【推荐1】When a laptop or smartphone battery starts losing its power, the only options are to buy an expensive replacement or just keep it plugged in all the time. But a woman Mya Le Thai may have found the solution to this problem.

Thai was frustrated that the batteries for her wireless devices degraded (退化) over time, until they failed to charge fully. She did not like having to keep her laptop connected to an electrical outlet to keep it powered on. So, she decided to do something about that problem. At first, she and her team at UC Irvine thought about inventing a new battery. But as they experimented, Thai discovered something that might permit lithium-ion (锂离子) batteries to last forever.

Lithium-ion batteries power most wireless devices. Over time, the batteries lose the ability to hold a charge. Most of these batteries have a lifespan of about 7,000 charging cycles before they die. One of the reasons lithium-ion batteries degrade is their use of nanowires to carry electricity. Nano wires are extremely thin. A human hair is thousands of times thicker, for example. Nano wires are extremely efficient carriers of electricity, which makes them useful in batteries.

But, Thai had a theory — the nanowires might last longer if covered with a gel (凝胶). She and her team tested this theory. “It was a long process and a lot of work,” Thai said. The team tried many coverings for the wires. PMMA, a type of plastic, was one of them. The nanowires were coated with PMMA and cycled through charging 200,000 times. The PMMA-coated nanowires showed no evidence of damage. The results suggest that batteries could last forever without losing charging ability.

Thai hopes to continue her research to understand why this gel works so well and to see if any other gel could create better results and she is enjoying the publicity about her discovery. She said she never expected her research to get media coverage. “It’s kind of cool,” she said. “I’m really glad people are showing interest in my work and not just in the work itself; but also in technology and energy.”

1. Why did Mya Le Thai work on lithium-ion batteries?

A．She disliked the batteries for her laptop.

B．Her team were ordered to invent a new battery.

C．Many people thought batteries were too expensive.

D．The batteries would soon fail to get fully charged.

2. What can we infer about nanowires?

A．They are too weak to carry electricity.

B．They are not suitable to use in batteries.

C．They Iasi exactly 7,000 charging cycles.

D．Their thinness is a cause of batteries degrading.

3. What was Thai and her team’s breakthrough?

A．Coating nanowires in a gel.	B．A new kind of battery.
C．New materials for batteries.	D．A new way of charging batteries.

4. What may be the best title for the passage?

A．Mya Le Thai discovered nanowires	B．A woman invents a lasting battery
C．The options of batteries for wireless devices	D．The reasons for batteries degrading

【推荐2】I should not have dressed up. Apparently, no other fifth grader had felt driven to celebrate the first day of school via fancy clothing, and so I stood out not Just as a newcomer, but as an awkwardly dressed one. Scratching at grainy black tights with the toe of my sneaker, I paused uncertainly in the doorway of the Writing room.

Pausing uncertainly, however, was not the way of the world of Mr. Matthews. This red-haired red-bearded, red-faced man beckoned(召唤)wildly to me to enter. I walked over to a seat. and in three minutes of casual observation was convinced that I had never known an adult like him. He laughed from his belly, moved his ears on request, and his face then turned even redder. His students loved him: it was evident from the way they greeted him to the way they relaxed when they entered his room.

On the contrary, I was not relaxed. I was apathetic towards writing. My only previous writing experience had been in cloth-covered books with more room for illustrations(插画) than print. I had no idea what to expect from a class that was just called “Writing,” but I was certain I wasn’t going to like it.

Yet Mr. Matthews spent that first class entertaining us. He told stories, jokes, and then dismissed us early for a rest. Our assignment to write about the best part of summer seemed almost an afterthought for him.

However, I was seized by an inexplicable desire to do my homework. It wasn’t anything specific he had said in class that day, but the way he had acted. I wanted this man to like and approve of me, and the quickest way to earn this was through my writing.

That night, despite having dealt with a word processor all of twice in my life wrote with passion(激情) Proudly handing it in the next morning, I was sure it was the best thing I’d ever written. For the rest of the year, this one-man audience inspired me to improve constantly. The fifth grader would never have guessed that, six years later, writing would become a voluntary, daily activity, flowing from journals to emails to poetry workshops to newspapers.

