The diamond is the hardest natural substance in the world． What causes this superhardness? Pressure and heat are the answers． The pressure has to be close to two million pounds． That’s per square inch． Much heat is required too． Experts say over 5,000 degrees． To make a diamond, one more thing is needed． This is ______． Pressure, heat, and carbon combine． They create a sparkling diamond． The very best are colorless． Pale blue stones─very rare─are high quality too．

    Where do most diamonds come from? Over 97 percent come from Africa． The first diamond in Africa was not found by miners． Children found it, in 1866． They were playing in a shallow stream． One picked up “a pretty pebble”． The “pebble” was placed on the mantel of the fireplace． It was soon forgotten． Much later, a guest noticed the sparkle． He urged the farmer to have the stone looked at． He did． He took it to an expert in town． The “pebble” proved to be a diamond worth ＄2,500． That was a small fortune in those days． To date, the mines in Africa have produced over 1 billion dollars worth of diamonds．

    Not all diamonds are found in Africa． Our hemisphere produced diamonds too． Brazil was a big producer in earlier times． The famous gem the Star of the South was found in brazil in 1853．

    The gem the President Vargas was found more recently in Brazil． This was in 1938． A poor prospector found the stone． It was in the San Antonio River． It weighed 726．6 carats． The man sold the stone for ＄10,000 to a local broker． The broker almost immediately resold it． He got about ＄425,000． What a nice guy!

1．What is the best title of the passage? （Please answer within 10 words）

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2．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

    Some diamonds are found in Africa but some are not．

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3．Please fill in the blank in the first paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．（Please answer within 10 words）

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4．What do you think of the diamond in modern days?（Please answer within 30 words）

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5．Translate the underlined sentence in the first paragraph into Chinese．

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“My work is done.” Those words were some of the last penned by George Eastman. He included them in his suicide note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind. Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged financially, technologically and competitively. For 20 years, its leaders have foolishly spent down the patrimony of a century’s prosperity. One of America’s bedrock brands is about to disappear, the Kodak moment has passed.
But George Eastman is not how he died, and the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends be needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness that came before. Few companies have done so much good for so many people, or defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world. It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of the Eastman Kodak Company.
Kodak served mankind through entertainment, science, national defense and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks. It showed us the shot that killed President Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor, and a fallen Martin Luther King Jr. on the hard balcony of a Memphis motel. When that sailor kissed the nurse, and when the spy planes saw missiles in Cuba, Kodak was the eyes of a nation. From the deck of the Missouri to the grandeur of Monument Valley, Kodak took us there. Virtually every significant image of the 20th Century is a gift to posterity from the Eastman Kodak Company.
In an era of easy digital photography, when we can take a picture of anything at any time, we cannot imagine what life was like before George Eastman brought photography to people. Yes, there were photographers, and for relatively large sums of money they would take stilted pictures in studios and formal settings. But most people couldn’t afford photographs, and so all they had to remember distant loved ones, or earlier times of their lives, was memory. Children could not know what their parents had looked like as young people, grandparents far away might never learn what their grandchildren looked like. Eastman Kodak allowed memory to move from the uncertainty of recollection, to the permanence of a photograph. But it wasn’t just people whose features were savable; it was events, the sacred and precious times that families cherish. The Kodak moment, was humanity’s moment.
And it wasn’t just people whose features were savable; it was events, the precious times that familes cherish.  Kodak let the fleeting moments of birthdays and weddings, picnics and parties, be preserved and saved. It allowed for the creation of the most egalitarian art form. Lovers could take one another’s pictures, children were photographed walking out the door on the first day of school, the person releasing the shutter decided what was worth recording, and hundreds of millions of such decisions were made. And for centuries to come, those long dead will smile and dance and communicate to their unborn progeny. Family history will be not only names on paper, but smiles on faces.
The cash flow not just provided thousands of people with job, but also allowed the company’s founder to engage in some of the most generous philanthropy in America’s history. Not just in Kodak’s home city of Rochester, New York, but in Tuskegee and London, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He bankrolled two historically black colleges, fixed the teeth of Europe’s poor, and quietly did good wherever he could. While doing good, Kodak did very well. Over all the years, all the Kodakers over all the years are essential parts of that monumental legacy. They prospered a great company, but they – with that company – blessed the world.
That is what we should remember about the Eastman Kodak Company.
Like its founder, we should remember how it lived, not how it died.
History will forget the small men who have scuttled this company.
But history will never forget Kodak.
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following is to blame for the fall of Kodak?

A．The invention of easy digital photography

B．The poor management of the company

C．The early death of George Eastman

D．The quick rise of its business competitors

【小题2】It can be learnt from the passage that George Eastman         .

A．died a natural death of old age.

B．happened to be on the spot when President Kennedy was shot dead.

C．set up his company in the capital of the US before setting up its branches all over the world.

D．was not only interested in commercial profits, but also in the improvement of other people’s lives.

【小题3】Before George Eastman brought photography to people,             .

A．no photos has ever been taken of people or events

B．photos were very expensive and mostly taken indoors

C．painting was the only way for people to keep a record of their ancestors.

D．grandparents never knew what their grandchildren looked like.

【小题4】The person releasing the shutter (Paragraph 5) was the one        .

A．who took the photograph

B．who wanted to have a photo taken

C．whose decisions shaped the Eastman Kodak Company

D．whose smiles could long be seen by their children

【小题5】What is the writer’s attitude towards the Eastman Kodak Company?

A．Disapproving

B．Respectful

C．Regretful

D．Critical

【小题6】Which do you think is the best title for the passage?

