What do butterfly wings have to do with computer screens? What do birds have to do with high speed trains?
These may sound like strange things to put together. But scientists, inventors, and designers are doing just that. They are learning from nature to create new technology.
The word biomimicry (仿生学) combines two words: biology and mimicry. So people using biomimicry try to use examples in nature to design new technology.
Biomimicry is not a new idea. People have been studying nature for hundreds of years. Leonardo DaVinci used birds as models to invent his flying machine. And when the Wright Brothers made the first successful airplane, they also studied birds. In 998, Janine Benyus, a natural science writer and teacher, wrote a book about biomimicry. To develop her interest in the subject, Janine Benyus started the Biomimicry Institute.
The Biomimicry Institute is a non-profit organization. It brings together scientists, designers, inventors and many other people. It offers classes to teach people biomimicry. It provides money for people to research and test new technologies. And it wants all people, from children to adults, to think about new ways to learn from nature.
People involved with the Biomimicry Institute believe that biomimicry can help solve many of the world’s problems. Often, new technologies can harm nature, but this is not true for biomimicry. Let’s look at some examples.
Butterflies have colorful wings because light shines off them in a special way. Scientists want to copy these same ways to make light shine off computers. They hope this will make for more colorful screens.
Another example of biomimicry is the bullet train. It travels at speeds of over 250 kilometers per hour! But it had a problem: it made too much noise!
Through the observation of birds, scientists thought about a kind of bird, the kingfisher(翠鸟). The kingfisher can dive into water without making any noise because of the shape of its beak(喙). Researchers thought that if they could design the front of the train like this beak, the train would be quieter. Well, it worked!
【小题1】The first paragraph is written to_____.

A．start a discussion	B．make a brief summary
C．introduce the topic of the text	D．test readers' knowledge on science

【小题2】Why did Janine Benyus set up the Biomimicry Institute?

A．To honor the Wright Brothers.

B．To show her recent inventions.

C．To gather talented people for her research.

D．To explore the link between nature and technologies.

【小题3】We know from the text that the Biomimicry Institute _____.

A．earns a lot by giving classes on biomimicry	B．tells people about their technologies
C．gives free support to scientists	D．teaches children about birds

【小题4】The author gives the two examples at the end of the text to show _______.

A．biomimcry works harmoniously with nature	B．the fast development of modern technology
C．how biomimcry changes our life	D．how nature inspires scientists

【小题5】What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Biomimicry is widely used in the world.

B．People copy nature to create new technologies.

C．The Biomimicry Institute was set up for science.

D．Birds play an important part in new technologies.

Leaves are nature’s food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and CO2 into glucose（葡萄糖）.Glucose is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy to grow. The way plants turn water and CO2 into glucose is called photosynthesis (光合作用).That means “putting together with light .” A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is green. It gives plants their green colour. As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees “know” to begin getting ready for winter.

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis .The trees will rest, and live on the food they have stored during the summer. They begin to close their food-making  factories. The green Chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. Then, we begin to see yellow and orange colours. A few of these colors stay in the leaves all the time. We just can’t see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green Chlorophyll.

Red and purple colors we see in leaves are made mostly in the autumn. In some trees, like maples, glucose is stored in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn turn this glucose into red. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.

The underlined word “chlorophyll” in the first Para means        in Chinese.

A  叶绿素           B 氧气          C 胡萝卜素      D 蛋白质

The way            is called photosynthesis.

A. plants get CO2 from the air         

B. plants take water from the ground

C. plants turn water and CO2 into glucose.

 D. Plants use glucose as food for energy to grow.

The gas called carbon dioxide is from the         

A  ground      B roots        C air      D sunlight

Which of the following is not true?

A. when autumn and winter come, the days get shorter and shorter.

B. During winter trees rest and live on the food they store during the summer.

C. During winter small amounts of yellow and orange colors are kept in the leaves all the time.

D. Trees begin to stop making food in summer.

Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer.” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out.” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
“It was a strange-looking machine –one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, “so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the center of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead.” A new message appeared on the screen:
“ENTER NAMES
VOYAGER 1: …
VOYAGER 2: …”
Mark’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED. START TRANSPORT PROGRAM. AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED（自动回收程序已启动）.”
The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch. He was really frightened.
But his hand never reached the switch. A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow (光芒), until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed.
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL. DESTINATION: MARS. RETRIEVE DATE: 2025.”
【小题1】Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?

A．He wanted to take a voyage.

B．He wanted to practice his skill

C．He was so much attracted by it.

D．He was eager to do an experiment.

【小题2】Where did the boy’s father most likely work?

A．In an electronic factory.

B．In a computer company.

C．In a scientific research center.

D．In an information processing center.

【小题3】Mark thought “SPACE TRANSPORTER” on the screen was the name of          .

A．a computer game	B．a company website
C．a software producer	D．an astronomy program

【小题4】Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?

A．He was afraid of being scolded.

B．He didn’t like the loud noise and light.

C．He didn’t want to play games any more.

D．He was afraid something dangerous might happen.

【小题5】What happened to the boys at the end of the story?

A．They were blown into the air.

B．They were sent to another planet.

C．They were hidden in the strong light.

D．They were carried away to another country

We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change for I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears (ancestors) prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.
The world is very different now, for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forbears fought are still at issue around the globe, the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs（继承人）of that first revolution.
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe (enemy) alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge (promise solemny) and more.
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility. I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the Freedom of Man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.
【小题1】What should friends and foes know?

A．That the United States is powerful.

B．That a new generation of Americans are responsible for their government.

C．That the United States is governed by liberals.

D．The rights of man come from the hand of God.

【小题2】What is Kennedy’s promise to the world?

A．To support liberty.

B．To abolish all forms of human poverty.

C．To visit each country at least once.

D．To support and friend.

【小题3】What should citizens of the world ask of America?

A．How America can help them.

B．If America plans to invade their country.

C．What they can do for freedom.

D．What they can do for America.

【小题4】Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Human beings have the power to put an end to all forms of poverty.

B．We should remember we are the first revolution.

C．Our nation has always been committed to human rights.

D．We should assure the survival and the success of liberty.