While watching the Olympics the other night,I came across an unbelievable sight.It was not a gold medal,or a world record broken,but a show of courage.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks.For one reason or another,two of them false started,so they were disqualified.That left only one to compete.It would have been difficult enough,not having anyone to race against,even though the time on the clock is important.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong.I’m not an expert swimmer,but I can tell a good dive from a poor one,and this was not exactly medal quality.When he resurfaced,it was evident that the man was not out for gold – his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle.The crowd started to laugh.Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time.Finally he made his turn to start back.It was pitiful.He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.But in those few awful strokes,the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing,but beginning to cheer.Some even began to stand and shout “Come on,you can do it!” and he did.
A clear minute past the average swimmer,this young man finally finished his race.The crowd went wild.You would have thought that he had won the gold,and he should have.Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history,this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago,he had never even swum,let alone race.His country had been invited to Sydney.
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold,or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors,it is nice to watch an underdog.From the passage we can learn that the young man .
A.made his turn to start back pitifully |
B.was skillful in freestyle in the game |
C.swam faster than the average swimmer |
D.was not capable enough to win the medal |
The crowd changed their attitudes because .
A.they felt sorry for the young man |
B.they were moved by the young man’s courage |
C.they wanted to show their sympathy |
D.they meant to please the young man |
According to the passage,“it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means .
A.it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself |
B.it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills |
C.it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors |
D.it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.The event started with three men,two of whom were disqualified later. |
B.The crowd started to laugh at the athlete’s arms waving in an attempt at freestyle. |
C.The athlete,as well as the author,is an expert swimmer. |
D.The swimming event is a show of courage rather than a fierce competition. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Compete for Gold! | B.Try again! |
C.Break a Record! | D.Go for it! |
We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. but most
mistakes are about people. "Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?" "When I got
that great job, did Jim, as a friend, really feel good about it? Or did he envy my luck?" "And was Paul friendly just because I had a car?" When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad.
But when we look back, it is too late.
Why do we go wrong about our friends, or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meanings. And if we do not really listen, we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, "You're a lucky dog!"(你真幸运!) Is he really on your side? If he says, "You're a lucky guy!", that is being friendly. But "a lucky dog?" There is a bit of envy in those words. What he may be saying is that he does not think you deserve your luck.
"Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for" is another phrase that says one thing and means another. It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem. But this phrase contains the thought that your problem is not at all important.
How can you tell the real meaning behind someone's words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Is what he says shown by the tone of voice? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. The minu
te you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save your another mistake.
65.When the writer recalls(回想) some of the things that happened between him and his
friends, he _______.
A.feels happy, thinking how nice his friends were to him
B.feels he might not have understood his friends' true feelings
C.think it a mistake to have broken up with his girl friend
D.is sorry that his friends let him down
66.When the writer talks about someone saying, "You're a lucky dog!", he is saying that
_____.
A.the speaker is just friendly
B.this sentence suggests the same as "You're a lucky guy!"
C.the word "dog" should not be used to apply to people
D.sometimes the words show that the speaker is a bit envious
67.This passage tries to tell you how to ______.
A.avoid mistakes about money and friends
B.get an idea of friendly people
C.avoid mistakes in understanding what people tell you
D.keep people friendly without trusting them
68.The writer suggests that ______ be trusted.
A.everybody B.nobody C.all the people D.not all the people
第三部分阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
第一节:阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
"I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生)," said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. "I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate".
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术)make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. "There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years," he said. "Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years."
However, many scientists who specialize in ageing are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. "It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?" said Leonard Pooh, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology(老龄学) Center. "At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."
1.By saying "we are knocking at the door of immortality", Michael Zey means ________.
A.they believe that there is no limit of living
B.they are sure to find the truth about long living
C.they have got some ideas about living forever
D.they are able to make people live past the present life span
2.Donald Louria's attitude towards long living is that ________.
A.people can live from 120 to 180 years
B.it is still doubtful how long humans can live
C.the human body is designed to last about 120 years
D.it is possible for humans to live longer in the future
3.The underlined "it"(paragraph 4)refers to ________.
A.a great push
B.the idea of living beyond the present life span
C.the idea of living from 200 to 300 years
D.the conservative estimate
4.What would be the best title for this text?
A.Living Longer or Not B.Science, Technology and Long Living
C.No Limit for Human Life D.Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living
Most people are worried about the health of economy. But does the economy also affect your body health?
It does, but not always the ways you might expect. The data(数据) on how an economic downturn influences an individual’s health is mixed.
It’s clear that a long-term economic rise leads to improvements in a population’s overall health, in developing and developed societies alike.
But whether the short-term economic fall will damage your own health depends on your health habits when times are good. And economic studies suggest that people usually do not take care of themselves in good times—drinking too much, dining on fattier restaurant meals and skipping exercises.
“The value of time is higher during good economic times,” said Grant Miller, a professor of medicine at Stanford. “so people work more and do less of the things that are good for them, like cooking at home and exercising. ”
Similar patterns have been seen in some developing nations. Dr. Miller, who is studying the effects of fluctuating coffee prices on health in Colombia where coffee plays an important role in economy development, says that although falling prices are bad for the economy, they appear to improve the population’s overall health. When prices are low, laborers have time to enjoy their own life such as doing housework, exercising and taking care of their children, etc.
“When coffee prices suddenly rise, people work harder on their coffee fields and spend less time doing things around the home, including things that are good for their children,” he said.
