IN CONTEXT BRANCH Geology BEFORE 6th century BCE The Greek thinker Thales of Miletus notes magnetic rocks, or lodestones (天然磁石). 1st century CE Chinese diviners make primitive compasses with iron spoon that can turn around to point south. 1269 French scholar Pierre de Maricourt sets out the basic laws of magnetic attraction, repulsion, and poles. AFTER 1824 French mathematician Siméon Poisson models the forces in a magnetic field. 1940s American physicist Walter Maurice Elsasser attributes Earth’s magnetic field to iron swirling in its outer core as the planet rotates. 1958 Explorer 1 space mission shows Earth’s magnetic field extending far out into space. | By the late 1500s, ships’ captains already relied on magnetic compasses to maintain their course across the oceans. Yet no one knew how they worked. Some thought the compass needle was attracted to the North Star, others that it was drawn to magnetic mountains in the Arctic. It was English physician William Gilbert who discovered that Earth itself is magnetic. Stronger reasons are obtained from sure experiments and demonstrated arguments than from probable conjectures (推测) and the opinions of philosophical speculators. William GilbertGilbert’s breakthrough came not from a flash of inspiration, but from 17 years of careful experiment. He learned all he could from ships’ captains and compass makers, and then he made a model globe, or “terrella,” out of the magnetic rock lodestone and tested compass needles against it. The needles reacted around the terrella just as ships’ compasses did on a larger scale—showing the same patterns of declination (pointing slightly away from true north at the geographic pole, which differs from magnetic north) and inclination (tilting down from the horizontal toward the globe). Gilbert concluded, rightly, that the entire planet is a magnet and has a core of iron. He published his ideas in the book De Magnete (On the Magnet) in 1600, causing a sensation. Johannes Kepler and Galileo, in particular, were inspired by his suggestion that Earth is not fixed to rotating celestial spheres, as most people still thought, but is made to spin by the invisible force of its own magnetism. |
A.The North Star navigated their ships. |
B.The magnetic mountains in the Arctic guided their journey. |
C.Magnetic compasses helped them maintain the course. |
D.The forces in a magnetic field attracted the ships. |
A.Through trials and errors. |
B.Through some personal philosophical speculation. |
C.By acquiring some flash inspiration. |
D.By studying the ideas of some philosophers. |
A.The earth stays still. |
B.Gilbert successfully refuted the laws of magnetic attraction. |
C.Gilbert’s findings and conclusions are sensational. |
D.The earth has its own magnetic field. |
2 . My husband and I live near San Luis Obispo, California, close to the beach. In November 2023, during the humpback whale migration, we kayaked (划皮划艇) out to watch the wildlife. We were in awe watching these graceful whales breach and spray through their blowholes.
At the time, my friend Liz was staying with us. Initially, she refused to join us on the water, fearing the kayak would overturn among the whales. After some cajoling (劝说) she finally agreed to join me. The following morning, we set out early and had our first whale sighting just past the pier: two humpbacks swimming toward us. How amazing to be that close to a creature that size, I thought as the whales dipped under the waterline.
When whales go down after breaching, they leave what looks like an oil slick on the water. I figured if we paddled toward that spot, we’d be safe from the whales, since they’d just left. We followed them at a distance — or what I thought was a distance. I later found out that it’s recommended to keep 300 feet away. We were more like 60 feet away.
Suddenly, we were surrounded by jumping silverfish fleeing from the whales. Before we could react, our kayak was lifted out of the water about six feet, bracketed by massive jaws. Liz and I slipped out of the kayak into the whale’s mouth. As the whale’s mouth closed, I felt the creature begin to dive and had no idea how deep we’d be dragged. Still, I didn’t panic. I just kept thinking. I’ve got to fight this. I’ve got to breathe.
Whales have enormous mouths but tiny throats. Anything they can’t swallow they spit right out. That included us. As soon as the whale dipped underwater, it ejected us, and we popped back up onto the surface about a foot apart. The entire ordeal lasted only about 10 seconds.
Other kayakers rushed to our aid, shocked to see us alive. But I am much more aware of the power of nature and the ocean than I was before. Liz was shaken up, comparing the ordeal to a near-death experience, and she says her whale-watching days are over. But even she had to laugh when she got home that afternoon and realized she’d brought back a souvenir. When she pulled off her shirt, six silverfish flopped out.
