An inventor seeks to create a new product that serves a specific need and fulfills a role that other products do not. Sometimes an inventor comes up with a wholly new idea, but more often inventions are simply improvements on an older design. With a little imagination and creativity (创造力), an old idea can suddenly become something new.
However, creating a new invention means much more than having a brilliant idea. A good designer follows the design process: identifying the challenge, researching and brainstorming ideas(集思广益), designing a solution, testing and evaluating the ideas, and finally building the product. Designers also use science, math, technology, and engineering to design a tool that satisfies the need they identified.
Anyone can be an inventor —even kids! For example, Chester Greenwood was just fifteen years old when he invented a product that changed his life. In fact, his idea was so good that his invention supported him for the rest of his life. You may not know his name, but you probably know his invention —earmuffs (保暖耳罩)!
The inspiration for his earmuff design came to Chester when he was ice-skating. His ears were cold, and he decided to find a way to keep them warm. With the help of his grandmother, he made a new product to protect his ears and at the age of eighteen, Chester patented his earmuff design.
Many other famous inventors started young as well. Margaret Knight —the inventor of the flat-bottomed brown paper bag —is said to have created a safety device for textile looms(织布机) when she was just twelve years old. Another example is Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors in history, who applied for his first patent when he was just twenty-one years old. Over the course of his life, Thomas Edison patented a total of 1,093 inventions!In most cases, an invention ________ according to the first paragraph.
| A．comes from a complete new idea | B．is usually based on an old product or idea |
| C．will change its creator’s life completely | D．is created by scientists in different fields |
The second paragraph mainly wants to tell us _______.
| A．the difficulty in making a new invention | B．the common steps of creating new things |
| C．having a good idea is the key to creation | D．designing a tool is the first step in inventing |
The example of Chester Greenwood is used to show that ________.
| A．children can also invent something |
| B．it is easy even for children to make inventions |
| C．kids have more advantages in inventing things |
| D．to be an inventor is the best way to change one’s life |
At first Chester designed his earmuffs in order to ________.
| A．protect his ears while ice-skating |
| B．earn money to support his poor family |
| C．realize his dream of becoming an inventor |
| D．make himself look fashionable while ice-skating |
Theangelshavefinallybeenconnected together and the bows have all been carefully fixed across the branches.After three months of hard work, 16-year-old Suzy Jordan’s tree is finally appearing at the yearly Festival of Trees in honor of her best friend, Emily Austin.
“All that’s needed now is a real angel,”says Suzy,”to help 13-year-old Emily recover from a recent bone marrow transplant(骨髓移植)and finally remove the leukemia(白血病)”
“Emily is the strongest person I know.There’s always such brightness about her,”says Suzy,a student ar Orem High School.
Last year,when Emily’s cancer was in remission,she helped Suzy and other students decorate a red-and-white Christmas tree for Primary Children’s Medical Center at the Festival of Trees.
“It was so much fun for her,”says Emily’s mother, Laurie,”she’s seen the inside of the hospital more than a school since she was 5”.
But the good conditions didn’t last long.In August, Suzy learned that her friend’s leukemia returned, becoming worse.And she knew exactly what to do show her support.
“Emily was so excited about helping out with the festival tree last year that I decided to surprise her by giving away a tree of my own,”she says.
Because of being in hospital, Emily won’t be able to see the tree.”But I’m taking pictures to surprise her,”says Suzy.”I want her to know that she’ll always be an angel to me.”
Suzy’s tree has given Emily’s family hope for a miracle(奇迹).”It has given Emily hope that she has a chance to be a normal girl and do all the things other girls do,”says Laurie Austin.
