Have you ever wished that you could make your little sister’s teddy bear talk to her? Or have you ever wanted to bring a puppet (木偶) to life? If so, you may be interested in learning the art of ventriloquism (腹语术). A ventriloquist can make an ordinary object seem to be alive by giving it a personality, movement, and speech.
Your object can be a puppet, or a doll. Give your new “friend” a name, and then decide on the personality that he will have. The next step is to give your friend movements that agree with the personality you have chosen.
Now you can learn to make your “friend” talk. A ventriloquist will control his mouth and lips so that it will appear that his voice is coming from the object he is using. This will take practice, but you can do it.
First, decide on a voice that is different from your own. It could be higher or lower than yours, or could even have a special accent. Then, find a clean teaspoon and hold the handle between your front teeth. Now, using the voice you created for your friend and holding the handle of the teaspoon tightly between your teeth, look into a mirror and talk. Practicing with the spoon in your mouth will help you learn to keep your mouth from moving. Now try telling a joke in your normal voice and have your friend speak in his voice. Practice those words until you can say them without your lips moving at all.
Ventriloquism is fun. It also requires hard work to become good at it. The most important thing to do is practice. But if you are willing to take the time to give your friend an interesting personality, to practice lively movements, and to work on good mouth control, then you will be well on your way to becoming a ventriloquist!
【小题1】According to the text, a ventriloquist           .

Have you ever wished that you could make your little sister’s teddy bear talk to her? Or have you ever wanted to bring a puppet (木偶) to life? If so, you may be interested in learning the art of ventriloquism (腹语术). A ventriloquist can make an ordinary object seem to be alive by giving it a personality, movement, and speech.

Your object can be a puppet, or a doll. Give your new “friend” a name, and then decide on the personality that he will have. The next step is to give your friend movements that agree with the personality you have chosen.

Now you can learn to make your “friend” talk. A ventriloquist will control his mouth and lips so that it will appear that his voice is coming from the object he is using. This will take practice, but you can do it.

First, decide on a voice that is different from your own. It could be higher or lower than yours, or could even have a special accent. Then, find a clean teaspoon and hold the handle between your front teeth. Now, using the voice you created for your friend and holding the handle of the teaspoon tightly between your teeth, look into a mirror and talk. Practicing with the spoon in your mouth will help you learn to keep your mouth from moving. Now try telling a joke in your normal voice and have your friend speak in his voice. Practice those words until you can say them without your lips moving at all.

Ventriloquism is fun. It also requires hard work to become good at it. The most important thing to do is practice. But if you are willing to take the time to give your friend an interesting personality, to practice lively movements, and to work on good mouth control, then you will be well on your way to becoming a ventriloquist!

1.According to the text, a ventriloquist           .

   A. is a person who can make puppets

   B. needs to work with another person

   C. can speak without using his mouth

   D. can make an object seem to speak

2.You need to hold the handle of a teaspoon between your front teeth so that           .

   A. your voice will change

   B. your mouth won’t move

   C. you can look humorous

   D. you can feel your mouth’s movements

3.If you want to be good at ventriloquism, you          .

   A. need to spend much time practicing

   B. must learn from famous ventriloquists

   C. should learn at least one special accent

   D. must have a great doll to practice with 

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. How to tell jokes             

B. How to make puppets

C. Secrets of ventriloquism       

D. Tips on making friends

Have you dreamed of building your own machine? Do you wish you could invent something new? Here we look at a few British inventions of recent times.

Adaptable glasses

Do you wear glasses? If so, can you imagine life without them? In 1985, Joshua Silver, a professor at Oxford University, asked himself, “Can I invent a pair of glasses that could be changed by the wearer?” He designed two plastic lenses（透镜）that are filled with a special liquid. Using syringes（注射器）you change the liquid between the lenses until you can see clearly. The glasses are not beautiful but they are easy to use and cheap to make.

The wind-up radio

When you switch your TV on tonight, think about all those people without electricity. Thinking about this, Trevor Baylis came up with the idea of designing a radio that could be powered by hand. In common with Joshua Silver he wanted his invention to be cheap and easy to use. He wanted even the poorest people in developing countries, who don’t have electricity and cannot afford batteries, to use it. The radio has a generator (发电机) which is powered by turning a handle. In 1996 it won a BBC Design Award for Best Protect and Best Design.

The Dyson cleaner

In many homes around the world you can see a cleaner that looks like a spaceship. This is the Dyson vacuum (真空) cleaner which uses something called “cyclonic separation” to separate the dirt. You do not need a bag for your cleaner and it does not get blocked so it is very practical. The idea came to Sir James Dyson after he kept having problems with his vacuum cleaner. He decided he could design a better one and in 1993 he opened his own factory. The Dyson is now one of the best-selling cleaners in the UK and Dyson is believed to have earned over a billion pounds.

The Zapata fly-board

Ever dreamed of zooming through the water and leaping in the air like a dolphin? Now you can thanks to a fly-board, built by water sports enthusiast Frank Zapata. With it you can dive back in the water and out again. It’s possible to jump to incredible heights out of the water — over 30 feet. The basic fly-board model comes in at ￡4,200.

So keep dreaming and inventing. One day you might get it right.

1.What can we learn about Adaptable glasses?

A. They are very expensive.                                                  B. The inventor is a student.

C. The glasses are fragile.                                            D. They don’t look very nice.

2.Which invention won an award?

