When punctuation（标点） began, it was mainly to help people read out loud. Until a few hundred years ago, not many people were taught to read, so there was a lot more reading out loud by the few people who could.
To help those reading out loud in the old days, sign（符号） known as “points” were added to pages of writing. Punctuation comes from the Latin word punctus, meaning “point”. These points told readers when to pause（暂停） or take a breath, and what to emphasize（加重）.
In Europe from the early centuries AD, these points were widely used although not everybody used the same points for the same thing. When printing was invented, printers had to be made more clearly about what to put where, so that everyone was doing the same thing. Since that point, all sorts of punctuation rules have been discovered and invented.
Speech marks “...”
Speech marks or quotation marks are used to show that someone is speaking. The sort we have in English today began to be widely used during the 18th century. Before that readers simply understood from the way a sentence was written that someone was speaking although sometimes spoken words were underlined.
Comma , colon: period（full stop）.
All three of these sorts of punctuation marks were given their Greek names by Aristophanes, a librarian who lived in Byzantium in the 2nd century BC. They were marks on the page, each with a message to the reader. Comma meant a short pause. Colon meant a medium（中等的） sized pause. Period meant a long pause.
Exclamation mark！
In the early days of punctuation, if you saw this sign, you were supposed to pause. Some people think the exclamation mark began as what the Greek word IO looked like if it was turned 90 degrees. This word means “Oh, gosh!” With the I on the top and the O under it, the sign as we know it today was developed.
Question mark?
In the middle age, a squiggle（圆弧） above a full stop was sometimes used to show the sentence was a question and that a person’s voice should go up at the end. By the 17th century it had turned into what we call a question mark. The shape may have come from the letter Q short for that Latin quaestio, meaning “question”.
Writers make choices about punctuation because they think differently about sentences and words. It’s part of the personality of their writing. Some writers hate punctuation, but others love punctuation. So whether you love or hate punctuation, the best advice may be to just enjoy it, play with it, think about it and use it. It belongs（属于） to the language and it belongs to you.
1.When did punctuation begin to be widely used, according to the passage?
A．In the 17th century. B．In the 2nd century BC.
C．In the 18th century. D．In the early centuries AD.
2.All punctuation rules were discovered and invented in order to ________.
A．help people read out loud B．meet the need of printing
C．guide the way of writing D．mention the spoken words
3.Which of the following is true?
A．A long pause comes after question mark.
B．Speech marks were named by a librarian.
C．Question mark comes from a Latin word.
D．The shape of a word makes exclamation mark.
4.What’s the problem about punctuation today?
A．People have completely different ideas about it.
B．Not many people are taught to use it correctly.
C．It has different meanings to different people.
D．Sometimes spoken words must be underlined.
Fashion always keeps at least one eye on the future. Now scientists are lending a hand, developing tomorrow’s super-powered（超能）clothing such as coats that can recharge（再充电） your MP3 player and make you stronger.
For example, electronics could get recharged in the future simply by plugging（插上插座） them into your outer wear, because Australian researchers are designing clothing that can collect energy from a person. The coats would include small things that change vibration energy（动能）from a person’s movements into electricity. High-tech fabrics（纤维品）would carry this energy to batteries（电池）.
“It will look like an ordinary（common）coat but have super energy,” said Adam Best, an Australian head research scientist. “This kind of technology has important uses for soldiers in the field and could mean they no longer need to carry heavy batteries,’’ Best added. “Above all, they’d be wearing the battery, not carrying it.” Besides helping soldiers, these coats could also have common uses for common people, such as powering radios, mobile phones, MP3 players or medical things. Solar-powered handbags could do the same thing.
Thanks to self-cleaning fabrics developed by scientists working for the U. S. Air Force, underwear and sports clothing could go weeks without washing. The general idea of clothes that never get dirty can be found in the 1951 film The Man in the White Suit. The new technology helps keep off water, oil and bacteria（细菌）.
