Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out .Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless at science and finished bottom of his class. Now, aged 79, the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobe Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell(干细胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka.
Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance (坚持不懈)can lead.
At the age of 15 in 1948, Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon’s high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was“quite ridiculous”.
In spite of his teacher s criticisms，Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab early and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.
“My own belief is that we will, in the end, understand everything about how cells actually work,” Gurdon said.
In 1962, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic(基因的）information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone(克隆) of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create Dolly the sheep in 1996, the first cloned mammal(哺乳动物）in the world.
In 2006，Gurdon’s work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample(样本）of a person’s skin can be used to create stem cells. Using this technique, doctors can repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack.
Luck favors the prepared mind Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization. “Ninety percent of the time things don’t work，but when they do，you have to seize(抓住）the chance.” Who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine?
| A．Sir John Gurdon |
| B．Shiny a Yamanaka. |
| C．Sir John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka |
| D．Gurdon’s science teacher. |
In what order are the followings mentioned in the passage?
a. create the sheep Dolly
b. take a cell from an adult frog
c. use a person’s skin to create stem cells
d. move a frog’s genetic information into an egg cell
e. grow into a clone of a frog
| A．b—a—c—d—e | B．b—d—e—a—c |
| C．b—d—a—p—e | D．b—c—d—a—c |
What does the underlined word “ridiculous” mean?
| A．无知的 | B．无畏的 | C．荒废的 | D．荒谬的 |
According to the passage, which statement is true?
| A．As a boy, he was told he was hopeful. |
| B．He ranked first at his high school in biology. |
| C．It’s impossible for the doctors to repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack. |
| D．In spite of-his teacher's criticisms, he kept working hard. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Ninety percent of the time things don’t work. |
| B．Luck favors the prepared mind |
| C．Life is full of surprises. |
| D．How to know cells actually work. |
I have a friend. His name is Jeff. He is 14 years old. His father is 40. His mother is 41. He has a brother and a sister. His brother is 9 and his sister is 6. Today is his mother’s birthday. It’s October fifth. There is a big birthday cake(蛋糕) on the table. It is 20 dollars. Many friends come to the party.
根据短文内容回答下列问题。What’s my friend’s name?
How old is his father?
When is his mother’s birthday?
Does he have a sister?
How much is the birthday cake？
Do you like children? Do you have free(空闲的) time in the afternoon? We need a babysitter(保姆) for our son. He’s five years old. The working time is Monday to Friday, 3:00 pm to 6:pm. ( $ 5 an hour)
We need help with: Looking after our son; Reading to him; Playing with him.
You must work at our house. We live in Changchun, near the Culture Square(文化广场). Please call Mr. Green at 5638—2949.
根据短文内容选择正确答案。From Monday to Friday, the babysitter can work ______ every day.
| A．one hour | B．two hours | C．three hours | D．four hours |
Which is NOT the work that the babysitter needs to do?
| A．Cooking for the child. |
| B．Playing with the child. |
| C．Reading books to the child. |
| D．Looking after the child. |
The babysitter must work _______.
| A．at the babysitter’s house |
| B．at Miss Green’s school. |
| C．at Mr. Green’s house. |
| D．at the Culture Square |
The child in the ad is _______.
| A．15 months old | B．15 years old |
| C．5 months old | D．5 years old |
If ______, you can get the job.
| A．you like children, but you have no time in the afternoon |
| B．you like children, but you don’t know how to play with them |
| C．you’re good with children and you’re free in the afternoon |
| D．you can play with children but you don’t know how to read |
任务型阅读
阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。在答题卡标有题号的横线上，写出空缺处所填单词的正确形式。（每空一词）
Beijing has many charms. It is a perfect place to start exploring(探索) the wonders of the whole country. A four-day tour is possible to cover the greatest sights and enough to make you love the Chinese capital.
Day 1
Any visit to Beijing is incomplete without a walk on the Great Wall. Most people choose to visit Badaling, but Juyong Pass is less crowded but more wonderful. There are many locations for great photos. Also, pick a clear day to go so that your eyes can reach the beacon tower(烽火台) far away.
Day 2
All sites designed for this day run through the center of Beijing. If you don’t plan your day carefully, after hours of walking you still won't finish a small part of the tour. First, start at the Temple of Heaven. Next, have lunch at Qianmen Street, enjoying the famous Peking Duck. Then, spend a whole afternoon in the Tian'anmen square, the largest city square in the whole world.
Day 3
If your feet ache after two days’ sightseeing, you may want to slow down. You can visit the Capital Museum or walk along Wangfujing, the modern shopping street. If you are wondering how Beijingers used to live, you can go to the hutongs, enjoying the moments there and relaxing yourself.
