One morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.

Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream.He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practised sewing machine.

Elias Howes was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.

To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious(无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts in a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves”.

1. The problem Howe was trying to solve was________.

A．what kind of thread to use

B．how to design a needle which would not break

C．where to put the needle

D．how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needle

2. Thomas Edison is spoken of because _____ .

A．he also tried to invent a sewing machine

B．he got some of his ideas from dreams

C．he was one of Howe's best friends

D．he also had difficulty in falling asleep

3. Dreams are sometimes called“secret messages to ourselves” because ________ .

A．strange images are used to communicate ideas

B．images which have no meaning are used

C．we can never understand the real meaning

D．only specially trained people can understand them

Florence Nightingale was born in a rich family.When she was young, she took lessons in music and drawing,and read great books.She also travelled a great deal with her mother and father.

As a child, she felt that visiting sick people was both a duty and a pleasure.She enjoyed helping them.

At last, her mind was made up.“I'm going to be a nurse,” she decided.

“Nursing isn't the right work for a lady,” her father told her.

“Then I will make it so,” she smiled.And she went to learn nursing in Germany and France.When she returned to England, Florence started a nursing home for women.

During the Crimean War in 1854, she went with a group of thirty eight nurses to the front hospital.What they saw there was terrible.Dirt and death were everywhere to be seen and smelled.The officer there did not want any woman to tell him how to run a hospital,either. But the brave nurses went to work.

Florence used her own money and some from friends to buy clothes,beds,medicines and food for the men.Her only pay was the smiles from the lips of dying soldiers.But they were more than enough for this kind woman.

After war,she returned to England and was honoured for her service by Queen Victoria. But Florence said that her work had just begun.She raised money to build the Nightingale Home for Nurses in London.She also wrote a book on public health,which was printed in several countries.

Florence Nightingale passed away at the age of ninety,still trying to serve others through her work as a nurse.Indeed,it is because of her that we honour nurses today.

8. During the Crimean War in 1854，Florence served in the front hospital where _________．

A．she earned a lot of money

B．work was very difficult

C．few soldiers died because of her work

D．she didn't have enough food and clothes

9. Why was Florence honoured by Queen Victoria?

A．Because she built the Nightingale Home for Nurses.

B．Because of her old age.

C．Because she worked as a nurse all her life.

D．Because she did a great deal of work during the Crimean War.

10. The passage can be best described as_________．

A．the life story of a famous woman

B．a description of the nursing work

C．an example of successful education

D．the history of nursing in England

11. When she was a child，Florence_________．

A．wrote a book on public health

B．knew what her duty in life was

C．loved to help the sick people

D．was most interested in music and drawing

John von Neumann was the oldest of 3 children of a banker，and his speed of learning new ideas and of solving problems stood out early. At 17，his father tried to persuade him not to become a mathematician because he may lead a poor life being a mathematician，and so von Neumann agreed to study chemistry as well.In 1926，at 23，he received a degree in chemical engineering and a Ph.D.in mathematics.From then on，mathematics provided well enough for him，and he never had to turn to chemistry.

In 1930，von Neumann visited Princeton University for a year and then became a professor there.His first book was published in 1932.In 1933，the Institute for Advanced Study was formed，and he became one of the 6 fulltime people(Einstein was one of the others)in the School of Mathematics.

World War Ⅱ hugely changed von Neumann's areas of interest.Until 1940 he had been a great pure(纯粹的)mathematician.During and after the war，he became one of the best mathematicians who put mathematics theories into practice.During the last part of the war he became interested in computing machines and made several fundamental contributions.After the war，von Neumann continued his work with computers，and was generally very active in government service.He received many awards，was president of the American Mathematical Society and was a member of the Atomic Energy Commission.He died in 1957 of cancer.

Von Neumann made several great contributions and any one of them would have been enough to earn him a firm place history.He will be remembered as one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.

Von Neumann really was a legend(传奇)in his own time，and there are a number of stories about him.His driving ability is a part of this legend.He reported one accident this way，“I was driving down the road.The trees on the right were passing me in an orderly fashion at 60 miles per hour.Suddenly one of them stepped in my path.”

12. Von Neumann published his first book at the age of      .

A．23

B．26

C．29

D．32

13. How did World War Ⅱ affect John von Neumann?

A．He realized the importance of engineering.

B．He began to research how to put mathematics into practice.

C．He left college and served at the government department.

D．He lost interest in chemistry.

14. Which of the following is TRUE of von Neumann?

A．He had three children.

B．He died from an accident.

C．He received many awards in his life.

D．He and Einstein were classmates in Princeton   University.

15. According to the text，von Neumann's father believed that        .

A．a mathematician couldn't earn a lot of money

B．a mathematician needed a good memory

C．von Neumann had the ability to learn two subjects   at the same time

D．von Neumann had a gift for solving problems at a high speed

No one likes to fail. Whether it’s at work, at home, or in another area of your life, failure is painful and it can also be costly in terms of time, money, or both.    16     If you never suffer a failure, then you’re probably not pushing yourself to your full potential. The following are some tips on how to pick yourself up after you’ve failed.

Remember that other people fail too.     17     They’ll tell you about that great new contract(合同) they signed, not the deal that failed eventually though they worked on it for months. But failure is normal, and lots of people fail time and time again before meeting with success.

Remind yourself of your past successes. Failing doesn’t mean that you’re worthless, or that you’ll never achieve the things you want.    18     Maybe you had high marks last term, or you lost weight, or you learned to play a musical instrument. You might want to write down a list of successes---things that you’ve accomplished over the past few years, whether big or small. If you ever lack confidence, you can go back and read over that list.

