Inventions All Around Us

Every invention has a story. These stories often have a lesson to teach, too. Here are the stories of some everyday household inventions.

Canned Food and the Can Opener—Get It Right!

Peter Durand invented canned food in 1810, but there was a problem. Durand didn't have a good way to open the cans. In 1858, Ezra Warner invented a can opener. It used a piece of metal to cut and remove the top from the can, but it was difficult to use. Finally, in 1870, William Lyman added a wheel to the can opener. The metal went around the top of the can and removed it easily. Finally, people were able to open cans without a lot of work. Canned food was soon popular.

Frozen Food—A Little Good Luck Can Help!

Clarence Birdseye had the chance to go on a trip toe Arctic. When people there caught fish, they put the fish in a container (容器) of ice to freeze it quickly. When people cooked the fish later, it was still good! This gave Birdseye an idea. He thought people could also have this kind of food at home. In 1926, Birdseye invented frozen food. People were able to store food in freezers for a long time.

Air Conditioning—One Answer to Two Problems!

Printing companies make books, so they use a lot of paper. Sometimes, changes in the weather can hurt the paper. In 1902, Willis Carrier invented air conditioning to control the temperature inside his printing company. This saved the paper. People soon realized other benefits of air conditioning. They started to air condition their homes in the summer. Carrier's invention changed the world!

1. When was canned food invented?

A. In 1810. B. In 1870.

C. In 1902. D. In 1926.

2.After the trip to the Arctic, Clarence Birdseye invented ____________.

A. canned food B. can openers

C. frozen food D. air conditioning

3.Changes in weather _____________ in Willis Carrier's company.

A. helped to keep food

B. hurt printing paper

C. caused health problems

D. made rooms comfortable

47. 4.According to the passage, which of the following may lead to inventions?

A. People's needs. B. Public support.

C. Modern technology. D. Practical suggestions.

It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth. “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”

It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random (隨意的) kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed (使某人印象深刻) her so much that she copied it down.

Judy Foreman saw the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “l(fā)ike a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, saying that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.

Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.

“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence (暴力) can build on itself.”

The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been encouraged to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!

1. Why did Natalie Smith pay for the six cars behind her?

A. She had seven tickets.

B. She hoped to please others.

C. She wanted to show kindness.

D. She knew the car drivers well.

2. Judy Foreman copied down the phrase because she ___ .

A. thought it was beautifully written

B. wanted to know what it really meant

C. decided to write it on a warehouse wall

D. wanted her husband to put it up in the classroom

3.Who came up with the phrase according to the passage?

A. Judy Foreman. B. Natalie Smith.

C. Alice Johnson. D. Anne Herbert.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. People should practice random kindness to those in need.

B. People who receive kindness are likely to offer it to others.

C. People should practice random kindness to strangers they meet.

D. People who receive kindness are likely to pay it back to the giver.

No one else knew about the extra (額外的) club in Zach Nash's golf bag. It belonged to a friend, and Zach forgot it was there as he played his way to win in a junior tournament (錦標(biāo)賽) this summer in Wisconsin, US.

The 14-year-old accepted his medal, and celebrated with grandparents who had come from a long way to watch. But when he stopped by his country club to share the news, a professional player noticed something wrong. "Count your clubs," he told the teenager.

Fifteen—one more than allowed. Zach's eyes filled with tears.

If Zach had just won a basketball or a soccer game and someone had discovered an offence (違反) after the win, it would not have mattered.

Bending the rules has become acceptable, if not encouraged, in many sports. It is nothing unusual for soccer players to make a turtle dive (假摔) in the hope of breaking rules.

Golf is different. In a win at all costs world, the game holds itself to a higher standard.

Golf isn't a game where referees (裁判) watch closely. In golf tournaments, dozens of competitors are spread across acres of land, so officials cannot hope to see each shot. Competitors call punishments on themselves.

Players feel the weight of history. Golf began at least the 15th century, but it became popular as a pastime for the wealthy who seemed to always have strict rules of behavior, even when it came to shooting at each other in rights.

"It was a sport for gentlemen, not laborers, and gentlemen did not care about winning. They cared about doing the right thing," said Robert Simon, a golf coach at Hamilton College in New York.

Honesty became a symbol of honor. When one of the game's early stars, Bobby Jones, was praised for calling a penalty on himself at the 1925 US Open. He replied, "You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank."

So even the error had no effect on Zach's final score—he never used the extra club, the teenager packed up his medal and dropped it in the mail. "But this was golf, and rules are rules. I just knew what I had to do," he said.

