Jean Driscoll can go faster in her wheelchair than the world’s best marathoners can run!
In April, Jean finished the Boston Marathon in 1 hour 34 minutes 22 seconds. That’s about 33 minutes faster than the winning male runner! She competed on the track, too. She was second in the 800 meter wheelchair race at the 1992 Olympics.
Jean doesn’t like to be told she’s brave. “I’m in sports because I’m a competitive person!” Jean was born with spina befida(脊柱裂), a birth illness that damages the spine（脊椎）. She began to use a wheelchair to get around in high school. Then she tried wheelchair race and was amazed.” Players crashed into each other and fell out of their chairs,” she says, “It was fun.”
Jean tried other wheelchair sports. At the University of Illinois, her wheelchair basketball team won two national titles.
Now Jean coaches and teaches. She tries to get people to set goals. “When I sign my autograph（亲笔签名）, says Jean, “I write, dream big and work hard.”What made Jean take part in sports?
| A．She was brave. | B．She was competitive. |
| C．She was strong. | D．She was disabled. |
What does the underlined word “coach” mean?
| A．to train or give instruction and advice | B．to experiment |
| C．to get hold of and stop | D．to repeat |
What is Jean’s advice on how to succeed?
| A．Work hard. | B．Hope for the best. |
| C．Dream a lot. | D．Have great wishes and work hard. |
Leave a camera on a mountaintop, and chances are, you'll never see it again. But 24-year-old Paul Bellis, a university student from Wales, believed that most people were better than that, and set up a creative experiment to test out his theory.
"I was speaking to a friend who said you can't trust anyone, anywhere these days," Bellis told the Daily Mail. "I didn't want to believe that so I set up this experiment to find out what might happen and prove you can trust people."
Billis decided to do an experiment by hiking up a mountain called Snowdonia, taking a photo, and leaving his camera behind. He also attached a note to the camera, asking other hikers to take photos of themselves and then leave the camera there until the roll of film (胶卷) was empty. He also included his address, in case someone would be nice enough to return the camera to his home after the roll of film was finished.
Four days later, Bellis got a visit from a Snowdonia park manager, who came to return his camera. After Bellis got the film developed, he saw that his fellow hikers and followed his instructions. Thirty people had each taken photos of themselves at the mountain. From viewing the collection, it was clear that all the hikers had enjoyed the experiment.
As for the park manager, Brian, "I found the camera and thought it had been lost until I saw the note," he said. "I was passing his home and just dropped it off. I' m glad that the photos came out very well."The underlined word "that" in Paragraph 2 refers to __________.
| A．the Daily Mail |
| B．Bellis' theory |
| C．the idea that Bellis would do the experiment |
| D．the opinion that we shouldn't trust people |
What can we know from the note Bellis attached to his camera?
| A．The camera wasn't a missing one. |
| B．The roll of film had been used up. |
| C．Bellis was very kind to other hikers. |
| D．Bellis asked others to take pictures of him. |
Brian returned the camera directly because __________.
| A．he wanted to be trusted by others |
| B．Bellis' home was on his way |
| C．Bellis asked him to do so |
| D．he wanted to have a look at the photos |
The experiment Bellis turned out to be __________.
| A．unsuccessful | B．disappointing | C．encouraging | D．surprising |
“If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!” That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better. Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too.
All children soon learn what “Don’t touch!” means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things as we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it.
There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them!
Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. There you can feel everything on show. If we want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see. By touching things,________.
| A．you will have a strange feeling |
| B．you will learn how to reach out your hand |
| C．you can tell the difference of the things |
| D．you can tell what colors they are |
When people buy things in shops, they often_________.
| A．try them on first | B．keep their right hands on them |
| C．ask about them | D．feel and touch them |
Why does it say “At first, it is not easy to feel these things?” Because__________.
| A．the things are used by people, too | B．people feel the things too often |
| C．people know how to use the things | D．the things are hard to feel |
Which of the following can be the best title of the story?
| A．Touching by Feeling | B．To See or to Feel? |
| C．To See Better---Feel | D．Ways of Feeling |
Not very long ago, a special family system(体系) existed in certain parts of South India. In the system, the actual head of a family unit was the mother’s eldest brother, though the mother also had an important position in the family. In families of this kind, a husband was actually no more than a visitor. He did not live with his wife, but with his own mother, brothers and sisters in another house. He saw his sons and daughters sometimes, but the man who actually fed and cared for them and acted as their father was their uncle--- their mother’s brother.
