Many years ago，a French naturalist，the Count de Buffon，wrote some books about natural history．The books were a great success even though some critics did not like them．Some critics said，“Count Buffon is more of a poet than a scientist．”
Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World．It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had spoken of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant．
This troubled Thomas Jefferson．He too was a naturalist，as well as a farmer，inventor，historian，writer and politician．He had seen the natural wonders of Europe．To him，they were no more important than those of the New World．
In 1788，Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state，Virginia．While writing，he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of the Count de Buffon．At that moment．Jefferson created a new word—belittle．He said．“The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic．”
Noah Webster，the American word expert，liked this word．He put it in this English language dictionary in 1806，“Belittle—to make small，unimportant．”
Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it．In 1797，the Independent Chronicle newspaper used the word to describe a politician the paper supported．“He is an honorable man，”the paper wrote，“so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please．”
In 1872，a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word．He said，“Belittle has no chance of becoming English．And as more critical writers of America，like those of Britain，feel no need of it，the sooner it is forgotten，the better．”
This expert failed to kill the word．Today．belittle is used where the English language is spoken．Why did Thomas Jefferson disagree with the Count de Buffon?
| A．The Count said something silly about the Atlantic． |
| B．The Count wasn’t a true scientist in natural history． |
| C．The Count was a poet from a different country． |
| D．The Count belittled the natural wonders in America． |
We can infer that Jefferson created the word“belittle”out of his ___________．
| A．anger | B．excitement |
| C．kindness | D．responsibility |
From the text we can know that ______________．
| A．all critics thought little of the Count de Buffon |
| B．Europe has better wonders than the New World |
| C．the word“belittle”survived from disagreements |
| D．word experts can change the future of a new word |
Which of the following is true of the word“belittle”?
| A．It is gradually accepted by people． |
| B．It was invented by the Count de Buffon． |
| C．It was used to describe nature． |
| D．The Independent Chronicle made it popular． |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．How the word“belittle”came into being． |
| B．The argument about natural wonders． |
| C．Every word has a long history behind． |
| D．Noah Webster supported Jefferson’s idea． |
Many of us have heard stories about teachers who can “see” into a student’s future. Even if a student is not performing well, they can predict success. We are convinced that this ability, this gift, is evidence that they were “called to teach” . If the gift of sight is evidence, how greater must be the gift of touch. I have a story.
I grew up in the fifties in a poor African American neighborhood in Stockton, California, that had neither sidewalks nor an elementary school. Each day, always in groups at our parents’ insistence, my friends and I would leave home early enough to walk eight blocks to school and be in our seats when the bell rang. For four blocks, we walked on dusty roads. By the fifth block, we walked on sidewalks that led to lovely homes and to Fair Oaks Elementary School. It was at Fair Oaks, in a sixth grade English class, that I met Ms. Victoria Hunter, a teacher who had a huge influence on my life.
During reading periods, she would walk around the room, stop at our desks, stand over us for a second or two, and then touch us. Without saying anything to us (nothing could break the silence of reading periods), she would place two fingers lightly on our throats and hold them there for seconds. I learned many years later when I was a student at Stanford University that teachers touch the throat of students to check for sub-vocalization (默读), which slows down the reading speed. I did not know at the time why Ms. Hunter was touching our throats, but I was a serious and respectful student and so, during silent reading period, I did what Ms. Hunter told us to do. I kept my eyes on the material I was reading and waited for her to place her fingers lightly on my throat.
One day, out of curiosity, I raised my head from my book — though not high — so that I could see Ms. Hunter, a white woman from Canada, moving up and down the rows, stopping at the desks of my classmates. I wanted to see how they reacted when she touched their throats. She walked past them. I was confused. Did she pass them by because they were model students? What did we, the students who were touched, not do right? I sat up straighter in my chair, thinking that my way of sitting might be the problem. I was confused. Several days later, I watched again, this time raising my head a little higher. Nothing changed. Ms. Hunter touched the same students. Always, she touched me.
She touched me with her hands. She also touched me with her belief in my ability to achieve. She motivated me by demanding the best from me and by letting teachers I would meet in junior high school know that I should be challenged, that I would be serious about my work. I am convinced that she touched me because she could “see” me in the future. That was true of all of us at Fair Oaks who sat still and silent as Ms. Hunter placed her fingers lightly on our throats. We left Fair Oaks as “best students,” entered John Marshall Junior High School, finished at the top of our high school class, and went on to earn graduate degrees in various subjects. Ms. Hunter saw us achieving and she touched us to make certain that we would.
