SYDNEY: As they sat sharing sweets beside a swimming pool in 1999. Shane Gould and Jessicah Schipper were simply getting along well, chatting about sport, life and anything else that came up.
Yet in Sydney next month, they will meet again by the pool, and for a short time the friends will race against each other in the 50 – meter butterfly in the Australian championships at Homebu Bay.
Gould, now a 47 – year – old mother of four, has announced she will be making a return to elite competition (顶级赛事) to swim the one event, having set a qualifying (合格的)time of 30. 32 seconds in winning gold at last year’s United States Masters championships. Her comeback comes 32 years after she won three golds at the Munich Olympics.
Schipper, now a 17 – year – old girl from Brisbane with a bright future of going to Athens for her first Olympics, yesterday recalled (回忆) her time with Gould five years ago.
“I was at a national youth camp on the Gold Coast and Shane had come along to talk to us and watch us train.” Schipper explained. “It seemed as if we had long been good friends. I don’t know why. We just started talking and it went from there.”
“She had a lot to share with all of us at that camp. She old us stories about what it was like at big meets like Olympics and what it was like to be on an Australian team. It was really interesting.”
Next time, things will be more serious: “I will still be swimming in the 50 m butterfly at the nationals, so there is a chance that I could actually be competing against Shane Gould.” said Schipper, who burst onto the scene at last year’s national championships with second places in the 100 m and 200 butterfly.
46．What is the passage mainly about?
A．Stories happening in swimming competitions.
B．Two women swimmers winning Olympic golds.
C．Lessons learned from international swimming championships.
D．Friendship and competition between two swimmers.
47．Gould and Schipper are going to____________.
A．talk about sport and life B．go back to elite competition
C．set a qualifying time and win gold D．take part in the same sports event
48．Gould won her three Olympic golds when she was____________.
A．15 B．17 C．22 D．30
49．The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph probably refers to .
A．the Olympics B．the youth camp
C．the friendship D．the Australian team
50．What Schipper said showed that she___________.
A．was no longer Gould’s friend B．had learned a lot from Gould
C．was not interested in Gould’s stories D．would not like to compete against Gould
When I started my career in management, I was really green, but I always tried to stay positive on the job. I was working for a new company that was having a difficult time with its customers. Actually, at one point my General Manager told me he liked me and suggested I should start looking for a new job as we were about to lose our only order. Every day we faced people leaving the company, customers complaining, and upper management preparing to close the place.
One night, I went home thinking about the problems. My wife told me to forget about work and see a movie. We went and saw Slumdog Millionaire. Jamal, an eighteen-year-old Indian young man, is from a poor family and becomes rich later. He tries his best to change his position. I realized what we needed to do was to correct the situation.
The next day I called my customers to have a talk. I promised to do my best to solve the problems if they would give us some time. As a result, we were given one month to turn the situation around. This was our only chance to correct the situation. To achieve this, I worked day and night with my team. I can remember working from 6 a. m. and not going home until 2 a. m. the next day.
To make a long story short, we succeeded in solving all of the problems and at the same time increased our productivity(生产率). The customers and management were very happy, and I knew at that moment we had saved our jobs. Actually things went so well that we ended up having our pay doubled.
Through this experience I understand that you can achieve what you desire as long as you work at it and stay positive. The General Manager advised the author to look for a new job mainly because .
| A．he knew the author didn’t want to stay there |
| B．his company was too small to hire so many people |
| C．he believed the author could get more pay that way |
| D．the management was preparing to close the department |
Who caused the author to decide to change his situation?
| A．The hero in a movie. | B．His wife. |
| C．His boss. | D．The customers. |
How long did the author stay in his department every day during that month?
| A．8 hours. | B．15 hours. |
| C．20 hours. | D．24 hours. |
The experience of the author shows that .
| A．if a person does his best and keeps positive, he’ll succeed |
| B．if a person takes advice from others, he’ll make progress |
| C．if a person is clever, he’ll realize his dream sooner or later |
| D．if a person wants to change his fate, he mustn’t change his job |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．My Work Experience |
| B．My First Management Job |
| C．How to Correct Your Situation |
| D．The Importance of Working Hard |
We will be traveling to the Presidio in San Francisco to visit the newly opened Walt Disney Family Museum. There are countless art exhibits and even a model of an early Disneyland Park. 
We will enter the museum at the same time and then each family is free to enjoy the art exhibits in the museum. Lunch will be on you, so bring a lunch or bring money for the Museum Café. For those of you who are interested in exploring the Presidio, there is a free Presidio bus. The Walt Disney Family Museum is a must-see for anyone who likes Disneyland. Here are the details:
| Date: March 22, 2013 Time: 9: 30 am to 4: 00 pm Location: Presidio, San Francisco |
| Cost per person: $35(Adult)/ $25(Aged 6~17)/ $10(Children under 6 years). A registration(登记)fee covers round-trip bus transportation to and from Alameda and admission into the Walt Disney Family Museum. |
| New pick-up location: Bayport Recreation Center, Jack London |
| Avenue. (Parents must be around children on trip. Please check in at least 15 minutes before setting-out time. ) |
| Click here to download the “Walt Disney Family Museum” flyer(PDF, 245Kb). |
| It’s easy to register! You may register: In person or by mail at: Alameda Recreation and Park Department(2226 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501) Phone registrations with Master Card or VISA will be accepted for people 18 years old and over(510)747-7529. Fax form with Master Card or VISA to(510)747-7566. Save time and register online at www. arpdeplay. com. Registration deadline: March 7, 2013 |
Besides a registration fee, visitors may also need to pay for .
