阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出-优题课

Mr. Sankaram, a physics teacher, was known for his antics(滑稽动作)in his classroom to make the dull lessons in physics lively and interesting. Mixing different chemical drugs in the lab to become new substances in chemistry makes students excited. While studying botany or zoology, students can visit a garden or zoo. But physics limits students to listening to the boring lectures which are hard to understand. For example, why an apple dropping from a tree travels downwards but not upwards. But Mr. Sankaram’s classroom antics to cause students to listen to topics such as how sound travels in air or why light travels faster than sound made him stand out from the rest of the teachers.
At that time, most students in our school attended the college to please their parents, and some parents were proud of their children for simply attending a college, no-matter whether they benefited or not. They didn’t study hard. But a few students were diligent and they wanted to study pre-medical courses to gain admission into the medical school. The schooling of pre-medical courses was very expensive. The college was next to the medical school. The wall separating them was about four feet high. Few tried to jump over the wall to get free pre-medical courses. Doing this was at risk of injuries and the climbing was forbidden.
The college where Mr. Sankaram taught was known for unruly and naughty students. The unruly students usually sat at the back of the classroom. When a student from the back of the classroom tried to disrupt the class, Mr. Sankaram would say, “Dare you go ahead to make noise? Can you jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school?” The student’s face went red and he became silent. In the physics class . I sat in the first row to escape from the troublemakers at the back. One day during the class. Mr. Sankaram unexpectedly asked me, “Can you jump over the four-foot wall?” I shook my head and answered, “No, sir, I couldn’t jump over a one-foot wall, let alone a four-foot wall.” Mr. Sankaram wasn’t satisfied with my reply but waved his hand for me to sit down. He looked at me in the eyes hard and said, “If you can. Believe in yourself!”
There were stories about Mr. Sankaram’s past history. As a student at same college years ago, he went into much depression for some time when he couldn’t get into the medical school. In fact he could have been admitted by the school by his ability of studying. Because his family couldn’t afford his pre-medical courses and he didn’t dare to climb the wall, he often walked back and forth along the four-foot wall talking to himself and sometimes cried over his failure. Whether this story was true or false it was passed on from year to year. So Mr. Sankaram had a nickname “four-foot.” It was true that he left his dream to his students and he began challenging the students’ ability to jump over the four-foot wall to get into the medical school.
As a student I failed at my attempt to get admission into the medical school. In fact not all students wanted to be a doctor. And years later I ended up as a chemistry teacher at the same college. I thank Mr. Sankaram for his encouragement to me, and I am determined to follow his example to make my class interesting. Mr. Sankaram passed away years ago. He will always be remembered for his wonderful teaching techniques such as dancing movements and his encouraging words.
Which subject was boring in the author’s opinion?

A．Botany

B．Physics

C．Chemistry

D．zoology

Most of the author’s schoolmates went to college to _____.

A．make their parents happy

B．learn a skill of making a living

C．study abroad after graduation

D．find a good job after graduation

Why wasn’t Mr. Sankaram satisfied with the author’s reply?

A．He didn’t think the author was diligent.

B．He thought the author lacked confidence.

C．The author didn’t know what he meant

D．The author was shy while answering it.

Mr. Sankaram’s failing to get into the medical school______.

A．resulted in getting his nickname “four-foot”

B．caused him to be forever depressed and to cry every day

C．made him work hard to let his students realize his dream

D．made him complain the life was unfair and he was not lucky

We can infer from this passage that the author_____.

A．wanted to become a doctor very much in fact

B．regretted that he didn’t respect Mr. Sankaram

C．was born in a rich family and once a good student

D．is a good teacher in the college where he once studied

Many people believe that all ice cubes are created equal, but they are not. At least that’s what the folks at California’s Glace Luxury Ice Company would like us to believe. The Davisbased company says that the ice cubes they make are healthier and last longer than the ones that we throw into our drinks on a daily basis. What’s more, the company also says that their ice cubes do mot leave behind an aftertaste(余味)in drinks, like regular ones do.
In order to create these unique ice cubes, Glace Luxury begins with water that has been rid of the hazardous impurities(杂质)that the company says can lead to cancer and exist in regular ice. They then freeze it in large blocks. Once ready, the ice is carved into perfect cubes and each cube measures 2.5 inches across. Besides being healthier, these ice cubes apparently also take longer to melt. The company says that each ice cube can last up to 30 minutes.
Of course, those ice cubes do not come cheap. Those that wish to have a taste of this “tasteless” frozen perfection will have to pay $325USD for a bag of 50 ice cubes. That comes to $6.50USD for a single cube of ice!
The unique product is the brainchild of Robert Sequeira, a former business school lecturer who said that he wanted to establish a profitable business that could be easily scaled. Given that he can make as mush Glace Luxury ice as he needs for as little as $0.12USD per cube, he thinks that the idea certainly meets the standard. Now, if he can find that the few people can afford to buy this Glace Luxury ice, life would be great!
People at California’s Glace Luxury Ice Company probably want consumers to believe that _____.

A．ice cubes are healthy for people to use

B．their ice cubes add tastes to drinks

C．all ice cubes are created the same

D．their ice cubes are different

What does the underlined word “hazardous” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Active

B．Regular

C．Dangerous

D．Powerful

Compared with regular ice cubes, the ice cubes created by Glace Luxury Ice Company_____.

A．taste much bette

B．look much more beautiful

C．have more different shapes

D．are healthier and melt more slowly

What does the author think of the ice cubes created by Glace Luxury Ice Company?

A．They will be a big success

B．They are too costly to make.

