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! |
The easy way out isn't always easiest. I learned that lesson when I decided t
o treat Doug, my husband of one month, to a special meal. I glanced through my cookbook and chose a menu which included homemade bread. Knowing the bread would take time, I started on it as soon as Doug left for work. As I was not experienced in cooking, I thought if a dozen was good, two dozen would be better, so I doubled everything. As Doug loved oranges, I also opened a can of orange and poured it all into the bowl. Soon there was a sticky dough(面团) covered with ugly yellowish marks. Realizing I had been defeated, I put the dough in the rubbish bin outside so I wouldn't have to face Doug laughing at my work. I went on preparing the rest of the meal, and, when Doug got home, we sat down to Cornish chicken with rice. He tried to enjoy the meal but seemed disturbed. Twice he got up and went outside, saying he thought he heard a noise. The third time he left, I went to the window to see what he was doing. Looking out, I saw Doug standing about three feet from the rubbish bin, holding the lid up with a stick and looking into the container. When I came out of the house, he dropped the stick and explained that there was something alive in our rubbish bin. Picking up the stick again, he held the lid up enough for me to see. I felt cold. But I stepped closer and looked harder. Without doubt it was my work. The hot sun had caused the dough to double in size and the fermenting yeast(酵母)made the surface shake and sigh though it were breathing. It looked like some unknown being from outer space. I could see why Doug was so shaken. I had to admit what the “living thing” was and why it was there. I don't know who was more embarrassed(尴尬)by the whole thing—Doug or me.
1. The writer's purpose in writing this story is ________ .
A. to tell an interesting experience
B. to show the easiest way out of a difficulty
C. to describe the trouble facing a newly married woman
D. to explain the difficulty of learning to cook from books
2.Why did the woman's attempt at making the bread turn out to be unsuccessful?
A. The canned orange had gone bad.
B. She didn't use the right kind of flour.
C. The cookbook was hard to understand.
D. She did not follow the directions closely.
3.Why did the woman put the dough in the rubbish bin?
A. She didn't see the use of keeping it.
B. She meant to joke with her husband.
C. She didn't want her husband to see it.
D. She hoped it would soon dry in the sun.
4.What made the dough in the bin look frightening?
A. The rising and falling movement.B. The strangelooking marks.
C. Its shape. D. Its size.
5.When Doug went out the third time, the woman looked out of the window because she was ________ .
A. surprised at his being interested in the bin
B. afraid that he would discover her secret
C. unhappy that he didn't enjoy the meal
D. curious to know what disturbed him
I’m seventeen. I had worked as a box boy at a supermarket in Los Angeles. People came to the counter and you put things in their bags for them. And carried things to their cars. It was hard work.
While working, you wear a plate with your name on it. I once met someone I knew years ago. I remembered his name and said,“Mr Castle, how are you?"We talked about this and that. As he left, he said,“It was nice talking to you, Brett."I felt great, he remembered me. Then I looked down at my name plate. Oh no. He didnt remember me at all, he just read the name plate. I wish I had put“Irving"down on my name plate. If hed have said,“Oh yes, Irving, how could I forget you?"I d have been ready for him. Theres nothing personal here.
The manager and everyone else who were a step above the box boys often shouted orders. One of these was: you couldnt accept tips(小费). Okay, Im outside and
I put the bags in the car. For a lot of people, the natural reaction(反应)is to take a quarter and give it to me. Id say,“Im sorry, I can’t."They’d get angry. When you give someone a tip, youre sort of being polite. You take a quarter and you put it in their hand and you expect them to say,“Oh,thanks a lot."When you say,“I'm sorry, I can't."They feel a little put down.They say,“No one will know."And they put it in your pocket. You say,“I really can’t."It gets to a point where you almost have to hurt a person physically(身体上)to prevent him from tipping you. It was not in agreement with the stores belief in being friendly. Accepting tips was a friendly thing and made the customer feel good. I just couldt understand the strangeness of some peoples ideas. One lady actually put it in my pocket, got in the car, and drove away. I would have had to throw the quarter at her or eaten it or something.
I had decided that one year was enough. Some people needed the job to stay alive and fed. I guess I had the means and could afford to hate it and give it up.
1.What can be the best title for this text?
A.How Hard Life for Box Boys
B.Getting along with Customers
C.Why I Gave up My Job
D.The Art of Taking Tips
2.From the second paragraph, we can infer that _______ .
A.the writer didn’t like the impersonal part of his job
B.with a name plate, people can easily start talking
C.Mr Castle mistook Irving for Brett
D.Irving was the writers real name
3.The box boy refused to accept tips because _______.
A.customers only gave small tips
B.some customers had strange ideas about tipping
C.the store forbade the box boys to take tips
D.he didn’t want to fight with the customers
4.The underlined phrase“put down"in the third paragraph probably means _______.
A.misunderstood B.defeated C.hateful D.hurt
What am I doing with my daughter at home? Rather than read aloud from books, we
go to dinner and have a very good time. This is usually when her Mom isn't around, and this is when my little girl and I relate better. They're alone together so much. We're seldom alone. When we're alone together, she and I somehow behave differently. We learn about each other. She learns that I'm her father. I learn that she's my daughter. It's a strange feeling, but any parent knows what I'm talking about when I say that I often look at my daughter and wonder just whose kid she is. Where'd she suddenly come from? And why on earth did she pick Laura and me for parents?
