B
You carry a 1.3 kg mass of fatty material in your head that controls everything you will ever do. This fantastic control center lets you think, learn, create, and feel emotions. It also controls everything your body does. What is this amazing machine? It’s your brain — a structure so amazing that the famous scientist James Watson called it ＂the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe＂.
Imagine your kitten jumped onto the kitchen counter, and was about to step onto a hot stove. You would have only seconds to act. In situations like this, your brain reads the signals from your eyes and quickly calculates when, where and at what speed you need to run to save her. Then it tells your muscles to move. No computer can match your brain’s great ability to download, process, and react to the flood of information from your eyes, ears and other sensory organs.
If a bee lands on your foot, sensory neurons(神经元) in your skin send this information to your brain at a speed of more than 240 kilometers per hour. Your brain then uses motor neurons to send a message back to your foot: Shake the bee off quickly! Motor neurons can send this information at more than 320 kilometers per hour!
Your brain contains about 100 billion tiny cells: neurons — it would take you more than 3,000 years if you tried to count them all. Whenever you dream, laugh, think, see or move, tiny chemical and electrical signals are racing between these neurons along billions of tiny neuron pathways. Believe it or not, the activity in your brain never stops. Countless messages fly around inside it every second, like a super-fast game of table tennis. Your neurons create and send more messages than all the phones in the entire world. And although a single neuron generates only a tiny amount of electricity, all your neurons together can generate enough electricity to power a light bulb.
1.By ＂the most complex thing＂, James Watson means __________.
A. a supercomputer B. the universe
C. human brains D. our emotions
2.Which of the following statements is true according to the 2nd and 3rd paragraph?
A. Brains can download more information than any computer.
B. The kitten plays an important role in testing human brain power.
C. Motor neurons in human brains serve to send countless messages.
D. Your brains can use neurons to send messages back faster than bees’.
3. The author mentions ＂to power light bulbs＂ (Para. 4) to show __________.
A. neurons can send lots of messages
B. how many active tiny cells brains contain
C. how much electricity brains can generate
D. there is countless information in the brain
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Powerful brain is a wonderful machine.
B. Brains work well in controlling body movements.
C. Brain is the most complex structure in the universe.
D. Human brains are composed of numerous neurons.
Moksh Jawa, 16, a student at Washington High School in the US, has already become a legend(传奇) among students. “Why not?” might be his favorite question to ask.
As a seventh-grader, he taught himself coding(编程) by studying on the Internet.
As a high school freshman, he passed the AP Computer Science A exam with a 5, the highest score possible.
As a sophomore (高中二年级学生), he developed his own online course and helped his classmates get through it because his high school didn't teach coding.
Everything he did came from his own interest. His father sent him a link to Codeacademy, an online coding training program, in middle school. He learned a programming(编程) language all by himself after signing up to the website.
“I just fell in love with computer science,” Jawa said. Along the way, he lit a fire of curiosity and passion among classmates to learn coding too.
“All of my friends, especially the girls, were really, really afraid of computer science,” he said. But the subject and exam weren't things to be feared, he said, “Computer science is all about logic(逻辑), not about how smart you are. ”
To make his knowledge available online, Jawa set about creating his own online course, with easy-to-follow lessons. He included quizzes and tests too.
The course has so far attracted 3, 200 students across the US and in 120 countries and regions, including China, Ukraine and Algeria. It shows, Jawa said, the huge need for coding lessons.
When video lecturing, “I deliver it like I'm talking from one high school student to another .” Jawa said.“ It's always great to make it as clear and fun as possible, and to try to keep my voice as energetic as possible. ”
He also does that, when teaching members of the computer science club he founded at his high school.
“His tutorials(辅导) were great, ”said Taj Shaik, the club's co-president, who took the whole course last year. “I'm definitely one of the early adopters(使用者) of Moksh. ”
“He's pretty amazing, ”said Bob Moran, principal of Washington High School, who saw him lead the club. “He was just a fantastic teacher—clear, organized and entertaining. When a student got the right answer, he would throw him a candy. ”
1.Which of the following probably made Moksh Jawa a legend among students?
A.He created his own online coding course.
B.He welcomes any kind of challenge by asking, “Why not?”
C.He learned an intermediate programming language.
D.He earns a lot of money by coding for companies.
2.Which of the following would Jawa probably agree with?
