Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities. Of course, there have always been people who have looked for adventure(冒险)---those who have climbed the highest mountains, traveled into unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however, there are people who look for an immediate excitement from a risky(冒险的) activity which may only last a few minutes or even seconds. I would consider bungee(蹦极) jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place(perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon) 200 meters above the ground with an elastic(有弹性的) rope tied to your ankles. You fall at up to 150 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is said that about 2 million people around world have now tried bungee jumping. Other activities which most people would say are as risky as bungee jumping include jumping from tall buildings and diving into the sea from the top of high cliff(悬崖).
For the reasons, some psychologists explain that many people think their life in modern societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people’s lives were constantly(持续的) in danger. They had to go out and hunt for food, diseases could not easily be cured, and life was a continuous battle (战争)for survival.
Nowadays, according to many people, life offers little excitement. They live and work in comparatively safe conditions; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to look for danger in activities such as bungee jumping.Are there many people who are taking part in the dangerous sports?
How many kinds of dangerous sports does the writer refer to?
How long does a bungee jumping usually last?
What do many people think of their life nowadays?
What does the writer tell us in the last two paragraphs?
I would like to talk to you about one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I was born and raised there and now I visit it from time to time. My family moved to the city, so I only go back to see friends or to camp and fish.
I grew up in a small town called Antonito Co. It is surrounded by mountains. So camping is a big source of happiness in the valley（山谷）. There are so many beautiful places to hike.
The town itself is very small. It is said that if you blink (眨眼) when you’re going through it, you’ll miss it. This has some truth in it considering the size of the town. We have one grocery store (杂货店), a tiny post office , and a tiny bank. There are also a few gas stations, bars, some excellent restaurants, a small hospital and of course several schools. However, for clothing and shoes, you have to drive thirty miles to Alamosa to shop there.
Everyone in the town is nice and we all know each other. The crime rate (犯罪率) is zero unless you count some weekend fights that break out because some people drink too much. The classes in school are small, so you get a lot of attention from the teacher.
You’re probably wondering why I don’t live there. Well, I can’t get a job there. A lot of the businesses are family-owned. And they never fire (解雇) their employees (雇工). So the employees work there usually until they retire (退休). Most people have to go to other places to get a job. What is this passage mainly about?
| A．A travel guide of the writer’s hometown. |
| B．An introduction to the writer’s hometown. |
| C．The history of the writer’s hometown. |
| D．The scenery of the writer’s hometown. |
By the underlined part in paragraph 3, the writer wants to show that the town is___________.
| A．beautiful | B．small | C．exciting | D．safe |
What can you find in the writer’s hometown?
a. bank
b. a post office
c. some gas stations and bars
d. a clothing store
e. a shoe shop
f. some restaurants and a hospital
| A．abce | B．bdef | C．abcf | D．cdef |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Teachers pay more attention to the students because they work hard. |
| B．It is great fun for the writer to go camping in the valley. |
| C．It’s common to see some drunken people in the writer’s hometown. |
| D．The writer moved to the city because he didn’t like his hometown. |
We can learn from the last paragraph that in the writer’s hometown ___________.
| A．not many job chances are provided |
| B．employees don’t make much money |
| C．most people live a very hard life |
| D．only the old still live there |
Do you believe that you aren’t smarter than 3-year-old Alexis Martin, one of the youngest members of the high IQ club Mensa? Preschooler (学龄前的) Alexis’s IQ（智商）is 159, which is only one point lower than Stephen Hawking（霍金）’s. Doctors say the average IQ of a person is about 100.
She learned to read at the age of 2. She reads at a fifth grade level and has taught herself Spanish on her parents’ iPad! Now, she is a member of the Mensa Club, which only accepts people with an IQ within the top two percent of people in the world!
Alexis’ father, Ian Martin, said he first realized Alexis was special when she was 12 months old. She could recite （背诵）bedtime stories. “We’d be driving around in the car and she would recite her bedtime stories from the night before. She didn’t just recite them, and she recited them exactly.”
Alexis’ father would try to trick her and say that her story went a different way, but she always corrected him.Most 12-month-old children take their first steps on their own and most 18-month-olds can only name a small number of objects and body parts, and follow simple two-step questions.Even though Alexis is a genius (天才), her parents are faced with lots of challenges （挑战）like how to teach her to make friends of her own age.
