Hawking's Five Easy Steps for Making Yourself a Genius As we all know,Stephen Hawking writes the book A Brief History of Time that explains the origin of the universe. The book spent 147 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List and has sold 10 million copies. He is,most agree,very smart. In his recently published autobiography My Brief History,Hawking offers five life lessons on how to become a genius. 1)Don't miss opportunities by being too cool "We showed an air of complete boredom and the feeling that nothing was worth making an effort for. One result of my illness has been to change all that. When you are faced with the possibility of an early death, it makes you realize that life is worth living and that there are lots of things you want to do. "Seize the moment,as Oxford types would say. 2)Keep it simple When writing A Brief History of Time,he tried to make science understandable for the rest of us. "I was sure that nearly everyone is interested in how the universe operates,but most people cannot follow mathematical equations . "He has trouble with them,too. "This is partly because it is difficult for me to write them down,but mainly because I don't have an inborn feeling for equations. My aim in the book was to describe these mental images in words. It is such an easy book that everybody can understand it." The moral:You don't have to be a genius to know everything. 3)Have fun Hawking has a long history of being a joker,and he has placed lots of bets with other scientists on the nature of black holes. One was with Cal-Tech scientist John Preskill. After paying off his bet by giving Preskill a baseball encyclopedia,Hawking wrote,"but maybe I should have just given him the ashes. "So lighten up! Geniuses like bad jokes too. 4) Always look for a silver lining (even if you are seriously ill) Hawking's disease has slowly robbed him of the ability to walk,move his arms,even speak. But,Hawking says,"in some ways I guess my disability has been an assist:I haven't had to lecture or teach students, and I... The passage tells us the facts about A Brief History of Time EXCEPT that _ . A) it included Hawking's five life lessons on how to become a genius B) it has sold 10 million copies up to now C) it spent 147 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List D) it explained the origin of the universe
A
The day was like any other day in his life. Tom walked past the shop on the street corner. He stopped to look at the front row of shoes, and he felt happy to see that the pair of shoes he wanted very much was still there. Looking down at his old shoes, he felt sorry for himself. He really wanted to have them for his birthday. He sadly walked away and thought how to tell his mother about it. He knew very well she had little money. He decided not to go home at once, as he looked sad and his mother would notice it. So he went to the park and sat on the grass. There he saw a boy moving a wheelchair with his hands. Tom looked at him and was surprised to see that the boy had no feet. He looked at his own feet. "It's much better to be without shoes than without feet. "he thought. There was no reason for him to feel so sorry and sad. He went away and smiled, thinking he was happier. Why did Tom go to the park? Because _ . A) many nice shoes were sold there B) he wanted to play there for a while C) he wanted to see his disabled friend D) he didn't want to make his mother worried
D
Q: There are stories about two U.S . presidents,Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren,which attempt to explain the American English term OK.We don't know if either story is true,but they are both interesting. The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education.In fact,he had difficulty reading and writing.When important papers came to Jackson,he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said.If he approved of a paper, he would write "all correct"on it.The problem was that he didn't know how to spell.So what he really wrote was "ol korekt".After a while,he shortened that term to "OK". The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born,Kinderhook,New York.Van Buren's friends organized a club to help him become President .They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club,and anyone who supported Van Buren was called"OK". .According to the first story, the term "OK" _ . A) was approved of by President Jackson B) was the title of some Official documents C) was first used by President Jackson D) was an old way to spell "all correct"
A: C
Tiangong -- 1(or.Heavenly Palace)space module is the first step toward China's plan to build a space station around 2020.Its launch by China has upset some countries,which are asking why China did not add on to the International Space Station that has been in place since 1998. After all, the Americans,Russians,Europeans and Japanese are using one platform to experiment in space. Questions have also been asked about China's final purpose in space and suggestions made that there is something as unpleasant as the theme in a James Bond movie,in which Chinese-looking enemies were at the root of some evil plot to control the world. Chinese don't see themselves that way, and never in history have they been flag-planting settlers.Most Westerners are educated in the adventures of the great European explorers,headed by Christopher Columbus and James Cook,and followed closely by the groups of culture egotists with a mix of guns,gold and the Bible in their hands. In comparison,Zheng He,the great Chinese sailing master,took groups of ships to Africa and the Middle East to promote goodwill, with gifts of chinaware and art.No flags claiming possession of distant areas.But this is strange to Western society. In this century,it is clear that space cannot be claimed by one nation.Yet advantage of technology in space does seem to be on some minds.Former US president Ronald Reagan caused shocks and worries with his Star Wars program.So when China shot down its own satellite as a test in January 2010 there were anxieties in the West about Star Wars 1ike scenario becoming reality in the near future. It is most probable that the US,Russia,Europe and Japan _ . A) are competing against one another in space wars B) feel anxious about China's setting up a space station C) are cooperating to compete against China in space D) have warned the world of China's final purpose
B