What can we learn from the special, very successful people in the world who make the impossible possible?
Lesson 1: Ways of creative thinking are needed
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg both dropped out of college. They prefer to teach themselves because they like to develop their own ways of thinking. They think standard ways of teaching might stop people from being creative and having new ideas.
Lesson 2: The answer might not be what you expect
Find your answers from facts — not start with an expectation of what you will find. Stephen Jacobsen from Northwestern University believed what he was taught: that water on Earth came from icy comets(彗星) or planets which hit into Earth.
However, by studying a special rock, he discovered that it acts like a sponge(海绵). This suggests that Earth's water may have come from inside, driven to the surface to form the oceans, by geological activity.
“I had a pretty hard time making others believe it,” he said. “But thinking about the fact that you may the first person to see something for the first time doesn’t happen very often. When it does, it’s amazing.”
Lesson 3: A little luck goes a long way
Years of planning went into a recent achievement in space travel. The European Space Agency’s “Philae”, a robot landing craft, met up with Comet 67P, which is 480 million kilometers away. The trip from Earth by “Philae” had taken ten years!
The scientists had no idea what the surface of the comet would be like. If the landing failed, it would be impossible to get information from the spacecraft. Twenty years of work would have been wasted.
When “Philae” tried to land, it bounced(弹起) away from the comet’s icy surface twice. Luckily, however, “Philae” landed successfully and began sending information back to Earth.Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t finish college because_________.
| A．they preferred to learn by themselves |
| B．they needed standard ways of teaching |
| C．their teachers didn’t like their new ideas |
| D．their teachers weren’t able to teach them |
In Lesson 2, the writer mainly wants to tell us that _________.
| A．we should get answers from facts |
| B．we can believe what we are taught |
| C．it’s hard to make others believe something |
| D．an expectation can help get an answer in research |
The example “Philae” in Lesson 3 shows that _________.
| A．Comet 67P is not far away from Earth |
| B．it took “Philae” 20 years to reach Comet 67P |
| C．“Philae” landed on Comet 67P with a little luck |
| D．scientists know nothing about the surface of Comet 67P |
The best title for this passage is ______.
| A．Ways of discovering | B．Lessons for success |
| C．Ways of being special | D．Lessons for experiments |
It is said that people born under different star signs have different characteristics. Here are four people born under different star signs.
| Taurus （金牛座） |
Tom, an old man from England, has enough money to buy anything, but he is not willing to spend money on something he needs and wants. He has few friends and an old dog is his only partner. He is really tightfisted and lonely. |
| Gemini （双子座） |
Jack, born on 9th June, is a 16-year-old English boy. “A Gemini is a curious and clever person, and I am just this kind of person,” he said. My lucky colour is orange. I believe that my star sign decides what will happen to me in my life. |
| Cancer （巨蟹座） |
Mary was born on 1st July. She loves her family and cooking is her favourite. The French girl cares about nothing but business. She is hard-working. |
| Virgo （处女座） |
Lucy was born on 23rd August and is modest. The girl from Australia is studying in a college(大学). She likes reading and hopes that she can be a scientist in the future. |
Who is from England and likes orange best?
| A．Tom. | B．Jack. | C．Mary. | D．Lucy. |
What’s Mary’s star sign?
| A．Taurus . | B．Gemini. |
| C．Cancer. | D．Virgo. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “tightfisted” in Chinese?
| A．富裕的 | B．吝啬的 |
| C．奢侈的 | D．豁达的 |
What is colour? Why do some of the things around us look red, some green, others blue?
Colours are really made by reflected (反射) light. We see colour because most of the things reflect light. Something is red, for it reflects most of the red light. In the same way, if something is green, it reflects most of the green light. If something reflects all light, it is white. If it doesn’t reflect any light, it is black.
Some of the light is reflected and some is taken in (吸收) and turned into heat. The darker the colour is, the less light is reflected, the more light is taken in. So dark-coloured clothes are warmer in the sun than light-coloured clothes.When something reflects light, we can _______ .
| A．see its colour | B．see its heat |
| C．not see its colour | D．see nothing |
The dark-coloured clothes are warm because _________ is taken in.
| A．more light | B．less light |
| C．more colour | D．less colour |
In summer ________ make people feel cool.
| A．dark-coloured clothes | B．red-coloured clothes |
| C．green-coloured clothes | D．light-coloured clothes |
A recent survey of 2000 parents in Britain showed that they are often afraid of science questions asked by their curious children only because they have no idea what the answer is. Here is a list of some simple questions that you can ask your parents to see if they know the answers.
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: You probably know white sunlight is made up of seven colors. While it moves in a straight line when going through space, it starts to divide as it hits “raised area” in the atmosphere. The ones with longest wavelengths pass through easily. The blue , however , can be taken in by the gas molecules (分子) because it has a shorter wavelength , which in turn scatters (使分散) it in different directions. That’s why when you look up at the sky, it appears to be blue.
Q: Why does the moon sometimes appear during the daytime?
A: The simple answer to that is because just like any other object it is being lit (照亮) by the sun. As long as it is around 45 degrees or even 90 degrees off the sun, it will receive light and be able to be seen. The only time it is not able to be seen during its 28-day orbit (轨道) around the earth is when it is right between the earth and the sun. That’s because its back , which is not lit by the sun, is facing us.
Q: Where do birds/ honeybees go in winter?
