Invention is a creative process. An open and curious mind enables one to see beyond what is known. Seeing a new possibility, a new connection or relationship can spark(引发) an invention. Inventive thinking frequently involves combining concepts or elements from different fields that would not normally be put together. Sometimes inventors skip over the boundaries between separate fields. Ways of thinking, materials, processes or tools from one field are used as no one else has imagined in a different field.
Play can lead to invention. Childhood curiosity like playing in a sand box, imagination can develop one’s play nature—an inner need according to Carl Jung. Inventors feel the need to play with things that interest them, and to explore, and this internal drive brings about interesting creations.
Inventing can also be an obsession(痴迷). Inventors often imagine a new idea, seeing it in their mind’s eye. New ideas can arise when the conscious mind turns away from the subject or problem; or when the focus is on something else; or even while relaxing or sleeping. An unusual idea may come all of a sudden! For example, after years of working to figure out the general theory of relativity, the solution came to Einstein suddenly in a dream “like a giant die making an unforgettable impress, a huge map of the universe summarized itself in one clear vision”.
Invention can also be accidental. Insight(洞察力) is also an important element of invention. It may begin with questions or doubt. It may begin by recognizing something unusual. It may be useful and it could open a new way for exploration. For example, the odd metallic color of plastic made by accidentally adding too much catalyst(催化剂) led scientists to explore its metal-like properties(性能). They then invented electrically conductive plastic and light emitting(散发) plastic—an invention that won the Nobel Prize in 2000 and has led to new kind of lighting, display screens, wallpaper and much more.
Title:    1  

Things of Value

Our area was just a few miles from the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. We were on “evacuation alert (疏散警报)”. If we got the   1  to evacuate, we would have to leave immediately.

We   2  suitcases with some clothes and set them by the door. We didn’t  3 these things were valuable, but time was. We moved the computers, with which I wrote for newspapers and made a   4 . We took family pictures off the   5  and packed them in boxes. These were truly valuable and could not be replaced.

Then we took a hard look at all that   6 . There was a lamp that belonged to my great grandmother. It was a   7  to my family. And there was the piano my wife   8  to play when she was a little girl. Not of great   9  in itself, but another family connection. It was impractical to move everything from our home and store them for an indefinite (无限的) time. Some important items would have to stay behind.

The thought of   10  something passed down from our families saddened me deeply,   11  I’d never been much attached to things. It’s about what they   12  —family and love. They each had a(n)   13  to tell, and some of them spoke in the   14  of our parents and grandparents.

The fire   15  reached our home. We were lucky. And though I felt grateful that all was   16 , I also realized just how fortunate I had been   17 . I saw just how rich my life had been.

Someone  18 said, “There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.” And now I  19  I was indeed rich. I was rich in family, rich in memories, rich in everything that really  20 to me. I am wealthier than I ever believed possible.

It took a fire to teach me, I wonder if there is any other kind of wealth worth seeking.

1.                A．answer         B．task            C．chance   D．call

2.                A．packed         B．bought         C．searched D．sold

3.                A．worry          B．think           C．care D．doubt

4.                A．mark           B．sign            C．living D．plan

5.                A．albums         B．ceilings         C．windows  D．walls

6.                A．left            B．remained       C．burnt D．unmoved

7.                A．connection      B．present         C．symbol   D．treasure

8.                A．forgot          B．agreed         C．learned   D．refused

9.                A．quality         B．taste           C．sense    D．value

10.               A．knocking out     B．leaving behind   C．giving away D．picking out

11.               A．even though     B．unless          C．but   D．or

12.               A．contained       B．included        C．represented    D．gathered

13.               A．idea           B．lie             C．right  D．story

14.               A．sounds         B．speeds         C．voices D．feelings

15.               A．once          B．never          C．seldom    D．finally

16.               A．spared         B．returned       C．stopped   D．found

17.               A．at last          B．in return        C．in another way  D．at most

18.               A．curiously       B．accidentally     C．coldly D．wisely

19.               A．knew          B．promised       C．announced D．thanked

20.               A．affects         B．matters         C．helps D．desires

Tristan da Cunha, a 38?square?mile island, is the farthest inhabited island in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. It is 1,510 miles southwest

 of its nearest neighbor, St.Helena, and 1,950 miles west of Africa. Discovered

by the Portuguese admiral（葡萄牙海军上将）of the same name in 1506, and settled

 in 1810, the island belongs to Great Britain and has a population of a few hund

red.

Coming in a close second—and often wrongly mentioned as the most distant land—is Easter Island, which lies 1,260 miles east of its nearest neighbor, Pitcair

n Island, and 2,300 miles west of South America.

The mountainous 64-square-mile island was settled around the 5th century, supposedly by people who were lost at sea. They had no connection with the outside world for more than a thousand years, giving them plenty of time to build more than 1,000 huge stone figures, called moai, for which the island is most famous.

On Easter Sunday, 1722, however, settlers from Holland moved in and gave the island its name. Today, 2,000 people live on the Chilean territory (智利领土).They share one street, a small airport, and a few hours of television per day.

1.It can be learned from the text that the island of Tristan da Cunha_______.

A.was named after its discoverer

B.got its name from Holland settlers

C.was named by the British government

D.got its name from the Guinness Book of Records

2.Which of the following is most famous for moai?

A. Tristan da Cunha.    B. Pitcairn Island.     C. Easter Island.   D. St. Helena.   

3. Which country does Easter Island belong to?

A. Britain.         B. Holland.         C. Portugal.         D. Chile. 

四．写出下列单词的英文：(每小题0.5分，共25分)

1.福利 n.                            2.尊重 vt. & n.                  3. 鼓舞vt.

4.运动; 战役n.                   5.支持 vt. & n.                     6.(偶然)遇见 phr.

7.观察；观测 v.            8.递送；生（小孩）v.               9.娱乐 n.

10.蔑视；瞧不起 phr.  11.查阅；谈到 phr..                   12.值得做的 a.

13.考虑周到的 a.         14.  紧急情况 n.                 15.  学会；学院 n.

16.专家 n.                          17.  过着……的生活phr.    18.  举动 n.

19.仁慈 n.                          20.  比率 n.                               21.  直言的；坦诚 a.

22.连接；关系 n.         23.  争论 v.                       24.   窝 n.

25.谦虚的 a.          26. 晒黑 a.                              27.  斗争,拼搏,努力vt.&vi.

28.产量,输出n.                   29.使变大,伸展,阐述vt.&vi.       30.循环,流传vt.&vi.

31.摆脱,除去phr.         32.  对……感到满意phr.    33.  配备,装备vt.&vi.

34.宁愿,宁可phr.         35.  集中（注意力）于phr. 36.  谷物,粮食,颗粒n.

37.输出,出口vt.&vi.            38.  工作；职业 n.                    39.  数据；统计 n.

40.有机的,器官的adj.   41.  化学的,关于化学的adj.       42.  肥料,化肥n.

43.使迷惑,使为难vt.    44.  矿物,矿石n.                 45.  幸亏；由于phr.

46.减少,缩减vt.                  47.  使……免受(影响)phr.   48.  总结,摘要n.

49.营养,滋养,食物n.    50.  评论；议论 n.vt.&vi.