12．Early one morning.more than a hundred years ago.an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fe——青夏教育精英家教网—

12．Early one morning，more than a hundred years ago，an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep．He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem：It seemed impossible to get the thread to run around the needle without any problems．
Though he was tired，Howe slept badly．He turned and turned．Then he had a dream．He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine．When he tried to do so，Howe ran into the same problem as before．The thread kept getting caught around the needle．The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe．They came up towards him with their spears raised．But suddenly the inventor noticed something．There was a hole in the tip of each spear．The inventor awoke from the dream，realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem．Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle，he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle．This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practised sewing machine．
Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way．Thomas Edison，the inventor of the electric light，said his best ideas came into him in dreams．So did the great physicist Albert Einstein．Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre．
To know the value of dreams，you have to understand what happens when you are asleep．Even then，a part of your mind is still working．This unconscious（无意识的），but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day．It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed．It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake．However，the unconscious part acts in a special way．It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first．This is why dreams are sometimes called"secret messages to ourselves"．

29．The problem Howe was trying to solve wasD．
A．what kind of thread to use
B．how to design a needle which would not break
C．where to put the needle
D．how to stop the thread from getting caught around the needle
30．Thomas Edison is spoken of becauseB．
A．he also tried to invent a sewing machine
B．he got some of his ideas from dreams
C．he was one of Howe's best friends
D．he also had difficulty in falling asleep
31．Dreams are sometimes called"secret messages to ourselves"becauseA．
A．strange images are used to communicate ideas
B．images which have no meaning are used
C．we can never understand the real meaning
D．only specially trained people can understand them．

11．As a boy，Charles Robert Darwin collected anything that caught his interest：insects，coins and interesting stones．He was not very clever，but Darwin was good at doing the things that interested him．
His father was a doctor，so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine，and was planned to follow a medical career．But Charles found the lectures boring．Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest．While at Cambridge，Darwin's interest in zoology and geography grew．Later he got a letter from Robert Fitzroy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship，the Beagle．He wanted a naturalist to join the ship，and Darwin was recommended（推荐）．That voyage was the start of Darwin's great life．
As the Beagle sailed around the world，Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth．He began to observe everything．After he was home，he set to work，getting his collection in order．His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received，but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origin of life．
Later Darwin and Wallace，another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin，produced a paper together．Darwin's great book，On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection （《物种起源》） appeared．It attracted a storm．People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys．What a shameful idea!Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right，the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work．
Afterwards，he published another great work，The Descent of Man．His health grew worse，but he still worked．"When I have to give up observation，I shall die，"he said．He was still working on 17，April，1882．He was dead two days later．

45．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？C
A．Charles Darwin's ideas
B．Charles Darwin's works
C．Father of modern biology：Charles Darwin
D．The greatest scientist：Charles Darwin
46．Darwin's father sent him to Edinburgh toB．
A．make him like natural history
B．make him become a doctor
C．let him change his hobbies
D．have him give up his collection
47．According to the passage，Charles Darwin's whole life was changed byD．
A．his study at Cambridge University
B．his collection of coins
C．the naturalists at Cambridge
D．the voyage of the Beagle
48．The underlined part"they were descended from monkeys"probably means"C"．
A．they gave monkeys life
B．they were different from monkeys
C．they were developed from monkeys
D．they had to live with monkeys．

10．America's holiday shopping season started on Black Friday，the day after Thanksgiving．（36）CRetailers make the most money this time of year，about 20percent to 30percent of all revenue all year．About 136million people shopped during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend．
（37）A In an era of instant information，shoppers can use their mobile phones to find deals．Nearly 80percent of this year's holiday shoppers，or about 183.8million people，shopped on Cyber Monday．
More than half of all holiday purchases will be made online．（38）D Online spending on Black Friday rose 15percent to hit﹩2.7billion this year．Cyber Monday spending increased 12percent to﹩3billion．NBC News reported that for many，shopping online was a more comfortable alternative than crowded malls．
The shift to online shopping has had a big impact on solid shopping malls．Since 2010，more than 24shopping malls have closed and an additional 60are struggling．
Fortune says the weakest of the malls have closed．（39）B According to a survey，94.2percent of malls were full with shops by the end of 2014．That is the highest level in 27years．
The average American consumer will spend about﹩805on gifts．That's about﹩630.5billion between November and December-an increase of 3.7percent from last year．
（40）G That goes to China's Singles'Day，celebrated on November 11，which posted record sales of﹩14.3billion in 2015．

