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 |
There was once a King and he wanted to find out who could paint the best picture of peace．And be would offer a prize to the artist． Many artists tried． The King looked at all the pictures，but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them．
One picture was of a calm（平静的） lake． The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful mountains all around it． Overhead was a blue sky with white soft clouds． Everyone thought that it was a perfect picture of peace．
The other picture had mountains too． But these were rugged（崎岖的） and bare（无遮蔽的）． Above was an angry sky． And it was raining and lightening． Down the side of the mountain， a waterfall fell quickly． This did not look peaceful at all．
But when the King looked carefully， he saw behind the waterfall a bush（矮树丛） growing in a crack（裂缝） in the rock． In the bush a mother bird had built her nest（巢，窝）． There， she sat on her nest…in perfect peace．
Which picture do you think won the prize？
The King chose the second picture． "Because，" said the King， "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise， trouble， or hard work． Peace means to be in the middle of all those things and still be calm in your heart． That is the real meaning of peace．"
（1）What did the King want the artists to do？（no more than 10 words）
（2）What did everyone think of the 1st picture？（no more than 7 words）
（3）Why did the King choose the 2nd picture？ （no more than 11words）
（4）请将文中画线的句子翻译成汉语．
（5）请给短文拟一个适当的英文题目．
D
Inventions make our life easier and better than before． What are the best inventions of last year？ Here are three amazing things in Time magazine's list of the 25 best inventions of 2017．
Smart mug
It's hard to keep coffee or tea warm， especially in winter． But this smart mug from US company Ember Technologies can solve this problem． There is an app for the mug that allows people to set the mug to a certain temperature between 48℃ and 62℃． Then， the mug keeps your coffee or tea at that temperature for about an hour， and even longer if you put the mug on a charging（充电）plate．
Social robot
Can robots talk to us like humans？ Jibo， a robot made by US company Jibo Inc， can do this， With a big， round head and a big body， Jibo looks like a cartoon character． And its voice sounds like a 10﹣year﹣old boy． As soon as you say "Hey， Jibo，" it dances and turns to face you． When it talks to you， it moves its head and body to communicate with you． Its appearance， tone of voice and humor make you feel that you have a little friend． Jibo is able to tell stories to children， take pictures just by hearing your order "Jibo， take a picture"， and do hundreds of other jobs． Although its creators think that Jibo still has a lot to learn，it's available with a price of ＄899；a good price for a pretty smart and friendly robot!
Fidget spinner
What is the most popular toy this year？ The answer is probably fidget spinners． They are small plastic or metal toys with a bearing（滚珠轴承）in the middle． The toys can keep turning around on your fingertip for a few minutes after you start them． Once they are turning， you can put them on any other flat surface， such as a ruler or even the nose of a pet dog． This toy is very popular among young people around the world． Some people say that it helps them calm down and relax． But it may not be a good thing to spend too much time playing with it．
（1）Why is the smart mug special？
A． It's not easy to get broken in winter．
B． It can heat coffee or tea up to 48℃．
C． It can solve many difficult problems．
D， It has an app to control the temperature．
（2）What does the underlined sentence mean？
A． Jibo is not perfect yet but worth buying．
B． Although Jibo is cheap， it's not worth buying．
C． Although Jibo is expensive， it is worth the money．
D． The creators have to learn a lot to make Jibo perfect．
（3）What is a fidget spinner used for？
A． Having fun．
B． Cleaning fingers．
C． Doing homework．
D． Answering questions．
（4）What's the best title for the whole text ？
A． Inventions and our life．
B． Time magazine's list．
C． Best inventions of 2017．
D． Mugs， robots and toys．
C
In America， boys and girls often join clubs． The members of a club work together． They also learn certain skills and share good times．
Many boys belong to Boy Scouts． Boy scouts enjoy hiking and camping out together， and they learn many things． Scouts learn safety rules， first aid， and what to do when in danger． Members have a chance to learn outdoor living． They learn to build fires and cook out in the open．
Girl Scouts and Camp Fire Girls are clubs for girls． These two clubs give their members a chance to have fun and learn． The girls in a group take trips， have parties and go hiking and camping together． The Camp Fire Girls earn honor beads （荣誉珠） for learning such skills as swimming and cooking． The Girl Scouts earn badges（徽章）．
Both boys and girls can be members of 4﹣h clubs．Children who live in either the city or the country may belong to 4﹣h． A project such as raising a pig or a calf can be carried on only by farm children， while city children can take part in gardening and cooking projects．
In all these clubs the boys and girls learn to be good and useful citizens．
（1）Why do boys and girls join clubs according to the passage？
A． To make their parents happy
B． To earn honor beads and badges．
C． To learn skills and share good times．
D． To enjoy hiking and camping out．
（2）What does Para． 2 mainly talk about ？
A． What to do when in danger．
B． Some activities of Boy Scouts．
C． What Boy Scouts really enjoy．
D． Some skills about outdoor living．
（3）What can we know from Para.3 ？
A． In America there are many clubs for girls．
B． Camp Fire Girls is quite popular in America．
C． Girls can go hiking and camping with the boys．
D． Girls are encouraged to learn swimming and cooking．
（4）What is the passage mainly about ？
A． Members of 4﹣h clubs in America．
B． Clubs for boys and girls in America．
C． Different kinds of clubs in America．
D． Children who are interested in clubs．
B
It's that time of the year﹣graduation． The end of school year is nearly in sight， and it's an especially big deal if you're finishing high school or college．
One amazing 16﹣year﹣old Florida girl， Grace Bush， graduated from both high school and college this week! She actually got her college diploma before her high school diploma． How did she manage to do that？
"Hard work and great attention，" she told a local TV news station， "have made me succeed in doing high school and college at the same time． "She started taking college courses when she was just 13． She would often get up at 5： 30 a． m． and go to bed after 11： 00 p．m．
Doing both at the same time is a huge achievement， and it has also helped her family save money． She's one of the 9 children， all home﹣schooled until the age of 13． Her father is a math professor while her mother is a part﹣time history teacher in a high school． Grace Bush has earned her college degree in law， with a near perfect GPA of 3.8 and she hopes to become a lawyer one day， although her parents expect her to teach at university． By the way， she also played basketball in her college team in her spare time．
（1）In what way is Grace "amazing" ？
A． She is a 16﹣year﹣old Florida girl．
B． She finished high school this week．
C． She worked very hard at her lessons every day．
D． She graduated from both high school and college at 16．
（2）Which picture might Grace's diploma look like ？
（3）What is the key to Grace's success？
A． Taking college courses at 13．
B． Working hard at her courses．
C． Growing up in a professor's family．
D． Having a dream of becoming a teacher．
（4）Which of the following is TRUE according to the last paragraph？
A． The Bushes have 13 children altogether．
B． Grace's mother is a full﹣time history teacher．
C． Grace wants to teach at university in the future．
D． Grace received her education at home before 13．
A
Maps are pictures of places． You must have seen a map of the world， of your home country， and even of your home city． They show us towns， cities， roads， parks， schools， hospitals， and more．
There are also many other types（类型）of maps． Each gives a special kind of information． There are street maps， tourist maps， and even maps of the air and sea．
Here is a simple road map．
（1）Which is the biggest town on the map？
A． Greenton．
B． Bluetown．
C．Smalltown．
D． Bigtown．
（2）If you drive from Smalltown to Bluetown， which is the best way to choose？
A．M3
B．M13．
C．M23．
D．R67．
（3）What does the writer mainly want to tell us？
A．Ways to choose maps．
B．Ways to read maps．
C． Some types of maps．
D． The importance of maps．