Some people would go through anything just to achieve their dream. Kasia Siwosz is proof. For the final year student on the university women’s tennis team, the road to Berkeley, University of California was met with poor advice and misinformation from her home country and twounsuccessful stops along the way that fell short of expectations.
Born in Poland, Siwosz began playing tennis at seven years old and developed the skills that helped her earn a top-50 ranking among the ITF Junior division (国际网球联会青少年赛).. Siwosz wanted to do more with her life than just play tennis, which led her to seek chances that would also allow her to obtain a top education. While most who grow up in the U.S. are naturally accustomed to the American tradition of collegiate (大学的) sports, such a custom is not as familiar in a country like Poland. “There’s no collegiate sports in Poland and no culture of sports and academic (学术的) study there. You can only do one, not both,” Siwosz said.
Her desire to have a quality education led her to America to follow her dream. While Siwosz was talented enough to begin her collegiate tennis career, she could only attend community college because she missed the deadline to apply to four-year schools, mainly due to misinformation provided in her home country of Poland.
When she had earned all her credits and was able to transfer (转学), Siwosz made the decision to attend Baylor in Texas. Her friends from Poland put in a good word for the university, saying that it was a good fit because there were many international players at Baylor. “I thought it would be a good idea, but it really wasn’t what I thought it would be,” Siwosz said. “I wasn’t happy at Baylor. The level of tennis was high, but the academic standards were no match and I just wanted more.”
After one year at Baylor, Siwosz’s luck finally began to change when she made the decision to transfer to Berkeley, which was due in large part to Lee, a former Berkeley student. Lee, who is a keen tennis player himself, met Siwosz four years ago in Texas. “I knew she was unhappy there,” he said. “I saw the opportunity for her to come here.” Siwosz visited Lee in
Berkeley. “I ended up loving this place and this school,” Siwosz said. “I came here a lot over the summer, I gave it a shot and I ended up with a Berkeley education and a spot on one of the best college tennis teams in the country.”What does “two unsuccessful stops” (Par
agraph 1) refer to?
| A．Poland and the U.S. |
| B．Baylor and Berkeley. |
| C．The community college and Baylor. |
| D．The ITF Junior division and the Berkeley tennis team. |
Why did Siwosz want to leave her homeland for America?
| A．Poland had no culture of sports. |
| B．Berkeley had always been her dream university. |
| C．She wanted to play tennis and have a good education. |
| D．She wanted to improve her tennis skills and get a higher ranking. |
Why did she leave Baylor?
| A．The level of tennis there was not high. |
| B．It was not suitable for international students. |
| C．She couldn’t get along with her friends there. |
| D．She was not satisfied with the education level there. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How Siwosz left Poland. |
| B．How Siwosz realized her dream. |
| C．How Siwosz became a top tennis player. |
| D．How Siwosz transferred from Baylor to Berkeley. |
Some young Cambodians are learning a new sport—skateboarding. The country's first skateboard park is located on the grounds of a local charity group at the edge of Phnom Penh, the capital.
Sports like Khmer boxing and soccer are wildly popular in Cambodia. But Chea, who has been skating for 6 months, says skateboarding has already become his favorite sport.
The skateboarders are learning tricks like launching a jump or flying through the air on their narrow wooden boards.
A non-governmental organization called Skateistan Cambodia organizes weekly programs at the park. Skateistan started its work in Afghanistan years ago. Rory Burke is working with the group which expanded to Cambodia last year.
Rory Burke points out, "Yeah, it's definitely not a typical Cambodian pastime(休闲活动). And I think the idea of* why skateboarding'exists because it's not been done before here. We want to use skateboarding as something saying, ‘Hey, this is something new and different.' And that kind of itself becomes a little bit of hook. People see it and they think and they say, 'Wow, what is that?' and they want to get involved. "
Skateistan partners with local groups work with young people. The park is on the grounds of the group known as PSE, where children attend school and learn a trade. There are almost one hundred and twenty participants. They all come from troubled lives.
Seventeen-year-old Sang Rotha is a student at PSE. "Sometimes I don’t do well in subjects like math, "he sayst" I feel bad when I find it hard to keep up with my lessons. So that is why I skateboard to improve my bad feelings. "
He says he began skateboarding more than a year ago. Before he started training, it seemed very easy. But it was very difficult to learn tricks, and he got hurt a lot from falling off.
