Have you dreamed of building your own machine? Do you wish you could invent something new? Here we look at a few British inventions of recent times.
Adaptable glasses
Do you wear glasses? If so, can you imagine life without them? In 1985, Joshua Silver, a professor at Oxford University, asked himself, “Can I invent a pair of glasses that could be changed by the wearer?” He designed two plastic lenses（透鏡）that are filled with a special liquid. Using syringes（注射器）you change the liquid between the lenses until you can see clearly. The glasses are not beautiful but they are easy to use and cheap to make.
The wind-up radio
When you switch your TV on tonight, think about all those people without electricity. Thinking about this, Trevor Baylis came up with the idea of designing a radio that could be powered by hand. In common with Joshua Silver he wanted his invention to be cheap and easy to use. He wanted even the poorest people in developing countries, who don’t have electricity and cannot afford batteries, to use it. The radio has a generator (發(fā)電機) which is powered by turning a handle. In 1996 it won a BBC Design Award for Best Protect and Best Design.
The Dyson cleaner
In many homes around the world you can see a cleaner that looks like a spaceship. This is the Dyson vacuum (真空) cleaner which uses something called “cyclonic separation” to separate the dirt. You do not need a bag for your cleaner and it does not get blocked so it is very practical. The idea came to Sir James Dyson after he kept having problems with his vacuum cleaner. He decided he could design a better one and in 1993 he opened his own factory. The Dyson is now one of the best-selling cleaners in the UK and Dyson is believed to have earned over a billion pounds.
The Zapata fly-board
Ever dreamed of zooming through the water and leaping in the air like a dolphin? Now you can thanks to a fly-board, built by water sports enthusiast Frank Zapata. With it you can dive back in the water and out again. It’s possible to jump to incredible heights out of the water — over 30 feet. The basic fly-board model comes in at ￡4,200.
So keep dreaming and inventing. One day you might get it right.
小題1:What can we learn about Adaptable glasses?

A．They are very expensive.	B．The inventor is a student.
C．The glasses are fragile.	D．They don’t look very nice.

小題2:Which invention won an award?

A．Adaptable glasses.	B．The wind-up radio.
C．The Dyson cleaner.	D．The Zapata fly-board.

小題3:The Dyson cleaner was invented with the purpose of _________.

A．helping people use cleaners more easily

B．making Dyson a rich businessman

C．keeping the house cleaner than before

D．taking the place of human cleaners

We all make excuses.
But the successful ones are those who can kill the excuses like the miserable maggots they are.
I’m too tired. I don’t have the time. I don’t feel motivated. I’d rather do nothing. I don’t have the money, equipment, space. I can’t because …
We’ve all made the excuses. Here’s how to kill them.
See the positive. Excuses are usually made because we don’t feel like doing something — we’re accentuating the negative. Instead, see the fun in something, the joy in it. And maintain a positive attitude, or you’ll never beat the excuses.
Take responsibility. Excuses are ways to get out of owning up to something. If we don’t have the time, money, equipment, etc., then it’s not our fault, right? Wrong. Take responsibility, and own the solution.
Find a solution. Just about every problem has a solution. Don’t have time? Start with just 5-10 minutes. Make the time. Wake earlier. Do it during lunch. Don’t have the energy? Do it when you have higher levels of energy. You’re smart. Figure out the solution.
See your goal. This is your motivation — your reason for doing it. Sure, you could just lay on the couch, but if you think about why you really want to pursue a goal, you’ll be motivated. Visualize that goal and just get started.
Be accountable. Have a workout partner, a project partner, a team, someone to report to. If you have to meet a coach or partner, you’re more likely to do something.
Watch this. Then go an do it.  
小題1:How many tips mentioned in the text to prevent excuses?

A．Four

B．Three

C．Six

D．Five

小題2:The second paragraph is developed mainly by _______

A．providing common examples.

B．following the order of time.

C．making comparisons of excuses.

D．a(chǎn)nalyzing common excuses

小題3:The definition of the underlined word” visualize” would most probably be ______

A．to view the outline of something by means of an X-ray.

B．to weaken or spoil the quality or efficiency of something.

C．to form a mental image of something incapable of being viewed.

D．to express the formal image of something capable of being seen.

小題4:Why do you need a partner according to the passage?

A．because you are likely to make a report to someone.

B．because it’ll be more possible for you to do something wih a partner.

C．because you need a coach to help you do something.

D．because you like to do something with a partner or a coach.

