Maurice Mountain is a retired lawyer in Washington, D. C He developed a prototype(原型机) for a device he calls the Presto Emergency Boat Ladder. His invention is a small folding ladder that attaches to the side of a boat to help people who fall into the water. Mr. Mountain plans to mass-produce his boat ladder.

He created his invention at a workshop called TechShop . Mr. Mountain says, "I think it encourages innovation. I think people who probably have had ideas rolling around in the back of their minds for years but have never had the opportunity to actually put them into production or even experiment with them would find this place wonderful. Members of TechShop use high-tech equipment to develop and produce ideas they have for inventions. "Isabella Musachio manages a TechShop in Arlington, Virginia. She says the shop has many different kinds of equipment.

"TechShop is a do-it-yourself maker space. So when you come in we have all these different areas of the shop, and we have a metal shop, wood shop, lasers, 3D printers, electronics. I mean, we have so many different areas and we have all the equipment that is available to anybody above the age of 12. "

Membership costs for TechShop start at just over $ 100 per month. Members are able to use costly machines including 3D modeling tools and laser cutters. Isabella Musachio says TechShop helps its members build their dreams.

"Our motto is 'build your dreams here' because you can really come in with just an idea, and then with the help of TechShop make that leap from an idea to building your project o, your prototype or even your business."

Jim Newton is the founder of TechShop. He first introduced the idea for the technology workshops at an arts and sciences event called Maker Faire in San Mateo, California in 2006. His idea attracted hundreds of members during that event, Now, there are eight TechShop locations in the U. S. In all, there are more than 6,000 members. Two more-TechShop locations in the cities of St. Louis and Look Angeles will be set up

1.The invention Mr. Mountain invented will be used to____ .

A save the drowning people

B. help people climb the ladder

2.What can be inferred from what Mr. Mountain says in Paragraph 2?.

A. People with imagination can achieve their dreams.

B. TechShop can help turn some people’s ideas into reality.

C. TechShop is a place where people can put forward their new ideas.

D. It's hard for people to put their ideas into practice.

3.From the last paragraph, we can know _____.

A. Jim Newton is a very great invention

B. people didn't like TechShop at first

C. TechShop will become more and more popular

D. TechShop greeted with bad reviews in 2006

4.What can we know about TechShop from the passage?

A,TechShop is founded by Maurice Mountain.

B. TechShop puts high-tech dreams within reach.

C. TechShop is a non-profit organization.

D. TechShop offers its members more ideas.

It was a Saturday morning, a day I believed would end in victory. For weeks, I had been preparing for the match at the county fairgrounds, sponsored(赞助) by our local riding club. My horse, Tonka, and I could run faster than any kid in the county, and I hoped to bring home a blue ribbon.

My mother usually drove me to the riding events, but on this day, my father planned to drop us off at the fairgrounds with the horse trailer(马车) .

Although we never discussed it, my father’s struggle with alcoholism had become the silent center of our family life. My mother was paralyzed (瘫痪的) with fear and indecision. Her salary as a part-time nurse couldn’t possibly support four children. No one talked about alcoholism in those days, and it was my family secret.

We climbed on the trailer and my father pulled out of our driveway and headed toward the fairgrounds, picking up speed once we hit the main road. It wasn’t until we felt a big bump that I realized the trailer was out of control. The dream of my riding winner disappeared. Tonka lay on the floor, completely still. No words were possible. I knew he was dead.

Suddenly a man appeared. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Yes.”I answered, although I knew that nothing was all right. “Sit here on the grass,” he said. He bent down to look into the trailer. Tonka remained still. He touched Tonka and then turned to face me. “He is going to be OK. He has just been knocked unconscious.” He rubbed Tonka’s cheeks and gently pulled his ears. Tonka rose to his feet.

Our father was talking to a police officer. He was upset and in pain and took little notice of me. I looked back; the man was gone.

I never forgot him. He gave me strength and a sense of hope in a dark and frightening moment.

1.The writer went to the fairgrounds because he wanted to ________.

A. take part in a horse racing

B. buy Mum a blue ribbon

C. join the local riding club

D. train his horse there

2.We can learn from the third paragraph that ________.

A. the family kept silent at home

B. the family lived a secret life

C. Father was addicted to alcohol

D. Mum was physically disabled

3.What does “he” in the fourth paragraph refer to?

A. Father B. The stranger

C. The horse D. The winner

4.What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?

A. Once formed, bad habits are difficult to break.

B. Unexpected kindness is a light that shines in the darkness.

C. However mean your life is, meet it and live it.

D. Family is a place of encouragement, a safe harbor in the storms.

often teach about happiness and what has become clear is this:There are some qualities always unhappy people have.Here are some of them.