Day 4
This day is designed for those with endless energy. The Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, the Lama Temple are all good places to go. You may want to spend the last night in Beijing in Sanlitun, the serious nightlife area and a favorite with local people and foreign friends.
| A four-day tour in Beijing |
||
| Time |
Places of interest & Activities |
|
| Day 1 |
●Walk on the Great Wall ●Take photos ●See the beacon tower far away |
●Juyong Pass is a better ● |
| Day 2 |
●Visit the Temple of Heaven ● ●Visit the world’s |
●Plan your day |
| Day 3 |
●Visit the Capital Museum ●Walk along Wangfujing ●Experience the real Beijing life |
● Slow down and go to the hutongs to enjoy yourself and |
| Day 4 |
●Visit the Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, the Lama Temple ●Enjoy the nightlife in Sanlitun |
●The |
| Conclusion： Start to explore the |
MOST of you may have heard about the Nobel Prize. But do you know the Ig Nobel Prize (搞笑诺贝尔奖)?The awards are given each year to 10 unusual achievements in science. It is to “honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think.
This September the 2014 winners of the Ig Nobel awards came out! Research into why bananas are slippery(滑的) won the Ig Nobel for physics.
A team of scientists from Japan, tested 12 different banana skins. They then used sensors to measure the friction(摩擦力) between the slippery side of banana skin and the ground. They found that when someone steps on a banana skin, a special chemical, polysaccharide follicular gel(囊泡多糖凝胶), is set off. This chemical reduces friction by one-fifth. Later, scientists also compared banana skin with apple skin and orange skin and showed why apple and orange skins are not quite so dangerous. Friction was about 60 per cent higher on an apple peel.
Polysaccharide follicular gel is also found in the membranes (薄膜) where our bones meet. “This idea will help to design a joint prosthesis (人工关节),” Kiyoshi Mabuchi, the lead scientist, told the BBC news.
The Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine went to doctors from the Detroit Medical Center, US. They used salt pork to stop a young child’s nose bleed. Other interesting research includes whether owning a cat was bad for your mental health and looking at ugly art can be painful.
While Ig Nobel Prizes are mostly funny, great scientific breakthroughs(突破) can be made. In 2006, a team found that a type of mosquito(蚊子) is equally attracted to the smell of feet and cheese. As a result, mosquito traps were made using cheese to fight against malaria in Africa.
Ig Nobel Prize awards are mainly given for achievements in _____.
| A．chemistry | B．Science |
| C．medical research | D．Arts |
Which of the following is True about the banana skin research?
| A．The test led to the invention of a joint prosthesis. |
| B．Stepping on apple and orange skins are not dangerous. |
| C．The test showed that apple skin is more slippery than banana skin. |
| D．The chemical inside the skin mainly causes the banana’s slipperiness. |
Which research has won 2014 Ig Nobel for Medicine?
| A．Looking at ugly art can be painful. |
| B．Salt pork can be used to treat nosebleeds. |
| C．Mosquitoes like the smell of feet and cheese. |
| D．The influence cats have on their owner’s mental health. |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．Fun science that makes people think |
| B．Science is dry and humorless but meaningful |
| C．Ig Nobel Prizes： Think First, Then Laugh |
| D．Ig Nobel Prize given out to silly scientists |
The judge(法官) thought Geoffrey Payne killed his wife. Now for the first time Payne wrote to a magazine from the prison about what happened on the night of 13 October 1999.
I had to stay late at the hospital that night to do an operation. I finally left at about 11p.m.. I drove home slowly because the wind was blowing and it was raining heavily. I was running into our road when a man suddenly ran in front of my car. I almost hit him but I stopped just in time. I was scared and the man looked scared, too. I got out of the car but he ran away before I could ask if he was all right. It was very strange.
When I got home, the lights were on but it was very quiet. I called to my wife but there was no answer. Then I remembered that she was out at a concert.
I was still very unhappy about what happened on the road, so I made myself a drink. Then I went upstairs to have a bath. I saw that the window in the bedroom was open. This was strange because my wife always locked the doors and windows before she went out. She was afraid of burglars. When I went to close it, I found Ellen. She was lying on the floor. There was blood everywhere. I rushed over for her pulse but she was dead. I was so scared. I sat on the floor beside her body without knowing what to do.
The next thing I knew was that the sky was getting light. I can’t remember a thing about that night. In the morning I phoned the police. They arrived half an hour after I phoned them. But it seemed like hours. During that time I tried hard to remember anything I could about the night before. I couldn’t stop thinking about the man in the road. What was he doing at that time of night in our quiet neighborhood?When Payne got home, he found ______________.
| A．a burglar in his house |
| B．the bedroom window closed |
| C．Ellen lying on the floor, blood all over |
| D．Ellen waiting for him in the concert hall |
After he found Ellen dead, Payne .
| A．called out for help |
| B．called the police at once |
| C．was too scared to do anything |
| D．tried to find out the murderer |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Payne called the police the next morning. |
| B．Payne ran away after his car bumped into the man that night. |
| C．Payne couldn’t remember clearly what had happened that night. |
| D．Payne wondered what the man was doing in his neighborhood that night. |
In this passage Payne tried to .
| A．show he was sorry for his wife’s death |
| B．show he was guilty for murdering his wife |
| C．tell why his wife was killed that night |
| D．say the man in the road was probably the murderer |