I try to be a good father. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed (拉着) him 2.4 miles in a dinghy (小游艇) while swimming and pedaled (蹬车) him 112 miles — all in the same day. And what has Rick done for his father? Not much — except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled (使窒息) by the umbilical cord (脐带) during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
When Rick was 11 the Hoyts took him to hospital and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,’’ Dick was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.’’
“Tell him a joke,’’ Dick countered (反驳). They did. Rick laughed. It turns out that a lot was going on in his brain. Equipped with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor (光标) by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate.
And after a high school classmate was paralyzed (瘫痪) in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out (啄出), “Dad, I want to do that.’’
How was Dick, who had never run more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.
That day changed Rick’s life. “Dad,’’ he typed, “when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled any more!’’ 
And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed(迷恋) with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, “Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon (三项全能运动)?’’
Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 — only 35 minutes off the world record.
“No question about it,’’ Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.’’
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries (动脉) was 95% blocked. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,’’ one doctor told him, “you probably would have died 15 years ago.’’ So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life. What is the meaning of the underlined word ‘limbs’ in Paragraph 3?
| A．fingers and toes | B．hands and feet | C．arms and legs | D．wrists and knees |
At the 24th Boston Marathon, Dick and Rick ________.
| A．reached the finish line within 160 minutes | B．nearly broke the world record |
| C．did better than 5082 athletes | D．completed the journey 35 minutes ahead of time |
What changed Rick’s life?
| A．Rick’s love for his father. | B．Rick’s joining in the charity run with his father. |
| C．A computer enabling Rick to communicate. | D．Rick’s strong will and perseverance. |
What do we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Dick was considered as the Father of the Century by the public. |
| B．Rick made his father so well-known that the doctors treated him well. |
| C．Dick got into great shape by assisting his son in marathons and triathlons. |
| D．Rick saved his father when he had a heart attack in a race two years ago. |
According to some researchers, you should not praise children for everything that they do. It does not help them build self-confidence.
Most parents and teachers agree that praise can help increase children’s self-confidence —the more, the better. However, according to some researchers, only proper praise is good for children. If adults praise everything children do, it makes children look for praise all the time, not trying to do their best. "Teachers should not say things like 'good job’ or 'nice work’ whenever a child does anything. They should encourage them to continue to improve," some researchers advise.
Another idea is that children with high self-confidence are happier, and do better at school. About this, Marshall Duke, a researcher in children, says, "High self-confidence brought in by too much praise does not make children happier, get more, or become able to do more. Finding a child’s advantages (强项) and developing them can help build confidence more than too much praise can." Praise also loses its effect (影响) if it is given equally to all students.
"It’s important to tell children the truth about what they’ve done. Honest feedback (反馈) is far better than empty praise," Duke adds. "People have got into the habit of not telling children when they’re wrong. That makes it hard for them to deal with difficulties when they grow up. That’s just how the world is."According to some researchers, if parents praise their children too much, their children will ______.
| A．always look for praise | B．increase self-confidence |
| C．become strong | D．do better in their studies |
In order to help children build self-confidence, some researchers advise parents to ______.
| A．make them live more happily | B．let them do more difficult work |
| C．help them do better in school | D．encourage them to improve |
Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
| A．The same praise for all children has no meaning |
| B．Children don’t know what they’re really good at. |
| C．Praise makes children become successful. |
| D．Duke thinks praise is more important than finding children’s strengths. |
What is the last paragraph about?
| A．It’s important to have the habit of praising children. |
| B．Children should know their mistakes as soon as possible. |
| C．We should praise children honestly and tell them their mistakes. |
| D．What children with high self-confidence are like. |
A boy who was nervous on his first day of school climbed onto a third-floor balcony (阳台) and put legs over the side. His mother and teachers tried their best to bring him down, but failed. However, a firefighter who dressed as "Spiderman" succeeded in saving him.
Firefighter David Smith was called in after the 6-year-old’s teachers and mother had failed to get him down from the balcony. "He was asking for his mother, "Smith said. "He was crying, and wouldn’t let any of us get near him." After hearing a conversation between the boy’s mother and his teachers about his love of superheroes , Smith hurried home to get his Spiderman clothes.
"I told him 'Spiderman is here to save you. No one will hurt you now,’" Smith said. "Then I told him to walk slowly toward me. I was really nervous that he might fall if he got too excited and started running." Then the crying boy broke into a smile and walked into the fireman’s arms.
