My name is Ralph and I am 42 years old. I work in a factory that I enjoy very much. On May 27, 1999, I was working on an automatic machine. While working my hand was pulled into the machine and my middle finger on my right hand was ripped off. I had surgery to replace what was left of the finger and now I have a finger that is almost as long as my index finger.

Over the years I have been very blessed for a full and healthy life. Most of all, blessed for having my wife. We have grown together and grown in our faith. Life is going to go on with or without my finger. I was not going to let this take over my life and I pushed to go back to work and got light duty.

This was where my lesson began. When I returned to work, I started getting comments and some teasing from people asking me if it was worth losing my finger over a pack of cigarettes. Someone started a rumor that I had dropped a pack of cigarettes and reached down to pick them up and that is how I lost my finger. This is not true. This rumor hurt more than losing my finger in that machine. Everyone was called in to a meeting to resolve this matter and get the story straight. I had to share my lesson.

We can ruin a person’s life by just a few bad words. There is an old saying that I will never forget: “Words and water are easily poured, but impossible to recover.” So please remember to watch what you say.

1.According to the author, his index finger on his right hand is almost as long as ________.

A. his middle finger on his right hand

B. his middle finger on his left hand

C. his thumb on his right hand

D. his thumb on his left hand

2.From the second paragraph, we know that the author ________.

A. was not happy with a short finger

B. had a good relationship with his wife

C. didn’t want to work any more in the factory

D. wanted to find an important job

3.The rumour about the author is that he lost his finger ________.

A. when he was picking up a pack of cigarettes that had fallen into the machine

B. because he was not careful and smoked when running the machine

C. because he was too sleepy to operate the machine properly 

D. when he was reaching down to fix something wrong in the machine

4.Which of the following can match the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A. Nothing is really beautiful but truth.

B. Bad words are meaningless.

C. Lies having short legs can do harm.

D. Words cut deeper than swords.

My name is Ralph and I am 42 years old. I work in a factory that I enjoy very much. On May 27, 1999, I was working on an automatic machine. While working my hand was pulled into the machine and my middle finger on my right hand was ripped off. I had surgery to replace what was left of the finger and now I have a finger that is almost as long as my index finger.

Over the years I have been very blessed for a full and healthy life. Most of all, blessed for having my wife. We have grown together and grown in our faith. Life is going to go on with or without my finger. I was not going to let this take over my life and I pushed to go back to work and got light duty.

This was where my lesson began. When I returned to work, I started getting comments and some teasing from people asking me if it was worth losing my finger over a pack of cigarettes. Someone started a rumor that I had dropped a pack of cigarettes and reached down to pick them up and that is how I lost my finger. This is not true. This rumor hurt more than losing my finger in that machine. Everyone was called in to a meeting to resolve this matter and get the story straight. I had to share my lesson.

We can ruin a person’s life by just a few bad words. There is an old saying that I will never forget: “Words and water are easily poured, but impossible to recover.” So please remember to watch what you say.

1.According to the author, his index finger on his right hand is almost as long as ________.

2.From the second paragraph, we know that the author ________.

3.The rumour about the author is that he lost his finger ________.

4.Which of the following can match the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

My name is Ralph and I am 42 years old. I work in a factory that I enjoy very much. On May 27, 1999, I was working on an automatic machine. While working my hand was pulled into the machine and my middle finger on my right hand was ripped off. I had surgery to replace what was left of the finger and now I have a finger that is almost as long as my index finger.
Over the years I have been very blessed for a full and healthy life. Most of all, blessed for having my wife. We have grown together and grown in our faith. Life is going to go on with or without my finger. I was not going to let this take over my life and I pushed to go back to work and got light duty.
This was where my lesson began. When I returned to work, I started getting comments and some teasing from people asking me if it was worth losing my finger over a pack of cigarettes. Someone started a rumor that I had dropped a pack of cigarettes and reached down to pick them up and that is how I lost my finger. This is not true. This rumor hurt more than losing my finger in that machine. Everyone was called in to a meeting to resolve this matter and get the story straight. I had to share my lesson.
We can ruin a person’s life by just a few bad words. There is an old saying that I will never forget: “Words and water are easily poured, but impossible to recover.” So please remember to watch what you say.

1. 1.

   According to the author, his index finger on his right hand is almost as long as ________.

   1. A.
      his middle finger on his right hand
   2. B.
      his middle finger on his left hand
   3. C.
      his thumb on his right hand
   4. D.
      his thumb on his left hand
2. 2.

   From the second paragraph, we know that the author ________.

   1. A.
      was not happy with a short finger
   2. B.
      had a good relationship with his wife
   3. C.
      didn’t want to work any more in the factory
   4. D.
      wanted to find an important job
3. 3.

   The rumour about the author is that he lost his finger ________.