All because she wanted to win a crazy teacher’s favor!

1. What can be learned about the author from Paragraph 1?

A．She observed her classroom carefully.

B．She was overdressed for her first school day.

C．She was teased about her appearance at school.

D．She made a new friend outside the Writing Room.

2. What does the underlined phrase “apathetic towards” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Curious about.

B．Uninterested in.

C．Talented for.

D．Unaware of.

3. What mainly caused the author to work hard on her first writing assignment?

A．Her wish to impress her teacher.

B．Her ambitious future career goal.

C．Her teacher’s encouragement.

D．Her excellent writing skills.

【推荐3】As introduction to backpacking go, this might be pushing it. At noon on a brilliant Tuesday in March, my 12-year-old son Kai and I are a mile and a half into a four-day, 27-mile walk through the Grand Canyon (峡谷) — his first backpacking trip — when he asks, “Are we almost to camp?” Um, no. Camp, at Hermit Creek, is seven miles and nearly 2,500 feet below. That will take us several more hours.

We are here largely because of a birthday note Kai wrote to me two years ago in which he declared, “You used to be a wild 10-year-old like me and now you’re a wild 53-year-old. We can do so many things together! I am excited for when I’m old enough for the Grand Canyon.”

There are, I suppose, dads who could resist that, just as there are fathers who would plan an experience-appropriate trip for their sons. I am neither, so here we are. Never mind that; aside from simply being 12, Kai has done almost nothing to physically prepare for this. Or that I haven’t backpacked for 13 years.

We go down a poorly maintained path off the canyon with twisty trees and twining bushes. Gradually the view broadens, the landscape in Vishnu fascinates Kai greatly. “This place is amazing.” he says. Nightfall in the canyon can be magical. Darkness surrounds us, pressed by cool air. Hearing the sound of a waterfall, we lie down to take in the stars. Twice I suggest we turn in. “Not yet,” Kai says. “This is too unbelievable.”

Wednesday, we travel three miles to Monument Creek, and hike a mile and 1,000 feet down to the Colorado River. The next morning at 7:30 when we march out, I’m optimistic, and Kai sets a quick pace. Friday, we rise before dawn and are the first ones out of camp; for an hour we have the Bright Angel Trail and its soaring (高耸的) scenery to ourselves.

In that birthday card Kai had also written, “Even when you’re 100, you will always be wild,” Nice, If I’m lucky enough to make it there, it looks like I’ll have company.

1. According to the author, why does he go backpacking in the Grand Canyon with Kai?

A．To fulfill the author’s birthday wish.

B．To develop Kai’s strong will.

C．To promote the father-and-son relationship.

D．To satisfy Kai’s desire for the Grand Canyon.

2. What can we know about the author?

A．He is enthusiastic about meeting challenges,

B．He has been engaged in backpacking for years.

C．He favors an experience-appropriate trip for his son.

D．He tends to make sufficient preparations for backpacking in advance.

3. How does Kai probably feel during the trip?

A．Exhausted.

B．Excited.

C．Relieved.

D．Desperate.

4. What does the last paragraph imply?

A．Kai hopes his dad will live a long life.

B．Kai believes his dad will be wilder in the future.

C．The author enjoys Kai’s company during the trip.

D．The author doubts whether he can live as old as 100.

【推荐1】I was in the middle of the Amazon with my wife, who was there as a medical researcher.

We flew on a small plane to a faraway village. We did not speak the local language, did not know the customs, and more often than not, did not entirely recognize the food. We could not have felt more foreign.

We were raised on books and computers, highways and cell phones, but now we were living in a village without running water or electricity. It was easy for us to go to sleep at the end of the day, feeling a little misunderstood.

Then one perfect Amazonian evening, with monkeys calling from beyond the village green, we played soccer. I am not good at soccer, but that evening it was wonderful. Everyone knew the rules. We all spoke the same language of passes and shots. We understood one another perfectly. As darkness came over the field and the match ended, the goal keeper, Juan, walked over to me and said in a matter-of-fact way, “In your home, do you have a moon too?” I was surprised.