Christopher J. Rohm, professor of economics at University of North Carolina. US shares similar ideas.
57. What would be the best title?
A. Does the economy affect your body health?
B. Does your life habit play an important role in economy development?
C. Economic rise leads to improvement in people’s health.
D. Coffee prices affect people’s health.
58. According to Grant Miller, it is implied that_______.
A. a long-term economic rise can damage your body health
B. a long-term economic fall can damage people’s body health
C. a short-term economic rise can improve people’s body health
D. a short-term economic fall can improve your body health
59. What does the underlined word “fluctuating” in the sixth paragraph mean?
A. lasting B. changing C. rising D. falling\
60. Professor Christopher J. Rohm thinks that_________.
A. people work harder when it is in long-term good economy times
B. people work less when it is in short-term good economy times
C. people have more time to enjoy their own life in short-term bad economy times
D. people do less of the things around the home in long-term bad economy times
Many Chinese high school students are tired of their parents’ nagging(唠叨). They think their parents’ high expectations are burdens (负担). But a recent survey found that they are much luckier than teenagers in Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US, who also find their parents annoying . The parents of foreign teens have even higher expectations of their children than Chinese parents. 62% of Chinese fathers and 66%of Chinese mothers have high expectations of their children at high school age. They rank third and fourth among fathers and mothers of four countries. Japanese mothers top the list with 76% having high expectations, while 70% of Korean fathers expect too much of their children. Japanese teens are the most deeply troubled by their parents constantly (总是) comparing them with other kids.
The survey also found that Chinese students are the most satisfied with their parents. They blame them less, and also receive less criticism than those from the other three countries . However ,satisfaction doesn’t mean they are happy. Of the four countries, Chinese children are not the happiest at home. They get the least praise from their parents and they don’t feel able to express their unhappiness to them,
“Results from the survey show that in spite of different cultural backgrounds, generation gaps (代沟)exist in many countries other than China. It’s even bigger elsewhere,” said Sun Yunsxiao, from the China Yonth and Children Research Centre. He said that Chinese parents are used to burying their feelings deep in their hearts, which makes their children not want to talk openly with them. “ This survey shows that both parents and teenagers in China need to work on communicating and understanding each other. ”
Besides their family life, students were also questioned about their opinions on themselves and others in the world. US students showed more “individuality,” with 88% agreeing that “people should follow their own interests instead of those of others”. Koreans were the next most independent, followed by the Chinese and Japanese.
53. The text is mainly about________.
A. the unlucky school students’ troubles
B. the different generation gaps in different countries
C. the comparation of students’ family situations in different countries
D. the relationship between children and parents
54. Japanese students think it most troublesome that their parents______.
A. often compare them with other children
B. have the highest expectations
C. are not satisfied with them
D. seldom talk openly with them
55. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Chinese teens are happiest at home for they are most satisfied with their parents.
B. Chinese parents blame or criticize their children less and praise them more.
C. Generation gap in China is much bigger than that in other countries.
D. Chinese parents don’t often talk openly with their children
56. students are the most independent
A. US B. Japanese C. Korean D . Chinese
Educators and explorers Will Steger, John Stetson, Elizabeth Andre and Abby Fenton joined four Inuit hunters on a 1,200-mile, four-month-long dog-seld expedition (考察队) across the Canadian Arctic’s Baffin Island.
The expedition is travelling with four Inuit dog teams over traditional hunting paths, up frozen rivers, through steep-sided bays, over glaciers and ice caps, and across the sea ice to reach some of the most remote Inuit village of the world.
The travelers wake up early around 6 a. m . During the course of the day they are able to travel about 17 miles. They hope to be able to travel 25 miles or 30 miles per day. They manage their body temperature by adding or taking off layers depending on their level activity.
Team member Elizabeth Andre had to leave the expedition because of frostbite(冻伤) . She was disappointed to miss part of the expedition, but leaving the field was the right decision to protect her fingers from any more damage. She will rejoin the expedition in Pangnirtung, the next village. Elizabeth feels how tough the weather condition can be in the Arctic. She is beginning to appreciate how much skill and knowledge of the environment the Inuit people have.
The expedition team plan to eat a combination of country foods from Iglulik, fresh meat hunted on the trail, and dried food packed out from Steger’s homeland in Minnesota.
The expedition members have already begun to notice the effects of global warming. Theo, a native Inuit traveling with the team, points out that “Looking at what we saw today -we saw that there haven’t been caribou(驯鹿) tracks for a long time. Usually, you look out of your window in Iqaluit and you see them. Now numbers are down”. Theo was born in an igloo(冰屋)and has lived in Inuit for most of his life.
49. The main purpose of the expedition is to_______.
A. experience the hard life of Inuit
B. appreciate the beautiful environment of Inuit village
C. do some research about the Inuit’s life style
D. explore the effects of global warming
50. of the expedition team members didn't miss any part of the expedition.
A. Four B. Six C. Seven D. Eight
51. The author gives an example of the caribou to show that_______.
A. global warming has had bad effects on the environment there
B. caribous are dying out because of the cold weather
C. the Inuit hunters have killed too many wild animals
D. good measures haven’t been taken to protect wild animals
52. From the text we can learn that_______.
A. the expedition team will walk across the Arctic
B. the expedition members only eat their packed food
C. the final stop for the expedition team is Pangnirtung
D. traveling to Inuit villages needs skill and knowledge of the environment.