I was not surprised that she came to my graduation ceremony at Edison High School in Stockton or that she talked to me about finishing college and earning a Ph. D. She expected that of me. She gave me a beautifully wrapped box. Inside was a gift, the beauty of which multiplies even as it touches me: a necklace to which I can add charms for each stage of my life.According to the writer, what is a special ability many good teachers possess?
| A．The ability to make all students behave well. |
| B．The ability to treat different students in the same way. |
| C．The ability to discover a student’s potential to succeed. |
| D．The ability to predict the near future of a poor student. |
According to the passage, how did Ms. Hunter motivate the writer?
| A．By correcting the way she sat. |
| B．By having high expectations of her. |
| C．By sending her a valuable necklace. |
| D．By communicating with her parents often. |
What does the writer mean by “a necklace to which I can add charms for each stage of my life” (paragraph 6)?
| A．A gift which encourages me to do well on the journey of my life. |
| B．A gift which becomes more and more valuable as time goes by. |
| C．A necklace which I wear on all important occasions in my life. |
| D．A necklace which suits me and adds to my charm. |
Which of the following serves as the best title for the story?
| A．Ms. Hunter’s Surprise | B．Ms. Hunter’s Challenge |
| C．A Teacher’s Touch | D．A Teacher’s Memory |
The name sounds funny but the idea is no joke: it’s a personal toilet called the pee-pool, Anders Wilhelmson, a Swedish architect, is the inventor of the pee-pool.
He became interested in the idea of sanitation(卫生设施) after taking part in a research project on the social and political development of cities, One of the most common problems he found in developing countries was the lack of toilets, He wanted to do something to help, So working with others, he started the project in 2005, and the next year started a company called Peepoolple.
The toilet is a single—use bag made of environmentally friendly plastics, The inside is treated with urea （尿素）, a chemical commonly used as fertilizer, The hotter the weather, the more quickly the waste turns into what is needed by plants The sanitation process can be as soon as a couple of hours or as long as two to four weeks ,You can just bury it in a pot and grow whatever you like.
The company expects to start selling the bags in August in Kenya and Bangladesh, But it is just beginning production and sales in Nairobi now, Full production could reach about half a million bags a day and people may be able to buy the pee-pool in countries Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc.
The United Nations says more than two and a half billion people around the world do not have good sanitation .Many have no choice but to use the outdoors, which is not only bad for the environment ,but also harmful to people’s health, Each year, poor sanitation leads to three fifths of those people getting an infectious disease which on average causes one out of 1,000 patients to die.
Jack Smith, the founder of the World Toilet Organization, says “This is quite an unacceptable situation given the fact that we are living in the modem world, And strangely, many of them own televisions, phones but have no toilet.”What was the original purpose of Anders Wilhelmson in starting the company?
| A．To protect the local environment |
| B．To earn a lot of money from the project |
| C．To do research on the social development |
| D．To help solve the problem of lack of toilets in developing countries |
What can be learned about the pee-pool from the passage?
| A．It can be used over again |
| B．Its sanitation process doesn’t last long |
| C．It works better in summer than in winter |
| D．It should be buried in a pot after being used |
The underlined word “This” in the last paragraph probably refers to
| A．the outdoors being damaged |
| B．many places being shout of toilets |
| C．many people having TVs and phones |
| D．many people getting an infection disease |
If a business wants to sell its products internationally, it had better do some market research first. This is a lesson that some large American corporations have learned the hard way.
What’s in the name?
Sometimes the problem is the name. When General Motors introduced its Chevy Nova into Latin America, it overlooked the fact that Nova in Spanish means “It doesn’t go”. Sure enough , the Chevy Nova never went anywhere in Latin America.
Translation problems
Sometimes it is the slogan that doesn’t work. No company knows this better than Pepsi-Cola, with its “Come alive with Pepsi!” campaign. The campaign was so successful in the United States , Pepsi translated its slogan literally for its international campaign. As it turned out , the translations weren’t quite right. Pepsi was begging Germans to “Come out of the grave(坟墓)” and telling the Chinese that “Pepsi brings your ancestors(老祖宗) back from the grave.”
A picture’s worth a thousand words
Other times, the problem involves packaging. A picture of a smiling baby has helped sell countless jars of Gerber baby food. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in African countries , the picture on the jar shows what the jar has in it, for many people there can’t read.
