Who designed the first helicopter(直升飞机)? Who 1. (draw) one of the most famous pictures in the world? Who knew more about the human body than most 2. (doctor) did? There is an answer 3. all these questions --- Leonardo de Vinci.
Leonardo lived in Italy around the year 1500, but many of his 4. (invent) seem modern to us today. For example, one of his notebooks has drawings of a helicopter. Of course, he couldn’t build 5. helicopter with the things he had. But scientists say his idea would have worked. That’s why he was considered 6. (be) a genius that has ever been known.
But Leonardo wasn’t just an inventor. He was one of the 7. (great) artists of his day. When he was only twenty years old, he 8. (call) a master painter, and as he got older he became even more famous. Sometimes he drew a hand in ten different ways 9. he was ready to paint. Many of Leonardo’s wonderful paintings are still with us today. You may know one of his most famous works--- the 10. (smile) woman known as the Mona Lisa.
Sometimes we wish that we could have more time. The good news is that this year will be longer than the previous! Although don’t get excited just yet, because if you blink (眨眼), you may just miss it. That’s because 2015 will be one second longer than 2014 －also known as a leap second (闰秒). And surprisingly, they are pretty common. But why do we need them?
Over the centuries, Earth has been slowing down. This means that we must keep changing our clocks to keep in step with Earth’s time. We’ve all heard of leap years. Our calendars hold 365 days in a year. Yet Earth takes slightly longer to orbit the sun. So we save this time and every 4 years we have an extra day in February.
As for the leap seconds, the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) manages the global time, known as the atomic time(原子钟时间). This is the timekeeping that’s used for every single country.
To keep up with Earth’s time, they add a second every now and then. They’ve been doing this since 1972. And this year will be the 26th second they’ve added!
It’ll be added just before 8:00 a.m. on July 1 Beijing time. So you will see 7:59:60 on July 1.
Although adding a second sounds harmless, it can have negative effects. In 2012 when a leap second was added, it caused problems for companies like social networking sites Reddit and LinkedIn. As they weren’t prepared for the change, it caused their computers to record errors.
1.Why does a leap second have to be added in some years?
A. Because this year is shorter than the previous one. B. Because we need to have more time.
C. Because the Earth is slowing down. D. Because it can help make a leap year.
2.In a leap year, there is an extra day in_____.
A. January B. February C. March D. December
3.In order to keep up with Earth’s time, how many seconds have been added until last year?
A. 43 B. 42 C. 26 D. 25
4.What’s the negative effect of adding a leap second?
A. It makes the day longer than the previous one. B. It causes some recording errors for companies.
C. It makes people stay up late. D. It does harm to people’s health.
How do students spend their spare time after finishing their homework? Watch TV, play computer games, or go outside to relax? Here’s a good example.
Tim and Kerry Meek are both teachers. They live in the UK with their two daughters, 11-year-old Amy and 9-year-old Ella. Recently, the Meek family has become the focus of the UK after they completed 100 different outdoor activities in one year.
Tim and Kerry didn’t want their children to spend all their free time in front of the TV and become “couch tomatoes”. So about one year ago, the Meeks decided that watching TV and playing computer games were not permitted. Instead, they set 100 tasks for the two girls to do outside. Although Mr and Mrs Meek are not outdoor activity fans, they took part in all the activities to encourage their daughters.
Every holiday and weekend, whether it’s sunny, rainy or snowy, the Meeks would set off to try the activities on their list, including hiking, sailing, climbing and skiing. The two little girls not only had a wonderful time, but also learned a lot of skills from the activities. They were even able to stand up in front of their school to give a talk for charity. “Our friends spend a lot of their free time doing things which are harmful to their health. Luckily, we’ve had the chance to experience something different.” Amy and Ella also helped their parents to draw up a new list of challenges for the next 12 months.
1.Why did the Meeks become the focus of attention in the UK?
A. Because Mr and Mrs Meek took part in the activities to encourage their daughters.
B. Because the children are good examples of finishing their homework.
C. Because watching TV and playing computer games were not permitted at their home.
D. Because they completed 100 different outdoor activities in one year.
2.What’s the meaning of “couch tomatoes” in paragraph three?
A. The people who like outdoor activities.
B. The people who like indoor activities.
C. The people who sit in sofas and watch TV in all their free time.
D. The people who take part in many activities in all their free time.
3.Which of the sentence is wrong?
A. The Meeks would set off to try the activities every weekend.
B. The two little girl were tired of all the activities.
C. The two little girl learned a lot of skills from the activities.
D. The activities are good to Amy and Ella’s health.
4.What can we know from the end of the article?
