For more than a century, since he captured the spoken words "Mary had a little lamb" on a sheet of tinfoil (锡纸), Thomas Edison has been considered the father of recorded sound. But researchers say they have discovered a recording of the human voice which is nearly two ___1.___earlier than Edison's invention of the phonograph.

The 10-second recording of a singer crooning (轻声歌唱)  the folk song  "Au Clair de la Lune"  was discovered earlier this month in an   ___2.___ in Paris by a group of American audio historians. It was made, the researchers say, on April 9, 1860, on a phonautograph, a machine designed to record sounds ___3.___, not to play them back. But the phonautograph recording, or phonautogram, was made playable---converted from squiggles (潦草的字迹) on paper to sound---by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.

"This is a  ___4.___find, the earliest known recording of sound," said Samuel Brylawski, the former head of the recorded-sound division of the Library of Congress, who is not ___5.___with the research group but who was familiar with its findings. The audio discovery could give new   ___6.___ to the phonautograph, and its inventor, Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville,  a Parisian typesetter who went to his grave   ___7.___that credit for his breakthroughs had been ___8.___bestowed on Edison.

The recordings made by Scott were not intended for listening; the idea of audio  ___9.__ had not been conceived.  Rather, Scott sought to create a paper record of human speech that could later be___10.___.

 

阅读理解：

　　The word "hello" is probably used more often than any other one in the English language． Everybody in the United States and elsewhere uses the word, again and again, every day of the week．

　　The first thing you hear when you pick up the phone is "hello" unless the caller is an Englishman, who might say, "Are you there?"

　　Where did the word come from? There are all sorts of beliefs． Some say it came from the French, "ho" and "la" "Ho, there!" This greeting may have arrived in England during the Norman Conquest in the year 1066．

　　"Ho, there" slowly became something that sounded like "hallow", often heard in the 1300's, during the days of the English poet ,Geoffrey Chaucer．

　　Two hundred years later, in Shakespeare's time, "hallow" had become "halloo"． And later, sounds like "halloa", and "halloo" were often used by sailors and huntsmen． "Halloo" is still used today by foxhunters．

　　As time passed, "halloo" and "halloa" changed into "hullo"． And during the 1800's this was how people greeted each other in America．

　　The American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, is believed to be the first person to use "hello" in the late 1800's, soon after the invention of the telephone．

　　At first, people had greeted each other on the telephone with "Are you there?" They were not sure the new instrument could really carry voices．

　　Tom Edison, however, was a man of few words． He wasted no time． The first time he picked up the phone he did not ask if anyone was there． He was sure someone was, and simply said, "Hello．"

　　From that time on only about 100 years ago, the "hullo" became "hello", as it is heard today．

　　Strangely enough, when the first telephone system was put in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878, people did not say "hello" or "hullo" or even "halloo"． They answered the phone the way sailors hail a ship, "Ahoy, anoy there!" Thank God, that telephone greeting did not last long．

　　Of course, there are other ways Americans greet one another． Not long ago, people often said, "How are you ?" when they first met someone． This later became "hiyah"． Then, someone thought that two syllables were too much and "hiyah" became "hi"． Laziness is a strong force in changing language．

　　Answering a telephone call in America still presents problems, however． Telephone companies think that Thomas Edison's short "hello" is too long． Why waste time? The phone companies say． Simply pick up the phone, give your name, and start talking．

1．The word "hello" came from ______．

[　　]

A．an unknown origin　　 　B．old English

C．the German　　　　　　　D．the French

2．The writer thinks that, if used on the telephone, "Ahoy" is a word that ______．

  [ ]

A．sounds sincere

B．is pleasant to the ear

C．sounds sincere

D．sounds awkward and unsuitable

3．Expressions like "hello" and "hi" have entered the English language because short words ______．

[　　]

A．sound better

B．save the speakers time and energy

C．add varieties to the language

D．express the meaning more clearly

4．According to telephone companies, the best way to answer a telephone call is ______．

[　　]

A．to say "hello" to the caller

B．to say "hi" to the caller

C．to start talking immediately

D．to listen without saying anything

5．The topic sentence in the last but one paragraph is " ______ ．"

[　　]

A．Of course, there are other ways Americans greet one another

B．Laziness is a strong force in changing language

C．Not long age, people often said, "How are you?" when they first met someone

D．Then, someone thought that two syllables were too much and "hiyah" became "hi"

"He who can have patience can have what he wants," said Benjamin Franklin. They say patience is a virtue (美德) seldom found in women and never in men. This may or may not be true, but it's fair to say that there is nobody on the earth who couldn't benefit from more patience.