A．Great Contributions of Kodak	B．Unforgettable moments of Kodak
C．Kodak Is Dead	D．History of Eastman Kodak Company

“My work is done.” Those words were some of the last penned by George Eastman. He included them in his suicide note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind. Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged financially, technologically and competitively. For 20 years, its leaders have foolishly spent down the patrimony of a century’s prosperity. One of America’s bedrock brands is about to disappear, the Kodak moment has passed.

But George Eastman is not how he died, and the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends be needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness that came before. Few companies have done so much good for so many people, or defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world. It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of the Eastman Kodak Company.

Kodak served mankind through entertainment, science, national defense and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks. It showed us the shot that killed President Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor, and a fallen Martin Luther King Jr. on the hard balcony of a Memphis motel. When that sailor kissed the nurse, and when the spy planes saw missiles in Cuba, Kodak was the eyes of a nation. From the deck of the Missouri to the grandeur of Monument Valley, Kodak took us there. Virtually every significant image of the 20th Century is a gift to posterity from the Eastman Kodak Company.

In an era of easy digital photography, when we can take a picture of anything at any time, we cannot imagine what life was like before George Eastman brought photography to people. Yes, there were photographers, and for relatively large sums of money they would take stilted pictures in studios and formal settings. But most people couldn’t afford photographs, and so all they had to remember distant loved ones, or earlier times of their lives, was memory. Children could not know what their parents had looked like as young people, grandparents far away might never learn what their grandchildren looked like. Eastman Kodak allowed memory to move from the uncertainty of recollection, to the permanence of a photograph. But it wasn’t just people whose features were savable; it was events, the sacred and precious times that families cherish. The Kodak moment, was humanity’s moment.

And it wasn’t just people whose features were savable; it was events, the precious times that familes cherish.  Kodak let the fleeting moments of birthdays and weddings, picnics and parties, be preserved and saved. It allowed for the creation of the most egalitarian art form. Lovers could take one another’s pictures, children were photographed walking out the door on the first day of school, the person releasing the shutter decided what was worth recording, and hundreds of millions of such decisions were made. And for centuries to come, those long dead will smile and dance and communicate to their unborn progeny. Family history will be not only names on paper, but smiles on faces.

The cash flow not just provided thousands of people with job, but also allowed the company’s founder to engage in some of the most generous philanthropy in America’s history. Not just in Kodak’s home city of Rochester, New York, but in Tuskegee and London, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He bankrolled two historically black colleges, fixed the teeth of Europe’s poor, and quietly did good wherever he could. While doing good, Kodak did very well. Over all the years, all the Kodakers over all the years are essential parts of that monumental legacy. They prospered a great company, but they – with that company – blessed the world.

That is what we should remember about the Eastman Kodak Company.

Like its founder, we should remember how it lived, not how it died.

History will forget the small men who have scuttled this company.

But history will never forget Kodak.

1.According to the passage, which of the following is to blame for the fall of Kodak?

A．The invention of easy digital photography

B．The poor management of the company

C．The early death of George Eastman

D．The quick rise of its business competitors

2.It can be learnt from the passage that George Eastman         .

A．died a natural death of old age.

B．happened to be on the spot when President Kennedy was shot dead.

C．set up his company in the capital of the US before setting up its branches all over the world.

D．was not only interested in commercial profits, but also in the improvement of other people’s lives.

3.Before George Eastman brought photography to people,             .

A．no photos has ever been taken of people or events

B．photos were very expensive and mostly taken indoors

C．painting was the only way for people to keep a record of their ancestors.

D．grandparents never knew what their grandchildren looked like.

4.The person releasing the shutter (Paragraph 5) was the one        .

A．who took the photograph

B．who wanted to have a photo taken

C．whose decisions shaped the Eastman Kodak Company

D．whose smiles could long be seen by their children

5.What is the writer’s attitude towards the Eastman Kodak Company?

A．Disapproving

B．Respectful

C．Regretful

D．Critical

6.Which do you think is the best title for the passage?

A．Great Contributions of Kodak	B．Unforgettable moments of Kodak
C．Kodak Is Dead	D．History of Eastman Kodak Company

 

【1】 First aid means the aid or the help that can be given to an injured person first, that is, before any other help arrives. Nowadays there is usually a telephone not far away and the first things we should do, if a serious accident happens, is___________. Sometimes quick action by us may save someone’s life.

【2】Shock. People often suffer from shock after receiving an injury, sometimes even when the injure is a small one. The face turns gray, and the skin becomes damp and cold. They breathe quickly. They should be kept warm. Cover them with a blanket and give them a warm drink.

【3】Broken bones. Do not move the patient. Send for an ambulance at once.

【4】Bleeding. A little bleeding doesn’t harm. It washes dirt from the wound. But if the bleeding continues, try to stop it by placing a clean cloth firmly over the wound until the bleeding stops or helps arrive.

【5】Poison. A person who has taken poison should be taken to a hospital at once. With some poisons, sleeping pills, for example, it is a good thing to make the patient throw up by pressing your fingers down his throat.

【6】Remember: When an accident happens, telephone for an ambulance at once. Keep the injured person warm and quiet. Give him plenty of air. Do not let other people crowd around him.

76. What’s the best title for the passage? (no more than 5 words)

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77. What’s the symptom when someone goes into shock?  (no more than 12 words)

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78. Please fill in the blank in the first paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (no more than 6 words)

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79. What’s the author’s purpose of writing the passage? (no more than 12 words)

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80. Which sentence in the passage is the same as the one “If someone takes some poisons by accident, a better way is to make the sufferer spit out by using a finger on his throat .” ？.

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