Few people ever took notice of Mr. Jimmy Tan whenever he entered a room. He was a shy, quiet and simple man who preferred to keep to himself in public. On the other hand, Mr. Thomas Kim, a fellow scientist, was a man everyone would notice on the streets. He wore bright outfits with huge flower prints, spoke with a booming voice, and his laughter could be heard from all corners of a room. In addition to the differences in their characters, Mr. Kim and Mr. Tan were also great rivals at work in the Institute of Future Science.

On Christmas Eve, everyone left work early to celebrate the special occasion, except for Mr. Tan and Mr. Kim. They were in their laboratory analyzing the results of their latest experiments. Mr. Tan realized that something special was taking place in his experiment —the bacteria he had cultured were growing extremely quickly under high pressure and at a very low temperature. After noting down the findings in his notebook, he left the room to prepare for another round of tests. Shortly after, Mr. Kim entered.

“Hey Jimmy,” Mr. Kim called out, “do you have an extra copy of the laboratory booking form?”

There was no reply, so Mr. Kim looked through Mr. Tan’s things. He soon found Mr. Tan's notebook and was horrified to see that Mr. Tan had managed to make one of the most important discoveries in modern science. He then looked into the deep-freeze cupboard where a dish containing the bacteria was kept. He put them into his pocket and returned to his own laboratory.

Mr. Tan came back an hour later to find his notebook and the dish missing. He knew that Mr. Kim had taken them and went to Mr. Kim's laboratory to find out. When he opened the door, he found Mr. Kim lying on the floor motionless. His face was pale and his skin had turned black. The deadly bacteria had been handled improperly. He shook his head and left.

1.From the first paragraph we know Mr. Kim was a quite    person.

A．famous                               B．hardworking

C．wealthy                               D．outgoing

2.The underlined word "rivals" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to   .

A．enemies                              B．colleagues

C．competitors                            D．friends

3.What does the underlined word “them” refer to in the 4th paragraph?

A．the most important discoveries

B．the notebook and the dish

C．the cupboard and the bacteria

D．the dish and the bacteria

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Mr. Kim was afraid Mr. Tan might succeed ahead of him.

B．Mr. Tan's bacteria grew very fast in a warm container.

C．Mr. Tan worked much harder than Mr. Kim.

D．Mr. Kim was so tired that he fell down into sleep.

5.What happened to Mr. Kim in the end?

A．He died on Christmas Eve.

B．He was arrested by the police.

C．He shared the success with Mr. Tan.

D．He succeeded ahead of Mr. Tan.

 

Today many people say that women have the same chance as men in society. But this was not always so. In the past, women all over the world had to fight to get the same chance as men in education and jobs. Many people said that women should not receive much education because they would not do as well as men when they went to work.

One woman who showed that women should have the same chance was Marie, a scientist. In the 1800s scientists knew that a metal, uranium, gave off radiation. They also knew how much radiation came from his element. But they didn’t know what this radiation was like; they wondered why and how uranium gave off radiation. Marie Curie set out to answer these questions. In one of her experiments she was studying a certain material which, she knew, contained uranium, But it gave off 4 times as much radiation as usually does. What could explain this fact? Marie Curie thought that there must be another source of radiation in this material.

In 1898 Marie Curie set out to find out this new source of radiation, which she named “radium”. Her husband, who was also a scientist, helped her. They set up a laboratory in an old building behind a school. For four years Curies searched, doing many experiments, And one morning in 1902 Marie found the source of the radiation.

Marie Curie proved to the world that there was element that gave off radiation. And she also proved to the world that, if women are given truly equal chance, they can really help society.

1.The scientists of Marie Curie’s day knew .

A．that uranium gave off radiation

B．that radium gave off radiation

C．that there was some radium in uranium

D．that uranium and radium both gave off radiation

2.The Curies found the element radium .

A．with other scientists’ help	B．by asking some famous scientists
C．by doing many experiments	D．with their teachers’ help

3.In the past many people thought .

A．that women must get the same chance as men in education and jobs

B．that women should receive much education

C．that women should get good jobs

D．that women could not do the work well

4.Marie Curie proved to people .

A．that there was a new element uranium

B．that there was a new element radium

C．that women could do their work as well as men if they were really given the same conditions

D．both B and C

 

Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy. They see the sight that Pompeii is famous for—its stadium and theaters, its shops and restaurants. The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii’s people. No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2,ooo years.

Once Pompeii was a busy city of 22,000 people. It lay at the foot of Mt Vesuvius, a grass-covered volcano. Mt Vesuvius had not erupted for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe. But they were not. In August of the year 79 AD, Mt Vesuvius erupted. The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air. Soon stones and hot ashes began to fall on Pompeii. When the eruption ended two days later, Pompeii was buried under 20 feet of stones and ashes. Almost all of its people were dead.

