1 . The daughter of a romantic poet and occasional freedom fighter, Ada Lovelace had a famous but absent father. She never knew Lord Byron, as just weeks after her birth in 1815, he divorced her mother Isabella Milbanke Byron and left to fight in the Greek War of Independence. In an effort to prevent Ada from developing her father’s unpredictable temper, Isabella decided that her daughter should devote her life to study.
Ada studied hard despite the fact that society did not encourage women pursuing interests in science. Her life changed when she met inventor Charles Babbage at a party. As he demonstrated a working section of his mechanical calculator, Ada was taken in by how it worked and wanted to know more. Impressed by the 17-year-old’s obvious passion, Babbage became her tutor. Ada married in 1835 and became a mother, but she continued to take an active interest in study, socialising in intellectual circles with the likes of Charles Dickens and Michael Faraday.
Ada stayed in contact with Babbage, who in 1837 had proposed a new machine, the analytical engine. In 1843, Ada was asked to translate a French text written by engineer Luigi Menabrea about Babbage’s new design. After completing the translation, Ada was encouraged by Babbage to write her own notes on his work.
After nine months of hard work, Ada presented Babbage with a detailed list of notes that was three times longer than the original article. In her calculations, Ada wrote what are considered the first ever computer algorithms to be used in a new type of machine. She essentially provided the first ideas for computer programming in what was a groundbreaking proposal on the potential of computers.
Ada died of cancer aged only 36 and her work was largely recognised until the 1950s when her notes were republished. In 1979 the US Department of Defence named a programming language ‘Ada’ in her honour.
1. What can we learn about Ada from the first paragraph?A.She had a devoted father. | B.Her mother raised her up alone. |
C.She had an unpredictable temper. | D.Her parents divorced before her birth. |
A.Charles Dickens. | B.Michael Faraday. |
C.Luigi Menabrea. | D.Charles Babbage. |
A.Modest and outgoing. | B.Talented and diligent. |
C.Generous and considerate. | D.Determined and independent. |
A.Ada’s notes were published only once. |
B.Ada named a programming language after herself. |
C.Ada earned a reputation nearly a century after her death. |
D.Ada’s work was largely recognized when she was alive. |
Chinese female scientist TU Youyou,
Tu Youyou is a committed and patient researcher at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She was awarded
Tu and her colleagues joined a government project
“The discovery of artemisinin is a gift to mankind from traditional Chinese medicine. It’s the collective achievement of the research team.
3 . An American teacher who helped make college education accessible to low-income, immigrant, first-generation American, and refugee (难民) pupils has won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize. Keishia Thorpe, an English teacher in Maryland, was selected from more than 8,000 teachers in 121 countries.
Ms. Thorpe teaches English to 12th-graders at the International High School Langley Park, where 95 percent of pupils are from low-income families. She redesigned their courses for the English department to make it culturally relevant to her pupils who are from mostly Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and South America. Since then, her English language learners have shown a 40 percent increase in their reading.
Ms. Thorpe spent a lot of time encouraging her pupils to apply for college and helped them with their applications and accessing fully-funded scholarships. She helped her senior pupils in 2018–2019 win more than $6.7 million in scholarships to 11 colleges, with most of them not having to pay for their education.
She plans to use the prize money to give less well-off pupils an opportunity of receiving a third level education. “Every person deserves the right to education and I want to be that person who champions that for them. I plan to use the money to help students worldwide access higher education,” she said. “Students are the reason I’m here, so I plan to use that to promote them and create a better future for them.”
Organized by UNESCO and first awarded in 2015, the Global Teacher Prize is an annual award to a teacher who has made a vast difference to the profession. The winner of this year was announced at a virtual ceremony in Paris on November 10th, 2021.
1. How do Thorpe’s redesigned courses influence her students?A.Students have spent more time reading. |
B.Students are more aware of their culture. |
C.More low-income students attend school. |
D.More students apply for college education. |
A.It devotes much to college education. |
B.It favors low-income immigrant teachers. |
C.It targets teachers with huge contributions. |
D.It encourages reforms in English teaching. |
A.Selfless and strict. | B.Caring and devoted. |
C.Frank and considerate. | D.Talented and humorous. |
A.A Good Teacher Ensures a Bright Future |
B.Teacher Prize Helps Realize Students’ Dream |
C.Immigrant Teacher Shares Her Moving Story |
D.High School Teacher Wins a $1 Million Prize |
Stephen Hawking,
5 . Ken Jeong is more than an actor; he’s also a lifesaver. The 48-year-old person is best known for
Jeong
Jeong
As he helped the
Holmberg, who was in the
A.respecting | B.playing | C.disliking | D.helping |
A.staff | B.partner | C.character | D.figure |
A.bear | B.save | C.persuade | D.recognize |
A.ruined | B.began | C.continued | D.loved |
A.for | B.so | C.and | D.but |
A.performing | B.relaxing | C.chatting | D.painting |
A.Saturday | B.Wednesday | C.Tuesday | D.Monday |
A.immediately | B.suddenly | C.finally | D.narrowly |
A.was aware of | B.was afraid of | C.got tired of | D.turned away from |
A.doubt | B.room | C.soil | D.mud |
A.annoyed | B.helped | C.called | D.blamed |
A.woman | B.doctor | C.actress | D.viewer |
A.started | B.lived | C.went | D.waited |
A.rushed | B.admitted | C.invited | D.introduced |
A.dormitory | B.club | C.balcony | D.stage |
A.shelter | B.distance | C.audience | D.journey |
A.evaluate | B.analyse | C.share | D.exchange |
A.struggle | B.show | C.quiz | D.challenge |
A.morning | B.dusk | C.afternoon | D.night |
A.cared about | B.communicated with | C.discussed with | D.relied on |