A woman saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not ______ them. She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something ______.”
“Is the man of the house at home?” they asked. “No,” she replied. “Then we cannot come in,” they replied. When her husband came home, she told him what had ______. “Go and tell them I am in home and ______ them in!” The woman went out, inviting the men in. “We can’t go into a house together,” they replied. “Why?” she asked.
One of the old men ______: “His name is Wealth,” he said ______one of his friends, “and he is Success, and I am Love.” “Now go in and ______ with your husband whom you want in your home.”
The woman went in and told her husband everything. Her husband was very ______. “How nice!” he said. “Let us invite Wealth and fill our home with wealth!” His wife ______. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?” Their daughterinlaw was ______ from the other corner of the house. She jumped in ______ her own suggestion: “Wouldn’t it be ______to invite Love? Our home will be filled with love.” “Let us follow our daughterinlaw’s ______,” said the husband. “Go out and invite Love to be our______.”
The woman went out and ______ the three old men, “Who is Love? Come in and be our guest.”
Love got up and started ______ the house.
The other two also got up, following him. ______, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I______ invited Love, why are you coming in?”
The old men replied ______: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have ______. However, since you invited Love, we must go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!”
1.A. recognize B. divide C. realize D. understand
2.A. to drink B. to bring C. to eat D. to take
3.A. taken place B. burst out C. broken out D. happened to
4.A. make B. invite C. ask D. demand
5.A. told B. shouted C. explained D. spoke
6.A. referring to B. preferring to C. pointing to D. listening to
7.A. share B. argue C. quarrel D. discuss
8.A. disappointed B. joyful C. desperate D. frightened
9.A. insisted B. disagreed C. supported D. complained
10.A. looking B. talking C. smiling D. listening
11.A. with B. out C. for D. into
12.A. easier B. worse C. better D. higher
13.A. method B. advice C. manner D. requirement
14.A. host B. wife C. friend D. guest
15.A. whispered B. scolded C. questioned D. asked
16.A. rushing into B. flying into C. walking toward D. running out
17.A. Shocked B. Tired C. Surprised D. Depressed
18.A. simply B. certainly C. only D. surely
19.A. separately B. again C. immediately D. together
20.A. left out B. called out C. stayed out D. pointed out
Eyesight plays a very important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it's easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are five suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight:
Schedule yearly exams.1.Experts advise parents to bring babies 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eye- glasses.
Protect against UV rays. Long-term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the season is, it's extremely important to wear sunglasses.2.
Give your eyes a break. Two-thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital products.3.Experts recommend that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.
4.As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health.
Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses (隐形眼镜). Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical guidance for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk.5.Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.
A.Eat your greens.
B.Eye care should begin early in life.
C.They can properly protect your eyes.
D.Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.
E.Parents usually don't care about their own eyesight.
F.Always follow the doctor's advice for appropriate wear.
G.This frequent eye activity increases the risk for eye tiredness.
Sputnik Ⅰ was the first artificial satellite.It can be described as an aluminium ball with diameter (直径) of 58 centimetres and weighing 83.6 kilograms, equipped with instruments to measure the temperature and the density (密度) of the atmosphere.Sputnik Ⅰ was launched into orbit around the Earth by the former Soviet Union on 4 October, 1957.Since then, hundreds of artificial satellites have been launched, each with a different purpose.
Some artificial satellites are used for telecommunications, which enable us to make telephone calls to any part of the world, to see live television transmissions and to communicate via the Internet.Other artificial satellites are used for navigation (导航), so that people on Earth can know at any moment the position of an object, within a few metres.Others are weather satellites, launched to observe the state of the atmosphere and to follow the movement of the clouds as they gather.There are also military satellites, for the purpose of gathering information on the weapons and the troops in countries which may be unfriendly and also to indicate the launch of a missile (导弹).
Each satellite has its own orbit which is selected according to its purpose.Communications satellites, for example, have a geostationary (与地球相对同步的) orbit.That is an orbit which turns at the same speed as the turning round of the Earth.Satellites used for weather forecasting pass over the two poles of the Earth.By doing so, a different part of the Earth’s surface is viewed on each successive orbit.All artificial satellites get the energy they need by huge solar panels which extend like wings.These are therefore controlled in such a way that they are always turned toward the Sun.
1.The first manmade satellite was sent into space to ________.
A. do research on weather
B. communicate
C. show directions
D. broadcast TV programs
2.Which kind of satellites has the same turning speed as the earth according to the passage?
A. Military satellites.
B. Weather satellites.
C. Satellites for communicating.
D. Experiment satellites.
3.What’s the same character all satellites share?
A. Circling the earth at the same speed.
B. Providing useful information with the same purpose.
C. Having the same round shape with advanced instruments.
D. Getting energy from the Sun.
Cool Inventions
For Light Sleepers
Millions of people have trouble falling asleep each night, which is why LightSleeper was created.
Developed in the United Kingdom,LightSleeper’s makers say it can help a person fall asleep and also help a person fall back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.
LightSleeper works by projecting (投射) a light onto the ceiling while the person is lying down. The idea is to watch the light, because the light moving in a circle has a relaxing effect.
One of the advantages of the product is that it won’t disturb other people in the room. The product can be easily moved and will switch itself off after 30 minutes to save power.
Stop the Snoring (打鼾)
Here’s a new product designed to slow down the frequency and level of your snoring. The Snore Stopper has a sensitive instrument that will detect when you’re snoring. Once it does that, it will send a very mild electronic signal to your wrist. This consequently changes your sleeping position to stop you from snoring. The Snore Stopper won’t cause any damage to your body.
