Discoveries in science and technology are thought by “untaught minds” to come in blinding flashes or as the result of dramatic accidents. Sir Alexander Fleming did not, as legend would have it, look at the mold (霉) on a piece of cheese and get the idea for penicillin there and then. He experimented with antibacterial substances for nine years before he made his discovery. Inventions and innovations almost always come out of tough trial and error. Innovation is like soccer; even the best players miss the goal and have their shots blocked much more frequently than they score.
The point is that the players who score most are the ones who take most shots at the goal—and so it goes with innovation in any field of activity. The prime difference between innovation and others is one of approach. Everybody gets ideas, but innovators work consciously on theirs, and they follow them through until they prove practicable or otherwise. What ordinary people see as fanciful abstractions, professional innovators see as solid possibilities.
“Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there’s no particular goodness in doing things the way they have always been done.” Wrote Rudolph Flesch, a language authority. This accounts for our reaction to seemingly simple innovations like plastic garbage bags and suitcases on wheels that make life more convenient: “How come nobody thought of that before?”
The creative approach begins with the proposal that nothing be as it appears. Innovators will not accept that there is only one way to do anything. Faced with getting from A to B, the average person will automatically set out on the best-known and apparently simplest route. The innovator will search for alternate courses, which may prove easier in the long run and are sure to be more interesting and challenging even if they lead to dead ends. Highly creative individuals really do march to a different drummer.
1.What does the author probably mean by “untaught mind” in the first paragraph?
A. An individual who often comes up with new ideas by accident.
B. A person who has had no education.
C. A citizen of a society that restricts personal creativity.
D. A person ignorant of the hard work involved in experimentation.
2.According to the author, what differs innovators from non-innovators?
A. The way they present their findings. B. The way they deal with problems.
C. The intelligence they possess. D. The variety of ideas they have.
3.The phrase “march to a different drummer” (the last line of the passage) suggests that highly creative individuals are ________.
A. unwilling to follow common ways of doing things
B. diligent in pursuing their goals
C. concerned about the advance of society
D. devoted to the progress of science
4.The most suitable title for this passage might be ________.
A. The Relation Between Creation and Diligence
B. To Be a Creative Expert in the Study of Human Creativity
C. What Are So Special about Creative Individuals
D. Discoveries and Innovation
What is the single most effective way to reduce greenhouse﹣gas emissions？ Go vegetarian？ Replant the Amazon？ Cycle to work？ None of the above． The answer is： make air﹣conditioners radically better． On one calculation， replacing refrigerants（制冷剂） that damage the atmosphere would reduce total greenhouse gases by the equivalent of 90bn tons of CO2 by 2050． Making the units more energy﹣efficient could double that．
Air﹣conditioning is one of the world's great overlooked industries． Automobiles and air﹣conditioners were invented at roughly the same time， and both have had a huge impact on where people live and work．
Unlike cars， though， air﹣conditioners have drawn little criticism for their social impact， emissions or energy efficiency． Most hot countries do not have rules to govern their energy use．
Yet air﹣conditioning has done quite a lot of things to benefit humankind． It has transformed productivity in the tropics and helped turn southern China into the workshop of the world． In Europe，its spread has pushed down heat﹣related deaths ten times less than what it was in 2003， when around 70，000 people， most of them elderly， died in a heatwave． For children， air﹣conditioned classrooms and dormitories are associated with better grades at school．
Environmentalists who call air﹣conditioning "a luxury we cannot afford" have half a point， however．
In the next ten years， as many air﹣conditioners will be installed around the world as were put in between 1902（when air﹣conditioning was invented）and 2005． Until energy can be produced without carbon emissions， these extra machines will warm the world． At the moment， therefore， air﹣conditioners create a vicious cycle． The more the Earth warms， the more people need them． But the more there are， the warmer the world will be．
Cutting the impact of cooling requires three things（beyond turning up the thermostat（温度调节器）to make rooms less Arctic）． First， air﹣conditioners must become much more efficient． The most energy﹣efficient models on the market today consume only about one﹣third as much electricity as average ones．
Minimum energy﹣performance standards need to be raised，or introduced in countries that lack them altogether， to push the average unit's performance closer to the standard of the best．
Next，manufactures should stop using damaging refrigerants．One category of these，hydrofluorocarbons， is over 1，000 times worse than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere． An international deal to phase out these pollutants， called the Kigali amendment， will come into force in 2019． Foot﹣draggers should approve and implement it；America is one country that has not done so．
Last， more could be done to design offices， malls and even cities so they do not need as many air﹣ conditioners in the first place． More buildings should be built with overhanging roofs or balconies for shade，or with natural air﹣circulation． Simply painting roofs white can help keep temperatures down．
Better machines are necessary． But cooling as an overall system needs to be improved if air﹣conditioners is to fulfill its promise to make people healthier，wealthier and wiser， without too high an environmental cost． Providing indoor shelters of air﹣conditioned comfort need not come at the expense of an overheating world．
1.Why does the author think air﹣conditioning is an overlooked industry？
A. Because many hot countries haven't put the energy﹣controlling rules into force．
B. Because it has caused the same impact on people's life and work as automobiles have．
C. Because it has brought great economic， physical， and educational benefits to humans．
D. Because it doesn't get the due criticism for its environmental impact as automobiles do．
2.What can we learn from Paragraph 4？
A. The price of air﹣conditioning will go up due to the large demand for it．
B. A high environmental cost will come along with the air﹣conditioning service．
C. Environmentalists are expecting extra machines which can warm the world．
D. Governments partially agree that air﹣conditioning is a luxury we cannot afford．
