The greatest scientific breakthroughs of 2014 have affected all aspects of modern life, from medicine, to space exploration, to the future of renewable technologies. Scientists all over the globe are publishing their findings and treating patients with new medicines and techniques that are changing everyday life for the human race, and adding to our vast banks of scientific knowledge.
Irish teens make a breakthrough in crop yields（产量）
16-year-old Ciara Judge, Emer Hickey, and Sophie Healy-Thow won the Google Science Fair2014, with their project “Natural Bacteria Fighting World Hunger”.
While learning about the food shortage in Africa, the three teens got thinking about how they could help. What they found may change the future of worldwide food production.. They experimented and were able to reduce germination（发芽）time by 50%and increase plants’ yield by up to 74%.
This could create the possibility of increased crop yields and reducing crop loss due to bad weather.
Cancer is cured?
In May 2014, the Mayo Clinic published a study in which they treated a 50-year-old female patient’s blood cancer with the measlesvaccine（麻疹疫苗）.After receiving the vaccine, Stacy Erholtz’s body is completely free of cancer.
Stephen Russell, who led the research, said, “It’s a landmark. We’ve known for a long time that we can introduce a virus into the blood and destroy cancer in mice. Nobody’s shown that you can do that in people before.” The measles vaccine will not work for all types of cancer, but is an unbelievable step forward.
Water found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus
In April, scientists announced that NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered a body of water on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn（土星）. Enceladus is an icy moon about 300 miles in diameter （直径）.and its mysterious body of water appears to be 5 miles deep, around the size of Lake Superior.
Scientists have also discovered that the body of water features a rock is a possible sign of conditions good for the development of life.
1.The text is mainly about _______.
A. the new findings in medicine
B. the greatest scientists in 2014
C. the new techniques in space exploration
D. the greatest scientific breakthroughs of 2014
2. What’s the aim of the three Irish teens’ Project?
A. To attract Google’s attention.
B. To do research on Africa’s soil.
C. To solve the problem of world hunger..
D. To understand different plants’ germination time.
3. What can be inferred about the Mayo Clinic’s study?
A. Blood cancer is very is very easy to cure.
B. All kinds of cancer will be cured soon.
C. Medical experiments on people are not allowed.
D. The research is a breakthrough in cancer treatment.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. Enceladus is a warm moon
B. Enceladus may be suitable for life.
C. Enceladus is as big as Lake Superior.
D. Enceladus has several rocky sea floors.
We use both words and body language to express our thoughts and opinions and to communicate with other people. We can learn about what a person is thinking by watching his or her body language. Words are important, but the way a person stands, folds his or her arms, or moves his or her hands can also give us information about his or her feelings.
Just like spoken language, body language varies from culture to culture. Making eye contact —looking directly into someone’s eyes — is in some countries a way to show interest. In other countries, however, eye contact is rude or disrespectful. The gesture for Ok, making a circle with one’s thumb and index finger, has different meanings in different cultures. In Japan, someone who sees another person making the gesture will think it means money. In France, a person seeing the same gesture will think it means zero. In Brazil and Germany, however, the gesture is rude. The thumbs-up gesture, meaning “great” or “good job” in the US is rude in Nigeria, but in Germany and Japan it means the number one. The “crazy” gesture, moving the index finger in a circle in front of the ear, means “you have a phone call” in Brazil.
Even the gesture we use for “yes” and “no” are different around the world. In many countries, shaking one’s head means “no”, and nodding means “yes”. In Bulgaria, parts of Greece, and Iran, however, the gestures have the opposite meaning. There are also differences as to how often we touch each other, how close we stand to someone we are talking to, and how we act when we meet or part. In some countries, for example, France and Russia, a visiting friend is greeted with a kiss on the check, in other countries people greet each other with a firm handshake, a loving hug, a bow or a simply a nod of the head.
