A Nobel Prize(诺贝尔奖) is considered by most people one of the highest international honors a person can receive. As you know, the prizes were started by a Swede(瑞典人) called Alfred Nobel. He was born in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Alfred Nobel was a great scientist. He made two important inventions, and so he became very rich. Although he was rich, Nobel was not a happy man. He never married or had children. Also, he was a sick man during his large part of life. When he died at the age of 63, he left a fund(资金) of $9,000,000. The money was to be used in giving prizes to those who made great achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature(文学), and for world peace.
The first Nobel Prizes were given on December 10, 1901, five years after Nobel’s death. Since then many famous people from all over the world have been given Nobel Prizes for their achievements.
Each prize has three parts. The first part is a gold medal. Second, a winner of a Nobel Prize is given a diploma saying that he has been given the prize. The third part of the prize is a large amount of money-about $40,000.
Often a prize is given to just one person, but not always. Sometimes a prize is shared. It may be given to two or more people who have worked together. It is also sometimes true that a prize is not given at all if there is no great achievement. In 1972, for example, no Nobel Peace Prize was given.
【小题1】When was Alfred Nobel born?

FUN TIME

Have you ever seen a horse with toes? Millions of years ago, horses had many toes. They had four toes on each front foot. They had three toes on each back foot. The horses were smaller than cats.
These small horses lived in the forest. Their many toes helped the horses run over the soft wet ground.
It was very hot in the forest. But the weather changed. It became cold. Many trees couldn’t live in cold weather. The trees died and fell. Forests became open field. The sun made the ground dry and hard. Horses began to change too. They began to get bigger. This took a long time. On the dry hard land, horses needed only their middle toes for running. At last their middle toes became hard.
【小题1】Long ago, the horse had four toes on each of its __________.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon(巴比伦空中花园)

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built in the 7^th century BC and are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were amazing not only because of their beauty, but also because of their location.
In the 7^th century BC a king named Nebudchadnezzar II created the gardens as a sign of love for his wife, Amyitis. According to legend, Amyitis, the daughter of the king of the Medes, was homesick. She missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland.
Upon marrying Nebudchadnezzar II, Amyitis moved to the ancient chief city of Babylon. The area was in the Mesopotamian desert, and the climate there was totally different from where she had left. So the new queen was very sad about the flat and the sun-baked desert. To make Amyitis happier and more comfortable the king decided to build her a series of magnificent gardens.
Many think of the gardens as an otherworldly creation that hung in the air somehow. But experts agree that the gardens were actually built on a mountainside, rather than actually “hanging”.
The hanging Gardens of Babylon are famous. Stories of them spread throughout the ancient world, and ancient writers recorded a large number of descriptions of the gardens, but some wonder whether this paradise of the past ever existed. There are no historical records of it except stories. Whatever may happen, even the idea of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is amazing. They were essentially impossible to create because of the climate, but they were kept in the minds of many as a botanical beauty created in the middle of unattractive desert scenery.
【小题1】Hanging Gardens of Babylon are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, aren’t they?
【小题2】What makes the Hanging Gardens of Babylon so amazing and famous?
【小题3】Why did the king Nebudchadnezzar II create Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
【小题4】What made the Hanging Gardens of Babylon essentially impossible to create?
【小题5】According to the experts, were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon really hanging or built on a mountainside?
【小题6】Did Hanging Gardens of Babylon really exist? What makes you think so? (In no more than THREE sentences)

Most Americans enjoy moving from place to place. For example, they often drive their cars 120 to 160 kilometres away just to have dinner with a friend or even fly to London or Paris just to watch a football match. In some states only one person in five lives in a place for more than five years. One may be born in one city, and go to school in another. He may finish his middle school in two or three cities, and then go to college far across the country. When he begins to work, he may possibly move from job to job. Moving from one job to another, which is called “job-hopping”, can be seen in many places in the United States.
Job-hopping does good to workers because every change of a job gives them a chance to get better pay. And job-hopping also gives bosses the chance to get new ideas and skills from him or her.
【小题1】From this passage, we can see Americans often travel to _______________.