“Will she go into kindergarten early? We are kind of hesitant (迟疑的) because we do want her to get to that social world.” Ian said.Alexis Martin is a girl who _____________.
| A．has many hobbies | B．has a high IQ |
| C．is good at telling stories | D．likes reading |
According to the report, Stephen Hawking’s IQ is as high as ___________.
| A．158 | B．159 | C．160 | D．101 |
Alexis Martin could recite bedtime stories at ____________.
| A．the age of 2 | B．the age of 1 |
| C．one and a half years old | D．the age of 3 |
What would Alexis do when her father said her bedtime stories went a different way?
| A．She would refuse to listen. |
| B．She would try to recite it. |
| C．She would correct him. |
| D．She would laugh at it. |
Which of the following statements about Alexis is NOT true?
| A．She is accepted by the Mensa Club. |
| B．She has made a lot of friends. |
| C．She learned to read at the age of 2. |
| D．She learned a foreign language by herself. |
When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, “Well, it’s so-and-so’s mistake.” or “I know I’m late, but it’s not my mistake； the bus was late.” It is probably not your mistake, but once you form the habit of blaming(责备) somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop paying attention to whom to blame and start paying attention to how to improve the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming(克服) problems. For example, if you were late because the bus was late, maybe you need to leave home early. Or, you might call a taxi or call friends for help when in need. For another example, if your workmate causes you problems on the job for short of responsibility(责任心) or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or leave this person with some simple jobs. You should accept that the person is not reliable(可靠的) and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your workmate fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives； they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges(挑战) and chances to develop their own talents. So, stop paying attention to “whose mistake it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.According to the passage, winners .
| A．have responsible and able workmates |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．blame themselves rather than others |
| D．deal with problems rather than blame others |
When your workmate brings about a problem, you should .
| A．blame him for his lack of responsibility |
| B．find a better way to overcome the problem |
| C．tell him to find the cause of the problem |
| D．ask a more able workmate for help |
When problems happen, winners take them as .
| A．excuses for their mistakes |
| B．difficulties to greater power |
| C．chances for self-development |
| D．challenges to their workmates |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage？
| A．A Winner’s Secret | B．A Winner’s Problem |
| C．A Winner’s Chance | D．A Winner’s Achievement |
My parents quarreled (吵架) a lot, and I was really worried about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was packing up my things when suddenly the power (电) went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.
I was really disappointed(失望的) because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored(恢复). He was quite happy and said.
“Great chance.”
“What is?” I asked.
“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a one-to-one little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves and the situation we are in now.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was.
And that is how the most amazing friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feelings and fears of life from how fast things change to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”Why was Grandpa happy to see the writer?
| A．Because he felt quite lonely. |
| B．Because he could discuss the problem with him. |
| C．Because he was afraid of darkness. |
| D．Because he had not seen him for a long time. |
In which order(顺序) did the story happen?
a. The lights came back on.
b. The writer went to his grandpa’s room and stayed with him.
c. The power in the neighbourhood suddenly went out.
d. The writer worried about the parents’ disagreement and wanted to leave his home.
e. The writer had a talk with his grandpa and started the most amazing friendship between them.
| A．d-b-e-c-a | B．a-b-e-c-d |
| C．c-d-b-e-a | D．d-c-b-e-a |
What can be inferred(推断) from the story?
| A．The lights would go out again. |
| B．The writer wanted to leave very much. |
| C．They would have more chats. |
| D．It would no longer be dark. |
People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work. What is genius according to Thomas Edison?
| A．Hard thinking. | B．Hard work. |
| C．Useful ideas. | D．Useful inventions. |
How did Edison always deal with the secrets of nature after exploring them?
| A．To write down what he had learned. |
| B．To carry out a new experiment. |
| C．To make them useful in life. |
| D．To share them with others. |
What does the last sentence in the passage mean?
| A．Edison was born to be a great inventor. |
| B．Edison was able to live another 100 years. |
| C．Edison was ready to make his 100th invention. |
| D．Life was too short for Edison to work for human beings. |