What are you holding in your hand while you are taking the exam? Right. A pen.
Though it is small, the pen has changed the history, improved the trade of countries, recorded events, carried news, and done far more work for human beings than all other tools(工具).
Progress without it would have been almost impossible. The invention of the wheels, the introduction of
steam engine(蒸汽机), the use of electricity, all these have changed the lives of millions of people, but the pen has done more. It has prepared the way for all progress and development of the society.
In the past the pen did all the work if you wanted to keep any writing for some time. The lawyers
(律师) took up their pens and wrote the law of the country from the days when papyrus(纸莎草纸) was first used. The most famous letters in the world were written with a pen. It was with a pen that the greatest thinkers of all time wrote down their thoughts.
The pen is very utilitarian. We cannot write a letter or buy a house without our pen. An agreement is worthless till our name is written with a pen. The writers encourage the world with it. The students take their exams with it as well.
Our coming into the world is recorded with a pen. Before we have been at school, our name is written on the name list with a pen. A pen records the important events in our life.
Let us remember that we hold in our hand the most powerful tool which man owns. The pen is a magic tool. Whenever you use it, enjoy it.
1. The pen can do many things EXCEPT .| A．change the history | B．carry news | C．replace all other tools |
| A．the pen | B．the steam engine | C．the invention of wheels |
| A．before their thoughts were changed |
| B．when papyrus was first used |
| C．as soon as they recorded their names |
| A．useful | B．boring | C．special |
| A．A Powerful Tool | B．An Important Law | C．A Valuable Record |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Climate change has been a hot topic for a long time now. Scientists often provide new studies and suggestions for protecting our planet.
Scientists in the US recently invented the whitest paint ever made. The paint can reflect up to 98 percent of sunlight and cool surfaces by 4. 5℃—even in direct sunlight.
The researchers hope that this new paint can help cool down the planet if it is used to paint buildings.
“Our paint can help fight against global warming by helping to cool Earth—that’s the cool point,” lead researcher Professor Ruan Xiulin from Purdue University told The Guardian. “Producing the whitest paint means the paint can reflect the largest amount of sunlight back to space.”
There are two things that make the paint so white. First, it has a large amount of barium sulphate（硫酸钡）. Barium sulphate is used to make paper white. Also, the barium sulphate particles（微粒） in the paint are all different sizes, which helps to reflect more light.
But exactly how much paint would be needed to help stop climate change?
“We estimate（估计） we would only need to paint 1 percent of the Earth’s surface with this paint—perhaps an area where no people live that is covered in rock—sand that could help fight the climate change,” Professor Ruan said.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer to use it. The new whitest paint could be on the market in about one or two years.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. What does the writer want to tell us in Paragraph 1?
| A．People pay little attention to the environment. |
| B．Scientists have many new studies. |
| C．There is some new advice on protecting our earth. |
| D．It’s hard to come up new ways to protect our planet. |
| A．吸收 | B．反射 | C．积累 | D．转化 |
| A．It can stop global warming. |
| B．It can prevent 98% of the sunlight from getting into the earth. |
| C．It can help cool down our house if we use it to paint our room walls. |
| D．It can be used to build the buildings. |
| A．I percent of the earth’s surface has been painted white. |
| B．people have to paint all the buildings white if they want to cool down the earth. |
| C．People can buy the whitest paint in the market now. |
| D．The whitest paint might be put into use in less than two years. |
| A．Global warming. | B．The newest studies. | C．Climate change. | D．The whitest paint. |
When you’re not at home, many worries may come to your mind. Did I turn the light off? Did I lock the door? With a smart home, you can keep away from all of these worries in the future.
A smart home is a home with a network (网络). The network connects with lights and TV sets, so that people connect them from far away by lines, mobile phone or WiFi over the Internet.
More and more people may want to have a smart home, because it makes life much more convenient. It can help keep your room at a certain temperature. It can record what happens inside your home and send the video to your phone. When you are on holiday in other countries, you can use a smart home controller to turn on or off the electricity when necessary. Some smart homes can receive a visitor, make him come in and service him a drink. They can even feed the cat and water the plants.
Besides, smart homes are easy to fix. When a problem happens, you can deal with it yourself. However, for home-users, the smart home is not perfect. It can be rather expensive to have it. Also, because the smart home system makes its owner get home information from anywhere, hackers (黑客) may enter into the smart home easily, and they may use or change their information in the system.