Get Your True Colors
Photoshop features a pen that will copy the color settings of what you are monitoring on screen to use as a color in your program. Now an offline product allows you to pick a color when not using the computer software.
The Color Picker is a concept pen. After placing the pen against an object, the user just presses the scan button. Color sensors (感应器) inside the pen send information to a box, which then mixes red, green and blue to produce the desired ink color.
Keep It Fresh
More high technology products are showing up in the kitchen. A new Bagel dome (圆顶形物) advertises that it will keep your baked goods fresher for longer periods of time. The product, which is able to remove air, works for bread rolls, cakes and other perishables. To use it, you just push a button at the top.
1.How can LightSleeper help a person fall asleep?
A. Its light makes people feel calm.
B. It doesn’t make any noise.
C. It is fixed on the ceiling.
D. Its light moves fast.
2.What do we know about the Snore Stopper?
A. It will cause slight damage to a person’s body.
B. It will wake a person up once he starts snoring.
C. It can make sure a person doesn’t snore all night.
D. It can make a person snore less by changing his sleeping position.
3.The Color Picker will probably be used while you’re ________.
A. using the computer
B. drawing pictures
C. collecting information
D. designing a program
4.The underlined word “perishables” in the last paragraph refers to foods which ________.
A. are easy to keep B. go bad easily
C. are rich in vitamins D. keep you thin
While waiting to pick up a friend at an airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life changing experiences that you hear other people talk about — the kind that happens to you unexpectedly. To me, this happened and was only two feet away from me.
Locating my friend among the passengers, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
First he walked to his youngest son (maybe 6 years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other’s face, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly, and replied softly, “Me too, Dad!”
Then the man stood up, gazed into the eyes of his oldest son (maybe 9 or 10) and while cupping his son’s face in his hands said, “You’re already quite a young man. I love you very much, Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.
While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or oneandahalfyear old) was squirming (扭动) excitedly in her mother’s arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said,“Hi, baby girl!” as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.
After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and went to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed, “I love you so much!” They stared into each other’s eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands.
For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally attentive I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm’s length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask,“Wow! How long have you two been married?”
“Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have you been away?” I asked. The man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile. “Two whole days!”
Two days? I was stunned. I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks — if not months. I know my expression betrayed me. “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!”
The man suddenly stopped smiling.
He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person, “Don’t hope, friend ... decide!” Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!”
With that, he and his family turned and walked away together. I was still watching that exceptional man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, “What are you looking at?” Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied,“My future!”
1.Which word could best describe the baby girl?
A. Quiet. B. Innocent.
C. Naughty. D. Sweet.
2.What can we learn from the story?
A. The family became the writer’s friends.
B. The writer decided to look for a wife.
C. The writer’s family will get more love from him.
D. The writer will tell his friend the story immediately they meet.
3.Which paragraph in this story best shows the love of the couple?
A. Paragraph 4. B. Paragraph 5.
C. Paragraph 6. D. Paragraph 7.
4.Why does the writer think his airport experience is life changing?
A. Because he came across a most loving family.
B. Because he realized the difference between “hope” and “decide”.
C. Because he thought it was really a unique experience.
D. Because the family he met with had a strange power over him.
Anousheh Ansari is an engineer, a founding member of several tech companies, and if that’s not impressive enough, she’s also an astronaut. She’s the first Iranian to venture (冒险) into space, the first female private space explorer, and the fourth selffunded person to go into space.
Going into space has been a childhood dream for Anousheh. When she was 16 she moved to the U.S and studied engineering. Later, she started Telecom Technologies Inc., which provided network solutions for telecommunications companies. When she sold the company in 2000, she became involved with the X PRIZE foundation.
Anousheh and her family helped sponsor (赞助) the Ansari X PRIZE of $10 million to encourage private companies to develop reusable spacecraft that would fly to the edge of space. 26 teams from 11 countries signed up. The winning spacecraft was Spaceship One, which became the model that Virgin Galactic is based on.
Following the success of the Ansari X PRIZE, she began research for the next competition. But this time, it would be an orbital flight X PRIZE. She signed up as a backup astronaut with Space Adventures in Russia, an independent space exploration company to learn more about space flight. Three weeks before she was to go back home, one of the primary astronauts had an illness and couldn’t go. She was asked to fill in for him.
At the International Space Station, Anousheh became the first astronaut to blog from space. Her blog received a lot of attention as she documented what it was like to live in space and do simple tasks like brushing her teeth and hair. Anousheh described this experience as one of the most magical moments of her life. As an Iranian woman, she hopes her story will inspire other women of the Middle East to give themselves freedom and not to let society, friends or family hold them back from doing what they want to do. There’s nothing they’re not supposed to do or cannot do.
1.From the first paragraph, we can learn that Anousheh Ansari ________.
A. is the fourth female astronaut to go into space
B. is the first female private Iranian space explorer
C. has opened several tech companies all by herself
D. is an Iranian engineer working on space exploration
2.The underlined word “backup” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to “________”.
A. spare B. excellent
C. skillful D. inexperienced
3.According to the last paragraph, Anousheh Ansari ________.
A. asks other women of the Middle East to explore space like her
B. advises other women of the Middle East to ignore their society
C. is satisfied with the present status of women in the Middle East
D. encourages women of the Middle East to do whatever they want
4.What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Any woman can realize her dream.
B. First female private space explorer’s childhood dream.
C. First female private space explorer hopes to inspire others.
D. First female private space explorer’s achievements in space exploration.