Discoveries
Growing up in a home full of books is good for you. According to researchers from Australian National University, people who grow up with books at home are better at reading and communicating with others. But how many books are enough to make a difference? The magic number seems to be 80 or above. | Chocolate smells so good. But do you know where chocolate comes from? Chocolate is made from cacao. Scientists used to think cacao was first found in Central America and Mexico about 3,900 years ago. But scientists from Canada have found that people in Ecuador grew cacao. They grew the plant over 5,000 years ago. |
With this scarf, you won’t be cold during the winter. The Sustain Sport Heated Scarf from Taiwan can heat itself. Just put on the scarf and press a button. Within 15 seconds, the scarf becomes warm. There are two heat choices for the scarf: 42℃ and 46℃. The scarf can stay warm for 3.5 hours on one charge. You can charge it with a USB port. | On Nov. 9, 2018, Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin, 55, won the Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society in Washington D.C., US. It is named in honor of(为纪念) British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. Liu said Clarke’s works introduced him to sci-fi and have encouraged his imagination ever since the 1980s. |
1.Which of the following numbers has a relationship with the history of a kind of food?
A.80 or above. B.3,900. C.42℃. D.The 1980s.
2.Li Yi is a 12-year-old boy. He likes reading very much and his dream is to be a great writer. He may be interested in .
A.Discovery 1 and Discovery 2 B.Discovery 2 and Discovery 3
C.Discovery 3 and Discovery 4 D.Discovery 1 and Discovery 4
3.Which of the following sentences is WRONG from the passage?
A.Scientists have found that chocolate is made from cacao which was first grown over 5,000 years ago.
B.Growing up in a home with books is better at communicating with people.
C.Liu Cixin won the award which is named in honor of American science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.
D.The heated scarf can become warm for 3.5 hours on one charge with a USB port.
4.Where can we most probably see the discoveries?
A.In a dictionary. B.In a storybook.
C.On a website. D.In a guidebook.
While he was playing with his toy car, Tom found his mother crying. He ran to her and wiped the tears on her face with his little dirty hands, saying, “I won’t play with the toy any more and I’ll be a good boy.”
After a while, he asked his mom, “Why are you crying?” “Because I am a mother, boy,” she told him.
“I don’t understand,” he said. His mom took him in her arms and said, “You will never.”
Later, the little boy asked his father about it. “All mothers cry for no reason,” answered his father.
The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why mothers cry. One day while he was reading a story, he happened to find the answer. In the story, a lovely girl asked a granny, “Granny, why do mothers cry so easily?”
Granny said, “You see, girl, mothers are born to be special. Mothers’ shoulders are strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet soft enough to give comfort. Their hearts are kind enough to stand the misunderstanding which comes from their children. Mothers take care of their families without saying anything. They love their children, even when their children hurt them badly. This kind of great love makes a child who made mistakes feel better, and it helps mothers share a teenager’s worries and fears. Mothers have the ability to know others’ feelings. Only mothers can use tears whenever it is needed.”
1.When did Tom find out the reason why his mother cried one day?
A.After he asked his father about this question. B.After he grew up as a father.
C.After his granny told him about the reason. D.After he read a story.
2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Children sometimes hurt their mothers. B.Children have their own worries and fears.
C.Mothers have the ability to know others’ feelings. D.Mothers always cry because of their children’s playing.
3.The best title for the passage is .
A.Fathers’ Reasons B.Mothers’ Tears
C.A Granny’s Answer D.A Child’s Question
根据首字母填空。
Dr. Li Wenliang, one of the eight “whistleblowers” who tried to w1.fellow medics of the novel coronavirus when it f2. emerged in Wuhan, d3.early on Friday. Wuhan Central Hospital confirmed in a statement released on i4.official Weibo account. “Our hospital’s ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was u5.infected with coronavirus during his work in the fight a6.the coronavirus epidemic,” the statement read, adding “He died at 2:58 a.m. on February 7 after attempts to resuscitate were u7..” “After emergency treatment, Li Wenliang passed away,” the Central Hospital of Wuhan announced on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. “We deeply r8.and mourn Li’s death.” Dr. Li is a hero, w9.will live in our hearts forever. May God bless all the courageous doctors and n10.fighting on the front line.
Many of us have had this experience: we lie down in a bed other than our own, perhaps at a friend’s house or in a hotel room, and find it difficult to fall asleep. Is it because the bed is uncomfortable? Maybe, but perhaps there can be other reasons.
According to a new study published in Current Biology, a significant reason is what the scientists call “first night effect”. They believe that one side of the brain acts as a “night watch” to warn us about potential (潜在的) dangers. It forces us to stay awake on the first night in a new environment.
For the study, 35 young volunteers were told to sleep in a lab for several days. Meanwhile, researchers watched their brain activities.
According to the researchers, on their first night, the left brains were more active than the right brains and people had a hard time sleeping. However, left-brain activity reduced as days went by, falling even to the point of complete calm. In this process, the volunteers got an increasingly better sleep experience.
The findings suggest that the different rhythms (节奏) of the sides of the brain influence our sleep. When the two sides work differently, the balance between them is broken. Thus, the brain can’t relax and is sensitive to anything strange in the surroundings, just as it is in the daytime.
“At some level, the brain is continuing to analyze(分析) things, even though you don’t realize the analysis,” US professor Jerome Siegel told Smithsonian Magazine. “If something unusual happens – if a door opens or you hear a key in a lock – you can be alert (警惕的).”
