I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box car in a freight yard in Atlantic City and landing on my head．Now I am thirty two．I can slightly remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is．It would be wonderful to see again, but a calamity（灾难） can do strange things to people．It occurred to me the other day that I might not have come to love life as I do if I hadn't been blind．I believe in life now．I am not so sure that I would have believed in it so deeply, otherwise．I don't mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes．I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate the more what I had left．
The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself．That was basic．If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have collapsed and become a chair rocker on the front porch for the rest of my life．When I say belief in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase alone．That is part of it．But I mean something bigger than that: an assurance that I am, despite imperfections, a real, positive person; that somewhere in the sweeping, intricate（错综复杂的） pattern of people there is a special place where I can make myself fit．
It took me years to discover and strengthen this assurance．It had to start with the simplest things．Once a man gave me an indoor baseball．I thought he was making fun of me and I was hurt．"I can't use this．" I said．"Take it with you," he urged me, "and roll it around．" The words stuck in my head．"Roll it around! "By rolling the ball I could hear where it went．This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought impossible: playing baseball．At Philadelphia's Overbrook School for the Blind I invented a successful variation of baseball．We called it ground ball．
All my life I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time．I had to learn my limitations．It was no good trying for something that I knew at the start was wildly out of reach because that only invited the bitterness of failure．I would fail sometimes anyway but on the average I made progress．We can learn from the beginning of the passage that _______
| A．the author lost his sight because of a car crash． |
| B．the author wouldn't love life if the disaster didn't happen． |
| C．the disaster made the author appreciate what he had． |
| D．the disaster strengthened the author's desire to see． |
What's the most difficult thing for the author?
| A．How to adjust himself to reality． |
| B．Building up assurance that he can find his place in life． |
| C．Learning to manage his life alone． |
| D．How to invent a successful variation of baseball． |
According to the context, “a chair rocker on the front porch” in paragraph 3 means that the author __________
| A．would sit in a rocking chair and enjoy his life． |
| B．would be unable to move and stay in a rocking chair． |
| C．would lose his will to struggle against difficulties． |
| D．would sit in a chair and stay at home． |
According to the passage, the baseball and encouragement offered by the man _____
| A．hurt the author's feeling． |
| B．gave the author a deep impression． |
| C．directly led to the invention of ground ball． |
| D．inspired the author． |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Miserable Life |
| B．Struggle Against Difficulties |
| C．A Disaster Makes a Strong Person |
| D．An Unforgettable Experience |
The Great Wall of China is one of Beijing’s biggest draws for tourists; despite its fame and ubiquity in postcards across the world, it rarely fails to attract tourists at the first proper sight.Yet the authorities open only certain sections of the wall as fit for viewing, and few get to visit the unauthorized sections. Fewer still are aware of the existence of at least one part of the Wall that remains in almost original condition, nearly 1,500 years after construction of legendaryfortification began. But there’s a good reason for this – it’s underwater.
American journalist Steven Schwankert has been diving since age 10. It was though his setting – up of a diving school that Schwankert came to explore some of lesser – known areas of China’s lakes – and discovered the underwater Wall under a reservoir.“The most fascinating piece of diving I ever did in China must be the Great Wall. I managed to find out about it via the Internet. It wasn’t difficult to get to Pan Jiakou in Hebei Province, near the East Qing Tomb about 4 hour’s drive from Beijing. Why do I want to dive the Great Wall? Why do people want to walk on the Great Wall? It’s the same answer.”
There are, however, advantages of visiting the Great Wall in a diving suit over being on foot. The water acts as a preservative by preventing the kind of mass tourism that has brought trouble on other parts of the Wall.“Unlike the people who walk in the Wall, we as divers never need to actually touch it. I’ve dived twice there, the last time in July. I found that the water then was much deeper than it was before – 13 meters deep.” When he first dived, parts of the Wall were visible above the surface. Now even the guard tower is completely submerged. “It’s better that the Wall is deep under water, as there are lots of boats coming in and out around that area. Their wave action could potentially damage the brickwork. So, the deeper, the better.”Steven Schwankert is most interested in .