3.With regard to the measures to cut the impact of cooling， which of the following statements is TRUE？
A. Manufacturers should only stop using hydrofluorocarbons．
B. People should avoid turning up the air﹣conditioners to have cool rooms on hot days．
C. People should adopt more environmentally﹣friendly materials when designing buildings．
D. Governments should give a green light to the agreement on eliminating the pollutants．
4.The author writes this passage to ．
A. arouse people's attention to the global warming
B. appeal for the global joint efforts to combat global warming
C. give credit to air﹣conditioning for its great contributions to humans
D. offer a new perspective on how to reduce greenhouse gases emissions
Public distrust of scientists stems in part from the blurring of boundaries between science and technology, between discovery and manufacture. Most governments, perhaps all governments, justify public expenditure on scientific research in terms of the economic benefits the scientific enterprise has brought in the past and will bring in the future. Politicians remind their voters of the splendid machines “our scientists” have invented, the new drugs to relieve old disorders, and the new surgical equipment and techniques by which previously unmanageable conditions may now be treated and lives saved. At the same time, the politicians demand of scientists that they tailor their research to “economics needs”, and that they award a higher priority to research proposals that are “near the market” and can be translated into the greatest return on investment in the shortest time. Dependent, as they are, on politicians for much of their funding, scientists have little choice but to comply. Like the rest of us, they are members of a society that rates the creation of wealth as the greatest possible good. Many have reservations, but keep them to themselves in what they perceive as a climate hostile to the pursuit of understanding for its own sake and the idea of an inquiring, creative spirit.
In such circumstances no one should be too hard on people who are suspicious of conflicts of interest. When we learn that the distinguished professor assuring us of the safety of a particular product holds a consultancy with the company making it, we cannot be blamed for wondering whether his fee might conceivably cloud his professional judgment. Even if the professor holds no consultancy with any firm, some people may still distrust him because of his association with those who do, or at least wonder about the source of some of his research funding.
This attitude can have damaging effects. It questions the integrity of individuals working in a profession that prizes intellectual honesty as the supreme virtue, and plays into the hands of those who would like to discredit scientists by representing them as corruptible. This makes it easier to dismiss all scientific pronouncements, but especially those made by the scientists who present themselves as “experts”. The scientist most likely to understand the safety of a nuclear reactor, for example, is a nuclear engineer, and a nuclear engineer is most likely to be employed by the nuclear industry. If a nuclear engineer declares that a reactor is unsafe, we believe him, because clearly it is not to his advantage to lie about it. If he tells us it is safe, on the other hand, we distrust him, because he may well be protecting the employer who pays his salary.
1.What is the chief concern of most governments when it comes to scientific research?
A. The reduction of public expenditure. B. Quick economic returns.
C. The budget for a research project. D. Support from the voters.
2.Why won’t scientists complain about the government’s policy concerning scientific research?
A. They know it takes patience to win support from the public.
B. They realize they work in an environment hostile to the free pursuit of knowledge.
C. They think compliance with government policy is in the interests of the public.
D. They are accustomed to keeping their opinions to themselves.
3.According to the author, people are suspicious of the professional judgment of scientists because ______.
A. some of them do not give priority to intellectual honesty
B. sometimes they hide the source of their research funding
C. they could be influenced by their association with the project concerned
D. their pronouncements often turn out to be wrong
4.Why does the author say that public distrust of scientists can have damaging effects?
A. Scientists themselves may doubt the value of their research findings.
B. People will not believe scientists even when they tell the truth.
C. It makes things difficult for scientists to seek research funds.
D. It may wear out the enthusiasm of scientists for independent research.
假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Andy想参加汉语课程学习，你推荐他去当地的孔子学院，请给他写封邮件，内容包括：
1.推荐理由；
2.相关课程，如中国历史，传统文化等。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：孔子学院Confucius Institute
Dear Andy,
I’m more than pleased to know that you are eager to learn Chinese. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间互相修改作文，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。每处错误仅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：在错的词下面划一横线，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1词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Firstly, I have to express my thanks to you for your reminding, although I don’t agree with your view which students should spend more time on their lessons instead of read novels．Indeed, reading novels takes up some of the time that should spent on lessons, but it’ll make us know what hard life is．Besides, by reading novels we can gain what we can’t learn from our textbook．Of course, reading novels has it’s shortcomings．Novels that have wrong ideas will make us to do something wrong．Maybe, in your eyes, the disadvantages of reading novels outweighs the advantages．And in my opinion, reading novels is just as another pair of eyes, which broadens my horizons．
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Do oil and water never mix together? Let’s do an experiment and find it out.
Here 1. what you need. You need a small soft drink bottle, some water, food coloring and two table-spoons of cooking oil.
Now I’ll tell you 2. to do. First, add a few 3. (drop) of food coloring to the water. Then, put about two tablespoons of the colored water along with the two tablespoons of cooking oil 4. the small soft drink bottle. After 5. (do) that, cover the bottle tight and shake it as hard as you can. Finally, put the bottle back down and have a look. It may have seemed as though the liquids were mixing together 6. the oil will float back to the top.
What’s happening? While water often mixes with other liquids, oil and water do not. Water molecules are 7. (strong) attracted to each other. This is 8. same for oil. They are more attracted to 9. (they) own molecules so they just don’t mix. The oil floats above the water because it is 10. (light) than water.
