When Wayne Mix was a child in the 1930s，his family sent him to a school for the deaf and blind．He learned American Sign Language．With American Sign Language，deaf people use their hands to communicate．They can spell words with their fingers，or they can use signs for whole words．Wayne communicated with teachers and friends in sign language．He graduated at the age of 20．In those days，people who were deaf did not get jobs and were not part of the community（社區(qū)），so Wayne went back to the family farm．His family did not know sign language，so Wayne communicated a little by making simple motions（手勢）with his hands．He was never able to tell them his thoughts and feelings．

Wayne's father died in 1971．There was no place for Wayne to live，so they sent him to Mountain Meadows nursing home．He was only 51 and much younger and healthier than the other people in the nursing home，but he was treated like the 80 and 90-year-old people because he did not hear or speak．No one knew that Wayne was able to use sign language．

Twenty-nine years passed slowly and silently for Wayne．Then one day he saw a visitor using sign language with her deaf mother during a visit to the nursing home．He walked up to them and signed，“I’m Wayne Mix．”

Suddenly everything changed for Wayne．He found many people who knew sign language．These people communicated through sign language，e-mail，television with subtitles and a special telephone that prints（打�。﹖he words that are spoken．It was a whole new world for Wayne．Now he could tell people his feelings，his needs，and his thoughts．

The people in Wayne's town were sad about the thousands of days in Wayne's life when no one knew that he could communicate．They wanted to help Wayne to do some of the things he always wanted to do．The workers at the nursing home found out that as a young man he loved to swim，and he loved to see pictures of dolphins swimming．When he started signing again，they asked him where he wanted to go．“Water．” Wayne signed．

Mountain Meadows workers had an idea．“Let’s send Wayne to Sea World in San Diego．” They told other people in town about their idea．Many people in Wayne's town and in other states gave money to help Wayne make the trip．The people at Sea World were very kind to Wayne．They let him swim with the dolphins and help them feed all the sea animals．Newspapers wrote about Wayne，so many people gave money to buy him a special TV and a telephone set．These were things Wayne never knew about before．

1．How did Wayne Mix communicate with his teachers in the school?

A．In American Sign Language．            B．By drawing pictures．

C．By spelling words on their hands．               D．By making simple motions．

2．Why did Wayne Mix go to live in the nursing home?

A．Because his family moved to another town．

B．Because nobody in his family knew the sign language．

C．Because his family was not able to provide him a room to live in．

D．Because he like to talk with the old people living in the nursing home．

3．How did Wayne’s life change after he met a visitor using sign language in the nursing home?

A．He told the visitor who he was．

B．His life stayed the same as before．

C．He could send e-mails and make telephones to his new friends．

D．He could “talk” with people，telling them his needs and feelings．

4．Why did people feel sad after Wayne began to communicate with others again?

A．Because he was sent to the nursing home at a young age．

B．Because he failed to communicate with his family for such a long time．

C．Because he was not able to communicate with others while he could．

D．Because they were not sure how to look after Wayne later on．

5．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Wayne tried to find a job after he graduated from the school but failed．

B．Many people gave money to buy Wayne a special TV and a telephone set．

C．The nursing home workers sent Wayne to a Sea World to swim．

D．Wayne Mix lived in silence all his life though many people helped him．

How did ancient people tell time?

◆Natural ways of keeping time

In ancient time，people had to use the sun and the moon to tell time．They got up when the sun came up and worked in the fields until the sun went down．

◆Man-made things

The sand clock is made of two glass balls joined by a narrow neck．The top ball was filled with sand．The sand slowly moved through the neck into the bottom（底部）ball．People knew the time by watching how much sand fell to the bottom hall．People also made the water clock．They made a small hole near the bottom of a pot．when the water in the pot dripped（滴）out，marking（刻度）inside the pot showed how much time passed．

◆Body clocks in living things

Animals' body clock

Animals don't need clocks to know time．They have their body clocks．Birds know when to fly to warmer places before winter．Some animals know when to keep more food for the winter．Some fish know when it's time to move up the river and lay eggs．

Plants' own clock

Plants have their own clocks to keep time．Plants know when to open flowers or when to drop their leaves．

Body clock in human beings

People also have their own body clocks．When we get used to our lives，our body clocks can be very exact．It can tell us when it's time to wake up．It can also tell us when to eat or to go to sleep．

1．How could an ancient farmer know when to go back home from the field in the daytime?

A．By looking at the moon．                         B．By the sand clock or the water clock．

C．By looking at the sun．                               D．By feeling whether tired or not．

2．According to the passage，how can animals know time?

A．They use body clocks．                           B．They ask other animals．

C．They use the sun and the moon．                D．They make something to tell time．

3．How many kinds of living things with body clocks are mentioned here?

A．Two．                B．Three．               C．Four．                   D．Six．

4．In what way is the sand clock the same as the water clock in telling time?