While there are many different interpretations of our body language, some gestures seem to be universal. Pressing one’s palms together and resting one’s head on the back of one’s hand while closing the eyes as if sleeping means “I am tired.” A good way of saying “I am full” is moving the hand in circles over the stomach after a meal. If a person pats his or her stomach before a meal, it usually means “ I’m hungry.”
Perhaps the best example of universally understood body language is the smile. A smile can help us get through difficult situation and find friends in a world of strangers. A smile can open doors and tear down walls. It can be used to express almost any emotion. We can use a smile to apologise, to greet someone, to ask for help or to start a conversation. We can smile at ourselves in the mirror to make ourselves feel happier and stronger. And if we are feeling down or lonely, there is nothing better than to see the smiling face of a good friend.
1.In our daily life, which of the following do we use to communicate with each other?
A. gestures B. words C. smiles D. all above
2. As a Chinese , if you are lost in Germany, without knowing German, you’d better---- to ask for help?
A. use eye-contact B. thumb-up
C. smile D. say “excuse me”
3.What does this passage mainly about?
A. all the gestures in the world
B. the same body language in the world
C. gestures in the western countries
D. using proper gesture to express yourself
4.The underlined word “universal” in the last second paragraph probably means ______.
A. wide B. common C. not similar D. in space
One type of fish is named salmon(大马哈鱼). There are many different kinds of salmon, but almost all of them mate(交配) in a very strange way. They are born in small, freshwater rivers. They live in the river for a year, and then swim downstream to a bigger river and eventually to the ocean very quickly. While they live in the ocean, salmon are silver coloured.
After several years at sea, the salmon grow very long and heavy. Then, as if by magic, they all begin to swim home. Each salmon somehow remembers where it was born and the very same area in the small river.
It is a long, difficult journey home. Once the salmon enter fresh, they stop eating. They also change colours. Some salmon turn red, other brown and grey, and some turn pink. Some salmon grow a large bulge on their back, called a hump. These salmon fight to swim upstream against the current of sometimes very to avoid bears, birds, and fishermen
Finally, the salmon that survive mate in the same river in which they were born. Then, after all that work, they die! These salmon still play an important role. Their dead bodies help to provide nutrition(营养) to the animals that live in and around the river When their eggs hatch, the cycle will start again.
1.Which of the following do salmon NOT do when they reenter fresh water?
A. They change colours.
B. They stop eating.
C. They grow bulges on their backs.
D. They grow teeth.
2.Inferring from the passage, why do salmon eat a lot while they are in the ocean? Because_______
A. they need to have enough energy to return home
B. they never stop swimming
C. they are afraid of bears
D. the different water makes them hungry
3.Salmon return to fresh water in order to _______.
A. mate
B. provide nutrition to other animals
C. mate and provide nutrition to other animals
D. make a difficult journey
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult(成年人)I feared him and felt bitter about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.
1. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?
A. He was silent most of the time.
B. He was too proud of himself.
C. He did not love his children.
D. He expected too much of her.
2. When the author went out with her father on weekend, she would feel .
A. nervous B. sorry C. tired D. safe
3. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
A. More critical. B. More talkative
C. Gentle and friendly. D. Strict and hard-working.
4.The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to .
A. the author’s son
B. the author’s father
C. the friend of the author’s father
D. the café owner
教师节即将来临，请你根据以下提示给你的英语老师Mr. Smith 写一封感谢信，并表示节日的问候。
（1）表示感谢
（2）描述他的教学（讲故事，教唱歌，做游戏，举行晚会…课堂生动有趣，使我们对英语产生兴趣）
（3）表示节日问候
字数：100左右
短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
假设英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^ ）并在其下面写出该添加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线 ( \ ) 划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1、每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
1. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不记分。
It is five years now since I graduate from No. 3 High School. Last Saturday, the class that I was on held a get-together, which took us a long time prepare. It was indeed not easy to get in the touch with everybody and set a well time for all of us. We all enjoyed this precious day greatly, remember the time we spent together and the people they were familiar with. It was a pity which some of us were not present as they had gone to abroad for further study, but they called back or sent greeting card from different places.
