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 9^th 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(碳酸) 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 WarⅡ, scientists at the University of Birmingham invented the magnetron(磁控管)—an important heat-producing part of the microwave oven. 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(仁), 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.
【小题1】The right time order of the three inventions should be ________.

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 9^th 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(碳酸) 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 WarⅡ, scientists at the University of Birmingham invented the magnetron(磁控管)—an important heat-producing part of the microwave oven. 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(仁), 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.

1.The right time order of the three inventions 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

2.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

3.The underlined phrase “ blew up” might mean _______ in Chinese.

     A. 爆炸                B. 膨胀         C. 升华         D. 蒸发

4.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.

We all enjoy the beautiful show of colours as leaves change each autumn. But did you ever wonder how and why this happens?
Leaves are nature’s food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots and take carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose (葡萄糖). Glucose is a kind of sugar, which plants use as food for energy and growing.
The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis that means “ putting together with light”. A chemical called chlorophyll helps photosynthesis. It gives plants their green colour. As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter, and trees “know” to begin getting ready for winter.
During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. Trees rest during this time and live on the food they store during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories.
As the green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves, we begin to see yellow and orange leaves. Small amounts of these colours have been in the leaves all along. We just can’t see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.
The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in autumn. In some trees, like maples (枫树), glucose is caught in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn turn this glucose into a red colour. The brown colour of trees like oaks (橡树) is made from waste left in the leaves.
It is the mixture of all these things that makes the beautiful colours we enjoy during autumn.
【小题1】The word “chlorophyll” in the third paragraph means _______ in Chinese.

阅读短文，根据短文内容和已给出的首字母，在空白处填入适当的单词。将完整的单词写在短文后面的横线上。

Did you ever think someone was scary because they looked different, or ate strange foods?  Well, they might think the s____1.____ about you!  One of the things we all n___2.___ to do is celebrate diversity（差异）. We shouldn't think badly of people from other cultures b____3.___ they are different than our own culture.

Sometimes we judge people f___4.____ other countries unfairly, because one person from that culture did something bad. Well, has your whole family ever b____5.____ blamed for something your little sister did? It doesn't s____6.____  fair，does it?  It's just as unfair to blame a w____7.___ culture for what two or three people do. 

So here are some things that you can do to help y____8.___ understand other cultures:

1.  Find common ground!                         

2.  Don't blame all because of one!

3.  Try to make f____9.___ with people from other cultures. 

To learn m____10.__ about yourself and what cultures you come from, become a genealogist（系谱专家）. You may also want to see the Different Is Good presentation to learn about other things you can do to cross those cultural walls.