Then came another tournament. Before teeing off, Zach counted his clubs four times.

1.Zach Nash returned the medal he won in the junior tournament because________.

A．he was caught cheating by a player

B．he decided to follow the rules of golf

C．he used another player's club by mistake

D．he made a mistake counting his final score

2.Which of the following statements about golf is TRUE according to the passage?

A．In golf, honor comes before win.

B．Early golf players didn't care about the rules.

C．Golf players usually do whatever it takes to win.

D．Golf referees watch each shot and call punishments.

3.The underlined phrase "teeing off" in the last paragraph probably means "____ ".

A．getting started B．getting caught

C．leaving D．winning

4.What is probably the best title of the passage?

A．Zach's medal. B．The history of golf.

C．Honesty counts in golf. D．Golf is rich men's game.

Water rides — Something that really attracts you!

The water rides are the most popular rides. 1.__ The boat slides down very fast into the water! You can buy your ticket before you go to the theme park. Then you do not have to stand in a long line. 2. _ If more than 10 people go to the theme park together, it costs less. There is a ticket machine beside each ride. You can stand in line for your turn. Or you can take a ticket that gives a time you can go on that ride. Then you can do something else while you are waiting.

3.__ This is because when you are scared, your knuckles become white! It is a strange idea to pay more money to be scared, but many people do that because they want to enjoy the excitement of the rides! Sometimes they laugh and scream! At the theme parks, there are special rides for young children. Of course, the children’s rides are not fast or high or scary. 4._ The children are safe when they sit inside the teacups and the ride goes around very slowly.

Sometimes there are animals like rabbits and sheep for children to see at a theme park. So there are lots to do and see. You will sleep very well after you have been to a theme park for the day! 5.__ Or would you be too scared? Do you think that your mother and father would enjoy this ride?

What should you do if you want to have a nice photo taken? Whether it’s work or fun, the most important thing is lighting. If you get bad lighting, you will look bad, too. Know where the light is. You don’t want it below you or above you, you want it to shine directly at you.

The key thing is no shadow（陰影）. If you are being photographed outside, do it in the morning, or wait till the 2 o’clock shadow has passed. Also don’t let pictures in the magazines stress you out – all the pictures are taken by great photographers. And all the faces have had pimples (丘疹，粉刺) taken out by computers.

Tip your head and learn what angles (角度) work with your face. Everyone is different. So you have to learn what suits you. You can practice in Photo Booth for as long as it is your turn, to learn what angles suit your face. Tip your neck to make it look longer, make eye contact with the camera. No one can look bad if they smile.

For long legs, point one leg into center of the frame and get the photographer to shoot looking up your body.

For just leg shots, lie upside down and raise legs in the air for the best angle. And your legs will look thinner and be in better shape.

Keep shoulders back.

Always have mouth slightly open, enough to put a penny between your lips, as this will make your lips look fuller.

Lower your eyes and then look up just as shutter (快門(mén)) is clicked for full eyes.

Try to catch every perfect photogenic moment!

1.What is the most important thing when you take photos?

2.When is better to take photos outside?

3. What should you learn when you practice in Photo Booth?

4. What should you do with your shoulders when taking photos?

5.What is the passage mainly talking about?

文段表達(dá)。（15分）

根據(jù)中文和英文提示，寫(xiě)一封意思連貫，符合邏輯，不少于50詞的回信。信的開(kāi)頭和結(jié)尾已給出，其詞數(shù)不計(jì)入所要完成的回信內(nèi)。所給英文提示詞語(yǔ)僅供選用。請(qǐng)不要寫(xiě)出你的校名和姓名。

假如你叫李華，你的美國(guó)朋友Jim通過(guò)郵件與你探討有關(guān)中學(xué)生做家務(wù)的話題，他想了解你對(duì)中學(xué)生做家務(wù)的看法。請(qǐng)你根據(jù)他的問(wèn)題回復(fù)郵件。

提示詞語(yǔ)：help, love, parents, busy

Do you do chores at home or not?

Why do you do that or not?

What do you think of doing chores at home?

The pretty girl is my good friend. __________ name is Grace.

A. Her B. His C. Your D. Its

— Do you know your mother’s birthday?

— Yes. It’s January 8th.

A．a(chǎn)t B．in C．on D．To

— How do you like math?

— I think it’s than English.

A. difficult B. more difficult

C. most difficult D. the most difficult

Hurry up, you can’t finish the work on time.

A．a(chǎn)nd B. so C. but D．or