Published March 30, 2011）Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity might have a few mistakes—and Jake Barnett has set out to prove it．Between attending college classes at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and tutoring his fellow students, Jake is also working on a new theory about the creation of the universe．He happens to be 12 years old．
From an early age, Jake showed an extraordinary interest in stars．When he was 3, his parents took him to a space observatory．He tried to learn as much as he could about astronomy．Jake’s IQ measured remarkably high at 170．
As a baby, Jake was found out with Asperser’s syndrome, a form of autism (孤独症)．Autism causes difficulties in communication and social abilities．People with autism may also have strong interests—like Jake’s interest in the stars at a young age．
The symptoms of autism can range from mild to extremely severe．Asperser’s is one of the milder forms of autism．Sometimes people with Asperser’s, like Jake, develop extremely advanced skills in science, music or art．
When Jake was in elementary school, his parents worried that the effects of his Asperser’s were worsening．He became quiet．And he was withdrawing from people．So a doctor recommended that Jake’s parents let him study more advanced subjects, like math and physics．
Jake’s mother asked an astronomy professor to let Jake sit in on his class．Now, Jake studies advanced sciences like electromagnetic physics at IUPUI．
But Jake thinks it’s important to have a normal life too．He likes to play Guitar Hero with his friends and watch science fiction movies．He also enjoys playing classical music on the piano．But for Jake, studying physics is the most important thing．Jake’s professor, John Ross, is working on getting a large sum of money for him to do research at the university．
Doctors have said Jake’s autism symptoms have lessened over time．Still, Jake proudly refers to himself as an “Aspy”, or someone with Asperser’s．In an interview with his university student newspaper, he said, “I think the autism is the reason I’m even at IUPUI．”
1.What did Jake want to do at IUPUI?
A． Get a degree in astronomy．
B． Put forward his own theory in physics．
C． Become an Albert Einstein in the future．
D． Teach his fellow students Theory of Relativity．
2.Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Jake?
a． He set out to disprove Einstein’s theory．
b． He began to study math and physics．
d． He was found out with a mild form of autism．
A． b-d-c-a
B． d-b-c-a
C． b-a-c-d
D． d-c-b-a
3.The underlined sentence in the passage means ______．
A． he was unable to help others
B． he was impolite to other people
C． he was afraid of seeing other people
D． he was only concerned about learning
4.In the eyes of Jake, autism is something ______．
A． not worth worrying about
B． annoying
C． not necessary to know about
D． embarrassing
In the past, if a person wanted to see the national treasures of a country, one had to go there in person．Therefore, very few people were able to enjoy some of history’s most important and interesting artifacts (手工艺品)．This has changed with an increase in the number of traveling museum exhibitions．
King Tutankhamen Artifacts
A traveling exhibition of artifacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamen, popularly known as “King Tut”, toured the United States from November 1976 to April 1979．The 55 objects were shown in six cities and were seen by around eight million museum-goers．The second touring exhibit was started in 2007, this s antime with 130 artifactd stops in London and three different American cities．However some objects, like the king’s golden face mask, are too valuable or too delicate to be transported long distances, so “replicas” (exact copies of something) are on show．
Japanese Color Woodblock Prints
The Art Museum at University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia, has an extraordinary collection of Japanese color woodblock prints (木刻版画)．These prints document the period from about 1850 to 1900, a time when Japan was opening itself to Western influences．Before this point, Japan was a closed society that had little communication with the world outside of its borders．These works of art beautifully show the feeling of change and the trend toward modernization．The museum has put together a traveling exhibition of 60 of these prints, which can be borrowed and exhibited worldwide for periods of eight weeks or more．
Face-to-face with “Lucy”
One of the world’s most famous archaeological (考古学的) finds in history are the 3．2 million-year-old bones of a 106-centimeter-tall female found in the Ethiopian desert in 1974．Lucy, a name given to her by the discovery team, is a “hominid”, or a creature that scientists believe is the earliest ancestor of modern human beings．Rarely is an artifact this valuable allowed to travel widely, but Lucy has been taken to several museums in the U．S．while a detailed replica remains at the Ethiopian Natural History Museum．
1.What do we learn about King Tutankhamen’s artifacts?
A． The artifacts were shown in London first．
B． The artifacts were on show in the United States once．
C． The second touring exhibit showed more artifacts than the first one．
D． The king’s golden face mask was also shown in the traveling exhibitions．
2.What do the Japanese woodblock prints show about the society from 1850 to 1900?
A． Japan had little communication with other countries．
B． The whole country refused changes in the society．
C． Japan was opening itself up to Western ideas．
D． Japan achieved modernization．
3.Who is Lucy according to the passage?
A． An archaeologist．
B． The ancestor of modern human beings．
C． A 106-centimeter-tall female who died in 1974．
D． The first woman who visited the Ethiopian desert．
Make the Most of What You Have Got
For Nick Vujicic, life was going to be difficult from the day he was born．When Nick arrived into this world, he everyone．He was not like the other babies and it was obvious to his parents and to the doctors in the hospital．
There was no or answers for his condition．Nick was born without any limbs—that is he was born without any arms or legs．But despite being physically , he was mentally and the rest of his body was functioning fine．
he had loving parents, Nick would find school hard as he would often be looked down upon by the other children and at the young age of 10, he considered his life by drowning himself in a bathtub．These dark thoughts were by his negative attitude to being disabled and at the time, he thought that he would never be able to do by himself, that he would never have a job and that he would always have to on his parents for help．
Nick was wrong．
As an adult, Nick is a successful public speaker and is famous for his motivational which focus on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life worldwide．He so many people with the story of his life, how he has so many difficulties and most importantly how he is happy every day．
Despite having no arms or legs, Nick lives , even finding ways to do almost things like brushing his teeth on his own and swimming．He has to work harder than a full bodied person and he achieves his goals．
At the first impression, you may look at Nick and feel ．You may feel sad that this man has no arms or legs and you might feel his and upset that he could find everyday situations difficult．But we should Nick, as he is extremely positive and he gets on with life．He every day and makes the best of what he has: a positive attitude, a creative mind and a powerful ．He also has a very kind and very beautiful wife and they are truly happy and in love．
1.A． shocked B． pleased C． nspired D． accepted
2.A． nervously B． painfully C． hopefully D． cautiously
3.A． surprise B． worry C． explanation D． apology
4.A． active B． sick C． disabled D． abused
5.A． disturbed B． challenged C． calm D． normal
6.A． Since B． If C． Although D． Unless
7.A． changing B． ending C． risking D． sharing
8.A． expressed B． collected C． given D． driven
9.A． something B ．nothing C． everything D． anything
10.A． call B． rely C． cheat D． look
11.A． lessons B． poems C． speeches D． posters
12.A． convinces B ．touches C． puzzles D． judges
13.A． faced B． created C ．met D． overcome
14.A． independently B． comfortably C． hopelessly D． lonely
15.A． impossible B． dangerous C． crazy D． regretful
16.A． pain B． guilt C． panic D． pity
17.A． annoyance B． selfishness C． courage D． confidence
18.A． encourage B． admire C． comfort D． correct
19.A． cries B． shouts C． smiles D． struggles
20.A． voice B． body C． family D． position
If Susan ______ for ten more minutes at the party last night, she might have met Johnny Depp, the famous Hollywood star．
A． stayed B． would stay
C． had stayed D． would have stayed
Passers-by rescued a motorcycle driver ______ under a burning car．
A． was trapped B． trapping
C． having trapped D． trapped
More people are choosing to work ______ retirement age．
A． at B． in
C． for D． beyond
