James Dyson, the inventor of the bagless vacu...

James Dyson, the inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, is now the wealthiest person in Briton after his company posted a record profit for 2018. But how did he make his fortune?

My father died when I was nine, and I remember doing the household chores to help my mother. I hated changing the vacuum cleaner bag and picking up things the machine did not suck up.

Thirty years later, in 1979, I was doing chores at home alongside my wife. One day the vacuum cleaner was screaming away, and I had to empty the bag because I could not find a replacement for it. With this lifelong hatred of the way the machine worked, I decided to make a bagless vacuum cleaner.

Easier said than done, of course. I didn’t realize that I would spent the next 15 years perfecting my design, a process that resulted in 5,127 different prototypes (设计原型). By the time I made my 15th prototype, my third child was born. By 2,627, my wife and I were really counting our pennies. By 3,727, my wife was giving art lessons for some extra cash, and we were getting further and further into debt. These were tough times, but each failure brought me closer to solving the problem.

I just had a passion for the vacuum cleaner as a product, but I never thought of going into a business with it. In the early 1980s, I started trying to get licensing agreements (许可协议) for my technology. The reality was very different, however. The major vacuum makers had built a business model based on the profits from bags and filters (过滤器). No one would license my idea, not because it was a bad one, but because it was bad for business.

That gave me the courage to keep going, but soon after, the companies that I had talked with started making machines like mine. I had to fight legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic to protect the patents (专利) on my vacuum cleaner. However, I was still in financial difficulties until 1993, when my bank manager personally persuaded Lloyds Bank to lend me $1 million. Then I was able to go into production. Within two years, the Dyson vacuum cleaner became a best-seller in Britain.

Today, I still view risk and the potential for failure as part of the process. Nothing beats the excitement of invention. Go out and brainstorm your ideas. You are not limited by any rules — in fact, the stranger and riskier your idea, the better.

1.Which of the following provided inspiration for Dyson’s invention?

A.The death of his father B.The scream of his wife

C.The hatred of homework chores D.The trouble the cleaner bag brings

2.Why was Dyson’s vacuum cleaner not accepted at first?

A.Because the vacuum makers profited from bags and filters.

B.Because Dyson’s vacuum cleaner still needed to be improved.

C.Because the major vacuum makers had updated their products.

D.Because Dyson’s vacuum cleaner didn’t get licensing agreements.

3.Dyson’s machine got into production _____________.

A.before the legal battles B.after becoming famous

C.upon applying for the patent D.in spite of financial difficulties

4.The author’s real purpose of writing the passage is to _______.

A.emphasize the necessity of brainstorming our ideas

B.explain the development of the vacuum cleaner

C.introduce Dyson and his vacuum cleaner

D.urge people to accept risks and failure

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

It just may be the world’s most costly vacuum cleaner (吸尘器). The price of CleanSpace One is eleven million dollars. But yet, it has a big job to do. Recently, researchers in Switzerland said they planned to build this new cleaning machine.

CleanSpace One will not be for use in homes or businesses. It will be shot into space to help remove thousands of pieces of space junk floating around up there.

Last year, we reported on the problem of space junk. Over time, many unused spacecraft have hit each other far above the Earth. Big pieces break into thousands of small pieces. Sometimes they fall back into the atmosphere (大气层) and burn up. But when they do not, it creates big problems.

Scientists fear that if something is not done to remove these objects, it may soon become too dangerous to send people and machines into space. There is a large chance that they might hit some of this junk. So that is why the Swiss researchers are developing the new machine.

CleanSpace One is not really a vacuum cleaner. It will not be used to take away space junk. But scientists plan to move it close to an old satellite that is no longer being used. Then a claw-like instrument will catch the satellite, and force it back through the atmosphere. There, the satellite will be destroyed by the heat of friction (摩擦) with the air.

Researchers say that all they need to do is slow down the speed of some of these unwanted objects. Once they begin to move more slowly, they will fall back to the Earth. There is little chance that they will fall through the atmosphere and harm the people or things below.

1.Space junk is created when ____________.

A. unused spacecraft hit each other

B. people in space throw away rubbish

C. a new spaceship is sent up

D. an old spaceship creates friction with the air

2.What’s the danger of space junk?

