1 . Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor and industrialist, was a man of many contrasts He was the son of a bankrupt, but became a millionaire; a scientist with a love of literature, an industrialist who managed to remain an idealist. He made a fortune but lived a very simple life, and although cheerful in company he was often sad in private. A lover of mankind, he never had a wife or family to love him; a patriotic son of his native land, he died alone on foreign soil. He invented a new explosive, dynamite, to improve the peacetime industries of mining and road building, but saw it was used as a weapon of war to kill and injure his fellow men. During his useful life he often felt he was useless: ''Alfred Nobel, '' he once wrote of himself, ''ought to have been put to death by a kind doctor as soon as, with a cry, he entered life. '' ''World-famous for his works he was never personally well-known, for throughout his life he avoided publicity. “I do not see, '' he once said, ''that I have deserved any fame and I have no taste for it, '' but since his death his name has brought fame and glory to others. He was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833 but moved to Russia with his parents in 1842, where his father, Immanuel, made a strong position for himself in the engineering industry. Immanuel Nobel invented the landmine and made a lot of money from government orders for it during the Crimean War, but went bankrupt soon after.
Most of the family returned to Sweden in 1859, where Alfred rejoined them in 1863, beginning his own study of explosives in his father's laboratory. He had never been to school or university but had studied privately. And by the time he was twenty, he was a skillful chemist and excellent linguist, speaking Swedish, Russian, German, French and English. Like his father, Alfred Nobel was imaginative and inventive, but he had better luck in business and showed more financial sense. He was quick to see industrial openings for his scientific inventions and built up over 80 companies in 20 different countries. Indeed his greatness lay in his outstanding ability to combine the qualities of an original scientist with those of a forward-looking industrialist. But Nobel's main concern was never with making money or even with making scientific discoveries. Seldom happy, he was always searching for a meaning to life, and from his youth had taken a serious interest in literature and philosophy. Perhaps he could not find ordinary human love - he never married he came to care deeply about the whole of mankind. He was always generous to the poor: ''I'd rather take care of. the stomachs of the living than the glory of the dead in the form of stone materials, '' he once said. His greatest wish, however, was to see an end to wars, and thus peace between nations, and he spent much time and money working for this cause until his death in Italy in 1896. His famous will, in which he left money to provide prizes for outstanding work in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Medicine, Literature and Peace, is a memorial to his interests and ideals. And so, the man who felt he should have died at birth is remembered and respected long after his death.
1. What was the original purpose of Alfred Nobel's inventing the dynamite?A.To improve mining and road building. |
B.To help defend his native land. |
C.To develop a weapon of war. |
D.To make a strong position for himself. |
A.Modest. | B.Loyal. | C.Gifted. | D.Long-lost. |
A.Because he thought that his actions contrasted sharply with his hopes. |
B.Because he wished he had never invented the explosive, which was used in war to kill. |
C.Because he felt he was useless for not having made enough contributions to mankind. |
D.Because he felt he had led a meaningless life and owed a lot to others. |
A.Far-sighted. | B.Generous. | C.Low-profile. | D.Contrasting. |
2 . Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He was a leading author and printer, political theorist, politician, scientist,
He formed both the first public lending library in America and the first fire department in Pennsylvania. As a political writer and activist, he
Franklin laid a foundation for the American
Franklin became a newspaper editor, printer, and merchant in Philadelphia, becoming very wealthy, writing and publishing Poor Richard's Almanack and the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin was interested in science and technology, and gained an international
Franklin became a national hero in America when he made efforts to have Parliament
His colorful life and legacy of scientific and
A.dreamer | B.inventor | C.architect | D.librarian |
A.feature | B.father | C.sponsor | D.figure |
A.regarding | B.despite | C.relating | D.regardless |
A.abandoned | B.rescued | C.supported | D.adapted |
A.curiosity | B.property | C.independence | D.attempt |
A.theories | B.humor | C.masks. | D.values |
A.heat | B.force | C.shadow | D.weight |
A.capturing | B.inventing | C.applauding | D.discovering |
A.guidance | B.frame | C.reputation | D.origin |
A.selected | B.lifted | C.1ed | D.elected |
A.spread | B.cancel | C.present | D.kidnap |
A.positive | B.negative | C.universal | D.complex |
A.cultural | B.agricultural | C.political | D.economic |
A.honored | B.restored | C.released | D.burst |
A.diploma | B.charm | C.anniversary | D.death. |
3 . Today, we tell about one of the greatest thinkers in the world, Leonardo da Vinci. He began his career as an artist. But his interest in the world around him
Leonardo da Vinci spent his life studying and
Leonardo's first known portrait now
He soon received
Leonardo's most famous portrait of a woman is called ''Mona Lisa.'' It is now in the
Lisa Gherardini is sitting down with her hands crossed in her lap. She looks
A.pulled | B.drove | C.recommended | D.reminded |
A.away from | B.out of | C.ahead of | D.up to |
A.observing | B.releasing | C.hesitating | D.noticing |
A.musical | B.educational | C.warning | D.engineering |
A.insist | B.consist | C.resist | D.list |
A.Few | B.Many | C.Less | D.Much |
A.figure | B.mind | C.humor | D.mood |
A.stands | B.lies | C.hangs | D.leans |
A.distance | B.heart | C.mirror | D.air |
A.reply | B.attention | C.care | D.comfort |
A.annoyed | B.ashamed | C.amused | D.amazed |
A.charge | B.favor | C.name | D.collection |
A.image | B.expression | C.gesture | D.movement |
A.thoroughly | B.directly | C.unbelievably | D.originally |
A.doubt | B.surprise | C.sorrow | D.mystery |
4 . This is what HBO’s Veep has been trying to do—by making US presidential election into a comedy.
