Evans Wadongo was from a village of Africa. He had to do homework by the light of a kerosene lamp (煤油灯). Evans’ eyes hurt and this made studying difficult. It was common in his village. Many children left school for this reason, so they remained poor for the rest of their lives.
Although studying was difficult, Evans was an excellent student and went to a university. He continued to worry about the kerosene lamp. By this time, he realized it was not just bad for schoolchildren but for the whole family. First, it can cause illnesses such as coughs. Also, the light can hurt people’s eyes. Besides, it can lead to fires. Lastly, kerosene is expensive, so families have less money for food. It was difficult to come up with a different kind of lamp that was cheap and good for the environment. Yet Evans did not give up.
One day, he had an idea. He could use a small solar (太阳能的) light. Sunlight is free and solar power is good for the environment. Evans built his first solar lamp, and it worked. He began to build more lamps and sent them to local families. An organization heard about this and provided money for him to build more solar lamps.
Each lamp only cost $20. However, this was a lot of money to many villagers, who only earned around $34 a week, so Evans made sure he kept the cost down. First, Evans used recycled materials. Next, volunteers built the lamps. At last, people from many countries gave away money to his team, so the lamps were usually free.
Thousands of people had safe light. Julia, a mother of three, said, “Thanks to Evans, my children have light to read, and I have my own light to cook.” The solar lamps made a big difference.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Leaving school. | B．Doing homework. |
| C．Having eye problems. | D．Having a bright idea. |
| A．6. | B．5. | C．4. | D．3. |
| A．To share Julia’s experience. | B．To show Evans’ influence. |
| C．To describe Evans’ feelings. | D．To introduce Evans’ invention. |
| A．Polite, talented and humorous. | B．Quiet, smart and honest. |
| C．Humorous, clever and friendly. | D．Hard-working, loving and creative. |
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【推荐1】Sending packets, shopping for everyday things and even building a house—these are new skills that new robots (机器人) show at the World Robot Exhibition.
Here are the TOP 4 robots in the exhibition.
| RoBohoN | Scientists are introducing this latest talking robot. It wears a head phone and is ready to talk with people. RoBohoN introduces places to the visitors in the exhibition. It can speak more than 50 languages. |
| Human Support | This robot stands at one metre tall and has many arms. It can deal with simple housework and provide basic medical care if necessary. The invention is of great help to the old. |
| HRP-5 P | HRP-5 P looks like a strong builder. It stands at 1.8 metres tall and is created to carry out the heavy building tasks. It always works with the workers in the building areas. |
| CarriRo | CarriRo, like a toy bus, has friendly “eyes” on its front. It works as a postman and sends packages by rolling (滚动) around. It has a GPS to travel. The owner of the package receives a code number (代码) in the smart phone to open the CarriRo and get the package. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Teachers. | B．Doctors. | C．Old people. | D．Workers. |
| A．Posting packages. | B．Building houses. |
| C．Using languages. | D．Helping people. |
| A．talking to the robot | B．rolling around streets |
| C．following the GPS | D．using the code number |
| A．Culture. | B．Sports. | C．Travel. | D．Technology. |
【推荐2】Somebody is calling for help in the water. You want to jump in and save him or her, but that might put you in danger. What will you do?
Soon this won’t be a problem anymore because a robot swimmer called Swumanoid will be on hand to help.
Scientists from Japan designed(设计) this robot to swim like an Olympic swimmer. They mapped(绘制) a swimmer’s body and looked at how every part of the body moves while swimming. The robot can swim just like a human does.
Swumanoid can swim the backstroke(仰泳) and the front crawl(自由泳) at a speed of 0.64 meters a second(秒), about one-third of the world record speed for these swimming styles, according to the Daily Mail.
Motomu Nakashima, head of the team that designed the robot, hopes that robots like Swumanoid can serve as lifeguards(救生员) in the future.
Besides saving lives, Swumanoid can also be used in swimming research. It can test water resistance, which makes it move more slowly. And it helps to find out how people swim. The information that it collected could help scientists find ways to improve a swimmer’s skills.
Unlike human swimmers, robots don’t get tired from doing the same stroke(泳姿) again and again, so they do not slow down. Therefore(因此), they can collect information more efficiently(有效地).
But the robot is not yet ready to take the place of human lifeguards. Scientists say there are still certain things that need to be improved.
1. Who designed Swumanoid?
| A．Scientists from China. | B．Scientists from Japan. | C．Scientists from America. |
| A．味道 | B．成分 | C．阻力 |
| A．it can do many kinds of strokes |
| B．it can swim at the speed of 0.64 meters a second |
| C．it won’t feel tired and never slows down |
| A．There are two uses for the robot swimmers mentioned. |
| B．Swumanoid can swim the backstroke as fast as the world record speed. |
| C．Swumanoid has taken the place of the human lifeguards in Japan. |
【推荐3】In the future, people may travel to Mars by water-powered spaceship! Today’s spaceships are fine for getting things into space, but they are not so good at travelling long distances. These spaceships burn chemical fuels, and they are very expensive. Scientists say that a water-powered spaceship could make the trip to Mars much cheaper. The idea is just in the planning stage now, but scientists think such a spaceship could be developed soon.
The key to the water-powered spaceship is the engine. Regular engines push spaceships by burning fuel. The water engine will use steam, created by solar panels that heat water to a high temperature. Of course, the spaceship will have to carry a lot of water for the long trip to Mars. Today’s spaceships could not carry that much water. But scientists think that a spaceship blown up like a balloon will be able to.
One company has already developed a spaceship like this. These spaceships are made of a strong material. Two of them have already been sent up into space, using rockets and then later filled with air. “Balloon” spaceships could be very large and carry enough water for a long trip. With the “Balloon” spaceships, enough water could be carried to power the engines and grow food during the trip. And the people on the spaceship might even get to take a hot bath!
Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost. The “Balloon” spaceship uses water to push it through space and costs about one thirtieth of a normal spaceship. Such savings naturally encourage continued research into balloon spaceships and water engines. If these scientists are correct, we may soon be on our way to Mars in a spaceship powered by water.
1. Which sentence best describes the main idea of the passage above?| A．The key to the water-powered spaceship is the engine. |
| B．One company has already developed a spaceship like this. |
| C．Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost. |
| D．In the future, people may travel to Mars by water-powered spaceship. |
| A．use steam | B．carry that much water |
| C．heat water | D．push spaceships |
| A．Take a hot bath. | B．Freeze dangerous things. |
| C．Blow up a balloon. | D．Change the surface of Mars. |
【推荐1】November 8th is a Saturday and it’s also Lucy’s birthday. But Lucy didn’t feel very happy, she just was sitting on the sofa and thinking about her birthday party. Because of the terrible storm, her parents decided to have the party the next week. Lucy didn’t understand why. They didn’t live near the ocean (海洋).
“Lucy, you can’t sit there all day,” her mother said. “'We’ll have your party next Friday.”
“It’s not the same. My birthday is today, not next Monday, Wednesday or Friday.” Lucy turned on the TV. She wanted to watch anything that wasn’t about the storm. But every station was talking about it. “I can’t even watch my favorite shows. This storm is ruining (毁灭) everything.”
Her mother sat down next to her. “The storm is ruining a lot. Look at that. Those people are trying to save their houses. Could you imagine if we lost our home?” Lucy looked at what was happening on the TV. The storm did look bad. She knew she’d be really sad if her family lost their home.
“What’s going to happen to all those people? Will they be okay?” asked Lucy.
“Usually when there’s a big storm like this, people give money and send food and other things to the homeless families. Some people even help rebuild houses.”
“I want to help, too.” said Lucy. “I think what I can do is to give my birthday money away. Those people are going to need it more than me.”
Her mother smiled. “I’m really proud of you, Lucy. Helping others is a great way to weather (经受住) the storm.”
1. When would Lucy’s mother have the birthday party for her?| A．This Saturday. | B．Next Monday. | C．Next Wednesday. | D．Next Friday. |
| A．Because of her illness. | B．Because of her new job. |
| C．Because of the school show. | D．Because of the terrible storm. |
| A．Lucy and her family lived near the ocean. |
| B．Lucy and her family nearly lost their home. |
| C．Lucy learned the storm was really bad from TV. |
| D．Lucy watched her favorite shows on her birthday. |
| A．She would help the homeless people rebuild houses. |
| B．She would give her birthday money to the people in need. |
| C．She would invite the homeless people to her birthday party. |
| D．She would send food and other things to the homeless families. |
【推荐2】About ten years ago, when I was a student at college, I spent my summer holiday in a museum as a volunteer. Life was hard for me then because Dad lost his job and Mum was sick in bed. I was worried. I didn’t know if I would be able to go on with my study the next term. I felt sad every day.
One day when I was working, I saw an old man come in with a little girl in a wheelchair(轮椅). As I watched this girl carefully, I found that she had no arms or legs. She was wearing a white dress and she also had a hat on. As the old man pushed the wheelchair up to me, I was busy with my work. I turned my head to the girl and gave her a wink (眨眼). When I took the money from her grandfather, I looked back at the girl. The girl was giving me the prettiest, largest smile(微笑).
I had never seen that kind of smile before. Suddenly(突然), her handicap(生理缺陷) disappeared (消失) and all I saw was this beautiful girl. Her smile almost gave me a new understanding about life. She made me realize the meaning(意义) of smiles, love and warmth(温暖).
I’m now a successful man. When I am in trouble, I often think of the little girl’s smile.
1. Ten years ago, the writer _________.| A．was a college student | B．worked in a shop |
| C．had a rich family | D．was very happy every day |
| A．came to the museum alone | B．had no arms or legs |
| C．was wearing a blue dress | D．was pushing a wheel chair |
| A．smiled at the little girl | B．gave the old man a wheelchair |
| C．noticed the little girl | D．didn’t see the little girl |
| A．gave the writer a wink | B．gave the writer a smile |
| C．gave the writer the money | D．gave the writer the tickets |
| A．smiles | B．money | C．museums | D．work |
【推荐3】Once a man’s ship broke into pieces on a small, lonely island. There was no one living on this island, so he hoped that someone could come to save him. Every day he watched the sea, but no ships ever appeared. The man grew sad.
He thought he should do something to save himself. He built a little house out of wood to live in. But one day, after looking for food, he arrived home to find his little house on fire. The smoke rose to the sky. And everything was lost. He was full of sadness and anger. “God, how could you do this to me?” he cried.
Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship. The ship was nearing to the island. It had come to save him.
“How did you know I was here?” the man asked these people. “We saw your smoke signal,” they answered.
It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because hope is at work in our lives. Remember, next time your little house is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that brings better luck.
1. Why did the man stay on this island?| A．Because he wanted to test his skills to live on an island. |
| B．Because nobody lived on this island. |
| C．Because his ship had an accident at sea. |
| D．Because he liked the people and the things on this island. |
| A．He only watched the sea and waited for a ship to arrive. |
| B．He tried every way possible to call for help. |
| C．He looked for food and burnt the house. |
| D．He built a house out of wood to save himself. |
| A．Sad. | B．Angry. | C．Sad and angry. | D．Lucky. |
| A．求救信号 | B．标志 | C．信号灯 | D．迹象 |
| A．Saving yourself is better than asking for help. |
| B．Accidents always mean good luck. |
| C．Everything can go well in the end. |
| D．A bad thing can turn into a good one. |