A. It will pollute space.　　 B. It will hurt people on the Earth.

C. It will hit a spaceship.　　 D. It will burn in the atmosphere.

3.Unwanted objects will fall back to the Earth when _______ .

A. they are made to move slowly　　 B. they meet other objects in space

C. they are not used for years　　 D. they are near the atmosphere

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Before the invention of hair dryer,vacuum cleaners were being used for the purpose of drying and styling hair. The early vacuum cleaners could draw in air as well as blowing air.So,towards the end of the 19th century,women used to dry their hair by using a vacuum cleaner.

In 1890,a French salon owner Alexander F.Godefroy invented the first hair dryer.It blew warm air.However,it was not widely used,mainly because of its large size.

The first convenient hand-held hair dryer used at home came up in 1920.It weighed over 2 lbs.However,it only produced 100 watts of power,which was not enough to dry the hair.After almost ten years came the gas-heated dryers that were widely used in barber shops.However,these dryers produced heat that was harmful to hair and the air from them made people sick,so they were soon gone.

Around the 1940s and 1950s,the helmet（头盔）style electric dryers came into being.Curly hairstyles were popular during that time.Therefore,women used curlers and sat under the dryers to set their curls.Later,the curly style began to drop,and so did the popularity of the helmet style electric dryer.

In the late 1950s,the first workable hair dryer was made.It had a hand-held dryer.It used only 300-400 watts. Ever since the 1950s,hand-held dryers have experienced many changes,in order to become quieter,lighter and smaller.However,how it works largely remains the same.The modem technology has made improvements to the hair dryer,reducing the heat damage to a person's hair.For producing shinier,smoother and healthier hair,dryers have been included with negative ion（负离子）technology that dries hair faster and with less heat.

1.What do we learn about the hair dryer invented by Alexander F.Godefroy?

A. It looked like a vacuum cleaner.　　 B. It was once very popular.

C. It was inconvenient to use.　　 D. It blew too hot air.

2.What was the disadvantage of the hair dryer invented in 1920?

A. It needed too much power.　　 B. It couldn't be held by hand.

C. It was not easy to be carried around.　　 D. It couldn't dry hair effectively.

3.What was the main purpose of including negative ion in dryers?

A. To reduce the sizes of hair dryers.　　 B. To make hair dryers more beautiful.

C. To produce better hair in a beautiful way.　　 D. To save more power and time for users.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The advertisement says the vacuum cleaner (吸尘器) can ______ everything from the floor. Do you believe it?

高一英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

I was told that the water of the Ganjiang River is much cleaner than ____ of the Xiangjiang River.

A. those           B. one                C. that            D. ones

高一英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Composer David Cope is the inventor of a computer program that writes original works of classical music. It took Cope 30 years to develop the software. Now most people can't tell the difference between music by the famous German composer J.S.Bach（1685-1750）and the Bach-like compositions from Cope's computer.

It all started in 1980 in the United States, when Cope was trying to write an opera. He was having trouble thinking of new melodies, so he wrote a computer program to create the melodies. At first this music was not easy to listen to. What did Cope do? He began to rethink how human beings compose music. He realized that composers' brains work like big databases. First, they take in all the music that they have ever heard. Then they take out the music that they dislike. Finally, they make new music from what is left. According to Cope, only the great composers are able to create the database accurately, remember it, and form new musical patterns from it.

Cope built a huge database of existing music. He began with hundreds of works by Bach. The software analyzed the data: it broke it down into smaller pieces and looked for patterns. It then combined the pieces into new patterns; Before long, the program could compose short Bach-like works. They weren't good, but it was a start.

Cope knew he had more work to do---he had a whole opera to write. He continued to improve the software. Soon it could analyze more.complex music. He also added many other composers, including his own work, to the database. A few years later, Cope's computer program, called “Emmy”, was ready to help him with his opera. The process required a lot of collaboration(合作) between the composer and Emmy. Cope listened to the computer's musical ideas and used the ones that he liked. With Emmy, the opera took only two weeks to finish. It was called Cradle Falling, and it was a great success! Cope received some of the best reviews of his career, but no one knew exactly how he had composed the work.

Since that first opera, Emmy has written thousands of compositions. Cope still gives Emmy feedback（反馈) on what he likes and doesn't like of her music, but she is doing most of the hard work of composing these days！

1.What led David Cope to invent software?

