(2007·重庆)

________, his idea was accepted by all the people at the meeting.

[　　]

A．Strange as might it sound

B．As it might sound strange

C．As strange it might sound

D．Strange as it might sound

       “Dad! He took a book without paying!” I yelled .

       My father looked surprised. Before the boy could say anything, his mother grabbed his arm and shook it. “Is it true? You stole? Tell me!”

       Everyone was quiet. The boy began to cry, and he nodded his head. He pulled out the comic book (漫画书) from under his shirt. 

       “Oh, Mr. Kim. I am sorry! My Ted made a big mistake!” Mrs. Diaz told my father. She tried to take the comic book, but Ted wouldn’t let go.

       “It’s OK. He can keep it,” my father said with a smile.

       “Oh no,” Mrs. Diaz said. “Let me pay right now ...” She dug in her purse. “How much?”

       “Three seventy-five.”

       Mrs. Diaz’s eyes widened, and she dug deeper. I saw her mouth make a small line. “Three seventy-five?” she asked.  

       “It’s OK. You can pay later,” my father said.

       “No,” Mrs. Diaz said. She kept looking in her purse. “I have money here.”

       I felt bad for yelling, for I realized that Ted had tried to steal the comic book because he didn’t have the money. Maybe the boy could have a job, I thought.

       I had an idea.

       “What if he worked with me?” I asked. They turned to me.

       I said, “He can work with me to pay for the comic book.”

       “Good,” my father said smiling at me. Mrs. Diaz nodded. She turned to her son, “You hear? You will work and buy the comic book!”  

       “Yes, Mama,” Ted said, hanging his head.

       As they left, Ted looked back, and though he still seemed sad, he stuck out (伸出) his tongue at me.

       Ted has been working here for two weeks. He has paid for the comic book, but my father says he is such a good worker that he can work with me as long as he wants. We are friends now. 

1.Where did the story most probably take place? 

A. In a classroom.                       B. In a supermarket.  

C. At a bookstore.                        D. At a library. 

2.By saying “but Ted wouldn’t let go” in Paragraph 4, the author means Ted ______.

A. took the book by mistake      B. wanted to keep the book

C. didn’t want to go home        D. didn’t think he was wrong

3.From the underlined sentences in the eighth paragraph, we may infer that Mrs. Diaz ______. 

A. didn’t think her son stole the book

B. had been out of work for a long time

C. forgot to take money with her that day

D. couldn’t afford to pay for the book

4.In the last paragraph, what does the author mainly tell?

A. His idea was successful.        B. Ted didn’t like the job.

C. He liked Ted very much.        D. Ted was a naughty boy.

      his idea was accepted by all the people at the meeting.

  A. Strange as might it sound                   B. As it might sound strange

C. As strange it might sound                D. Strange as it might sound

The words of Gandhi, Einstein and other great thinkers are to be quoted in service announcements on London’s Underground．
Transport for London has asked Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller to edit a list of mottos to be used by tube drivers．Gandhi’s “there is more to life than increasing its speed” and the artist Cezanne’s “we live in a rain-bow of chaos” are among the quotes．Deller hopes they will make passengers’ journeys a bit more thought-provoking(发人深省的)．
Deller’s original plan was to abolish all public announcements for a day．“It makes me feel annoyed,” he said．“It’s like some psychological warfare(战争 ) on the passengers．”
But his idea was refused by the manager of Transport for London, who instead agreed to the plan of replacing some announcements with something more human and attractive．
Sally Shaw, who is running the scheme for Transport for London, says it is part of an attempt to improve day-to-day interaction and rely less on automated announcements．
“I think everyone has their own little philosophy on their journeys．And if we can get more of that out in the air, that would be great,” she said．
Susy Wells, one of the drivers to test the idea out on the London Underground, is also enthusiastic about it．
She said, “I like to make my own announcements and it’s nice to get passengers to think as well．”
What’s more, some quotes are helpful to the drivers．They help the passengers become more understanding about the drivers’ work．
The quotes such as Thomas Fuller’s “a stumble(绊脚) may prevent a fall” are popular for helping explain why a little inconvenience was sometimes necessary to keep the system safe．
1．The underlined phrase “tube drivers” probably means______．
A．taxi drivers            B．subway drivers
C．truck drivers           D．bus drivers
2．Why did Deller want to abolish all public announcements on the underground?
A．Because they cause a war among passengers．
B．Because the public announcements make Deller tired．
C．Because the public announcements are dull．
D．All public announcements are not suitable for the passengers．
3．The reason why the sayings are to be quoted on London’s Underground is ______．
A．that everyone has their own life motto
B．that sayings are believed to be more human and attractive
C．that sayings can help develop spiritual civilization in London
D．that saying can make drivers think more
4．The best title of this passage would be _____．
A．Changes on London’s Underground
B．Culture on London’s Underground
C．Some Quotes Seen on London’s Underground
D．Introduction to London’s Underground

An inventor seeks to create a new product that serves a specific need and fulfills a role that other products do not. Sometimes an inventor comes up with a wholly new idea, but more often inventions are simply improvements on an older design. With a little imagination and creativity (创造力), an old idea can suddenly become something new.
However, creating a new invention means much more than having a brilliant idea. A good designer follows the design process: identifying the challenge, researching and brainstorming ideas(集思广益), designing a solution, testing and evaluating the ideas, and finally building the product. Designers also use science, math, technology, and engineering to design a tool that satisfies the need they identified.
Anyone can be an inventor —even kids! For example, Chester Greenwood was just fifteen years old when he invented a product that changed his life. In fact, his idea was so good that his invention supported him for the rest of his life. You may not know his name, but you probably know his invention —earmuffs (保暖耳罩)!
The inspiration for his earmuff design came to Chester when he was ice-skating. His ears were cold, and he decided to find a way to keep them warm. With the help of his grandmother, he made a new product to protect his ears and at the age of eighteen, Chester patented his earmuff design.
Many other famous inventors started young as well. Margaret Knight —the inventor of the flat-bottomed brown paper bag —is said to have created a safety device for textile looms(织布机) when she was just twelve years old. Another example is Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors in history, who applied for his first patent when he was just twenty-one years old. Over the course of his life, Thomas Edison patented a total of 1,093 inventions!
【小题1】 In most cases, an invention ________ according to the first paragraph.