Presented for the first time in 2012, Veep follows the daily life of Selina Meyer, the fictional vice-president (or “Veep” for short) of the US. We see that as much as Meyer wants to have an influence, she—despite being the second-in-command of the country—is constantly ignored by the president and kept away from important meetings. Meyer herself isn’t exactly competent: she has to put out political fires every once in a while but usually ends up making things worse.
The show also finds humor in a much darker side of politics: the unreal smiles and wrongdoings of politicians. When a mass shooting happens in the show, for example, instead of feeling shocked, Meyer is actually glad, because she feels it may help draw people’s attention from her. “It feels like peeking (窥视) behind a curtain and seeing the truth of who these politicians really are,” wrote reporter Kathryn VanArendonk.
But Veep is refreshing not just for the way it handles politics, but also because its leading role is a woman politician, especially in a comedy, considering the fact that comedies used to be an all-male kingdom. “There’s more opportunity (机会) for women in comedic roles than 20 or 30 years ago,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 58 this year, who plays Meyer, said. “There’s more opportunity for roles that are not just the angry wife or the cute girlfriend.”
In the 7th and final season of Veep, which came out on March 31, 2019, Meyer is finally running for president. No matter where the show—and Meyer—is heading, and whether you appreciate its way to deal with politics, the bottom line here is that Veep is funny.
1. Which of the following best describes Meyer?A.Hardworking and demanding. | B.Humorous and influential. |
C.Ambitious but untalented. | D.Educated but lazy. |
A.49. | B.51. |
C.53. | D.58. |
A.They are fit for politics. |
B.They don’t like comedies. |
C.They were left out of some fields. |
D.They seldom used to be successful. |
A.Meyer runs for president | B.Politics can be funny |
C.Women like power | D.A comedian realizes her dream |
A: Hello, Linda! You won first prize in the English speech competition! Congratulations!
B: Thank you!
A: How did you make it?
B:
A: How did you feel when you won the prize?
B:
A: During the three months, have you ever thought about giving it up?
B: Never.
A: You really did a good job. I believe you can make further improvement.
B: I hope so.
A: Well, my English is very poor. Can you give me some suggestions?
B: Sure. You can try listening to English songs and watching English movies.
A: OK. I’ll try doing these. Thank you.
A. It’s very kind of you.
B. I think hard work will pay off one day.
C. I got surprised and couldn’t help crying.
D. I want to be an English teacher in the future.
E. I practiced the speech every day for three months.
F. I am becoming more and more interested in English now.
G. It’s also a good idea to read English newspapers and magazines.
6 . Hundreds of years ago, Charles Darwin predicted that facial expressions of emotion are universal. If you’ve ever seen an episode of the popular US TV drama Lie To Me, you will really
Is there really much truth behind this science of
Hand-to-face
Each micro-expression is unique to
A liar refuses eye contact. (X)
People look away when they are thinking carefully and considering each word before it is spoken, not just when they are
Guilty knowledge technique is effective. (√)
Policemen often use the guilty knowledge technique, mentioning something that only the guilty person will know about and show a(n)
A.realize | B.recognize | C.understand | D.remind |
A.appearances | B.postures | C.communication | D.gestures |
A.speaking | B.recognizing | C.indicating | D.noticing |
A.explanations | B.concentration | C.impression | D.expressions |
A.move | B.action | C.performance | D.gesture |
A.signaling | B.sighing | C.signing | D.maintaining |
A.clear | B.conscious | C.sure | D.unaware |
A.regularly | B.necessarily | C.meaningfully | D.probably |
A.holding on | B.holding up | C.holding back | D.holding with |
A.better than | B.less than | C.more than | D.rather than |
A.making out | B.working out | C.checking up | D.making up |
A.preferable | B.inevitable | C.reliable | D.suitable |
A.Quite a few | B.Very few | C.A few | D.Only few |
A.reaction | B.hesitation | C.impression | D.application |
A.stare | B.remark | C.response | D.reminder |