Although Thomas Edison created the technologies behind three major 21st century industries electrical power，recorded music and movies—his greatest invention may have been the modern method of inventing．He basically came up with the modern system of research and development．Edison was not the only scientist doing research in his garage but someone who gathered around him a team of creative scientific minds．Edison’s 1aboratories were the forerunners（ 先驱）of Apple，Google and Microsoft．
Yet for a11 his scientific gifts，he was no Steve Jobs or Bill Gates．He once said，“Anything that won’ t sell，I don’ t want to invent．” But Edison，unlike Jobs or Gates，had no real sense of what the public wanted or how to change his discoveries into products that might sell．It took him years to understand that the phonograph（ 留声机）was not a business tool but an entertainment invention．He helped create movies but resisted the idea that people might want to go into a theater to watch one．
We chose Edison this year because we need his example now more than ever．Though we live in a time of great reformation，the U．S．is in danger of losing its advantage in science and technology．American investment（ 投资）in research and development has not increased as a percentage of GDP since the mid一1980s，while the government’ s share has been dropping．And this is at a time when China is rapidly increasing its money on research and development．The U．S．was once among the 1eading nations．Now it ranks near the bottom of the 23 nations that collect such data．We hope that Edison’ s story might not only encourage reformation but also inspire more
young Americans to study science and engineering．
1.The first paragraph is mainly about .
A．the number of Edison’ s great inventions
B．Edison’ s special personal characters
C．Edi son’ s modern system of research
D．Apple．Google and Microsoft and their forerunners
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．A11 the things Edison invented sold well．
B．Edison wanted to invent things that sold well．
C．Edison’ s inventions were not valuable for being unpopular．
D．Edison had a gift for changing his discoveries into best sellers.
3.The author’ s main purpose is to ．
A．inform US of the danger the USA is in
B．get young Americans to study science
C．be in honor of Edison for his contributions
D．tell US how important Edison’ s inventions are
4.We can infer from the text that ．
A．the USA is no 10nger advanced in science and technology
B．the USA falls behind China in research and inventions
C．more and more young Americans will be interested in science
D．China is spending more and more money on research and development
When Christina Brouder was five years old, a drunk driver ran over her as she and her father were crossing the street in front of their home．Hurt badly, the young girl was forced to spend a long time in a full-body cast（ 石膏） to recover from her injuries．Mostly, she traveled between the hospital and her home．Once out of the cast, Brouder sat in a wheelchair for almost a year.
In spite of the horrible accident, Christina was grateful for her recovery．She was so grateful, in fact, that she and her four talented siblings（ 兄弟姐妹） （ three sisters and a brother） started a music group, Gilbride．The group performed at local hospitals and nursing homes, performing for the patients．Among them, the children could sing, dance and play about 20 different musical instruments．At their first show in 1988, held at Montefiore Hospital, the kids were 2,3,6,8 and 9 years old．That year alone, the group made over a hundred appearances．
From the local public entertainment places, the group expanded to charity performances．They also entertained people at Disney World, Radio City Music Hall, and even the White House．
Christina balanced her happy and successful musical career with academics．First graduating from New York City’s High School of Music and Art，and then from Fordham．In 2000，as t he youngest graduate from Fordham，1 8一year—old Christina and her siblings went on tour for a year．Not pleased with the applause she received from the audience, she entered Pace University Law School．On May 19，Christina Brouder realized part of her dream when at only 22，she received Health Law Certificate（ 文凭）．
1.What happened to Christina when she was five years old?
A．She was coldly deserted by her father．
B．She got a strange and serious disease．
C．She had to give performances to make a living．
D．She was seriously injured in a traffic accident．
2.According to the text，Christina was .
A．thankful and hardworking B．a little shy but gentle
C．a 1ittle stupid and 1azy D．sad and bored with her 1ife
3.According to the passage，the siblings .
A．were talented in music
B．were interested in sports
C．were enthusiastic about writing
D．had the ability to draw very well
4.In terms of time，what is the correct order of the things Christina did?
a．She graduated from Fordham．
b．Christina received Health Law Certificate．
c．Their first show was held at Montefiore Hospital．
d．She and her siblings entertained at the White House．
A．d，a，b，c B．d，c，b，a C．c，d，a，b D．c，b，d，a
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从36～55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。
This was an unforgettable and wonderful experience．It happened about three years ago and it has had a 36 effect on me．I would like to show respect here for the two men I do not know 37 but whose actions gave a new 38 to the words — kind and generous.
I was walking down a busy street on a cold, windy day in early 39 , A homeless man, probably about 60 and without wearing any shoes , was 40 for change on a street corner.
A BMW car 41 on the other side of the street and an executive（主管）who was perfectly dressed stepped out of the car．He was probably about 42 years old．He was wearing a blue business suit with a deep red silk tie．He walked 43 across the street and over to the homeless man．Without saying anything, he first gave him a lot of 44 and then he sat down and took off his leather gloves（ 手套）, beautiful black leather shoes and his black dress socks．Then he 45 them to the homeless man．The homeless man took them and stared with a/an 46 mouth.
As he drove off, I couldn’t 47 thinking that it was probably the first time he had 48 the pedal（ 踏板）of that top-brand BMW car with a 49 foot! I stood there and the looks of 50 appeared on my face and the homeless man’s.
Two men of about the same age 51 very different lives had met and the one who was 52 in materials had offered 53 than his shoes．He had left this BMW car and 54 down from his high position．He lifted up the other man when he offered respect, 55 and real generosity.
1.A．strong B．bad C．light D．slow
2.A．officially B．personally C．similarly D．generally
3.A．benefit B．attitude C．meaning D．award
4.A．spring B．summer C．autumn D．winter
5.A．searching B．making C．blaming D．begging
6.A．called up B．broke up C．pulled up D．sped up
7.A．40 B．50 C．60 D．70
8.A．directly B．usually C．unwillingly D．fluently
9.A．money B．water C．sand D．oil
10.A．posted B．handed C．kicked D．threw
11.A．closed B．full C．open D．empty
12.A．stand B．delay C．forget D．help
13.A．bended B．cut C．repaired D．pressed
14.A．relaxed B．large C．bare D．single
15.A．excitementB．astonishment C．sadness D．pride
16.A．but B．or C．and D．before
17.A．successfulB．careful C．useful D．helpful
18.A．rather B．more C．other D．better
19.A．broken B．fell C．stepped D．rolled
20.A．surprise B．disappointment C．anxiety D．kindness
—Was it in April, 1970 China succeeded sending its first satellite into space?
—Yes, that’s right.
A．when; in B．that; on C．which; on D．that; in
The coal miners in the coal mine for 10 hours before we came to their rescue.
A．had trapped B．had been trapping
C．had been trapped D．would have been trapped
Make full use of your time you can achieve what you desire.
A．so B．or C．but D．and
