The word, “photography”, was first used in 1839. It comes from the Greek words that mean “to write with light”. But photography could only give people static pictures. So scientists were trying hard to find ways to make pictures that can move. They made lots of experiments, but failed again and again. It was Eadweard Muybridge who finally succeeded. He was the first photographer to try this successfully. But how did he make it? It was an interesting story.

Back in 1872, people didn’t know exactly whether all four of a horse’s hooves (蹄) left the ground at the same time when it was running. A gentleman called Leland Stanford made a bet with his friend about it. Most people believed that a horse always had one hoof on the ground, or it would fall over. But Stanford didn’t think so.

At that time, it was hard to know who could win the bet, because a horse’s legs move so fast that it is impossible to tell just by looking. So they needed a way to record the movement of a running horse. Then Stanford offered $25,000 to the famous photographer, Muybridge, to help find the answer. In the beginning, Muybridge failed to get clear images, but he didn’t give up. He continued to improve his cameras. In 1878, after many experiments, he managed to get a sequence (连续) of 12 photos. One of them clearly showed that all four of the horse’s hooves were off the ground at the same time. And when the photos moved fast, people could see a horse running.

Though is usually considered as the person who created the first movie in 1889, it was the work of Eadweard Muybridge and the bet that led to Edison’s invention.

46. The underlined word “static” in Paragraph 1 most probably means _______.

A. pretty B. dark C. moving D. still

47. What did Leland Stanford make a bet with his friend about?

A. Whose horse ran faster.

B. whether a horse would fall over while running.

C. whether it was possible for scientists to make moving pictures.

D.Whether a horse’s hooves all left the ground at the same time while running.

48. Muybridge finally found the exact answer to the bet _______.

A. next year. B. at the same year. C. after six years. D. after seventeen years.

49.Which is TRUE from the passage?

A. The word, “photography” means to make pictures that can move from the Greek words .

B. Leland Stanford made a bet with Edison in 1872.

C. It is very easy for Muybridgea to record the movement of a running horse.

D. Stanford believed all four of the horse’s hooves were off the ground at the same time.

50. The passage mainly tells us _______.

A. that Thomas Edison created the first movie .

B. that Eadweard Muybridge created the first static pictures

C. how photography helped people know more about animals

D. how Eadweard Muybridge got pictures of motion (移动) successfully

D.

Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.

After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread (铺开) out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.

Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity (好奇心). She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns (修女)?”

Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”

“Well then,” she asked again. “WHAT was it?”

Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (加号), I knew they weren’t joking. ”

51. Why did Tommy’s parents send him to a catholic school?

A. Because he could eat well there. B. Because he could earn more about nuns.

C. Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math.

D. Because his parents didn’t want him to learn math any more.

52. Tommy’s mother felt surprised that his son _______.

A. was still the same as usual B . ate so much at dinner

C. kissed her hello after school D. worked hard but said little