To us, it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But in fact the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade(遮蔽)against the sun.
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, back in the eleventh century BC.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use : it became a symbol of honor and power(权力). In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office or by royal people such as the kings or queens.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. The umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece, but it is believed that the first people in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the middle ages in Europe, the use of the umbrella almost disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it became a symbol of power.
Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn't until the twentieth century that the umbrellas for women began to be made in all kinds of colors.
| A．China | B．Egypt | C．Greece | D．Rome |
| A．No one exactly knows who the inventor of the umbrella was |
| B．The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun. |
| C．The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century |
| D．In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. |
| A．protection against rain |
| B．a symbol of honor and power |
| C．a shade against the sun |
| D．women’s decoration |
| A．during the Middle Ages | B．in Rome |
| C．by the 18th | D．in Greece |
| A．when and how the umbrella was invented |
| B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe |
| C．the development of the umbrella |
| D．The history and use of the umbrella |
The car was invented (发明) just a century ago. You may know all kinds of cars’ names, but many people don’t know who was the inventor of the first car. The first car was invented not by a German, but by an American. His name was Henry Ford. Henry was born in a poor family. He was the eldest of six children. When he was a boy, he became interested in mending watches and machines. When he was twelve years old, his mother died. Soon he had to work in a machine shop for two dollars and fifty cents a week. In the evenings he repaired watches for another dollar a week. The hard life made him strong and able.
At that time there was another interest in the life of the young ford. He dreamed(梦想) to make a machine. It could run without a horse, so named “horseless carriage.” He over-came(克服) a lot of difficulties and in April 1893, the “horseless carriage” was finally finished. It was the first car.
Later Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company(福特汽车公司). He was really the first inventor of the car in the world.Who really invented the car first? _____.
| A．A German | B．An American | C．Frenchman | D．Japanese |
From this story we can know the car was invented_____.
| A．more than 100 years ago |
| B．less than 100 years ago |
| C．just 100 years ago |
| D．50 years ago |
Henry Ford must have_____.
| A．five brothers and sisters |
| B．six brothers and sisters |
| C．five younger brothers |
| D．three brothers |
How many dollars did young Ford earn(挣) every week? _____.
| A．2.5 dollars | B．3.5 dollars | C．3 dollars | D．4 dollars |
Which is not true? _____.
| A．He repaired watches in the evenings for fun |
| B．He enjoyed repairing watches and machines when he was very young. |
| C．He met with a lot of difficulties in the invention. |
| D．The first car was invented in 1893. |
阅读理解
Mr. Gao lives in a town. When he was twenty-five, his son was born. He calls him Gao Ling. The little boy is clever. He and his wife love him very much. It’s September 1st today. A new school year begins. Gao Ling is happy and wears his most beautiful clothes. He’s going to school with his new bag. “Let me take you to school, dear.” said Mrs. Gao. “Thank you, Mummy,” said the boy. “The school is not far from here. I can go there myself.”
At school a teacher met the little boy and asked, “What’s your name, my little friend?” “Gao Ling, sir.” answered the boy. “How old are you?” “Six, sir.” “What’s your father’s name?” “Gao Daling, sir.” “How old is he?” “He is six, too, sir.” “Oh,” the teacher said in surprise. “Is he as old as you?”
“Yes, sir,” said the boy. “He became a father only on the day when I was born.”Mr. Gao is _____now.
| A．six | B．twenty-five | C．thirty- one | D．thirty-five |
Mr. and Mrs. Gao love their son because_____.
| A．the boy is clever |
| B．he likes to go to school |
| C．he can go to school himself |
| D．he can answer their question |
Gao Ling didn’t let his mother take him to school because_____.
| A．she was too busy |
| B．his friends could took him |
| C．the policeman could help him |
| D．the school is near and he could take care of himself |
Gao Ling went to school_____.
| A．by car | B．on foot | C．by train | D．by bike |
Gao Ling thought_____.
