Lightning is a powerful force of nature. In fact, a lightning strike carries millions of volts（伏特）of electricity. Scientists say a bolt of lightning strikes somewhere on Earth every second. That is a lot of energy!
Think how wonderful it would be if we could capture lightning and sell it in a bottle. Sadly, that is not something you or I can do, at least not yet.
The phrase "to catch lighting in a bottle” means capturing something powerful or difficult. Then you are able to control it and perhaps show it to the world. This is where the "bottle” part is important.
We can also use "to catch lightning in a bottle" to describe an extremely difficult or unlikely success. In the world of sports , players and teams have also been known for catching lightning in a bottle. Anything physical that is "lightning in a bottle "can be described as a rare achievement. Climbing the top of Mount Everest is considered a rare achievement of endurance（忍耐力）.
Language experts do not know exactly where this expression comes from. Some say it may have started with Benjamin Franklin---the American diplomat, businessman and inventor. Benjamin Franklin is known for a scientific experiment involving electricity and lightning. As the story goes, Franklin once flew a kite in a lightning storm. He had hoped that lightning would strike the kite as it flew high in the sky. He thought the electricity would travel down the string to a metal key at the bottom. Then the plan was to catch the electricity in a glass jar, but that didn't happen. However, it did lead to the invention of the lightning rod and the understanding of positive and negative charges.
So, you can’t catch real lightning in a bottle. But hopefully, during your lifetime you'll have the experience of catching a little of your own lightning in a bottle・
1.How does the author start the passage?
A.By comparing different views.
B.By giving an example.
C.By presenting some facts.
D.By stating his own experience.
2.The reason why Benjamin Franklin did the scientific experiment was that he aimed to
A.catch the electricity
B.fly a kite in a lightning storm
C.invent the lightning rod
D.understand positive and negative charges
3.Which kind of magazine is this passage probably from?
A.Entertainment. B.Language.
C.Science. D.Sports.
I was 16 when my father finally decided he would send me to wilderness camp for several months. He had threatened to do it many times before, but my mother had always managed to prevent him from doing so. This time he insisted on doing it.
The latest incident was the last straw. Impulsively （(冲动地）,I had pushed Mr. Ford, my math teacher, down a flight of steps at school. He broke his arm in two places. Anyway , he had agreed not to accuse me as a favor to my dad, who was in the middle of a tight race for sheriff （执法官）in our town. But my reckless behavior had my dad's closest advisor talking." John? he's your son and he's a kid, but he is dragging you down." his advisor said. "If you can't make your son obey the rules, how can you make the law obeyed in this town?"
So, off to Pisgah National Forest I went. I imagined hours of untold abuse at the hands of some strong officer. I was determined not to be broken. I was who I was.
Nearly every day for six months, a small group of other troubled teens and I carried our 30-pound backpacks on a difficult journey covering about 10 miles.
Our sergeants were firm but kind 9 not frightening as I had imagined. We learned how to make a fire without matches. We learned which plants were safe to eat out in the wild. I felt myself change. I was calm and often reflective. My old, impulsive self was gone.
One morning, six months later, my dad came to pick me up. I ran to hug him and saw happiness and love in his eyes.
"So what's it like being sheriff?" I asked on the ride home.
"I lost the race, Danny,” he said.
"I'm sorry, Dad.” I knew my behavior probably had a lot to do with the defeat.
Dad squeezed my shoulder and brought me close. “As long as I don't ever lose you, I'm okay. ”
1.The author was finally sent to wilderness because .
A.he could learn how to survive in the wild
B.his teacher insisted on giving him a lesson
C.he pushed his math teacher down the stairs
D.his mother feared that he would be accused
2.The underlined word “reckless" in Paragraph 2 probably means .
A.proud B.rude
C.careless D.reasonable
3.What can we learn about the author from the passage?
A.He changed a lot after the camp.
B.He was not satisfied with his life in the camp.
C.He was abused by the officer.
D.He made enemies with other troubled teens at the camp.
4.How did the author father feel at the end of the story?
A.Anxious. B.Astonished.
C.Disappointed. D.Relieved.
Some birds are masters of crime. That means these species steal food from other birds and get away with it. Scientists have long wondered what these birds have in common. A new study suggests that big body size does not predict bad behavior. Instead, it is the size of the birds' brains that matters most.
