六、短文填空
阅读短文,在空格处填入一个适当的单词或括号中单词的正确形式。
Born in 1847, the inventor Thomas Edison was (1)
mostly
(most) self-taught. He learnt from books and loved to experiment (做试验). At (2)
the
age of 10, he experimented with chemicals and electricity. He built a telegraph (电报) machine and went to work (3)
as
a telegraph operator at 16. He continued (4)
improving/to improve
(improve) the telegraph machine and invented an electrical voting machine.
With money from his early (5)
inventions
(invent), he started his own company
in 1871. Instead of working alone, he (6)
led
(lead) a team on many projects, receiving many patents (专利) during his lifetime. In 1913, he (7)
was called
(call) the most useful man in America by a popular magazine. He slept only four or five hours a night and worked about 18 hours daily (8)
because
he enjoyed his work a lot.
When asked in 1917 which invention he enjoyed most, Edison answered that the phonograph (留声机) was the most interesting, and the electric light was the (9)
hardest
(hard) and the most important. He also helped develop early motion-picture (电影) technology. Edison died in 1931, leaving people around the world with easier and more (10)
enjoyable
(enjoy) lives because of his inventions.