After I explained to Juan that yes, we did have a moon and yes, it was very similar to his, I felt a sort of awe (敬畏) at the possibilities that existed in his world. In Juan’s world, each village could have its own moon. In Juan’s world, the unknown and undiscovered was vast and marvelous. Anything was possible.

In our society, we know that Earth has only one moon. We have looked at our planet from every angle and found all of the wildest things left to find. I can, from my computer at home, pull up satellite images of Juan’s village. There are no more continents and no more moons to search for, little left to discover. At least it seems that way.

Yet, as I thought about Juan’s question, I was not sure how much more we could really rule out. I am, in part, an ant biologist, so my thoughts turned to what we know about insect life and I knew that much in the world of insects remains unknown. How much, though? How ignorant are we? The question of what we know and do not know constantly bothered me.

I began collecting newspaper articles about new species, new monkey, new spider…, and on and on they appear. My drawer quickly filled. I began a second drawer for more general discoveries: new cave system discovered with dozens of nameless species, four hundred species of bacteria found in the human stomach. The second drawer began to fill and as it did I wondered whether there were bigger discoveries out there, not just species, but life that depends on things thought to be useless, life even without DNA. I started a third drawer for these big discoveries. It fills more slowly, but all the same, it fills.

In looking into the stories of biological discovery, I also began to find something else, a collection of scientists, usually brilliant occasionally half-mad, who made the discoveries.

Those scientists very often see the same things that other scientists see, but they pay more attention to them, and they focus on them to the point of exhaustion, and at the risk of the ridicule of their peers. In looking for the stories of discovery, I found the stories of these people and how their lives changed our view of the world.

We are repeatedly willing to imagine we have found most of what is left to discover. We used to think that insects were the smallest organisms and that nothing lived deeper than six hundred meters. Yet, when something new turns up, more often than not, we do not even know its name.

1. What made that Amazonian evening wonderful?

A．He learned more about the local language.

B．They had a nice conversation with each other.

C．They understood each other while playing.

D．He won the soccer game with the goal keeper.

2. Why was the author surprised at Juan’s question about the moon?

A．The question was too straightforward.

B．Juan knew so little about the world.

C．The author didn’t know how to answer.

D．The author didn’t think Juan was sincere.

3. What was the author’s initial purpose of collecting newspaper articles?

A．To sort out what we have known.

B．To deepen his research into Amazonians.

C．To improve his reputation as a biologist.

D．To learn more about local cultures.

4. How did those brilliant scientists make great discoveries?

A．They shifted their viewpoints frequently.

B．They followed other scientists closely.

C．They often criticized their fellow scientists.

D．They conducted in-depth and close studies.

5. What could be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．The Possible and the Impossible.	B．The Known and the Unknown.
C．The Civilized and the Uncivilized.	D．The Ignorant and the Intelligent.

【推荐2】It was the men’s skating finals of the Winter Olympics when I was 16. Someday I’d be in the Olympics. In fact, it was my dream.

That night I lay on our living room floor excitedly watching the battle between the Brians: American Brian Boitano facing Brian Orser in Canada. Both of them had been world champions. Both of them deserved to win. Naturally I was for Brian Boitano, a northern Californian like me. We had skated on the same ice. I held my breath in amazement. Boitano performed successfully. The gold medal! I jumped in the air when his score went up.

But what happened next is what I’ll never forget. Brian Boitano sat in front of the camera with his coach, surrounded by a group of journalists. He was talking about his career and his medal, talking to the whole world. A terrible sinking feeling went through me. I could never be in the Olympics, I thought. I could not talk in public like that. Just the idea of a press conference terrified me.

I loved skating partly because I didn’t have to talk. I could express myself with my jumps and dances better. I didn’t have to stand up and give a speech like some teachers expected. I could feel the blood rush to my face if I thought a teacher was going to call me. I stared at my shoes. I was sure I’d make a fool of myself.

