Urbanization
Until relatively recently, the vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city. The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago. 1. In fact, nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages. It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history — a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.
Britain was only the beginning. 2. The process of urbanization — the migration (迁徙) of people from the countryside to the city — was the result of modernization, which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.
In 1900, fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas. Today, over 82% of Americans live in cities. Only about 2% live on farms. 3.
Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized. Even in advanced agricultural societies, it took about ninetyfive people on farms to feed five people in cities. 4. Until modern times, those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite (精英) and the servants, laborers and professionals who served them. Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.
Over the past two centuries, the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 5. Today, instead of needing ninetyfive farmers to feed five city people, one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred nonfarmers.
A．That kept cities very small.
B．The rest live in small towns.
C. The effects of urban living on people should be considered.
D. Soon many other industrial nations became urban societies.
E．But even 200 years ago, only a few people could live in cities.
F．Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.
G．Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.
If a woman has an extra piece of cake, don’t blame it on greed, blame it on her brain.
Scientists have found that women’s brains react to food very differently — and much more strongly — than men’s. Academics found that decades of dieting pressure on women and advertising have programmed certain parts of the female brain to react strongly when faced with any kind of food. Men, on the other hand, are not usually as obsessive (着迷的) about what they eat.
Dr. Rudolf Uher and his colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry in King’s College London used brain scanning technology, known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI：功能性磁共振成像), to look at the brains of eighteen men and women.
The volunteers were given images of food to look at, as well as food to taste. Their brain reactions were observed by the scientists.
They found that the female brains reacted much more strongly than those of males.
The same reaction did not happen when they were shown nonfood images. The team believe this means women think more about food than men tend to do.
Dr. Uher said, “This could be related to biological differences between men and women. But the more likely explanation is that women have a more complicated reaction to food because of social pressure.”
Professor Carey Cooper, psychology and health professor at Lancaster University, said, “For centuries women have had a providing role — preparing and cooking food for their families. And it’s part of that role to make sure the food is safe. They will therefore be much more sensitive to food than men are, and I would not be surprised if that was now built into their DNA. If the female brain reacts to food because it historically has developed neural (神经的) pathways to do this, then food will be the way they express their stress. Food actually, is a comfort for women.”
But other experts have said that more research must be done before the results can be proved. American scientist Angelo del Parigi of the John B. Pierce Laboratory in New Haven, Connecticut, said, “Looking at an fMRI alone cannot make sure whether the stronger reaction in women is due to innate (天生的) differences or a learned process.”
1.Dr. Uher and his colleagues carried out the research by comparing ________.
A. fMRI’s effectiveness on women and men
B. women’s and men’s reaction to different images
C. volunteers’ reaction to food before and after meals
D. volunteers’ reaction to different kinds of food
2.According to Professor Carey Cooper, women ______.
A. turn to food when they feel sad
B. are stressed because of food safety
C. accept their social role from the heart
D. are satisfied with preparing food for their families
3.What was Angelo del Parigi’s attitude towards the research results?
A. Surprised. B. Doubtful.
C. Uninterested. D. Curious.
Think about the longest elevator ride that you’ve ever taken. Whether you rose five floors or 100, it probably took less than a few minutes. Now imagine riding in an elevator higher and higher as it climbs for nearly a day. When you reach the top floor, prepare for views that are really out of this world. You’ll be in space!
Space elevators might sound like a crazy idea, but they’re something scientists have been working on for decades.
Why would anyone want a space elevator? At the moment, riding in a capsule is the only way ordinary people can get to and from space. But those rides are very expensive — about $25 million per person per flight.
Researchers are still figuring out the details about how a space elevator might work. One idea is stretching (伸展) a very long cable — more than 37,000 kilometers — up to space from the earth’s equator (赤道). The location is important: Objects in space above the equator orbit (绕……的轨道飞行) the earth at the same speed that our planet turns. A weight on the end of the cable would stretch it tight. An elevator tied to the cable could use it to climb up and down.
The only problem is that besides being long, this cable must also be very strong. Storms, including hurricanes might break it. One way to solve this problem is to stretch the cable from the moon instead of from the earth. Airplanes designed to climb higher than a typical jet might take off from the earth and link up with the cable, which would be held in place by the pull of gravity from the earth. An elevator car waiting there would then take riders the rest of the way to the moon. Fueled by solar power, the elevator could transport people and materials without much expense or effort per ride.
So, when will you be taking your first spaceelevator ride? Probably not for a while.
1.The first paragraph is presented by________.
A. giving an example
B. making a comparison
C. asking questions
D. analyzing causes
2.Why have scientists been working on space elevators?
A. To make trips to space cheaper.
B. To help astronauts do research in space.
C. To find a more convenient way to the moon.
D. To prove an assumption which seems crazy.
3.The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.
A. the cable
B. the equator
C. an object in space
D. a weight on the end of the cable
4.Which part of a magazine may the article appear in?
A. Science and technology. B. Sports.
C. Literature. D. Entertainment.
For thousands of years comets have been a mystery to man. They travel across the sky very fast and have a bright “tail” of burning gas. The comet Tempel 1 has an orbit far outside the orbit of the furthest planet in our solar system, Pluto. It has been there for 4.6 billion years, 133 million kilometers from Earth.Once a little American spacecraft crashed into Tempel 1. The spacecraft had a camera and it took a photograph of the comet every minute before it finally crashed into its surface.
