Philo Farnsworth was a man who made it possible for one of the most important communication devices — television to be created. Philo was born on August 19th, 1906, near Indian Creek in the western state of Utah. He attended a very small school near his family’s farm. He did very well in school. He asked his teacher for special help in science. The teacher began helping Philo learn a great deal more than most young students could understand.

One night, Philo read a magazine story about the idea of sending pictures and sound through the air. Anyone with a device that could receive this electronic information could watch the pictures and hear the sound. The magazine story said some of the world’s best scientists were using special machines to try to make a kind of device to send pictures.

14-year-old Philo decided these famous scientists were wrong and that mechanical devices would never work. He decided that such a device would have to be electronic. Philo knew electrons could be made to move extremely fast. All he would have to do was to find a way to make electrons do the work.

Very quickly Philo had an idea for such a receiver. It would trap light in a container and send the light on a line of electrons. Philo called it “light in a bottle”.

Several days later, Philo told his teacher about a device that could capture pictures. He drew a plan for it, which he gave his teacher. Philo’s drawing seemed very simple, but it clearly showed the information needed to build a television. In fact, all television equipment today still uses Philo’s early idea.

Philo Farnsworth was only 14 years old then. He knew no one would listen to a child. In fact, experts say that probably only ten scientists in the world at that time could have understood his idea.

On September 7th, 1927, Philo turned on a device that was the first working television receiver. In another room was the first television camera. Philo had invented the special camera tube earlier that year.

The image produced on the receiver was not very clear, but the device worked. In1930, the United States government gave Philo patent documents. These would protect his invention from being copied by others.

56. Before he was 14 years old, _______________.

A. Philo had formed the idea of sending pictures and sound through the air

B. Philo had learned a great deal in science from his father

C. Philo had helped his parents on their family’s farm

D. Philo had had a very strong interest in science

57. How did Philo get the idea of inventing a television?

A. By learning from his science teacher.

B. By reading a story about the idea in a magazine.

C. By thinking hard himself.

D. By using his knowledge about electrons.

58. Philo referred to “ _________ ” when he called something “light in a bottle”.

A. a container sending pictures and sound through the air

B. a light box with a line of electrons in a bottle

C. a receiver that held light and sent it on a line of electrons

D. a way to make electrons send pictures

59. We can infer from the passage that _________________.

A. without his teacher’s help, he would never have become interested in science

B. he made the first working television receiver and the first television camera himself

C. Philo’s early ideas about the television could not be understood by most people of that time

D. his invention was recognized and protected immediately he made it

60. In the passage, the author mainly tells us _______________.

A. that Philo Farnsworth was a great inventor

B. when and where the television was invented

C. who made it possible to create television

D. how Philo Farnsworth invented the television

Andy was born with a developmental(发展的disorder. The two sides of his brain were not        normally together. The right side of his        could not communicate with the left.  At the age of three, it was      for him to walk, speak, and play. He could only echo (重复) back a few words, and walked        while someone held each of his hands.

Then came the     . He attended an all-day center where he       every unimaginable treatment. He struggled, sometimes in        , to get stronger. Andy hated it when his parents would       him there in the

mornings. However, they       —against all odds(逆境)—that he would grow up to live a       healthy life. They believed it for themselves, and for Andy.

It      .Today Andy is a successful 13-year-old high school student and has won the gold medal for his math competition. His _____ has been nothing short of a wonder. He receives special help with a few things, but _____ his friends in all the activities he loves. Andy overcame a lot of      to move from adversity (逆境) to victory.  

Ask yourself: “What are the seeds of       hidden in my struggles today? If I get up when I      , what will that make possible tomorrow? ”

A new report says only about half of all students in the main school systems of America’s largest cities finish high school. The report notes higher rates of graduation — over 70% —in areas surrounding the cities. Researchers studied high school graduation rates from the 2003, 2004 school year. They also identified the nation’s fifty largest cities. The largest, New York City, had a population of more than eight million. The smallest city was Wichita, Kansas. It had about three hundred and sixty thousand people.

Researchers used a system of measurement called the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates. School officials in many of the cities studied said the resulting numbers were too low. That is because different areas use different methods to find graduation rates. Critics say many methods do not give a true picture of the number of students who leave high school before finishing.

Other studies have put the national graduation rate at about 70%. But experts agree that too many students are not completing high school. They estimate the number at more than one million each year. The report was prepared for America’s Promise Alliance. The private group aims to help children receive services they need to succeed.

General Colin Powell was chairman of America’s Promise Alliance when it was formed in 1997. He attended the press conference Tuesday where the report was released. He said studies have shown that the US must do more to educate the leaders and work force of the future.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings also spoke. She said the government will propose that states use the same methods when reporting graduation rates. Alliance officials also announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates. It is to include a series of meetings to be held in every state over the next two years. The meetings will bring together elected leaders, business owners, students, parents and education officials. They will develop plans to increase the number of Americans who finish high school.