High-tech fabrics could also help serve as protection. For example, future fabrics could lead to soft helmets（头盔）that turn hard in an accident.
Not all the possible fabrics of tomorrow are necessarily high-tech. For example, chicken feathers（羽毛） and other things of the farming industry could get changed into wool-like fabrics or cotton-like ones, helping use fewer fabrics made from oil.
Scientific development is also creating wool that doesn’t become bigger or smaller after washing. And future clothing could help soldiers shoulder heavy bags and help people walk. But not all electronic coats have such uses—some might serve as video game players with high technology and the latest fashion joined together perfectly.
The world of fashion is set to be taken by high-tech clothing that works as you wear!
1.“This kind of technology” means “________”.
A．clothing that makes you stronger
B．self-cleaning clothing
C．clothing that helps people walk
D．self-powered clothing
2.How can high-tech fabrics protect people from danger?
A．We will no more get hurt because of heavy batteries.
B．High-tech fabrics serve as a kind of protection for soldiers.
C．A soft helmet will become strong when you hit into something.
D．Future clothing keeps us away from dirty things and bacteria.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?
A．You can get electronic energy from your clothes in the future.
B．Self-cleaning coats are developed for American scientists.
C．We will no longer use fabrics made from oil in the future.
D．The future high-tech clothing will be used only for soldiers.
4.What would be the best title of the passage?
A．Fashion Changes with Technology
B．Tomorrow’s High-tech Clothing
C．New Technologies Change the World
D．What We Will Wear in the Future
Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. I could not find a satisfying job and I found this especially difficult as I had a lot of experience and a Master’s degree.
To my shame I was driving a school bus to make ends meet and living with friends. I had been through five interviews with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not get the job.
Later that afternoon, while doing my rounds through a quiet neighborhood I had an internal（inside）wave—like a scream（尖叫）—come up from deep inside me and I thought “Why has my life become so hard?”...
Immediately after this internal scream I pulled the bus over to drop off a little girl and as she passed she handed me an earring saying I should keep it in case somebody looked for it. The earring was stamped with words “BE HAPPY”.
At first I got angry. Then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right! I decided then and there to make a list of 50 things I was thankful to.
At first it was hard, then it got easier. One day I decided to up it to 75. That night there was a phone call for me, asking if I would do a one-day training for 200 hospital workers. I said yes and got the job.
My day with the hospital workers went very well. I got a standing welcome and many more days of work. To this day I KNOW that it was because I changed my attitude（态度）to gratitude.
By chance, the day after I found the earring the girl asked me if anyone had looked for it. I told her no and she said “I guess it was meant for you then.”
I spent the next year doing training workshops all around the Seattle area and then decided to risk everything and go back to Scotland where I had lived before. I closed my one man business and bought a plane ticket. One month later I met my wonderful English wife and best friend of 15 years now. We live in a small beautiful house in Scotland.
“THE ONLY ATTITUDE IS GRATITUDE” has been my motto（座右铭） for years now and yes, it completely changed my life.
1.What is the underlined word it in the passage？
A．To make a list of things he was thankful to.
B．The words“ BE HAPPY”.
C．To forget that his life became so hard.
D．The special earring the girl gave to the writer.
2.The word gratitude means “being ________”.
A．thankful B．open
C．careful D．kind
3.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage.？
A．The writer made a list of 75 things he was thankful to.
B．The writer’s wife has been his best friend for 15 years.
C．The writer has lived in Seattle since 20 years ago.
D．The writer did the training for 200 hospital workers.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Attitude and Gratitude B．The Girl and I
C．Be Happy D．The Earring
Ever since we became pen pals, Julien has sent me strange things. Once, she sent her sneeze in a jar.（“I have a cold, can you tell?” she wrote.） Then she sent her fingerprint.（“So you’ll recognize me in a crowd.”）
Julien sent me breakfast, all right: cornflakes. Soggy, milky, grainy, crumbly, limp cornflakes scraped from the bottom of her cereal bowl. I lost my appetite, but I read the letter.