| A．collecting photos of the Wall |
| B．walking along on the Wall |
| C．diving the underwater Wall |
| D．visiting some famous lakes |
What does the underlined word “submerged” in Paragraph 5 most probably mean?
| A．Damaged by water. | B．Washed by water. |
| C．Preserved by water. | D．Covered by water. |
What is the topic discussed in the last paragraph?
| A．Advantages of walking on the Great Wall. |
| B．Advantages of visiting the underwater Wall. |
| C．The reasons why the Wall is deep under water. |
| D．The reasons why the underwater Wall is protected. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．The underwater Wall will sink deeper year by year. |
| B．Diving the Wall is popular with divers all over the world. |
| C．Diving is a good way to visit the Wall without causing much damage. |
| D．More and more tourists will come to visit the underwater Wall in China. |
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer(拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house – something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, "What do you want for your new room?" Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh responded, "I just want a bed."
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds tog tether, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, "What is that?"
"A pillow," she replied.
"What do you do with it?" Eric continued to ask.
"When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.
"Oh . . . that's soft," he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, "Do you have a pillow?"
We know exactly what he means.The writer’s first volunteer project was .
| A．working on a poor trailer | B．helping a poor family |
| C．donating beds and bedding | D．dealing with a housing problem |
On bearing Josh’s answer, the writer was shocked because .
| A．the family lived in a trailer |
| B．he expected to get some toys |
| C．he didn’t know what a bed was |
| D．the boys had no bed to sleep in |
From the passage, we can learn that Eric had never seen before.
| A．a trailer | B．a truck | C．a pillow | D．a house |
By saying “Do you have a pillow?”, the writer’s father means that .
| A．what they want to get may be unnecessary |
| B．they should not waste money on small things |
| C．they should do more volunteer work for the poor |
| D．what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow |
One of my main concerns when I am helping people achieve their goals is how they measure success. I see individuals getting frustrated as they struggle hard for success.
One of the main reasons that cause this frustration is that people allow their definition of success to be determined by someone or something else. Another is that they become frustrated at their own apparent lack of success when comparing themselves to other people.
We are individuals with individual wants, skills and experiences. We should look at our own skills to determine what is successful to us. We should look inwards to determine what it would mean for us to be successful in our own mind rather than someone else’s.
Evaluating a successful person needs to look at his pathway to success, his actions ，his determination and translate that into his own experience to see how he can improve himself.
You must set your own course of action, and stay on your course. You alone must determine what success means to you. Do what you do to the best of your ability and the rest will take care of itself. For example, I believe that I am successful but I am not a millionaire! Others may not see me as successful in their eyes but that does not matter. It is how I see myself that is important to me and my life.
Here is the truth. Being a success is doing your best, not being the best. Success is not something you become; it is something you continue being.
When we get to that point, we will experience a lot more joy and a lot less frustration. And that sounds good to us!
Remember the great quote from Napoleon Hill, “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Frustration Determines Success |
| B．The Importance of Frustration to Success |
| C．How to Measure Success |
| D．Evaluations of a Successful Person |
In terms of success, the writer thinks people feel frustrated because they_____
| A．struggle too hard | B．know little about others |
| C．are often discouraged | D．underestimate themselves |
Which is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Success is something you keep on being rather than you become. |
| B．Evaluating a successful person needs to look at others’ judgment. |
| C．It doesn’t matter others may not consider you as a success in their eyes. |
| D．It matters that you set your own course of action and stay on it. |
According to the passage the writer advises us to_____.
| A．attach the importance to others’ attitude and evaluation |
| B．learn from others ，failure |
| C．set a proper goal and strive to realize it |
| D．look at others’ skills to determine what is successful to us |
Our English course for kids or children focuses on learning English in an enjoyable way. Classes are small and individual attention is very important.
During the rest of the day students are encouraged to make use of the opportunities to speak and improve their English with the presence of monitors and teachers who will always use English with them.
There are three classes in the morning from Monday to Friday. The focus is primarily on spoken English; students will learn functional English to help them in real social situations. Special attention will be given to useful vocabulary for the afternoon’s activities or trip. The course will finish with a group presentation.
