The parts of a traditional piano have changed very little for1.(hundred) of years.The keys are black and white2.color.But now an electronic,piano-like musical instrument replaces those keys with surfaces3.respond to touch.
A start-up company called ROLI began selling the electronic keyboard in 2013.The keyboard is known as Seaboard.It does not have4.same white and black keys as a piano.Instead it is5.(make) from soft and rubbery materials.
Roland Lamb is the6.(invent) of Seaboard and a jazz piano player.He says he invented Seaboard so he could create7.(difference) kinds of sounds with the instrument.
"I wanted to be able8.(express) more from the keyboard and create the kinds of sounds that people could create on a guitar or a saxophone.And I sat at the piano thinking9.I can't strike a note and then move it."
The way a person touches the keys on a Seaboard10.(affect) the instrument's sound.This new technology enables the player to create sounds that traditional pianos cannot make.
Many years ago, there was an emperor(皇帝). One day he told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and _________ as much land area as he liked, he would give him the area of land he had covered._________ enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and _______ as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could.
He _______ riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. Even when he was _______or tired, he did not stop _______he wanted to cover as much area as possible. When he at last covered a large amount of land, he was exhausted and was _________. Then he asked himself, “Why did I _______myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only _______ a very small area to ________myself.”
The above story is ________ to the journey of our ________. We push ourselves very hard every day to make more __________, to gain power or recognition. We neglect(疏忽，忘记) our __________, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding ________and the things we love to do. One day ____________ we look back, we will ________that we don’t really need that much, ______________ then we cannot turn back time for what we have ____________
Life is not about making money. Life is definitely(肯定地) not about work! Work is only __________ to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life.
1.A.use B.get C.work D.cover
2.A.Sure B.Strange C.Good D.Interesting
3.A.rode B.ran C.expanded D.struggled
4.A.gave up B.asked for C.kept on D.succeeded in
5.A.sad B.hungry C.confused D.excited
6.A.because B.so C.but D.if
7.A.dying B.arguing C.sleeping D.smiling
8.A.make B.push C.destroy D.prove
9.A.find B.have C.need D.show
10.A.live B.support C.bury D.sleep
11.A.useful B.certain C.special D.similar
12.A.future B.past C.history D.life
13.A.money B.progress C.discoveries D.friends
14.A.freedom B.career C.honor D.health
15.A.things B.condition C.beauty D.people
16.A.before B.when C.unless D.since
17.A.regret B.realize C.apologize D.explain
18.A.but B.until C.however D.or
19.A.saved B.won C.reduced D.missed
20.A.possible B.probable C.necessary D.suitable
Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways. 1. Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.
You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. 2. Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective(选择的) process. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.
3.
●Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.
●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.
●Write your notes in your own words.
●4.
●Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.
As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time. 5.
A. Use words, not complete sentences.
B. There are three practical note-taking methods.
C. You must write your notes on separate paper.
D. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.
E. You will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.
F. The following methods may work best for you.
G. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand.
Parents can cut the chances of their children getting fat simply by keeping them longer at table. Just three extra minutes at a family mealtime could help prevent child fatness. The reasons might lie in communication and the importance of a scheduled mealtime.
Dr Barbara Fiese said, “Children, whose families have a 20-minute meal over four times a week, weigh lighter than kids who leave the table after15 to 17 minutes. Over time, those extra minutes per meal add up and become really powerful.”
Researchers studied 200 family mealtimes, testing the influences of mealtime habits of families with children in primary school. They found that families, who said that shared mealtimes were an important part of family life and had special meaning for them, were less likely to have fat children. Similarly, families who talked more together and communicated more positively during the meal, were more likely to have healthy-weight children.
Teaching families how to make full use of family mealtimes was a wise idea. “This is something we can do and teach. It’s also important to recognize the increasing differences of families and their complex living schedules that may challenge(挑战) their abilities to plan ahead and set some time to communicate with each other,” said Dr Fiese.
Families in poorer US neighborhoods faced more problems, including poor chances of getting healthy food. But even so, regular high quality family mealtimes made a difference to the children’s weight. Dr Fiese said, “Three to four extra minutes per meal will make a healthy weight more possible.”
1.How long is reasonable for a family mealtime according to the text?
A.About 10 minutes. B.About 12 minutes
C.About 15 minutes D.About 20 minutes.
2.What’s the advantage of a longer family mealtime according to the text?
A.Children can better enjoy their meals.
B.Children can have a good rest while eating.
C.Children can communicate more during the time.
D.Children can have more time to choose what they like.
3.What does the author want to show in paragraph3?
A.The result of a study. B.Different eating habits.
C.Causes of child fatness. D.The importance of normal eating
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Mealtime talk helps to lose weight
B.Healthy food makes normal weigh
C.Poorer families have thinner children
D.Longer family mealtimes help prevent child fatness
When my best friend and I were teenagers, our favorite place to hang out was the Hallmark store. If we had money, we would choose a perfect card for each other and then share tears or smiles depending on what emotion the words expressed. In those coming years we developed a friendship built on sincere feelings and we often found comfort in the words of a Hallmark card. I think it is perhaps since those years that I have become a greeting card collector.
The other day, while cleaning out the storage in my home, I came across the bag where I have kept greeting cards. They are the lasting messages that speak the meanings of my life. I pulled out a foolish-looking card. It has a stick drawing on the front that seems to be my portrait(肖像画), I laughed as I realized this is exactly how my oldest daughter saw her mum. Opening it up I saw a hand-drawn heart with eyes and a big smile. On the other side are some words “You are the best mum in the world!” This may be one card that Hallmark cards cannot compete with for it is a treasure more precious than gold. I can’t go back to where I’ve been but, from time to time, I can be taken into a welcomed memory trip.
These are the Hallmark moments of our lives. Words from once upon a time inspire us to appreciate the people in our lives who mean so much. When we sometimes have doubts, or when the world treats us unfairly, the encouraging words are there in black and white, sometimes drawn in a homemade stick drawing with a heart-shaped smiling face standing out from the rest.
Life is a Hallmark card when you care enough to send the very best.
1.What influence does the Hallmark card have on the author?
A.Finding her real hobby.
B.Becoming a greeting card donor.
C.Getting real friendship and comfort.
D.Learning to share the experience of making cards.
2.The author uses “a welcomed memory trip” in paragraph 2 to show that_______.
A.she often remembers her past trip
B.those cards are very meaningful for her
C.her daughter’s words moved her deeply
D.drawing herself on the cards is very meaningful
3.Why does the author think the words on the cards mean a lot?
A.Because they make her full of thanks.
B.Because they are written in different colors.
C.Because they can help her overcome doubts.
D.Because they always inform her of the card collector.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Words on the cards B.Collecting greeting cards is a hobby.
C.Life is a Hallmark card D.Memory in the childhood
Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.
1.Edison thought ____________.
A.he could be happy if he was a genius
B.genius plays the most important part in one’s success
C.hard work could do better than genius
D.genius could do better than hard work
2.Edison was _____________.
A.very much interested in nature
B.interested in discovering the secrets of nature
C.interested in changing people’s ideas
D.uninterested in making people happier by discovering the secrets of nature
3.In Edison’s opinion, ______________.
A.thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure as well as help
B.people’s success lies mostly in genius
C.hard work is the second important thing in making people successful
D.there are few secrets for him to discover later
4.The last sentence in the passage most probably implies __________.
A.life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings
B.Edison made 100 inventions in his life
C.Edison was able to live and work for 100 years
D.people of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years’ work
