LONDON, England（CNN）--- The youngest person to sail solo around the world returned home Thursday from his 30,000-mile, 282-day ocean journey.
Mike Perham, 17, sailed into Lizard Point in Cornwall, the southernmost point in Britain, at 9:47 a.m., his race team said.
“It feels absolutely brilliant,” Mike told CNN by phone hours before crossing
the finish line. “I'm really, really excited to be going across the line at last. It doesn't feel like long since I crossed it first.”
Mike set off on his round-the-world trip on November 18, 2008. He has been sailing his yacht single-handedly, though a support team has been sailing next to him along the way.
The teen has now achieved the title of Youngest Sailor to Circumnavigate the Globe Solo, according to the Guinness World Records.
Mike learned how to sail when he was seven years old from his father, Peter and at age 14, he sailed across the Atlantic alone.
The teenager's school --- which Mike describes as “highly supportive” of his trip --- has redesigned his coursework to fit in with his trip. It also gave him some coursework to do during “quiet moments,” according to Mike's Web site.
There haven't been many of those quiet moments. Repeated autopilot failures forced him to stop for repairs in Portugal, the Canary Islands, South Africa, and twice in Australia, according to his Web site.
Bad weather in the Southern Ocean --- between Australia and Antarctica --- forced Mike to battle 50ft waves and 57 mph winds. He said at one point, a “freak wave” picked up the boat and turned it on its side.
“My feet were on the ceiling at the time,” he told CNN. “That was a really hairy moment, and I was certainly thinking, ‘Why am I here?’ But we took the sails off and the day after I thought, ‘This is brilliant!’”
Mike describes his father as his biggest hero, always supportive of what he wanted to achieve. Peter Perham said he wasn't too worried about his son facing dangerous situations at sea, as long as he knew what to do and stayed safe.
49. Mike Perham returned to Britain in ________.
A. August B. September C. October D. November
50. Mike Perham is ________ that went on the round-the-world trip in the world up till now.
A. the first B. the bravest C. the luckiest D. the youngest
51. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. the English school is the same as ours
B. the English school doesn’t care for students
C. the English school has a humane management
D. the English school gives students a lot of course work
52. The passage mainly tells us ________.
A. Mike’s exciting sail trip around the globe
B. how Mike’s father taught him to sail 
a boat
C. why CNN wanted to report the news to the public
D. the introduction of the Guinness World Records
Louis Armstrong had two famous nicknames. Some people called him Bagamo. They said his mouth looked like a large bag. Musicians often called him Pops, as a sign of respect for his influence on the world of music.
Born in 1901 in New Orleans, he grew up poor, but lived among great musicians. Jazz was invented in the city a few years before his birth. Armstrong often said, “Jazz and I grew up together.”
Armstrong showed a great talent for music when he was taught to play the cornet (短号) at a boy's home. In his late teens, Armstrong began to live the life of a musician. He played in parades, clubs and on the steamboats that traveled on the Mississippi River. At that time, New Orleans was famous for the new music of jazz and was home to many great musicians. Armstrong learned from the older musicians and soon became respected as their equal.
In 1992 he went to Chicago. There, the tale of Louis Armstrong begins. From then until the end of his life, Armstrong was celebrated and loved wherever he went. Armstrong had no equal when it came to playing the American popular song.
His cornet playing had a deep humanity (仁爱) and warmth that caused many listeners to say, “Listening to Pops just makes you feel good all over.”
He was the father of the jazz style and also one of the best-known and most admired people in the world. His death, on July 6, 1971, was headline news around the world.Armstrong was called Pops because he ________.
| A．looked like a musician | B．had great effect on the world of music |
| C．showed great interest in music | D．traveled to play modern music |
What is the third paragraph mainly about?
| A．Armstrong loved traveling on the Mississippi River. |
| B．New Orleans was famous for the new music of jazz. |
| C．Armstrong showed great talent for music in his youth. |
| D．Many great musicians were born in New Orleans. |
Which statement about Armstrong is true?
| A．His tale begins in New Orleans. | B．He was born before jazz was invented. |
| C．He learned popular music at a boy's home. | D．His music was popular with many people. |
So many people loved and respected Armstrong because ____________.
| A．his music had a deep humanity and warmth | B．he had two famous nicknames |
| C．he and Jazz grew up together | D．his mouth looked like a large bag |
Which would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Invention of the Jazz Music | B．The Father of the Jazz Style |
| C．The Making of a Musician | D．The Spread of Popular Music |
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants.
Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit.
Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores(胚芽). Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
| A．plants are important for life | B．plants cannot grow without air |
| C．there are many plants in the world | D．we can not live without water |
Plants can make food from______.
| A．flower, water and air | B．water, sunlight and air |
| C．air, water and soil | D．air, sun and light |
What can we infer(推断) from the passage ?
| A．Of all living things animals are most important | B．Spores are seeds |
| C．All fruits of flowering plants have seeds | D．Without plants, man will die out |
This passage may be taken from______.
| A．a medicine book | B．a novel |
| C．a science magazine | D．an experiment report |
The underlined word “protected” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A．damaged | B．polluted | C．prevented | D．guarded |
They leap from helicopters or speeding boats, bringing aid to swimmers who get into trouble off Italy’s popular beaches.