A: While the bird part is quite easy, since a lot of them get together and travel, the honeybee part is likely to puzzle your parents. It turns out that these busy insects stop being that active when the temperature drops below 50°F. Instead ,they get together in the lower central area of the hive（蜂巢）and form a ball around their queen. This helps keep both warm enough to survive the cold winter months.The sky looks blue mainly because the color blue in the sunlight_______.
| A．has the longest wavelength among all the colors |
| B．cannot be taken in by the gas molecules |
| C．doesn’t hit “raised area” in the atmosphere |
| D．cannot pass through space successfully |
How long can’t the moon be seen during the daytime in a month?
| A．2. | B．28. | C．30. | D．31. |
What do honeybees choose to do when the temperature drops below 50°F?
| A．They choose to be active in the wild. |
| B．They choose to keep themselves warm. |
| C．They choose to travel to a warm place. |
| D．They choose to get together in the upper central area of the hive. |
What is NOT explained in the passage?
| A．Why is the sky blue? |
| B．Why is the moon able to be seen during the daytime? |
| C．Why do birds travel in winter? |
| D．Where do honeybees go in winter? |
Today, after many days of practice and lots of matches, we entered the basketball final.
I was the leader of the team. At the very beginning, one student from our team got the ball and quickly shot a basket. Oh, it went in, 2:0. All our classmates cheered.
But after a few minutes there were some mistakes and we lost eight points. I changed two players, but it didn’t help.
At that time all our teammates felt worried and we even quarreled with each other angrily. “It’s no use crying over spilt milk!” I shouted, “We must face it!” Let’s think about our mistakes and stop making them!”
We had a short meeting. The second half of the match began. There was a big change. At first, our team got the ball and I shot from the three-point line at once. The ball did a beautiful curve and went straight into the basket.
I become very confident. The other team was still very strong.
A good chance came! I got the ball again and shot into the basket! 12:9! I couldn’t believe my eyes! Am I that good at shooting? How could I get so many points?
We stayed in the lead. Finally the score was 18:16. We won!The passage mainly talks about________.
| A．a basketball match |
| B．a basketball team |
| C．skills of playing basketball |
| D．ways to win a basketball match |
At first, the writer’s team was losing because_________.
| A．they felt upset |
| B．they kept arguing |
| C．they made mistakes |
| D．their classmates cheered too loud! |
The best translation for “It’s no use crying over spilt milk” is “_______”.
| A．熟能生巧 | B．勤能补拙 |
| C．破釜沉舟 | D．覆水难收 |
The final score of the basketball match is _________.
| A．2:0 | B．12:9 |
| C．18:16 | D．18:18 |
We can tell from the story that__________.
| A．basketball is too hard a game to play |
| B．confidence comes from failure |
| C．failure can surely bring success |
| D．learning from failure can make one succeed |
The city of Yangzhou came into being at the Spring and Autumn Period ( about 500 AC ).
As the key transportation link at joint (连接处) place of the Great Canal（运河）( Beijing-Hangzhou) and Changjiang (Yangtze River), Yangzhou has been from the Sui Dynasty (600 AD.) an economically rich city, and then reached its top in the Tang Dynasty. At that time Yangzhou was a famous port and one of few biggest cities in East Asia.
With the improvement of the local economy and easy transportation way, there happened in the history a special local culture, which has an important place in Chinese culture. Many famous men of letters, poets, artists, scholars (学者), statesmen, scientists and national heroes in the history were born in, lived in or had connection with Yangzhou. Li Bai, one of the greatest Chinese poets visited and stayed in Yangzhou several times in his life and one of his famous poems about Yangzhou has been so popular that Chinese of all ages can sing it and has become a symbol of Yangzhou . Zheng Banqiao, a famous Chinese painting painter in the Qing Dynasty heading a group called “Eight Eccentrics”, had strongly influenced Chinese paintings. Wang Zhong and Yuan Yuan and some other scholars formed school of Yangzhou Scholars and achieved great success in the study of classic Chinese and writing. Zhu Ziqing, one of most famous modern Chinese writers and scholars, had always been proud of himself as a native of Yangzhou and thanked the city for being nourished (养育) by its rich culture. Quite a few other names you may come across frequently (频繁地) in the study of Chinese culture and history have connection with Yangzhou. Yangzhou was so attractive and important that many Chinese emperors in history had come specially to visit or check the city. Emperor Suiyang, who ordered to cut the Great Canal so that he could come more easily and quickly, died on his last trip to the city and buried (埋葬) here. Emperor Qianlong had come all the way from the north and visited the city nine times.Which of following sentences is NOT right according to this passage?
| A．Yangzhou joined the Great Canal (Beijing-Hangzhou) and Changjiang (Yangtze River). |
| B．In the Tang Dynasty Yangzhou was a famous port and one of few biggest cities in Asia. |
| C．Emperor Suiyang was buried in Yangzhou. |
| D．Emperor Qianlong visited Yangzhou nine times. |
We can infer（推断）the poem mentioned in this passage by Li Bai is _______.
| A．《赠汪伦》 | B．《望庐山瀑布》 |
| C．《静夜思》 | D．《黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵》 |
Who influenced Chinese paintings a lot according to this passage?
| A．Zheng Banqiao | B．Zhu Ziqing |
| C．Wang Zhong | D．Li Bai |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Yangzhou：An Economically Rich City |
| B．Yangzhou：An Easy Transportation City |
| C．Yangzhou：A Historical Culture City |
| D．Yangzhou：A Famous Tour City |