All around the world, shoppers flock to Wal-Mart to buy everything．In Texas, they come for another reason: to see the wind turbine(渦輪機) , which supplies 5% of the store's electricity．It along with other facilities, such as exterior walls coated with heat-reflective paint, makes this Wal-Mart a green giant．
The laws of economics suggest that Wal-Mart, with 5, 200 stores worldwide, influences everything including the price of all kinds of goods．It throws its weight behind environmental responsibility, and the impact could be amazing．"One little change in product packaging could  save 1, 500 trees," says Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott．"If everybody saves 1, 500 trees or 50 barrels of oil, at the end of the day you have made a huge difference．"
Scott wants Wal-Mart to do its part too．He has promised to cut the existing greenhouse-gas emissions （排放） over the next few years and promised to construct new stores that are more efficient．He wants Wal-Mart's fleet (車隊) of more than 7, 000 trucks to get twice as many miles per gallon by 2015．Factories that show Wal-Mart they're cutting air pollution will get preferential treatment in the supply chain. Wal-Mart says it's working with consumer-product manufacturers to  reduce their packaging and will reward them if they do so．
Some people may doubt it is a bid to attract attention from Wal-Mart's controversial labor and health-insurance practices．But it's not just window dressing, because Wal-Mart sees profits in going green．Scott says, "This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy．We don't go where we don't think there's a great interest in change．"
Like Bill Gates, who started his charitable foundation, Scott happens to be promoting Wal-Mart's image at a time when his company's reputation is declining．He acknowledges that he launched the plan partly to shield （保護(hù)，庇護(hù)） Wal-Mart from bad press about its contribution to global warming．" By doing what we're doing today, we avoid the headline risks that are going to come for people who did not do anything," he says．"At some point businesses will be held responsible for the actions they take．" Meanwhile, should Wal-Mart succeed at shrinking its environmental footprint and lowering prices for green products, both the planet and the company will profit．
小題1:We can infer from the passage that ______．

A．Lee Scott is Wal-Mart's CEO

B．there are 5, 200 stores in the world

C．Wal-Mart has a great influence on the world market

D．Wal-Mart has more than 7, 000 trucks all over the world

小題2:What does the underlined sentence "This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy．" mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Wal-Mart predicts huge profits in its green activity．

B．Wal-Mart's green activity is just window dressing．

C．Wal-Mart aims to solve its health-insurance practices．

D．Wal-Mart doesn't have any social responsibility at all．

小題3:What will Wal-Mart probably do in the future?

A．Reduce air pollution in its present stores．

B．Give favorable treatment to its consumers．

C．Ask the factories to reduce their packaging．

D．Demand the fleet of trucks to use more fuel than before．

小題4:What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Provide the background of the green plan．

B．Stress the purpose of Wal-Mart's green plan．

C．Present the risk that Wal-Mart is facing nowadays．

D．Analyze the similarity between Bill Gates and Scott.

The olinguito（小尖吻浣熊）is new to science. Although lt has been living in the cloud forests of South Amcrica for some time.
Scientists say the olinguito is the first new carnivore（食肉動物）discovered In the Americas in more than 30 years. It is a hairy orange-brown creature with a sweet face and big eyes The animal has small. rounded ears and lives in the trees An adult weighs one kilogram and measures about 75 centimeters. with half of those centimeters taken up by its ringed tail Most of the time. it likes to eat fruit, although it also eats meat. Active at night, the animal has lived in Colombia and Ecuador for a long time. But the olinguito did not exist in science books before now.
Kristofer Helgen, director at the National Museum in Washington, led the research team that confirmed the existence of the olinguito. It had been mistaken more than a century ago for a look-alike animal -- a similar but larger olingo(尖吻浣熊). Mr. Helgen had been studying olingos in a museum for ten years. At that time. he observed a difference in the size and shape of the heads and teeth. That led him on an effort to prove he was looking at an animal never before described by science. He got lucky when he communicated with a zoologist in Ecuador. The animal expert there made a short video that shows an olinguito in the trees. The video confirms that the oiinguito is different from the olingo     Mr. Helgen says tens of thousands of olinguitos live in the wild and are not in danger of disappearing forever. Human beings, however, are moving closer to the olinguito habitat in the Andean cloud forests. The research team estimates that 42 percent of historic olinguiio habitat has been removed
小題1:Comparcd with most carnivores. the olinguito may seem more _____.

A．terrble

B．fierce

C．clever

D．lovely

小題2:The onlinguito was unknown to people in the past because ____

A．it was mistaken for another species

B．it was active in the eveing

C．it was too small to be seen clearly

D．it covered itself by its long tail

小題3:What does the underlined word "That" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Having been studying olingos for ten years.

B．The short video the animal expert made.

C．His communication with an expert in Ecuador.

D．Differences between olingos and olinguitos.

小題4:We can infer from the text that ______.