Twist of fate
Even the culture and religious factors and pure coincidence can be involved . Thorn McAn shoes have a Thorn McAn “signature” inside. To people in Bangladesh, which is a Muslim country , this signature looked like Arabic script for the word Allah. In that country , feet are considered unclean, and Muslims felt the company was offending God’s name by having people walk on it.From the text we learned that _________.
| A．Chevy Nova was brought in Latin America |
| B．General Motors did the best market research of all companies |
| C．Pepsi still sold well in China owing to the translation problems |
| D．the “Come alive with Pepsi” campaign worked well in the US |
What was “Gerber’s problem”?
| A．A translation problem |
| B．Cultural factor |
| C．Religious factor |
| D．The picture on the jar |
For what reason were Thorn McAn shoes turned down in Bangladesh?
| A．They are not designed attractively |
| B．Their advertisements are not persuasive |
| C．A signature looking like the word Allah was in the shoes |
| D．Problem for Thorn McAn was the company’s name |
What does the text mainly tell us?
| A．Lessons from some large corporations. |
| B．How to make use of advertisements |
| C．The importance of market research |
| D．The importance of packaging |
Between 2 and 3 pounds of wonder, it controls everything we say, do or think, who we are and what we care about. The way we walk or laugh or figure out things. What we like and the talents we possess. How we see and talk and run and jump and process our food.
The brain uses 20 percent of our body’s oxygen and 20 percent of its blood. Somewhere within its protein, fat, 100,000 miles of blood vessels and 100 billion nerve cells, it helps us remember where we put our gym shoes. Change our temperature so we don’t die because of the heat or cold. Speed us up or slow us down. Help us choose between orange juice or orangeflavored drinks.
Its complexity are stunning, far beyond anything most of us can imagine. To keep this work of art as polished as possible we need to eat right, exercise and keep mentally stimulated. Good nutrition helps brain cells communicate with each other. Exercise stimulates a hormone in our brain that improves memory. Mental stimulation keeps you sharp even as you age.
“It’s very important that we tell people to be physically active and mentally active,” said neurologist Malcolm Stewart. “People cannot stop aging, but you’re able to reduce the damage; you’re able to keep the function up.”
Following are Dr. Stewart’s advice for improving brain health：
| Nutrition |
Avoid fast food. Follow the old adage(格言): For breakfast, eat like a king; for lunch, like a queen; for supper, like a beggar. |
| Exercise |
Do a combination of stretching aerobic and musclestrengthening every day. |
| Mental games |
Try to have a sense of hope about the future. Do puzzles. Listen to music. Reach out to others to make their lives better. |
The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to ______.
| A．inform us how the brain works |
| B．give us advice on how to keep the brain healthy |
| C．tell us that the brain plays an important role in our lives |
| D．show how special the brain is to us |
The underlined word “stunning” means ______.
| A．interesting | B．strange |
| C．significant | D．amazing |
According to the text, more exercise ______.
| A．keeps our mind sharp |
| B．helps improve our memory |
| C．gives our brain a rest |
| D．is good for brain cells communicating with each other |
In order to keep brain healthy, we should avoid ______.
| A．eating a good lunch | B．doing puzzles |
| C．eating a large supper | D．taking aerobic exercise |
We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells—but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)? Shouldn’t we know who they are?
Joan Mclean thinks so．In fact，Mclean，a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range，feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic．In addition to learning“who”invented“what”，however，Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the“why’’and‘‘how”questions．According to Mclean．“When students learn the answers to these questions，they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try．’’
Her students agree．One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’s statement．“If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’s invention，”said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major，“I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so constructive．”Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer．
So，just what is the story behind the windshield wiper Well，Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City．The day was cold and stormy，but Anderson still wanted to see the sights，so she jumped aboard a streetcar．Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield，she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built—in device for cleaning the window．Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham，Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions．One of her ideas，a lever(操作杆)on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside，became the first windshield wiper．
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations．It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A．Morgan’s traffic light．It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J．Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible．Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
By mentioning“traffic light”and“windshield wiper”．the author indicates that countless inventions are__________．
| A．beneficial，because their inventors are famous |
| B．beneficial，though their inventors are less famous |
| C．not useful，because their inventors are less famous |
| D．not useful，though their inventors are famous |
Professor Joan McLean’s course aims to__________.
| A．add color and variety to students’campus life |
| B．inform students of the windshield wiper’s invention |
| C．carry out the requirements by Mountain University |
| D．prepare students to try their own inventions |
Tommy Lee’s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was____．
| A．not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer |
| B．inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper |
| C．due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm |
| D．not related to Professor Joan McLean’s lectures |
Which of the following can best serve as the title of this passage?
| A．How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers |
| B．How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window |
| C．Shouldn’t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper |
| D．Shouldn’t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities |
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