However, in the 17th century when Francis Bacon (1561-1626) suggested that this type of thinking was the way to gain knowledge, he was going against the views of the day. Although Bacon held an important rank in King James’ royal court of England, his true interest was not the day-to-day, slow and inefficient working style of the government, but the worthy search for knowledge. This was certainly not the interest of most people in his days. At that time, people believed more in the church than in facts, and people like Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who proved the idea that “the Earth is not the centre of the universe”, were often punished by the church with no one coming to their defence. The church and many people tended to ignore the facts and didn’t want to challenge what they had always comfortably believed. In fact, when Galilei proved that the Earth was not the centre of the universe, instead of believing him, people chose to believe views that were almost 2, 000 years old!
It is not surprising that people wanted to believe these primitive ideas as they had been put forward by the great philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE). He said that the Earth must be the centre of the universe because it felt like the Earth was standing still. Galilei disagreed. At first, people approved of his studies and urged him to continue, but later when he proved Aristotle wrong, they grew angry and put him in prison. They didn’t want to abandon what they’d always thought as true. And this is still often true today. People make the assumption that if someone important and respected says that something is right, then it must be so. But even though Aristotle was a great man who inspired many great scientists and philosophers after him, he was wrong at times. And Galilei also made mistakes. He is now known as the father of astronomy but he believed that the Earth moved round the sun in a perfect circle. He was wrong.
1. What was Bacon’s true interest?| A．The worthy search for knowledge. | B．The interest of most people in his days. |
| C．The important rank in royal court of England. | D．The efficient working style of the government. |
| A．Because they believed more in church than in facts. |
| B．Because they didn’t want to challenge what they had always believed. |
| C．Because they didn’t want to give up what they’d always thought as true. |
| D．Because they chose to believe the views put forward by great philosophers. |
Chinese electric car manufacturers have
These high-tech offerings
Traditional automakers still focus solely on driving performance, but Chinese companies are more ambitious, said sales representatives from XPeng, adding that the company is considering lifestyle and entertainment factors to
”In the EV era, China is attempting to redefine premium,“ said Bill Russo, founder and CEO of Shanghai-based advisory firm Auto mobility.
1.| A．made | B．launched | C．designed | D．sold |
| A．get rid of | B．get away with | C．mix with | D．take off |
| A．undergo | B．highlight | C．underestimate | D．reduce |
| A．answer | B．way | C．limit | D．key |
| A．process | B．proceed | C．improve | D．develop |
Once he was back in his pasture, we’d chat over the fence (栅栏), covering such topics as hard days at work and exciting happenings
I posted Buster photos and stories on Facebook-he had quite a following. One admirer’s dying wish was to muster
| A．events | B．photos | C．topics | D．decorations |
| A．impossible | B．perfect | C．limited | D．improper |
| A．reduce | B．organize | C．gather | D．move |
| A．threw away | B．ate quickly | C．held up | D．gave away |
| A．happy | B．mean | C．old | D．weak |
Tobias Le Compte, a 35-year-old Belgian musician, has become a
| A．wrestler | B．influencer | C．actor | D．conductor |
| A．was capable of | B．was moved by | C．was impressed by | D．was eager for |
| A．local people | B．native speakers | C．descendants | D．foreign residents |
| A．joined to | B．limited to | C．addicted to | D．devoted to |
| A．inspired | B．scared | C．discouraged | D．awarded |
A. All at once, the sky was covered with dark clouds and in less than a minute we were in a terrible storm. A huge wave covered our boat and my younger brother fell into the sea.
B. About three years ago, something terrible happened to me. It took less than a single day to change my hair from black to white.
C. The wind and waves, carried us in the direction of the whirlpool. We went round and round, nearer and nearer to the horrible edge of the whirlpool. Suddenly, we went over the edge.
D. Soon after that, the whirlpool became less wild. The waves soon carried me away and finally a boat picked me up.
E. The boat was on the inside of the huge whirlpool and we were going round in circles at great speed. After I made three important observations. I tied myself to a barrel to help me float.
A lot of us may turn to relaxing music when we are feeling stressed or tired. A recent research shows that slow, quiet classical music is suggested to have the most exciting effect
| A．position | B．custom | C．achievement | D．influence |
| A．relieve | B．puzzle | C．charge | D．defend |
| A．cure | B．prove | C．behave | D．make |
| A．devote | B．concentrate | C．equip | D．assume |
| A．rhythm | B．repetition | C．metaphor | D．simile |
A. It is called rucking, a term from ruck marching, which is a skill that militaries around the world have long used for training.
B. Rucking involves walking with a weighted backpack. It’s an easy way to strengthen your heart and muscles without hurting the joints (关节).
C. Anyone who walked to school with a backpack full of books has already tried an exercise routine that is getting popular in the fitness world.
D. Even people eager for more exercise should progress slowly. Shoes that fit well can help you avoid additional foot pressure and safely walk on an uneven land.
E. As with any new physical activity, newcomers should start rucking with slow and stable steps. If you don’t have basic conditioning, try walking the expected distance with a very light pack first. Then slowly add more weight.
John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an
| A．dislike | B．preference | C．delight | D．favour |
| A．occasionally | B．rarely | C．repeatedly | D．regularly |
| A．surprised | B．confused | C．distracted | D．inspired |
| A．playing my role | B．attending me | C．siding with me | D．ignoring me |
| A．comfort | B．motivate | C．praise | D．ill-treat |
A. People have always been interested in how things will change in the future. But we should remember that people have often got things wrong.
B. Undoubtedly, these predictions weren’t right. But we can be sure that developments in IT today will become the changes in our lifestyles tomorrow. It’s possible that by 2025, anything small enough to contain a microchip (微型芯片) will have one.
C. So, for example, household technology might be very different. We could have fridges which can read the use-by date on your milk. Or our washing machines could be so smart that when something goes wrong, they send a message to a service engineer about the problem.
D. In 1943, Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, was asked what he thought about the future of technology. And he predicted that one day there might be a worldwide market “for maybe five computers”. And H. G. Wells, the writer, said that one day public transport would be moving walkways, and you’d just step on and off to go anywhere you wanted.
E. And even the things you wear could be connected to this technology. For example, a device could change your mobile to various settings, depending on whether you’re in your work or casual clothes. But if you don’t like the sound of all this, don’t worry. Even H. G. Wells got the future wrong!
When Rowena heard she was to
A few days later, she put her video skills to use,
| A．got fired | B．got promoted | C．be accused | D．be appointed |
| A．protected | B．quit | C．inquire | D．obtain |
| A．sharing | B．shooting | C．editing | D．watching |
| A．giving | B．showing | C．grading | D．receiving |
| A．a couple of | B．a lot of | C．a set of | D．a series of |