More surprisingly, this situation is similar to the way some animals sleep. Whales, dolphins, and many birds can sleep with half of their brain while the other half stays awake.
If you have ever had what you think is “first night effect”, researchers suggest that you bring your own pillow or sleep in a room similar to your bedroom next time you sleep away from home.
1.can’t you get to sleep? | |
Introduction | People can’t fall asleep2.when staying in a new environment. |
Reason | One side of the brain stays awake to warn us about potential (潜在的) dangers. |
Process and findings of the3.
| Researchers told some 4. to sleep in a lab to watch their brain activities. Too many left-brain activities 5.the bad sleep experience on the first night. Their left brains became 6.active as time went by and became calm gradually. |
Explanations to findings | Whether you can have a good sleep 7.on the balance between the two sides of the brain. You yourself don’t realize it,8.your brain doesn’t stop analyzing things. It’s surprising to find out that the way humans sleep is just9. some animals do. |
10. | Take a pillow or live in a similar room when staying in a new place. |
Denton police officers were dispatched to the 500 block of South Elm Street after a call about a fight at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
The officers met with a husband and a wife in parking lot who said a man had pulled a gun on them, according to a police report. They said the man fired a round as he was leaving. The woman said they had been at a bar, where she got into an argument with a man she didn’t know. Her husband joined in the argument, which spilled on into the parking lot, according to the report. She said that man left but his friend, the man who fired the round, began to shout at her husband while they were outside. She reported that as the second man was getting into his truck, he pulled out a gun and she noticed the gun’s laser pointed at herself and her husband. Her husband took his cane(拐杖) and hit the side of the truck, damaging the driver’s side window, according to the report. Then the man shot off the gun as he was leaving the parking lot, the woman said.
Another woman witnessed the argument and heard the gunshot, according to the report. The officer reported that a single 45-caliber(口径) shell casing（外壳）was found in the street by the exit of the parking lot. Another officer found a truck matching the couple’s description in the 600 block of Fort Worth Drive.
The driver of the truck admitted to the police that he had pulled out a gun and fired a shot into the ground as he was leaving, according to the report. The man was taken to prison and charged with assault(袭击) with a deadly weapon.
1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.The police didn’t find the man who had a gun.
B.The woman’s husband was hurt by the man’s shooting.
C.The man who argued with the woman fired at her husband.
D.The truck’s side window was broken by the woman’s husband.
2.Which is the correct order of the things that happened in the passage?
a. The driver of the truck fired the round.
b. The driver of the truck shouted at the couple.
c. They all went out to the parking lot.
d. The police found the truck.
e. The man who argued with the couple left.
A.cebad B.ceabd C.abced D.ecabd
3.The underlined word “dispatched” in the first paragraph probably means________.
A.invited B.sent C.introduced D.welcomed
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.An argument happened in the bar.
B.A fire fight in the parking lot.
C.A man fired a shot after the argument in the parking lot.
D.A driver was charged with owning a deadly weapon.
In 1992, a group of architects(建筑师)and engineers in Seattle had collected hundreds of canned goods for charity. “We wanted to give back to the community,” said Deborah Ashcraft, organizer for the Construction project. Volunteers also wanted to have some “creative fun,” so they used the cans to create a huge map of the State of Washington.
Today Construction has thousands of volunteers across the United States and Canada, for the purpose of creating a world without hunger. Construction members build their delicious artwork in shopping areas and museums.
In some cities, such as Tampa Bay, Florida, Construction artists are made up of school kids, “Our class built a Wurlitzer organ(风琴)out of cans,” said Jasmine Heaggans, a student at Lanier Elementary. “We based ours on the 77-year-old organ at the Tampa Theater.”
Beginning in September, architects Danni Anstett and Danielle Williams visited class weekly. After a field trip to see the real Wurlitzer, the architects showed the class how to draw pictures of the organ from all sides. They instructed students to do a plan view. And they helped the young artists count up how many cans would be used.
On October 24, Construction workers from Lanier and three other Tampa Bay schools gathered at the local shopping area to build and display their artworks. The students got to stack (堆)cans. With 1,800 cans, Lanier students had nine hours to get the Wurlitzer ready for the judges.
“The cans had to be perfectly stacked,” student Courtney Keenam recalled, “or everything would fall.”
After four hours, the students were feeling pretty good. The organ was taking shape. Then the kids had an “uh-oh” moment. The cans were facing the wrong way. They had to be turned around.
At last, the Wurlitzer stood shiny and tall, just in time for the judges to name it “most creative.”
1.What is the aim of the Construction project?
A.To sell canned food. B.To end world hunger.
C.To bring people much fun. D.To build better communities.
2.How did Anstett and Williams help the young volunteers?
A.By helping design the artwork. B.By building an organ with cans.
C.By drawing pictures of an organ. D.By offering them a real Wurlitzer organ.
3.Why did the students come together on October 24?
A.To collect cans used by the shopping area. B.To do volunteer work for the shopping area.
C.To enter a can building competition. D.To get more people to join Construction.
4.What does “it” in the last paragraph refer to?
A.The real Wurlitzer organ. B.The 77-year-old organ at the Tampa Theater.
C.The huge map of the State of Washington. D.The Wurlitzer organ built out of cans.
