Imagine what you could do with a machine that could make things disappear.
For inspiration, you could read some books. In the books of J.R.R. Tolkein, Bilbo Baggins finds a ring that can make him disappear. Of course, there’s also poor Harry Potter, who used his invisibility cloak (隐形斗篷) to hide from danger.
Now that you’ve got some ideas, it’s time for the hard part: building the cloak. To do that, you have to give up science fiction and turn to real science. An invisibility cloak has to cheat anything or anyone who might be watching. In order to understand how something can be seen, it’s important to understand how we see.
Human beings can only see objects that reflect (反射) light waves. These waves enter the eye and are then processed by the brain. However, if an object doesn’t reflect light, then the waves don’t enter the eye, and the brain doesn’t process. So building an invisibility cloak is building something that doesn’t reflect light.
Cummer was part of a team of scientists from Duke University, including David Smith and David Schurig, who built the world’s first version (版本) of an invisibility cloak. They had been inspired by the work of a British physicist, John Pendry. He in May said that an invisibility cloak was possible and Pendry was not the only one thinking about a disappearing act. At the same time, a Scottish physicist, UIf Leonhardt published a paper on building invisibility equipment.
“It wasn’t easy,” says Cummer. “As often happens in science and research, it didn’t work very well the first time. That first cloak didn’t work like Harry Potter’s --- the scientists didn’t actually see anything disappear. So the research is still under way. ”
1.The first two paragraphs serve as a (n) ________.
A. introduction B. explanation
C. comment D. summary
2.Cummer and other scientists got the idea of building an invisibility cloak from _________.
A. the film Harry Potter
B. the work of a British physicist
C. a paper published by a Scottish physicist
D. the book of J.R.R. Tolkein
3. From the text we learn that the research on an invisibility cloak __________.
A. was led by Pendry
B. was very successful
C. was used in most popular movies
D. is still in progress
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A. The Science of Disappearing
B. The Hardest Part of Building a Cloak
C. The Invention of an Invisibility Cloak
D. Turn Science Fiction into Real Science
After a particularly busy period at work, I decided to get away from it all by going on a hike in the mountains in southern France.
Before I left, I read an interesting story in a magazine. It read, “Once, while I was riding on a crowded bus, the man sitting next to me threw his cell phone out of the window when his phone rang. I was surprised. He looked at me, shrugged (耸耸肩) and looked away. I had no idea whether it was his or stolen or whether he even knew what a cell phone was or not, but he clearly wanted to be free of it, because it clearly troubled him. ”
Billions of people across the world use cell phones. Though cell phones are a wonderful way for communication, they often do the exact opposite. Using cell phones can increase stress within families and friends.
So when I recently returned home, I got rid of my cell phone. Now I go outside without taking my phone with me. I’ve noticed things in my neighborhood I never noticed before, such as gardens. I’ve met new people, started conversations with neighbors I didn’t speak to before and talked with some of my friends face to face instead of cha
tting over the phone.
Instead of keeping me off from the world, stopping using my cell phone has helped me get even closer to my family and friends.
1.According to the story, the man on the bus threw away his cell phone because ______.
A. it didn’t work properly
B. it was stolen from someone else
C. he didn’t like the phone’s style
D. he didn’t want to be bothered by it
2.We can learn from the passage that cell phones _____.
A. are too expensive for many people
B. can also get people into trouble
C. stop people from communicating face to face
D. can make life more interesting
3.What can we learn about the author?
A. He wants to own a garden now.
B. He always chatted with his neighbors.
C. He used to take his cell phone when going outside.
D. He once rode on a crowded bus in France.
4.The main purpose of the passage is to _______.
A. tell us not to let cell phones control our lives
B. encourage others to hike with him in F
rance
C. share his experiences in France with us
D. teach us how to get along with neighbors
Grandpa was a carpenter (木匠). One day he was making some boxes for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage (孤儿院) in Egypt. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. He drove back to the church, but his search turned out to be fruitless.
