Did you ever wonder how some of your favorite foods, products or toys came about? Believe it or not, they may have been an accident, or a failure of some other intention. Below, we found three mistakes we’re thankful for turned out to be what they are.

1. Most historians hold that the Chinese invented fireworks in the 9th century when they

discovered how to make gunpowder. Story has it that a Chinese cook accidentally mixed together what were then considered common kitchen items and noticed they burnt. When put tightly in a bamboo tube and lit, it blew up.

2. In May of 1886, a law led John Pemberton, a pharmacist（药剂师）, to rewrite the formula(配方) for "Pemberton’s French Wine Coca,” his popular headache treatment. Containing sugar instead of wine as a sweetener, the outcome became something for Coke, which was later mixed with carbonated water. His bookkeeper suggested the name Coca-Cola because he thought the two C’s would look good together, which is how what we call Coca-Cola, a world –wide drink came into being.

3. During World War II, scientists at the University of Birmingham invented the magnetron—an important heat-producing part of the microwave oven(微波炉). While working for Raytheon Corporation after the war, the American engineer Percy Spencer was testing the magnetron when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He went on to test other foods including popcorn kernels, and found it to be a much more efficient way to cook. In 1947 Raytheon came out with the first restaurant microwave oven, which was six feet tall and weighed 750 lbs.   

The right time order of the three inventions, according to the passage, should be_________.

A. fireworks, the microwave and Coca-Cola

B. fireworks ,Coca-Cola and the microwave

C. Coca-Cola , fireworks and the microwave

D. the microwave, Coca-Cola and fireworks

Percy Spencer found the microwave efficient in cooking when he was _______.

A. looking for a way to melt his chocolate

B. trying to know how a magnetron could cook

C. working to know how the magnetron works

D. asked to invent a restaurant microwave oven

What can we learn from the above invention stories? 

A. Experiments make great inventors of our time.     

B. Nothing is impossible if one tries each day.

C. Inventors come out of hard work at any time.

D. A small incident may lead to a great invention.

What’s the best title for the passage?

A. What great inventions they are!               B. Inventions from Three Countries.

C. Stories of Accidental Inventions.          D. The Human Inventions of time.

A businessman had two sons. While he gave the younger son a lot of love and gifts, he neglected (忽视) the elder son. It was completely puzzling (令人费解) and no one knew why.

When the boys grew up, they were asked to manage the father’s business. The elder son was absorbed in the business. From morning till late in the evening, he was busy working. Within a few years, he ran the business very well and even expanded (扩大) it.

What about the younger son? He didn't have much to do except have a good time. But the father believed that his favorite son would be a success. If the elder son could be a successful businessman, surely the younger one, with a higher education, would do much better.

A few years later, the results of his decision became clear. Uninterested in business, the younger son continued spending his time enjoying himself. And he went out of business. But the elder son’s far smaller share (份) of business had expanded and he had proved himself to be a good decision maker.

Ashamed at the turn of events, the father met the elder son and was angry with the younger one. The elder son, who was listening to all this quietly, suddenly said he wanted to set up an independent business and live on his own.

“Why?” asked the father.

“I blame (责备) one person for the way my brother has turned out, and it’s not him. You can’t blame children for the faults (过失) of their parents, can you?” asked the elder son.

Before the younger son went into the father’s business, he______.

A. was interested in business          B. had achieved great success

C. often looked down upon his brother  D. was well-educated at school

Why did the father treat the two sons differently?

A. the elder son didn’t work hard      B. no one knew why he did it

C. the younger son was hardworking   D. he wanted to do an experiment

Which is NOT the reason for the younger son’s going out of business?

A. he himself didn’t work hard

B. his father didn’t educate him properly

C. he was not interested in business at all

D. he was busy working every day

What does the text really want to teach us?

A. Parents are responsible for children’s development.

B. Once something is done, you should do it well.

C. Interest is the most important for success.

D. One has responsibility for what he himself has done.

A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.

“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components(元件), ”said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.

They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.

While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.

Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day-to-day basis.”

72. The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that ________.

A. they had no model in their mind

B. they did not have sufficient time

C. they had no ready-made components

D. they could no assemble the components

73. It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly_________.

A. consists of a flight device and a control system

B. can just fly in limited areas at the present time

C. can collect information from many sources

D. has been put into wide application

74. Which of the following can be learned from the passage?

A. The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects.

B. Animals are not allowed in biological experiments.

C. There used to be few ways to study how insects fly.

D. Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments.

75. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A. Father of Robotic Fly

B. Inspiration from Engineering Science

C. Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect

D. Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study

B
See in your mind’s eye where you really want to be in ten years’ time．Choose your own values, activities, and relationships rather than copying tubers．
While working with troubled teens, I used to haste them do a Ten Years game in the Future exercise．I asked them to write a letter to a friend as if it was ten years in the future．Most of these boys and girls didn’t think about the next week, much less ten years to come．This lack of “foresight”was a major reason why their lives were pretty messed up．But the real story is what happened to me．I did the exercise right along with them on many occasions, writing my dreams in detail．In my letter to a friend, I had moved to the country, built my own home, authored a book, and started my own business．
Over the next ten years, something magic happened．All my dreams became true, almost as if orchestrated (精心安排) by an unseen hand．I realized that something very powerful was happening, more powerful than expected．I did write books and start my business．We did move to the country and I did build my own home．
This letter to a friend will become a magnetic factor in your life．Your vision will guide you in your yearly goals, your monthly goals, and your daily activities．
You must write your letter as if it has already happened．For example:
“Leslie, I just wanted to make contact again and tell you about my life．I started my own gardening business in 2012 and it’s really taken off．”
“Dear Harold, I met the love of my life in 2016 and we moved to Hawaii where Frank works in a bookstore and I give surfing lessons everyday．We love it．”
Remember, describe all the details as if they have already happened．This will help you make it more real for you．
Sit down and write (or type) your Ten Years in the Future letter today．
60．It seems that the author’s dream and vision became a reality because the author    ．
A．had put something magic in the letter
B．could foresee what would happen
C．was experienced in writing the Ten Years letter
D．took what was written in the letter as a guide in life
61．According to the author，“Leslie”in your letter should be the person that    ．
A．does the same exercise as you
B．will become your friend in ten years
C．you know now and may still know in the future
D．you can imagine when you write your letter
62．The author advises you to write the Ten Years in the Future letter    ．
A．as soon as possible
B．in ten years’ time
C．when you have time
D．as often as possible
63．Which of the following covers the topics in this text?
a．The author’s own experience with the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
b．How the author got the idea of the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
c．How to write the Ten Years in the Future letter．
d．The author’s experience of working with troubled teens．
e．The difficulty in dealing with troubled teens．
f．How to improve your letter writing skill．
A．a, d, f                     B．a, c, d              C．b, c, d             D．a, c, e

A few months ago as I wandered through my parents’ house, the same house I grew up in, I had a sudden, scary realization. When my parents bought the house, in 1982, they were only two years older than I am now. I tried to imagine myself in two years, ready to settle down and buy the house I’d still be living in almost 30 years later.
It seemed ridiculous. On a practical level, there’s no way I could afford to buy a house anytime soon. More importantly, I wouldn’t want to. I’m not sure where I’ll be living in two years, or what kind of job I’ll have. And I don’t think I’ll be ready to settle down and stay in one place.
So this is probably the generation gap that divides my friends and me from our parents. When our parents were our age, they’d gotten their education, chosen a career, and were starting to settle into responsible adult lives.
My friends and I – “Generation Y” – still aren’t sure what we want to do with our lives. Whatever we end up doing, we want to make sure we’re happy doing it. We’d rather take risks first, try out different jobs, and move from one city to another until we find our favorite place. We’d rather spend our money on travel than put it in a savings account.
This casual attitude toward responsibility has caused some critics to call my generation “arrogant”, “impatient”, and “overprotected”. Some of these complaints have a point. As children we were encouraged to succeed in school, but also to have fun. We grew up in a world full of technological innovation: cellphones, the Internet, instant messaging, and video games.
Our parents looked to rise vertically(垂直的)--starting at the bottom of the ladder and slowly making their way to the top, on the same track, often for the same company. That doesn’t apply to my generation.
Because of that, it may take us longer than our parents to arrive at responsible, stable adulthood. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In our desire to find satisfaction, we will work harder, strive for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.
【小题1】When the author walked through her parents’ house, she _______.