Kite flying is a sport of sending up into the air by means of the wind, a light frame covered with paper, plastic or cloth.
People have been making and flying kites for about 2,000 years. But no one knows exactly when or how the first kite was made. In 478B.C., a Chinese philosopher, Mo Zi, spent three years making a wooden bird. Later, his student Lu Ban began to use bamboo to make kites. Another record of kite flying was in about 200B.C. when the Chinese General Han Xin flew a kite with a flute tied to it. The flute made some sounds along with the Chu song as the kite rose into the air, which crashed the morale(士气) of the enemy quickly. The ancient Chinese also used bird-kites—usually made of the traditional silk—to carry ropes across rivers and valleys.
In the 13th century, Marco Polo wrote about how the shipping businessmen flew the huge kite in the wind before the ship set sail. They predicted the voyage in this way. If the kite went high and straight, it meant a quick and successful voyage, but if it did not fly well, it was a bad omen(预兆).
Kites have also been used for scientific purposes in the western world. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite and flew it in a storm to find out that lighting was a form of electricity. In the 1890s. Lawrence Hargrave invented the box kite to test ideas about flight. From 1898 to 1933, the United States Weather Bureau used box kites to collect weather data. The Wright brothers also experimented with kites. What they learnt helped them make the first airplane in 1903.
Today, most people fly kites as a hobby. Kite festivals are organized in many cities in all parts of the world.
1. Which of the following was NOT be used to make kites in ancient times?| A．Wood | B．Bamboo | C．Plastic | D．Silk |
| A．the first kite was created by Mo Zi | B．no one really knows who invented the kite |
| C．Han Xin was the first one to record kite flying | D．the ancient Chinese once made kites out of birds |
| A．To cut down wind resistance. | B．To predict whether they would succeed in their trade. |
| C．To define wind speed during their voyage. | D．To make sure whether their sailing would be smooth. |
| A．The United States Weather Bureau used box kites to predict the weather. |
| B．Benjamin Franklin invented electricity with the aid of a kite. |
| C．The first airplane was inspired by box kites to some degree. |
| D．Kites have promoted the development of scientific research. |
| A．the invention of kites | B．different forms of kites |
| C．the history of kites | D．some latest records about kites |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Many people ask me what my favorite invention is. I find it very hard to answer them because there are so many things in my life that I can choose. However, I have chosen a pen. Don’t you think it’s surprising?
I know that to most people a pen is very boring, but, to me, it stands for possibility. There are so many things you can do with a pen. You can write a novel or a song, record information, or draw a picture.
A pen is like the beginning of something amazing to me. Every day, I write a new page with my pen and I am slowly making a path for my future. Maybe I will be a scientist and change the world with my discoveries. Maybe I’ll become a musician and touch people’s hearts with my music. Or perhaps I will be a writer and move people through words, or a teacher to help children grow into the kind of people that they want to be.
There are so many possibilities as to what I will do with my life, but I know that with the pen in my hand, I will write a good future for myself. Tell me what future you will write for yourself.
1. People may feel ________ after they know the writer’s choice| A．bored | B．interested | C．excited | D．surprised |
| A．scientist | B．musician | C．writer | D．teacher |
| A．why a pen is the most important invention for him |
| B．what a pen can help him do |
| C．why he wants to have a good pen |
| D．what person he will become in the future |
【推荐2】C
Today most people can't live without a television set! During the 1980s and 1990s the quality (质量) of both pictures and sound became very, very good. The first VCR (video cassette recorder) was introduced in 1977 in the USA. With VCRs, people could record their favorite programs, but the quality was not perfect. The invention of the CD and the DVD during the 1990s produced a better quality of both pictures and sound. The first DVD player was introduced in 1997 in the USA. At that time you could not record programs with DVD players, but today DVD recorders are available.
During recent years, people began to develop new ways to record television programs with machines that had memory. This way your television set can save films, almost like a computer. This new invention is called TiVo, and it has become very popular in the USA. With TiVo, television sets are similar to computers, but at the same time computers are similar to television sets. With a computer you can now pay to download (下载) films and TV programs from the Internet and watch them on the computer screen. In the future, computers will probably take the place of television sets.
