2 . Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest geniuses of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius. "There is no such thing as genius," Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.

But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.

Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.

Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. "Work." he answered. "Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier." He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.

1. Edison thought ________.

A．he could be happy if he was a genius

B．genius plays the most important part in one's success

C．hard work could do better than genius

D．genius could do better than hard work

2. Edison was ________.

A．very interested in nature

B．interested in discovering the secrets of nature

C．interested in changing people's ideas

D．uninterested in making people happier by discovering the secrets of nature

3. In Edison's opinion, ________.

A．thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure

B．people's success lies mostly in genius

C．hard work is the second most important thing in making people successful

D．there are few secrets for him to discover later

4. The last sentence in the passage most probably implies ________.

A．life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings

B．Edison made 100 inventions in his life

C．Edison was able to live and work for 100 years

D．people of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years' work

4 . Famous Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping and his research team’s experiment of planting saltwater-tolerant rice in desert areas of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates proved to be a success, with one type of rice producing more than 7.5 tons per hectare, Xinhua reported.

Saltwater-tolerant rice is designed to grow in tidal flats or other areas with heavy salt content. It was the world’s first successful case of planting rice in a tropical desert area, standing as China’s contribution to improving the ability of people in desert areas to be self-sufficient in main foods, a move that can protect global food security and improve the desert ecological environment.

In January, the center chose dozens of types of hybrid rice and planted them on small places of desert areas near Dubai. After five months of growth, the center invited experts from India, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and other countries for evaluation, and found three types of rice producing more than 6 tons per hectare. In June, a second evaluation will be carried out for middle-season rice.

The technology of saltwater-tolerant rice plays a key role in the success as the natural environment of the Dubai desert is terrible for rice growth. The daytime temperatures could be as high as over 50 ℃, and nighttime temperatures could drop by 30 ℃. Humidity stays below 20 percent and there are sandstorms from time to time. The biggest challenge is the desert soil, which is low in organic matter and unable to keep soil moisture as it is totally sand. To make it worse, sea water remains just 7.5 meters below the soil, which makes it easy to be full of salt.

With this success, the center and the private investment office of the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai plan to set up a 100-hectare experimental farmland in Dubai, to test the production costs and cultivation techniques(耕种技术) of the saltwater-tolerant rice and prepare for promotion. The two parties will construct a 100-hectare standard farmland in 2019 and speed up rice planting in 2020.

1. What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．The tropical desert areas have done well in being self-sufficient.

B．Planting saltwater-tolerant rice can be easily achieved in many tropical desert-areas.

C．Chinese team play a great role in planting saltwater-tolerant rice in desert areas.

D．Saltwater-tolerant rice is designed to grow in areas with heavy salt content.

2. What’s the most difficult thing for rice growth in Dubai desert?

A．Its daytime temperature could be up to 50 ℃ and humidity stays below 20%.

B．It’s just 6.5 meters above the sea water and easy to be full of salt.

C．It is extremely expensive to conduct experiments in tropical desert areas.

D．Its soil is short of organic matter and hard to keep soil moisture.

3. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．The United Arab Emirates tries to improve the desert ecological environment.

B．Chinese team succeeds in planting saltwater-tolerant rice in Dubai’s desert.

C．The rice experiment is of great importance for the tropical desert-areas.

D．Chinese team help expand the farming of saltwater-tolerant rice.

5 . Barbara McClintock was one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. She made important discoveries about genes and chromosomes(染色体).

Barbara McClintock was born in 1902 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her family moved to the Brooklyn area of New York City in 1908. Barbara was an active child with interests in sports and music. She also developed an interest in science.

She studied science at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Barbara was among a small number of undergraduate students to receive training in genetics in 1921. Years later, she noted that few college students wanted to study genetics.

Barbara McClintock decided to study botany, the scientific study of plants, at Cornell University. She completed her undergraduate studies in 1923. McClintock decided to continue her education at Cornell. She completed the master’s degree in 1925. Two years later, she finished all her requirements for the doctorate degree.

McClintock stayed at Cornell after she completed her education. She taught students botany. The 1930s was not a good time to be a young scientist in the United States. The country was in the middle of the great economic depression. Millions of Americans were unemployed. Male scientists were offered jobs. But female geneticists were not much in demand.