A. He had difficulties in writing an opera.

B. He dreamed of developing software.

C. He wanted to help composers.

D. He was fond of classical music.

2.What do we know about David Cope?

A. His Cradle Falling wasn’t popular.

B. He had kept on improving his software.

C. He composed Bach-like works well at the beginning.

D. He has shifted his attention to invent different software.

3.It can be learnt from the text that _______.

A. Cope’s database includes Bach’s works only.

B. Bach’s music helped Cope a lot.

C. Cope is a computer programmer.

D. Emmy did much more work than Cope in composing.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A. The Invention of a Software for Creating Music

B. Ways to Create a Music Database

C. David Cope--a Music Genius

D. How to Start Creating Music

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

A new dish is 1.(usual) given the names of its inventor. The sandwich gets its name from the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montague(1718-1792). He spent long hours 2.(work) and didn’t wish to stop for a meal. He had his servants put meat between two slices of bread to eat while he worked. His friends began to ask for similar snacks(快餐), and 3.name “sandwich” came into common use.

The Chinese dish Kung Pao Chinken 4.(create) in Sichun Province was very popular when its inventor Ding Baozhen was governor of the province from 1876 5. 1886. After Ding died, people named the dish for 6.(he).

More than just 7.(food) take people’s names. Many enjoy riding on a Ferris wheel (摩天轮), 8. was named for engineer George W.G. Ferris. He 9.(design) the first one for Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.

Illnesses, sports terms(术语) 10. places around the world use people’s names. They are everywhere.

高一英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

James Blunt is one of the most popular singers in the UK. His first album, Back to Bedlam, and his number one hit, You’re Beautiful, brought him fame in 2005. His music is a mix of pop, rock and folk.

Blunt comes to China for the first time this month, he will hold two concerts, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai on April 18 and 19 respectively.

Blunt, 34, took an unusual path to stardom. His father was a soldier and so was his grandfather.

“The only music he heard growing up was Happy Birthday and Silent Night. His father considered all music, even classical, to be unnecessary noise,” reads Blunt’s official website.

Even though Blunt did not want to join the military, he eventually followed his father’s wishes, and served as a soldier in Kosovo on peacekeeping duty.

“Like any parents, mine wanted me to have a secure job with a regular wage and career prospects,” Blunt said. “And the one job my father knew of, that he’d had experience of himself, was the army, so he could help me in that direction.”

Blunt eventually became a Captain. One of his final duties in the army before retirement was carrying the coffin (棺材) at the funeral of the Queen Mother of England in 2002.

But Blunt couldn’t escape his love for music. So, after leaving the British Army he moved to Los Angeles and worked on his first album. While in LA, Blunt lived with the actress Carrie Fisher, who played the lead female role in the Star Wars movie. He recorded his song, Goodbye My Lover, in his bathroom, where he kept a piano.

Blunt took his new album back to England where it was not very successful. But he kept performing and eventually his song, You’re Beautiful, became a number one hit.

Now Blunt has won numerous awards, sold millions of records and dated super models.

But his greatest accomplishment might be that his father now enjoys music!

1.All of the following belong to Blunt EXCEPT _____________.

A. Back to Bedlam                       B. Silent Night

C. Goodbye My Lover                         D. You’re Beautiful

2.Which of the following proves “Blunt took an unusual path to stardom”?

A. Blunt was 34 when he became famous.

B. Blunt recorded his most famous song in a bathroom.

C. Blunt’s father wanted him to have a secure job.

D. Blunt began to pursue a career in music after military service.

3.We can infer from the passage that _____________.

A. Blunt is living in Los Angeles at present

B. Blunt rose to fame two years after he left the army

C. Blunt became successful immediately he recorded his first song

D. Blunt has changed his father’s attitude towards music

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Blunt’s visit to China.                      B. Blunt’s military life.

C. How Blunt became famous.                  D. How Blunt’s father fell in love with music.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The Meglev Train travels in a vacuum between two magnets, ___ no pollution is caused and less energy is consumed.

高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The film ________ a novel ___________ by Robert James Waller called Bridges of Madison County.

A is based on; written         B base on; writing

C base on; written            D is based on; writing

高一英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析