Section A
1b Listen and match the inventions with the years.
Alice: Was your life very difficult when you were a kid?
Grandma: Oh, not really. Why?
Alice: Well, you didn’t have modern inventions like a telephone, right?
Grandma: Of course we did! How old do you think I am? The telephone was invented in 1876. You need to take a history class, Alice!
Alice: Haha! How about cars? They weren’t invented yet, were they?
Grandma: Yes, they were. Cars were invented in 1885. My family had a car.
Alice: Well, did you have a TV?
Grandma: No, we couldn’t afford one. They were expensive in those days. The TV was invented around 1927, I think.
Alice: Well, I know that you didn’t have a computer because we learned in school that personal computers were invented in 1976.
Grandma: You’re right. But I have one now!
2a Listen and number the inventions ［1-3］ in the order you hear them.
Alex: Hi, Carol. Wow, what are those?
Carol: Hello, Alex. Oh, these are some of theinteresting inventions that I’m writingabout for my English homework.
Alex: I see…What’s that, then?
Carol: They’re shoes with lights. People use them for seeing in the dark when you get up at night.
Alex: Oh, that’s a cool idea! I always hit my toe on something on the way to the bathroom at night.
Carol: Next is a special ice-cream scoop. This is my favorite invention. It runs on electricity and becomes hot.
Alex: I know what it’s for! It’s used for serving really cold ice-cream.
Carol: Yes, that’s right! The last invention I’m going to write about is shoes with special heels. You can move the heels up and down.
Alex: What are they used for?
Carol: Well, you can change the style of your shoes. You can raise the heels if you are going to a party or lower them if you are just going out for shopping.
2b Listen again and complete the chart below.
Alex: Hi, Carol. Wow, what are those?
Carol: Hello, Alex. Oh, these are some of the interesting inventions that I’m writing about for my English homework.
Alex: I see…What’s that, then?
Carol: They’re shoes with lights. People use them for seeing in the dark when you get up at night.
Alex: Oh, that’s a cool idea! I always hit my toe on something on the way to the bathroom at night.
Carol: Next is a special ice-cream scoop. This is my favorite invention. It runs on electricity and becomes hot.
Alex: I know what it’s for! It’s used for serving really cold ice-cream.
Carol: Yes, that’s right! The last invention I’m going to write about is shoes with special heels. You can move the heels up and down.
Alex: What are they used for?
Carol: Well, you can change the style of yourshoes. You can raise the heels if you are going to a party or lower them if youare just going out for shopping.
3a
Read the passage quickly and match each paragraph with its main idea. 读速阅读文章，并为每个段落匹配合适的大意。
An Accidental Invention 一个偶然的发明
Did you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (at er water), was invented by accident? 你知道吗？茶,世界上最受欢迎的饮料(位于水之后),是偶然发明的吗?
Many people believe that tea was first drunk nearly 5,000 years ago. 许多人认为人们第一次喝茶是在将近5000年以前。
It is said that a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong first discovered tea as a drink. 据说名为神农的中国统治者首次发现茶可以作为一种饮料。
One day Shen Nong was boiling drinking water over an open fire. 一天神农正在篝火上面烧喝的水。
Some leaves from a tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. 一些树叶从茶树上面掉进了水里,并在水里呆了一段时间。
It produced a nice smell so he tasted the brown water anyway. It was quite delicious. 这时产生了一股很好闻的气味，所以他品尝了棕色的水。水很好喝。
In this way, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented. 就这样,世界上最受欢迎的饮料之一被发明了。
More than 4,000 years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea”, mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing. 4000多年后,陆羽,“茶对”,在他的著作中提到了神农。
The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. 这本书描述了茶类植物是如何种植的以及茶叶怎样做茶。
It also discusses where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used. 它还讨论了最好的茶叶是在哪里生产以及做茶时用了什么样的水。
It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. 人们相信在6 - 7世纪中，茶被带到朝鲜和日本。
In England, tea didn’t appear until around 1660, but less than 100 years later, it had become the national drink. 在英格兰,茶直到1660年左右才出现,但不到100年后,它就成为风靡全国的饮料。
The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. 中西方的茶叶贸易始于19世纪。
This helped to spread the popularity of tea and the tea plant to more places around the world. 茶叶贸易帮助茶和茶类植物传播到了全世界更多的地方。
Even though many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are without doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea. 尽管现在许多人了解茶文化,但毫无疑问，中国人最了解茶的本质。
Paragraph 1 Lu Yu and his book Cha Jing 第一段 陆羽和他的著作《茶经》
Paragraph 2 How tea spread to other countries 第二段 茶是如何传播到其他国家的
Paragraph 3 How tea was invented by accident 第三段 茶是如何在偶然间被发明的
听录音，把发明和年份搭配起来。
艾丽斯：你小时候生活很难吗？
奶奶：哦，不是很难。怎么了？
艾丽斯：噢，你们没有像电话这样的现代发明，对吗？
奶奶：我们当然有！你认为我有多老？电话是在1876年发明的。你需要上历史课了，艾丽斯！
艾丽斯：哈哈！那么汽车呢？它们还没有发明，对吗？
奶奶：不，发明了。汽车是在1885年发明的。我家里有一辆汽车。
艾丽斯：好吧，你们有电视机吗？
奶奶：没有。我们买不起。它们在那个时代很贵。我想电视机是在大约在1927年发明的。
艾丽斯：嗯，我知道你们没有电脑，因为我们在学校里学过个人电脑是在1976年发明的。
奶奶：对。但现在我有一台！
听录音，按你听到它们的顺序给这些发明编号［1~3］。
亚历克斯：你好，卡罗尔。哇，那些是什么？
卡罗尔：你好，亚历克斯。哦，这些是我要在英语作业中写到的一些有趣的发明。
亚历克斯：我知道了……那么，那是什么？
卡罗尔：它们是带灯的鞋。当晚上起床时，人们用它们在黑暗中看东西。
亚历克斯：哦，那是一个很酷的主意！我总是在晚上去卫生间的路上碰到脚趾。
卡罗尔：接下来是一个特别的冰激凌勺。这是我最喜爱的发明。它靠电运行，接着变热。
亚历克斯：我知道它的用途！它是用来加热非常凉的冰激凌的。
卡罗尔：是的，正确！我要写的最后一项发明是有特殊后跟的鞋。你可以上下移动后跟。
亚历克斯：它们的用途是什么？
卡罗尔：噢，你可以改变你的鞋子的风格。如果你打算参加聚会，你可以增高你的鞋跟；或者如果只是出去购物，你可以降低鞋跟。