Rory Burke says learning to deal with the difficulties is part of the lesson for these young skateboarders. According to the passage, PSE is a group ________ .
| A．that works with Cambodian students |
| B．for young Cambodians to learn a trade |
| C．for young Cambodians in troubled lives |
| D．for young Cambodians taking skateboarding |
What is said about skateboarding in the passage?
| A．It is easy for young Cambodians to learn. |
| B．It is a good sport to help regain good feelings. |
| C．It originated in Afghanistan years ago. |
| D．It is as popular as Khmer boxing in Cambodia. |
The underlined part" a little bit of hook" in Paragraph 5 probably means ________ .
| A．something strange | B．something new |
| C．something different | D．something attractive |
It can be inferred from the passage that skateboarding is becoming ________ .
| A．a sport liked by most young Cambodians |
| B．an increasingly popular sport in Cambodia |
| C．a sport used to better young Cambodians’ life |
| D．a good way to train young Cambodians' learning skills |
Australia is famous for its beautiful beaches. And Australian people love swimming and going to the beach. But it wasn't always that way.
Different Climate, Different Habits
When Europeans first invaded (侵略）Australia, the only people here who were good at swimming were the Aboriginal people. The Europeans came from climates where it was too cold to swim. However the warm climate of Australia soon changed their attitude to swimming. At first, only men swam. They swam without any clothes on— there were no women to see them.
Cover up!
By the 1880s and 1890s visiting the beach was very fashionable. People wore everyday street clothes—much more than people wear at the beach today.
In those days people believed they should cover their most body so it would not be seen by the opposite sex. Special bathing costumes (服装） were designed for women. This costumes used a lot of cloth and were very heavy when wet, making it difficult to swim.
Laws Made and Laws Changed
The government decided to stop men swimming naked. It passed a law which forbade bathing between 6 am and 7 am. But in 1903，the laws changed; people could swim in the daytime, but they had to wear neck-to-knee costumes.
The Shrinking Costume
As time passed, swimming costumes became smaller and more convenient.
At first men and women were covered from neck to knee. Then arms became bare. Then more of the legs were uncovered. Each new change was regarded by many as shocking and rude and people wrote letters to the newspapers complaining about the new costume. Nowadays some people go to special "nude beaches" to swim naked.
However, most people cover their bodies more than they did ten years ago—not because they think bare skin is shocking—but to protect their skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Which of the following statements about the climate of Australia is TRUE?
| A．It made European settlers think differently about swimming. |
| B．It changed European settlers' swimming costume. |
| C．It made European settlers feel much hotter. |
| D．It made European settlers have to swim naked. |
What should swimmers do during the late 19th century?
| A．They should hide when they meet a person of the opposite sex. |
| B．They should cover their body to avoid being seen by the opposite sex. |
| C．They should wear many heavy clothes on beaches. |
| D．They should wear special wet costumes designed for them. |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．People were surprised by each new change and criticized it. |
| B．People were amazed by each new change and praised it. |
| C．Only newspapers were in favor of each new change. |
| D．Only newspapers thought poorly of each new change. |
What can we conclude from the last paragraph?
| A．People worry about getting skin cancer from too much sun. |
| B．People protected their swimming costumes from too much sun. |
| C．People are greatly shocked by the nude beaches. |
| D．People think it rude to swim with the smaller costumes. |
Beijing had its coldest morning in almost 40 years and its biggest snowfall since 1951. Britain is suffering through its longest cold snap (寒潮）since 1981. And freezing weather is hitting the US south.
Whatever happened to global warming?
Such weather doesn't seem to fit with warnings from scientists that the earth is warming because of greenhouse gases. But experts say the coldness doesn't deny global warming at all—it's just a blip in the long-term heating trend.
"It's part of natural variability(变化性），" said Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. With global warming, he said，"We'll still have record cold temperatures. We'll just have fewer of them. ”
Scientists say man-made climate change does have the potential to cause more frequent and more severe weather extremes, such as heat waves, storms, floods, droughts and even coldness. But experts did not connect the current cold weather to climate change.
So what is going on?