| A．his father and he were born on the same day |
| B．his father was younger than him |
| C．his father forgot to tell him about his age |
| D．Gao Daling became a father only for six years |
| TV PROGRAMMES |
|
| Channel 1 |
Channel 2 |
| 18:00 Around China 18:30 Children’s programme 19:00 News 19:30 Weather report 19:40 Around the world 20:10 TV play: Sisters 21:00 English for today 21:15 Popular music 21:55 Talk show |
17:45 Computers today 18:10 Foreign arts 18:30 “Modern English” 19:00 Animal world 19:25 In Asia 20:20 Sports 21:00 Sports player: Yao Ming 21:45 English news 22:05 On TV next week |
If you want to watch a football game, the best programme for you would be ______.
| A．TV play | B．Sports | C．TV play: Yao Ming | D．Talk show |
The programme of ___ will let you know much about western countries.
| A．Sisters | B．Around China |
| C．Around the world | D．In Asia |
If you want to know something about tigers, elephants and monkeys, the best programme for you is
| A．at 19:40 on Channel 1 | B．at 19:00 on Channel 2 |
| C．at 18:30 on Channel 2 | D．at 21:15 on Channel 1 |
“Modern English”is a programme that ____.
| A．lets you know something about classroom |
| B．tells you something about students |
| C．lets you know something about school life |
| D．teacher you English |
The programme at the end of Channel 2 means ____ on TV next week.
| A．news | B．programmes | C．people | D．places |
阅读理解
Ask three people to look out the same window at a busy street corner and tell you what they see. Chances are you will receive three different answers. Each person sees the same scene（场景）, but each perceives（察觉）something different about it.
Perceiving goes on in our minds. Of the three people who look out the window, one may say that he sees a policeman giving a motorist a ticket（罚单）. Another may say that he sees a rush-hour traffic jam at the intersection. The third may tell you that he sees a woman trying to cross the street with four children in tow（拉着）. For perception（感知） is the mind’s interpretation of what the senses—in this case our eyes—tell us.
Many psychologists（心理学家） today are working to try to determine just how a person experiences or perceives the world around him. Using a scientific approach, these psychologists set up experiments in which they can control all of the factors. By measuring and charting the results of many experiments, they are trying to find out what makes different people perceive totally different things about the same scene.Perceiving is an action that takes place _____.
| A．in our eyes |
| B．only when we think very hard about something |
| C．only under the direction of a psychologist |
| D．in every person’s mind |
People perceive different things about the same scene because ____.
| A．they see different things. |
| B．they can not agree about things |
| C．some have better eyesight |
| D．none of these |
Psychologists study perception by _____.
| A．setting up many experiments. |
| B．asking each other what they see. |
| C．looking out of windows. |
| D．Studying people’s eyes. |
The best title for this article is _____.
| A．How We See |
| B．Learning About Our Minds Through Science |
| C．What Psychologists Perceive |
| D．How To Become An Experimental Psychologist |
The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and TV, telephone and so on. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has also brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution (污染). Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad to all living things in the world. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal (煤) in houses and factories in the city.
The pollution of SO2 is now the most dangerous problem of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. It is sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.Our world is becoming much smaller _______.
| A．because the earth is being polluted day and night |
| B．thanks to science development |
| C．because of the rise in population |
| D．because the earth is blown away by the wind every year |
Thousands of years ago, life was _________it is today.
| A．much easier than | B．as easy as |
| C．as hard as | D．much harder than |
Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here “it” means______.
| A．Water pollution | B．air pollution |
| C．noise pollution | D．rubbish |
Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because _______.
| A．it’s bad to all living things in the world |
| B．it makes much noise |
| C．it has made our rivers and lakes dirty |
| D．it makes us become angry more easily |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. |
| B．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world’s population does. |
| C．From now on, maybe people should try to go to work by bus or bike instead of car ormotorbike. It is helpful to fight against the problem of SO2. |
| D．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are so many people |
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