Book 1 Elixir

written by Eric Walters

  twelve-year-old Roth becomes a friend of Dr. Banting and his assistant, Mr. Best, who are in search of a cure for diabetes(糖尿病). She finds herself torn between her sympathy for the animals being experimented on and her friendship with Banting and Best.

Book 2  George Washington Carver   

 written by Elizabeth Macleod

    Meet the “Peanut（花生）Specialist”, George Washington Carver, the inventor and professor who made over 325 products out of peanuts. Through his agricultural research, he also greatly improved the lives of countless black farmers in the southern United States. See also Macleod's Albert Einstein: A Life of Genius.

Book 3 The Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations

 written by Alootook Ipellie & David MacDonald

    Explore more than 40 ideas necessary to Inuit survival. From ideas familiar to us today to inventive concepts that shaped their lives, celebrate the creativity of a remarkably intelligent people. Also see other books: The Chinese Thought of It by Tingxing Ye and A Native American Thought of It by Rocky Landon and David MacDonald.

Book 4  Made in Canada: 101 Amazing Achievements   

 written by Bev Spencer 

What things do we use daily that have a Canadian connection? Here are 101 common things that were invented in Canada or by a Canadian, including the Blackberry, alkaline(碱性) batteries and the Blue Box recycling program. 

Book 5  Newton and the Time Machine   

written by Michael McGowan

    Ten-year-old boy Newton has invented a time machine to see dinosaurs up close. But it disappears on a test run with his two huge friends, King Herbert and Queen Certrude, in it! Can he save them before time runs out? 

1. Which of the following best describes Roth's feeling in Book 1?

A. Frightened.        B. Curious.          C. Painful.              D. Disappointed.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Alkaline batteries were invented by Dr. Banting.

B. Book 3 introduces 40 inventive concepts.

C. Animals are mentioned in Book 1 and Book 5.

D. George Washington Carver was a black farmer in the US.

3. In Book 5, King Herbert and Queen Gertrude are________.

A. two dinosaurs                        

B. the names of the time machine

C.  Newton's human friends                                      

D. the inventions of the time machine

4. If you are interested in native Americans, you may read the book by ________.

A. Rocky London & David MacDonald                                B. Eric Walters

C.  Elizabeth Macleod                                   D. Bev Spencer

   When I was a little boy, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. “The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse. If I went to a friends house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods, ” with a tone of airy acceptance. It’s similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk.” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while.

We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring. Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today. History seemed to be mostly about explorers. Our explorations, though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way. Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Indian burial mound.

Often we got “lost” and had to climb a tree to find out where we were. If you read a story in which someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees. There were four or five trees that we visited regularly—tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in.

It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end. By then some of us had reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence. In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring. We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that we really were rather big to be up in a tree. Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria.

5. The author and his friends were often out in the woods to _______．

　 A. play golf and other sports　　　　  B. spend their free time

　 C. avoid doing their schoolwork　     D. keep away from their parents

6. What can we infer from Paragraph 2 ?

　 A. The activities in the woods were well planned．

　 B. Human history is not the result of exploration．

　 C. The author explored in the woods aimlessly．

　 D. Exploration should be a systematic activity．

7. The underlined word “skeptical” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______．

　 A. calm　　　　 　　B. serious　　 　 　C. doubtful　　 　 　D. optimistic

8. How does the author feel about his childhood?

　 A. Long and unforgettable．　　　 B. Lonely but memorable．

　 C. Boring and meaningless．　　　 D. Happy but short．　

  President Xi Jinping announced Thursday that China will cut its military by 300,000 troops, a significant reduction in one of the largest militaries in the world and a move that the Chinese leader called a gesture of peace.

  “The great renewal of the Chinese nation requires efforts of one generation after another,” Xi said in a speech at Tiananmen Square remembering the 70^th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific. “Having created an impressive civilization of over 5,000 years, the Chinese civilization will lead to an even brighter future,” he said.

   Xi’s announcement came as China staged a massive military parade in central Beijing, sending a stream of troops, tanks, and ballistic missiles(弹道) down a major east-west street as fighter jets flew overhead with multicolored smoke.

  Xi’s speech kicked off the parade. An estimated 12,000 troops—about 1,000 of whom hailed(致敬)from Belarus, Cuba, Tajikistan, and other countries-marched along the 10-lane Chang’an Avenue from the commercial center wangujing to Tiannmen Square, about 1.5 miles away. They were joined by 200 fighter jets and 500 pieces of military hardware, including tanks and ballistic missiles. Representatives from 49 countries were in attendance, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U. N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

   Rory Medcalf, head of the national security college at Australian National University, said the Beijing may have decided to cut 300,000 troops “in the name of efficiency and cost saving.”