| A．the transportation to Alameda |
| B．the admission fee into the museum |
| C．the transportation from Alameda |
| D．their lunch inside the museum |
How much will a couple have to pay if they take part in the activity with their 4-year-old daughter?
| A．$60. | B．$70. | C．$80. | D．$95. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．A single child cannot take part in the activity. |
| B．The Walt Disney Family Museum has a long history. |
| C．The Walt Disney Family Museum is not popular. |
| D．The Walt Disney Family Museum is mainly for adults. |
Which of the following statements is WRONG about the registration?
| A．People can register online. |
| B．People can register by mail. |
| C．People can go to register in person. |
| D．People of all ages can register by phone. |
This passage is most probably taken from a .
| A．newspaper | B．magazine |
| C．website | D．radio program |
Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity(默默无闻)or neglect. 
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school.
Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked(邪恶的)stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her.
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.
“The movie takes the fairy tale Cinderella as its jumping off point, ”writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson. “The focus is firmly on following your dream. ”The first paragraph is mainly to .
| A．build interest and lead us to Mary’s secret dream |
| B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years |
| C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage |
| D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is |
In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who .
| A．is brave in expressing her love |
| B．is attended to badly by the stepmother |
| C．has a dream of meeting a prince |
| D．is embarrassed by the pop singer |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class. |
| B．Mary’s mother influences her a lot in singing. |
| C．Not many people have a dream to be realized. |
| D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary. |
The passage is mainly .
| A．an introduction to a film |
| B．a review about a film |
| C．an essay about dreams |
| D．an advertisement of Cinderella |
According to the passage, Another Cinderella Story .
| A．follows Cinderella with nothing new |
| B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors |
| C．encourages young people to follow their dreams |
| D．focuses more on materialism than other films |
Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all time, really did foolish experiments? Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish? 
Sometimes, people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution to a problem. Sometimes, they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.
Charles Darwin didn’t settle for(满足于)just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.
Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn’t be worth anything.
But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understandings of physics, ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.
Scientists sometimes stop to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, which we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations of science. The passage tells us that Charles Darwin .
| A．was a great English scientist |
| B．always liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult |
| C．thought even the simplest thing was important |
| D．didn’t get well with others |
The underlined phrase “set aside” most probably means .
| A．throw away | B．store up |
| C．put to use | D．realize |
The author of the passage tries to .
| A．convince us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world |
| B．draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things |
| C．prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed |
| D．draw our attention to everyday happenings around us |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Darwin really did foolish experiments. |
| B．According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments. |
| C．It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple. |
| D．Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics. |
Living in a modern society has its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that you often have to live closer to other people than you would like to. Sometimes, your neighbors make noise that you are not comfortable with.
The best way to solve this problem is to talk with your neighbor first. You should be very polite and ask your neighbor if he knows how thin the walls of your homes are. This way doesn’t criticize(批评)his behavior; it simply points out that he may not realize how far his sound travels. Tell him that you know that sometimes you make noise as well, but that you do your best to keep it down. Often this will solve the problem right away, but sometimes the neighbor may become angry.
If your neighbor becomes angry with you, there are some more steps you can take. You might write a letter to the neighborhood committee. Make sure you write down the source of the noise and the time in the letter. They will review the situation and decide whether your neighbor is out of line. Some noise is considered to be reasonable, even if it bothers you. So you may prepare a good pair of earplugs(耳塞).
Even if your neighbor makes too much noise, you don’t have to live your life in discomfort. It’s always a good idea to be friendly with your neighbors. You may clean the rubbish in front of his door. He’s sure to appreciate behavior like this and be more open to your suggestions about noise level. What is the first step to deal with the noisy neighbor?
| A．To buy a good pair of earplugs. |
| B．To offer suggestions to the neighbor. |
| C．To ask the neighborhood committee for help. |
| D．To tell the neighbor how bad his behavior is. |
The underlined word “reasonable” in the third paragraph probably means“ ”.
| A．terrible | B．loud | C．proper | D．unpleasant |
What should be written in the letter to the neighborhood committee?
| A．How to punish your noisy neighbor. |
| B．Where and when the noise appears. |
| C．How to make the noise less in the neighborhood. |
| D．What problems the noise causes to your life. |
What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．You should control your noise as well. |
| B．You can live comfortably even if there is noise. |
| C．Your neighbor may be friendlier than you think. |
| D．You should build good relationship with your neighbor. |
The author wrote this passage to tell us .
| A．why we should get on well with neighbors |
| B．how to relax ourselves in a modern society |
| C．what we should do with our noisy neighbor |
| D．how to become known among neighbors |