The fictional (虚构的) superhero was created by writer Stan Lee in the early 1960s. It has recently become popular again through a series of movies made about him. In them he is acted by superstar Tobey Maguire, who acted with Kirsten Dunst and James Franco.Which would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Spiderman Is Back | B．"Spiderman" Saved a Boy |
| C．Spiderman Is Popular | D．A Boy’s Love of Spiderman |
Put the following things in the correct order.
a. The fireman dressed as "Spiderman".
b. The mother talked with the boy’s teachers.
c. The boy didn’t let anyone get near him.
d. The boy smiled at the fireman.
| A．c, b, a, d | B．c, b, d, a | C．b, c, a, d | D．b, a, c, d |
How did the fireman succeed in saving the boy?
| A．By showing he had the same interest as the boy. |
| B．By bringing the boy’s mother to his side. |
| C．By dressing up as a superhero. |
| D．By making friends with him. |
What do we learn from the passage?
| A．The boy had been forced to go to school. |
| B．The mother did not love her son. |
| C．Spiderman is a superhero in a series of movies. |
| D．Spiderman became popular again in the 1960s. |
Friends play a very important part in everyone’s life. Friendship usually develops during childhood. New friends are made when you progress through school. Those friends that you make as a student can usually last long. Friends influence (影响) your development, maturity (成熟) and sense of responsibility. A familiar expression is “You can tell a lot about a person by knowing who his friends are.” Friendship is based on common interests. If you like sports, most of your friends are likely to be athletic (竞技的). If you enjoy reading and shopping, most of your friends do the same.
Some people call you their friends for the wrong reasons. These people are not really friends. They are superficial(表面上的) only “friends” on the outside, not the inside where it counts. Superficial friends only want to be your friends if it is to their advantage. True friends are there if you are rich or poor. It is easy to have many so-called “friends” if you are rich. By this time you should be able to separate your friends into the real or the “phoney”.
True friends are most special. They are also difficult to find. You can consider yourself very lucky if you have one true friend. This friend is eager to help you whenever necessary. He or she knows you would do the same for them. A true friend is someone you can talk to about any subject or problem. You and your true friend have good understanding of each other. True friends support you, take your side, and build up your confidence. The first paragraph tells us _____.
| A．how to make a true friend |
| B．we should make friend in our childhood |
| C．what is friendship based on |
| D．friends play a very important part in our life |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．What you value above anything is the friendship developing during childhood. |
| B．The friendship developing during your school days will be with you for a long time. |
| C．Only through your friends’ influence will you take the responsibility for your task. |
| D．If you have no music in you, none of your friends will be a music lover. |
“So-called” friends in paragraph 2 refer to _____.
| A．someone who only wants to be your friend when you are successful |
| B．those who want to benefit from you |
| C．the friends who are on the surface only |
| D．all the above |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．You should tell true friends from phoneys. |
| B．True friendship is too difficult to find. |
| C．You can share your joys and sorrows with a true friend. |
| D．A true friend will stand by you whatever happens. |
Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
"I don't sing." said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!"
The waiter shouted across the room, " Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!"
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent (天赋）he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.The lady asked the player to sing a song because .
| A．she had paid him for this | B．she knew him very well |
| C．she wanted to have a change | D．she enjoyed his singsing |
Nat King Cole successed because .
| A．the lady helped him a lot | B．he caught the chance |
| C．he continued to play in the bar | D．he stopped playing the piano |
From the story we know if you have some talent, you should .
| A．hide it and wait | B．ask others or help |
| C．pay no attention to it | D．work hard to improve yourself |
Which could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sing in the Bar | B．Achieve Success in Life |
| C．Never Lose Heart | D．Find Your Hidden Talent |
Schools and parents in Shenzhen City have been asked to take better care of children’s eyesight as 45 percent of them, were found to be shortsighted. Too much reading, poor lighting and too much TV are blamed. Of the city’s high school graduates who applied to attend college this summer, two-thirds had to have their choices limited because of poor eyesight, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily said.This piece of news was reported by____ .
| A．People’s Daily | B．Shenzhen Special Zone Daily |
| C．school in Shenzhen City | D．parents in Shenzhen City |
The purpose of this passage is to _____ .
| A．criticize children who are shortsighted |
| B．blame parents and schools for children’s being shortsighted |
| C．ask the high school graduates to pay attention to their eyesight |
| D．draw people’s special attention to eye hygiene(卫生) |
Only____ of the children in Shenzhen City have good eyesight.
| A．55 percent | B．less than half | C．45 percent | D．two—thirds |
Because of being shortsighted many school graduates_____ .
| A．weren’t allowed to enter college |
| B．couldn’t graduate from high school |
| C．couldn’t choose to study what they liked best |
| D．lost their limited time |