A．Both of them have a neck．

B．Both of them have two glass balls．

C．Both of them can be used only once．

D．Both of them give the time by quantity（數(shù)量）．

5．The passage is mainly about _________．

A．man-made clocks                                    B．nature's clocks

C．time and clock                                           D．how people keep time

A young man hurried into his town library. He 　　1   one of the old librarians and said to her in a hurry, “Do you remember me?”  “Yes?”  The librarian looked at the young man in surprise. “I borrowed a book    2   Greek(希臘的) history a week ago.”  The young man said.

“Yes, that’s right.”  Answered the librarian. “Do you remember the name of the book?”  The young man asked. The old librarian felt very pleased, because she  3  お    get young people to read books about Greek history, and she found very    4   people would like to borrow them.

“Yes,” she answered, “Do you want to    5   again? Did you think that it was    6   interesting?”

“    7   .”  said the young man. “But when I 　　8   , I met a girl on the bus, and I wrote her telephone number    9   the book. I want to telephone her, so may I 　　10   the book again?”

1. A. went near　　   B. went up to　　   C. came near to　　    D. came round

2. A. on　　　　　　 B . in　　　　　　 C. of　　　　　　　　 D. with

3. A. tried　　　　   B. was trying 　　  C. always tried　　　　 D. was always trying

4. A. few　　　　    B. a few　　　　   C. little　　　　　　   D. a little

5. A. borrow　　　　 B. lend　　　　    C. take out　　　　　　 D. take it out

6. A. so　　　　　　 B. too　　　　　　 C. much   　　　　　　D. more

7. A. Yes, I think so    B. No, I don’t think so   C. Yes, of course  D. No, of course not

8. A. took it to home   B. was taking it home   C. took it home  D. was taking it at home

9. A. in　　　　　　  B. on　　　　　　 C. between　　 　　  D. among

10. A. read　　　　   B. look at　　　　  C. borrow　　　　    D. have a look

 

“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen.”
After graduating from college in 1932, I decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer(播音員). I took the bus to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I was refused every time. In one studio, a nice lady told me that big stations didn’t want to accept inexperienced persons. “Go to the countryside and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said.
I returned home, Dixon in Illinois. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Smith Ward had opened a store and wanted a local sportsman to manage its sports department. Since I had played high school football in Dixon, I applied(申請). The job sounded just right for me. But I still failed in the interview. At that moment, mom’s words came to my mind: “Everything happens for the best.” Dad offered me a car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport in Iowa. The program director, named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt sad. I asked aloud, “How can a man become a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”
I was waiting for the lift when I heard MacArthur calling, “What did you say about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he made me stand before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. As a result, I did a wonderful job and was told to broadcast Saturday’s game!
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words again: “Everything happens for the best if you carry on. One day something good will happen.”
【小題1】After the writer graduated from college, he tried to look for a job in        at first.

A．Chicago	B．Dixon
C．Davenport	D．Illinois

【小題2】 The writer couldn’t find a job in Dixon because       .

A．he had played high school football

B．he did not pass the interview

C．he had no working experience

D．he had no interest in the job

【小題3】Which sentence below is TRUE?

A．In all, the writer went to three cities to look for the job.

B．The writer took the train to different places to look for the job.

C．The writer gave up finally when he was refused again and again.

D．MacArthur gave the writer a chance to broadcast Saturday’s game directly.

【小題4】The passage mainly tells us that       .

A．it is hard to find a job

B．mother’s help is necessary

C．we should hope for the best

D．life is full of disappointment

“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen.”
After graduating from college in 1932, I decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer(播音員). I took the bus to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I was refused every time. In one studio, a nice lady told me that big stations didn’t want to accept inexperienced persons. “Go to the countryside and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said.
I returned home, Dixon in Illinois. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Smith Ward had opened a store and wanted a local sportsman to manage its sports department. Since I had played high school football in Dixon, I applied(申請). The job sounded just right for me. But I still failed in the interview. At that moment, mom’s words came to my mind: “Everything happens for the best.” Dad offered me a car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport in Iowa. The program director, named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt sad. I asked aloud, “How can a man become a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”
I was waiting for the lift when I heard MacArthur calling, “What did you say about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he made me stand before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. As a result, I did a wonderful job and was told to broadcast Saturday’s game!
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words again: “Everything happens for the best if you carry on. One day something good will happen.”
【小題1】After the writer graduated from college, he tried to look for a job in        at first.

A．Chicago	B．Dixon
C．Davenport	D．Illinois

【小題2】The writer couldn’t find a job in Dixon because       .

A．he had played high school football

B．he did not pass the interview

C．he had no working experience

D．he had no interest in the job

【小題3】 Which sentence below is TRUE?

A．In all, the writer went to three cities to look for the job.

B．The writer took the train to different places to look for the job.

C．The writer gave up finally when he was refused again and again.

D．MacArthur gave the writer a chance to broadcast Saturday’s game directly.

【小題4】The passage mainly tells us that       .

A．it is hard to find a job

B．mother’s help is necessary

C．we should hope for the best

D．life is full of disappointment