An inventor seeks to create a new product that serves a specific need and fulfills a role that other products do not. Sometimes an inventor comes up with a wholly new idea, but more often inventions are simply improvements on an older design. With a little imagination and creativity (创造力), an old idea can suddenly become something new.

However, creating a new invention means much more than having a brilliant idea. A good designer follows the design process: identifying the challenge, researching and brainstorming ideas(集思广益), designing a solution, testing and evaluating the ideas, and finally building the product. Designers also use science, math, technology, and engineering to design a tool that satisfies the need they identified.

Anyone can be an inventor —even kids! For example, Chester Greenwood was just fifteen years old when he invented a product that changed his life. In fact, his idea was so good that his invention supported him for the rest of his life. You may not know his name, but you probably know his invention —earmuffs (保暖耳罩)!

The inspiration for his earmuff design came to Chester when he was ice-skating. His ears were cold, and he decided to find a way to keep them warm. With the help of his grandmother, he made a new product to protect his ears and at the age of eighteen, Chester patented his earmuff design.

Many other famous inventors started young as well. Margaret Knight —the inventor of the flat-bottomed brown paper bag —is said to have created a safety device for textile looms(织布机) when she was just twelve years old. Another example is Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors in history, who applied for his first patent when he was just twenty-one years old. Over the course of his life, Thomas Edison patented a total of 1,093 inventions!

1.In most cases, an invention ________ according to the first paragraph.

A．comes from a complete new idea           B．is usually based on an old product or idea

C．will change its creator’s life completely     D．is created by scientists in different fields

2.The second paragraph mainly wants to tell us _______.

A．the difficulty in making a new invention      B．the common steps of creating new things

C．having a good idea is the key to creation      D．designing a tool is the first step in inventing

3.The example of Chester Greenwood is used to show that ________.

A．children can also invent something

B．it is easy even for children to make inventions

C．kids have more advantages in inventing things

D．to be an inventor is the best way to change one’s life

4.At first Chester designed his earmuffs in order to ________.

A．protect his ears while ice-skating

B．earn money to support his poor family

C．realize his dream of becoming an inventor

D．make himself look fashionable while ice-skating

B
You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At the start they only fight with their fists. But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead！Of course he isn't really dead. With any luck he isn't even hurt. Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains are professionals. They do this for a living. These men are called stuntmen. That is to say, they perform tricks. There are two sides to their work. They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building. However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress (床垫). Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar! But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stuntman' s success depends on careful timing. For example, when he is "blown up" in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment.
Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed. A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff (悬崖) a thousand feet high. His parachute (降落伞) failed to open, and he was killed. In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only. Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action. For nowadays there are stuntgirls tool.
46. Stuntmen are those who ______.
A. often dress up as actors
B. prefer to lead dangerous lives
C. often perform seemingly dangerous actions
D. often fight each other for their lives
47. Stuntmen earn their living by ______.
A. playing their dirty tricks
B. selling their special skills
C. jumping out of high windows
D. jumping from fast moving trains
48. When a stuntman falls from a high building, ______.
A. he needs little protection
B. he will be covered with a mattress
C. his life is unprotected
D. his safety is generally all right
49. Which of the following is the main factor (因素) of a successful performance?
A. Strength.   B. Exactness.   C. Speed.   D. Carefulness.
50. What can be inferred from the author' s example of the Norwegian stuntman?
A. Sometimes an accident can occur to a stuntman.
B. The percentage of serious accidents is high.
C. Parachutes must be of good quality.
D. The cliff is too high.

