We all know that many inventions have. changed our life a lot. They play important roles in our daily life. Here are some interesting inventions.

Morpher People refuse to wear helmets(头盔) because they’re thick and heavy. Morpher is a bike helmet made of plastic. It is just as strong as traditional helmets, but it can be folded almost completely flat, making it easier to carry. Morpher may be available for sale in stores in the near future.	HyperAdapt Have you ever seen the movie Back to the Future? Maybe everyone wants the pair of shoes in the movie that can tighten or loosen by themselves. Now, thanks to the Shoe Factory, the dream is realized. When you push a button on the shoe, HyperAdapt can tighten or loosen around the feet.
Flyte Flyte is a light bulb that can float(漂浮) and turn. Flyte has been popular with most people since it came out in January. The company also introduced a lot of similar products, including a planter, Lyfe, which came out in June.	Little Printer It looks lovely and is called Little Printer. This machine can print news headlines(摘要) , riddles and other things on a roll(卷) of paper. If you want to make your own little newspaper, don’t forget to use it.

16. Morpher is made of_________.

A．steel

B．plastic

C．gold

D．wood

17. What’s the main use of the Little Printer?

A．To protect our heads more safely.

B．To tighten or loosen by themselves around the feet.

C．To float and turn in the water.

D．To print news headlines, riddles and other things.

18. The underlined word “button” means __________ in Chinese.

A．钉子

B．按钮

C．图案

D．形状

19. What kind of invention can float in the passage?

A．Morpher.

B．Little Printer.

C．Flyte.

D．HyperAdapt.

20. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?

A．Maybe everyone wants the pair of shoes in the movie Back to the Future.

B．You can make your own little newspaper with the Little Printer.

C．Flyte has been popular with most people since it came out in February.

D．Morpher can be folded almost completely flat, making it easier to carry.

When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelon was expensive. One of my father’s friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.
Every summer, when the first watermelons arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie’s place. We’ d sit on the edge of the dock（码头）, feet dangling（摇晃）, and got ready for a big meal.
Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we’d bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart—the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part—and throw away the rest.
Bernie was my father’s idea of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie’s wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eat only the heart of the watermelon.
What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don’t take the time to dangle your feet over the dock and enjoy life’s small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.
For many years, I forgot that lesson I’d learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.
Well, I’ve relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That’s the heart of the watermelon. I have learned again to throw the rest away.
21. We learned from the second paragraph that the writer and his father were feeling ______.

A．relaxed

B．worried

C．hungry

D．proud

22. How did the writer and his father eat the watermelon?

A．They ate it in a polite way.	B．They only ate its best part.
C．They ate every part of it.	D．They shared only one piece.

23. In the eyes of the writer’s father, Bernie ______.

A．was just a rich businessman	B．worked hard all the time
C．lived a rich but healthy life	D．knew how to make money

24. The underlined part “the heart of the watermelon” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

A．the best part of the watermelon	B．the writer’s busy life
C．the writer’s decision of making money	D．the writer’s hope of enjoying life

25. It can be learned from the passage that ______.

A．one has to work hard to reach his goal	B．a friend in need is a friend in deed
C．watermelon is the healthiest fruit	D．one should keep work-life balance

If English means endless new words, difficult rules and sometimes strange sound, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an improvement in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes (处理) information. It is similar to the way that doing lots of exercise helps build muscles (肌肉).

The study also found the younger people learn a second language, the greater the effect is. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” the people who had learned a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.

Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller difference.

“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.

It means that the change itself adds up the ability to learn.

Professor Jones of the University of Wales has researched the link between bilingualism and math skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and can understand different ideas better.”

The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance (入口) to another world,” explained the scientists.

26. The writer mentions “exercise” in Paragraph 2 in order to ________.

A．say language is also a kind of physical labor

B．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well

C．prove that one needs more practice when he/she is learning a language

D．show the importance of using the language when you learn the language

27. The underlined word “bilingual” probably means “________”.

A．a researcher on language learning

B．an English native speaker

C．an active language learner

D．a person who can speak two languages

28. In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that ________.

A．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language

B．learning a second language is the same as studying math

C．you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language

D．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects

29. What’s the main subject (主题) of the passage?

A．Science on learning a second language.

B．Language can increase brain power.

C．Man’s ability of learning a second language.

D．Language learning and math study.

What would you do if you felt anxious (焦虑的)? Would you feel better if someone else could share his or her experiences? In the United States, two teenage girls set up a mental health camp called “Healing (治愈) Hearts” to help people deal with anxiety.

The idea of founding the camp came from Dinah Martinez, 17, and her schoolmate Janet Martinez, 18. Both girls suffered from anxiety.

Dinah Martinez always did well in school. “But then I just started to collapse (崩溃),” Dinah Martinez said. She stopped talking to her friends, stopped going to school for three weeks and stayed at home.

Janet Martinez was anxious in elementary school. Things got even worse in junior high. “It was a lot of pressure I put on myself. I would wake up in the morning and it was like my heart was racing,” she said.

The girls’ camp idea got support from Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) in the US. The organization awarded them 5,000 to put on the camp for other teenage girls.

The “Healing Hearts” camp was set up to “help deal with anxiety, especially with girls in high school because that’s when they are the most vulnerable (脆弱的),” Janet Martinez said.

On the first day of the camp, 10 girls were there. Experts at the camp talked about anxiety. They helped girls who were experiencing anxiety. The girls learned how to calm themselves when they are anxious. They learned about calming methods like deep breathing and guided mediation (调节).

“It’s good to know that someone else is going through the same thing as me and we can both help each other out,” Dinah Martinez said.

The “Healing Hearts” Camp

Background	Two girls suffered (受折磨) from     30     so they came up with the idea of setting up a mental health camp.
Support	Girls Leading Our World gave them an     31     of $5,000 to put on the camp for other teenage girls.
Purposes	To help deal with anxiety, especially with girls in high school when they are the most vulnerable
Activities	·Experts talked about anxiety and helped girls with anxiety. ·The girls learned how to keep     32     when they are anxious, like deep breathing and guided mediation.
Conclusion	It’s good to give a hand to those whose experiences are     33     to Dinah Martinez’s.

34. I often have ________ (交谈) with my friends in English.

35. The students found it difficult ________ (work) out this math problem.

36. Mary had read the article many times and finally had a better ________ (understand) of it.

38. It’s difficult to learn English ________ (语法) but it’s easy to pronounce the English words.

39. I think working hard is the ________ (秘密) to success.

40. Chemistry and ________ (物理) are two important subjects for us middle school students.