electricity for　　．

A．fifteen minutes　

B．half an hour

C．six hours　　

D．three hours

43．The underlined word "crisis" in the passage means　　．

A．a time of safety　　

B．a time of difficulty

C．a time of success　　

D．a time of pride

44．We can infer（推断） from the passage that　　．

A．Julia Silverman has never been to developing countries before

B．Active children like to play soccket

C．kicking a soccket can let the energy disappear into the environment

D．people are expected to get some energy by playing soccket

45．The best title for the passage should be"　　"．

A．The only way to produce electricity

B．The best way to solve energy crisis

C．A soccer ball that gives energy

D．An invention changing the world．

Need good and long lasting friends

I am very interested in meeting good friends from France，the UK and other European countries．

I am a loving，caring，understanding and outgoing guy and I hope to get to know people，cultures and languages in other countries．I check mails often and I am good at English and French．So I will welcome all emails．

nibangwa@yahoo．com

Thanks for stopping by．

Tracy

Looking for a Japanese pen friend

for my language classes

I am a Japanese teacher in Australia，looking for a pen friend for my classes in Japan．I have 2 classes of 26 students，so 52 in total，who I would like to find a pen friend for．

Please contact me if you can help．

Love123@sina．com

Thanks．

Simon

Looking for a kind friend from the USA

Hi all，

My name is Li Fang．I am a lady aged 22，loving，caring，sporty and musical．

I am planning to go for my studies in the United States so I need someone who can show me the way and how to do things and be a friend when I am there．

I am Chinese and hope to hear from you．

Thank you so much．

jelbit@yahoo．com

Searching for secondary school pen friends

Hello，we are from Spain，near Barcelona city．

Our students are 12～16 years old and they would like to build friendships with a school with similar age characteristics．

They need to practice English．They speak Spanish and Catalan as mother languages．

We are expecting to hear from you．

Branka

Foreign Languages Department

Tel：13912371550

36．According to the information above，we know　　 can speak French．

A．Tracy　　

B．Li Fang　　

C．Branka　

D．Simon

37．　　 are looking for pen friends for their students．

A．Tracy and Simon　

B．Simon and Branka

C．Tracy and Branka　　

D．Li Fang and Simon

38．If you are an American and you need a Chinese pen friend，you can contact　　．

A．nibangwa@yahoo．com　　

B．Love123@sina．com

C．jelbit@yahoo．com　　

D．13912371550

39．We know from the passage that　　．

A．Tracy is planning to go for studies in the USA

B．Li Fang is going to Australia to be a teacher

C．Branka wants to find some adult pen friends

D．Simon has two classes with 52 students in total

40．You may see the information above　　．

A．in a film　　

B．on a website

C．in a play　　

D．on a map．

One Thursday afternoon，when I was in Grade 9，a new boy came into my classroom．He was short and thin．He walked up to the teacher and told her，very seriously，that he was new．His name was Christian．He sat down，took a look at me，and then looked away．I didn't think he was very nice and I was sure he wasn't the type I would like to become friends with．

During that year，I didn't talk to him much，but he smiled at me when our eyes met，always shyly．He never ate lunch with anybody，and he never talked to anybody but me．

But one day I joined those unkind kids who were making fun of him．We made fun of him though I thought it was wrong．

"Haven't you got any friends？"a kid asked Christian，who had walked past us alone，head down．

"No，he hasn't got any friends．He's too stupid and shy，"I said．Then Christian looked up at me with the saddest dog eyes I had over seen．I felt very sorry at that moment．

That night，I couldn't sleep because I couldn't get Christian's face out of my mind．In the weeks that followed，he never met my eyes in class and never smiled at me．It was really hard for me to decide to write him a note asking him to forgive（原谅） me．But I thought I should．

The next day in class，I wrote him a note telling him how sorry I felt．About five minutes later，I turned and saw tears in his eyes．"You will never realize what your apology（道歉） has meant to me，Jimmly．"he said to me．"I hope we can become friends．"

We had lunch together that noon and we had the best talk I had ever had．Over the years at high school，we were close friends．

When I think back，I realize that，if I had not apologized，I would never have known what a lovely person Christian was．

Apologies can really change your life，so never miss the chance to tell somebody you are sorry．

31．From the passage，we know Christian was a　　 boy．

A．tall and fat　　

B．short and shy

C．short and active　

D．lovely and fat

32．Jimmly didn't talk to Christian much at first because　　．

A．he didn't think Christian was the type he wanted to become friends with

B．Christian wasn't nice to people around him after he came to the new class

C．Christian made friends with others

D．Christian had the saddest dog eyes

33．Jimmly felt　　 after he made fun of Christian with other unkind kids．

A．happy　　

B．interested　　

C．sorry　　

D．bored

34．Jimmly asked Christian to forgive him by　　．

A．sending an email　　

B．wearing a smile

C．eating supper together　

D．writing a note

35．This article tells us that　　．

A．we should make an apology when we hurt others

B．Jimmly's apology was unimportant to Christian

C．Christian wasn't lovely in fact

D．it is impossible to say sorry to others．

Many expressions that we use in American English come from novels．Today we will look at some of them from Lewis Carroll's famous novel"Alice in Wonderlan"in detail．

