We know the famous ones — the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells— but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)？Shouldn’ t we know who they are?
Joan McLean thinks so. In fact, McLean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’ s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”， however, McLean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why”and“how”questions. According to McLean，“When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’ s statement.“If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’ s invention，”said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major，“I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so constructive.” Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy，but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’ t be a built-in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham，Alabama. Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever(操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It’ s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’ s traffic light. It’ s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’ s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
1.By mentioning “traffic light”and “windshield wiper”， the author indicates that countless inventions are________.
A．beneficial, because their inventors are famous
B．beneficial, though their inventors are less famous
C．not useful, because their inventors are less famous
D．not useful, though their inventors are famous
2.Professor Joan McLean’ s course aims to________.
A．add colour and variety to students’ campus life
B．inform students of the windshield wiper’ s invention
C．carry out the requirements by Mountain University
D．prepare students to try their own inventions
3. Tommy Lee’ s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was________.
A．not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer
B．inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper
C．due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm
D．not related to Professor Joan McLean’ s lectures
4.Which of the following can best serve as the title of this passage?
A．How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers?
B．How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window?
C．Shouldn’ t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper?
D．Shouldn’ t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities?
The CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs’ story about death
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”
Remembering that I’ ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ ve ever encountered（遇到）to help me make the big choice in life.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors’code for preparing yourself to die.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another biopsy（活组织检查）and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’ m fine now.
This was the closest I’ ve been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
Your time is so limited that you shouldn’ t waste it repeating someone else’ s life. Don’ t be trapped by dogma（教条）—which is living with the results of other people’ s thinking. Don’ t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
1.The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because_________.
A. he had to rest at home
B. his disease was not serious at all
C. his disease couldn’ t be cured
D. he had to wait for the result of the test
2.How did the author feel after the diagnosis?
A. Angry B. Excited C. Optimistic D. Hopeless
3.What does the author think of death?
A. He thinks it is nothing to be scared of.
B. He thinks it is not the end of life.
C. He thinks it is impossible to avoid.
D. He thinks it is the beginning of a new life
4.In the author’ s opinion, we should ____________.
A. follow others’ advice
B. take no notice of diseases
C. take exercise and keep healthy
D. have the courage to follow our heart
Japan’ s nuclear crisis is also causing concerns in China. Worried
shoppers rushed to stores and supermarkets in the country for salt, with the
belief that it might protect them from potential nuclear radiation spreading
from Japan.
Many rushed to buy to store as much iodized salt as possible because of the rumor that iodized salt could help prevent radiation poisoning spreading from Japan’ s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Consumers also worried that the nuclear plumes might spread to China by air and sea, polluting food sources, including salt taken from the sea.
The wave of panic buying spread quickly across the country, driving up salt prices by five to ten fold in some cities.
Even regions rich in salt production, like Jiangxi Province，faced sudden shortages.
The government took measures to guarantee enough supply and to stabilize（稳定）the market. It also dismissed the nuclear rumors, saying the nuclear fallout was unlikely to reach the country, and that salt did not help to prevent radiation poisoning.
Local authorities have stepped in to stabilize the market, too. As well, state-owned salt companies have been urged to increase their supply.
Facing expanding market demand, distribution centers have taken extra measures to ensure they are well-prepared.
Wang Yun, the General Manager of Beijing Salt Industry Corporation, said, “Our storage reserves can guarantee a two-month supply for the Beijing market.”
1.People made panic purchases of salt for the reasons EXCEPT______________.
A. salt might protect them from potential nuclear radiation
B. nuclear radiation might pollute food sources
C. nuclear radiation might pollute salt taken from the sea
D. there would be a shortage of salt on the market
2.The underlined word “fold” in the third paragraph means _______.
A. times B. prices C. quantities D. means
3.What measures did the government take for the panic buying?
A. Enough salt would be offered to each house.
B. It admitted that salt could stop nuclear radiation.
C. Authorities urged state-owned salt companies to increase the supply.
D. Those who spread the rumor were all arrested and punished.
4.What is the purpose of the writer to give the example of Beijing Salt Industry Corporation?
A. To tell readers that there is a salt company in Beijing.
B. To make people believe that the supply of salt is enough.
C. To call on panic people to buy enough salt.
D. To prove what the government did was right.
On the morning of November 18, 1755, an earthquake shock Boston. John Winthrop, a professor at Harvard College, felt the quake and awoke. “I rose”, Winthrop wrote, “and lighted a candle, looked at my watch, and found it to be 15minutes after four.” John Winthrop hurried downstairs to the grandfather clock. It had stopped three minutes before, at 4:12. Except for stopping the clock, the quake had only thrown a key from the mantel(壁炉台) to the floor.
The clock had stopped because Winthrop had put some long glass tubes he was using for an experiment into the case for safekeeping. The quake had knocked the tubes over and blocked the pendulum(钟摆).Winthrop, therefore, had the key on the floor. The quake had thrown it forward in the direction of the quake’ s motion by a shock coming from the northwest, perhaps in Canada.
1.What does “it” in the second paragraph refer to?
A. the floor B. the key C. the clock D. the case
2.The selection suggests that .
A. earthquakes are common in Boston
B. John Winthrop was a scientist
C. John Winthrop often had difficulty in sleeping
D. Harvard College was a center for earthquake researching
3.Professor Winthrop ran downstairs because he wanted to know what had happened to .
A. the clock B. his grandfather C. the key D. the glass tubes
4.John Winthrop put some tubes into this clock case because .
A. he wanted to do an experiment
B. he thought an earthquake was probably to happen soon
C. he thought it safe for them to be put there
D. he wanted to record the exam time of the earthquake
A Love Note to My Mom
When I was a little girl，I would often accompany you as you modeled for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modeling__21__ in your life. Little did I know you were_22__ every penny you earned to go to__23__ school.
I cannot thank you enough for__24__ you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I wandered into the dining room where you were buried__25__ piles of law books. I was __26__.Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for__27__？ When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn’ t know Moms__28__be lawyers too. You smiled and said，“In life, you can do anything you want to do.”
As young as I was，that statement kept___29__ in my ears. I watched as you faced the___30_of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a_31__ and a Mom of five kids. I was exhausted just watching you__32__.With your words of wisdom in my__33__mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world__34__.I set out to live my life filled with__35__，seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.
Your words became my motto. I__36__found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary) __37__one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said, “Yes, I’ ll try that.”
Encouraged by your__38___， I have forged ahead (毅然前行) with my life’ s journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and__39__meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I’ m__40__ it. Sorry, got to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.
1.A. found B. played C. kept D. provided
2.A. saving B. making C. donating D. receiving
3.A. business B. fashion C. law D. medical
4.A. what B. that C. which D. where
5.A. at B. to C. upon D. under
6.A. amused B. worried C. puzzled D. disappointed
7.A. roles B. tests C. positions D. shows
8.A. must B. ought to C. need D. could
9. A. ringing B. blowing C. falling D. beating
10.A. choices B. chances C. challenges D. changes
11.A. professor B. doctor C. reporter D. model
12.A. in danger B. in action C. in trouble D. in charge
13. A. weak B. powerful C. youthful D. empty
14.A. came back B. closed down C. went by D. opened up
15. A. hope B. hardship C. harmony D. sadness
16.A. constantly B. shortly C. hardly D. nearly
17. A. and B. but C. or D. for
18. A. description B. statement C. praise D. introduction
19.A. secretly B. curiously C. carelessly D. eagerly
20.A. doing B. considering C. correcting D. reading
She was surprised to find the fridge empty; the child _____ everything!
A. had been eating B. had eaten C. have eaten D. have been eating