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?A.At first, Liz was hesitant to go on the kayaking trip because she was not interested in whale watching. |
B.If Liz and I had maintained a distance of 300 feet from the whales, we might have avoided the subsequent danger. |
C.Liz and I slipped into the whale’s mouth because jumping silverfish overturned our kayak. |
D.Liz is likely to go on another whale-watching trip someday because she found a precious souvenir from this kayaking. |
A.Terrified and panicked. | B.Disoriented underwater |
C.Calm and focused. | D.Regretful about going kayaking. |
A.a challenging or difficult experience | B.a thrilling experience |
C.a surprising encounter | D.a joyful adventure |
A.How to Survive a Whale Attack | B.Respecting the Power of Nature |
C.A Day at San Luis Obispo Beach | D.I Survived Being Swallowed By a Whale |
A. advances B. combed C. net D. heads E. automation F. modest G. comprehensive H. thinned I. prior J. underlie K. unearth |
Does technology replace more jobs than it creates? What is the
“There does appear to be a faster rate of automation, and a slower rate of augmentation, in the last four decades. from 1980 to the present, than in the four decades
The study finds that overall, about 60 percent of jobs in the U.S. represent new types of work, which have been created since 1940. To determine this, Autor and his colleagues
From about 1940 through 1980, for instance, jobs like elevator operator and typesetter tended to get automated. But at the same time, more workers filled roles such as shipping and receiving clerks, buyers and department
Ultimately, the research suggests that the negative effects of automation on employment were more than twice as great in the 1980-2018 period as in the 1940-1980 period. There was a more
In the fall of 1903, O. Henry was living in a room at the small Hotel Marty in New York City. He had published a few stories in local magazines, but was still relatively unknown when editors at the New York World newspaper sent a young reporter
O. Henry was the pen name used by William Sydney Porter, who was born in North Carolina. At the age of twenty, he moved to Texas.
In 1902 O. Henry moved to New York City and started trying to sell his stories. In a few years his luck changed for the better, and his position with the New York World helped make him a
A. adaptable B. capacity C. complicated D. decline E. demand F. evaluating G. highlighted H. impacts I. occurs J. pursuing K. survive |
Economics survive by continually responding to the world around them. This means employing new technologies or exploiting new international markets when
So how can economies
The
Adapt to Survive for the first time brings together the two most comprehensive sources of talent data in the world: the real-time behaviours drawn from LinkedIn’s 277 million members and employer information from PwC’s Saratoga database of people and performance metrics (指标) which covers more than 2,600 employers across the globe. This report sets a new benchmark for
● Individuals — Prove your adaptability.
● Employers — Seek out, nurture and reward talents who can adapt.
● Educators — Offer courses and job training that produce
● Governments — Create a climate of adaptability.
假设你是光明中学的李华,你校学生会即将组织一次校园义卖活动,日前已在校园网发布初步方案,征求师生意见。请你给学生会写一封邮件,包含以下两点:
1. 提出你觉得需要改进的地方;
2. 改进建议及理由。
校园义卖活动初步方案 时间:2024年4月25日(周四)12:20 — 13:10 地点:学校操场 拟售物品:明信片、书签、笔记本等 |
10 . He’s considered the father of the technological innovation, and apart from that, he was also known as a design perfectionist. There is no single executive or creator in the technology industry who is more creative and inspirational than him, and with that being said he was a one-in-billion creator.
On February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California, United States, a baby named Steve Jobs entered the world. His parents’ inability to provide for him led to a difficult childhood, one in which he battled with his sense of self and felt constantly confused and unfulfilled. Nonetheless, who could have predicted that this person would cause such a dramatic shift in the information technology? The way Steve Jobs showed the world the new products and devices he was working on was truly out of this world, and that’s a big part of why he’s so beloved.
Steve Jobs was well-informed, but he was not a scholar. He possessed a high IQ but showed little enthusiasm for formal education. His main hobbies were playing tricks on people via phone and computer, goofing off with his best friends, and coming up with ground-breaking business concepts.
Steve Jobs’ philosophy on education is well-known at this point; he has stated publicly that he was only able to learn after leaving college. When Steve Jobs and his friend Wozniak were in their early 20s, they came up with the idea for the Apple Computer. Steve Jobs’ Volkswagen bus and Wozniak’s beloved scientific calculator were sold to finance the pair’s garage-based startup. Jobs and Wozniak have been given much of credit for democratizing the computer industry by making computers more user-friendly, portable, and affordable.
Wozniak envisioned a line of accessible and lightning-fast personal computers, and Jobs was put in charge of the company’s marketing and management. From the get-go, Apple sold the computers for up to $666. The unexpected greatness of their early success inspired them to develop more powerful machines. In the 70s, they accomplished what would become the company’s crowning achievement. Assembled by Apple, Inc. , the high-performance computer was an instant success in their home state of California, and its sales helped make Jobs a multimillionaire.
1. Which of the following is a big reason for Jobs being beloved?A.Jobs revolutionized the technology industry. |
B.Jobs realized his dream despite his painful childhood. |
C.Jobs employed an extraordinary way to present the new devices. |
D.Jobs is the most creative and motivational person in the technology industry. |
A.quitting school | B.playing around |
C.starting a business | D.learning knowledge |
A.Jobs is keen on keeping in contact with friends via phone and computer. |
B.Jobs and Wozniak advocated democracy for every staff in the computer industry. |
C.Jobs showed less passion for education because of the influence of his difficult childhood. |
D.The economic situation was a barrier to Jobs and Wozniak when they started their business. |
A.All things come to those who always choose to wait. |
B.The only thing that keeps you going is that you love what you do. |
C.Knowledge makes you humble, while ignorance makes you proud. |
D.If you look at what you have in your life, you will always have more. |