The wheel was one of man’s first inventions and yet it has also proved one of the most useful. So wide and varied are the uses of the wheels, in machines and vehicles of all kinds, that it is difficult to imagine what the world would be like without them. It is surprising to hear it said, therefore, that the wheel’s importance will perhaps be greatly reduced by the end of the century by an invention so new as to be still unnamed.
The invention is a machine the floats above any surface on a cushion of air. The cushion is formed when air is blown into this saucer, the machine rises to a height that may vary from a few inches to a few feet.
Industry is already using one form of the inversion to deal with heavy loads. It can lift them. with ease and since there are no wheels, and therefore no friction , they can be put into motion with the touch of a finger.
The new invention, however , is having a great effect on transport, Not only does it make expensive road systems unnecessary, but it enables vehicles to travel well over land or water. This unique to reach most destinations has given rise to the prediction that wheeled vehicles may be uncommon at the end the century as aeroplanes were at the beginning.
1. The first paragraph tells us that______.
A. the wheel was man’s earliest invention.
B. the wheel’s usefulness has yet to be proved.
C. wide wheels have a variety of important uses.
D. a new invention may make wheels less important.
2. The phrase “with the touch of a finger” in the third paragraph means______.
A. without difficulty B. by electricity .
C. without friction D. by hand.
3. The passage tells us that the new invention __________.
A. is more important for industry than for transport.
B. will one day be used instead of aeroplanes.
C. makes it possible to travel without using roads.
D. will replace wheeled vehicles using roads.
4. According to the passage, the new invention _______.
A. will soon get a name B. can go almost anywhere
C. is lighter than air D. was uncommon a century ago
Review by Rose at midwestbookreview.com
Written by Johannah Biuedorm, My Mommy ,My Teacher is an enjoyable, full-color, children’s picture book about a little girl who learns from her family how to work on a farm..
Review by Dena wood at timestales.com
My Mommy ,My Teacher is a delighrful story of a little girl who shares the events(事情) of her daily life as she works, learns and plays with her family. the beautiful country life of this home-schooling family offers a feeling of peace, safety and meaning to both children and grown-ups. Love, respect, responsibility(责任) and joy are very easy to find as we follow this littile girl through her day.
Review by Britta McColl at morningstarlearning.com
I just read it to my daughters last night, and we all enjoyed it so much. My 13-year-old son who was listening said, “We should have home-school like that !”There are several things that appealed to him:
The farm (chickens and strawberries),the parrot, the love and joy .This is really a wonderful book for both parents and children.
Review by Rebekan Wilson at hopechestlegacy.com
If you have ever had a hard home—schooling day, and if you are ever unhappy and ready to cry ,take out this simple little book and allow the story and picture to wash your heart clean, think again why you are doing what you do, and open your heart to your children once more. Surely you will feel much better.According to Rose ,all of the following about My Mommy ,My Teacher is true EXCEPT that
| A．it is an enjoyable book | B．it is a full—color book |
| C．it is mainly about a mother | D．it’s a story that happens o n a farm |
Which of the following was probably NOT found by Dena Wood in the little girl’s day?
| A．Love | B．Respect | C．Responsibility | D．danger |
What does the underlined phrase “appealed to” in the passage mean?
| A．Attracted | B．Surprised | C．Scared | D．Danger |
We can learn from the passage that____.
| A．Johannah Blurdorn spent her chidhood in a big city |
| B．Britta McColl has two daughters and one son |
C．the little girl in the book lives a very happy life |
| D．Rebekah Wilson has never cried since she read the book |
Where are the reviews most probably taken from?
| A．Newspaper. | B．Magazine. | C．Radio program. | D．Website. |
On Saturday nights, A.J.Coston doesn’t get a lot of sleep. Usually three or four times a night, a loud bell rings, a red light flashes, and he has to jump out of his bed. That’s because he’s a weekend volunteer firefighter（消防员）with Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Station 13 in Northern Virginia. During the week, he lives at home with his mom, dad and sister and does his main job which is going to high school.
“I have always wanted to get into firefighting since I was a little kid watching fire trucks go by,” he says. “One day on the Internet I noticed that Loudoun County offered a junior firefighter program.” He was only 16, but he got it.
Fighting fires is dangerous work. Firefighters never stop practicing the skills they need to stay safe. Once Coston learned those skills, he was allowed to work inside burning buildings.
“Teamwork is most important,” he says. “It’s the whole team that puts the fire out.”