Living rooms with large-screen TV sets and big speakers (扬声器) are like small cinemas at home: they are called “home movie theaters”. Watching movies at home or in the cinema are both great and fun, but some people think that cinemas are still the best places to watch movies.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. Which of the following is TRUE about early VCRs?
| A．The quality of pictures was very good. |
| B．The quality of sound was very good. |
| C．They could be used to record programs. |
| D．They soon got very popular in the USA. |
| A．7 |
| B．9 |
| C．13 |
| D．20 |
| A．VCR. |
| B．CD. |
| C．DVD. |
| D．TiVo. |
| A．存储 |
| B．拯救 |
| C．节省 |
| D．储蓄 |
| A．a great choice |
| B．not good for health |
| C．better than cinemas |
| D．not popular with Americans |
【推荐3】Anna Du was walking along the beach when she noticed plastics (塑料) there. She reached down to pick them up, and quickly realized a problem: there are many more small pieces than she could deal with. It seems impossible to clean them all up.
Du, 12 years old at that time, tried to solve the problem like a good scientist — first, by doing a little research. That’s how she learned that eight million tons of plastics end up in the oceans every year. Then she got to build something that could help solve the problem: a remote-operated vehicle (遥控潜水器) , or ROV. Her ROV could move through water and find plastics on the ocean floor.
The cool part of Du’s invention is its detection system. She uses a camera along with three different kinds of light to find the plastics. She also uses visible light to find unnatural colors that make the plastic stand out.
“She has a very good engineering sense to break down a problem like this, and then go after it, ” says engineer Carsey Machado, “It sounds simple, but it’s a level of thinking that’s really amazing. ”
Du started attending public events and workshops at a university when she was five years old. That was how she picked up the engineering skills necessary to build her ROV. She says actually getting her ROV to move through water well was not easy. She failed many times, but she never gave up trying and testing.
When asked about her future plans, she mentioned wanting to address the effects of climate (气候) change. “I think there are a lot of problems that could be solved with new inventions, ” says Du.
Du thanks her parents who for years have taken her to student outreach activities, for supporting her interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) . She says she has been able to meet students and scientists there. “I know I want to be an engineer because I like building things to help solve big world problems. ” says Du, “but I’m not sure what kind of engineer I want to be yet. ”
1. What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph One refer to?| A．To notice plastics on the beach. | B．To reach down. |
| C．To quickly realize. | D．To clean up plastics. |
| A．It can solve problems like any good scientist. |
| B．It can move through water and find plastics on the ocean floor. |
| C．It can help people develop a good engineering sense. |
| D．It can break down plastics. |
| A．By looking up information online. | B．By failing and trying again and again. |
| C．By asking her parents for help. | D．By attending workshops at a university. |
| A．Her good engineering sense. | B．Her persistence (not giving up) . |
| C．Her parents’ support. | D．Help from some engineers. |
| Reporter: How would you describe your job? Corwin: My job is to travel around, look at animals and tell their stories. |
| Reporter: When did you know this is what you wanted to do? Corwin: I knew that when I was 6 years old. My dad was a police officer, and we lived in the city. I really enjoyed the time when I could go to the quiet countryside. The day that I saw my very first wild snake, I knew that’s what I would do for the rest of my life. I didn’t know if I would be a teacher or a zookeeper, but I know I would have a life connected with (与……有关) nature. |
| Reporter: Why did you write the book? Corwin: We’re losing species (物种) very fast. |
| Reporter: Is it true that humans are the reason that many of these animals are in danger? Corwin: Human beings have a powerful effect on every other living thing. The challenge is to make that effect a positive one. |
