As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.
In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this, I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.
On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I
headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute(降落伞), then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.
Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.What happened to the author in 2001?
A. She flew an airplane.
B. She entered a competition.
C. She went on a hot air balloon ride.The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to .
| A.make her argument persuasive |
| B.show her admiration for him |
| C.compare their health condition |
| D.build up her own reputation |
How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?
| A.Excited. | B.Regretful. | C.Nervous. | D.Scared. |
What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?
| A.The beautiful clouds. | B.The wonderful view. |
| C.The company of Jay. | D.The one-minute free fall. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A.Impossible is nothing. | B.A dream made come true. |
| C.An unforgettable skydiving. | D.I Went Skydiving at 84! |
| TV PROGRAMMES |
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| Channel 1 |
Channel 2 |
| 18:00 Around China 18:30 Children’s programme 19:00 News 19:30 Weather report 19:40 Around the world 20:10 TV play: Sisters 21:00 English for today 21:15 Popular music 21:55 Talk show |
17:45 Computers today 18:10 Foreign arts 18:30 English classroom 19:00 Animal world 19:25 China’99 20:20 Sports 21:00 TV play: Guo Lanying 21:45 English news 22:06 On TV next week |
If you want to watch a football game, the best programme for you would be _____.
| A.TV play | B.Sports |
| C.Around the world | D.Talk show |
The programme of ______ will let you know much about western countries.
| A.Sisters | B.Around China |
| C.Around the world | D.On TV next week |
If you want to know something about tigers, elephants and monkeys, the best programme for you is __________.
| A.Around China | B.Animal world |
| C.TV play | D.Foreign arts |
English classroom is a programme that _________.
| A.lets you know something about classrooms |
| B.tells you something about students |
| C.lets you know something about school life |
| D.teaches you English |
The programme at the end of Channel 2 means _______ on TV next week.
| A.news | B.programmes |
| C.people | D.places |
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 fruitshave 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 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 second paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A.damaged | B.polluted |
| C.prevented | D.guarded |
Some people think that they will get ill if they use their brains (大脑) too much.. It is not true. Through many studies, scientists show us that the more you use your brains, the better it will be, and the cleverer you will become.
Of course, if you want to keep your mind clear and active, you must take a proper rest and study properly. To the teenagers, using their brains in the morning is good for their health.
There are many ways to rest. One is a peaceful rest. Sleep is a peaceful rest. Another is an active rest. For example, take a walk outdoors, do more exercises every day. To change the way of the brains’ activities is also a good way to rest.
In everyday life, to eat some eggs, meat, fresh vegetables and fruit(水果)is also good for the brains.
Wish you a wise man and a happy life. According to the writer of the passage, our brains should be used ____.
| A.hardly | B.seldom |
| C.more often | D.at times |
Which of the following sentences is NOT TRUE?
| A.Sleep is a kind of a good rest. |
| B.Doing morning exercises is a peaceful rest. |
| C.Going out for a rest is an active rest. |
| D.There are different activities for a good rest. |
Which is TRUE?
| A.Illness comes from the fact that the brains are used too much. |
| B.Fruits are the most important for the brains. |
| C.The brains will be better if they are used often. |
| D.Sleep is the only way of having a rest. |
“Teenagers” in paragraph 2 probably means____.
| A.young girls | B.middle-school students |
| C.clever boys | D.poor students |
Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?
| A.How to use your brains |
| B.How to rest |
| C.How to become a wise man |
| D.Keep your mind clear |
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendship doesn’t last long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be good friend means learning three rules: be honest;be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose the friend’s trust. Good friends always count on one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to friend. They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them, you help your friend know better.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three thinks in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because_______.
| A.some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
| B.there are too many people who want to make friends |
| C.those who give others friendship receive friendship from others. |
| D.they don’t know friendship is something serious. |
According to the passage honesty is_________.
| A.something countable |
| B.the base of friendship |
| C.as important as money |
| D.more important than anything else |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A.Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B.Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C.Discussing your problems with your friends often helps to solve the problem. |
| D.A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
The best title of this passage is_________.
| A.Honesty Is the Best Policy |
| B.A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
| C.How to Be Friends |
| D.Three Important Points in Life |
What’s the meaning of “count on” in the second paragraph?
| A.期望,依赖 | B.认为 |
| C.重视 | D.数,点(数) |
We all know that if we want to keep our body in good shape we have to do physical exercise regularly as well as be careful with what we eat. What we tend to forget is that this goes for our eyes as well. Medical science confirms that a diet rich in carotenoids (类胡萝卜素) can help maintain good vision(维持好视力) and prevent against a number of eye diseases. Here's some advice about how to choose the right diet to keep your eyes healthy.
— Eat orange food. Fruits and vegetables with orange flesh are rich in carotenoids. In addition to carrots,oranges,pumpkins and sweet potatoes are also available. All of these contain high levels of carotenoids,which help to maintain good vision.
— Include dark green vegetables,such as spinach (菠菜) and broccoli (西兰花) in your diet, to act as natural sunglasses. Recent scientific studies have shown that these vegetables can help block (阻挡) the damaging UV radiation(紫外线辐射)from the sun's rays.
— Prevent some eye diseases with orange juice, yellow corn, whole milk, nuts and leafy vegetables. These foods are good sources of vitamins A, C, D and E. All of these are necessary to good eye health.
— Increase your intake of omega¬3 with some sea fish, and some other seafood. Omega-3 helps build cell walls and is especially beneficial to keeping eyes healthy .It also helps regulate the eye's internal pressure and helps the eye dry up excess fluid.We can learn from the first paragraph that healthy food .
| A.keeps eyes healthy |
| B.means you don't need exercise |
| C.can help cure eye diseases efficiently(有效地) |
| D.means people don't have to wear glasses |
Why should people eat orange food according to the text?
| A.It is beneficial to building cell walls in eyes. |
| B.It is more delicious than other food. |
| C.It is good for eyesight. |
| D.It is rich in various vitamins. |
Which of the following can help block the damaging UV radiation from the sun's rays?
| A.Pumpkins. | B.Juice. |
| C.Nuts. | D.Broccoli. |
The purpose of the text is to tell people how to .
| A.keep their body in good shape |
| B.choose a healthy diet for their eyes |
| C.prevent serious eye diseases |
| D.get natural sunglasses from food |