For the 17 years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She said, “Victor and Elizabeth, I’m very happy because you love each other, and because one day you’ll get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you look after them when I have gone.”

My mother died and we were very sad, because we loved her so much. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother’s death. The time came for me to go to university(大學(xué)). I didn’t want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry would not let him go to university with me. So I had gone alone.

On my first day at university I met Professor Waldman. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students. He ended his talk by saying, “Some of you will become the greatest scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can.”

After the professor’s talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was 15; I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. From then on, I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things.

I started to work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.

The professor and other important scientists helped me. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day’s holiday during the next two years. After two years, I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was the best in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death, so it was a dark and terrible time.

I built a tall mast(桅桿)about 150 metres high, which is higher than the tallest building in the city, to catch lightning and send the electricity down to my machine in the lab. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.

Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life.

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

A．Elizabeth married shortly after Victor’s mother died.

B．Elizabeth was a brave girl who loved Victor and gave him much help.

C．Victor’s mother was very angry when she knew he loved Elizabeth.

D．Victor did not want to leave his family because his mother died not long before.

2.Victor did all the following during his research in the university EXCEPT that ______.

A．he discovered many things and built a scientific machine

B．he learnt much about death both in the hospital and in the university

C．he worked hard and took only one day’s holiday during the next two years

D．he built a tall mast to catch lightning and send the electricity down to the lab

3.According to the writer, the secret of life is to _______.

A．give life to things that were dead

B．build the best machine to learn about death

C．use electricity to help others

D．become the greatest scientist of tomorrow

4.Which is the correct order about the life of Victor?

① Victor’s mother passed away.

② Victor got help from the professor and other scientists.

③ Victor went to university and attended the professor’s talk.

④ Victor found the answer to giving life to things that were dead.

⑤ Victor experienced a storm, seeing the lightning destroying the tree.

A．①②③④⑤                           B．⑤①②④③

C．①③②⑤④                           D．⑤①③②④

For the 17 years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She said, “Victor and Elizabeth, I’m very happy because you love each other, and because one day you’ll get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you look after them when I have gone.”
My mother died and we were very sad, because we loved her so much. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother’s death. The time came for me to go to university(大學(xué)). I didn’t want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry would not let him go to university with me. So I had gone alone.
On my first day at university I met Professor Waldman. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students. He ended his talk by saying, “Some of you will become the greatest scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can.”
After the professor’s talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was 15; I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. From then on, I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things.
I started to work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.
The professor and other important scientists helped me. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day’s holiday during the next two years. After two years, I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was the best in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death, so it was a dark and terrible time.
I built a tall mast(桅桿)about 150 metres high, which is higher than the tallest building in the city, to catch lightning and send the electricity down to my machine in the lab. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.
Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life.
【小題1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

Missing friends who live far away? Or just need a little family comfort after a long day? Sometimes you just need a hug(擁抱). And sometimes there’s just no one around to give you one. So what do you do? How about a virtual (虛擬的) hug?Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented a social media vest (社交背心) that allows people to give hugs to their friends, family and loved ones on Facebook.

The vest is called Like-A-Hug, which is connected(連接) with your Facebook page. Whenever Facebook friends “Like” a photo, video or anything you post on the network, a fan will blow air into the vest to give you a hug. Hugs can also be sent back to the sender by pressing the vest to lose air, according to the website of designer Melissa Chow.

She worked with Andy Payne and Phil Seaton at the MIT Media Lab to build the black vest, making the wearer “feel the warmth, encouragement, support, or love that we feel when we receive hugs.” Melissa Chow said, “We came up with the idea over a free talk about long-distance relationships and the disadvantages of video chat interfaces (視頻聊天界面) like Skype.”

Chow and her workmates actually finished work on the vest last year, but it’s only just recently drawn the attention of the public.

Chow provided no pricing or ordering information for the Like-A-Hug vest, so don’t expect to see people blowing up all over town just yet.

Although researchers believe that Like-A-Hug will cause a worldwide storm, a lot of people think it can’t take the place of the feeling of a real hug. Body temperature or the taste of hair and so on is far from what a social vest can match.

1.What is the main purpose of the text?

A. To show how to design a magic vest.????????????? ?????????????

B. To suggest a newly-built website.

C. To introduce a virtual social media vest. ?????????????

D. To explain the weak points of Skype.

2.The vest “Like-A-Hug” would probably be most helpful to ________.

A. those who play computer games????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

B. those who need comfort or support

C. those who design chat interfaces????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

D. those who like to give others hugs

3.What can we learn about Melissa Chow?

A. She built the vest all by herself.????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

B. She expects to sell the vest at a high price.

C. She made the vest public last year.????????????? ?????????????

D. She got the idea for a vest while chatting.

4.We can learn from the text that the Like-A-Hug vest ________.

A. can be ordered on Facebook????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

B. can take the place of a real hug

C. can not only be used by Facebook users

D. produces a hug when you get a Facebook “Like”