An old friend from Cornell, Marcus Rhoades, invited McClintock to spend the summer of 1941 working at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. It is a research center on Long Island, near New York City. McClintock started a temporary job with the genetics department. A short time later, she accepted a perpetual position in the laboratory and got continual incomes. This gave her the freedom to continue her research without repeatedly asking for financial aid.

By the 1970s, her discoveries had had an effect on everything from genetic engineering to cancer research. McClintock won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her discovery of the ability of genes to change positions on chromosomes. She was the first American woman to win an unshared Nobel Prize.

1. When did McClintock get a doctorate degree?

A．In 1921.

B．In 1923.

C．In 1925.

D．In 1927

2. In the middle of the great economic depression in the US, ________.

A．male scientists were in great demand

B．male scientists were out of work

C．female geneticists were not in demand at all

D．young female scientists might have trouble finding a job

3. Which of the following jobs was beneficial to McClintock’s research?

A．A permanent position in the laboratory.

B．A temporary job in the genetics department.

C．A job as a botany teacher.

D．A job to research cancer.

4. Why was McClintock awarded a Nobel Prize?

A．Because she received a degree in genes and chromosomes.

B．Because she contributed to genetic engineering and cancer research.

C．Because she made important discoveries about genes and chromosomes.

D．Because she was the first American woman who studied genes and chromosomes.

7 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Albert Einstein was one of     1     greatest scientists in the world. He developed many theories or ideas. These theories contributed greatly    2     people’s understanding of the universe.

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879. He did not do well in school, but he was     3     (interest) in mathematics and science. While at college, he studied physics and math. After graduation, he worked in a government office. At the same time, he continued studying physics on     4     (he) own.

In 1905 Einstein caused a stir by     5     (publish) five major research papers. One of these papers contained     6     (complete) new ideas about the “properties” of light. Einstein     7     (receive) the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921, mainly for the work in this paper.

In another paper, Einstein put forward the special theory of relativity,     8     changed how scientists thought about energy and matter.

During World War II Einstein advised the United States     9     (build) nuclear weapons (核武器). He felt that these weapons might     10     (need) to defeat the Nazis. However, after World War II Einstein tried to prevent any future use of atomic weapons.

Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey, on April 18, 1955.

8 . Every child who grows up in a big family needs a little peace sometimes. As a little girl, Nalini Nadkarni discovered one place where she could always find it. She would climb up into the tall trees around her home. There, high in the trees, she made herself a promise. One day, she would become someone who could use her love of trees to help protect them.

As she grew, she became interested in the rainforest. Looking up into the forest trees, Nalini thought there were surely things to be learned in the treetops. She was told, however, that there was nothing important to learn high above her head. Luckily, that didn't stop her. Instead, she used her rock climbing skills to safely reach the forest treetops. There, she discovered the whole ecosystem. It needed to be studied so scientists could get deeper understanding of the rainforest.

Dr Nadkarni also discovered the importance of canopy soil(树冠层土壤). When mosses(藓)and other plants that live on trees die, they slowly become canopy soil. The soil is nutrient—rich, and the whole ecosystem depends on it. Even the trees themselves take nutrients from canopy soil.

To create greater interest in forest studies, Dr Nadkarni really got creative. In the early 2000s, she bought second hand Barbie dolls and turned them into "forest Barbies". Finally, Mattel, the company behind Barbie, used Dr Nadkarni's idea to create dolls to make science interesting to children everywhere. Now, Dr Nadkarni can truly consider her childhood promise well kept.

1. The underlined word "that" in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

A．the forest treetops	B．a different opinion
C．Dr Nadkarni's bad luck	D．the dangers of climbing trees

2. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．What canopy soil is.

B．How a new ecosystem was found.

C．Dr Nadkarni's childhood promise.

D．One of Dr Nadkarni's discoveries.

3. Dr Nadkarni used Barbie dolls to ________.

A．raise money for her research

B．help Mattel reach more children

C．make the company earn much money

D．make children more interested in science

4. Which of the following is TRUE about Dr Nadkarni?

A．She is a creative scientist.

B．She can't keep her promise.

C．She was born into a small family.

D．She loved Barbie dolls as a little girl.

10 . 假设你是李华，你校正在组织英语作文比赛，请介绍一位你最喜欢的伟人，写一篇文章参赛，内容包括：
1.人物简介；
2.尊敬和爱戴的原因。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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