.

Bill Gates was born on October 28th, 1955. He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, was a Seattle lawyer. Mary Gates, their late mother, was a school teacher.

Gates attended public elementary school before moving on to the private Lakeside School in North Seattle. It was at Lakeside that Gates began his career in personal computer soft- ware, programming computers at age 13.

In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, who is now Microsoft's president. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version (版本) of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer---the MITS Astair. In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desk-top and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers.

Gates' foresight has led to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. He plays an important role in the technical development of new products. Much of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in touch with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail.

In the dozen years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than $ 800 million to charities (慈善机构), including $ 200 million to the Gates Library Foundation to help libraries in North America make use of new technologies and the Information Age.

50. Where did Bill Gates begin his career in personal computer software?

A. At public elementary school.                  B. At the private Lakeside School.

C. At Harvard University.                           D. At Microsoft Company.

51. Why did he drop out of Harvard?

A. To change school.                                 B. To spend all his energies to Microsoft.

C. To find a full-time job.                          D. To earn money.

52. How does Gates spend much of his time?

A. Meeting with people.                            B. Travelling around the world.

C. E-mailing some friends.  

D. Meeting with customers and e-mailing Microsoft employees.

53. What does the underlined word "donated" in the last paragraph mean?

A. gave.                B. earned.              C. made.               D. received.

John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1981. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.

Fortunately he had a strong—willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others, including his mother. “You have to learn success” she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”

These words, came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15, to Chicago.

Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words--as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish www..coma magazine for blacks.

While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn（典当） her furniture to get the $ 500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.  

It is natural that difficulties and failures followed john closely until he become very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind:” Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!” Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America--worth  $150 million.

What does the story mainly want to show us?

A. The key to success for blacks. 

B. The mental support John’s mother gave him.

C. The importance of a good education.

D. How John H. Johnson became successful.

Why did John’s mother decide to move to Chicago?

  A. Because his father died when John was very young.

  B. Because life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown.

  C. Because John needed more education badly.

  D. Because there were no schools for Negroes in their hometown.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

  A. John’s mother didn’t believe in or depend on others.

  B. John’s mother believed one would succeed without working hard.

  C. John’s mother thought one could be whatever one wanted to be.

  D. John’s mother thought no one could succeed without working hard.

What does the underlined sentence “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” in Passage 5 mean?

  A. No failure can be beaten unless you try.

  B. If you try, you would succeed.

  C. A try is always followed by a failure.

  D. A failure is difficult to beat, even if you try. 

Bill Gates was born on October 28th, 1955. He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, was a Seattle lawyer. Mary Gates, their late mother, was a school teacher.
Gates attended public elementary school before moving on to the private Lakeside School in North Seattle. It was at Lakeside that Gates began his career in personal computer soft  ware, programming computers at age 13.
In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, who is now Microsoft's president. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version (版本) of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer---the MITS Astair. In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desk-top and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers.
Gates' foresight has led to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. He plays an important role in the technical development of new products. Much of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in touch with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail.
In the dozen years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than $ 800 million to charities, including $ 200 million to the Gates Library Foundation to help libraries in North America make use of new technologies and the Information Age.
【小题1】Where did Bill Gates begin his career in personal computer software?

.
Bill Gates was born on October 28th, 1955. He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, was a Seattle lawyer. Mary Gates, their late mother, was a school teacher.
Gates attended public elementary school before moving on to the private Lakeside School in North Seattle. It was at Lakeside that Gates began his career in personal computer soft- ware, programming computers at age 13.
In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, who is now Microsoft's president. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version (版本) of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer---the MITS Astair. In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies full-time to Microsoft, a company he had started in 1975 with his boyhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desk-top and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers.
Gates' foresight has led to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. He plays an important role in the technical development of new products. Much of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in touch with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail.
In the dozen years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than $ 800 million to charities (慈善机构), including $ 200 million to the Gates Library Foundation to help libraries in North America make use of new technologies and the Information Age.
50. Where did Bill Gates begin his career in personal computer software?
A. At public elementary school.                  B. At the private Lakeside School.
C. At Harvard University.                           D. At Microsoft Company.
51. Why did he drop out of Harvard?
A. To change school.                                 B. To spend all his energies to Microsoft.
C. To find a full-time job.                          D. To earn money.
52. How does Gates spend much of his time?
A. Meeting with people.                            B. Travelling around the world.
C. E-mailing some friends.  
D. Meeting with customers and e-mailing Microsoft employees.
53. What does the underlined word "donated" in the last paragraph mean?
A. gave.                B. earned.              C. made.               D. received.

We've used the wind as an energy source for a long time. The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before that. Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind(磨碎) corn, which is where the term "windmill" comes from.

We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor on the top. The wind blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity. We tend to build many of these towers together, to make a "wind farm" and produce more electricity. The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make. It's only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans（大篷车）increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.

The best places for wind farms are in coastal areas, at the tops of rounded hills, open plains and gaps in mountains—places where the wind is strong and reliable. Some are offshore. To be worthwhile, you need an average wind speed of around 25 km/h. Most wind farms in the UK are in Cornwall or Wales. Isolated places such as farms may have their own wind generators. In California, several “wind farms” supply electricity to homes around Los Angeles.

The propellors are large, to obtain energy from the largest possible volume of air. The blades can be angled to cope with varying wind speeds. Some designs use vertical turbines(垂直涡轮机), which don't need to be turned to face the wind. The towers are tall, to get the propellors as high as possible, up to where the wind is stronger. This means that the land beneath can still be used for farming. 

1. The first paragraph aims to introduce to us _______.

A. the function of wind power             B. the source of wind power

C. the nations using wind power               D. the history of using wind power

2.How does a wind power work?

A. The generator turns the propellor blades and produce electricity.

B. The tall tower helps turn the energy in the air into electricity.

C. Warm air rises and makes the propellor move round.

D. The propellor blown round by wind turns the generator to produce electricity.

3. The best places for building the wind farm are places where _______.

A. boats and caravans can often be seen       B. isolated farms don’t have enough electricity

C. there are less human activities            D. the wind is strong and reliable

4. We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. wind farms will not take up too much farming land

B. wind farms need no fuel because wind is free

C. the blades can be angled to turn to face the wind wherever it comes from

D. the higher and larger the towers are, the stronger the wind is

5. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

  A. Where to build a wind farm.            B. ABC of the using of wind energy.

  C. How to make best use of wind.          D. Wind energy is the best energy.