The biggest secret about inventing is that anybody can do it! Perhaps this sounds crazy, but it’s true. Maybe you have the wrong idea about inventing, so read on to discover the truth.
Wrong idea No.1： An invention has to be something completely new.
Well, inventing means creating something “new”, but the idea could come from something that already exists*. The Wright Brothers, for example, got the idea for building a “flying machine” from watching birds.
Wrong idea No.2： Inventors are born, not made.
There are a lot of factors* that make invention possible. Take Mozart, for example. He was born with an endowment for musical composition. But other factors were also important for his creativity. His father was a music teacher, and Mozart practiced for hours every day, from the time he was four years old. Thomas Edison said that being an inventor was “99% hard work and 1% inspiration”!
Very successful creators don’t give up when they get something wrong. As one inventor said, “A failure is the right answer to the wrong question.”
Wrong idea No.3： Inventors are always old people.
Don’t believe that you can’t invent something when you are young. Here are two examples of young inventors： Louis Braille went blind when he was a child. When he was fifteen, he invented a system of reading and writing for blind people that is still used in most countries today.
As a young man, George Nissen was watching some artists performing in a show. He watched how they fell into the safety net and then jumped back up again. This gave him an idea, and he invented the trampoline*.
got the idea for building a “flying machine” from watching birds.
| A．Mozart | B．George Nissen |
| C．Louis Braille | D．The Wright Brothers |
The underlined word “endowment” probably means “ ”.
| A．态度 | B．品质 | C．天赋 | D．能量 |
According to the passage, which of the following is right?
A. Anybody can do inventing.
B. Inventors are born, not made.
B. Inventors are always old people.
D. An invention has to be something completely new.
The best title for the passage would be _______.
| A．How to perform in a show | B．Be a composer |
| C．How to help blind people | D．Be an inventor |
Manners are important to happy relations (关系) among people. Everyone likes a person with good manners. No one likes a person with b manners. But what are good manners? How does one know what to do and what not to do? Well, here are some examples.
Everyone knows that a person with good manners never l at people when they are in trouble. I
, he tries to help them. He is always kind to o
. When people are waiting for a bus, he takes his turn. He does not p
to the front of the line. On the bus he g
his seat to an older person or a person with a very young child. If he knocks into someone, or someone gets in his w
, he says “Excuse me” or “I’m sorry”. He says “Please” when he asks for something and “Thank you” when he r
something. He stands up when he is speaking to an older person, and he does not sit down u
the other person takes his seat. He does not interrupt (打断) other people when they are talking. He does not talk too much. He does not talk loudly or laugh loudly in p
.
What are good manners are not always the same in different countries. But in all countries it is important to be kind and helpful.
Western China is a large and beautiful region. It includes one major city, Chongqing, six provinces, and five autonomous regions (自治区). The six provinces are Sichuan, Shanxi, Gansu, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Guizhou. The five autonomous regions are Tibet, Ningxia Hui, Xinjiang Uygur, Guangxi Zhuang, and Inner Mongolia. Among all these provinces and autonomous regions, Xinjiang is the largest region and Ningxia is the smallest region.
Western China has an area of 5,400,000 square kilometers. This is about 56% of the total area of the country. However, there are many mountains, highlands, and deserts, and there are fewer rivers and lakes than in the East. Only around 22% of the population (人口) of China lives in the West, so there are far more people living in the East than living there.
Western China has a lot of natural resources. It is rich in oil and gas and it has many different kinds of minerals (矿). Tourists like to visit the area. There are many famous museums, ancient palaces, tombs (坟墓), and caves (洞), such as the Dazu museum, Shanxi History Museum, the Potala Palace, the Dunhuang Caves, and many other beautiful places such as Yunnan Dali and Sichuan Jiuzhaigou Valley.
| Western China |
|
| Regions |
It includes the city of Chongqing, six provinces and five autonomous regions. Among them, Ningxia is |
| Land |
It covers over half of the total area of China, more than five |
| Population |
Only about 22% of the population of China is here. |
| It is rich in oil, gas and different kinds of minerals. |
|
| Tourism |
Travellers can visit the famous |
Once upon a time an old man and woman lived in the mountains in Japan. Every day the old man went to the mountain and collected firewood, while the old woman went to the river and did the washing.
One day, she was doing the washing when a big peach (桃子) came floating (漂浮) down the river towards her. As it was a big and juicy-looking fruit, she thought that her husband would be glad to eat it, so she took it home. When the old man came back for lunch and saw the nice peach, he was really happy. The old woman cut the big peach open with a knife! What a surprise! A lovely little boy was in the peach. The old man and woman had no children, so they were really grateful the gods (上帝) sent them a boy in this peach. Since he was born in a peach they decided to call him Momotaro which means “peach-boy”. The old woman cooked a meal for the little boy who ate as much as he could. The more he ate, the more he grew. Soon he became a tall and strong boy.
