Many people know the names Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. However, most people don’t know the name of the man who invented the television, Philo Farnsworth.
Philo Farnsworth was born in 1906 and grew up on a potato farm. As a boy, he loved to learn about science, and he read a lot of science books. When he was only thirteen years old, he drew a picture of a machine that could send pictures as radio sends sounds. He got the idea from the way the potatoes were planted in the field. The potatoes grew in long lines, side by side. This made a shape in Philo’s mind. This shape helped Philo think of a way to send the TV picture onto a piece of glass. But he was poor, so Philo could not try to make his idea into a machine at that time.
Later, Philo worked at many different jobs. He worked with trees. He worked on broken radios. He worked on trains. He also worked as a street cleaner. At last, two rich men heard about his idea for television, and they gave him the money to make it. On September 7th, 1927, they watched Philo test the machine he built. When Philo turned on the machine, a small line could be seen on the glass. Philo said, “There you have it, electric television.”
Later, a big company, RCA, said they had made the first television. Philo had to spend a lot of money on lawyers to fight them. Finally, he won. Then, World War Two started in 1939. During the war, Philo spent a lot of money helping the US army instead of building up his television company. After the war, other bigger, richer companies started making televisions. In the end, Philo had to sell his company.
【小题1】Why does the author mention Bell and Edison at the beginning of the text?

NEW YORK— Picking a Christmas tree takes most people a few minutes, or a couple of hours if they head for the woods. Dave Murbach needs 11 months.
Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.
Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree that makes more attractive Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.
“I'm always looking for a tree,” the center's chief gardener says. “I look for it even when I go to the beach in the summer. It' s like a homework assignment hanging over your head.”
And if he gets it wrong, there's nothing hiding it.
“Every day it's up, 400,000 people go by, and 2.5 million people watch the lighting celebration on television,”he says.
This year’s tree, a 74-foot Nomy spruce (云杉) from Richfield, Ohio, flown to New York on the world's largest cargo plane, was lighted on December 2.
The arrival of the tree leads in the Christmas season in New York — a tradition dating back to 1931, when the workers building Rockefeller Center put up a small tree with ornaments (装饰品). 
The search for the next year's tree starts soon after the old tree is chopped up for wood chips and horse-jumping logs.
Murbach has three standards: The tree must be at least 65 feet high, at least 35 feet across and leaves dense (密集的) enough not to see through.
That's not as simple as it sounds. Though forests are full of evergreens, few get enough sunlight or space to fill out. And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.
Back at the office, he sorts through hundreds of letters from people offering their trees, many addressed simply to “Mr. Christmas Tree Man.”
Though there was occasional anxiety attack and sleepless night, Murbach knows the effect the tree has on people: “It's for bringing people together, attempting to bring together people you love. That's what I hope it sets off.”  But Murbach says he's always too worn out to celebrate Christmas

1. 1.

   Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?
   a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.
   b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.
   c. The tree is flown to New York.
   d. It was lighted on December 2.
   e. The tree is chopped up.
   f. Murbach searches for the tree

   1. A.
      a, b, c, d, e, f
   2. B.
      c, d, b, f, e, a
   3. C.
      c, d, e, b, a, f
   4. D.
      a, f, c, d, b, e
2. 2.

   Murbach spends a lot of time         that are exhibited in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season

   1. A.
      taking care of Christmas trees
   2. B.
      deciding on the perfect evergreens
   3. C.
      sorting the letters from people
   4. D.
      deciding the TV programs
3. 3.

   Why does Murbach take his job seriously?

   1. A.
      Because he wants everyone to be happy with his choice
   2. B.
      Because he hopes to make everybody unable to breathe
   3. C.
      Because he enjoys showing off
   4. D.
      Because he wishes to attract people's attention to himself
4. 4.

   According to Murbach' s standard of trees, the best tree must_______

   1. A.
      be evergreen
   2. B.
      have lots of space between their branches
   3. C.
      be tall enough not to see through
   4. D.
      be equally balanced
5. 5.

   What kind of person do you think Murbach is?

   1. A.
      A person always ignoring his family
   2. B.
      A person full of love
   3. C.
      A person devoted to his work
   4. D.
      A person with great anxiety

Many people know the names Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. However, most people don’t know the name of the man who invented the television, Philo Farnsworth.
Philo Farnsworth was born in 1906 and grew up on a potato farm. As a boy, he loved to learn about science, and he read a lot of science books. When he was only thirteen years old, he drew a picture of a machine that could send pictures as radio sends sounds. He got the idea from the way the potatoes were planted in the field. The potatoes grew in long lines, side by side. This made a shape in Philo’s mind. This shape helped Philo think of a way to send the TV picture onto a piece of glass. But he was poor, so Philo could not try to make his idea into a machine at that time.
Later, Philo worked at many different jobs. He worked with trees. He worked on broken radios. He worked on trains. He also worked as a street cleaner. At last, two rich men heard about his idea for television, and they gave him the money to make it. On September 7th, 1927, they watched Philo test the machine he built. When Philo turned on the machine, a small line could be seen on the glass. Philo said, “There you have it, electric television.”
Later, a big company, RCA, said they had made the first television. Philo had to spend a lot of money on lawyers to fight them. Finally, he won. Then, World War Two started in 1939. During the war, Philo spent a lot of money helping the US army instead of building up his television company. After the war, other bigger, richer companies started making televisions. In the end, Philo had to sell his company.

