Did you ever wonder how some of your favorite foods, products or toys came about? Believe it or not, they may have been an accident, or a failure of some other intention. Below, we found three mistakes we’re thankful for turned out to be what they are.
1. Most historians hold that the Chinese invented fireworks in the 9th century when they discovered how to make gunpowder. Story has it that a Chinese cook accidentally mixed together what were then considered common kitchen items and noticed they burnt. When put tightly(紧紧地）in a bamboo tube(管子and lit, it blew up.
2. In May of 1886, a law led John Pemberton, a pharmacist(药剂师), to rewrite the formula(配方) for “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca”, his popular headache treatment. Containing sugar instead of wine as a sweetener, the outcome became something for Coke, which was later mixed with carbonated(碳酸) water. His bookkeeper suggested the name Coca-Cola because he thought the two C’s would look good together, which is how what we call Coca-Cola, a world-wide drink came into being.
3. During World WarⅡ, scientists at the University of Birmingham invented the magnetron(磁控管)—an important heat-producing part of the microwave oven. While working for Raytheon Corporation after the war, the American engineer Percy Spencer was testing the magnetron when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He went on to test other foods including popcorn kernels(仁), and found it to be a much more efficient way to cook. In 1947 Raytheon came out with the first restaurant microwave oven, which was six feet tall and weighed 750 lbs.The underlined phrase “ blew up” might mean _______ in Chinese.
| A．爆炸 | B．膨胀 | C．升华 | D．蒸发 |
Percy Spencer found the microwave efficient in cooking when he was ________.
| A．looking for a way to melt his chocolate |
| B．trying to know tow a magnetron could cook |
| C．working to know how the magnetron works |
| D．asked to invent a restaurant microwave oven |
The right time order of the three inventions should be ________.
| A．fireworks, the microwave and Coca-cola |
| B．fireworks, Coca-cola and the microwave |
| C．Coca-cola, fireworks and the microwave |
| D．the microwave, Coca-cola and the fireworks |
What can we learn from the above invention stories?
| A．Experiments makes great inventors of our time. |
| B．Nothing is impossible if one tries each day. |
| C．Inventors come out of hard work at any time. |
| D．A small incident may lead to a great invention. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．What great inventions they are! |
| B．Inventions from Three Countries. |
| C．Stories of Accidental Inventions. |
| D．The Human Inventions of time. |
“Tom? Are you in bed yet?” called Mrs.White. There was no answer. Mrs. White put down her book and went to her 14-year-old son’s room. Tom was sitting in front of a bright computer screen on which a motorbike was running fast.
“Oh, Tom. You’re still playing that computer game. You must stop now, because it’s half past eleven. If you don’t go to bed soon, you’ll be very tired tomorrow. ” said Mrs. White.
“But I’ve nearly won the game. ” Tom said to Mrs. White. She could see the excitement on his face. She sat down beside him.
“You’re always playing on the computer. You spend more time on this machine than on your homework. ”
Today more and more families have computers. Parents hope computers can help their children improve their study at school. But many of their children use computers to play games and watch videos instead of studying. We often see that computer net bars are crowded with people, especially young boys. The more they lose, the more they want to win. The result is that they
don’t want to work or study.
In some countries, even scientists hate computers. They say computers cause millions of people to lose their jobs or cause them a lot of trouble. Computer game addiction(瘾) is a serious problem . Something should have to be done to solve the problem.How did Mrs. White feel when she saw her son playing late?
A. She felt excited.
B. She felt happy.
C. She felt worried.Parents hope computers can _____.
A. help their children improve their study at school
B. help their children play well
C. help their children know a lot of Internet knowledgeMany children use computers to _____.
A. watch videos B. shopping C. make friendsThe writer thinks _____.
A. the boys can go to the net bars, but the girls can’t
B. the computer net bars are very useful
C. the children spend too much money on computer gamesWhy do some scientists hate computers?
A. They think computers make people lose their money.
B. They think computers cause them a lot of trouble.
C. They think it’s a waste of time to use computers.
A teenage girl couldn’t stand her parents’ family rules, so she left home.
She wanted to be famous. But she had poor education and several years later she had to ask for food on the street for a living. Now her father has died. Her mother is an old woman. But she is still looking for her daughter. She has been to every corner of the city. Everywhere she goes, she puts up a big photo of herself on the wall. At the lower part of the photo she writes,“I still love you . . . , come back home!”
One day, the daughter saw one of the photos. The face was familiar. “Is that my mother?” she moved closer and read the words“I still love you ...”She cried. When she got home, it was early morning. She knocked on the door. The door opened itself. She rushed to her mother’s bedroom. Her mother was sleeping. She woke her mother up,“It’s me! Your daughter is back home!” The mother and daughter held each other, full of happy tears. The daughter asked, “Why is the door not locked? A thief could get in.”The mother answered softly,“The door has never been locked since you left.”
The door of parents’ love for their children will never be closed.
根据短文内容, 回答下列问题。Why did the girl leave home?
__________________________________________________Why couldn’t the girl be famous?
__________________________________________________Has her mother given up looking for her?
__________________________________________________What was the mother doing when the girl came back home that morning?
__________________________________________________把文中画线的句子翻译成汉语。
Daniel wakes up in the morning and collects his post.
There’s a letter for him with a picture of a sick horse. It’s from a charity(慈善机构), asking him to give money to help save the animals. The doorbell rings and there is an old woman outside . She is asking for money to help old people. When he turns on the TV, he hears sad music and sees a picture of a poor child who is dying of hunger in Africa. He knows those poor children need money. He is always ready to help those in trouble.
