题目内容
One cold January evening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, America, I went with my father on an oil burner service call. My father was in his forties at that time and I was about twelve years old. He was always working hard trying to support us seven kids. I enjoyed hanging out with him whenever I could — he taught me so much.
We arrived at the call and after walking over snow and ice, we knocked on the customer’s door. A senior citizen opened the door and let us into her very cold home. She was wearing an old, worn-out brown coat that went down to her knees. On her head, covering her gray hair, was an old and worn hat. The home wasn’t furnished very well and was quite dark, except for a single light bulb over the dining room table. Below the light was an older man counting change from several old coffee cans. He looked up at us as we passed by to get to the kitchen where my dad would fix the oil burner. He didn’t say anything. He just looked up at us. He couldn’t speak English, nor could his wife. She only pointed to the kitchen and smiled at us.
After a short while, my father had the heater up and running, and it began to heat their cold home. The lady asked my dad in poor English how much she owed him for fixing the heater. My dad looked around the house and said that he had to go out to the truck and write the bill.
Once in the truck he marked the bill “no answer at home, no charge”, so they wouldn’t be charged for his work. He looked over at me and said, “He was counting his change to pay me. They need their money more than I do.”
As usual, my father taught me something important that time, which was to be kind to the poor.
- 1.
According to Paragraph 1, we know that the writer’s father
- A.often taught the writer how to work
- B.worked several jobs at the same time
- C.had a very big family to support
- D.brought up his children alone
- A.
- 2.
The description in Paragraph 2 shows that the old couple
- A.had no job
- B.led a very poor life
- C.didn’t know how to save money
- D.were not very friendly to strangers
- A.
- 3.
What can we infer from the passage?
- A.The old couple had no children in America.
- B.The old man didn’t plan to pay money.
- C.The old woman felt very embarrassed all the time.
- D.The old couple were not native Americans.
- A.
- 4.
The writer’s father didn’t charge for his work because .
- A.he didn’t need that money
- B.he felt pity for the old couple
- C.he was not satisfied with his work
- D.he wanted to set a good example to others
- A.
1.细节题:从第一段的句子:My father was in his forties at that time and I was about twelve years old. He was always working hard trying to support us seven kids. 说明父亲要抚养7个孩子的家庭,是个大家庭。选C
2.概括题:从第二段的句子The home wasn’t furnished very well and was quite dark, 还有Below the light was an older man counting change from several old coffee cans.等等。说明这对老夫妇过的是贫穷的生活。选B
3.推理题:从第二段的句子:He couldn’t speak English, nor could his wife. 说明他们不是美国当地人。选D
4.推理题:从倒数第二段的句子:“He was counting his change to pay me. They need their money more than I do.”说明B项正确,爸爸是同情他们。
We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells —but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)?Shouldn’t we know who they are?
Joan Mclean think so. In fact, Mclean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”, however, Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why” and ”how” questions. According to Mclean,” When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.”
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built-in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever(操作杆)on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations,It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’s traffic light. It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible, Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
【小题1】
By mentioning “traffic light” and “windshield wiper”, the author indicates that countless inventions are .
A.beneficial, because their inventors are famous |
B.beneficial, though their inventors are less famous |
C.not useful, because their inventors are less famous |
D.not useful, though their inventors are famous |
Professor Joan McLean’s course aims to_____.
A.add colour and variety to students’ campus life |
B.inform students of the windshield wiper’s invention |
C.carry out the requirements by Mountain University |
D.prepare students to try their own invention |
Tommy Lee’s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was _________.
A.not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer | |
B.inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper | C.due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm |
D.not related to Professor Joan McLean’s lectures |
Which 0f the following can best serve as the title of this passage?
A How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers?
B How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window?
C Shouldn’t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper?
D Shouldn’t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities?
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
F. explosive G. easily H. rushed I. injuries J. caught |
Each year around 800 people – most of them children – need treatment in hospital for injuries caused by fireworks. A third of the accidents take place at back garden firework parties and about a third of the 41 are to children under the age of 13. The cost of medical treatment after firework accidents can be as much as £20 million a year.
Martin Pearcey, 11, is one of the lucky ones: he could have been 42 in one eye.
Like hundreds of others on November 5(Guy Fawkes’s Night), Martin went to his 43 park to see the fireworks display. He was with his brothers, John and Dave.
“A gang of kids had taken the 44 material out of several fireworks and had put it in a pile on the ground,” remembers John.
“When they lit it, it went off and 45 Martin in his eye.”
John 46 Martin to their grandmother’s house nearby, where the eye was immediately bathed in cold water. He was then taken to hospital, where a sterilized(消毒的) patch was put over it.
“At first he couldn’t see a thing because the eye was so swollen(肿胀的),” says Martin’s elder sister, Pat. “It was weeks before it would open 47 again.”
His dad agrees. “He was lucky not to lose the sight of that eye.”
“Little kids shouldn’t be able to get hold of fireworks,” adds Pat. “I think organized 48 are much safer.”
And young Martin now says, “I don’t mind fireworks when grown – ups are 49 , but I don’t like it when little kids have them. I think fireworks are a bit stupid, really.”