Maurice Mountain is a retired lawyer in Washington, D. C He developed a prototype(原型机) for a device he calls the Presto Emergency Boat Ladder. His invention is a small folding ladder that attaches to the side of a boat to help people who fall into the water. Mr. Mountain plans to mass-produce his boat ladder.
He created his invention at a workshop called TechShop . Mr. Mountain says, "I think it encourages innovation. I think people who probably have had ideas rolling around in the back of their minds for years but have never had the opportunity to actually put them into production or even experiment with them would find this place wonderful. Members of TechShop use high-tech equipment to develop and produce ideas they have for inventions. "Isabella Musachio manages a TechShop in Arlington, Virginia. She says the shop has many different kinds of equipment.
"TechShop is a do-it-yourself maker space. So when you come in we have all these different areas of the shop, and we have a metal shop, wood shop, lasers, 3D printers, electronics. I mean, we have so many different areas and we have all the equipment that is available to anybody above the age of 12. "
Membership costs for TechShop start at just over $ 100 per month. Members are able to use costly machines including 3D modeling tools and laser cutters. Isabella Musachio says TechShop helps its members build their dreams.
"Our motto is 'build your dreams here' because you can really come in with just an idea, and then with the help of TechShop make that leap from an idea to building your project o, your prototype or even your business."
Jim Newton is the founder of TechShop. He first introduced the idea for the technology workshops at an arts and sciences event called Maker Faire in San Mateo, California in 2006. His idea attracted hundreds of members during that event, Now, there are eight TechShop locations in the U. S. In all, there are more than 6,000 members. Two more-TechShop locations in the cities of St. Louis and Look Angeles will be set up
1.The invention Mr. Mountain invented will be used to____ .
A save the drowning people
B. help people climb the ladder
2.What can be inferred from what Mr. Mountain says in Paragraph 2?.
A. People with imagination can achieve their dreams.
B. TechShop can help turn some people’s ideas into reality.
C. TechShop is a place where people can put forward their new ideas.
D. It's hard for people to put their ideas into practice.
3.From the last paragraph, we can know _____.
A. Jim Newton is a very great invention
B. people didn't like TechShop at first
C. TechShop will become more and more popular
D. TechShop greeted with bad reviews in 2006
4.What can we know about TechShop from the passage?
A,TechShop is founded by Maurice Mountain.
B. TechShop puts high-tech dreams within reach.
C. TechShop is a non-profit organization.
D. TechShop offers its members more ideas.
When I began planning to move to Auckland to study, my mother was a little worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India, where we lived. She worried particularly about the lack of jobs and cultural differences and the chance that I would face racism.
Despite these concerns, I came to New Zealand in July 2009. I have found the place and the people very nice and supportive. Soon after I arrived, I realized the importance of getting a job to supply my living expenses.
Determined to do this on my own, I spent a whole day going from door to door for a job. However, I received little or no response(回应).
One afternoon, I walked into a building to ask if there were any job opportunities(机会). The people there were very surprised and advised me not to continue my job search in that manner .As I was about to leave, a clerk in the building, who had been listening to what others had said, approached me and asked me to wait outside. Fifteen minutes later, he returned ,He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to stay confident. Then he offered to take me to Royal Oak to search for a job.
I was a little surprised, but had a good feeling about him,so I went along. Along the way ,I realized that I had run out of resumes(简历). Seeing this, the man stopped at his business partner’s office to make me fifteen extra copies. He also gave me tips on dressing and speaking and added that I should give him a call if I ever needed anything. I handed out my resume and went home feeling very satisfied. The following day, I received a call from a store in Royal Oak offering me a job.
It seems that the world always gives back to you when you need it .And this time, it was a complete stranger who turned out to be a real blessing.
1.What wasn’t the author’s mother worried about?
A. People might look down on the author.
B. The author couldn’t speak the local language.
C. The author wasn’t familiar with the local customs.
D. It might be difficult for the author to find a job.
2.After staying in New Zealand for a short time, the author _______.
A.decided to go back to his own country.
B.felt the local people were not very friendly
C.had to find a job to cover his living expenses
D.wanted to get a job that needed practical skills
3.When the author went into a building to look for a job, ________.
A.a clerk gave him encouragement and advice
B.he was confident that he would find a good one
C.he found many college students like him already there
D.a clerk recommended him to the company he worked for
4.What is the story mainly about?
A.How a stranger offered the author a job.
B.How a stranger turned out to be a real blessing.
C.How the author adapted himself to a new situation.
D.How the author was helped to get a job for a stranger.
In April 2014, the world’s oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in the Baltic Sea. It had spent 101years lost in the ocean! The message was finally sent to the author’s granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel, Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps, dated May 17, 1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible(字迹模糊的), the readable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address, researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz, who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group, he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researcher began a research for any living relatives of his. Sure enough, they were able to find his 62-year-old grandfather, Angela Erdmann, who still lives in Berlin.
"It was almost unbelievable," Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message, as quoted in The Local. "That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather, who died in 1946, but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum Hamburg until May 1. After that, the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously, the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012, according to Guinness World Records.
1.When Konrad picked up the bottle from the sea, __________.
A.he thought it would bring him good luck.
B.he noticed the postcard inside immediately.
C.he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle.
D.he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first.
2.Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?
A.He expected his grandfather could find the postcard.
B.He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home.
C.He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever.
D.He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle.
3.What can be the best title for this passage?
A.The finding of a floating bottle at the sea.
B.A one-century-old letter to a grandfather.
C.The world’s oldest message in a floating bottle.
D.The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle.
高三的你明年即将毕业。现在校报征稿，请根据以下要点写一篇英语短文，谈谈你对高三生活的体会和建议。
1. 对老师与家长的关爱表示感谢；
2. 向与自己发生过矛盾的同学表达歉意；
3. 努力学习，实现人生梦想；
4. 对学弟、学妹的建议。
注意：
1. 可适当加入细节，使行文连贯；
2. 词数：100 左右（开头已给出，不计入总字数）。
High school is always considered as the most cherished period of one’ s life. As a Senior 3 student, it won’t be long before I graduate.
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处错误，每句中最多有两处错误。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；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Jane and Ray had been at home the most of their lives. But after their children grew up
and out of home, they decided to go on a trip around the world. It was sure that they had no
experience in travelling and they had great trouble accepted the customs of the people in the
countries where they would visit. To make them feel much comfortable and happier during
their travels, some members of the tourist group said to them, “ When in Rome, do as the Romen do”. They suggested that Jane and Ray made an effort to follow the customs of the natives. Beside, they also told them not to expect that they could feel in home when in foreign countries.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
This is a true story that happened in Japan 1. a house was redecorated and the wall inside a room was removed. The inside of the wall was hollow. When the owner of the house removed the wall, he saw a gecko (壁虎) inside the wall. Its tail was pinned by a nail 2. (come) through the wall from outside.
The owner was very curious why the gecko was still alive. Then the nail caught his eye. Goodness! It is the nail that was driven here ten years ago when the house was built! How amazing it was 3. the gecko to have lived in the wall in complete 4. (dark) for ten years!
But on second thought, the curious house owner wondered how this gecko could live through 10 years with its tail 5. (nail) down and being unable to go anywhere? So he tried to find out how this small creature could be fed. After a little while, there appeared another gecko with food in 6. mouth! What a shocking scene! For ten years, this little gecko had never failed to feed the trapped one.
The story touched me so 7. (deep) that it is useless to find out 8.__ relationships they had between them. Parent 9. child ? Friends? Lovers? Brothers or sisters? 10. last thing we should do is to abandon your beloved in hardship.