The next day I was at the rink (溜冰场)as usual. I was practising a combination of jumps that had once seemed impossible. I worked very hard the next few years — on the ice and especially off. After journalists talked to me and although my heart pounded every time I spoke to them, I got to know them. They became familiar faces. And they got to know me. So when my big moment came four years after Brians, I was ready. Sometimes I think my biggest accomplishment was not winning the gold but talking to the press afterwards. When you do the thing you fear most, you put an end to fear.

Fear can stop you dead in your tracks. Fear can kill a dream. What are you afraid of? What scares you more than anything else? This year, walk right up to it and conquer it, step by step.

1. What information can we get from the second paragraph?

A．The author lived a hard life.

B．The author comes from Canada.

C．The author once skated with Orser.

D．The author wished Boitano to win the match

2. What is one of the reasons why the author liked skating according to the passage?

A．She could build up her body to be healthier.

B．It could help her to get closer to her idol.

C．She could better express herself with body language.

D．The possibility of her being a world champion was great.

3. What the author felt the most satisfied with is that ____.

A．she lived up to her coaches expectations

B．she became a world champion as planned

C．she managed to overcome her inner fear eventually

D．she handled the balance between her career and life

4. What does the author mainly want to tell us?

A．Face a fear bravely.

B．Practice makes perfect.

C．Bad times make a good man.

D．Failure is the mother of success.

【推荐2】The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.

Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.

But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.

Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.

One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rain forest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”

That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.

1. What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．Each child got an important job.

B．Each child got an interesting job.

C．The most responsible student got the job of least interest.

D．The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference.

2. What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?

A．Uncertain.

B．Negative

C．Positive

D．Acceptive.

3. We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a ________.

A．hunter

B．biologist

C．director

D．principal

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Never complain about life.

B．Small tasks can lead to fortunes.

C．Men are best known by their friends.

D．Responsibility and intelligence bring good luck.

【推荐3】Mia, 18, had just started working as a lifesaver at a beach in Australia on New Year’s Eve when beach-goers started to point and shout at the water. The workers quickly examined the situation and saw that a kangaroo had jumped out of the bushes — straight into the sea.

The animal seemed confused by the fishermen standing on the rocks. So instead of turning back and heading back into the bushes, it jumped right into the water! The poor thing bobbed (摆动) around in the waves and went underwater several times before Mia decided to take action.

As with any other animal rescue, it’s important to approach the situation with care. Wild animals that are stressed can become dangerous to their rescuers, and Mia was aware of the risks as she took her rescue board and hit the water at a run. “It just didn’t want to come on to the beach because it was kind of scared,” she said, “I was trying to figure out how to get it on the board. But considering that it’s a wild animal, even though I was helping, I wouldn’t want to be hurt by it or make it more stressed out.”

As beach-goers recorded the rescue on their phones, Mia paddled (用桨划船) behind the animal carefully and guided the kangaroo onto the beach. As soon as Mia’s feet touched the sand, the beach erupted in cheers for her! “It was quite special. As people there were cheering and clapping, the kangaroo was just sitting there up in the bushes staring at me, as if it was conveying something with its shining eyes,” Mia said, “I didn’t think that was going to ever be my first rescue, I may have more rescues in the future, but none would be as memorable as this one.”

1. Why did the kangaroo jump into the water?

A．To find food in the sea.	B．To assist its partner in the water.
C．To pose a threat to the beach-goers.	D．To escape from the fishermen on the rocks.

2. How did Mia rescue the kangaroo?

A．She used a helicopter for the rescue.

B．She used food to attract it onto the rescue board.

C．She guided it onto the beach using a rescue board.

D．She called for professional animal handlers to assist.

3. Which words can best describe Mia?

A．Ambitious and flexible.	B．Caring and thoughtful.
C．Generous and considerate.	D．Energetic and passive.

4. What made this rescue particularly memorable?

A．The kangaroo attacked Mia during the rescue.

B．Mia’s rescue board broke during the operation.

C．Mia regretted her decision to rescue the kangaroo.

D．The kangaroo seemed to have expressed its gratitude.