Now, many people are excited at the future of the smart home. There are others who worry that the smart home will make people lazier and lonelier. But anyway, one thing is for sure-the smart home will change the way we live and work.
1. We keep away from our worries in the future with a network.2. According to the passage, nowadays a smart home can lock the door by mobile phones.
3. The third paragraph of the passage is mainly about the steps to use smart systems.
4. Smart homes cost a lot of money at present.
【推荐3】Scientists in Britain and the United States have made a new kind of enzyme(酵素) that eats plastics(塑 料). With its help, plastics can be turned into smaller parts and go away quickly. Scientists believe that, in the future, it could solve the problem of plastic pollution.
The enzyme is able to break down PET, a form of plastic. PET was first made in the 1940s and is now widely used to make plastic bottles. It can remain in the environment for many years and pollute large areas of land and water. So it has always been a headache to deal with the waste from PET and other plastics.
The researchers made the discovery(发 现) while examining the structure of a natural enzyme in Japan. They found that the natural enzyme was helping to break down PET plastics. So, they decided to make small changes to the enzyme by adding some amino acids(氨 基 酸). It made the natural enzyme’s plastic-eating abilities work faster and better.
John McGeehan, one of the lead researchers, said, “We’ve made an improved enzyme. It’s better than the naturl one. And we are trying to make more improvements to it.” He went on, “The enzyme is not harmful to humans or animals,and it is friendly to the environment. So we are considering putting it into wider use.”
The team is now trying to make the enzyme break down PET in large quantities(大量的). “We’ll see that the plastic pollution may be stopped with this technology. However,there is still a long way to go,”John McGeehan added.
1. According to the scientists, the enzyme may solve the poblem of pollution.| A．air | B．water | C．light | D．plastic |
| A．实验 | B．生产 | C．发明 | D．分解 |
| A．in | B．in the US | C．in Japan | D．in China |
| A．The scientists are sill trying to improve the enzyme. |
| B．The enzyme will pollute large areas of land and water. |
| C．The natural enzyme woks better than the improved one. |
| D．The natural enzyme is harmful to humans and animals. |
【推荐1】
(A) More than half the young people in China are nearsighted, according to a survey, which called for great efforts to control the condition. The survey found that eight of 10 senior middle school students were nearsighted, compared with 71.6 percent in junior middle school, 36 percent in primary school and 14 percent of 6-year-olds in kindergarten. | (B) According to experts, one of the best ways to make thankfulness a part of your life is to keep a diary. For example, before you go to bed every night, write down any positive experience you have during the day, no matter how small. Your mental health will gradually improve. |
(C) “It is in giving that we receive," It turns out that this is scientifically right. Studies have shown that putting the well-being of others before our own without expecting anything in return will give us a strong sense of satisfaction. | (D) Studies show volunteering reduces stress. Even if you have little time to offer, just the act of giving has been shown to improve your health, possibly by reducing your sense of pain. A new study found that people who said they would volunteer were less sensitive(敏感的) to an electric shock than those who refused. |
(E) Researchers found a clear link between breakfast habits and heart disease risk. Those who didn't eat in the morning were up to 87 percent more likely to cause heart trouble. They did a survey on 6,550 people over 40. Most (59 percent) ate breakfast every day, but 5.1 percent never did, 10.9 percent seldom did, and 25 percent would not eat for a few days. | (F) Now many children are getting fat. Some of them spend too much time watching TV. Others have to spend a lot of time studying. So they don’t have enough time to exercise. A report says that many middle school students spend about 10 hours a day sitting down. And many students like eating sweet food. That also makes them fatter. |
1. Match passages (A)—(F) with the two topics: ①Mental health; ②Physical health. Which is right?
| A．①—(D)(E)(F); ②—(A)(B)(C) | B．①—(B)(C); ②—(A)(D)(E)(F) |
| C．①—(B)(D); ②—(A)(B)(E)(F) | D．①—(B)(C)(D); ②—(A)(E)(F) |
| A．To explain why Chinese children have poor eyesight. |
| B．To show how serious Chinese children’s eyesight problems are. |
| C．To show how important eyesight is. |
| D．To call on children to watch less TV to protect their eyes. |
| A．How often do you eat breakfast? |
| B．When do you eat breakfast? |
| C．Do you have a good breakfast every day? |
| D．What do you eat for breakfast? |
| A．The young people should pay attention to their eyes. |
| B．Offering to help in an old people's home. |
| C．Giving away your old clothes to people in need. |
| D．Writing down the good things you did for others. |
| A．Children’s fatness is mainly caused by having no time to exercise. |
| B．It's difficult for a person to give without expecting anything. |
| C．Half of the middle school students in China are nearsighted |
| D．The only way to make thankfulness a part of your life is to keep a diary. |
【推荐2】We often have practice for a fire at school, and we all know the dangers of fires. But it’s good and necessary for a family to learn how to prepare for a fire. Here are suggestions.