Happy people know life can be hard and tend to live through hard times.They take responsibility for how they got themselves into a mess,and focus on getting themselves out of it as soon as possible.Unhappy people see themselves as victims of life and stay stuck in the“look what happened to me” attitude instead of finding a way through and out to the other side.

Most happy people believe in the good in people instead of thinking everyone is out to get them.Generally open and friendly towards people they meet,happy people foster(培养)a sense of community around themselves and meet new people with all open heart.Unhappy people are distrustful of most people they meet and don’t think strangers can be trusted.Unfortunately,this behavior slowly closes all chances of meeting new friends.

Unhappy people believe someone else’s good fortune steals from their own.They believe there’s not enough goodness to go around and always compare others’against theirs.This leads to jealousy(嫉妒).Happy people know that others’good luck and circumstance are just signs of what they also can achieve if they try hard enough.They believe in unlimited possibilities and don’t get stuck in thinking one person’s good fortune limits their possible outcome in life.

There’s only so much space between the two ears.Unhappy people fill that space with constant worry and fear.Happy people experience fear and worry too,but make an important difference between feeling it and living with it.When fear or worry crosses a happy person’s mind,they’ll ask themselves if there’s an action they can take to prevent their fear or worry from happening and they take it.If not,they realize they’re spinning in fear and they lay it down.

1.Paragraph 2 mainly shows that unhappy people tend to _______________.

A.focus on what they really want

B.get worried about what will happen

C.stay focused on the past misfortunes

D.find a way to live through hard times

2.According to paragraph 3 and 4,unhappy people ______________.

A.like making some new friends

B.hate seeing others with good fortune

C.are more likely to be cheated by strangers

D.believe they can get good luck by working hard

3.What is implied about happy people?

A.They don’t think life is hard.

B.They hardly ever fear anything.

C.They try to get out of their fear or worries.

D.They don’t believe in every people they meet.

4.How is the text mainly developed?

A.By making comparisons.

B.By giving examples.

C.By showing detailed data.

D.By proving some theories.

阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。

I was going to Paris, which I’d always wanted to see.But now I was frightened to travel alone.I arrived at the train station in Paris.I hadn’t spoken my college French for twenty years.On my first metro ride, I came across an incompetent(不胜任的)thief.I just stared at him, and he stopped his hand from my purse and disappeared into the crowd.Somewhere in this confusing city was my hotel hidden, but the directions suddenly weren’t easy to find.When I finally found the hotel, my heart was beating heavily, and I was sweating like a basketball player.I couldn’t stay.Could I? The wallpaper looked like it had been through a fire.The bathroom was downstairs, and the window looked out onto the brick wall of another building.Welcome to Paris.I sincerely wanted to die.I missed my friends.I was entering my third week away from home and my kids, and I had arrived in the most romantic city in the world, alone, lonely and frightened.

The most important thing I did in Paris happened at that moment.I knew that if I didn’t go out, right then, and find a place to have dinner, I would hide in this small room my entire time in Paris.I might never learn to enjoy the world as a single individual.So I went out.Evening in Paris was light and pleasant.I walked along a path, listening to birds sing, watching children float toy boats in a huge fountain.No one seemed to be in a hurry.Paris was beautiful.And I was here alone and suddenly not lonely.My sense of accomplishment overcoming my fear and weakness had left me feeling free.I wore out two pairs of shoes during my week’s stay in Paris.I did everything there was to do, and it was the greatest week of my European vacation.I returned home, becoming a believer in the power of traveling alone.Now when I meet difficulties I just say to myself, “If I can go to Paris, I can go anywhere.”

1.What happened on my first metro ride?

A.I came across a skillful thief.

B.I bravely caught a thief trying to steal

C.The thief successfully stole my purse

D.I scared away a thief trying to steal

2.The room in the hotel where I lived ______.

A.had just gone through a big fire

B.was in very poor conditions

C.had a good sight through the window

D.was very small and untidy

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A.I was not lonely when I got to Paris.

B.I felt frightened travelling alone in Paris at first.

C.I then felt not lonely for the people around me in Paris.

D.I had a lot of walking during my stay in Paris.

4.The lifestyle of French people can be considered as ________.

A.hasty B.relaxed

C.anxious D.aggressive

5.As to the writer, the power of traveling alone is _______.

A.the power of being independent

B.the power of feeling free

C.the power of becoming optimistic

D.the power of overcoming difficulties

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