Chicken feathers are useful, and not just to a chicken. Some go into pillows, coats and other products. But countless chicken feathers go to waste.
In the United States, billions of chickens are produced yearly. Most of their feathers are thrown away.
But instead of being buried in land, some feathers could find a future in plastics（塑料）.
One of the products they have developed is a flowerpot（花盆）. It may look like other flowerpots. But the container breaks down in the earth within one to five years. And as it breaks down, it naturally becomes nutrient（营养物） in the soil.
The environmentally friendly flowerpot is the work of two researchers. Walter Schmidt is with the Agricultural Research Service, part of the United States Agriculture Department. Masud Huda is with the Horticultural Research Institute, a private（私人） organization（组织）.
Walter Schmidt has been working to find uses for chicken feathers since the 1990s. Progress in 2002 showed that plastic made from feathers could be formed like other plastics.
He says feathers are much stronger and last（持续） longer than another plant material. "Feathers are stronger. By design, feathers are also more durable（耐用的）. And the other part about it is if feathers were twice as heavy, or half as strong, then birds couldn't fly."
He points out that traditional flowerpots made from other plastics can last much longer. But he wonders if there is really a need. He says most flowerpots are never re-used.
"Why would you want a plastic that you use for a year to last for two hundred years? It makes no sense. You want to match the product with the use." said Walter Schmidt.
Walter Schmidt and Masud Huda are now adding another chicken product to their flowerpots -- chicken waste. The waste will add more nutrients to the soil as the pot breaks down. The scientists say they hope their flowerpot will be on the market in a year or two.What do people mainly deal with feathers?
| A．Feathers are used to make pillows, coats and other products. |
| B．Most feathers are paid no attention to. |
| C．Most feathers are used as nutrient |
| D．Most feathers are used to make flowerpots |
What’s the advantage of the flowerpots?
| A．They won’t last long. | B．They can’t break |
| C．They are environmentally friendly | D．They can be reused |
What does Walter Schmidt think of traditional flowerpots?
| A．Too heavy | B．Too old |
| C．Never re-used | D．lasting longer but unnecessary |
What do you think is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Chicken and its feathers | B．How to deal with feathers |
| C．feathers made into flowerpot | D．New flowerpots |
Have you ever wanted to travel back through time and see what life was like at the beginning of man? Well, museums can make history come alive. And one museum in particular can take you on an exciting journey from the beginning of human culture to the present day.
It is the British Museum. Being one of the largest museums in the world, it is home to over 7 million objects from all the world’s continents. While most of us may not have the chance to visit London, we can catch a glance of the treasures it holds in Beijing. From December 10 to Februry 10, more than 100 cultural relics will be on show in the Palace Museum.
Named “Britain and the World”, a range of pencil sketches, watercolor paintings, sculptures and many other objects have traveled to China.
There are several Chinese objects on show. But “the British Museum got them before 1830 mainly by trade,” said Ma Jige, deputy director of the Exhibition Department of the Palace Museum.
In fact, there are more than 23,000 Chinese relics in the British Museum, including national treasures like gems, artwork and ancient bronze ware objects.
The museum is famous for its exquisite Chinese paintings. Picture of Lady Officials by Gu Kaizhi, a top painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420), is there. The British Museum also holds 13,700 Buddhist records from the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province.Go to visit the British Museum, and you will ________.
| A．travel back to the ancient times |
| B．make history come alive |
| C．learn more about human culture |
| D．have a visit to London |
We can learn from the article that _________.
| A．the British Museum is the largest museum in the world |
| B．the Palace Museum houses over 7 million objects from all over the world |
| C．part of the British Museum’s collection is available in the Palace Museum |
| D．the two museums will be combined into one |
According to the article, _________ are shown in the exhibition.
| A．its exquisite Chinese paintings |
| B．13,700 Buddhist records from Dunhuang Grottoes |
| C．works of Gu Kaizhi, a top painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, |
| D．a range of pencil sketches, water color paintings, sculptures and many other objects |
How many Chinese relics are there in the British Museum?
| A．Over 100. | B．13,700. |
| C．Over 23,000. | D．Over 7 million. |
The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party. The time printed on the invitation was 7.30pm. Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song.
By 9.45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared. Jane and David were restless. Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving. But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear. By 11.00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads. Jane and David left hungry and angry.
Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer. Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently. Most of us would agree that 6.30-8.30pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8.00pm or 8.30pm means possible dinner, but 9.30pm and any time thereafter means no food, eat beforehand, roll up late.
But this is not always the case. If asked to a students' party at 6.30pm, it is normal for guests not to appear before midnight, if at all, and no one cares. Being the first to arrive-looking eager-is social death. When my mother is asked to a party for 6.30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven. My age group（late thirties） falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we're young, we're probably closer to student-time than grown-up time.
The accepted custom at present is confusing(混乱的), sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element(成分) of surprise.The underlined words "off their heads" probably mean______.
| A．tired | B．crazy |
| C．curious | D．hopeless |
Jane and David' s story is used to show that______ .
| A．petty-goer8 usually get hungry at parties |
| B．party invitations can be confusing |
| C．people should ask for food at parties |
| D．birthday parties for middle-aged people are dull |
For some young people, arriving on time for a students' party will probably be considered_______.
| A．very difficult |
| B．particularly thoughtful |
| C．friendly and polite |
| D．socially unacceptable |
According to the writer, people in their late thirties_______.
| A．are likely to arrive late for a party |
| B．care little about the party time |
| C．haven' t really grown up yet |
| D．like surprises at parties |
What is the general idea of the text?
| A．It' s safe to arrive late just when food is served. |
| B．It' s wise to eat something before going to a party. |
| C．It' s important to follow social rules of party-going. |
| D．It' s necessary to read invitations carefully. |
“I’ve changed my mind. I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back.” Lucien Lawrence’s letter to Father Christmas written after his schoolteacher father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched every heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those whom we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.
