The Segway Human Transporter was invented by ...

The Segway Human Transporter was invented by Dean Kamen．It is a two-wheeled vehicle designed for a single rider standing upright over its single axle（轴） and navigate using a set of handlebars resembling those on a bicycle．Electrically powered, it could travel over 15 miles on a single charge and reach speeds up to twelve miles per hour．Its speed and direction can be controlled by riders' changing their weights．

A college dropout and self-taught engineer, Kamen already held over 100 patents for his inventions when he developed the one he hoped would revolutionize short-distance travel．While still in college, Kamen started developing the medical devices （设备） that made his name．Later, he changed focus to the challenges faced by wheelchair users．His robotic wheelchair known as IBOT could climb stairs．This robot ended up paving the way for the Segway．

Before showing his most recent invention, Kamen had kept it a top secret for months．When it turned out to be little more than a motor scooter, many publicly expressed their disappointment．On closer examination, however, even his critics（批评家） had to admit that the vehicle was an engineering achievement．It answered the prayers of anyone who is worn out when walking downtown．Not everyone welcomed the Segway's arrival, though．Some complained it was too expensive, while others said it would further weaken the average American ' s fitness．A Japanese inventor even accused Kamen of stealing the idea for the Segway from him．

Despite the controversy, the U．S．postal service began using Kamen's invention a month after its appearance, and a factory was built with plans to produce about 40,000 Segways every month．The argument is still on whether the Segway will be remembered as the greatest invention since the light bulb, or just another forgettable electronic device．Anyway, trips to the local supermarket will never be the same again．

1.Which statement best describes the critics' reaction to the Segway?

A．Nothing but an electrical device．

B．A disappointing engineering mistake．

C．An expensive and disappointing invention．

D．Disappointing, but still a successful device．

2.Which is not a feature of the Segway?

A．One person at a time can ride on it．

B．It has two wheels with a single axle．

C．It is powered by electricity and can go up to 12mph．

D．Riders increase the speed by moving the handlebars

3.Some people expressed dissatisfaction with the Segway because of its______.

A．high cost               B．danger to traffic

C．being difficult to use      D．contribution to laziness

4.Shortly after the Segway appeared, there were _________.

A．hopes for a larger model of it

B．no plans to do anything more with it

C．some discussions on the unforgettable device

D．plans to make tens of thousands of them a month

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Human’s invention of zero was very important for modern mathematics and science, but we’re not the only to consider “nothing” a number. Parrots and monkeys understand the concept of zero, and now bees have joined the club, too.

Honey bees are known to have some number skills such as the ability to count to four, which may occur when following landmarks in their environment To se whether these abilities extended to understanding zero, researchers trained 10 bees to identify the smaller of two numbers. Across a series of trials, they showed the insects two different pictures displaying a few black shapes on a white background. If the bees flew to the picture with the smaller number of shapes, they were given delicious sugar water, but if they flew toward the larger number, they were punished with bitter-tasting quinine（奎宁）.

Once the bees had learned to consistently make the correct choice, the researchers gave them a new option: a white background containing no shapes at all. Even though the bees had never seen an empty picture before, 64% of the time they chose this option rather than a picture containing two or three shapes. This suggests that the insects understood that “zero” is less than two or three. And they weren’t just going for the empty picture because it was new and interesting: Another group of bees trained to always choose the larger number tended to pick the nonzero image in this test.

In further experiments, the researchers showed that bees’ understanding of zero was even more complex: For example, they were able to distinguish between one and zero-a challenge even for some other members of the zero club. Advanced number abilities like this could give animals an evolutionary（进化的）advantage, helping them find food sources. And if an insect can display such a thorough grasp of the number zero, then this ability may be more common in the animal kingdom than we think.

1.Why did the researchers do the experiments on bees?

A. To test bees’ abilities of understanding the concept of zero.

B. To see the different abilities between bees and other insects.

C. To help bees join the club of distinguishing smaller numbers.

D. To train the bees to help people collect much more honey.

2.What did trained bees probably choose in the experiment?

A. A picture with black shapes.　　 B. A picture with no shapes.

C. A picture with black background.　　 D. A picture with white shapes.

3.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. Bees are cleverer than other animals

B. Researchers find secrets in animals.

C. Animals have grasped the secret of zero.

D. Advanced number abilities may help animals survive.

4.What can be a suitable tile for the text?

A. Bees master the number skills

B. Bees join the club of smart animals

C. Bees understand the concept of zero

D. Bees have complex distinguishing system

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The printing press has a long history. It was invented in Germany by Joannes Gutenberg around 1440, and brought to England by William Caxton in the 1470s.Yet the basic technology of printing remained the same up to the end of the 18th century, requiring two men to operate a wooden screw press by hand, producing about 200 impressions an hour. The 19th century was the period in which this process was mechanised, automated, and made many times faster.

A key moment in the development of mass newspapers was the development of the steam-powered printing press, adopted by the times in 1814. The new presses were able to print per hour around five times the number produced by the machines. The editor, John Walter, had the machines fixed secretly at night, so that when his printers reported for duty the next morning the majority of them found that they were out of work. The Times went from a circulation of 5,000 a day in 1815 to around 50,000 in the middle of the century. This was not caused by the steam press, but neither could it have happened without it.

