Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and 1200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.
Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. He started experimenting at a young age.
When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time in experimenting his first patent(专利权) in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.How often did Edison make a new invention?
| A．About every fourteen days | B．About every seven days |
| C．About once a week | D．About twice a week |
The underlined word “fired” in the passage means “__________”
| A．Gave somebody a job | B．Set fire to somebody |
| C．Let somebody down | D．Forced somebody to leave his job |
Edison considered his deafness as______.
| A．something bad | B．a gift from god | C．a kind of ability | D．a disadvantage |
which of the following sentence is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Edison had only 8 hours rest each day after his deafness |
| B．Edison got his education mostly by self-teaching |
| C．Edison had his first job in 1869 |
| D．Edison’s inventions greatly improved the quality of people’s life |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The function of the electric light | B．Edison and his experiments |
| C．The importance of inventions | D．The whole life of Edison. |
Bill was a boy of 15. His parents went to gambling(赌博) day and night. Nobody cared about hi. He always failed in his exams. So his teachers didn’t like him, nor did his classmates play with him.
Bill often slept in class because his heart was not in school. He almost gave himself up.
One day, Miss Jones, a new teacher, came to Bill’s class. She was a smiling, beautiful woman. Bill was in love! For the first time in his young life, he couldn’t take his eyes off his teachers; yet, still he failed.
It was Miss Jones’ class. She was asking a question. “I’d like the smartest boy to answer my question.” Then she said loudly, “Bill, please!”
Bill was surprised. And he stood up without a word.
“Just try it! I believe you can!”
After school, Miss Jones had a long talk with Bill. She told him that she cared about him and believed in him.
Bill thought a lot that evening. From then on he arrived at school on time every day. Miss Jones helped him with his homework in the afternoon. She even cooked delicious food for him. She told Bill, “Nothing is impossible if you put your heart in it.”
Later, Miss Jones gave another exam. Bill did it with all his heart. He was very excited to find that he had passed the exam. Now Bill discovered that not only could he learn, but he could do it well. A changed took place in Bill’s heart.
You see, one teacher saved one boy, it’s simple(简单的), really. Bill always failed in the exams at first because he ________.
| A．went gambling | B．talked in class | C．didn’t answer | D．gave himself up |
Miss Jones changed Bill by ________.
| A．doing homework for him | B．encouraging and helping him |
| C．giving Bill another exam | D．cooking delicious food for him |
From the passage we can learn ________.
| A．Miss Jones was a loving and careful teacher |
| B．Bill’s parents cared about him very much |
| C．Miss Jones loved to answer Bill’s question |
| D．Bill didn’t like to play with his classmates |
Which may be the best title for the passage?
| A．Parents’ Day | B．A Lazy Boy | C．A Boy’s Change | D．A Strict Teacher |
Do you know that animals have love for each other and their children just like us humans? Let me tell you some moving stories of great animal parents.
Several years ago a heavy rain hit a town and made the river go up. When the rain stopped, people found that a dog swam to an island in the river twice a day for two weeks. Why did she do so? Her four children were there. The mother swam there every day to feed her babies. This true story moved many people.
Another story is about chimpanzees(猩猩). A scientist named Jane Goodall spent 4 years living with chimpanzees in Africa. She found that chimpanzees also cared for those that were hurt or got lost. “It is not only humans who have duties, animals also do,” she said.
Two birds in Chengdu also showed their parental(父母的) love. Their baby was hurt and fell on the street in the center of the city. Cars were driving past but the brave parents rushed down to the road and took the little bird away with their claws(爪子).B
A
D
C
After the heavy rain, the mother dog swam to the island ________.
| A．to look for food | B．to feed her babies |
| C．to move some people | D．to carry things to her owner |
The scientist found chimpanzees ________.
| A．cared for the hurt or lost ones | B．often left for a far place |
| C．always stayed in the same place | D．didn’t care about each other |
The two birds rushed down and took the little one away because ________.
| A．they didn’t like their baby | B．they were not kind enough |
| C．they wanted to teach their baby | D．they wanted to save their baby |
From the passage we know ________.
| A．dogs like to swim across the river in a heavy rain. |
| B．mother birds don’t want to save their children |
| C．animal parents love their children a lot |
| D．all animals want to move people very much |
How do you remember the way to your house? Where do dreams come from? It is your brain(大脑) that does these things. A British scientist showed that “sleep can improve one’s memory.” It’s not a dream for students to study when they sleep. In fact, your brains is working day and night. If you learn words before bed, a certain part of the brain may help you to remember the words while you sleep. What’s more, another scientist in the USA found that there was a “talent button(天才按钮)” in the human brain. It might make a person more talented.
There are more interesting things about the brain. Your brain uses less energy than a fridge light. Just two bananas can give the brain enough energy to work for a whole day. According to some scientists, yawning(打哈欠) keeps our brains “cool”, which makes us think quicker.
Here are some pieces of advice to keep a good brain:
Eat healthy food.
Get a lot of playtime or exercise.
Don’t drink or smoke.
Use your brain a lot. A British scientist found out that ________ could improve our memories.
| A．drink | B．dreams | C．sleep | D．bananas |
According to the passage, if we want to have a good brain, we should ________.
| A．use our brains more | B．sleep fewer hours |
| C．work longer hours | D．remember fewer things |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Our brains only work in the daytime. |
| B．Our brains need much energy every day. |
| C．Smoking can keep our brains healthy. |
| D．Getting exercise is good for our brains. |
Have you heard about “Survival (生存) Holidays”? “Survival Holidays” is for children to go into the lonely place for exciting activities. Now about 1,100 companies are allowed to take children into the great outdoors without their parents.
The reason why people like “Survival Holidays” is that they think being close to nature is good for children. Many children in big cities spend all time watching TV and playing computer games. “Survival Holidays” gives them an important change.
Is “Survival Holidays” a wonderful idea? Maybe it is. Children need more free time to play. They need to be left on their own, without adults disturbing (打扰) them. Parents care too much about their children. They like to see the children being busy with activities that are controlled by adults, but children don’t know what to do when they are in danger. Even something like crossing a small river seems to be a hard challenge. Children are not comfortable with danger. Even small danger like getting their feet wet or falling down seems very terrible to them.
Many people think the survival activities are good for children. Even years later, they will still remember what they have learned. Some have learned to stay calm in different times. Some have learned how to keep safe. Others have learned how to work in a team. All these skills will help them a lot in their lives.
Answer the following questions according to the passage.Is “Survival Holidays” for children or parents?
Why do people like “Survival Holidays”?
What do the children in big cities usually do?
How do children feel when they are in danger?
What can children learn in the survival activities？
Everybody likes to have a good time, but do you know that laughing is very good for your health? Scientists believe that laughing can help your body fight illness. Because of this, an Indian doctor opened the first laughter club in 1995.
Now there are more than 1,000 laughter clubs around the world. A laughter club is a place where you can go to laugh in your way for happiness and good health. Steve Wilson, the man who took laughter clubs to America, said, “We laugh with each other, but never at each other. At first, the laughter exercise feels a bit false. But soon the laughter becomes real.”
Laughter is very important when we communicate with other people. It helps us make friends and understand each other better. We can laugh with people all over the world. It is the same in any language. So never be afraid to laugh. It’s good for your health.
Fill in the blanks according to the passage. Only one word for each blank.
Laughing can make us happy and (76) .The first laughter club (77) opened in 1995. Now there are (78) 1,000 laughter clubs all over the world. We can go to a laughter club to laugh for our health, but remember (79) to laugh at each other. Laughter is an international language. It is (80) to each other’s understanding. Let’s laugh with people around us.
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