But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father is there too, in your mind and in your heart. I find that my parents, long dead now, still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself, that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all mother said was “I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.
It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors (挑衅者), and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, one to give me pause.
I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet “Deliver my soul from the sword, and my darling from the power of the dog.” Yet I know the death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live forever, but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, I’m sure, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today.According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph_____.
| A．puts forward the subject of the text |
| B．shows the author’s pity on the kid |
| C．acts as an introduction to the discussion |
| D．makes a clear statement of the author’s views |
In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us____.
| A．how much he misses his parents now |
| B．why his parents often appear in his dreams |
| C．when Lucien will get over all his sadness |
| D．how proud he was when he succeeded in life |
What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?
| A．Proud | B．Happy |
| C．Disappointed | D．Worried |
In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is________.
| A．to leave behind a precious memory to the people related |
| B．to have a high sense of duty to the whole society |
| C．to care what others will remember and treasure |
| D．to share happiness and sadness with his family |
What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem________?
| A．Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns. |
| B．Advise parents stay with their children safely at home. |
| C．Spend every day meaningfully in memory of the death. |
| D．Try to keep violence and murder far away from society. |
Christian Eijkman, a Dutch doctor, left the Netherlands for the island of Java. Many people on the island had a disease called beri-beri. He was going there to try and find a cure. At first, Eijkman thought some kind of germ (细菌) caused beri-beri. He raised some chickens. He didn’t eat them, but made experiments on them. The local people were quite surprised at that. One day he noticed that his chickens became sick when they were fed the food most Javanese ate-refined white rice (精炼米). When he fed them with unrefined rice, also known as brown rice, they recovered.
Eijkman realized that he had made an important discovery-that some things in food could prevent disease. These things were named vitamins (维生素). The Javanese were not getting enough vitamins because they had actually removed the part that contains vitamins. Later, other diseases were also found to be caused by the lack of vitamins in a person’s food.
Today many people know the importance of vitamins and they make sure they have enough vitamins from the food they eat. If they don’t, they can also take vitamin pills.The underlined word “cure” in Para 1 probably means ______.
| A．a medical treatment | B．a kind of vitamin |
| C．a kind of germ | D．a kind of rice |
Christian Eijkman went to the island of Java to ______.
| A．spend his holiday |
| B．find ways to grow better crops |
| C．do some research about the island |
| D．help the Javanese with their illness |
Why did Christian Eijkman raise some chickens?
| A．To eat them. |
| B．To carry out his experiments. |
| C．To give the Javanese a surprise. |
| D．To make money by selling them. |
If a person doesn’t get enough vitamins in his diet, he’d better _____.
| A．eat more rice | B．eat more meat |
| C．eat some chicken | D．eat vitamin pills |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．Beri was caused by chickens |
| B．the Javanese didn’t like vitamins |
| C．Christian Eijkman’s experiment was successful |
| D．the Javanese’s disease was caused by a kind of germ |
Public speaking is a common cause of stress for everyone. The idea of standing in front of a large group with all eyes on you can make you feel fearful in almost all kinds of situation, for example giving a presentation in class, proposing a toast at dinner or making a work-related presentation. It seems to be a fear that’s impossible to overcome. If you have ever experienced this, you know while the anxiety may develop at the actual event, it is a feeling that begins much earlier than the actual day. There are many ways you can work on your confidence and prepare yourself for a public speaking event.
A consultant specializing (专门研究) in presentation skills can help you to overcome your sense of panic. Working with a consultant does not indicate that you have a major problem; it is only an approach to receiving guidance on relaxation strategies, such as deep breathing, which can help you deal with public speaking problems with ease.
Consultants can also help you work on your confidence. Confidence is extremely important in public speaking as it lets a speaker sound more convincing. Even well-established public speakers practice techniques such as meditation (沉思冥想) to calm themselves before a public appearance.
It’s well worth the time and effort to overcome the fear of public speaking, particularly if talks and presentations are part of your work description. Keep in mind that many of those around you are also struggling with this fear of public speaking. It will help you to become an able speaker if you can prepare beforehand. For example, you can put in time on planning your presentation in detail and practicing it many times in secret. As you get more and more familiar with your material, you’ll be able to fine-tune (微调) the details of your presentation and this will make you a confident speaker. Your speech will become excellent in terms of style and content.
Remember that the more you get into this pattern of feeling good about yourself, the stronger you will feel about approaching events when you have to make a speech. You can also work on physical details such as adjusting your tone (音调) before the presentation by doing some warm-up exercises.
In a word, believing in yourself and presenting yourself well can help you deeply impress your audience. And after a few speeches you’ll notice yourself overcoming the sense of panic that you now feel in public speaking situations.
| Title |
About the fear of public speaking |
|
| Introduction |
* When speaking in public, you will feel * This feeling usually begins |
|
| Ways |
Turn to a consultant. |
* A consultant can guide you and help you ( * A consultant can also help you build confidence which can make your public speaking |
| Make |
* Make a detailed * Spend time * Pay attention to your tone. |
|
| A combination of great confidence and a good |
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