People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.What is genius according to Thomas Edison?
| A．Hard thinking. | B．Hard work. | C．Useful ideas. | D．Useful inventions. |
How did Edison always deal with the secrets of nature after exploring them?
| A．To write down what he had learned. |
| B．To carry out a new experiment. |
| C．To make them useful in life. |
| D．To share them with others. |
What does the last sentence in the passage mean?
| A．Edison was born to be a great inventor. |
| B．Edison was able to live another 100 years. |
| C．Edison was ready to make his 100th invention. |
| D．Life was too short for Edison to work for human beings. |
An American teenager was in hospital recovering from serious head wounds from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the teenager told the police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his dead to a moving train before he was hit.
A terrorist didn’t pay enough postage for a bomb letter. It came back with Return to sender stamped on it. Forgetting it was a bomb, he opened it and was blown into pieces.
From Laugh Your Head Off Why was the American teenager in hospital?
A. He had a headache.
B. He was hit by the police.
C. He got serous head woundsWhy didn’t the terrorist post off the bomb letter?
A. It was dangerous.
B. It needed more postage.
C. It was for the terrorist himself.What happened to the terrorist at last?
A. He was happy.
B. He was dead.
C. He was angry.
As a teenager, you’re trying to learn who you are. You’re going through mental and physical changes. You’re dealing with different kinds of stress and trying to succeed in school.
The good news is that though the teen years are tough, there are skills you can learn to make them a lot easier.
If you’re a teen and trying to manage your feelings better, here are a few skills for you to deal with your feelings.
Name the feeling.
What feeling are you experiencing? For example, are you sad, stressed, angry, joyful or excited?
Accept(接受) what you’re feeling.
Many people worry that their feelings will increase. So they are not willing to accept them, hoping that they’ll just go away. However, that’s impossible. Remind yourself that it’s OK to feel your feelings.
Become familiar(熟悉的) with your feelings.
To better understand your feelings, you should pay attention to your feelings all over the day. You may record how you’re feeling in the morning, afternoon and at night on a piece of paper. Next to your feeling, also write down where you notice it in your body.
Express your feelings.
Expressing a feeling is a good way to reduce it. For example, you can express your feelings by crying, exercising, writing about them or talking to someone you trust. Just be sure that whatever activity you choose, it doesn’t hurt you or anyone else.
At different times in your life, you’ll experience different difficulties. But by learning some helpful skills, you’ll be able to live a comfortable life.
How to with Your Feelings
| Main idea |
◇Though the teen years are tough, you can learn some |
| Skills to |
◇Name the feeling that you are |
| ◇Be willing to ◇Remind yourself not to |
|
| ◇Pay attention to your feelings the ◇Write down where you notice them in your body. |
|
| ◇Express your feelings through some activities to ◇Don’t |
|
| Conclusion |
◇Learn some helpful skills, and you can live |
Chris is not a traditional explorer（探险者）----he usually works in an office for a large organization. Yet his job can sometimes be just as exciting and dangerous as being an explorer.
Chris works for MSF, an organization also known as Doctors Without Borders (无国界医生). MSF sends trained doctors all over the world to help people after a war or a disaster. Chris is a doctor from France who has travelled to many places to organize programmes that help people.
At the moment, there are over 27,000 trained medical staff taking part in MSF projects and tasks. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. All kinds of doctors can volunteer for MSF. They need to be prepared to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should expect difficult conditions. Doctors with experience in tropical（热带的）diseases are especially useful because most of MSF’s work is in Africa. When MSF accepts a doctor for a task, he has to go for at least six months. When doctors have completed a few tasks, they might be sent on an emergency（紧急的）task following a disaster, such as an earthquake.
But why would a doctor leave a comfortable life and a good salary（工资）to join MSF? According to Chris, the experience you gain is a great help in your career. Besides, just like the explorers of the past, you need to keep an open mind and learn to mix well with the people you meet. Most importantly, at the end of each task, you have made a real difference to people’s lives. Does Chris work for a large organization?
______________________________________________________________________When does MSF send trained doctors all over the world to help people?
______________________________________________________________________How many medical staff are taking part in MSF projects and tasks?
______________________________________________________________________ What kind of doctors are greatly needed in Africa?
______________________________________________________________________ According to Chris, why is his work important to other people?
______________________________________________________________________
Young people and older people don’t always agree. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special programme in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work. Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
There are several free hours each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo taking or painting. Others sit around and talk or sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time.
When people live together, rules are necessary. In this programme the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
One of the teenagers has this to say about his experience, “You stop thinking only about yourself, You learn to think about the group.”In one special programme in New York State, young and older people _______ .
| A．don’t work well together. |
| B．are friendly to one another. |
| C．teach one another new ways of building houses. |
| D．spend eight weeks together, working as farmers.. |
All the members work some time every day mainly to _______ .
| A．lead a busy life. |
| B．learn new skills of farming; |
| C．get used to the life on the farms |
| D．find value and pleasure in work |
Living together, _________ .
| A．the teenagers don’t have to obey(遵守) the rules |
| B．the teenagers have to obey the rules the adults make |
| C．the members have no free time on weekends |
| D．the members are not allowed to break the rules they make together |
The last paragraph shows that the teenager thinks his experience in the programme is ____ .
| A．unpleasant | B．tiring |
| C．helping | D．boring |
The best title for the passage is __________ .
| A．The rules of living together |
| B．Life in New York State |
| C．Teenagers in the special group |
| D．Free hours in the special work group |
What do you think of black cats? Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a study on cat colours and people’s understandings of cat personalities.
The study found that people do judge(判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey(调查) on the Internet. There were 49 statements (描述) matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange and bi-coloured (双色的) cats are friendly, tri-coloured (三色的) cats are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.
But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.
Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its colour, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the colour, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said. Many people in Western countries may think black cats are ______.
| A．lovely animals | B．a sign of bad luck |
| C．a sign of good luck | D．unfriendly animals |
The main idea of paragraph 2 is that ______.
| A．people often complain(抱怨) about black cats on the Internet |
| B．people thinkcats of different colours have different personalities |
| C．black cats are less popular than other cats |
| D．the study is a great success |
According to the study, people think that______.
| A．black cats have special personalities |
| B．orange and bi-coloured cats are generous |
| C．cats with three colours are friendly |
| D．white cats are calm, lazy and shy |
People don’t like black cats for the following reasons EXCEPT ______.
| A．black cats often appear in TV shows |
| B．black cats bring bad luck to people |
| C．black cats have bad reputations |
| D．they don’t think black cats are beautiful |
The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．why black cats are popular in movies |
| B．why people are not willing to keep black cats as pets |
| C．different colour cats have different personalities |
| D．different people have different ideas on black cats |
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