The story is about a young girl falling down a rabbit hole．When she finally lands，she finds herself in a strange world and meets some strange characters．

The first character Alice meets is the White Rabbit，who runs past her and says some strange words．Alice chases（追赶）him，and that is where her adventures begin．

In English，chasing a white rabbit means chasing an impossible clue and finding yourself in a misleading situation．

Then，as she runs after the rabbit，she falls down the rabbit hole into Wonderland．

To fall down the rabbit hole can mean to enter a confusing（令人困惑的）situation．However，usually we use this expression to mean we get interested in something to the point of distraction（分神）．It often happens by accident and is about something not that meaningful．

Later in the story，Alice meets the March Hare and the Hatter at a crazy tea party．Hares（野兔）have long been thought to behave excitedly in March，which is their mating（交配）season．Scientifically，this may not be true．But to be mad as a March Hare means that someone is completely mad，or crazy．The expression mad as a Hatter also means to be completely crazy．Of the two，mad as a Hatter is more common．But don't tell the March Hare．Who knows how he will react（反应）！

Near the end of the story，Alice meets the Queen of Hearts．A woman who is called a Queen of Hearts likes controlling others and always tries to control everything and everyone around her．

32．Which of the following situations best fits the expressions to fall down a rabbit hole？　　

A．When Tom was taking a walk in the forest，he suddenly fell over onto the ground．

B．When Mary turned on the TV，she chose to watch the talk show programmed as usual．

C．When Jim was looking for a sport book online，he lost himself in many report on superstars．

D．When Lily was thinking about how to solve a math problem，she came up with a good idea．

33．According to the passage，the expression to be mad as a March Hare　　．

A．describes how hares behave in March

B．shows hares'characteristics in a scientific way

C．is used more often than the expression mad as a Hatter．

D．has the same meaning as the expression mad as a Hatter

34．Which character in"Alice in Wonderland"wants others to obey his or her orders in every situation？　　

A．Alice

B．The March Hare

C．The Hatter

D．The Queen of Hearts．

35．The writer mainly wants to　　 in the passage．

A．introduce a famous novel and its language style

B．introduce a famous writer Lewis Carroll and his novels

C．explore some English expressions from a famous novel

D．explain why many expressions in English come from novels．

While it is common for restaurant owners to connect with their customers，a restaurant owner in the U．S．is taking it to a whole new level．Tim Harries gives out free hugs（拥抱）to every customer at the end of each meal．

The atmosphere （气氛）at his restaurant"Tim's Place"is so positive（积极的）that customers often call it the"World's friendliest restaurant"．

．"Tim's Hug"is in fact an item on the menu described as a"love"treat．Tim's hugs are doubly special because of everything he has achieved．The 26一year﹣old is probably the only Down syndrome sufferer（唐氏综合症患者）in the U．S．to own a restaurant，but he has several other things to be proud of﹣﹣he's a skillful special Olympian，an excellent sailor，and all experienced fisherman．He was also chosen as Homecoming King and Student of the Year in high school!So when a man like Tim hugs you，it is sure to be a special and unforgettable experience

When Tim expressed interest in opening a restaurant，Keith，a small businessman himself，supported him．Tim hired other people to manage the place and do the cooking，and he introduced the idea of free hugs．He realized that people want to feel at home at a restaurant．That is why he included"love"as all ite on the menu．Customers can order the free hug from Tim，and even if they don't，he'll probably hug them anyway．

The restaurant has been around sinc 2010，and Tim has given out over 19，000hugs in the past five years﹣﹣he keeps count using a special Hug Counter．Many customers love visiting"Tim's Place"．"I've been coming here once a week．"said Michelle Garth﹣Jones，a regular customer．"I love local restaurants，and this specil one has a story that stays with you．"

29．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？　　

A．Customers prefer to feel relaxed at a restaurant．

B．Unless you order Tim's Hug，he will not hug you．

C．As soon as you enter Tim's Place，you will get a warm hug．

D．Michelle Garth﹣Jones loves listening to the story in the restaurant．

30．Which of the following words can best describe Time Harris？　　

A．Humorous

B．Creative

C．Serious

D．Curious

31．What may be the best title for this passage？　　

A．Tim's Achievements

B．A Special Experience

C．A Down Syndrome Sufferer

D．The World's Friendliest Restaurant．

PLACES TO GO	Soll (Austria)	Chiang Mai ( Thailand)	Hawaii ( America)
ATTRACTIONS	Forests and the mountains;	Floating (漂浮的) Market on the river;	Long, sandy beaches; Mountains and forests;
ACTIVITIES	Camping; Taking a mini train in the forest;	Watching shows; Enjoying fruit and vegetables;	Taking a walk on beaches; Swimming in the sea; Playing beach volleyball;
TIPS	20℃ to 25℃ in the daytime; Cheap hotels.	Thai Baht(泰铢) only; Around 40 ℃； Fine living condition.	Expensive hotels; A little cooler at night.