   1. A.
      when he was picking up a pack of cigarettes that had fallen into the machine
   2. B.
      because he was not careful and smoked when running the machine
   3. C.
      because he was too sleepy to operate the machine properly
   4. D.
      when he was reaching down to fix something wrong in the machine
4. 4.

   Which of the following can match the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

   1. A.
      Nothing is really beautiful but truth.
   2. B.
      Bad words are meaningless.
   3. C.
      Lies having short legs can do harm.
   4. D.
      Words cut deeper than swords.

　　In 1901 a German scientist named William Roentgen received the first Nobel Prize for Physics．He had discovered X-rays．He made his discovery when he noticed that in certain experiments a special kind of light was made by the cathode rays (阴极设线) hitting a screen．The other scientists working with him had noticed this light but they did not think it was important．Roentgen was the first person to ask himself questions about this special kind of light．When he examined it, he discovered a new kind of radiation called X-rays．

　　We often think that a creative idea suddenly comes into our heads from nowhere．This is not usually the case it comes because we are ready to receive it．When someone asked Isaac Newton how he had discovered the laws of gravity, he replied, “I am certain that any mind working on a problem continuously will be prepared for the sudden answer．” Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1921 and said that there are discoveries waiting to be made if people continue to look and study all the time．

　　One of the problems facing creative people is that their ideas may be too new for the rest of the world．It often happens that people laugh at the work of artists and scientists．Barbara McClintock is a good example of someone who continued to think she was right although for 30 years other scientists thought that she was wrong．Finally, her work proving that genes (基因) can make sudden change in heredity (遗传) won her the Nobel Prize in 1983．

　　Many creative people looking for ideas or solutions find them in a visual (视觉) form first．Elias Howe, the man who invented the sewing machine, had a big problem facing him．He could not understand how to connect the needle to the rest of the machine．Needles had always had a pointed end, with the hole at the other end．One night in a dream he was attacked by people with sharp spears (矛)．In the morning he said, There is the answer staring me in the face! He made a hole in the sharp end of the needle and then connected it to the sewing machine．

　　What kind of creativity do you have? You can help your creativity by asking lots of questions, preparing a piece of work

carefully and taking some sensible risks．Work hard and change your way of working sometimes alone, sometimes in a group．Have fun! Be creative!

1．We can infer from the passage that creativity means ________．

[　　]

A．the imagination to find a way of doing things

B．the plan to make an important discovery

C．the ability to make something different

D．the power to make something new

2．The writer's purpose in writing this passage is________．

[　　]

A．to tell some interesting stories

B．to prove that people are creative in many ways

C．to praise some great scientists

D．to explain why some people are clever

3．Which of the following statements is best supported by the third paragraph?

[　　]

A．Believe in your own ideas．

B．Pay attention to your dreams．

C．Ask questions about everything around you．

D．Collect as much information as you can．

4．Which of the following statements is FALSE?

[　　]

A．You can be more creative if you read a lot．

B．You can promote your creativity by asking lots of questions．

C．You can help your creativity by getting into the habit of thinking about ordinary things．

D．Doing a lot of preparations can make you more creative．

I love science and science fiction. Like many science fiction fans, I am fascinated by the possibility of time travel. However, one must combine romance with reasoning and look into the chances of time travel critically.

First of all, we must remember the whole universe is in motion. If we want to go back to yesterday, our "time machine" has to move back in time and space. If someone claimed he was at home when he suddenly travelled 200 years back in time, he either had an illusion or made the story up. Two hundred years ago, Earth was in a different place in space, so how can you travel back 200 years without moving in space? Don't get me wrong. I am not knocking the genius of science fiction writers. H.G. Wells's "The Time Machine" is a great work of fiction, but that’s all. I have read many other time travelling science fiction stories since reading H.G. Wells, but none address this problem of displacement.

My own argument for the impossibility of time travel is that physical states of the past no longer exist and those of the future are not here yet. To be able to move back and forth in time requires everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen everywhere in the whole universe at every single moment in time－past, present, and future－to be stored as a "reality" somewhere－like the save game file of a computer game that contains every single byte of information of the game at the point it was saved, but you would need an almost extremely large file and almost extremely many of them－so it can be re-entered and communicated with, and not just light signals for viewing. To me, I don’t buy it.

1.Which of the following can be the best title?

    A. How to make time travel possible?

    B. Why am I fascinated by time travel?

    C. Why do I think time travel is not possible?

    D. How to explain the possibility of time travel?

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “illusion”?

    A. success          B. dream                C. switch               D. support

3. According to the author, which of the following is RIGHT?

    A. We can go back to the past by time travel.

    B. People can travel to the future by moving in space.

C. “The Time Machine” is nothing more than a science fiction.

    D. Everything that happened, is happening and will happen can be stored somewhere.

4.In the author’s opinion, time travel might be possible if                            .

    A. people could combine romance with reasoning

    B. people could stop the movement of the whole universe

C. people could use time machine under the instruction of H.G. Wells

    D. people could “save” everything in the past, present and future in a certain space