Yesterday our science teacher did a simple test for us. She put a white rose into a glass of water and added some blue chemical. (11) The next morning the blue color appeared in the top of the flower. She said the flower drinks through its lower part, (12) the color only showed us something that happens every day without being seen. (13), the useful part of the lesson was not the flower. It was that we had to wait a whole day and write down that nothing had changed at four o'clock. A scientist is not a person who finds things, (14) a person who keeps looking when there is nothing to see.
Many things in our home come from science. About one hundred years ago, a man in the USA invented the air conditioner, and before that people slept in very hot rooms in summer. (15) The production of these machines is not simple: workers must be skillful, and every part must be checked. Most of us never think about this, (16) we only notice a machine on the day it stops. (17), the same is true of the water that reaches your sink and the light above your notebook. Each one took somebody years to make safe, (18) none of them ask to be noticed.
Dear students, please read these rules before class.
Do not eat or drink here, not even cheese or an orange. Some chemicals are not safe, and one drop on the lip is enough.
Wear your safety glasses when you use fire.
Do not put anything hot into the sink.
Tell the teacher at once if you cut your hand.
Put all the tools back on the main table before you leave, and count them. Do not move the furniture; the teacher must keep control of where things are. A missing tool is not a small thing: the next class may use fire beside it without knowing.
The last student must turn off the air conditioner and close the door. The room is also closed on New Year's Eve and for two days after it, so finish any long test before the winter holiday begins.
解析Do not eat or drink here. Some chemicals are not safe。
23Why is a missing tool a serious matter?
AIt costs a lot of money
BThe teacher must buy a new one
CThe door cannot be closed
DThe next class may use fire beside it without knowing
✔ 正確答案：(D) The next class may use fire beside it without knowing
中譯少了一件工具為什麼是嚴重的事？
解析the next class may use fire beside it without knowing。
24What is the purpose of the last part of the notice?
ATo tell students about a holiday party
BTo explain why the air conditioner is old
CTo ask students to clean the room
DTo tell students when the room is closed so they can plan
✔ 正確答案：(D) To tell students when the room is closed so they can plan
中譯公告最後一段的目的是什麼？
解析說明除夕及其後兩天不開放，並提醒在寒假前完成長時間實驗，目的是讓學生安排進度。
EMAIL
A Question after the Test
Dear Miss Chen,
I am writing about the flower test we did on Tuesday. My group wrote down that nothing changed at four o'clock, as you asked, and the next morning the blue color was clear.
My question is about the white rose that did not change at all. We put it in the same water and we cut the lower part the same way. I would like to test it again with two roses, one with a cut lower part and one without, to find out whether the cut is the reason.
May I use the science room at lunch time this week? I do not need any chemical, only water, two glasses and time.
解析May I use the science room at lunch time this week？他要的是再做一次實驗的機會。
26What does the writer want to find out?
AWhich chemical works best
BHow long the color takes
CWhether the cut lower part is the reason
DWhy the water was cold
✔ 正確答案：(C) Whether the cut lower part is the reason
中譯作者想弄清楚什麼？
解析to find out whether the cut is the reason。
27What does the writer say he needs?
AA larger room
BHelp from the teacher
CWater, two glasses and time
DA new chemical
✔ 正確答案：(C) Water, two glasses and time
中譯作者說他需要什麼？
解析I do not need any chemical, only water, two glasses and time。
ARTICLE
The Work That Looks Like Nothing
People think of science as the moment somebody shouts that he has found it. Almost all of science is the other part: the weeks when nothing happens and somebody writes that down.
A test that shows no change is not a failed test. It closes one door, and a closed door is information. The trouble is that nobody wins a prize for closing a door, and no newspaper prints it.
This is why waiting well is a skill and not a feeling. A young student who learns to record a boring afternoon honestly has learned more than one who gets a bright result by chance. The bright results belong to the people who stayed through the boring ones.