Put a smoke alarm in the house. Smoke from a fire causes the alarm to go off. The alarm makes a loud sound. The sound tells everyone to leave the house at once.
Make escape（逃脱）plans. We should know all the ways out of the house. If there is a fire, everyone follows the plan to get out. Part of the plan is to check all the windows to make sure they can be opened easily.
Buy fire extinguishers（灭火器）. Everyone in the family should know how to use them.
Practice for a fire. We do fire practice because we teach children about fire safety. Everyone in the family should know the following fire rules:
Don’t open a hot door! The fire can grow more quickly if you open the door.
Stay close to the floor! Smoke can be more dangerous than fire. The best is near the floor because smoke rises.
What will you do if your hair or clothes start to burn? First, stop! Don’t run! The fire burns faster because of more air. Drop! Fall to the floor. Then roll! Turning over and over will make the fire go out.
There are many possible causes（起因）of fires. A wise family is ready for a fire all the time.
1. If the smoke alarm in the house goes off, we should ________.| A．stay at home | B．leave the house |
| C．open the windows | D．break the windows |
| A．stop, run, roll | B．stop, drop, roll | C．run, drop, roll | D．roll, drop, stop |
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
| A．Be Ready for a Fire | B．The Causes of a Fire |
| C．Learn to Use a Fire Extinguisher | D．The Dangers of a Fire |
【推荐3】We are always using body language in our daily life. When we talk with each other, we may use body language. For example, in the USA, a person points to his or her head when he thinks someone is clever. However, human beings are not the only ones who use body language. Animals also use body language to tell each other how they feel and what they think. When a dog is happy, its ears will stand up, and its eyes will be widely open. When it is angry, it will look straight at you. If an elephant spreads its ears, it means “Watch out”. To show friendship, elephants will touch each other with their trunks (象鼻). Dolphins (海豚) live in groups and like to show each other their feelings. An angry dolphin will sometimes slap (拍打) its tail on the water. A happy dolphin will play with its friends, making small jumps into the water.
阅读下面的材料，判断下列句子是否符合短文内容。符合的填涂“T”，不符合的填涂“F”。(T=True, F=False)
1. Only human beings use body language.
2. A happy dog will look straight at you.
3. Elephants use their trunks to touch each other to show their friendship.
4. When a dolphin is angry, it often makes small jumps into the water.
5. The passage is about body language.
“All right”, Mr. Smith answered. He started the engine, pulled away from the side of the street and drove down. Being eighty-one years old, he knew he could not fight the gunman. He knew he needed help. Where were the police? As he drove through a crossing, he looked up and down the side streets, hoping to meet a police car. But he could see nothing. “Just my luck,” he thought, “If I was driving too fast, there would be a police car on every corner.”
Suddenly he pushed his foot down on the accelerator(油门), and the car ran much faster. “What are you doing?” shouted the gunman. “Keeping off the police,” Mr. Smith answered. “I thought I saw a police car back there.”
He ran lights, drove the wrong way on one-way streets. On two-way streets he drove on the wrong side of the road. Not one policeman saw him. Again Mr. Smith’s plan was not working. He had to try a new plan. He turned a corner and saw the police station in front. Then he drove his car as fast as he could towards the police gate. The car hit a police motorbike down and stopped. Mr. Smith shouted, “Help! Help!” Then he reached back to grab(夺) the man’s gun. At the same time the policeman heard the noise and quickly caught the gunman.