For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stones and ashes. Then in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover Pompeii. Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug. The city almost looked the same as it had looked in 79 AD. There were streets and fountains, houses and shops. There was a stadium with 20,000 seats. Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii. Many glasses and jars had some dark blue color in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine. They liked bread too; metal bread pans were in every bakery. In one bakery there were 81 round, flat loaves of bread—a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today. Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye-makeup.

Ginseppe has died, but his work continues. One-fourth has not been uncovered yet. Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii.

1.Why do large number of people come to Pompeii each year?

A．To visit the volcano.                      B．To shop and eat there.

C．To watch sports and plays.                 D．To see how Pompeiians lived.

2.Why did the city uncovered look almost the same as it had looked in 79 AD ?

A．Because Ginseppe and his men dug it slowly and carefully.

B．Because the city was buried alive and remained untouched.

C．Because scientists successfully rebuilt the city with everyday objects.

D．Because nobody had lived in the city ever since the volcano erupted.

3.What do we know about the Pompeiians who lived 2,000 years ago?

A. They lived more or less the same as Italians now do.

B. They liked women wearing all kinds of makeup.

C. They enjoyed a lazy life with drinking and eating.

D. They went back to Pompeii after the eruption in 79 AD.

 

Harvard University named historian Drew Gilpin Faust as its first female president on Sunday, ending a lengthy and secretive search to find a successor（接任者）to Lawrence Summers .

The seven-member Harvard Corporation elected Faust, a noted scholar on History of the American South and dean of Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, as the university’s 28th president.

“This is a great day, and a historic day for Harvard,” James R. Houghton, chairman of the presidential search committee, said in a statement. “Drew Faust is an inspiring and accomplished leader, a superb scholar, a dedicated  teacher, and a wonderful human being.”

Her selection is noteworthy given the heated debates over Summers’ comments that genetic differences between the sexes might help explain the lack of women in top science jobs.

Faust has been dean of Radcliffe since 2001, two years after the former women’s college was combined into the university as a research center with a mission to study gender issues.

Some professors have quietly groused that the 371-year-old university is appointing a fifth president who is not a scientist. No scientist has had the top job since James Bryant Conant retired in 1953; its last four have come from the fields of classics, law, literature and economics.

1,3,5

Faust is the first Harvard president who did not receive a degree from the university since Charles Chauncy, a graduate of Cambridge University, who died in office in 1762. She attended the University of Pennsylvania.

“Teaching staff turned to her constantly,” said Sheldon Hackney, a former president of the University of Pennsylvania and historian who worked closely with Faust. “She’s very clear. She has a sense of humor, but she’s very strong-minded. You come to trust in her because she’s so solid.”

1.Which might be the best title for the passage?

A．Harvard named its 1st female president.

B．History of Harvard University changed.

C．Debates on female equality ended

D．Drew Gilpin Faust, a famous woman historian.

2.Which is NOT true about Drew Gilpin Faust?

A．She is the 28th president of Harvard University.

B．She is a famous scholar from the American South.

C．She isn’t a graduate from Harvard University

D．She was head of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

3.Lawrence Summers held the view that      .

A．women cannot achieve as much as men in management

B．women cannot hold important positions in society

C．women can match men in science jobs

D．few women make top scientists owing to genes

4.The underlined word “groused” in the 6th paragraph means       .

A．approved         B．commented        C．complained        D．indicated

5.This passage probably appears in a      .

A．biography         B．personal letter      C．research paper     D．newspaper report

 

Who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?

Jane Addams (1860-1935)

Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She created shelters, education opportunities and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Noble Peace Prize.

Rachel Carson(1907-1964)

Rachel Carson was born in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania in America. The popular 1962 book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson made people realize the dangers and the harmful effects(影响) of pollution on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.

Angela Merkel (1954-  )

In 2005, Germans chose Angela Merkel as their first woman head of the country. She had been a scientist in the past. As Germany’s leader, she has had an effect on the whole world.

Sandra Day O’Connor (1930- )

When Sandra Day O’Connor finished her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work because she was a woman. However, she became the first woman to join the U.S. Supreme Court(最高法院）in 1981 after years of hard work.

Margaret Thatcher(1925- )

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister. She served until 1990, which made her the first British leader to serve three terms in a row. Because of her high standards and strong will, people called her Britain’s Iron Lady.

Marie Curie (1867-1934 )

Polish-born scientist Marie Curie discovered that some types of metal give off energy called radiation. Her research led to new medical treatments and arms. She received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911.

1.Who once won the Nobel Prize?

A． Jane Addams and Marie Curie

B．Jane Addams and Margaret Thatcher.

C．Marie Curie and Angela Merkel

D．Marie Curie and Rachel Carson

2.We can infer from the text that Rachel Carson worked to ______.

A．help the poor

B．spread geographic knowledge

C．protect the environment

D．protect the rights of women

3.Who once failed to find a job？

A．Jane Addams                           B．Sandra Day O’Connor

C．Rachel Carson                          D．Margaret Thatcher

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A．Great women.                          B．Famous scientists

C．Strong leaders                          D．Ways to success for women