Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and over1,200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.
Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. He started experimenting at a young age.
When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time in experimenting his first patent(专利权) in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.
1. How often did Edison make a new invention？
A. About every fourteen days. B. About every seven days.
C. About once a week. D. About twice a week.
2.The underlined world “fired” in the passage means “_＿＿＿＿”
A. Gave somebody a job. B. Set fire to somebody.
C. Let somebody down. D. Forced somebody to leaves his job.
3. Edison considered his deafness as＿＿＿＿.
A. something bad B. a gift from God
C. a kind of ability D. a disadvantage
4.Which of the following sentences is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Edison had only 8hours’rest each day after his deafness.
B. Edison got his education mostly by self-teaching.
C. Edison had his first job in 1986.
D. Edison’inventions greatly improved the quality of people’s life.
5. What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. The function of the electric light.
B. Edison and his experiments.
C. The importance of inventions.
D. The whole life of Edison.
I turned around to find a little old lady with warm smile. She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old.”
“Why are you in university at such a YOUNG age?” I asked. She replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have coupe of kids, and then retire and travel.”
I knew she was joking. I was curious(好奇) what might have encouraged her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a university education and now I’m getting one!” she told me. We became friends. Every day we would talk nonstop after class. I always enjoyed listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom(智慧) and experience with me. And Rose easily made friends wherever she went.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to make a little speech. She cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. I’ve learned a few secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”
“There is a huge difference between growing old and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change…”
1. When the author and Rose first met, they began their conversation in a _______ manner.
A. polite B. impolite C. serious D. humorous
2. Rose went to the university in order to __________.
A. meet a rich husband B. make new friends
C. get a better job D. get a university education
3.The author considered Rose as a “time machine” because____________.
A. she always came to class on time
B. she made friends easily at university
C. she enjoyed a long life and had lots of wisdom and experience
D. she knew the difference between growing older and growing up
4.The word “That” in the Paragraph 7 refers to (指) _________.
A. growing older B. growing up
C. staying young D. being happy
5. From the passage, we know Rose believed___________.
A. “Easier said than done.”
B. “Well begun is half done.”
C. “It is never too late to learn.”
D. “Reading makes a full man.”
完形填空（共10小题；每小题1分， 满分10分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Rich or poor, young or old, we all have problems. We can easily become unhappy we solve our problems. about our problems can affect how we do things at school or at home. So how do we deal with our problems?
Most of us have probably been angry our friends, parents or teachers. Perhaps they said something you didn’t like, or you felt they were unfair. Sometimes, people can stay angry for years abut a small problem. Time goes by, and good friendships may .
When we are angry, however, we are usually the ones affected. Have you ever seen young children playing together? But they fight very soon, and decide not to talk to each other However, this usually doesn’t for long. They become good friends again. This is an important for us, we can solve a problem by leaning to forget.
Many students often complain about school. They might feel they have too much work to do sometimes, or think the rules are too .We must learn how to change these “problems” into “challenges”(挑战).As young adults, it is our duty our best to deal with each challenge with the help of our teachers.
By comparing yourself to other people, you will find your problems are not so .Think about Stephen Hawking, for example, a very clever scientist. He can’t walk or even speak ,but he regards his many physical problems as unimportant. Now he is known a great scientist in the world .We are probably quite healthy and smart .Let’s not worry about our problems. Let’s face the challenges instead.
1.A.unless B. if C. when D. as
2.A.Worry B. Worrying C. Worried D. Worries
3.A. of B. to C. with D. in
4.A.lose B. be lost C. keep D. be kept
5.A. last B. do C. produce D. make
6.A. program B. tool C. class D. lesson
7.A. kind B. strict C. weak D. free
8.A.to try B. to have C. to put D. to keep
9.A. terrible B. pleasant C. painless D. useful
10.A. about B. for C. with D. as
The woman asked the policeman where __________.
A. the post office is B. was the post office
C. is the post office D. the post office was
I didn’t hear the phone because my father__________TV then.
A. is watching B. was watching
C. watched D. watches
I have two sisters, but_________of them is a teacher.
A. all B. neither C. both D. none