1. Jeff Corwin is a(n) __________.
| A．teacher | B．author | C．police officer | D．zookeeper |
| A．protect the environment |
| B．do some scientific researchers |
| C．save animals and their habitats |
| D．let more people know about nature |
| A．灭绝 | B．生存 | C．冬眠 | D．饥饿 |
| A．Human beings are now in danger. |
| B．We can’t save the endangered species. |
| C．Humans can’t deal with serious situations. |
| D．We can make some changes to save the endangered animals. |
| A．Corwin lived in the city when he was young. |
| B．Corwin has been trying his best to help save animals and their habitats. |
| C．It isn’t true that humans can have a positive effect on other living things. |
| D．The first time Corwin saw the wild snake, he knew what to do for the rest of his life. |
【推荐2】In the universe, as we know, there is the sun, the moon, the earth and many stars. Through our geography lessons, we know the earth goes round the sun, and the moon goes round the earth. We have day and night because the earth keeps turning all the time. When our part of the earth turns to the sun, it is day. When our part of the earth turns away from the sun, it is night.
Just because the moon is closer to the earth than the sun, it looks much bigger than the sun. Big things look smaller when they are farther, and small things look bigger when they are nearer.
The sun is bright enough to give out very strong light. The moon can’t give out any light at all, but it looks quite bright too. Why? In fact, the light from the moon comes from the sun. The moon looks much bigger and brighter than the stars. But actually(事实上) the stars are much bigger and brighter than the moon. They look smaller than the moon because they are farther away from the earth.
There are still many other planets in the universe. All of them move round the sun. But of all these planets, only on the earth are there living things and people can only live on the earth too. At 9:00 am, on October 15th, 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei was sent into space. He stayed there for 21 hours. It was the first time for Chinese to get into space.
1. We find the sun _______ than the moon because it is _______ to us.| A．bigger; farther | B．smaller; closer |
| C．bigger; closer | D．smaller; farther |
| A．night | B．day | C．evening | D．Sunday |
| A．earth | B．Mars | C．moon | D．sun |
| A．On November 15th, 2002. | B．On October 16th, 2003. |
| C．On May 6th, 2004. | D．On October 15th, 2003. |
【推荐3】The manatee（海牛）is a large marine mammal（海洋哺乳动物）. Manatees are also known as sea cows because of their slow, lazy nature and their grassy meals. Although they have such a name, they are more closely related to elephants. Manatees and elephants evolved from the same ancestor（祖先）over 50 million years ago.
There are three kinds of manatees. The West Indian manatee lives along the North American east coast from Florida to Brazil. The Amazonian manatee inhabits（栖居在）the Amazon River and the African Manatee swims along the west coast and rivers of Africa. Manatees differ in size from 2.4 to 4 metres and can weigh 200 and 590 kilograms. Though they may seem cumbersome, manatees can swim quickly and beautifully. Manatees usually swim about 8 km/h, but they can swim up to 24 km/h when they feel a need for speed.
Like whales and dolphins, manatees breathe air. They go to the surface for air every three to five minutes. However, they can hold their breath underwater for up to 20 minutes. This may have to do with the size of their lungs, as they are a large part of the manatee’s body.
Manatees have been under attack by humans for a long time, threatened by fishing nets and coastal development. The IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species lists all manatees as vulnerable（脆弱的）or endangered and facing a high risk of dying out.
1. Why are manatees also known as see cows?| A．Both manatees and cows are mammals. |
| B．Manatees and cows have similar natures. |
| C．Manatees and cows have the same ancestor. |
| D．Manatees and cows appeared at the same time. |
| A．Manatees are sorted by where they live. |
| B．Manatees are too heavy to swim very fast. |
| C．Manatees’ swimming speed is over 24 km/h. |
| D．Manatees weigh differently in different places. |
| A．Large and lazy. | B．Large and strong. |
| C．Heavy but quick. | D．Ugly but strong. |
| A．Why manatees have been under attack by humans. |
| B．The introduction of other kinds of marine mammal. |
| C．How to protect manatees from dangers or extinction. |
| D．Some further information about the nature of manatees. |
| A．Elephants in the Sea | B．Three Kinds of Manatees |
| C．Protecting Sea Cows | D．Manatee, an Endangered Animal |
For example, someone might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy is a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some officers often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she tries another term. One of the persons who don’t support her says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.’’