In the 1920s and 30s the airlines were just beginning. It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous. In those days, there were no flight attendants to look after the passengers(乘客). Young men ,or “stewards” helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers’ luggage(行李)but they did not provide food or drinks. But then in 1930,a woman called Ellen Church invented the “stewardess”.
Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa. She was a different child. She didn’t want to work on a farm or marry a farmer —she wanted a more adventurous life. Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital. For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot’s license.
Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport. She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man’s world. Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot .But she had another idea. Most people were frightened of flying because. flying was still an unreliable(不可靠的) way to travel. There were often delays(延误),many crashes and the bad weathers made many passengers sick. Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B.A.T. agreed.
The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses.
At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses. In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines. The early “stewardesses” had to be under twenty-five-year-old, single and slim. When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children. It was a hard job and not well paid. They worked long hours and earned ＄1 an hour.
In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes. Since the 1970s, “stewardesses” have been called flight attendants. They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past.
【小题1】The underlined word “adventurous” means _____________.

In the 1920s and 30s the airlines were just beginning. It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous. In those days, there were no flight attendants to look after the passengers(乘客). Young men ,or “stewards” helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers’ luggage(行李)but they did not provide food or drinks. But then in 1930,a woman called Ellen Church invented the “stewardess”.
Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa. She was a different child. She didn’t want to work on a farm or marry a farmer —she wanted a more adventurous life. Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital. For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot’s license.
Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport. She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man’s world. Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot .But she had another idea. Most people were frightened of flying because. flying was still an unreliable(不可靠的) way to travel. There were often delays(延误),many crashes and the bad weathers made many passengers sick. Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B.A.T. agreed.
The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses.
At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses. In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines. The early “stewardesses” had to be under twenty-five-year-old, single and slim. When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children. It was a hard job and not well paid. They worked long hours and earned ＄1 an hour.
In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes. Since the 1970s, “stewardesses” have been called flight attendants. They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past.
【小题1】The underlined word “adventurous” means _____________.

In modern society, people use money every day. It seems that it is very important in our life. That’s because without money you can’t buy any goods(商品) you want. But I think few people know the history of money.
Long ago, people did not need money. They lived on wild animals, fruits and other plants. As time passed, people learned to raise animals and crops. Sometimes, families produced more than they needed, so they started to trade with other families. Later, people began to use money as a means of exchange. However, it was not the kind of money we use today. They used shells, rice, salt, large stones, etc.
During the 600s BC, people began using coins as money. They soon found that coins were easier to carry than goods and lasted a long time. Later, countries began to make their own coins.
The Chinese were the first to use paper money, probably as early as the 11^th century. The Italian traveler Marco Polo saw the Chinese using money when he visited China in the 1200s. However, European countries did not start using paper money until 1600s.
Today, we have many ways to pay for things. We do not use coins or paper money. Often, people prefer to pay for things by card. Paying with a card is easier and safer than carrying around a lot of “real” money.
【小题1】  People used ________ as a means of exchange before the 7^th century BC.
A. paper money       B. card          
C. large stone         D. coins
【小题2】From the passage, we know that European countries used paper money in the ________.

Thousands of years ago, people didn't live in cold places because they didn't know how to keep themselves warm. Later they learned to make clothes. When an animal was killed, they made use of its skins to cover their bodies.    【小题1】  .
【小题2】   . It once helped people find fire, when lighting hit a forest and started a fire.    【小题3】    The fire kept them warm, and also frightened wild animals. Soon people found the food cooked tasted much better, so they began to use the fire to cook food.
But people still didn't know how to make a fire. When they got a fire from the forest they tried to keep it burning.    【小题4】
But later they found different ways to make fire. For example, they made fire by burning wood or knocking two pieces of stones.
Today it's easy for people to make fire because they have matches, lighters and different kinds of heaters.    【小题5】
根据短文内容，把A-E五个选项填入文中空缺处，使短文内容完整、正确。

Halloween falls on October 31st. It is one of the most favourite holidays for children in the USA. People dress up in costumes (化妆服装) like a witch (巫婆), a ghost （鬼）or a skeleton （枯髅）. The children go to houses to say “Trick or treat!” Long ago, if a child was not good, he or she would get a trick like having a stone in his or her bag instead of some candy. Nowdays, no one gets tricks. All the children receive lots and lots of candy. Parties are also popular in the evening. People go to parties in costumes and play different games. People also like listening to ghost stories and watching scary (恐怖的) movies.
【小题1】 What do you know about Halloween?
【小题2】 How do people celebrate Halloween?
【小题3】 Who go to houses to say “Trick or treat!”
【小题4】 Which do children receive nowadays, stone or candy?
【小题5】 What else do people do besides going to parties and playing different games?