The story began with a young mother who had three sons. Unfortunately, the youngest son developed slow thinking skills, not having the intelligence of his brothers.

With double duty as the mother of the household, she was exhausted, so that the youngest was often the target of anger and annoyance. Bad words, such as “you little fool” and the like, served as a daily meal for the youngest.

The words and curses he got from the mother and ridicule from friends convinced him that he was distressing and embarrassing his family. Every morning he woke up with his own face staring from the mirror reflection, he started to say quietly and sadly, “The fool is going to school.”

As adult citizens, there was compulsory military service which should be lived. Thus, the youngest son also signed up and started to follow the various tests: a medical, physical ability test and other tests. On the day of the announcement, he was called into the board of examiners.

In his mind, he convinced himself that he was the fool and couldn’t pass the tests this time as he entered the room with his head down. It was not expected at all. The tests turned out to have the highest praise from the board of examiners.

“Congratulations, young man! Your test results are incredible! You are really a great and talented young man. ”Words from the board of examiners became the discovery of a new side of himself that was not known in advance. Voice kept echoing in his mind, such as “I, the great man, am in the shower”, “The great man washes his face”, “The talented young man again brushes his teeth” and so on. Confidence and improved self-image came beyond usual.

20 years later, the youngest established himself as a successful businessman who was admired and respected, and received many awards.

The mindset and belief are the power behind the success that is within us. Whatever we think and believe in or minds continuously, it will eventually materialize in reality. That’s the universally applicable law.

1.Why was the youngest often scolded by his mother?

A. He was not as clever as his brothers.

B. He considered himself to be a fool.

C. He didn’t behave himself at school.

D. He didn’t cook meals for his mother.

2.From the story we know that the young mother is ____.

A. selfish and lazy

B. gentle and caring

C. ill-tempered and impatient

D. kind-hearted and diligent

3.What happened to the youngest son later on?

A. He received aid from others.

B. He became an admirable psychologist.

C. He became confident and successful.

D. He developed strange mental diseases.

4.From this passage, the author tells us that____.

A. military service can change a person completely

B. mothers’ attitude toward children is important

C. even a fool can become a successful businessman

D. think big and you will get big results

While astronauts in space get to do many exciting things, they miss out on ordinary things that we all take for granted—being able to walk on firm ground, hanging out with family and digging into a slice of hot steaming pizza. Though not much can be done about the first two things, there may soon be a solution to the third one, thanks to this cool 3-D pizza printer!

About a year ago, NASA offered $125 ,000 to Anjan Contractor, a 3-D technology expert, to build a device (设备) that would allow astronauts to make pizza on demand. The mechanical engineer promised that his invention would produce pies in large quantities that looked, tasted and even smelled like pizza made in common ovens.

Late last year, the engineer presented a video of his first prototype (原型) that begins by creating a single slice of dough (面团) that is cooked and printed at the same time. Then comes the tomato “sauce” — a mix of tomato powder, oil and water and finally, a protein slice that resembles cheese. While the video doesn’t show the baking process, the inventor says that once the pizza is printed, it can be ready to be consumed in 7 seconds.

While the pie in the video looks delicious enough to attract any pizza lover, Anjan Contractor is far from ready for astronauts. That’s because he still has to find a solution to make the food container in the printer last for 30 years. Though that may sound unrealistic, actually it is not.

Anjan Contractor believes that the only way that is possible is that the water is removed from all the ingredients (配料) and then they are reduced to the powder form. This, as you can imagine, will not be so easy. But, while the printer may not be ready for space, it certainly looks ready enough for people on earth. Hopefully, NASA and Contractor will consider selling it to those not fortunate enough to go to Mars!

1.Why does the author mention the things that astronauts in space cannot do?

A. To ask us not to take common things for granted.

B. To show they live a difficult life there.

C. To show their life is boring in space.

D. To introduce the topic of the text.

2.NASA offered $ 125, 000 to Anjan Contractor mainly to _______.

A. create some new type of 3-D printer

B. attract more companies to work for NASA

C. help astronauts in space enjoy fresh pizza one day

D. produce pizza in large quantities to earn great profits

3.The biggest challenge that Anjan Contractor is faced with now is probably that _______.

A. he has no money left to go on with his research

B. the pizza doesn’t seem appetizing to pizza lovers

C. he has no way to make pizza that can last for thirty years

D. he cannot make the food container last for decades

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. NASA is trying its best to help astronauts eat better

B. Astronauts may soon be able to enjoy steaming hot pizza

C. NASA is working on making pizza for common people

D. A 3-D pizza printer has been used to make pizza

In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty.This was Stephen Hawking.I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree.

But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73.Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn’t merely survive.He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship.

Stephen received his “death sentence” in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study.Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University.He was said to be a “lazy” undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first class degree, an “entry ticket” to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement.Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well.But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began.In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32.

The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected — for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits.Stephen’s revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum(量子) theory has still not been tested.However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory(弦理论) has been to confirm and build on his idea.He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top ten living theoretical physicists.

1.What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking?

A.His brilliant research.

B.His bestselling books.

C.His serious disease.

D.His defeating hardship.

2.What made Stephen Hawking start his research career at Cambridge?

A.His death sentence.

B.His “lazy” attitude.

C.His above average talent and ability.

D.His rich experience.

3.It can be inferred that Stephen Hawking was born ________.

A.in the early 1940s

B.in the late 1940s

C.in the early 1930s

D.in the late 1930s

4.What can we learn from the text?

A.Hawking’s theory was proved years ago.

B.Hawking was not as successful as Newton.

C.String theory built on Hawking’s idea.

D.Hawking’s theory has had little influence on others.

5.Which of the following is Not True according the passage?

A.He achieved one success after another in his career despite his disease.

B.He couldn’t walk when the author first met him at Cambridge.

C.He not only survived his disease but contributed greatly to science.

D.He is among the greatest scientists to improve the knowledge of gravity.

A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.

The system,called driver Alert,aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%—40% that are caused by tiredness.Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.

Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband.The device,worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey.After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘).A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response.

Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time.Usually,a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond,but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds,it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.

In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds,showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest.If the driver’s response continues to slow down,the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warms that the driver must stop as soon as possible.

The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing.If these tests,scheduled for six months’ time,are successful,the markers will bring the product to market within about a year.

【小题】According to the text,Driver Alert ______.

A.aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents

B.has gone through testing at laboratories

C.aims to prevent drivers from sleeping

D.has been on sale for 12 months

【小题】How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?

A.By sounding a warning

B.By touching the wristband

C.By checking the driving time

D.By pressing the steering wheel

【小题】We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______.

A.About 400 milliseconds

B.below 500 milliseconds

C.over 500 milliseconds

D.about 400 minutes

【小题】When the driver gets sleepy while driving,Driver Alert ______.

A.moves more regularly

B.stops working properly

C.opens the window for the driver

D.sounds more frequently and loudly

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