   Xi conducted a “troop inspection” after his speech, riding down Chan’gan Avenue in a Chinese-made Hongqi parade car. On Thursday morning, China’s popular microblogging site Sina Weibo filled up with 350 million comments related to the parade. While many users expressed their love of their country and pride, few posts were filled with criticism. “The soldiers are too serious,” wrote one user. Others complained about the cloud of gray exhaust that followed a column of tanks.

9. Why did China make the military reduction?

   A. For the efficiency and cost saving

   B. For the peace of the whole the world

   C. For the celebration of the end of World War II

   D. For the renewal of the Chinese civilization

10. What can we infer from the passage?

   A. The majority of web users think highly of the parade

   B. Many web users thought that the soldiers were lovely

   C. The parade might bring air pollution to the capital city

   D. The parade led to a heated discussion on the line

11. What is mainly talked about in the passage?

   A. China decided to cut its military forces

   B. World leaders attended China’s military parade

   C. China sowed its weapons to the world

   D. China held a military parade in Beijing

As we all know, ever since they were first put on the market in the early 1990s, genetically modified(GM,转基因) foods have been increasingly developed and marketed in many countries in the world, mainly on the basis of their promise to end the worldwide food crisis. But can GM technology solve world hunger problems? Even if it would, is it the best solution?

Despite what it promises, GM technology actually has not increased the production potential of any crop. In fact, studies show that the most widely grown GM crop, GM soybeans, has suffered reduced productivity. For instance, a report that analyzed nearly two decades of research on major GM food crops shows that GM engineering has failed to significantly increase US crop production.

Something else, however, has been on the rise, While GM seeds are expensive, GM companies tell farmers that they will make good profits by saving money on pesticides（杀虫剂）. On the contrary, US government data show that GM crops in the US have produced an overall increase in pesticide use compared to traditional crops. “The promise was that you could use less chemicals and boost production. But neither is true,” said Bill Christison, President of the US National Farm Coalition.

At the same time, the authors of the book World Hunger: Twelve Myths argue that there actually is more than enough food in the world and that the hunger crisis is not caused by production, but by problems in food distribution and politics. These indeed deserve our efforts and money. Meanwhile, the rise in food prices results from the increased use of crops for fuel rather than food, according to a 2008 World Bank report.

As a matter of fact, scientists see better ways to feed the world. Another World Bank report concluded that GM crops have little to offer to the challenges of worldwide poverty and hunger, because better ways out are available, among which “green” farming is supposed to be the first choice.

12. The author develops the second paragraph mainly           .

A. by classification                       B. by comparison

C. by example                              D. by process

13.What does the underlined word “boost ” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A. control.       B. evaluate            C. increase          D.. obtain.

14. GM companies promise farmers that they will benefit from ______________.   

A. use of less chemicals                 B. practicing “green” farming 

C. fair distribution of their crops          D. using more crops for fuel

15. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author towards GM technology?

A. Optimistic          B. Defensive           C. Casual       D. Disapproving 

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

  Remembering names is an important social skill.   16 

●Recite and repeat in conversation.

When you hear a person’s name, repeat it. Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips. You could also repeat the name in a way that odes not sound forced or artificial.

  ●Ask the other person to recite and repeat.

You can let other people help you remember their names. After you’ve been introduced to someone, ask that person to spell the name mad pronounce it correctly for you.   17 

●Admit you don’t know

Admitting that you can’t remember someone’s name can actually make people relaxed. Most of them will feel

sympathy if you say. “I’m working to remember names better.  18   What is it again?”

  ●Use associations

   Link each person yon meet with one thing out find interesting or unusual. For example, you could make a mental note: “Vicki Cheng---tall, black hair.” To reinforce you’re your associations, write them on a small card as soon as possible.

   ●  19 

   When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names. Free yourself from remembering every one. Few of the people in mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come later.

   ●Go early

   Consider going early to conferences, parties and classes. Sometimes just a few people show up on time.  20 And as more people arrive, you can hear them being introduced to others---an automatic review for you.

A. That’s fewer names for you to remember.

B. Limit the number of new names you learn at one time.

C. Remember a name at a time.

D. Here are some ways to master it.

E. Most people will be pleased by the effort you’re making to learn their names

F. Most people will be pleased with your hard work.

G. Yours is right on the tip of my tongue.