An inventor seeks to create a new product that serves a specific need and fulfills a role that other products do not. Sometimes an inventor comes up with a wholly new idea, but more often inventions are simply improvements on an older design. With a little imagination and creativity (创造力), an old idea can suddenly become something new.
However, creating a new invention means much more than having a brilliant idea. A good designer follows the design process: identifying the challenge, researching and brainstorming ideas(集思广益), designing a solution, testing and evaluating the ideas, and finally building the product. Designers also use science, math, technology, and engineering to design a tool that satisfies the need they identified.
Anyone can be an inventor —even kids! For example, Chester Greenwood was just fifteen years old when he invented a product that changed his life. In fact, his idea was so good that his invention supported him for the rest of his life. You may not know his name, but you probably know his invention —earmuffs (保暖耳罩)!
The inspiration for his earmuff design came to Chester when he was ice-skating. His ears were cold, and he decided to find a way to keep them warm. With the help of his grandmother, he made a new product to protect his ears and at the age of eighteen, Chester patented his earmuff design.
Many other famous inventors started young as well. Margaret Knight —the inventor of the flat-bottomed brown paper bag —is said to have created a safety device for textile looms(织布机) when she was just twelve years old. Another example is Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors in history, who applied for his first patent when he was just twenty-one years old. Over the course of his life, Thomas Edison patented a total of 1,093 inventions!
【小题1】In most cases, an invention ________ according to the first paragraph.

It is not unusual at all for teens to answer their parents with one work answers. “Where are you going?” “Places.” “When will you be back?” “Sometime.” “Who will you be with?” “People.”

That means that the days of your children bounding in the front door with the details of their day are over. They are breaking away from you so that they’ll be able to stand on their own as a young adult.

Some parents feel sad about this loss of their children’s closeness. Of course you miss those conversations and friendly talks. Once your children move out after high school and establish themselves confidently as a young adult, they’ll come back for easy conversations and even ask for advice. But in order to determine who they are right now they need to separate from you.

Your job, however, is to keep them safe——and that requires knowing there they are and who they are with. Let them know clearly that it’s not because you want to dominate their life and control them; it’s because it’s a safety issue for family members to keep track of one another.

When they’re home and sit down to eat a meal, sit down with them. You need to open up to them about your life. Tell them of an interesting incident at the office, let them in on a bit of family gossip(闲谈), discuss a piece of news with them. They are glad that you see them as old enough to be in on a few experiences of your life. By letting a teen in on your life, they just may let you in of theirs

1.The underlined word “That” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to “      ”.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that       .

3.The author believes that teens’ one-word answers show      .

4.What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

5.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

Around the world more and more people are ___1___ dangerous sports and activities. Of course there have always been people who have ___2___ adventure—those who have climbed the ___3___ mountains, explored unknown parts of the world or ___4___ in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however, there are people who look for an immediate pleasure from a ___5___ activity which may only last a few minutes or even ___6___.

I would consider bungee jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You ___7___ from a high place about 200 meters above the ground with an elastic rope ___8___ to your ankles. You ___9___ at up to 150 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from ___10___ the ground. It is said that 2 million people around the world have now ___11___ bungee jumping. Other activities, ___12___ most people would say are as dangerous as bungee jumping, ___13___ jumping from tall buildings and ___14___ into the sea from the top of high rocks.

Why do people take part in such activities as these? Some psychologists(心理学家) suggest that it is because life in ___15___ societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people’s lives were constantly under ___16___. They had to go out and hunt for ___17___, and life was a continuous battle for survival.

Nowadays, according to many people, life offers ___18___ excitement. They live and work in relatively safe condition; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to ___19___ them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to ___20___ danger in activities such as bungee jumping.

1. A. escaping from       B. taking part in     C. going in     D. taking in

2. A. looked up      B. looked into C. looked for  D. looked around

3. A. lowest    B. highest       C. beautiful    D. wild

4. A. sailed     B. swam  C. jumped      D. crossed

5. A. safe B. excited       C. funny  D. dangerous

6. A. years      B. seconds      C. hours  D. days

7. A. jump      B. run     C. walk   D. cross

8. A. followed B. tied     C. brought      D. took

9. A. go   B. run     C. fall     D. fly

10. A. falling  B. running      C. flying D. hitting

11. A. tried     B. looked for  C. found  D. studied

12. A. that      B. which C. it D. what

13. A. hold     B. include       C. find    D. contain

14. A. swimming    B. running      C. diving D. sailing

15. A. old       B. modern      C. past    D. formal

16. A. safety   B. imperfection      C. danger       D. perfection

17. A. animals B. food   C. water  D. dangers

18. A. few      B. little   C. much  D. many

19. A. look at  B. look into    C. look for     D. look after

20. A. look for       B. look after   C. explore      D. find