Hundreds of specially trained dogs from Italy’s corps of canine(犬类的) lifeguards set out each summer to help swimmers in need of rescue.
These "life dogs" wear a harness that victims can grab to be dragged back to shore, and unlike human lifeguards, they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.
With millions flocking to Italy’s crowded beaches each summer, the Italian Coast Guard says it rescues about 3,000 people every year —and their canine helpers have saved several lives.
It takes three years for the canines to reach expert rescue status, and currently 300 dogs are fully trained for duty, said Roberto Gasbarri, who directs the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards program.
"Dogs are of good physical strength. They can increase the speed at which victims are rescued," Gasbarri said.
"The dog becomes a sort of intelligent lifebuoy(救生圈). It is a buoy that goes by itself to a person in need of help, and comes back to the shore also by himself, choosing the best landing point and swimming through the safest currents," he said.
The school will train any breed, as long as they weigh at least 30 kilograms, but New found lands and golden retrievers are most commonly used because they are good at swimming. Each dog works together with a human lifeguard, who also acts as the animal’s trainer.
"Being retrievers, they set out to pick up anything we tell them, be it a human being, an object, or a fish, and they bring it back to the shore," said lifeguard Monia Luciani. "They do not associate it with a physical activity, but it is rather a game for them."The dogs wear a harness so that __________.
The dogs are helpful to _________.
Why does the school usually choose to train the New found lands and golden retrievers?
___________________________________.How do the dogs regard the pickup training?
____________________________________.
It seems hard to watch someone yawn and not to yawn ourselves. Even reading about yawning can make you do it. Now, a new study has found why yawning has such a powerful force.
Yawning when others yawn, the study suggests, is a sign of pity and a form of social connection. Kids don’t develop this deeply rooted behavior until around age four, the study found. Kids with autism (自闭症) are less likely to catch yawns. In the most serious cases, they never do. Yawning might help doctors to see whether the children are developing rightly. The work could also lead to a better understanding of the ways that people communicate and connect.
"Emotional infection seems to be a born thing that connects us together," said Molly Helt, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Connecticut. "Yawning may be part of that." Inspiration for her study came when she tried to get her own autistic son to clear his ears on an airplane. She repeatedly yawned at him, hoping he would yawn back. He never did.
"The fact that autistic kids don’t do it might mean they’re really missing out on that emotional connection with people around them," she said. "The biggest thing people try to figure out after birth is how we become humans and understand that humans have minds that are different from others’," she added. "Autistic people never seem to understand that."
Like infectious laughter and crying, scientists have found that yawning is a shared experience that promotes social connection. Helt said it could fight stress after a period of being nervous and spread a feeling of calm through a group.What does the new study suggest, according to the first two paragraphs?
| A．It is easy to stop yawning when you see others yawn. |
| B．Yawning has some mysterious force which is related to God. |
| C．Children follow others in yawning just after they are born. |
| D．Yawning is a form of communication. |
According to Molly Helt, _________________.
| A．emotions are infectious, but yawning is not |
| B．yawning helps clear ears on planes |
| C．humans differ from animals because they communicate with others |
| D．yawning is a kind of emotional connection among humans |
Which of the following is NOT true about yawning?
| A．It is natural to yawn back if people around you yawn. |
| B．Some kids are too young to yawn after others. |
| C．Yawning can be used to test children’s development. |
| D．Kids with autism yawn easily when others yawn. |
The author implies in the last paragraph that ________.
| A．it is bad manners to yawn on some social occasions |
| B．yawning can make people feel relaxed |
| C．yawning is different from infectious laughter and crying in theory |
| D．the more you yawn, the happier you will be |
How difficult change is depends a lot on your attitude towards it and your resistance to it. Your attitude to change can make the whole transformation process much easier.
Imagine change as a pair of shoes and this will help you understand change and how it works. I am sure that you have ever had a comfortable pair of shoes in your life. A pair of shoes is so comfortable that you really don’t want to get rid of them.
You know you need a new pair, and may even have them, but you don’t want to wear them because you are comfortable with your current pair. Besides, the new pair may hurt your feet, give you blisters(水疱) or be awkward to wear to start with. So, you resist the new shoes. However, you know that this new pair would be much better for your feet, and after the initial discomfort they would probably be even more comfortable, yet you still resist.
Do you know I’m doing this now? I’m wearing my comfortable shoes and they feel good. They have a hole in each heel, and the sole is starting to fall off, but I’m persisting in wearing them.
This describes change exactly; change of our habits, change of our thought patterns. We stick with the old patterns because they are comfortable. Yet once we get over the initial pain of the transformation, the new pattern will be comfortable and feel good until the time comes when we need another new pair of shoes.Why do people prefer old shoes to new ones?
| A．They have much emotion in the old ones. |
| B．They are more comfortable. |
| C．New shoes always harm the feet. |
| D．They look better than the new ones. |
According to the passage, we know that people ______.
| A．don’t realize the benefit of the new shoes very well |
| B．are positive and open-minded to accept new things |
| C．actually know the change will finally be good for them |
| D．don’t accept new patterns because they are not good |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Once we form a habit, it’s difficult to change it. |
| B．Most people pay more attention to the future life. |
| C．One’s attitude towards something is usually traditional. |
| D．The more often we change, the better our life will be. |