Advertisers will sometimes use half—truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache. ”It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of thing happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.
1. We may infer that the author believes people should ________.
| A．buy lottery tickets if possible |
| B．make use of half—truths |
| C．be careful about what they are told |
| D．not trust the Yucky Company |
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
| A．Using half truths is against the law. |
| B．Technically, half truths are in fact lies. |
| C．Yucky Pills is a very good medicine for toothache. |
| D．Governor Smith did a good job during her last term. |
| A．He’s really a big loser! |
| B．Sometimes the truth can lie． |
| C．Advertisers will sometimes use half truths． |
| D．It’s against the law to make false statements． |
The Mid-autumn festival is one of the two most important occasions in Chinese calendar (the other being the Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year) and it is an official holiday. It is a time for families to be together, so people far from home will gaze longingly at the moon and think about their families.
The traditional food for mid-autumn festival is the moon cake which is round and symbolizes reunion.
1. The other name of Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is .
| A．Chinese Mid Festival | B．Chinese Moon Festival |
| C．Chinese Festival | D．Spring Festival |
| A．the 15th day of the eighth Chinese lunar month. |
| B．the 16th day of the eighth Chinese lunar month. |
| C．the 15th day of the ninth Chinese lunar month |
| D．the 15th day of the eighth Chinese month. |
| A．Because the moon is at its fullest and brightest. |
| B．Because it is a time for families to be together. |
| C．Because it is an official holiday. |
| D．Because it is one of the most important occasions. |
| A．Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival. |
| B．Spring Festival and Lantern Festival. |
| C．Spring Festival and Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. |
| D．Spring Festival and New Year. |
| A．sweet dumplings. | B．rice dumplings. |
| C．chicken | D．moon cake |
“The safety issue (问题) is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns (担心), and the same question was always asked: What about crime? But when college officials al ways gave the same answer---“That’s not a problem here.” ---Mahoney began to feel uneasy.
“No crime whatsoever?” comments (评论) Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it.” Nor should he: In 1999 the U.S . Department of Education had reports of nearly 400,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to college,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation.”
But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics (统计数字) by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity (名声), leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be serious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc., the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog (监视) group.
To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.
1. The Mahoneys visited quite a few colleges last August_________.
| A．to express the opinions of many parents |
| B．to choose a right one for their daughter |
| C．to check the cost of college education |
| D．to find a right one near a large city |
| A．receive too many visitors |
| B．mirror the rest of the nation |
| C．hide the truth of campus crime |
| D．have too many watchdog groups |
| A．mind | B．take | C．believe | D．expect |
| A．Exact campus crime statistics. |
| B．Crimes on or around campuses. |
| C．Effective solutions to campus crime. |
| D．Concerns about kids’ campus safety. |
How are you getting on with your study? Maybe you are the best in your class. In the last few exams one or two even several classmates have got higher marks than you. How do you feel? Are you jealous of them? Are you grateful to them? Please think it over after reading the following text. You will probably learn a lot.
Once a zoologist worked on antelopes (羚羊) which were living on both sides of a river in the Republic of South Africa. He discovered that the antelopes on the east side multiplied (繁殖) more quickly and ran faster than those on the west.
The zoologist was puzzled after long thought about the difference. As two groups of antelopes lived in the same environment and they fed on the same kind of grass.
One year, with the help of the Animal Protecting Society, he caught ten antelopes on each side and exchanged them. A year later, the ten antelopes sent to the west bank multiplied by fourteen while only three of the ones sent to the east remained. Where are the other seven? They had been eaten by wolves!
At last the zoologist understood why the antelopes on the east were stronger. That was because on the east side there were living a group of wolves ---their natural enemy!
Now everything is plain sailing in your life. It's your opponents (对手) that you are improving indeed, so thanks must go to your opponents. It's a true!