To learn more about what makes some birds tend towards a life of crime and how they steal food from other birds, scientists analyzed 856 published reports of thieves. Researcher Julie says she started the project after watching birds steal dry dog food out of unattended bowls. She read about some dramatic examples of thieves, including birds that steal food from others flying in midair or bending through the sky. She learned that members of some species disturb other birds until they spit up food in their mouth.
Families that steal also tend to eat fish, mice, and other vertebrates （脊椎动物） instead of just insects. These meatier （多肉的）meals are hard to catch, and they deliver lots of valuable calories, so they are attempting to steal.
Finally, birds that steal tend to have big brains in relation to their bodies. That may seem surprising, since human bullies （欺凌弱小者）are often thought to be stronger in size. But for birds, stealing isn't about strength. It takes a clever brain to get food out of another hungry bird's claws, especially if that bird is bigger than you are.
1.What is the key factor of the birds' stealing food?
A.Body size. B.Living environment.
C.Brain size. D.Strength.
2.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Stealing birds are often stronger.
B.For birds, stealing is about cleverness and tricks.
C.Birds steal food only from those that are smaller in size.
D.Birds that steal have small brains for their bodies.
3.The best title for the passage can be .
A.Diet Habits of a Feather
B.Hunting Skills of a Feather
C.Brains of a Feather
D.Thieves of a Feather
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
Sara Savick remembers one special Easter when she was nine years old. Her parents gave her a baby duckling in a yellow basket.
“Mom said later that she bought the little duck because she felt sorry for it,” recalled Sara. The people at the pet store colored the feathers pink for Easter. Sara named the duck Pinky.
Sara’s mother really didn’t think the baby duck would survive very long. But to her surprise, Pinky grew and got stronger and stronger. Soon, the little duckling was a healthy, hungry duck with white feathers.
“We fed Pinky oatmeal, cooked and uncooked, and small pieces of vegetables,” said Sara. Pinky lived inside the house with Sara and her family. She specially fancied taking baths with Sara. Everyone treated Pinky as a family member.
But just when everything appeared to be perfect, the night of the “talk” came. Sara’s Mom and Dad sat her down, explaining that the best thing for Pinky was to live a normal duck life, with other ducks. It was not natural for ducks to live indoors with a family, her father told her. He added Pinky needed to swim in ponds and do all the same things that ducks in the wild do.
Sara started to cry, knowing what was going to happen. Sara’s parents decided to take Pinky to a park, which was two miles away. There was a pond with a lot of other ducks. Pinky would have the chance to live a natural life and Sara could still visit her.
The big day came, Sara and her parents put Pinky in a box and drove to the park. Sara said that Pinky did not look happy; maybe Pinky was convinced that she was a human, not a duck.
注意:
1. 所续写短文的词数应为l50左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1
Everyone was sad when they left Pinky at the pond, even Sara’s father.
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Paragraph 2
The next morning, when looking out of the kitchen window, Sara couldn’t believe her eyes!
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假定你是李华，即将参加下个月在北京举行的“致经典－出彩少年”(To Classic — Brilliant Youth)英语诵读大赛，已经写好所选古诗词的英文翻译稿，请给外教Alex写一封电子邮件。内容包括:
1. 简单介绍诵读大赛(内容、目的等)；
2. 请外教润色翻译稿；
3. 希望Alex提供建议。
注意:
1. 词数80左右；
2、可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3、开头语和结束语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Alex,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The Creator of Middle Earth
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, better known as J. R. R. Tolkien, was born in 1892 in South Africa. His parents had moved there looking for 1. better job for his father. Three years 2.(late), his mother took him on a trip to England to visit family. While they were away, they received terrible news that his father had died.
3.(grow ) up without a father must have been difficult for Tolkien. Worse still, when he was only twelve years old, his mother also passed away. As a child, he had a great passion for language and in 1908, he went to Oxford University 4.(study) languages and literature. In 1915, he joined the army and fought in the battle against the Germans. But soon, he became too ill to fight and returned 5. England the following year. He didn’t have a 6.(satisfy) childhood himself, so around in 1933, he spent much time telling his children fantasy 7.(story) of a hobbit (霍比特人) called Bilbo. He first put it in writing in 1936, 8. turned out to be a surprising hit. The publisher asked him to write another. He did so and in 1948 published The Lord of the Rings, which 9.(publish) in three volumes between 1954 and 1955.
Tolkien, 10.(age) eighty-one, died in 1973.
