COOL INVENTIONS
CHARGE ON THE GO
From school to band practice, the Venturi Eclectic is an Earth-friendly way to get where you want to go. This battery-powered, zero-emission(meaning it doesn’t pollute the air) vehicle runs mainly on renewable energy. Solar panels on the Eclectic’s roof absorb sun rays when you’re driving. On windy days, you can connect a machine to the car’s roof collects energy from the wind while you’re parked. The Eclectic’s top speed is 28 miles an hour; the battery lasts for 31 miles before it needs to be recharged. Zipping （迅速行进）round the neighborhood has never been better.
WATER CLOCK
Here’s an eco-friendly way to tell time: Simply fill the Bedol Water-powered Clock’s tank（箱）with water, add some lemon juice, and the clock will display the time without the need for environmentally harmful batteries. There are two sets of metal electrodes（电极）inside the water tank. Water contains ions（离子）that carry negative and positive charges. These ions complete a charge between the electrodes creating enough energy to power the clock. Just refill the tank every few weeks, and this clock will keep on ticking.
LAND ROCKET
Bloodhound SuperSonic Car (SSC) will be the first car to attempt to break the 1,000-mile-an-hour barrier. (The current record is 763 miles an hour.) a concept for now, the rocket-shaped car gets its initial push to 350 miles an hour from a jet engine. Then a rocket fires up, pushing the SSC past 1,000 miles an hour. In order to keep the car streamlined（流线型的）the driver lies back at a 45-degree angle.
COOL CAMERA
You’re having a blast at your friend’s birthday party. But when it’s time to bring out the cake, everyone crowds around, blocking your view. No worries. Throw the Triops into the air, and this clever camera captures the view from above. The Triops can take three pictures at once, each from different angles. You can also record sounds and command the Triops to start shooting whenever it hears that noise. That’s one smart camera.
1．According to the passage, the Venturi Eclectic______.
A．is popular with businessmen
B．is suitable for a long trip
C．can turn wind into energy
D．has only a little gas emission
2．What is the common characteristic of the Venturi Eclectic and the Bedol Water-powered Clock?
A．They don’t need batteries.
B．They are difficult to operate
C．They can be powered by water
D．They are environmentally friendly
3．The underlined phrase “having a blast” in the last paragraph means______.
A．looking at a picture     B．enjoying yourself    
C．blowing out a candle       D．recording sounds
4．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The Triops in sensitive to sounds.
B．The driver of the SSC must be of great size.
C．The color of the Bedol Water-powered Clock is like that of lemon
D．The SSC doesn’t have anything to do with a rocket actually.

It takes less than six seconds to leave a first impression. It is said that we ought not judge a book by its cover, but come on, isn’t it the color, the design, the layout, and the title that draw us to pick up a book we’ve never heard of before? Notice what your assumptions are about a person when you are first introduced to her or him.

Something that most of us don’t take notice of is how we stand or walk. Let’s say you are going for a job interview. Within seconds you have already said a lot about yourself by the way you walk. The majority of us walk around everyday without paying any attention to what we are saying even though we are not uttering a word. There is a lot that can be said about body language from the clothes you wear to the gestures you make.

I took notice of this topic recently as I recalled something about changing my posture to improve my level of confidence. I was about to venture on a new project, which would take me out of my comfort zone. My gremlins (小精灵) were having a field day with me uttering all kinds of reasons why I couldn’t do a good job with this new opportunity. I tucked in my tummy (收缩肚子) , put my shoulders back , held my head high , and took a walk. Soon thereafter, I felt so much better. I approached the project with new possibility. Wow, what a difference ! Try it !

The ability to capture your audience when you walk into a room is sure to start you off on the right foot when going on an interview. Non-verbal signals have five times the impact of verbal (言语的)signals. So you can count on losing your audience when you walk in with head down dragging your feet regardless how much you try to change it.

1.In the first paragraph the author intends to tell us         .

2.The author approached his project with new possibility after        .

3.According to the author , when we go for a job interview , we       .

4.The author probably believes that        .

5.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

My friend Michelle is blind, but you’d never know it. She makes such good use of her other    , including her “sixth sense”,   she rarely gives the impression she’s missed anything.

  Michelle looks after her children pretty much like the rest of us, except that she doesn’t push too hard on them, who really benefit a lot from her relaxed attitude. She knows when to clean the house, she moves around so fast that often the    don't realize she's blind.

  I realize this the first time after my six-year-old daughter, Kayla, went to play there. When Kayla came home, she was very   about her day. She told me they had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was   excited about her finger-painting project.

  “Mom, guess what?”said Kayla, all smiles. “I learned how to      colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! And Michelle      with us.”

