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Inventions make the world better, smarter and a little more fun.
The folding bike helmet (头盔)
People hate to wear a helmet because it’s thick and heavy. Morpher is a bike helmet made from plastics. It is just as strong as the traditional ones, but flexible (灵活的) enough to fold almost totally flat. Also it is much easier to carry.
Shoes that tie themselves
After we see the movie Back to the Future, almost everyone wants a pair of self-tying shoes. Now, thanks to Nike, the shoes dream comes true. When you press a button, the shoes can tie themselves.
The smart alarm clock—Hello Sense
An alarm clock, called Hello Sense, can improve your sleep. It can control the temperature, light and even air quality in your bedroom to help you have a perfect sleep environment. And it can record your sleep cycles.
Sweep potatoes that could save lives
The lack (缺乏) of vitamin A can cause blindness and many other illnesses. In sub-Saharan Africa, plant experts are helping them grow a kind of new sweet potatoes. These potatoes can help them fight against some illnesses.
1.Which company makes self-tying shoes?
A.Adidas. B.Kappa. C.Nike. D.Li-Ning.
2.The smart alarm clock can NOT .
A.improve our sleep B.record our sleep cycles
C.control our weight D.control the temperature in the bedroom
3.You can find the passage in a .
A.newspaper B.story book C.guide book D.cookery book
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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An elderly carpenter (木匠) was ready to retire (退休). He told his boss that he planned to leave the building business and live a more relaxing life with his wife, enjoying his big family. He would miss the pay check each week, but he needed to retire. He believed they could get by (勉强过活) even on a small amount of money.
The boss was sorry to see his good worker leave and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but soon afterwards he was found to be absent-minded. He used shoddy materials to build the house. How disappointing it was to end his career in this way!
When the carpenter finished all his work, the boss came to inspect (检查) the new house as usual. But after that, he handed the front-door key to the carpenter, saying. “This is your house, my gift to you.”
What a shock! What a shame! If he had known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the worst house he had ever built in his life.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or put up a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you ever build. Even if you live it for only one more day, that day deserves (值得) to be lived comfortably. Life is a do-it yourself project. Your life today is the result of your attitudes (态度) and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.
1.According to the article, the carpenter .
A.was too old to build a fine house B.had a large family to raise
C.was not in need of money D.was not welcome
2.The carpenter was when he learned that the house he had built was for himself.
A.excited B.delighted C.worried D.surprised
3.What does the writer mainly want to tell us in the text?
A.We should build a house wisely. B.Building a house is like building a life.
C.We should pursue (追求) a comfortable life. D.We should have the right attitude towards life.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Young sunflowers turn and swing every day. New findings add to evidence that the plants are animal-like.
Harmer, a professor in the University of California at Davis, Department of Plant Biology, carried out a series of experiments on sunflowers in the field, in pots outdoors and in indoor growth chambers.
By staking plants so that they could not move, Harmer showed that he could destroy their ability to track the sun. He also noticed that sunflowers prevented from moving were not as tough and leafy as those that were free to move. When plants were moved indoor with a settled overhead light, they continued to swing back and forth for a few days.
The indoor plants did start tracking the “sun” again when the apparent source of lighting was moved across the room. The plants could reliably tack the movement and return at night when the artificial day was close to a 24-hour cycle, but not when it was closer to 30 hours.
When sunflowers track the sun, the east sides of their stems grew more rapidly than the west sides. At night, the west sides grew faster as the stem swung the other way. The team identified a number of genes that were expressed at higher levels on the sunward side of the plant during the day or on the other side at night. A plant growth-regulating hormone (激素), called auxin, appears to be a key driver.
The “dance” to the sun cycle obviously slows when the sunflower matures (成熟) and its flowers open up. At that point, the plants stop moving during the day and settle down facing the sun in the east.
“Bees like warm flowers.” Harmer said, adding that the bees are cold-blooded, so landing on a warm flower saves them energy and perhaps feels really good.
“The morning warmth changes the flowers in a way to make them more appealing to insects, perhaps causing them to release more attractive scents earlier in the day.” he said “We’re currently testing this idea.”
1.Why did Harmer do the experiment on sunflowers?
A.To see how sunflowers grow up B.To show what sunflowers’ genes are.
C.To study why sunflowers track the sun. D.To check if sunflowers swing in cloudy days.
2.What does the underlined word “staking” probably mean in Paragraph 3?
A.breaking B.controlling C.growing D.searching
3.What is the result of sunflowers being stopped from moving?
A.They will produce a number of new genes. B.They will grow faster than usual.
C.They won’t swing back though set free. D.They won’t grow well.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent person.
A team of scientists from Ohio State University did experiments on 33 volunteers who were getting better from heart disease following operation. They found that people who exercised while listening to Italian musician Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” did much better on language ability tests than without music.
“Facts suggest that exercise improve the learning ability of people with heart disease,” said the psychologist(心理学家) Charles Emery, who led the study. “And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding. We just wanted to put the two results together,” he added.
The volunteers said they felt better emotionally after working out with or without the music. But their improvement on the test doubled after listening to music during exercise. Scientists have proved that music can be good for health, education and well-being. It helps reduce stress, sadness and nervousness; encourages relaxation or sleep; wakes up the body and improves memory and thoughts.
In medical fields, music is used widely for patients who have had head hurts before and after operation. “The Four Seasons” was used because of its moderate tempo(舒缓的节拍) and positive results in earlier research. “Exercise seems to cause positive changes in the nervous system and these changes may have a direct result on learning ability,” Emery said.
Scientists have been studying the results of music on understanding since the early 1950s. By 1990, psychologists were using Mozart’s music, especially his violin pieces, to help children with speech disorders. Mozart was chosen because his music is not over-exciting and has clear structures. A study showed students who listened to Mozart went on to score higher marks in an intelligence test. With important exams drawing near, your parents will not probably allow you to listen to music. But perhaps now you have good reasons to argue with them.
1.The underlined word enhance can be replaced by .
A.impress B.improve C.provide D.produce
2.The text is mainly about that .
A.33 volunteers work on music in medical fields
B.music and exercise lead to relaxation or sleep
C.exercise to music makes people healthy and bright
D.scientists give suggestions on choosing music to exercise
3.It can be learned from the last paragraph that .
A.you are supposed to follow your parents’ words
B.you have some good reasons to exercise to music
C.music might help you to get higher grades in tests
D.students should not listen to music before exams
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.“The Four Seasons” is used to help children with speech disorders.
B.Exercise seems to cause negative changes without music.
C.Exercise reminds people with head hurts of what they've learned.
D.Scientists often use Mozart's music, for it is not too exciting.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