1. The zoologist was puzzled when he found________.| A．the antelopes on the west side multiplied more than those on the east. |
| B．the antelopes on the east side ran faster than those on the west. |
| C．the two groups of antelopes lived in the same environment. |
| D．the two groups of antelopes fed on the same kind of grass. |
| A．害怕的 | B．生气的 | C．嫉妒的 | D．憎恨的 |
| A．Antelopes should be raised on the same side of the river. | B．Antelopes should be raised with wolves. |
| C．We should learn from the zoologist. | D．We should be grateful to our opponents. |
【推荐2】Lots of boys dream of flying airplanes when they grow up. But only a few can say they have made their dreams come true when they are still teenagers. At the age of 19, Luke Elsworth is already a flying traveler around the world.
As a child, Elsworth enjoyed playing with toy planes and had pictures of planes on the walls in his bedroom. His father, who has been a pilot for 32 years, often took him to watch his air shows. At one show, he asked his son what he wanted to be in the future. Young Elsworth answered all he wanted to do was following his father.
Elsworth became an air cadet (空乘学员) on his 13th birthday. Five years later, he began to work for Easy Jet’s pilot training program in Southampton. There, Elsworth spent almost all of his free time practicing again and again and he felt great. “It is common for us young people to have big dreams,” he said, “But to make them come true, we need to act bigger.”
When people ask him if he feels he is too young to be a pilot, Elsworth says age isn’t so important. He even advised young people to do what they want to do. “If there is a train driver who is 18 and has passed all the training tests. I will believe in him,” says Elsworth.
The young pilot’s next step is to become a captain, but he will have to spend at least 8 years before that can happens.
1. When Elsworth was a child, he ________.| A．showed no interest in studying subjects |
| B．dreamed of becoming a train driver |
| C．was interested in things about planes |
| D．liked to play with his friends at school |
| A．Elsworth’s dream of being a pilot |
| B．Elsworth’s idea about young people |
| C．Elsworth’s opinions about ages |
| D．Elsworth’s training experience and opinions |
①Elsworth started training in Easy Jet’s.
②Elsworth became an air cadet.
③Elsworth flew around the world.
④Elsworth told his father his dream.
| A．①④③② | B．④②①③ |
| C．③④②① | D．④③①② |
| A．a son is usually like his father |
| B．how to become a good pilot |
| C．everyone should have a big dream |
| D．never too young to make dreams come true |
【推荐3】The summer solstice, the longest day of the year, is celebrated by different cultures all over the world. For the last 40 years a farmer in England has arranged a special celebration on his farm.
Each June, thousands of people travel to a field six miles from Glastonbury, a small town in southwest England. The local population grows from about 10,000 to over 185,000, with many people arriving from abroad during the weekend. They’re taking part in the Glastonbury Festival, one of the biggest open-air festivals in the world.
If you go, you will have the chance to see famous performers and enjoy lots of different activities. There are over 15 stages where you can listen to nearly any music, including jazz, hip-hop, folk and Latin music.
▲ .There are many other kinds of performing arts. There is a comedy stage, a cinema tent and a poetry area.You can watch one of Shakespeare 's plays or have your face painted.You can take part in art activities or learn how to juggle. Children under 12 years old can get in for free. They can watch puppet shows or enjoy a picnic. If you want to celebrate the start of summer in a more traditional way, you can go to the stone circle on a hill above the festival and light a candle or lie down and look at the stars.
While the festival is great fun, it's not exactly a luxury weekend. It is difficult to travel to and from the festival site on country roads and you can sometimes get trapped in traffic jams for hours. In bad weather, the field can turn into a mud bath. But once you are there, it is an experience of a lifetime.
1. All the activities are held just to celebrate_________.| A．the summer holidays | B．the music festival |
| C．a family celebration | D．the longest day of the year |
| A．Having a-picnic on the field | B．Looking at the stars on the hill. |
| C．Enjoying all kinds of music on the stage. | D．Watching Shakespeare's plays in a tent. |
| A．However, it is not just a music festival |
| B．However, it just shows performing arts |
| C．If you go, you can learn about local customs |
| D．If you go, you can experience different cultures |
| A．The activities of the festival. | B．The reasons of the festival. |
| C．The problems of the festival. | D．The popularity of the festival. |