1.The author wants to tell us ___________.

  A. too many Americans do not finish high school

B. different methods to find graduation rates

C. services American children need to receive

D. the increase of the number of Americans who finish their high school

2. From Paragraph 1 we can infer that __________.

  A. there are 8,360,000 people in the US’ fifty largest cities

B. Wichita in Kansas is the smallest city in the US

C. 50% of the people in the US don’t finish their high school education

D. high school graduation rates in or near the biggest cities are higher

3.The underlined word “picture” probably can be replaced by “_______”.

  A. situation        B. scene         C. image         D. mood

4.From the last paragraph, we can draw a conclusion that _______-.

  A. secretary of Education Margaret Spellings didn’t believe that number from the report

B. the government will stop using the cumulative promotion index to find graduation rates

C. secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the start of a nationwide campaign to improve graduation rates

D. the low graduation rates should be paid attention to by the government and the society

Ted Turner, achieved high goals and great success by the time he was 43. Best known for his CNN, Ted Turner launched a second nationwide all-news network, Headline News, purchased the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and became the world's best yachtsman at the America's Cup in 1977. In 1982 Ted Turner was named by Forbes one of the 400 richest people in the US. He was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1992. How did Ted Turner accomplish all of this at such a young age?
Ted Turner's father, Ed, was a self-made millionaire who demanded that his only son try to achieve similar success. He instilled in the boy a strong belief that hard work was good. Besides reading a new book every two days, Ted Turner was also charged rent at home during summer vacations from boarding school. Ed Turner was a strong influence in his son's life.
As a child, Ted Turner lived a very lonely life, often separated from his family. He was enrolled in a military academy in the fifth grade and eventually went to Brown University. He attended college off and on, became involved in sailboat racing, and became a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. In his early twenties, Ted Turner became general manager of one of his father's branch offices in Georgia.
Two years later after his father’s suicide, Ted Turner took over the company. He soon discovered that he was more skilled than his father in managing the business. During the next twenty years, Ted Turner worked hard to accumulate enough power and money to fulfill his father's dream.
Reflecting on his father's death, however, Ted Turner realized that it was dangerous to put too much emphasis on material possessions. He decided to use his hard-earned influence to serve the public. Concerned about the environment, Ted Turner established the Better World Society in 1985. The purpose of this organization was to produce documentaries to educate people about pollution, hunger, and the danger of building weapons of mass destruction. In 1986 Turner began sponsoring the Goodwill Games to promote world peace. The Turner Tomorrow Awards were created to encourage writers and thinkers to focus their attention on solving world problems. The Turner Family Foundation was established in 1992.
【小题1】 What is CNN according to the passage?

Most people have heard of Shakespeare and probably know something of the plays that he wrote.However，not everybody knows much about the life of this remarkable man，except perhaps that he was born in the market town of Stratford?upon?Avon and that he married a woman called Anne Hathaway.We know nothing of his school life.We do not know，for example，how long it lasted，but we presume(推测)that he attended the local grammar school，where the principal subject taught was Latin.

Nothing certain is known of what he did between the time he left school and his departure(出发)for London.According to a local legend，he was beaten and even put in prison for stealing rabbits and deer from the estate of neighbouring landowner，Sir Thomas Lucy.It is said that because of this he was forced to run away from his native place.A different legend says that he was apprenticed(做学徒)to a Stratford butcher, but did not like the life and for this reason decided to leave Stratford.

Whatever caused him to leave the town of his birth，the world could be grateful that he did so.What is certain is that he set his foot on the road to fame when he arrived in London.It is said that at first he was without money or friends there，but that he earned a little by taking care of the horses of the gentleman who attended the plays at the theatre.They stopped and spoke to him.They found his conversations so brilliant(有才气的)that finally he was invited to join their company.

1．In the early life of Shakespeare，he ______.

A．attended a public school　　　　　　 B．lived in London

C．studied Latin　　　　　　　　　　　 D．was put in prison for stealing cattle

2．Why was he forced to leave his native place according to this passage?

A．Because he didn’t want to go to school.

B．Because he left for London to become famous.

C．Because he had stolen deer and was beaten.

D．No one knows for certain.

3．What is the reason why the world could be grateful?

A．He wrote many world?famous plays.　　　　　 B．He was an actor.

C．He lived a hard life.　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．He liked to travel all over the world.

4．“In time，as he became a familiar figure”“in time” means ______.

A．on time 　　　　 B．sometime　　　　　 C．some time later 　　 D．some time

5.The best title is ______.

A．The Early Life of Shakespeare　　　　　　　 B．Shakespeare’s Life in London

C．Shakespeare’s Role in Performance　　　　 D．Shakespeare’s Later Life