"We basically have seen just a big outbreak of Arctic air over populated areas of the Northern Hemisphere，"Arndt said. In the atmosphere, large rivers of air travel roughly west to east around the globe between the Arctic and the tropics. But recently, this air flow has become bent into a pronounced (明显的）“z” pattern, moving from north and south. If you live in a place where it brings air up from the south, you will get warm weather. In fact, record highs were reported this week in Washington state and Alaska.
But in some other unlucky parts of the globe, Arctic air is moving down from the north. And that's how you get the low temperature in Beijing, and 18 inches of snow in parts of Britain, where a member of Parliament who said the snow "clearly indicates a cooling trend " was laughed at by colleagues.
The “z” pattern arises naturally from time to time, but it is not clear why it's so strong right now, said Michelle Heureux, a meteorologist at the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The center says the pattern should begin to weaken in a week or two. Many areas are suffering low temperature except __________.
| A．Beijing |
| B．Washington state and Alaska |
| C．the US south |
| D．Britain |
The underlined word “blip” in Paragraph 3 means __________.
| A．temporary phenomenon |
| B．abnormal phenomenon |
| C．common phenomenon |
| D．rare phenomenon |
From the text, it can be learned that __________.
| A．global warming trend has proved wrong |
| B．there will be less coldness in the future |
| C．the “ z ” pattern Arctic air flow seldom happens |
| D．scientists haven't found out the reason of coldness |
The present coldness is probably caused by __________.
| A．climate change |
| B．Arctic air traveling west to east |
| C．the “z” pattern Arctic air flow |
| D．the cooling trend |
At first, the earth's surface layer (层）was made up of huge blocks of hard, solid rocks. Then slowly, the rocks broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. Finally stones, pebbles(砾石）and grains of sand were formed. Many sorts of plants and animals lived and died on the surface of the earth. Their remains mixed up with the stones, pebbles and formed soil. The outmost layer of the earth is soil.
There are many ways in which large pieces of rock break up into smaller ones. Wind, water, heat and cold help to break up rocks. When winds blow grains of sand against a large rock for a long time, the softer layers of the rock are slowly worn away. These leave holes and cracks (裂缝）in the rock, which become bigger and finally the rock breaks up into smaller pieces.
The moving water of streams and rivers also helps to break up rocks. As the water moves along, it carries with small pieces of rock. These rub the larger ones. Thus, the larger rocks are worn down to smaller pieces.
The heat of the sun is also helpful in breaking up rocks. When the sun shines, the rocks become very hot. If these rocks are suddenly cooled, they may crack. Ice also plays a part in making soil. Water in the cracks can turn into ice in cold weather. As this happens, it becomes bigger and the cracks become wider, and finally break up into smaller pieces. According to the passage, soil __________.
| A．forms very slowly |
| B．is a mixture only of stones, pebbles and sand |
| C．makes up the layers of the earth |
| D．is becoming smaller and smaller |
Which of the following speeds up the breaks of rocks most?
| A．Hot weather. |
| B．Cold water. |
| C．Sharp changes in temperature. |
| D．More dead plants in the cracks. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The remains of many plants and animals can form soil. |
| B．If a large rock never moves, it will never break up. |
| C．Even if a large rock never moves, it will break up. |
| D．Ice in the cracks helps to break up rocks. |
The best title for this passage should be __________
| A．Soil from rock |
| B．Ways to break up rocks |
| C．Soil on the earth |
| D．Soil, outmost layer of the earth |
Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September，1897，Irene Curie was the first of the Curies' two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sevigne in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities (设备）to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgium. Her services were recognized in the form of a Military's Medal by the French government.
In 1918，Irene became her mother's assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924，Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935.
Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity (辐射能）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17，1956. Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military's Medal?
| A．Because she received a degree in mathematics. |
| B．Because she contributed to saving the wounded. |
| C．Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic. |
| D．Because she worked as a helper to her mother. |
Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederic Joliot?
| A．At the Curie Institute. |
| B．At the University of Paris. |
| C．At a military hospital. |
| D．At the College of Sevigne. |
When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?
| A．In 1932. |
| B．In 1927. |
| C．In 1897. |
| D．In 1926. |
In which of the following aspects was Irene Curie different from her mother?
| A．Irene worked with radioactivity. |
| B．Irene combined family and career. |
| C．Irene won the Nobel Prize once. |
| D．Irene died from leukemia. |