Later developments improved this effect: the Applegath machine achieved 5,000 impressions per hour, and the Hoe press, an import from the United States, reached to 20,000 impressions per hour. Increase in the speed of papermaking in this period brought down the cost of printed materials both for the producer and the customer. In 1896, the Daily Mail was sold at the cost of only half a penny, and by 1900 it was selling nearly 1,000,000 copies a day.

If print production was completely changed in those years, then so was its distribution. The appearance of the steam railway meant that for the first time newspapers could be distributed across the country on a daily basis.

1.What can we learn about the basic technology of printing?

A. It was invented first in the middle of the 15th century.

B. It was brought into England by Joannes Gutenberg.

C. It took over 400 years to change after invention.

D. It took two hours to produce about 200 impressions.

2.How many impressions did the new press produce an hour in 1814?

A. About 20,000.　　 B. About 1,000.

C. About 2,000.　　 D. About 5,000.

3.Increase in the speed of papermaking led to ____.

A. the invention of steam printing press　　 B. the development of the steam railway

C. the appearance of the Daily Mail　　 D. the decline of printing expenses

4.The passage is developed mainly by ____.

A. providing examples　　 B. making comparisons

C. following the order of time　　 D. following the order of space

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

1.Who invented the sport of badminton?

A. Indians.　　 B. Chinese.

C. British.　　 D. Koreans.

2.Which sport was first named after a town?

A. Badminton.　　 B. Football.

C. Archery.　　 D. Taekwondo.

3.Which of these sports appeared earliest at the Olympics?

A. Taekwondo.　　 B. Archery.

C. Badminton.　　 D. Football.

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Asian countries have a lead in badminton.

B. Football was not played in the Los Angles Games 1932.

C. Archery was first invented to help hunt and battle.

D. The players in Taekwondo hit each other, using only the hands.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

It is not always easy for the public to see _______ use a new invention can be of to human life.

A. whose      B. what       C. which       D. that

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

It is not always easy for the public to see _______ use a new invention can be of to human life.

A．whose            B．which            C．that              D．what

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The jobs of the future have not yet been invented. 　 1. . By helping them develop classic skills that will serve them well no matter what the future holds.

1. Curiosity

Your children need to be deeply curious. 　 2. . Ask kids, “What ingredients (配料) can we add to make these pancakes even better next time?” and then try them out. Ingredients make the pancakes better? What could we try next time?

2. Creativity

True creativity is the ability to take something existing and create something new. 3.　 . There are a dozen different things you can do with them. Experimenting with materials to create something new can go a long way in helping them develop their creativity.

3.Personal skills

Understanding how others feel can be a challenge for kids. We know what’s going on inside our own head, but what about others? Being able to read people helps kid from misreading a situation and jumping to false conclusions. 4. . “Why do you think she’s crying?” “Can you tell how that man is feeling by looking at his face?” “If someone were to do that to you, how would you feel?”

4. Self Expression

5. there are many ways to express thoughts and ideas-music, acting, drawing, building, photography. You may find that your child is attracted by one more than another.

A. Encourage kids to cook with you.

B. And we can’t forget science education.

C. We can give kids chances to think about materials in new ways.

D. So how can we help our kids prepare for jobs that don’t yet exist?

E. Gardening is another great activity for helping kids develop this skill.

F. We can do this in real life or ask questions about characters in stories.

G. Being able to communicate ideas in a meaningful way is a valuable skill.

高二英语信息匹配中等难度题查看答案及解析

The flu is believed____ by viruses that like to reproduce in the cells inside the human nose and throat.

A. causing      B. being caused      C.  to have caused       D. to be caused

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The flu is believed ____by viruses that like to reproduce in the cells inside the human nose and throat.

A. causing   B. being caused   C. to be caused   D. to have caused

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

The jobs of the future have not yet been invented.1.. By helping them develop classic skills that will serve them well no matter what the future holds.

Curiosity

Your children need to be deeply curious.2.. Ask kids, “What ingredients (配料)can we add to make these pancakes even better next time ?” and then try them out. Ingredients make the pancakes better? What could we try next time?

Creativity

True creativity is the ability to take something existing and create something new3.. There are a dozen different things you can do with them. Experimenting with materials to create something new can go a long way in helping them develop their creativity.

Personal skills

Understanding how others feel can be a challenge for kids. We know what’s going on inside our own head, but what about others? Being able to read people helps kid from misreading a situation and jumping to false conclusions.4.. “Why do you think she’s crying?” “Can you tell how that man is feeling by looking at his face?” “If someone were to do that to you, how would you feel?”

Self Expression

5.there are many ways to express thoughts and ideas –music, acting, drawing, building, photography. You may find that your child is attracted by one more than another.

A. So how can we help our kids prepare for jobs that don’t yet exist?

B. And we can’t forget science education.

C. Being able to communicate ideas in a meaningful way is a valuable skill.

D. Encourage kids to cook with you.

E. Gardening is another great activity for helping kids develop this skill.

F. We can do this in real life or ask questions about characters in stories.

G. We can give kids chances to think about materials in new ways.

高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析