Suddenly, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the boxes, which he had nailed shut. His new glasses were heading for Africa!
Grandpa had six children and he had paid twenty dollars for the glasses that morning. “It's not fair,” he told God as he drove home. “I've been very faithful (忠诚的) in giving my time and money to YOUR work.”
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on holiday in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that helped him in Egypt, so he came to speak on Sunday night at my grandfather's small church in Chicago.
“But most of all,” he said, “I mus
t thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, I had just broken my glasses. Then your boxes arrived. To my surprise, I found a pair of glasses in it and it fit me very well!”
The people listened, happy for the amazing glasses, but thought that the man must have confused their church with another. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. Sitting quietly in the back, with tears in his eyes, Grandpa realized that God had played a big trick on him.
1.Where were Grandpa’s glasses lost?
A. In a church in Egypt. B. In the box he made.
C. On his way home. D. At the orphanage.
2.How did Grandpa feel when he found his glasses were lost?
A. Calm. B. Worried.
C. Surprised. D. Disappointed.
3.Who got the glasses in the end?
A. Grandpa.
B. The orphanage.
C. Grandpa’s workmate.
D. The director of the orphanage.
4.The people except the author’s grandpa in the church _________.
A. sent the pair of glasses to Africa on purpose
B. knew the glasses that belonged to Grandpa
C. thought the director had made a mistake
D. were not interested in the director’s speech
随着科技的进步，多媒体已走进很多学校的课堂。课间休息时，有些学校利用它来播放音乐。假如昨天你班就“课间是否要播放音乐”展开了讨论。请你根据以下信息用英语写一篇短文，陈述讨论结果。
[写作内容]
1．讨论的时间和讨论的问题； 2．学生们的观点： 大多数学生认为：活跃气氛，放松，带来快乐，学习效率高。 部分学生认为：时间短，没效果；课间太吵，需要安静。 3．达成的共识：最好播放柔和并适合于中学生的音乐。 |
参考词汇：the class break, efficiency（效率）, relaxation（放松）, agreement（共识）...
[写作要求] 句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章结构连贯：
短文改错
文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。 删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。 增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）,并在其下面写出该加的词。 修改：在错的词下划一横线,在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1、每处错误及修改均仅限一词。 2、只允许修改10处,多者（从11处起）不计分。
Hiking has become popular in China during recent years, and more and more people become hikers, that are called Donkey Friends (驴友) in Chinese. A discussion about hiking has held in our class. Some students think that hiking during vacation can make people to feel healthier, fresher and more harmonious with nature. They find themselves deep attracted by the beauty of nature. They can also be relaxing walking in deep mountains. But nowadays some hikers even begin to explore the places people have never been to, and accidents have been happened now and then because poor knowledge of hiking. Some hikers even lost their life. The other students in our class think it not safe to organize so dangerous activities. They make suggestions which laws should be passed and hikers should be trained before they attend the activities
语法填空
Yesterday was my 18th birthday. As Father and Mother thought it was a big occasion for me，they suggested I 1. (hold) a birthday party at home to celebrate it. For several days they had been busy 2. (prepare) for this. By 4 o’clock I was pleased to see all my friends had come 3. a lot of beautiful presents. Mother cooked us a big meal.
We 4. (spend) a wonderful night together, eating and talking 5. (happy). The most exciting moment was when Mother put a big birthday cake on the table and all my friends began to sing Happy Birthday. Seeing the 18 candles burning, I couldn’t keep back my tears. 6. mother and father’s love, I would not lead such a happy life now. Mother asked me to make a wish 7. I blew out all the candles. After that，everyone enjoyed the sweet birthday cake and shared my happiness.
I am eighteen years old now, 8. means I’ve become an adult and have more 9._ (responsibility). I’ll do 10. (me) best to return my parents’ love and live up to their expectations.