    19     Your past successes are important, but so are your past failures. You’ve made mistakes before, and you’ve survived them. Perhaps you did badly in an exam, or lost your temper and had to apologize. It’s not fun to think about the times when things went wrong, but by acknowledging your failures, you can remind yourself that today is no different. Just as you recovered in the past, you can recover from your recent failure too.

    20     Whatever goes wrong, you’re probably facing some sort of decision. Don’t rush into making a hasty decision, but do look for a forward path. That might require some deep thinking.

A．Make a decision.

B．Limit the damage caused.

C．Remind yourself of your past failures.

D．However, failure is a normal part of life.

E．Get some advice and support from others.

F．Most people don’t talk openly about their failures.

G．Think of all the times in the past when you’ve succeeded.

Do you think you have what it takes to be a successful scientist？A successful scientist is generally a good observer.He makes full_______of the facts he observes.He doesn't accept ideas which are not based on obvious facts, and therefore   _______   to accept authority as the only reason for truth.He always checks ideas _______ and makes experiments to prove them.

The rise of modern science may perhaps be considered to _______ as far back as the time of Roger Bacon, the wonderful philosopher of Oxford，who lived between the years 1214 and 1292. He was probably the first in the Middle Ages to _______ that we should learn science by observing and experimenting on the things around us, and he himself _______ many important truths.

Galileo(1564－1642), however，who lived more than 300 years later, was the greatest of several great men in Italy, France, Germany, and England, _______ began to show how many important truths could be discovered by observation by degrees. Before Galileo, learned men believed that large bodies fell more _______   towards the earth than small ones, _______ Aristotle said so. But Galileo, going to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, let fall two   ________   stones and proved Aristotle was wrong. It is Galileo's   ________   of going direct to nature, and proving our opinions and theories by experiment, that has   ________   all the discoveries of modern science.

What   ________   those people good scientists？From the example of Galileo, we know     ________   that successful scientists are those whose observations have   ________   better results.

21.

A．use

B．sense

C．speed

D．trust

22.

A．refuses

B．desires

C．intends

D．regrets

23.

A．casually

B．carefully

C．quickly

D．privately

24.

A．date

B．keep

C．look

D．come

25.

A．command

B．suspect

C．suggest

D．conclude

26.

A．brought

B．discovered

C．handled

D．announced

27.

A．who

B．when

C．that

D．where

28.

A．slowly

B．rapidly

C．lightly

D．heavily

29.

A．although

B．because

C．when

D．if

30.

A．big

B．small

C．similar

D．unequal

31.

A．spirit

B．skill

C．theory

D．wish

32.

A．led to

B．turned to

C．set up

D．put forward

33.

A．makes

B．prevents

C．considers

D．promises

34.

A．likely

B．clearly

C．naturally

D．unwillingly

35.

A．foreseen

B．rejected

C．produced

D．challenged

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。
Dear Dad，

On this date of your 50th birthday，Mom gave me the letter you wrote to me when I was born 18 years ago.In your letter，you     36     (wish) me to be strongminded and successful.You were looking forward to     37    (see) me fight for my future bravely and do well for     38    (me) and others.

After reading this letter，I feel quite     39    (shock) at your     40    (expect) on me.I also feel shamed of not having performed well     41     (meet) your demand.I still remember when I was in primary school，I failed to apply myself to studying.I was addicted to computer games.As a consequence，I soon became the last one in my class.You didn't abuse me at all.    42     the contrary，you taught me that studying was the most important object at the moment and encouraged me to study hard.Only     43     I read your letter did I realize that I behaved so badly at that time and you were so sad to see I didn't do well for myself.

I can't help expressing my gratitude and sending my best wishes to you.Wish you     44     (health) and happy.I promise that I will spare no effort to satisfy your demand of being     45    brave and successful person.

46. 每年，国家科学技术奖励大会都会在北京人民大会堂隆重举行，届时党和国家领导人会为获奖的科学家颁奖。请你围绕以下要点谈谈你的个人看法。
1．党和政府为什么如此重视科技事业的发展；
2．作为一名高中生，你应该如何去做。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2．短文要求包含所有要点，但不要逐条翻译；
3．可以适当增加细节以使行文连贯；
4．开头已为你写好，但不计入总词数。

Every year, the National Science ­Technology Award Ceremony is held in the Great Hall of the People.

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47. 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。

The event that stands out in Tom’s memory happened one morning when Tom was only ten years old.He was at home with his elder sister Jane.Tom was doing his homework when he heard raised voices.At first he thought nothing of it since customers in the motorcycle shop directly below their flat often became loud，but he soon realized this time it was different.

“Quick! Quick! Remove the motorcycles from the shop.” someone shouted.Then a thick burning smell filled the air.When Tom opened the front door of their flat to investigate，a thick cloud of smoke greeted him.The motorcycle shop had caught fire and people were running and crying.

Jane，who had been playing the violin in her room，hurried to the living room.They rushed out of the door and along the corridor (走廊) through the smoke.

They were heading towards the stairway at the far end of the corridor when Jane suddenly stopped in her track.She turned around and headed back the way they came.Tom had no idea what she was doing，but he followed her.

Jane had suddenly remembered the lady in her 70s who lived next door to them，who they called Makcik.Jane began banging on Makcik’s door，but got no answer.As the smoke thickened around them，Tom could see many of their neighbors—some still in their pajamas (睡衣)—running for safety.The thought of fear crossed his mind.

“She would have run for safety like everyone else!” Tom cried.However，Jane refused to give up.“I know Makcik’s still inside.” She said she was familiar with Makcik’s daily routine and was certain she would still be sleeping.She pounded against the door.“Go downstairs.Go now! Go!”

Paragraph 1：

Tom noticed the flame (火焰) was reaching up.

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Paragraph 2：

Luckily，some neighbors passing by stopped and offered help.

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