A．More and more people shop online nowadays．
B．However，the business in malls is thriving again，it adds．
C．It is the busiest shopping day of the year．
D．One-in-five Americans used a tablet or smart-phone．
E．The traditional mall industry can hardly survive．
F．Cyber Monday falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday．
G．Nonetheless，Cyber Monday is not the biggest online shopping day in the world．

9．Many people know the names Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison．However，most people don't know the name of the man who invented the television，Philo Farnsworth．
Philo Farnsworth was born in 1906and grew up on a potato farm．As a boy，he loved to learn about science，and he read a lot of science books．When he was only thirteen years old，he drew a picture of a machine that could send pictures as radio sends sounds．He got the idea from the way the potatoes were planted in the field．The potatoes grew in long lines，side by side．This made a shape in Philo's mind．This shape helped Philo think of a way to send the TV picture onto a piece of glass．But he was poor，so Philo could not try to make his idea into a machine at that time．
Later，Philo worked at many different jobs．He worked with trees．He worked on broken radios．He worked on trains．He also worked as a street cleaner．At last，two rich men heard about his idea for television，and they gave him the money to make it．On September 7th，1927，they watched Philo test the machine he built．When Philo turned on the machine，a small line could be seen on the glass．Philo said，"There you have it，electric television．"
Later，a big company，RCA，said they had made the first television．Philo had to spend a lot of money on lawyers to fight them．Finally，he won．Then，World War Two started in 1939．During the war，Philo spent a lot of money helping the US army instead ofbuilding up   his television company．After the war，other bigger，richer companies started making televisions．In the end，Philo had to sell his company．

29．Why does the author mention Bell and Edison at the beginning of the text？C
A．To remember both of them．
B．To prove their wisdom．
C．To introduce the topic of the text．
D．To explain their relationships．
30．According to the text，how old was Philo when he finished his invention of TV？B
A.27years old．   B.21years old．
C.33years old     D.39years old
31．Philo Farnsworth got the idea for TV fromC．
A．the radio          B．science books
C．potato fields      D．a machine
32．The underlined part"building up"in the last paragraph probably means"D"．
A．starting         B．selling
C．putting up        D．making bigger．

8．The Doll and the White Rose
I was walking around in a mall，when I saw a cashier（收银员） hand this little boy some money back．The cashier said，"I'm sorry，but you don't have enough money to buy this doll"．The little boy seemed very disappointed．
I walked toward him and asked him who he wished to give this doll to．"It's the doll that my sister wanted so much for Christmas．She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her：But Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now．I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there．"His eyes were so sad．"My sister has gone to be with God．Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too，so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister．"
My heart nearly stopped．The little boy looked up at me and continued，"I told Daddy to tell Mommy not to go yet．I need her to wait until I come back from the mall．"
I quickly reached for my wallet and said，"Suppose we check again，just in case you do have enough money for the doll．"
"OK，I hope I do have enough，"he said．I put some of my money with his without him seeing and we started to count it．There was enough for the doll and even some spare money．
Surprisingly，the little boy cried，"Thank you God for giving me enough money!"Then he looked at me and added，"I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll，so that Mommy could give it to my sister．He heard me!I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy，but I didn't dare to ask God for too much．But he gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose!"
Then I remembered two days before a local newspaper reported an accident in which a woman and a little girl were badly injured．The little girl died right away，and the mother was left in a critical（严重的） state．Was this the family of the little boy？
Two days after I met the little boy，I read in the newspaper that the woman had passed away．I couldn't stop myself from going to the funeral（葬礼）．Teary-eyed，I felt that my life had been changed forever．

21．The boy wanted to buy the doll becauseD．
A．he had always been eager for such a doll
B．Santa Claus didn't give him any Christmas gift
C．he would give it to his mother as a birthday surprise
D．he wanted to turn his sister's Christmas wish into reality
22．We can learn from the story thatC．
A．the boy's sister died after staying in hospital for two weeks
B．the boy's family were all seriously injured in a car accident
C．the author gave the boy some extra money without his notice
D．the boy's mother always wished to receive a white rose on Christmas
23．The story most probably conveys（传递） the message thatA．
A．a kind act can bring joy and hope to others
B．a gift is a perfect way to express love for others
C．losing a family member is a heavy blow to children
D．a religious（宗教） belief can help one solve problems in his life．

7．The first thing I becomeaware（意识到，明白） of was all the vivid colors surrounding me．

6．I thought，at the time，that this was just a story but then Iwitnessed（目击、目睹） it with my own eyes many times．

5．Otherwise（否则）they don't waste anything．

4．As he was not allowed toaccompany（陪伴）her to the shops，he wrote a list of items for her．

3．We have worked for over a year under these contracts and now deserve______ as promised．（　　）

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