In May 2003, Yao Ming, a basketball star, held a TV show in Shanghai and he collected ＄300, 000 to help scientists with medical research.“We must do something to help our country at this difficult time.”he said.
People such as Daniel and Yao feel good about helping others with money.
根据短文内容, 判断正(T)误(F)。Daniel always collects letters in the evening.
Daniel often looks after a sick horse.
Yao Ming is kind and helpful.
Many people such as Daniel and Yao like helping others with money.
This passage is mainly about charity.
At a day care center in Taxes, children were playing outside. One of the children was Jessica McClure. She was 18 months old. Jessica’s mother, who worked at the day care center, was watching the children. Suddenly Jessica fell and disappeared. Jessica’s mother cried and ran to her.
A well was in the yard of the center. The well was only eight inches across, and a rock always covered it. But children had moved the rock. When Jessica fell, and she fell right into the well.
Jessica’s mother reached inside the well, but she couldn’t feel Jessica. She ran to the phone and called 911 for help.
Men from the fire apartment arrived. They discovered that Jessica was about 20 feet down in the well. For the next hour, the men talked and planned Jessica’s rescue(营救). Then they told Jessica’s parents their plan.
“We can’t go into the well. ” they said “It’s too narrow. So, we’re going to drill(钻) a hole next to the well. Then we ‘ll drill a tunnel across Jessica. Then we’ll bring her up through the hole. ”
The man began to drill the hole on a Wednesday morning. “We’ll reach Jessica in a few hours ”, they thought. The men were wrong. They had to drill through the solid rock. Two days later, on Friday morning, they were still drilling,. And Jessica McClure was still in the well.
During her days in the well, Jessica sometimes called her mother. Sometimes she slept, sometimes she cried, and sometimes she sang.
All over the world people waited for the news of Jessica. They read about her in the newspapers and watched her rescue on TV. Everyone worried about the little girl in the well.
At 8 P. M. on Friday, the men finally reached Jessica and brought her up from the well. Jessica was dirty, hungry, thirsty and tired. Her foot and forehead was badly injured. But Jessica was alive. A doctor at the hospital said, “Jessica was lucky she was young. She’s not going to remember this very well. ”
Maybe Jessica will not remember her days in the well. But her parents, her rescuers, ans many other people around the world will not forget them. After Jessica’s rescue, one of the rescuers made a metal cover for the well. On the cover he wrote, “To Jessica, with love from all of us. ”Jessica fell into the well because____.
| A．her mother was not watching her |
| B．she was too weak |
| C．the rock cover was moved away |
| D．other children played with her |
To rescue Jessica, the rescuers___.
| A．had to dig another hole next to the well |
| B．spent hours on making a rescue plan |
| C．kept the secret of the rescue |
| D．tried to make the hole big enough |
What the doctor said meant that ____.
| A．Jessica’s parents should help her forget that |
| B．no medicine could help Jessica to forget that |
| C．the hospital was lucky to help Jessica |
| D．young Jessica wouldn’t remember that for long |
We learn from the passage that___.
| A．Jessica got many people’s attention |
| B．Jessica didn’t make a sound in the well |
| C．it took the whole Friday for the men to rescue Jessica |
| D．Jessica’s parents made a new cover for the well |
Which of the following can most probably be the tittle of the reading?
| A．Rock Cover | B．Dangerous Well |
| C．Everybody’s Baby | D．Careless Mother |
Five years ago, Rachel Lopez graduated from college with a degree in history. Today she works for a large software company. Now twenty-seven, Rachel takes classes twice a week after work. She is learning to use the computer program PowerPoint. “I enjoyed college, but my job doesn’t use information I learned when I was doing my degree,” Rachel says,” This course is helping me to do my job better. In the future, I might go back to school and got an MBA. ”
In the past, when students graduated from college and got a job, they usually stopped studying. Today, lifelong learning is becoming more common. In the United Stated, people can return to school in their late twenties, thirties, or older to get a higher degree, such as a master’s or Ph. D. Like Rachel many more are taking training courses to improve their workplace skills. With many classes now available through the Internet, it is easier for people to get degrees or training by distance learning.
Mayumi Hosoya, who is forty, teaches Japanese at a community college in New York. “Next term, I’ll be teaching some of my classes using the Internet. This is new for me,” says Mayumi, “At the moment, I am taking a course to learn how to teach this way. ” At the same time, Mayumi’s seventy-year-old mother and father are taking a distance learning course in Art History. “We love the subject,” says Mayumi’s father, ”and now we can study with people from all over the world. I never thought learning could be this much fun. ”The reading is maily about_____.
| A．Rachel Lopez’s studying and working experience. |
| B．the education in the United States |
| C．people’s life in New York. |
| D．lifelong learning becoming more common. |
Rachel is sure that _____
A. getting an MBA is necessary for her job
B. colleague studies didn’t prepare her well for her job
C. it’s not clever to get a master’s or Ph. D. in later thirties.
D. students needn’t to study when they get a jobThe underlined words ‘distance learning’ in the reading means___
| A．studying in community college |
| B．learning for higher degrees |
| C．studying away from classroom. |
| D．learning in the workplaces |
Mayumi’s parents are taking a course ____.
| A．the using of the Internet | B．the workplace skills |
| C．Japanese teaching | D．Art History |
We know from the reading that ___.
| A．many people go to school to take teaching courses |
| B．Rachel graduated when she was twenty |
| C．Mayumi’s teaching how to use the Internet now |
| D．many students stopped studying when looking for jobs |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号