A．the olinguito could be made full use of

B．the number of olinguitos is in the conutrol

C．the clinguito is a completely new species up to now

D．people know more and more about animals

Expensive and new gloves allow chatterboxes（話匣子）to take the term “handsfree” to a new level—by talking into them as they make a call. The gloves are known as “Talk to the Hand” and cost £1,000 a pair. They fixed a speaker unit into the thumb and a microphone into the little finger that can be connected to any mobile handset using Bluetooth.
Artist Sean Miles designed the new gloves that double as a phone in part of his project that shows the possibilities of gadget recycling. He uses outdated gloves and combines them with parts from mobile handsets recycled through O2, which commissioned（承擔(dān)）the project. Mobile phone users will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phones out of their pockets or handbags.
Mr Miles designed two pairs of the new gloves—one in pink and the other in brown and yellow. They will appear in an exhibition this July and visitors will be able to win the gloves. If demand is high, they will then be produced on a larger scale. O2 Recycle, which backed the project, estimates that there are already 70 million unused mobile handsets in the UK. The service pays up to £260 to those who recycle gadgets including phones, handheld consoles, MP3 players and digital cameras.
Designer Sean Miles hopes his work will get people thinking about recycling. The 41-year-old said, “I hope that my ‘Talk to the Hand’ project will get people to think again about the waste created by not recycling gadgets. If a few more people recycle their gadgets rather than send them to trash, I think this project will have fulfilled its aim.”
Bill Eyres, head of O2 Recycle, urges people to recycle their phone responsibly. He said, “There’s a pressing need for all of us to look at outdated handsets, and all the gadgets that we move on from or upgrade each year. Whether they are consoles or cameras, we should think of them as a resource that we need to recycle responsibly rather than throw them away.”
小題1:The underlined word “O2” in Paragraph 2 is probably the name of ______.

A．a(chǎn)n artist

B．a(chǎn) company

C．a(chǎn) mobile

D．a(chǎn)n exhibition

小題2:Consumers can buy the “Talk to the Hand” gloves ______.

A．in the exhibition

B．from Mr Miles

C．when they are mass produced

D．a(chǎn)fter they recycle the gadgets

小題3: The purpose of the project is to _______.

A．promote the technology of IT

B．enable people to talk to their hands

C．raise people’s awareness of recycling

D．a(chǎn)ttract visitors’ attention in the exhibition

小題4:What is the passage mainly about?

A．New mobiles that are fashionable.

B．Outdated handsets that are upgraded.

C．Outdated gadgets that can be used for recycling.

D．New gloves that can be used for making phone calls.

In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Wroclaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Wroclaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.
That American high schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.
Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D.C., which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws. When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”
One of the ironies of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing. 
小題1:Tom decides to spend his senior year in Poland because _______.

A．he intends to improve his scores

B．Polish kids are better at learning

C．sports are not supported at schools in Gettysburg

D．there are striking differences between the 2 countries

小題2:According to Paragraph 2, we know that _______.

A．PISA plays a very important role in America

B．little time is spent on sports in Japanese schools

C．American high schools complain about sports time

D．too much importance is placed on sports in America

小題3:The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means _______.

A．low expectations result in American students’ poor PISA performance

B．high expectations push up American students’ academic performance

C．American students’ academic performance worries their parents a lot

D．lacking practice contributes to American students’ average performance

小題4:The purpose of this article is to _______.

A．compare Polish schools with those in America

B．call on American schools to learn from the Polish model

C．draw public attention to a weakness in American school tradition

D．explain what is wrong with American schools and provide solutions

Over a period of time, many habitats (棲息地)change with respect to the types of plants and animals that live there. This change is known as succession.
Succession occurs because plants and animals cause a change in the environment in which they live. The first weeds and grasses that appear on a bare field, for example, change the environment by shielding the soil from direct sunlight. As these plants spread, the ground becomes cooler and more moist than it was originally. Thus, the environment at the ground surface has been changed. The new surface conditions favor the sprouting（產(chǎn)生）of shrubs. As shrubs grow, they kill the grasses by preventing light from reaching them and also enhance (增加)the soil. Pine seedlings (苗)soon take hold and as they grow, they in turn shade out the shrubs. They are not able to shade out oak and hickory (山核桃)seedlings, however, that have found the forest floor suitable.  These seedlings grew into large trees that eventually shade out the pines.
小題1:The best title of this passage is _____.

A．The Importance of Weeds and Grasses

B．The Success of Oak and Hickory

C．How Environmental Habitats Change

D．Animal and Plant Habitats

小題2:It can be inferred (推理) from the passage that ______.

A．oak and hickory trees grow taller than pines

B．weeds and grasses prefer cold climate

C．pines and grasses can exist together

D．birds encourage the growth of shrubs

小題3: Which of the following is a stage of succession as described in the passage?

A．A forest cut down to build an airport.

