Light for the City

Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system. They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city.

They bought several machines with them. These were called generators(发电机), which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building.

Soon there were lights for the building. Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night. The light burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night. People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look. Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town.

First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators. A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city. Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches. The wire connected each building to a generator.

Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job. It took a year and a half. In September, 1882, the job was finished.

A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house. The big moment came at last. The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch. The electric lights flashed up.

“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done.

“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right. Soon Edison’s lamp were lighting up cities all over the world.                

1.The generators they brought with them could produce as much as electricity as ______ needed.

2.Trenches were dug to ______.

3.It took a year and a half to ______.

4.Edison took a deep breath before pulling a switch, which showed that he was ______.

Last weekend, my kids along with few other kids from the neighborhood volunteered to help me wash my car. My 10-year-old daughter came up with the idea of   36 other people’s cars as well. It was pretty    37   outside and I had no plans to   38   being in the bright sun. She    39   wanted to give lemonade（柠檬汽水）to passers-by for free. I had seen little kids   40   and sell fresh lemonade for a small cost but not free. Although I felt    41  , I decided to help her.

  42   she asked me, “What if we    43   this a smile car wash?” I couldn’t hold back my tears and    44   her and the other kids to go outside the house and come up with    45    ideas. While I kept myself busy in drying the car, the gang walked up to me with a（n）  46  with beautiful images of smiles. They had “Free Car Wash” written on it and the    47    of their exercise was “smile”. It was pretty neat to see a team of kids ranging 5-11 years with the   48 to do something for others.

All that seemed  49  and came right from their heart. Nothing seemed to 50    to them: their playtime, the heat outside—they just wanted to   51 others and do something nice in the community!

I helped them make some fresh lemonade and brought out some additional   52   to help clean cars. Passers-by were    53    and one even shouted back to them saying “God Bless You, my kids…” One of them even tried giving them 5 dollars, which they refused. A pretty heartwarming  54  !

I feel blessed by being    55   by such wonderful and loving souls.

Our car             and we had to push it off the road.  

The little girl who got lost decided to remain ____she was and wait for her mother.

He always brings me a pretty gift ____ he comes to visit me.

——Does Shelly like shopping?

——Well，she would rather spend time      at home than    in the street．

The problems         at the meeting tomorrow are really hard to solve.

___ surprised me most was ____ he was too late for the important meeting, for he was chairman of it. 

_______ all the inventions have in common is _____they have succeeded.

A. What; what         B. That; that         C. What; that         D That; what

We feel        our duty to make our country a better place.