A.You have to be smart to learn computer science well.
B.Interest is the most important when learning coding.
C.Computer science is not difficult to learn.
D.Coding is useful and everyone should know it.
3.According to the article, when teaching, Jawa ______.
A.is patient but strict with his students
B.likes to do things in a fixed order
C.usually applies unusual teaching methods
D.tries to make his classes simple yet interesting
If Confucius(孔子) were alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But that doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past twenty years, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of(利用) ancient Chinese wisdom to make up the drawbacks(缺陷) Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well. Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West. As for the old thinker, he will not be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
1.The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________.
A. provide some key facts about Confucius
B. attract the readers’ interest in the subject
C. show great respect for the ancient thinker
D. prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations
2.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students ________.
A. take an active part in Chinese competitions
B. try to get high scores in Chinese exams
C. have a great interest in studying Chinese
D. fight for a chance to learn Chinese
3.What is the best title for this passage?
A. Forgotten Wisdom in America
B. Huge Fans of the Chinese Language
C. Chinese Culture for Westerners
D. Old Thinker with a Big Future
4.The passage is likely to appear in ________.
A. a biography B. a history paper
C. a philosophy textbook D. a newspaper
Joe is interested in getting exercise and competing (竞争) on a team. He reads about the events at the local pools and finds the perfect activity.
Swimming Programs
Summer Swim Team
Join a Summer Swim Team and compete with other swimmers! The program is offered at eight different local pools for youths to 17 years old. The season runs June 21-August 21. Practices are daily (Monday through Friday) throughout the summer. Cost: $50.00.
Buckman | 2-3 P.M. | Montavilla | 8-9 A.M. |
Creston | 7-9 A.M. | Peninsula | 4-7 P.M. |
Dishman | 8-9 A.M. | Pier | noon-1 P.M. |
Grant | 8-10 A.M. | Sellwood | 7-9 A.M. |
Junior Swim Instructor (少年游泳教练)
Two weeks, 20 hours of instruction, two hours per day for children 11-14 years old. Pre-training for youths interested in becoming swim instructors ($45 per child).
Junior Lifeguard (救生员)
Two weeks, 30 hours of instruction, three hours per day for children 11-14 years old. Pre-training in life-guarding, and customer (消费者) service ($45 per child).
Junior Swim Instructor & Junior Lifeguard Training Dates
June 28-July 9 | August 9- August 20 |
June 12-July 23 | August 23- September 3 |
June 26-August 6 |
|
Special Offer
Anyone who takes part in both junior swim instructor and junior lifeguard programs at the same time need only spend $75 instead of $90 for 50 hours of training.
Register(注册) Online
You can now register online! Visit our website at http://www.example.com. You can choose an area of town, a specific local center, a program, or search for classes which can meet the needs of students of different ages. Just visit our website, and you're on your way!
1.If Joe joins the Summer Swim Team, he _______.
A.needs to pay $45.00 B.begins training at 6 A.M.
C.has to practice for two months D.needs to practice for 7 days a week
2.Anyone who wants to be a junior swim instructor should .
A.be 11-14 years old B.pay the instructor by the hour
C.do at least 30 hours of training D.be an experienced junior lifeguard
3.If Joe is only free in the late afternoon, he will probably train at ________.
A.Buckman B.Peninsula
C.Pier D.Sellwood
4.If a 13-year-old boy wants to take part in the swimming programs, he can ________.
A.take classes online B.choose his instructor
C.have classes half-price D.register on the website
假设你的名字叫李华，正在伦敦某中学做交换生。校友Chris正筹划一场关于中国文化的演出活动，但他在演出内容方面遇到了瓶颈，因此来信向你求助。请你给他写封回信，内容包括：
1. 说明写信目的；
2. 提出建议；
3. 表示期待。
注意：1. 词数100左右，开头语和结尾语已为你写好；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
Dear Chris,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
假定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。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），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。
This morning when I got into the taxi I have booked,I noticed it was a same gentleman that had
taken me back home last week. I still remembered that we'd talked about. He said he thought somebody
would care,so he felt surprised and was happily to know I still remembered him. He said he began to swim to lose weight,but he did it every morning before start work. I told him that swimming was one of the greatest way to keep us healthy and it also had positive effeets on our brains,too. He said he knew it was a good way avoiding depression and that he would keep on doing it all the time.