But this system, in which brothers and sisters take the place of the father, no longer exists in South India except in a few villages. Economic(经济的) changes have had far- reaching effect on family life. Family life began to change when men went out to work in factories and offices instead of working with their mothers, brothers, and sisters on the land. When a man went out to work, he had money of his own and could buy his own land and build his own family, instead of depending on his mother and his brothers. He wanted to be independent(独立的). This is an example of the way in which economic relations can have an effect on family relationships. The best title of this passage is ______.
| A．Husband Actually Visitor in Family |
| B．Family System in South India |
| C．Wife Has Important Position in Family |
| D．Economic Relations Affects Family Relationships |
Who had the actual control of a family in South India not long ago?
| A．The mother. | B．The mother’s eldest brother. |
| C．The father. | D．The father’s mother. |
In this system, the husband lived together with______.
| A．his wife | B．his sons and daughters |
| C．his mother, brothers and sisters | D．his wife’s brother |
Now in South India there are__ of this system in which a husband has no control of his family.
| A．no families | B．many more families |
| C．very few families | D．not any families |
Life gets noisier every day. Very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn’t matter where you live, in the middle of a modern city, or a faraway village--- the chances are that you’ll be disturbed by jet aeroplanes, transistor radios, powered engines, etc. We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they’re working.
Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be a very frightening experience for a human being. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud and this can do harm to their eardrums(耳鼓). The noise level in some discos is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.
One recent report about noise and concentration(专心) suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really influences their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise which doesn’t change too much (music, for example) may even help people to concentrate.According to this passage, the noise pollution______.
| A．has become the worst in the countryside | B．has become better in big cities |
| C．has spread from cities to villages | D．has been controlled in modern cities |
What does background music refer to?
| A．Music played while people are working. |
| B．Music played in the backyard. |
| C．Noise that continues while you’re listening to other noises. |
| D．Music used to help people to concentrate. |
Some people have their hearing harmed______.
| A．while listening to pop music | B．in complete silence |
| C．when speaking loudly | D．while watching TV |
Which of the following isn’t included among the things causing noise?
| A．Rivers | B．Transistor radios |
| C．Powered engines | D．Jet planes |
Scientist have discovered that what prevents people from concentrating on something is_____.
| A．all kinds of noise | B．great changes in the level of noise |
| C．background noise | D．popular music |
For many years Henry had been a journalist. He had worked on many international newspapers and magazines and traveled over the world.
Henry had witnessed war and natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes ( 火山爆发).
He had reported on serious accidents such as major fires and airline crashes.
He had seen every kind of terrible crime and strange event there was.
He had met and written about some of the most unusual people in the world.
In fact, there wasn’t much that Henry had not seen or done.
Now he was retired from journalism(新闻业). He owned a very expensive restaurant and spent his days talking to his wealthy and important customers. He liked to say that nothing surprised him.
One day he was sitting at the bar in his restaurant when a big gorilla(大猩猩) walked in and asked for a table.
Henry showed no surprise. He took the gorilla to a table and handed him a menu. He treated him politely and pretended there was nothing at all strange about having a gorilla in his restaurant.
The gorilla looked through the menu and ordered a salad.
Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened.
At last the gorilla finished his salad and asked for the bill.
Henry wrote out the bill and handed it to the big animal.
The gorilla studied it, shook his head sadly then gave Henry fifty dollars.
“Thank you,” Henry said, and then to make conversation, he added, “we don’t get many gorillas in this restaurant.”
“At fifty dollars for a salad,” the gorilla said, “I’m not surprised.” According to the story, Henry had________.
| A．had the most exciting experiences | B．told the longest stories |
| C．made history | D．caused accidents |
One day when a gorilla came into the restaurant, Henry was_____.
| A．very surprised by the gorilla | B．not disturbed(烦忧) by the gorilla |
| C．very interested in the gorilla | D．scared of the gorilla |
From the sentences “Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened” you can learn that______.
| A．his staff were not brave people | B．Henry didn’t normally serve customers |
| C．the gorilla had eaten there before | D．the gorilla was careful with his money |