1. Why did Mr. Smith drive much faster suddenly?
| A．Because he wanted to keep off the police. |
| B．Because he saw a police car behind his. |
| C．Because his plan was working. |
| D．Because he wanted the police to see him. |
| A．Mr. Smith ran lights, drove the wrong way on one-way streets. |
| B．Mr. Smith knew he didn’t need any help. |
| C．Mr. Smith drove his car as fast as he could towards the police gate. |
| D．Mr. Smith looked up and down the side street, hoping to meet a police car. |
| A．Mr. Smith is a strong man. |
| B．Mr. Smith is a shy man. |
| C．Mr. Smith is a wise man. |
| D．Mr. Smith is a stupid man. |
【推荐2】You may feel much interested in what other students do in their spare time：Do they also have so much homework？What do they do after class and after school？
A report came out on the lives of high school students in China，Japan，South Korea and the US last year. It surveyed around 6，200 students from the four countries last year. You will find the answers to many of your questions in this report.
Who studies hardest？
Chinese students spend the most time studying. Nearly half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day. That's much more than students of the US（26.4%），Japan（8.2%）and South Korea（5.2%）.
Who sleeps most often in class？
Japanese students fall asleep in class most often. About 45%of them said they sometimes doze off in class. In South Korea，it's 32%；in the US，21%；and 5%in China.
South Korean students don't like taking notes. About 70%said they write down what the teacher says in class，many fewer than in Japan（93%），China（90%） and the US（89%）.
Who is the most distracted（分心的）？
American students are the most active in class，but also the most distracted：64.2%said they chat with friends in class；46.9%said they eat snacks in class；and 38.9%said they send e-mails or read unrelated（无关的）books in class.
What do they do after school？
In their spare time，most Chinese students study or surf the Internet. Most American students hang out with their friends. Most Japanese students do physical exercises. Most Korean students watch TV.
1. The report is about ________| A．students' hobbies | B．school subjects |
| C．the students' spare lives | D．high schools in different countries |
| A．The US. | B．South Korea. | C．Japan. | D．India. |
| A．26.4% | B．8.2% | C．5.2% | D．48.6% |
| A．be half asleep | B．get up | C．eat snacks | D．send emails |
| A．The survey from the four countries was made last year. |
| B．Most Japanese students do physical exercises after school. |
| C．About half of the American students chat with friends in class. |
| D．The students in South Korean don't like taking notes in class. |
【推荐3】In many countries, people are encouraged to buy electric cars. It is said that driving an electric car is good for the environment. But is that true? The University of Minnesota recently studied emissions (排放物) from different cars. The scientists found that sometimes electric cars are more harmful than petrol (汽油) cars.
Surprising? Well, please pay attention to the word “sometimes”. Electric cars are supposed to be clean. The problem lies in the power that is used to charge (充电) them. If the power comes from wind or solar energy, if the power is produced from coal, they will be very harmful. According to the study, emissions from these cars kill about 3,000 people a year. However, pollution caused by petrol cars only leads to 880 deaths a year.
In fact, sales people are not lying when they say electric cars are clean. However, they are right only when the power used to charge their cars is also clean.
So how clean electric cars are depends on what their electricity comes from. In France, more than half of the power comes from nuclear stations. Electric cars there should be as clean as they are marketed (推销) to be. In many developing countries, electricity still mainly comes from coal. In India, for example, electric cars are not clean at all!
阅读短文, 根据短文判断下列句子正(T)、误(F)。
1. Driving an electric car is good for the environment.
2. Electric cars are as clean as they are marketed to be.
3. Emissions from petrol cars kill about 3, 000 people a year.
4. In general, electric cars in France are cleaner than electric cars in India.
5. Electric cars are sometimes more harmful than petrol cars.
【推荐1】One day,a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said,“Look！There's a horseshoe（马蹄铁）. Pick it up and put it in your bag.” Thomas said,“It isn't worth（值得）the trouble.” His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town,they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the money he bought some grapes.
It was very hot,and there wasn't a house or a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time,his father dropped a grape on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while,his father dropped another grape and once again,his son picked it up and put it in his mouth.
And then they went on. The old farmer dropped the grapes and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the grapes,his father said to him,“My dear son,if you had bent down（俯身）early to pick up that horseshoe,it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the grapes,always remember the lesson. A person who cares about the little things will meet with most success.