A. The family will stop doing the activities next year.
B. Amy and Ella will continue to do the activities on this years’ list.
C. The Meeks drew up a new list of challenges together.
D. The parents have the final say to the list of activities.
When the great library of Alexandria was burned, the story goes, one book was saved. It was not a valuable book, and so a poor man bought it for a few copper coins (铜钱). Between its pages there was something very interesting. It was a thin paper on which was written the secret of the touchstone!
The touchstone was a small pebble (卵石) that could turn any common metal into gold. The writing explained that it was among thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: the real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles were cold.
So the man camped on the seashore and began testing pebbles. He thought that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and put them down again, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea.
He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone.
The days became weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is at hand. And it’s just as easy to throw it away.
1.The poor man bought the book because ______.
A. it was very cheap B. it was of great value
C. there was a secret in the book D. he wanted to find the touchstone
2.According to the story, the touchstone______.
A. is a big pebble B. feels cold
C. is magic D. is pure gold
3.The man threw pebbles into the sea _____.
A. to test how far he could throw B. to practice throwing pebbles
C. to avoid picking up the same pebble D. to express his disappointment
4.What message does the story want to tell us?
A. Careful habits can lead to success. B. Habits can benefit you but also hold you back.
C. Never judge a person or a thing by appearance. D. Opportunity only visits the ready and watchful mind.
Have you seen Liu Wen, a happy, confident and beautiful lady in the recent reality TV show We Are in Love? In the show, Liu and South Korean pop star Choi Siwon pretend to be a couple.
The 27-year-old Liu is so far the most successful Chinese model on the international stage. As a runway regular in Paris, Milan and New York fashion shows, her shiny image has been on the cover of just about every major fashion magazine.
But China’s first supermodel said she hadn’t realized her beauty until recent years. “When I was younger, nobody said I was a pretty girl,” she said. “My smaller eyes were a far cry from the big eyes of the most beloved TV actresses.”
What was unusual for Liu was her height. Her life changed in 2005 after entering a modeling competition. From then on, she stepped out of her hometown in Hunan to Beijing and then in 2008 to New York City.
When she first got to the US, Liu said she only knew three English phrases: hello, thank you and goodbye. But she worked hard, learning the language and developing both friendships and dreams.
Now Liu is one of the world’s top models. She has also been used to hearing people say “You’re beautiful”. “I feel so happy because I’m living my dream,” she said. “For Chinese girls it’s very hard to work internationally. But my fellow Chinese models and I are doing our best despite the challenges we face overseas.
“In this sense, every independent and confident woman should be thought of as beautiful,” she said.
1.Liu Wen works as a(an) ___________ now.
A. actress B. model C. film maker D. director
2.Which of the following facts is true?
A. She works hard so as to make her dreams come true.
B. Liu Wen seldom appears in New York fashion shows now.
C. She spoke English quite well when she first got to the US.
D. People considered Liu Wen a beautiful girl when she was younger.
3.In Liu Wen’s eyes, what kind of woman is beautiful?
A. smart and brave B. independent and confident
C. generous and friendly D. successful and rich
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. How to become a model B. How to be famous
C. Beauty of confidence D. International stage
Jess really felt very happy．When he arrived at his seat in the classroom that morning，he found an invitation on his desk．It was from several of his classmates asking him to join them on a camping trip．This was the first time he was asked to join in an out-of-school activity．Why were they asking him now? Nobody seemed to like him．In fact, he had been so lonely that he drowned his feelings with food. As a result, he had put on a lot of weight, and this gave the kids something more to make fun of him．
Cindy, who was standing near Jess when he read the invitation, went out quickly to tell the others that the trick had worked．Everyone was pleased that Jess thought that was true．But there was no camping trip．The whole thing was made up．
At first, Cindy thought it was fun．But later, when Jess told her that he was going to buy a sleeping bag with his savings, Cindy had a second idea．She knew that Jess’s family had little money, and she hated to see him spend his savings on something he would never use．Cindy also hated to tell Jess the truth．Her close friends would be angry with her．
What could she do now?
1.The underlined sentence “…he drowned his feelings with food” means“________”．
A. he ate a lot to make himself feel less lonely B. he asked for a lot of food from his classmates
C. he brought his food to his classmates D. he had a lot of food to put on weight
2.What would happen if Cindy told Jess the truth?
A. Jess would go on the camping trip himself． B. Jess’s family would be angry with Cindy．
C. Cindy might have trouble with her friends． D. Jess would be thankful to his classmates．
3.If Jess really bought a sleeping bag，____________．
A. everyone else would also buy one B. it would be the best in the class
C. Cindy would pay for it D. he would have it for no use
4.From the story we can guess__________．
A. everybody would go camping except Jess B. Jess had few friends in the class
C. Cindy was Jess’ best friend in the class D. Jess joined in many out-0f-school activities
