Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history? Many people would think of Confucius, whose birthday was September 28. Although he lived over 2,000 years ago, people still remember and respect him for his contribution to the education today.

Confucius lived in the Kingdom of Lu, which lies in Shandong Province. He lived during the Spring and Autumn Period. He had a hard childhood. His father died when he was only 3. His mother brought him up. As a child, he had to work to help his mother, but young Confucius didn’t give up studying. He visited many famous teachers and learned music, history, poetry and sports.

Later, he became a teacher and started the first public school in Chinese history. At that time only children from noble families could go to school, but Confucius believed everyone should go to school if they wanted to learn. He had about 3,000 students in his lifetime.

Today, people still follow Confucius’ lessons. He told us that we all have something worthy to be learned. “When I am with three people, one of them must be better than me in some areas. I choose their good qualities and follow them.” “All study but no thinking makes people puzzled (困惑的). All thinking but no study makes people lazy.”

Confucius is not only a great teacher, but also a famous thinker with wise thoughts about the world and society. His most important teachings are about kindness and good manners. “A person should be strict with himself, but be kind to others,” he said.

1. Today we still remember Confucius mainly because ________.

A．he lived a poor life in his childhood

B．he had wise thoughts and great views about education

C．he traveled with his students from state to state

D．he lived during the Spring and Autumn Period

2. Confucius learned music, history, poetry and sports ________ as a child.

A．by teaching himself at home	B．with the help of his mother
C．by going to school	D．by visiting many famous teachers

3. The underlined word “noble” in Paragraph 3 has the closest meaning to ________.

A．poor

B．bright

C．rich

D．cute

4. The correct order of the following statements is ________.
①Confucius worked to help his mother as a child.
②Confucius educated about 3,000 students in his lifetime.
③Confucius’ father died.
④Confucius started the first public school in Chinese history.

A．③①④②

B．②③④①

C．①③②④

D．④③①②

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．All study but no thinking makes people puzzled.

B．No one has something worthy to be learned.

C．All thinking but no study makes people lazy.

D．A person should be strict with himself, but be kind to others.

“Do you snore (打呼噜)? If yes, then you can’t be an astronaut.” Recently, many people are talking about this topic on social media (社交媒体). Earlier in October, China started to select its fourth group of astronauts, around 12 to 14 people. The requirements (要求) are very high. What are they? Let’s take a look.

Good health

To be an astronaut, you need to be very healthy. Good eyesight (视力), a strong heart and strong lungs (肺) are important. You’d better not have any small problems. For example, snoring can cause (引起) short stops in breathing when you sleep. That can make astronauts take in less oxygen (氧气). This is very dangerous. You can’t have scars (伤疤) either. They may split (裂开) open in space, as Pang Zhihao, a space scientist, told the Beijing Morning Post.

Hard training

In China, you must be a great pilot before you can be an astronaut. You must fly for more than 600 hours without accidents. You also need to build your muscles (肌肉) as strong as professional athletes (职业运动员) by running, swimming and doing pull-ups (引体向上). You will also wear a 200-kilogram suit and do tasks underwater for six or seven hours without eating or going to the toilet. This is like doing tasks during a spacewalk.

Great knowledge

Knowledge (知识) is important as well. Astronauts take 60 courses to get ready for a mission (任务), including math, English, spacecraft design (设计), physics and many more. So they will know what to do when emergencies (紧急情况) happen during the mission. They can also do scientific experiments (实验) in space.

ASTRONAUTS NEED TO (BE):

●25—35 years old

●160—172 cm tall

●weigh 55—70kg

11. What might happen if astronauts snore in space?

A．They will not see things clearly.	B．They might feel out of breath.
C．They might find it hard to stay sleep.	D．Their old sears will split open.

12. Which of the following is correct?

A．If you are a pilot, then you will be an astronaut.

B．To become an astronaut, you need to play sports with professional athletes.

C．To become an astronaut, you will wear special suit and do tasks underwater.

D．Only practise spacewalks for six or seven hours everyday, then you will be an astronaut.

13. Why do astronauts have to take so many courses?

A．To build new spacecrafts.

B．To teach other young astronauts.

C．To solve emergencies and do scientific experiments in space.

D．To show their great abilities when they are compared with other people.

14. If you want to be an astronaut you need to be ________.

A．between 25 and 35 years old

B．taller than 175cm

C．lighter than 50kg

D．a man only

15. What is the passage mainly about?

A．How astronauts stay healthy in space.

B．Why China starts to pick new astronauts.

C．How astronauts get training in China.

D．What it takes to become an astronaut.

Can you imagine a cloud floating (漂浮) in the middle of your room? Do you want to know what it feels like to fly like a bird? Here, we have picked out three interesting inventions to share with you.

Talking Gloves

Four foreign students have created a pair of gloves. and it helps people to communicate with people who have hearing and speaking problems. The gloves are equipped with sensors (传感器). They recognize (识别) sign language and translate it into text on a smartphone. Then the smartphone changes the text to spoken words. Thus you can understand sign language easily.

Indoor Clouds

That’s a real world. An artist, Smilde, managed to create a small but perfect white cloud in the middle of a room using a fog machine. But it required careful planning—the temperature, humidity (湿度) and lighting all had to be just right. The cloud only lasted for a short while, though.

Wingsuits

The suit realizes your dream of flying like a bird. Well, not exactly flying, but gliding (滑翔) through the air. It increases the surface area of the human body, which makes it easier for people to float in the air. Fliers wearing wingsuits can glide one kilometer in about 30 seconds.

16. What do “Talking Gloves” help people to understand?

A．Spoken words.

B．Sign language.

C．Written words.

D．The text on the smartphone.

17. How did the artist create a white cloud in the room?

A．With a fog machine.

B．With right temperature.

C．With a fog machine and careful planning.

D．With a fog machine and right lighting.

18. The wingsuits can exactly help people ________.

A．fly like a bird freely.	B．glide through the air.
C．fly at any time and for a long time.	D．jump from one place to another.

19. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Three Interesting Inventions	B．Three Famous Inventions
C．The Advantages of Three Inventions	D．Three Dreams of the Future

20. Which field (领域) do you think this passage belong to?

A．Nature.

B．Society.

C．History.

D．Technology.