Suzy’s greatest hope is that she’ll be able to give away more trees to the festival, with one big difference.”The best wish of all,”she says,”is that Emily will be there with me, putting on the decoration.” What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．A christmas tree gives hope for a miracle |
| B．Friends’ help means a lot |
| C．A Christmas tree for a hospital |
| D．The best hope of Suzy Jordan |
Suzy Jordan decorated a tree to ___.
| A．help Emily realize her dream |
| B．prepare for the Festival of Trees |
| C．show admiration for Emily Austin |
| D．call on more people to help Emily |
The underlined phrase”in remission”in Paragraph 4 probably means”___”.
| A．less serious |
| B．much worse |
| C．as bad as before |
| D．fully cured |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Emily probably got the leukemia eight years ago |
| B．Emily is excited and surprised to see the Christmas tree |
| C．Emily is fond of decorating Christmas trees |
| D．Emily faces her illness actively and strongly |
How to say hello in Japanese depends on when you say it. This is very much like different greetings used in English at different times of the day or night. In Japanese culture, it also depends on whether you are on the phone or meeting somebody or whether you are close to the person you are greeting. We don’t get formal with our close friends. We seldom greet them with “Good morning” or “Good evening”. A “Hi” is enough.
Although the most popular and most well-known translation for “Hello” is still “Konniqiwa”, it is not exactly how to say hello in Japanese. Perhaps it is not the most suitable word for it. Actually, the correct greeting in English for “Konniqiwa” is “Good day” or “Good noon”, and I am sure you wouldn’t like to greet people with a “Good day” at any time, and neither do Japanese like saying “Konniqiwa” when they want to say “Hello”.
So what to do? Let’s do it in the way the Japanese do. Use “Ohaiyo Gozaimasu” for “Good morning”, “Konniqiwa” when it’s noon and “Konbanwa”to greet somebody in the afternoon. Things differ when you are on the phone. Just say “Moshi, Moshi”, which is actually similar to saying “Hello” over the phone, because one hardly ever uses “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” or “Good evening” right after picking up the phone. It is invariably the sweet old “Hello”.
Next time, I’ll tell something about my life in Japan. What is the best title for this passage?
| A．How to say hello |
| B．How to greet close friend in Japanese |
| C．How to greet people in Japanese |
| D．Some differences between English and Japanese |
Japanese people greet each other by saying “___” in the afternoon.
| A．Moshi, Moshi |
| B．Konniqiwa |
| C．Ohaiyo Gozaimasu |
| D．Konbanwa |
In the writer’s opinion, ____.
| A．Japanese culture is similar to American culture |
| B．Japanese people don’t like using “Konniqiwa” as a greeting for the whole day |
| C．people don’t need to be polite to their close friends |
| D．Japanese people are very friendly to each other |
The word “invariably” in the third paragraph means “___”.
| A．Probably |
| B．Always |
| C．Sometimes |
| D．Likely |
Last year,I lived in Chile(智利) for half a year last year. I lived with a Chilean family and had to do the same things as any Chilean teenager. I had good days and bad days I didn't understand.
Chuquicamata, my host community, is a mining camp. When I arrived there,I was scared. It was so different from what I was used to. There were lots of dogs on the streets,and there was no downtown(商业区),few good streets,and little to do for fun. Rain was not seen very often, earthquakes and windstorms happened quite often.
I had studied Spanish for two and a half years and was always one of the best students in my class. But in my first week in Chile,I was not able to communicate and I needed a person to whom I could explain my shock.But I couldn't speak the thoughts in my head and there were so many. Most exchange students experience this like me.And I had to deal with all the difficulties on my own.
However, as time passé, everything changed. I began to forget words in English and started to dream in Spanish and love Chilean food. I got used to not buying expensive things for fun. Fun in Chuquicamata was being with people. I took math, physics, chemistry, biology, Spanish, art, and philosophy in school.