Firefighters feel great about helping people. “My most unbelievable call was probably the time four kids were struck by lightning,” says Coston. He will be off to college next fall, building on his dream job. “I’ll get my degree in emergency（紧急情况） medical care. and then work in a fire and rescue company for a while. I want to be a flight doctor on a helicopter in the end, but I will never forget the days as a firefighter. These are my unforgettable experiences,” he says. Coston can’t sleep well on Saturday nights because _____.
| A．he has to work part-time at weekends |
| B．he has some sleeping problems |
| C．he has to do his job as a volunteer firefighter |
D．he alway s worries that there may be a fire |
What do we learn about Coston from the passage?
| A．He doesn’t like studying at school. | B．He will go to college next year. |
| C．He dreams to be a great hero one day. | D．He is only sixteen years old. |
In Coston’s opinion, what is the key thing in putting out a fire?
| A．Skills. | B．Teamwork. | C．Courage. | D．Equipment. |
All of the following are true EXPECT that _____.
| A．Coston wanted to be a firefighter when he was a kid |
| B．Coston tried several times before he became a volunteer firefighter |
| C．firefighters feel proud that they can help people |
D．firefig hters have to practice skills all the time to stay safe |
Scientists in Canada say big fish have almost disappeared from the world since the start of
industrial（产业的） fishing in the 1950s. The scientists found the numbers of some kinds of large fish have dropped by ninety percent in the past fifty years.
The study took ten years. The researchers gathered records from fishing businesses and governments around the world. The magazine Nature published the findings.
The scientists say the common method called long line fishing ravages the populations of large fish. This method involves many fishing lines connected to one boat. These wires can be nearly one hundred kilometers long. They hold thousands of sharp metal hooks to catch fish.
Long line fishing is especially common in the Japanese fishing industry. Records showed that Japanese boats used to catch about ten fish for every one hundred hooks. But long line fishing boats now might only catch one fish per hundred hooks.
The scientists say industrial fishing can destroy groups of fish much faster than in the past. The study suggests that whole populations can disappear almost completely from new fishing areas within ten to fifteen years.
Ransom Myers and Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia led the study with the University of Kiel in Germany. Worm says the destruction could lead to a complete reorganization of ocean life systems. Meyers says the decreased num
bers of large fish are not the only worry. He says even populations that are able to reproduce do not get the chance to live long enough to grow as big as their ancestors. He says not only are there fewer
big fish, but also they are smaller than those of the past.
It’s the end of this program ,Thank you for your listening. What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Big fish are disappearing | B．Long—line fishing in Japan |
| C．The harm of industrial fishing | D．Stop killing big fish |
Which of the following DOESN’T show that the populations of big fish are smaller than before?
| A．Fish can disappear almost completely from new fishing areas. |
| B．Now long—line fishing boats might catch one fish per hundred hooks. |
| C．Fish now don’t have the chance to grow big enough. |
| D．Scientists spent ten years studying the populations of large fish. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The number of big fish started to drop greatly about fifty years ago. |
| B．The study was started by Boris Worm of Dalhousie alone. |
| C．There will be no big fish left in fifty years . |
| D．Japaneses people have stopped catching big fish. |
Adults（成年人）usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school. But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I think of this story.
It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg（乞讨）. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.
His house was dirty, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled terrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire (百万富翁). They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.
But the old man 
said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg.
Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant (有意义的) for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than（除了）staying focused on（专心于）the things we enjoy doing. The underlined part in the first paragraph may mean ______.
| A．I get tired of learning my subjects |
| B．I fail to listen to lessons attentively |
| C．I go in the wrong direction of life |
| D．I wouldn’t like to go to school |
The neighbor called the police because ______.
| A．the old man kept begging money from them every day |
| B．there was something dangerous in the old man’s house |
| C．the old man wouldn’t buy tickets for the train |
| D．they couldn’t bear the smell from the old man’s house |
When the old man knew he was a millionaire, he ______.
| A．remained calm | B．became excited |
| C．felt worried | D．became nervous |
What lesson do we learn from the story?
A．Make great pla ns for your life. |
| B．Keep on doing what you like. |
| C．Do something that is good to society. |
| D．Depend on yourself rather than others. |
People need to relax and enjoy themse1ves．One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event．Even thousands of years ago，groups of people gathered（聚集） to watch skilled athletes（运动员）．
Over 2000 years ago in Greece，certain days in the year were festival days．These were holidays when people stopped work and enjoyed themselves．They liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games of skill．
The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia．It was held in honor of the Greek god Zeus（Zus）．For five days，athletes from all parts of the Greek world took part in the Olympic Games．At the Olympic 
Games，people could watc
h them box，run，jump and so on．There was a relay race between two teams of men in which a lighted torch（火矩）was passed from runner to runner．The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities which were at war with one another had to stop fighting．People were allowed to travel to the games safely．Thousands of people came to Olympia from cities in Greece and from her colonies（殖民地）in Africa，Asia and Italy．They met as friends to cheer their favorite athletes and to enjoy themselves．What happened in Greece over 2000 years ago？
| A．People stopped work and enjoyed themselves． |
| B．The cities there were often against one another． |
| C．People watched baseball games． |
| D．People didn’t go to any games at all． |
What were those countries in Africa？
| A．Friends． | B．Enemies． |
| C．Colonies． | D．Other cities． |
What did people do at the games？
| A．They fought． | B．They just talked to friends． |
| C．They cheered for good athletes． | D．They tried to find friends． |
The best title for the story is“_____”．
| A．Greece at War | B．Together for the Games |
| C．Stop Fighting | D．Sport |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号