A. Adaptable glasses.                                                           B. The wind-up radio.

C. The Dyson cleaner.                                                           D. The Zapata fly-board.

3.The Dyson cleaner was invented with the purpose of _________.

A. helping people use cleaners more easily

B. making Dyson a rich businessman

C. keeping the house cleaner than before

D. taking the place of human cleaners

Have you dreamed of building your own machine? Do you wish you could invent something new? Here we look at a few British inventions of recent times.

Adaptive glasses

Do you wear glasses? If so，can you imagine life without them? In 1985，Joshua Silver，a professor at Oxford University，asked himself，“Can I invent a pair of glasses that could be changed by the wearer？”He designed two plastic lenses(透镜) that are filled with a special liquid.Using syringes(注射器) you change the liquid between the lenses until you can see clearly.The glasses are not beautiful but they are easy to use and cheap to make.

The wind­up radio

When you switch your TV on tonight，think about all those people without electricity.Thinking about this，Trevor Baylis came up with the idea of designing a radio that could be powered by hand.In common with Joshua Silver he wanted his invention to be cheap and easy to use.He wanted even the poorest people in developing countries，who don't have electricity and cannot afford batteries，to use it.The radio has a generator(发电机) which is powered by turning a handle.In 1996 it won the BBC Design Award for Best Product and Best Design.

The Dyson vacuum(真空) cleaner

In many homes around the world you can see a cleaner that looks like a spaceship.This is the Dyson vacuum cleaner which uses something called “cyclonic，separation” to separate the dirt.You do not need a bag for your cleaner and it does not get blocked so it is very practical.The idea came to Sir James Dyson after he kept having problems with his vacuum cleaner.He decided he could design a better one and in 1993 he opened his own factory.The Dyson is now one of the bestselling cleaners in the UK and Dyson is believed to have earned over a billion pounds.

The Zapata Flyboard

Have you ever dreamed of zooming through the water and leaping in the air like a dolphin? Now you can thanks to a flyboard，built by water sports enthusiast Frank Zapata.With it you can dive back in the water and out again.It's possible to jump to incredible heights out of the water—over 30 feet.The basic flyboard model comes in at ￡4，200.

So keep dreaming and inventing.One day you might get it right.

16．Which might be the best title for the passage?

A．Greatest Inventions  B．Scientists' Stories

C．Magic Glasses  D．Beautiful Minds

17．What can we learn about adaptive glasses?

A．They are very expensive.

B．The inventor is a student.

C．The glasses are fragile.

D．They don't look very nice.

18．Which invention won an award?

A．Adaptive glasses.

B．The wind­up radio.

C．The Dyson vacuum cleaner.

D．The Zapata Flyboard.

19．The Dyson vacuum cleaner was invented with the purpose of ________．

A．helping people use cleaners more easily

B．making Dyson a rich businessman

C．keeping the house cleaner than before

D．taking the place of human cleaners

    How can you help kids cope with （对付）stress? Proper rest and good nutrition can improve coping skills, so can good parenting. Make time for your kids each day. Whether they need to talk with you or just be in the same room with you, make yourself available.

Even as kids get older, quality time is important. It’s really hard for some people to come home after a tiring day of work, get down on the floor, and play with their kids or just talk to them about their day -- especially if they’ve had a stressful day themselves. But expressing interest in your kids shows that they’re important to you.

Help your child deal with stress by talking about what may be causing it. Together, you can come up with a few solutions.  For example, he should cut back on after-school activities, spending more time talking with his parents or teachers, developing an exercise plan or keeping a journal.

You can also help by predicting potentially stressful situations and preparing kids for them. For example, let a child know ahead of time, but not too far ahead of time, that a doctor’s appointment is coming up and talk about what will happen there. Keep in mind, though, that younger kids probably won’t need too much advance preparation. Too much information can cause more stress.

Remember that some level of stress is normal, Let kids know that it’s OK to feel angry, scared, lonely, or anxious and that other people share those feelings, too.

When kids can’t or won’t discuss these problems, try talking about your own concerns. This shows that you’re willing to handle tough topics and are available to talk with when they’re ready. If a child shows symptoms that concern you and is unwilling to talk, consult a counselor （顾问）or other mental health experts.

Most parents have the skills to cope with their children’s stress. The time to seek professional attention is when any change in behavior continues to exist, when stress is causing serious anxiety, or when the behavior is causing significant problems in functioning at school or at home.

59. What is the purpose of the text?

    A. To share the author’s ideas on proper parenting.

    B. To persuade parents to spend more time with their kids.

    C. To advise parents how to help their kids deal with stress.

    D. To seek different ways to help solve kids’ problems.

60. Why do some parents feel it difficult to spare quality time for their kids?

    A. Their kids are growing so fast.        B. They have too much housework.

    C. Their kids are losing interest in them.   D. They are tired out after work.

61. You are advised not to talk too much about a stressful situation in advance because ________.

    A. it does no good to your kids          B. it doesn’t work in practice

    C. your kids may not feel stressed        D. your kids don’t want to listen

62. What can we learn from the text?

    A. Normal people share the same feelings.

    B. It is normal for kids to have some stress.

    C. Kids should get rid of the negative feelings.

    D. Everybody feels angry, scared, lonely or anxious.