One day during winter holiday , Jacob went to visit his grandmother . The six-year-old boy form Connecticut(康涅狄格州) couldn’t wait to play baseball when he got to her house . Jacob had brought his bat , but he had forgotten to bring a baseball .

Jacob’s problem gave him an idea . After returning home , he cut off the top of his bat with his parents’ help . The bat was hollow inside . Jacob dropped some balls into the hollow bat . Then he put a cap on the bat to close it . With the balls inside the bat , Jacob didn’t have to worry about forgetting them on his next visit to his grandmother . Since the balls were inside the bat , the new toy also allowed Jacob to carry the bat and balls in one hand . Jacob called his new toy a batball .

When school started , he took the batball to his school’s invention fair . Many people liked it , especially Jacob’s teacher . Jacob felt very proud about it .

A bit company heard about Jacob’s invention . They liked his idea and decided to sell “batballs” in shops . The batballs were blue (Jacob’s favourite color) and had three balls inside them .

Jacob also won an award for his toy . In 2002 , his batball was named the best new American product (产品) made in Connecticut .

11.Why did Jacob invent the batball ?

A. He wanted to sell it to a big company .　　 B. He had lost his bat and ball .

C. He wanted to solve a problem　　　　　　 D. He wanted to take it to the school’s invention.

12. Which event happened after Jacob took the batball to school ?

A. A toy company liked Jacob’s idea .　

B. Jacob took the top off his bat with his parents’ help .

C. Jacob got an idea .　　　　　　

D. Jacob wanted to play baseball at his grandmother’s house .

13. How did Jacob probably feel about the batball ?

A. Proud　　 B. Sad　　　 C. Brave　　 D. Surprised

14. The underlined word “hollow” means _________ .

A. 新的　　　 B. 铁的　　 C. 塑料的　　 D. 空的

15. Why were the batballs blue ?

A. Because people like this colour .　　　　　 B. Because blue is a nice colour .

C. Because blue is Jacob’s favourite colour .　 D . We don’t know .

Ever thought of moving to a new country? How about starting a new country? Patri Friedman is planning to do just that. He left Google years ago to set up the Seasteading Institute. And his dream is to build seasteads-----floating micro-nations in the middle of the ocean.
So, what will life on a seastead be like? Probably a bit like life on a cruise liner (游轮), but much larger, with shops, gyms, swimming pools, schools and other areas. In fact, the early seasteads may actually be specially-rebuilt cruise liners. But as science advances, Friedman believes they’ll become more like floating cities, with several hundred people.
Seasteading raises a lot of questions. First of all, how will the new countries make money? The Seasteading Institute has suggested several money-making ideas, including ocean-based theme parks, casinos (赌场) and fish farming. There’s also the questions of safety. With storms, typhoons and pirates (海盗) , the high seas are a dangerous place. However, the Institute says that it can stand bad weather and prevent crimes with its well-designed systems.
So, is this just a day dream? Well, maybe not. One of the people behind the project is Peter Thiel. He founded PayPal and was one of the first investors (投资者) in Facebook. So far, he’s donated $ 500,000 to the project.
And Friedman isn’t wasting any time. He recently announced the creation of the Poseidon Award. This will be given to the first seastead with fifty people. Friedman is hoping to hand out the award in 2015.
【小题1】Where did Friedman use to work?

“Cool”is a word with many meanings．Its old meaning is used to express （表达）a temperature that is a little bit cold．As the world has changed，the word has had many different meaning．

“Cool”can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything．When you see a famous car in the street，maybe you will say，“It’s cool．”You may think，“He’s so cool，”when you see your favourite footballer．

We all maximize（扩大） the meaning of“cool”．You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”．Here’s an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used．A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall（瀑布）they had visited．On one student’s paper was just the one sentence（句子），“It’s so“cool”．Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt．

But the story also shows a scarcity（缺乏）of words．Without “cool”，some people have no words to show the same meaning．So it is quite important to keep some credibility（可信性）．Can you think of many other words that make your life as colourful as the word “cool”？ I can．And I think they are also very cool．

1.We know that the word “cool has had ________.

A．only one meaning

B．no meanings

C．many different meanings

D．the same meaning

2.In the passage，the word “express” means“________”.

A．see              B．show             C．know             D．feel

3.If you are _______ something，you may say，“It’s cool．”

A．interested in                           B．angry about

C．afraid of                              D．unhappy with

4.The writer takes an example to show he is ________ the way the word is used．

A．pleased with                           B．strange to

C．worried about                          D．careful with

5.In the passage，the writer suggests（暗示）that the word “cool”________．

A．can be used instead of many words

B．usually means something interesting

C．can make your life colourful

D．may not（可能不） be as cool as it seems

I watched as my little brother was caught in the act. He was sitting in the corner of the living room, a _____in one hand and my father’s hymnbook(赞美诗集)in the other.

As my father walked into the room, my brother cowered slightly(轻微地畏缩). He sensed that he had done something _____. Form a distance I could see that he had  _____my father’s new hymnal and scribbled(乱涂)in it. Now looking at my father fearfully, we _____  waited for his punishment.

My father _____his book, looked at it, and then sat down without saying a word．He was a clergyman(神职人员) and for him, books were knowledge. And yet he _____ his children. What he did next was unbelievable. Instead of punishing my brother, he sat down, _____ the pen from my brother’s hand, and then wrote in the book himself, alongside the scribbles John had made:

“John’s work, 1959, _____ 2.” How many times have I looked into your beautiful face and into your warm eyes looking up at me and _____God for the one who has now scribbled in my new hymnal. You have made the book sacred(神圣的), as have your brother and sister.

“Wow,” I thought. “This is punishment?”

The years and the books came and went. Our family _____ what all families go through and perhaps a little bit more. But we _____ knew our parents loved us and that one of the proofs(证明)of their love was the hymnal by the piano.

Dad taught us about_____really matters in life: people, not objects; tolerance(宽容), not judgment; love, not anger. Now I, too, am a father. But unlike my father, I do not wait for daughters _____ to take books from my bookshelf and scribble in them. From time to time I take one down, and give it to one of my _____to scribble in. and as I look at their artwork, I think about my father and the_____he taught me.

1.A、book         B、pen     C、knife     D、toy

2.A、wrong      B、special         C、dangerous    D、different

3.A、dropped          B、read    C、borrowed   D、opened

4.A、all    B、both    C、either         D、each

5.A、picked up         B、put up          C、made up      D、wrapped up

6.A、hated       B、needed       C、loved          D、disliked

7.A、moved     B、took    C、brought       D、borrowed

8.A、old   B、birthday    C、aged   D、named

9.A、thanked   B、asked  C、respected D、pleased

10.A、spent     B、experienced        C、supported D、afforded

11.A、ever       B、sometimes  C、never         D、always

12.A、what       B、why     C、which D、who

13.A、quickly   B、secretly     C、carefully      D、suddenly

14.A、children          B、sisters C、brothers      D、parents

15.A、skills       B、rules   C、lessons      D、subjects