Patience is necessary for success.

It is said that "all good things come to those who wait". Many of the great scientists have remarked that their scientific discoveries came only through patient perseverance (坚持). Edison said, "Genius was 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration." Patience teaches us to value the effort and not just the success. It is a mistake to think that happiness can only be obtained through achievements.

Patience brings peace of mind.

When we desire certain outcomes (结果), we'll have no peace of mind. Even if one desire is filled, the nature of desire is that more will appear in its place. There is no end to human desires. Patience means we will work with an attitude of detachment (超然).

Patience can transform suffering into joy.

Throughout life we suffer injustice; the best healer is patience. Through being patient and accepting our situation, it's quite possible for our suffering to be transformed.

Sri Chinmoy said, "If failure has the strength to turn your life into bitterness itself, then patience has the strength to turn your life into the sweetest joy."

1.Whose saying supports the idea that patience makes a person joyful?

A. Franklin's          B. Edison's         C. Chinmoy's         D. Einstein's

2.In the writer's opinion, _____ .

A. human desires will easily be filled

B. patience is a virtue seldom found in a person

C. happiness can only be obtained through success

D. patience is the best medicine of suffering

3.How is the whole passage organized?

A. General-detail-general.                    B. General-detail.

C. Detail-general-detail.                                 D. Detail-general.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. We All Need Patience                       B. Patience Means Success

C. Benefits of Patience                        D. We Should Not Be patient

 

Although Thomas Edison created the technologies behind three major 21st century industries  electrical power，recorded music and movies—his greatest invention may have been the modern method of inventing．He basically came up with the modern system of research and development．Edison was not the only scientist doing research in his garage but someone who gathered around him a team of creative scientific minds．Edison’s 1aboratories were the forerunners（ 先驱）of Apple，Google and Microsoft．

Yet for a11 his scientific gifts，he was no Steve Jobs or Bill Gates．He once said，“Anything that won’ t sell，I don’ t want to invent．” But Edison，unlike Jobs or Gates，had no real sense of what the public wanted or how to change his discoveries into products that might sell．It took him years to understand that the phonograph（ 留声机）was not a business tool but an entertainment invention．He helped create movies but resisted the idea that people might want to go into a theater to watch one．

We chose Edison this year because we need his example now more than ever．Though we live in a time of great reformation，the U．S．is in danger of losing its advantage in science and technology．American investment（ 投资）in research and development has not increased as a percentage of GDP since the mid一1980s，while the government’ s share has been dropping．And this is at a time when China is rapidly increasing its money on research and development．The U．S．was once among the 1eading nations．Now it ranks near the bottom of the 23 nations that collect such data．We hope that Edison’ s story might not only encourage reformation but also inspire more

young Americans to study science and engineering．

The first paragraph is mainly about         .

    A．the number of Edison’ s great inventions

    B．Edison’ s special personal characters

    C．Edi son’ s modern system of research

    D．Apple．Google and Microsoft and their forerunners

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A．A11 the things Edison invented sold well．

    B．Edison wanted to invent things that sold well．

    C．Edison’ s inventions were not valuable for being unpopular．

    D．Edison had a gift for changing his discoveries into best sellers.

The author’ s main purpose is to    ．

      A．inform US of the danger the USA is in

      B．get young Americans to study science

      C．be in honor of Edison for his contributions

      D．tell US how important Edison’ s inventions are

We can infer from the text that    ．

    A．the USA is no 10nger advanced in science and technology

    B．the USA falls behind China in research and inventions

    C．more and more young Americans will be interested in science

D．China is spending more and more money on research and development

Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout. All electric power would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps this suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion. A blackout was impossible.
On the day of Edison's funeral, many people silently dimmed their lights. In this way they honored the man who had done more than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips.
【小题1】This selection says that Thomas Edison ________.

A．was the only important American inventor

B．received the first American patent

C．received more patents than any other American

D．was the first American inventor

【小题2】People decided to honor Edison when ________.

A．he made the first electric light

B．electric power was 100 years

C．the country realized electricity's importance

D．he died in 1931

【小题3】The suggested plan was to ________.

A．turn off the lights in factories and schools

B．observe a few minutes of total silence

C．dim all electric lights

D．shut off all electricity for a short time