What I lost was nothing compared to what I acquired. I learned how to accept and to succeed in another culture. I now have a deeper understanding of both myself and others. What is this passage mainly about?
| A．People’s life in Chile |
| B．The hard life of an exchange student |
| C．The writer’s life in Chile as an exchange student |
| D．What the writer learned in Chile as an exchange student |
When the writer arrived at Chuquicamata, he/she most probably felt ___.
| A．happy |
| B．excited |
| C．sad |
| D．angry |
What does the underlined word”acquired”in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Enjoyed |
| B．Learned |
| C．Did |
| D．Picked |
According to the passage, which of the following facts about Chile is TRUE?
| A．All people there speak English |
| B．It has a lot of rain all year round. |
| C．It has a lot of earthquakes and windstorms |
| D．Its people like shopping very much |
Mr. Templat was a teacher that I will never forget. I truly believe the teen years were the hardest time of my life. At that time, as a girl, I hated it when my parents asked me directly about my problems, making me more comfortable. I also remember many times when Mr. Templat would take me aside and talk to me. He had a special way of drawing out what the problem was. Every time he talked with me, I felt better.
He had a way of making his classes enjoyable. We always got the highest marks in math in our grade with his teaching. If there was a big world ball game on the radio, we would drop everything and he would put the name on so we could all enjoy it. That’s just the way he is.
Teens often hear things on TV or from adults about world problems that can frighten them. Now it is terrorism（恐怖主义）. Back in my teen years, it was the cold war. It worried me so much that I thought each day would be my last. Mr. Templat knew how much it troubled his students. He opened the subject up to discussion. He gave us a way to express our greatest fears and helped us understand war and politics. “One can feel afraid however brave he is.” We were told.
When I think back to those special days, I appreciate that he helped me through such a difficult time in my life. To learn about the problems the writers had, Mr Templat would _________________.
| A．ask her about the problems directly |
| B．wait until she told him about them |
| C．ask her parents about the problems without letting her know |
| D．ask her about them without making her feel uncomfortable |
From the second paragraph, we learn that __________________.
| A．Mr. Templat was a very serious man |
| B．the students like Mr. Templat’s teaching very much |
| C．the students could do whatever they like in Mr. Templat’s class |
| D．the students were more interested in sports than in their studies |
What does the underlined part “the subject” in the third paragraph most probably refer to?
| A．War and politics. |
| B．World history. |
| C．Terrorism. |
| D．The cold war. |
Michelle kwan was born on July 7,1980,in Torrance,California.The daughter of Hong Kong immigrants(移民),Kwan watched her older brother play ice hockey as a kid.She began skating when she was five,and entered and won her first figure skating competition at seven.She won the world title in the 1994 World Championships at the age of 13,and earned a spot as an alternate(候补者）for the 1994 Olympic Games.Kwan went on to capture the world title in 1996,1998,2000,2001 and2003.
At the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998,Kwan was believed to win gold,but ended up with a disappointing silver medal when fellow US skater Tara Lipinski surprisingly took first place.Shortly before the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002,Kwan,who was then the reigning world champ,surprisingly fired both her choreographer(编舞者）,Lori Nichol,and longtime coach,Frank Carroll.Once again, she failed to get the gold medal when she finished third behind Irina Slutskaya of Russia and US skater Sarah Hughes, who took first.
As a student at the University of California in Los Angeles,Kwan has continued to compete since her defeat(战败）in Salt Lake City.In Febuary 2006, she was unable to take part in the Olympic Games in Torino, Italy because of a serious injury.Though Michelle Kwan did not compete during the 2006--2007 figure skating season; she has turned down an offer to work for NBC Sports and says she is not retiring.The underline word”capture”in the first paragraph means ___.
| A．enter |
| B．win |
| C．learn |
| D．find |
What happened to Michelle Kwan in 2002?
| A．Her coach didn’t want to train her any longer |
| B．She went to study at the University of California |
| C．She failed to take part in the Olympic Games in Torino, Italy |
| D．She failed to win the gold medal in the Olympics again |
Which of the following may NOT be a world champ?
| A．Lori Nichol |
| B．Michelle Kwan |
| C．Tara Lipinski |
| D．Sarah Hughes |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号