Dear Caitlin, These cornflakes were so nutritious that I wanted to share this high-fiber, low-so-dium, just-three-calories, balanced breakfast with you. Enjoy, Julien P. S. Next week I’m sending you a sunset. |
“She’s mistaken,” I told my mom. “No one can send a sunset, not even Julien. It’s impossible.”
“I don’t know,” Mom said. “Julien might find a way. After all, she did send you her sneeze.”
A week later I checked the mail and found a box with air holes and the words “FRAGILE—THIS SIDE UP” printed in bold black letters on the top. It was from Julien.
I stroked the box with my fingers. It was perfectly dry. I smelled it. It didn’t smell. I held my breath and started opening the package. What if sunbeams spring out and hit me in the face like those fake snakes in a can? I thought.
My hands shook as I lifted the last flap and peeked inside. Where in the world was the sunset? All I could find was a letter and a twisty, gray, papery shell. It looked like a submarine. I read the letter.
Dear Caitlin , The sunsets at my house are so beautiful that I had to give you a piece. I counted at least five different colors in one yesterday. Can you find more? Hugs and smoochies, Julien |
I looked again at the gray shell. That’s no sunset, I thought. “You must mean the submarines at your house, Julien,” I said. Without reading the postscript, I laid the letter and the submarine on the kitchen table. Then I left the room to find a pen so that I could cross out “sunset” and write “submarine” above it.
When I returned, I stared in shock at the submarine. A creature was oozing out of it! Was it a sea monster? I looked closer. It was a winged creature... an insect... a butterfly. An orange, blue, purple, red, and gold butterfly. It looked like... a sunset!
While the sunset opened and closed its wings to dry them, I read Julien’s postscript. It said, “P. S. Next week I’m sending you Japan.”
1.What does the underlined word“ oozing” probably mean?
A．Moving. B．Jumping.
C．Swimming. D．Flying.
2.What did Julien really want Caitlin to see in the fourth mail?
A．The setting sun. B．Colors of a sunset.
C．A colorful butterfly. D．A new submarine.
3.We can learn from the passage that Julien was ________.
A．strange and clever B. honest and friendly
C．creative and giving D. funny and inventive
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Caitlin was from Japan and had never seen Julien.
B．Caitlin’s mom thought Julien’s gifts were fantastic.
C．Caitlin was pleased with the cornflakes that Julien sent.
D．Caitlin was expecting another unusual gift from Julien.
It’s hard to believe how times have changed since the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, on 6th April 1896. Over one hundred years ago, there was very little reliance（dependence）on modern technology. There were no landing mats（海绵垫）, no stopwatches and no photo finishes. In fact, cameras and stopwatches were not used until the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the USA.
Today technology has completely revolutionized（changed） sports. Take sports equipment（装备）for example. Starting blocks are now equipped with electronic pressure sensors（传感器）, which provide exactly correct race time and also help to catch runners who “jump the gun”. As athletes cross the finishing line, special digital cameras can also easily decide the winner. The clays of “dead heats” are gone.
Athletes have also benefited（受益） from technological developments. Body-hug-ging suits, which reduce（减少） wind drag, can help cut up to one-tenth of a second from runners’ race times. Top athletes are even provided with tailor-made sports shoes. These shoes are made to fit the athlete exactly—and there are even air compartments in the shoes that can be filled to meet each runner’s individual needs.
Technology has also changed the way that many sports are performed. Take one example—the pole vault（撑杆跳）. The inclusion of a landing mat obviously made a big difference to the vaulting style（方式）as athletes no longer needed to worry about hurting themselves as they fell. Without these worries, athletes could obviously jump higher. These days, polevaulters do not even need to worry about the crossbar as the uprights are now fitted with light-emitting diodes（LEDs） that measure（测量） how high the athlete vaulted. Technology has even been to the advantage of swimmers. New pools have been designed to reduce wave interference and sports scientists have even developed a new style of swimming that increases buoyancy and reduces drag in the water.
