People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.

But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.

Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.

Edison could not understand how anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.

1．According to Thomas Edison, what’s genius?

       A．Hard thinking.                                     B．Hard work.

       C．Useful dreams.                                    D．Useful inventions.

2．After exploring the secrets of nature, Edison always tried to         .

       A．write down what he had learnt              B．carry out a new experiment

       C．make them useful in life                        D．share them with others

3．Edison could not understand         .

      A．how anybody enjoyed life                     B．how anybody loved working

       C．why anybody loved thinking                 D．why anybody was tired of life

4．The last sentence in the passage means that           .

       A．Edison was born to be a great inventor

       B．Edison was able to live another 100 years

       C．Edison was ready to make his 100th invention

       D．life was too short for Edison to work for human beings

About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings.
Instead, they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers. The center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools(网络学校)” and that is about twice as many as two years ago.
The money for students to go to a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.
Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cyberschools called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.
Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary.
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another. But 56 such students finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests of honor at their graduation.
【小题1】What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschools?

About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings.

Instead, they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers. The center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools(网络学校)” and that is about twice as many as two years ago.

The money for students to go to a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.

Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.

Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cyberschools called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.

Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary.

Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another. But 56 such students finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests of honor at their graduation.

1.What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschools?

2.What is a problem with cyberschools?

3.Cyberschools are getting popular because__________.