B．A flood washing away a crop of wheat

C．Wild flowers growing in an unused parking lot

D．Animals being tamed (馴服)by children

Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins (靜脈) blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it's outside the body, when it's sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it's more of a dark reddish purple color. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, your heart or your brain?
Which works harder depends on whether you are busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Why do teeth fall out, and why don't they grow back in grown-ups?
Baby (or "milk") teeth do not last long; they fall out to make room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall out when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you're done. When they're gone, they’re gone. This is because nature figures you're set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn't because they're shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine(脊柱) becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity. Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3-4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don't really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards — their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it's because the spine has shortened a little or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning（旋轉(zhuǎn)） make you dizzy (眩暈的)?
Because your brain gets confused between what you're seeing and what you're feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you're moving while you're not!
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area — from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet.
If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you?
Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s "use it, or lose it”! It's not that exercise makes you healthy; it's more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease.
小題1:What is the color of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?

A．Blue.

B．Light yellow.

C．Red.

D．Dark reddish purple.

小題2:Why do some old people look a little shrunken as they age?

A．Because their spine is in active use.

B．Because they are more easily affected by gravity.

C．Because they keep growing backwards.

D．Because their spine becomes more bent.

小題3:Which of the following statements about our brain is true?

A．In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart.

B．When our brain senses the spinning, we will fell dizzy.

C．The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans.

D．Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain.

小題4:What is the main purpose of the selection?

A．To give advice on how to stay healthy.

B．To provide information about our body.

C．To challenge new findings in medical research.

D．To report the latest discoveries in medical science.

The first newspaper was written by hand and put up on walls in public places. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC. In the 700s the world’s first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn’t have a regularly printed newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.
The first regularly published newspaper in English was printed in Amsterdam in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week. The first daily English newspaper was the Daily Courant, which came out in March 1702.
In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston .But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started the Boston Newspaper, the first newspaper published daily in the American colonies（殖民地）. By 1760, the colonies had more than thirty daily newspapers.There are now about 1, 800 daily papers in the United States.
Today, as a group, newspapers in English have the largest circulation (發(fā)行量)in the world .But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun . It sells more than eleven million copies every year.
小題1:The first regularly printed European newspaper started in ________.

A．Rome in 59 BC	B．Germany in 1609
C．Amsterdam in 1620	D．England in 1621

小題2:The first daily newspaper in English started in _________.

A．1620

B．1621

C．1590

D．1702

小題3:What does the author want to inform us?

A．History of newspapers

B．History of daily newspapers

C．The beginning of newspapers

D．On reading newspapers

For thousands of years, mankind has produced plants and animals to create more desired and useful plants and animals. For example, modern com has been produced to such a large size that it is no longer able to reproduce without man’s assistance. Modern dairy cows produce too much milk and if they are not often emptied of milk, they could leak, burst, become infected, and possibly die. Besides, most dogs raised by people can not survive in the wild even with special training.
Since natural evolution is extremely slow and mankind’s selective production programs only take a few generations to produce a completely new species, natural evolution has already taken a back seat to mankind’s production programs. In addition, mankind has successfully killed off several species all together. For example, there are no more European wolves in existence and mammoths (猛犸象) probably died out because of mankind. Even certain diseases have been permanently got rid of from the planet, and dozens of other diseases will soon be too. Again, natural evolution did i»t cause most of the destruction during man’s rule of the world.
Currently, scientists are creating new species with desired characteristics in the lab significantly faster than natural evolution creates new species. In a single generation, new species can be created and destroyed by mankind, while natural evolution could take thousands of years to do the same but only accidentally. Scientists are even able to replace defective (有缺陷的) or damaged genes with different genes to attempt to cure genetic defects. This is something that natural evolution could possibly never correct.
Eventually scientists will even be able to improve the quality of people. For example, imagine not only correcting your eyesight with gene treatment, but also ensuring that all of your children do not receive your old genes of poor eyesight too. Scientists will one day be able to improve the memory and intelligence of your children, so that they will do better in school and achieve more in life. Doctors and scientists will be able to customize (訂制) babies before they are born just like picking options at a car store.
小題1:According to the first paragraph,______ .
A. man-made evolution has improved all species
B. man-made evolution has weakened some species
C man-made evolution can make up for all natural losses
D. natural evolution won’t happen without man’s assistance
小題2:What does the underlined part “taken a back seat to” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Become powerful assistance to.  
B. Become a huge barrier to.
C Speeded up the process of.   
D. Played a less important role than.
小題3:What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A．Why natural evolution happens so slowly.

B．The way scientists adopt to have genetic defects repaired.

C．The advantages of man-made evolution over natural evolution.

D．How scientists make use of man-made evolution to create new species.

小題4:What can we infer from the passage?

A．Near-sighted parents will be able to produce babies with good eyesight in the future.

B．Doctors and scientists will be responsible for mass production of babies in the future.

C．It is natural evolution that is to blame for the destruction of European wolves and mammoths.

D．Children can now have their memory and intelligence improved with the help of gene treatment.