Maximum number of students in class is 8. This allows for greater participation and a greater degree of individual attention. Please note that this is a guaranteed maximum.
Each class is with a different teacher. This means that students practice English with the
added benefit of listening to more accents and experience a variety of teaching styles.
Classes are arranged by level. On arrival students take a level test to assess their oral, reading and written abilities. Students are then placed in a class where teachers agree they will benefit most.
We live and study on campus. There is no time wasted in traveling to class. There are short breaks between classes to allow students to refresh, prepare for the next class or make a start on homework. Homework is beneficial to reinforcing language learned during the day so teachers will set some short tasks each night. Students will have opportunity to do these when they choose--after class, before or after meals or at the end of the day.
Teachers are native-English speakers from all over the world, graduates, TESOL qualified, and experienced. Our teachers know what ifs like to learn a language. They will encourage and help all the students一from children to teenagers.
In the morning lessons, students will_____.
| A．make sure of the opportunity to make a personal presentation |
| B．learn spoken English for the afternoon activities |
| C．practise speaking English with teachers individually |
| D．get into real social situations to practise functional English |
According to the passage, each class is with a different teacher in that_____.
| A．students themselves have their own favourite teachers |
| B．students can make friends with different teachers |
| C．students can learn English spoken with different accents |
| D．different teachers teach students different courses |
What information can you get from the passage?
| A．There is no need for students to do any homework there. |
| B．All the teachers are native and full of experience. |
| C．Students don’t have lunch together with their teachers. |
| D．Not more than eight students are allowed to learn in a class. |
Lettuce (莴苣)has been eaten for over 4,500 years, and was known to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Now, people in some countries start the meal with lettuce as part of a salad. There are hundreds of kinds of lettuce. The main ones include head lettuce, such as iceberg, leaf lettuce ,Boston, bibb and romaine.
Experts say lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow in your garden. The best time to plant the seeds is during cool weather. The University of Illinois Extension advises that the best planting temperature is 15 0C.
Lettuce seeds are small, so do not place them too deep in the ground. If you plant some seeds every week or two, you will have crops ready to eat one after another.
To start the seeds inside, you can use a seed tray in your home or other shelter. This container should be deep enough to hold at least three centimeters of soil or more. There should be about one centimeter of space between the soil and the top of the container. The container should have holes in the bottom so the extra water can flow out. Drop the seeds over the surface and cover them lightly with soil. If the soil is not already a little wet, give it some water. But do not drown the seeds.
Next, cover the seed tray with paper. When the seedlings have come up far enough to touch the paper, take it off. You can transplant the seedlings into the garden when they are about two to three centimeters tall. Do this when the weather is not too hot and not too cold. Take out as much soil as you can with the seedlings, Then dig a hole in the ground bigger thanthe lettuce roots. Water the plants but not too heavily.
Harvest leaf lettuces when the leaves are big enough to eat. Pull the leaves from the outside of the planting so the inside leaves will keep growing. Or, you can cut off the whole plant. Leave about two or three centimeters above the ground so the plant will re-grow. Cut off head lettuces at ground level.
Lettuce is best when served fresh, so make a salad and enjoy. Experts say lettuce is one of the easiest crops to grow in your garden.Which of the following shows the right order of planting lettuces?
a.Dig a hole in the ground bigger than the lettuce roots.
b.Drop the seeds over the surface.
c.Water the plants.
d.Cover the seed with soil.
e.Take off the paper.
f.Transplant the seedlings into the garden.
| A．b, d, e ，f, a, c | B．a, b ，c, d ，e, f |
| C．d, e，f, b，a，c | D．b，c, d，e，f，a |
The underlined word “seedlings” in paragraph 5 means______.
| A．containers | B．seeds | C．young plants | D．layers |
When eating Iettuce5 you’d better ______ so that it tastes best.
| A．store it in plastic bags | B．eat the inside leaves |
| C．wrap it in paper | D．eat while it is fresh |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Lettuce is the easiest crop to grow in your garden. |
| B．The lettuce is not hard to plant and store. |
| C．We can plant lettuce in a two-centimeter-high tray. |
| D．We should water lettuce at least twice a day. |