The increasing importance of these technological developments has led many sportsmen to suggest that the “Olympic spirit” is being lost in a rush to break records and win medals. Many developing countries say that technology has become too important in sport and that athletes from developing countries that cannot afford such technology are disadvantaged. There are no easy answers but one thing is sure—we cannot turn back time. Technology cannot go backwards.
1.How many pieces of high-tech sports equipment are mentioned in paragraph 2 and 3？
A．One. B．Two.
C．Three. D．Four.
2.The underlined phrase “dead heats” means “________”.
A．sports equipment which was out of date
B．runners who jumped the gun while running
C．diseases which killed runners in hot weather
D．races in which runners finished at the same time
3.What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph？
A．LEDs can measure the speed of swimming.
B．The pole vault was not quite safe in the past.
C．Polevaulters jump higher with landing mats.
D．New pools have changed the style of swimming.
4.The purpose of the writer in writing this article is ________.
A．to suggest we should keep up with the times
B．to show us the future of modern Olympics
C．to prove that the athletes have done better
D．to introduce high-tech sports equipment
As we become richer and richer, we are producing more and more rubbish. The Asian Development Bank（ADB） says that our largest cities produce 760 000 tons of solid waste every day. It predicts（预料） that there will be an increase—to 1.8 million tons—by 2025. It seems too much to deal with. “The growing waste is simply trying to cover our cities,” says Michael Lindfield, a specialist of ADB in Manila.
The proper treatment of rubbish is beyond the financial resources（金融资源）of many countries. The World Bank says some governments are spending as much as half of their budgets（预算） dealing with rubbish. And even so, it is common that half of all the waste goes uncollected.
Much of the added difficulty is packaging from consumer（消费者）products and the products themselves—all of which need years, even centuries to decompose（化解）. Lindfield believes that four of every five products we buy are thrown away after a single use. It all makes the work to deal with solid waste much more expensive.
The rubbish is more than just an environmental problem—it also influences national economies（经济） by disturbing the world market, discouraging tourism and slowing down industrial development.
Lots of rubbish also influences the look of our cities. As he walks to work from his home in Bangkok every day, Chatchat Mutita, a 36-year-old advertising specialist, must pass a lot of ugly, smelly rubbish that isn’t collected until late at night. He says things get worse when it rains because some yellow water will stream from the rubbish to the sidewalk.
Modern technology can make the problems of open dumps less serious. But Chettiyappan Visvanathan, a professor at the Asian Institute of Technology in Pathumthal, Thailand, believes that there are no engineered facilities（设备） in nine of every ten dumps all over the country. Some countries depend on most solid waste to produce energy, but there’s a growing problem of air pollution. Burning is far more dangerous than open dumps. The ADB says the growing rubbish must be dealt with by the “3Rs” —reducing the waste, reusing things that are being thrown away and recycling materials.
1.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A．What our environment looks like.
B．How important to clean our cities.
C．What a serious problem we have.
D．How difficult to remove rubbish.
2.Which of the the following can be the most serious problem rubbish brings to us?
A．It causes a lot of difficulty cleaning up our cities.
B．It stops our nation economies from developing.
C．It makes our environment uglier and dirtier.
D．It brings air pollution, water pollution and diseases.
3.What does the underlined sentence mean in the passage?
A．Many countries are short of proper methods to deal with rubbish.
B．Many countries are not rich enough to deal with rubbish properly.
C．Many countries are short of proper resources to deal with rubbish.
D．Many countries are not wise enough to deal with rubbish properly.
4.Which of the following is true, according to the passage?
A．There are both hope and difficulty in our future.
B．It’s impossible for us to make our cities clean.
C．We may find some ways but things will be worse.
D．The problem is not serious if everyone knows it.