When my daughter and I are alone she'll hold my hand and say, “I just love you so much, Daddy!” She's so used to my leaving that when I tell her she and I are going to hang out all night, she gets this great look on her face and says, “We've got so much to do, Dad!” There's nothing like it in the world.
I want my relationship with my daughter to keep growing, so I've been giving my wife a couple of hundred dollars each week and making her go to the shopping center with her girlfriends, or something—anything!
But this closeness is not without its problems. When I'm sitting there playing with her Barbie doll(巴比娃娃)， washing her hair, a voice in me suddenly says, “I've got to get a drink and get out of here.” Right in the middle of all this pleasantness, the voice goes, “Look at yourself! You're washing dolls!”
1.Why does the husband give his wife so much money each week?
A. He wants her to buy more things for the family.
B. She can do whatever she likes with the money.
C. He can spend more time with his daughter.
D. She can spend more time with her friends.
2. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The father spends more time with the daughter than the mother does.
B.The daughter is happy when the father tells her he will be away.
C.The father is happy, hearing “We've got so much to do, Dad!”
D.The father is sure that the daughter is not his own.
3.What does the last paragraph tell us about the father?
A.He doesn't enjoy being with his daughter.
B.He doesn't like washing his daughter's hair.
C.He likes to enjoy himself by going out for a drink.
D.He has mixed feelings when he is with his daughter.
James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.
“J. C.，" he replied.
She thought he had said “Jesse", and he had a new name.
Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a secondyear student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.
A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs.His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.
The stage was set for Owens' victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic(体育的) but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the AfricanAmerican winners.
“It was all right with me," he said years later. “I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway."
Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.
Owens' Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles, and dogs.
“Sure, it bothered(烦扰) me," he said later. “But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat."
In time, however, his gold medals(奖牌) changed his life. “They have kept me alive over the years," he once said. “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard."
1.Owens got his other name “Jesse" when ________.
A. he went to Ohio State University
B. his teacher made fun of him
C. his teacher took “J. C." for “Jesse"
D. he won gold medals in the Big Ten meet
2.In the Big Ten meet, Owens ________.
A. hurt himself in the back
B. succeeded in setting many records
C. tried every sports event but failed
D. had to give up some events
3.We can infer from the text that Owens was treated unfairly in the US at that time because ________.
A. he was not of the right race
B. he was the son of a poor farmer
C. he didn't shake hands with Hitler
D. he didn't talk to the US president on the phone
4.When Owens says “They have kept me alive over the years," he meansthat the medals ________.
A. have been changed for money to help him live on
B. have made him famous in the US
C. have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life
D. have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs
5. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?
A. Jesse Owens, a Great American Athlete
B. Golden Moment—a Lifetime Struggle
C. Making a Living as a Sportsman
D. How to Be a Successful Athlete?
Native Tongue
At first Kate thought the Romanian girl could not speak and understand English.Nadia would not reply to anything Kate said.Kate was in charge of showing Nadia around on her first day at Buckminster Grade School.Kate could not figure out why the school had put Nadia in a class where she could not understand what people were saying.
“Why did they do this?”Kate wondered aloud.“I mean,you can't learn if you can't understand the teacher.”
Nadia's voice was a whisper.“I understand English.I will learn.”Nadia's English was perfect.
Kate was perplexed.She couldn't understand why Nadia did not like to speak.Then she realized that moving to a new country probably wasn't the easiest thing to do.There were hundreds of unfamiliar and unusual things to learn—all at the same time.
“There're a lot of new things to learn,huh?” said Kate.
Nadia nodded rapidly.In a quiet voice she replied，“Many things people say,I do
not understand.I have been speaking English and Romanian all my life,but I do not know what some children are saying.For example,yesterday a boy asked if I could help him find the USB port on a thin black box he was carrying.Isn't a port a place for ships?It made no sense to me.”
“Don't worry,”said Kate.“You'll figure everything out in time.You see,that thin black box was a computer.A USB port is a place where you can connect other machines to a computer.”
Nadia and Kate were quiet after that.They took notes while the teacher gave a maths lesson.To Kate's surprise,Nadia put up her hand and offered to answer questions at the blackboard.
Nadia handled every question the teacher gave her.Some of the questions were really difficult,and no one understood what was going on except Nadia and the teacher.When the teacher said that Nadia answered everything correctly,the whole class clapped their hands.
Nadia was smiling when she sat back down next to Kate.“Some things,”she said in a normal voice,“are the same all over the world.”
At the beginning of Nadia's first day at school,she was_____________.
A.disappointed B.helpful C.lively D.shy
2.The underlined word“_________perplexed”probably means___________.
A.puzzled B.angry C.shocked D.serious
3.We can infer from the passage that______________.
A.Nadia did not like Kate
B.Nadia had lived by the sea before
C.Nadia had never seen a computer before
D.Nadia spoke in a soft voice out of politeness
4.Which of the following statements is true?
A.Nadia was better at maths than other students.
B.Nadia found some of the maths questions difficult.
C.Nadia was encouraged to answer questions in class.
D.Nadia understood the maths teacher better than other teachers.
5.What is the message of the story?
A.Talking about something familiar gives you confidence in communication.
B.Answering questions in class makes you better understood by classmates.
C.Language plays an important role in communication between cultures.
D.Mathematics helps to improve communication between cultures.