The space mission to Tempel 1 cost $335 million and was called Deep Impact. The spacecraft was traveling at 37,000 kilometers per hour when it hit the comet and the crash completely destroyed the spacecraft. But before it hit the comet, the spacecraft took some amazing photographs. The last one was a closeup picture which the spacecraft took just 3 seconds before it crashed into the comet.
“Right now we have lost one spacecraft，” said a delighted NASA engineer. Deep Impact was like an American Independence Day fireworks display. It took many years to plan and ended in an enormous explosion.
The spacecraft which crashed into the comet was made of copper and was the size of a washing machine. It was dropped from a mothership into the path of the comet and the mothership then photographed the cloud of ice, dust and organic chemicals that rose from the surface of the comet after the crash.
The crash completely destroyed the spacecraft but nothing really happened to the comet: experts believe that the crash slowed the comet down by no more than 1/10,000 of a millimeter a second. The aim of the mission was to study for the first time the interior of a comet.
The mothership was 480 km from the explosion and observed the crash and the explosion with instruments for 800 seconds. Seven satellites, including the Hubble space telescope, watched the moment of drama, and over the next day and night about 50 telescopes on Earth were watching the distant comet.
1.How many hours did it take for the spacecraft from the earth to touch the comet Tempel 1?
A. About 2,500. B. About 3,500.
C. About 4,500. D. About 5,500.
2.Which of the following shows the possible orbits and positions of the comet Tempel 1?
S＝Solar P＝Pluto
T＝Tempel 1
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
3.Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word in Paragraph 5?
A. Position. B. Relation.
C. Inside. D. Distance.
4.The author’s main purpose in writing the passage is to________.
A. inform people the discovery of a new comet
B. show the power of America in space
C. introduce the knowledge of comets
D. introduce an experiment
Here are some kids who had great ideas that they turned into inventions. We call these kids “brain children”．
Sixyearold Suzanna Goodin, tired of cleaning the cat food spoon, came up with the idea of a spoonshaped cracker that can be eaten. She won a grand prize for her invention in the Weekly Reader National Invention Contest.
Eightyearold Theresa Thompson and her 9yearold sister Mary were the youngest sisters to receive a US patent. They invented a solar tent for a science fair project in 1960. They called the device a Wigwarm.
At age 9, Margaret Knight began working in a cotton mill, where she saw a steeltipped shuttle (梭子) fly out and hit a nearby worker. As a result, Margaret made her first invention: a shuttle restraining device. She went on to invent the machine that makes the squarebottom paper bags we still use for shopping today. That machine was patented in 1871.
Elevenyearold Jeanie Low received a patent on March 10, 1992, for inventing the Kiddie Stool(凳子) — a foldup stool that fits under the sink so kids can unfold it, stand on it, and reach the sink on their own!
Becky Schroeder began her patenting career when she was 14 years old. She put phosphorescent_paint on paper under her writing paper so that she could write in the dark. This invention was later used in all sorts of ways. Doctors use it in hospitals to read patients’ charts at night without waking them, and astronauts use it when their electrical systems are turned down for recharging.
Fourteenyearold Pamela Sica invented a pushbutton device that raises the floor of a car so that goods can be raised and easily removed. Her invention won a grand prize for her age group in the Weekly Reader National Invention Contest. She wanted to patent her invention but found that it was too expensive.
Eightyearold Chelsea Lannon received a patent in 1994 for the “pocket diaper (尿布)”， a diaper that has a pocket that holds things. She got her idea while helping her mother with her baby brother — while she was still in kindergarten!
1.Which inventions won a prize in the Weekly Reader National Invention Contest?
A. The spoonshaped cracker and the shuttle restraining device.
B. The shuttle restraining device and the Kiddie Stool.
C. The Kiddie Stool and the pocket diaper.
D. The spoonshaped cracker and the device that raises the floor of a car.
2.What can we know from the passage?
A. Theresa Thompson was the youngest child to make an invention.
B. A Wigwarm can be used to make paper bags.
C. Margaret Knight made more than one invention.
D. Jeanie Low invented the spoonshaped cracker that can be eaten.
3.According to Paragraph 6, “phosphorescent paint” probably refers to a kind of paint that________.
A. can produce light in the dark
B. is used to write things
C. is produced in the dark
D. is specially designed for doctors
4.The idea of the pocket diaper occurred to Chelsea Lannon when she________.
A. was cleaning the cat food spoon
B. was in primary school
C. was helping her mother
D. was working in a cotton mill
假设你叫李华，是你班上的英语课代表。为了弘扬中国传统文化，你校艺术俱乐部准备举办一次关于“国画（Chinese painting）”的讲座。你班外籍教师Peter对国画很感兴趣，给你发来邮件询问本次讲座的情况。请给Peter回复一封邀请信，内容包括：
讲座目的；
讲座内容；
讲座时间和地点；
邀请Peter参加。
注意： 1.参考词汇 弘扬 promote
2. 词数120左右；
3. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
4. 发言稿的开头与结束语已为你写好（不计入总词数）。
Dear Peter,
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Yours
Lihua