1. 1.

   Why does the author mention Bell and Edison at the beginning of the text?

   1. A.
      To remember both of them.
   2. B.
      To prove their wisdom.
   3. C.
      To introduce the topic of the text.
   4. D.
      To explain their relationships.
2. 2.

   According to the text, how old was Philo when he finished his invention of TV?

   1. A.
      27 years old.
   2. B.
      21 years old.
   3. C.
      33 years old
   4. D.
      39 years old
3. 3.

   Philo Farnsworth got the idea for TV from ______.

   1. A.
      the radio
   2. B.
      science books
   3. C.
      potato fields
   4. D.
      a machine
4. 4.

   The underlined part “building up” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.

   1. A.
      starting
   2. B.
      selling
   3. C.
      putting up
   4. D.
      making bigger
5. 5.

   Which is the correct order of the following events?
   a. Two rich men gave Philo money to do experiments.
   b. Philo sold his own company.
   c. Philo beat RCA in law.
   d. Philo fixed broken radios.
   e. Philo showed his invention to others.

   1. A.
      d, a, e, c, b
   2. B.
      e, d, c, b, a
   3. C.
      d, c, e, b, a
   4. D.
      a, c, b, d, e

“It was cool，because I got a chance to be in a studio and see how a record is made，”says 14-year-old Javon Martin，who joined the music clubhouse 3 years ago.“It has impacted my life in a big way. People are actually starting to see me as an artist.”Ten-year-old Akheylah Hunter didn’t play an instrument when she became a club member last year. Now，she plays piano and sings with the band. What she likes best，she says，is performing.“We performed in different places，”she says.“We go on trips and it is fun.”

Since the Music Clubhouse opened three years ago，it’s served almost 500 kids.Aggeler says performing in front of different audiences helps the young musicians build self-esteem.Coming to the club to prepare for those performances helps them learn how to deal with their personal problems and concerns.

“I can see what it does for them and it just develops confidence，”he explains.“It’s also an escape from the big problems we have in the neighborhood. So whether they feel embarrassed about a zit on their face，or they feel embarrassed because they’re not as tall as somebody，they can rap about it and let it out a little bit.”

To expand the club and help more kids learn music，Aggeler sought the support of the community. The Berklee College of Music and local music stores have provided free equipment. The club has also gotten support from the Music and Youth Initiative，a nonprofit that develops after school music education programs in underserved communities in Massachusetts. All these have made it possible to provide kids who may not have the means to get private music lessons the opportunity to still learn music and get all the benefits that music education brings.”

1.Why does the writer mention the two children in the first paragraph？

2.Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a benefit of joining the club？

3.What is Mr.Aggeler’s possible post？

4.What does the writer intend the passage to be？

5.Which of the following might NOT be included in activities of the club？

Urban legends are stories that are told and believed in many places．Too many places，in fact．It simply isn’t credible that the same unlikely events take place in so many different towns．For some reason，though，that particular set of events appeals to the imagination and the tale spreads．

A very common North American urban legend concerns a mad man in the woods．A dangerous mad man has escaped from a hospital for the mentally ill．At some point in his life he has lost a hand and it has been replaced by a hook．A boy and a girl are out dating，sitting in a car．They hear on the radio that the area is dangerous，so they drive off．When they arrive home they find a bloodstained hook hanging on the door handle of the car door next to the girl．

Missing kidney(肾)stories are fairly common．Of course，the details are variable．It might be a woman waking up in a strange hotel in Bangkok，or a man finding himself in a cold bath in Toronto．or a young man with faint memories of wild disco party，but they all find a flesh wound，and discover that one of their kidneys has been removed and，probably, sold．

The back seat killer has plenty of drama．A woman gets into her Car late at night．Another Car follows her, speeding，flashing lights and really frightening her．She gets home and keeps on pressing the horn．Her husband runs out．The chasing car stops．The husband demands to know why the driver has been frightening his wife．He says he saw a strange man get into the back of the car as the wife got in，and then hide．They go and look，and there is a dangerous mad man...

1.What is the writer’s attitude towards “urban legends”?

2.What can be inferred from the hook hanging on the Car door?

3.What do we know about the three people mentioned in the third paragraph?

4.Why does the woman driver keep on pressing the horn?

5.How should we describe the second driver in the 4th paragraph?