  To my great      my child had learnt about color from a blind friend!

  Then Kayla continued, “Michelle told me my       showed joy, pride and a sense of accomplishment. She really      what I was doing!’’ Kayla said she had never felt how good finger paints felt      Michelle showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.

  I realized Kayla didn’t know that Michelle was blind. It had just never come up in conversation.

  When I told her, she was      for a moment. At first, she didn’t believe me. “But Mommy, Michelle knew exactly what was in my picture!” Kayla     . And I knew my child was      because Michelle had listened to Kayla describe her artwork. Michelle had also heard Kayla's pride in her work.

  We were silent for a minute.Then Kayla said slowly, “You know, Mommy, Michelle really did ‘see’ my picture. She just used my      .’’ Indeed, she uses a special type of “vision” that all mothers have.

1.A.ways      B.means         C.methods      D.senses  

2.A.which     B.when          C.that          D.as

3.A.guests     B.family         C.children      D.friends

4.A.excited    B.sad            C.satisfied      D.enjoyed

5.A.especially  B.not so          C.a little       D.not at all

6.A.paint      B.draw           C.mix         D.create

7.A.stayed     B.painted         C.talked       D.played

8.A.excitement  B.encouragement  C.delight       D.surprise

9.A.attitude     B.color           C.picture      D.paper

10.A.touched    B.distinguished    C.saw         D.understood

11.A.after      B.before          C.until         D.when

12.A.curious    B.quiet           C.puzzled      D.worried

13.A.cried      B.insisted         C.complained   D.informed

14.A.right      B.wrong          C.worried       D.uncertain

15.A.paper     B.pens            C.hands        D.eyes

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would ___1__.”

Blue interrupted, “You only think about the __2__, but consider the sky and the sea. __3__ the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. Without my peace, you would all be __4__.”

Yellow chuckled (笑道), “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun, and __5__ into the world.”

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, “I am the color of health and strength. I may be __6__, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky __7__, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another __8__ to any of you.”

Red could stand it __9__ and he shouted out, “I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to __10__ truth. I am also the color of passion and of love.”

Then came Purple and Indigo (深蓝) …

The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own __11__. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder. Rain started to pour down __12__. The colors crouched (蜷缩) down __13__, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor (叫嚷), rain began to speak, “You foolish colors, fighting __14__ yourselves, each trying to dominate __15__. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, __16__? Join hands with __17__ and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors __18__ and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow. From then on, whenever a good rain ___19__ the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to __20__ one another.

1. A. stay                     B. leave                    C. go out                     D. die

2. A. earth                   B. moon                          C. star                         D. sun

3. A. That is                 B. I am                        C. It is                         D. This is

4. A. anything              B. nothing                    C. something             D. everything

5. A. warmth                      B. sadness                   C. depression              D. anxiety

6. A. usual                   B. normal                     C. common              D. scarce

7. A. at midnight           B. at noon or at night     C. at sunrise or sunset   D. during the day

8. A. gift                      B. honor                      C. thought                   D. respect

9. A. for more              B. any more                 C. very much                   D. no longer

10. A. turn to                      B. fight for                   C. struggle with            D. bend over

11. A. superiority          B. disadvantages           C. inferiority                D. weakness

12. A. gently                B. quietly                     C. violently                  D. peacefully

13. A. with care           B. in fear                     C. by chance               D. on purpose

14. A. among                   B. by                           C. for                          D. against

15. A. others                B. themselves               C. the other                  D. the rest

16. A. equal and simple  B. ordinary and similar   C. more or less          D. unique and different

17. A. each other          B. me                          C. one another              D. them

18. A. combined           B. separated                 C. united                      D. divided

19. A. cleans                B. washes                    C. brightens                 D. dampens

20. A. appreciate          B. quarrel with             C. ignore                     D. praise

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出适合填入对应空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。、

When I was in primary school, I got into a major argument with a boy named Tom in my class. I can’t remember what it was about,  21  I have never forgotten the  22  I learned that day.

I was  23  that I was right and he was wrong--and he was sure that I was wrong and he was right. The  24  decided to teach us a very important lesson. My English teacher, Ms Green  25  both of us up to the 26  of the class and  27  him on one side of her desk and me on  28 . In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could  29 see that it was black. She asked the boy what  30  the object was. “White,” he answered.

I couldn’t believe he said the object was white,  31  it was obviously black! Another  32  started between my classmate and me, this time about the  33  of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed  34  and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I  35  answer, “White.” It was an object with two  36  colored sides, and from his side it was white.  37  from my side was it black.

My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must  38  in the other person’s shoes and look at the  39  through their eyes in order to  40  understand their view.