Day after day, all Momotaro did was sleep and eat. In the village the other boys went to the mountain and picked firewood while Monotaro was the only one doing nothing. This worried the old man and the old woman. The boys then invited him, “Momotaro, would you come with us? We’re going to collect fire wood.” But he answered, “I don’t have a basket, so I can’t go with you”, and went back to sleep. On hearing this, the old woman got angry with Momotaro for being so lazy, so the next day he went to collect firewood with the other boys. What did the old woman do every day?
| A．She went to the mountains. |
| B．She collected firewood. |
| C．She went fishing in the river. |
| D．She did the washing. |
The old woman took the peach home because ________.
| A．she knew there was a little boy in it |
| B．she was grateful the god sent them a peach |
| C．she wanted her husband to eat the juicy-looking fruit |
| D．she wanted to give her husband a surprise |
Paragraph (段落) 2 mainly tells us ________.
| A．a big peach came floating down the river |
| B．the old man and woman had no children before they had the peach |
| C．what the old woman did for the little boy |
| D．how Momotaro was born and got his name |
What do we know about Momotaro in the passage?
| A．Momotaro has a peach as his bed. |
| B．Momotaro was very small and he couldn’t eat much. |
| C．Momotaro liked to play with the boys in the village. |
| D．Monotaro was really a lazy boy. |
If there is Paragraph 4, what do you think is going to be talked about?
| A．Momotaro collected firewood so easily. |
| B．Momotaro fought with a bad man. |
| C．Momotaro became a hero in Japan. |
| D．Momotaro’s friends were proud of him. |
Art lovers around the world have thought about this question for so many years: what is the secret behind the Mona Lisa’s smile?
However, they can ask Mona Lisa herself in the interactive exhibition (交互式展览) in Beijing. This exhibition brings the 500-year-old painting to life.
Now Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting can move her head and wave (挥舞) her hand in 3D, and even answer questions. She can answer the questions about her life, her age and so on. But when she talks she doesn’t speak Italian but Chinese like: “Da jia hao, wo jiao Mengna Lisha. Hen gao xing jian dao ni men.”
The new, digital (数码的) picture of Mona Lisa is the center piece of the World Classic Interactive Arts Exhibition in Beijing. You can also see other world-famous paintings such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. Last Supper is another picture that they made alive with 3D. In this picture, Jesus (基督耶稣) can walk and talk with his believers (信徒).
It took the organizer Wang Hui and over 400 digital artists in South Korea two years to make the picture, at a cost of around 50 million yuan.
He says, “What’s special about it is that it’s the first time to use computer technology (技术) to make her speak and move.”
So what does the Mona Lisa say if you ask her why she is smiling?
Mona Lisa From the passage we know that Mona Lisa is ________.
| A．a famous woman in China |
| B．Leonardo da Vinci’s wife |
| C．a famous painting of Wang Hui |
| D．an Italian woman in Leonardo da Vinci’s painting |
For many years art lovers all around the world have wondered ________.
| A．why Mona Lisa smiled | B．who Mona Lisa lived with |
| C．how old Mona Lisa was | D．who Mona Lisa loved |
What language does Mona Lisa speak in the exhibition?
| A．She speaks French. | B．She speaks Italian. |
| C．She speaks Chinese. | D．She speaks Japanese. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Wang Hui and his team spent 2 years making the digital pictures. |
| B．The digital paintings cost Wang Hui 50,000 yuan. |
| C．Wang Hui made this painting with some Chinese artists. |
| D．About 400 artists wanted to buy the digital paintings. |
From the passage we know ________.
| A．Mona Lisa can also sing in Chinese |
| B．3D made Mona Lisa move and speak |
| C．3D made Leonardo da Vinci alive in the exhibition in Beijing. |
| D．in the picture Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci can walk in his room |
Hu Yizhou, also known as Zhouzhou, was born with intellectual disabilities. When he was 25 years old, he had an IQ of 30 and behaved himself like a 3-year-old child. But he does well in music. His disability has not prevented him from becoming a well-known conductor (指挥家).
Zhang Yiqing, a director(导演) with Hubei TV station, learnt of Zhouzhou’s talent（天赋）for music. He wanted to help the young man. Later Zhouzhou’s story has made into a film and was spread in China, Europe and America. Ever since he was famous for his great musical talent, Zhouzhou has received a lot of attention from home and abroad. He has taken part in many art performances (表演). Now he works in the Chinese Disabled Art Group as a conductor. To Zhouzhou, standing on the stage is already a big success. What is Zhouzhou good at?
| A．Computer. | B．PE. | C．Music. | D．Maths. |
What is Zhouzhou well-known as?
| A．A good cook. | B．A famous conductor. |
| C．A good director. | D．A kind disabled boy. |
What kind of person do you think Zhouzhou is?
| A．He is brave enough to save a young man. |
| B．He is clever enough to learn everything well. |
| C．He is kind to share things with others. |
| D．He is not clever, but he is successful. |
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