根据短文内容。选择最佳答案。
1. __________ picked up the horseshoe.
| A．The father | B．The son |
| C．Nobody | D．The shop assistant |
| A．money | B．grapes | C．trees | D．water |
| A．his father wanted him to eat them | B．he liked them |
| C．he was thirsty | D．he wanted to sell them |
| A．his son to eat them all | B．to teach his son a lesson |
| C．to make fun of his son | D．to show his love |
| A．if we want to eat grapes, we must pick up a horseshoe |
| B．a horseshoe is so expensive that it can bring us much money |
| C．we should care about small things before we do the great things. |
| D．it's important to pick up a horseshoe on the road |
A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens. The first 6,000 copies of the book were sold out in a week. And the book has inspired many plays and movies. The first play was put on in 1844. The first two movies were silent films made in 1901 and 1908. Since then, the story has been remade more than 60 times for television and cinema. What makes such a tale so attractive? Audiences have always loved a good plot, a villain(反面人物) who harms other people or breaks the law, and the ending of right over wrong. The book offers all three.
The book tells the story of a man named Ebenezer Scrooge. He is mean（自私的） and cruel（冷酷的）to his clerk and turns away his only living relative. One night, Scrooge is visited by three spirits. The first shows scenes from Scrooge’s youth that led to this present state. The second takes him to the homes of his clerk and his nephew. Here Scrooge sees that people can be happy without lots of money. The spirit also shows him the desperate poor people of London. The third spirit shows Scrooge will die alone, and no one will care if he continues to live as he has. At last the message is understood, and Scrooge repents. He becomes generous（慷慨的）and caring to all around him, especially to his clerk’s sick son, Tiny Tim.
Every year, thousands of people watch A Christmas Carol. Why? They may be touched by its lessons on the true meanings of wealth and happiness. They may enjoy the special effects and feelings or watching every year may be just a habit. Viewers never seem to grow tired of the old miser(守财奴), Scrooge, and his dramatic message of hope and change.
1. What do we know about the book A Christmas Carol?| A．It was written in the early 19th century. |
| B．Dickens completed the book in a week. |
| C．It has been adapted（改编）for cinema and television. |
| D．It didn’t attract readers when published for the first time. |
| A．where he will die and who will care about him | B．how others care about his present life |
| C．when and how he will die alone | D．what his future life will be like |
| A．Scrooge feels sorry for what he has done | B．Scrooge does things as he did before |
| C．Scrooge is angry with the three spirits | D．Scrooge gives the three spirits a hand |
| A．A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens. |
| B．One night Scrooge is visited by three spirits. |
| C．People are tired of the old miser, Scrooge. |
| D．Christmas is a time to forgive (宽恕) and to be generous. |
【推荐3】The children made a little theatre and put on a play. The play was about a wizard. He was called Wizard Blot. Wizard Blot made mistakes about the spell（咒语）."Oh dear! "said Wizard Blot. Everyone laughed.
Biff was in Mrs. May's room. The key began to glow. "Come on. Chip! "called Biff.
The magic took them to Wizard Blot's house. "Come in! "said the Wizard. "I wanted one helper, but two will do. "The Wizard asked them to wash up and tidy up. Biff and Chip looked at the mess. "Don't be lazy", said the Wizard, "or I'll turn you into frogs."
Oh no! Biff broke a bottle. It was vanishing cream（隐形液）, "Help! "said Biff. "This is vanishing cream." Chip looked at his hands. He rubbed his face. "Oh no! "said Biff "Your face is vanishing."
At this time, a man came into the house and climbed through the window. The man didn't see Biff and Chip. He took all Wizards' computer disks. "Help! "said the man. "I'm being attacked（袭击）by the washing."
Wizard Blot came back. Biff told him about the vanishing cream. Chip gave Wizard Blot the computer disks. "It was time to go home. Thank you, "said Wizard Blot "Do come again."
They came back and Biff had a little bottle. "Don't drop it." said Chip. "Or you will be invisible." And then they took the bottle to the school.
1. Everyone laughed in the beginning because ________________.| A．Wizard Blot made a spell |
| B．Wizard Blot put on a play |
| C．Wizard Blot's spell went wrong |
| A．His house is untidy. |
| B．He is kind all the time. |
| C．He doesn't want two helpers. |
| A．They were attacked by the washing. |
| B．A man came to the house and took away all the computer disks. |
| C．They broke a bottle and they are vanishing because of the cream. |
| A．消失的 | B．隐形的 | C．隐秘的 |
| A．How Biff and Chip study in the school. |
| B．How Wizard Blot play the show in the school. |
| C．How Biff and Chip use the vanishing cream in the school. |
