Google has kicked off Google Science Fair (GSF) 2014, its annual online competition for
bright, creative and ambitious teenagers who want to change the world with science. While the project is led by Google, it also has the backing of the Lego Group and world-famous publications National Geographic and Scientific American. The competition is open for students aged 13 to 18, who can sign-up now, form a team and begin working on a submission.
The winner will be rewarded with a ten-day exploration to the Galapagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavor, as well as a VIP tour of ‘Spaceport America’ in New Mexico. Google is also throwing in a $50,000 scholarship and $10,000 for the winner’s school to purchase cutting-edge science lab equipment.
Google suggests that each project should be “an in-depth investigation of a science question or engineering problem” but otherwise, it’s up to students to pick and develop an idea that follows the competition rules.
Completed projects need to be submitted by May 12, 2014 at 11:59 PDT. Google will announce the regional competitors in June, ahead of global finalists in August and the competition winners in September.
Interested? Here are the rules.
If you want to enter the competition as an individual (个人), you should register first. Complete requested information about yourself and your project in the registration section before creating your project. You may edit this later. Click the box stating that you have read, accept, and agree to be bound by these Official Rules and Terms.
Upon completion of registration you may begin working on your project. The project must follow the technical, creative, and legal entry requirements set out in these Official Rules and the Googlesciencefair.com Site. You will be required to complete all sections of the Project Site.
You may begin working on your project after completing the registration process, however, you may not submit it for judging until you have requested and received parental consent (允许). Once you have done this, your parent or guardian will receive an email from Google with instructions on how they can give their consent for you to participate. The project will not be judged unless this consent is received. From the first paragraph, we can learn that ________.
GSF is a science competition
teenagers should form a team
every teenager can take part in it
GSF is organized by Google alone What is mainly discussed in the last paragraph?
| A．Parental consent. | B．Submission time. |
| C．Registration process. | D．Project requirements. |
If you plan to enter GSF alone, you ________.
| A．should create your project first |
| B．you needn’t follow the official rules |
| C．you should provide some personal information |
| D．your should start your project before registration |
The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
| A．offer tips on how to enter GSF |
| B．provide information about GSF |
| C．persuade teenagers to enter GSF |
| D．show teenagers the importance of GSF |
As they migrate（迁移) , butterflies and moths choose the winds they want to fly with, and they change their body positions if they start floating in the wrong direction. This new finding suggests that insects may employ some of the same methods that birds use for traveling long distances. Scientists have long thought that insects were simply at the mercy of the wind.
Fascinating as their skills of flight are, migrating behavior has been difficult to study in insects because many long distant trips happen thousands of feet above ground. Only recently have scientists developed technologies that can detect such little creatures at such great heights.
To their surprise, though, the insects weren't passive travelers on the winds. In autumn, for example, most light winds blew from the east, but the insects somehow sought out ones that carried them south and they positioned themselves to navigate directly to their wintering homes.
Even in the spring, when most winds flowed northward, the insects didn't always go with the flow. If breezes weren't blowing in the exact direction they wanted to go, the insects changed their body positions to compensate. Many migrating birds do the same thing.
The study also found, butterflies and moths actively flew within the air streams that pushed them along. By adding flight speeds to wind speeds, the scientists calculated that butterflies and moths can travel as fast as 100 kilometers an hour. The findings may have real-world applications. With climate warming, migrating insects are growing in number. Knowing how and when these pests move could help when farmers decide when to spray their crops. What's the main idea of the text?
| A．Windsurfing insects have real direction. |
| B．Wind helps insects greatly in migrating. |
| C．Insects migrate with the seasons. |
| D．Scientists have trouble in observing insects. |
Scientists originally thought that _____.
| A．insects were just blown about by the wind |
| B．insects chose the winds they wanted to ride |
| C．insects always waited for their favourable winds |
| D．insects positioned themselves in the winds |
It is not easy to study the migrating behavior of the insects because ______.
| A．the little creatures can fly very fast |
| B．their flight is long and high above ground |
| C．the wind's direction is hard to foresee |
| D．they have no regular migrating courses |
We can learn from the text that _____.
| A．insects never position themselves when flying low |
| B．insects travel more easily in autumn |
| C．insects fly in the way birds do |
| D．insects rest a lot when the wind pushes them along |
The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.
Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.
Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.
Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise. An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.
| A．cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year |
| B．give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds |
| C．decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices |
| D．aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year |
With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.
| A．we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way |
| B．it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank |
| C．it is not wise to change food crops into gas |
| D．biofuels should be developed on a large scale |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds. |
| B．A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor. |
| C．A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather. |
| D．It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not. |
In the passage, the author calls on us to______.
| A．slow down but not to stop economy |
| B．act now so as to relieve the global food shortage |
| C．achieve economic growth and political stability |
| D．develop tree crops, grasses and wood products |
China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate (房地产) market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate (控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A．Chinese ho uses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．There are more people who need houses in China than those in the United States. |
| C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
| D．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
What is the
main idea of this passage?
| A．The Chinese government should do something to control the housing price. | |
| B．The Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. | |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States. | D．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
| A．Four | B．Two | C．Five | D．Three |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______
| A．Ordinary Chinese are looking forward to seeing that the high housing prices will be lowered. |
| B．There will be no bubbles in Chinese real estate after the government raises tax on property industry. |
| C．Housing price in China has lowered since 2007. |
| D．More ordinary Chinese will buy a house in America instead of in China. |
In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solutions without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.
This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.
Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.
You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.
People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ________.
| A．they hadn’t solved the problems thoroughly |
| B．they expected to be paid back in the future. |
| C．they were friends of the worried individual |
| D．they had solved the problems secretly |
The underlined word “pay it forward” means ________.
| A．to repay someone who has helped you |
| B．to help someone else who needs help |
| C．to help someone who has helped you |
| D．to pay someone else who needs help |
What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?
| A．We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help. |
| B．We should work hard to get a good education. |
| C．We should learn to respect our grandparents. |
| D．We should never forget to repay people for their help. |
By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be ________.
| A．honest | B．mysterious | C． unselfish | D．unforgettable |
Half a century ago, during the Sino-Japanese War, I was a student at National Southwest Associated University at Kunming in southern China, Lectures were often accompanied by the pitter-patter of rain on the tin roofs of the classrooms; that mud floors were full of holes; and wind blew through paneless windows. As for the library, it was a bare skeleton. A good reference 
book was used for years and journals usually arrived after a couple of years’ delay.
But despite such hardship, I had the best of my student days in Kunming. Although we were short of research materials, we were uncompromising（坚定的）in our pursue of knowledge and truth. I spent six years at Southwest and obtained my first and second degrees in physics here. I still value those days fervently. In fact it was at Southwest that I first came across Reader’s Digest. To me, the magazine’s insistence on perfection both in style and accuracy—as well as its celebration of life even in the face of hardship—is similar to the values I learned at Southwest.
Later, I went to the United States to study under Enrich Ferimi, the famous physicist who directed the world’s first nuclear chain reaction. One of the first things Ferimi emphasized to me was that physics shouldn’t be so overwhelming（压倒性的）that it is beyond the average man. Physics research, he said, should be connected with our daily lives and physicists should devote most of their efforts to solving practical problems. I couldn’t agree more. Indeed, I think this simple, close-to-life.
Approach applies other attempts too. Reader’s Digest is highly informative, but it is easy to read, and easy to understand, never exaggerating or mystifying. This truthful, down-to earth quality is what I treasure now.What is the author?
| A．A soldier | B．A teacher | C．An editor | D．A physicist |
Which of the following is NOT true of the National Southwest Associated University?
| A．The mud floors of the classrooms were uneven. | B．Its classroom windows had no glass. |
| C．The only thing its library had was a skeleton. | |
| D．It was short of research materials. |
What was the first thing Ferimi emphasized to the author?
| A．Physics research should be related to daily lives. |
| B．Physics should not be considered as the most important course. |
| C． Theoretical problems need solving first. |
| D．The results of physics research could be used in the national defense. |
What does the author think of Reader’s Digest?
| A．It is far from perfect in style or accuracy. |
| B．It devotes its efforts to solving practical problems. |
| C．It gives much information. |
| D．Its language is simple, but beautifully written. |
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