C．They are just regular ice cubes.

D．They are too expensive for consumers

If you and your friends wish to share a secret, you can write it in code, and no one else will be able to read it. Codes are one way of writing in secret Ciphers(暗码)are another. In a code each word is written as a secret code word or a code number. In a cipher each letter is changed.
Codes and ciphers have played an important role in the history of the world. Julius Caesar, the Roman ruler who defeated almost all the countries in Europe about 2,000 years ago, used a cipher when he sent secret messages to his troops. During the American Revolution, George Washington’s spies used a kind of code to send his information about the enemy before his military action. In World War Ⅱ. the Americans ”broke” or figured out Japan’s most important navy codes and got enough information to destroy a powerful Japanese fleet.
Storekeepers use codes to mark their goods. The codes show how much is paid for the goods or when they are added to the stock. Businessmen use codes to hide plans from their business enemies. Sometimes personal letters or diaries are written in code. Many people enjoy figuring out codes and ciphers simply as a hobby.
In the 16th century, codes and ciphers Were very popular among scientists. They wrote messages to each other in code so that no one else would learn their secrets. Geronimo Gardano, all Italian astrologer(占星家), mathematician, and doctor, invented the trellis cipher.
He took two sheets of paper and cut exactly the same holes in each one. Then he sent one sheet, which he called a trellis, to a friend and kept the other for himself. Whenever he wanted to write a message. he put his trellis over a clean sheet of paper and wrote the secret message through the holes. There he removed the trellis and filled the rest of the paper with words that would make sense. When his friend received it, he put his trellis over the writing and read the secret message.
The best title of this passage would be _______.

A．Codes and Ciphers

B．Differences between Codes and Ciphers

C．History of Codes and Ciphers

D．Inventors of Codes and Ciphers

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Ciphers can be broken or figured out more easily than codes.

B．You could read some words in Geronimo’s letter without his trellis.

C．The first person who ever used a cipher in history was Julius Caesar.

D．Fondness of using codes was the hobby of the scientists in the 1600s.

According to Geronimo Gardano, a trellis is _____________.

A．a piece of paper with many small holes

B．a secret message with a lot of small holes

C．a letter with unreadable words and sentences

D．a sheet of paper with groups of Arabic figures

It is NOT mentioned in the passage that codes and ciphers are used for the purpose of _________.

A．military affairs	B．commercial secrets
C．scientific achievements	D．personal enjoyment

Talking plants might sound like characters in a fairy tale. But recent scientific studies have shown that plants communicate with each other and with other living things in a surprising number of ways. To understand them, scientists say, we just have to learn their language. Farmers are especially interested in what plants have to say.
“Plants are able to communicate with all sorts of organisms(有机体). They can communicate with giant bacteria, with other plants and with insects. They do this chemically, ”said Cahill, an Ecology Professor of the University of Alberta in Canada.
Plant scientists are just beginning to understand this chemical “language”. Cahill says studies have shown, for example, that plants can evaluate conditions in their immediate environment and take appropriate actions. Plants have an ability, for example, to signal pain or discomfort caused by anything from temperature extremes to an insect attack. Jack Schultz, a professor of chemical ecology at the University of Missouri, says when a plant senses that it’S being eaten, it cannot walk away from trouble；on the contrary, it will release a chemical vapor that alerts other plants nearby.
“Their language is a chemical language, and it involves chemicals that move through the air, which are easily to be changed, and most of all are smells that we are familiar with, ” Schultz explained.
“All plants responded to the attack by changing their chemistry to defend themselves, ” Schultz recalled. “But we were quite surprised to find that nearby plants also changed their chemistry to defend themselves, even though they were not part of the experiment. ”
Studies have also shown that plants under attack release pleasant chemicals. Those chemicals attract friendly insects that attack the pests eating the plant.
In the end, plants’ability to communicate their needs－and our ability to understand them－could help farmers reduce the use of poisonous chemicals, cut operating costs and limit damage to the environment.
The recent scientific studies have shown that plants can __________.

A．communicate with other living things in a chemical way

B．hardly react to any sudden change in temperature

C．use a very special chemical language which is familiar to us

D．respond to the attack by giving off poisonous chemicals

When being eaten by a pest, the plant will ___________.

A．walk away from trouble

B．change its chemistry to kill the insect

C．release a chemicaI vapor to “ask” other plants for help

D．give off nice chemicals to attract friendly insects to a tack the pest

The underlined word “alerts” most probably means “___________”.

A．warns	B．protects
C．threatens	D．allows

Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Communication between Plants

B．A Chemical “Language”

C．Plants Can Talk

D．How Plants Protect Themselves

Because of his family’s Jewish background, they are sent to live in the concentration camps(集中营). Scared and alone, Joshua one day makes frinds with a little mouse he calls Bethlehem who becomes his closest friend.	In his More Things in Heaven, Bill Bosworth presents the highlights of his 83 years of life, including his trips to India and the study of the writings of several great spiritual leaders. More things in Heaven will appeal to anyone who insists on finding the deepest meaning for their existence based on their own experience.
It is an easy-to-read collection of poems originally written to encourage in faith and to be a cure for chronic depression(长期抑郁)…cure to strengthen identity and purpose.
Were humans created, or did they evolve? How old is the Earth? The debate between science and religion continues to be heated. In Creation or Evolution, Michael Ebifegha examines these two opposed world views within the structure of empirical(实证的) science.
Seeking the Edge provides the tools and techniques to find that edge in one’s life. －driving readers to achieve success whether in your current job, finding a new job, in education, family,or even hobbies.