James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves(奴隶). 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 the age of 13 After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time in order to pay for his education. As a second year 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 games, Owens fell down when he went downstairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he was helped in and out of the car that drove him to the games. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he should 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 success at the Olympic Games in Berlin(柏林) the next year, and his success would come to be considered as not only athletic but also political(政治的). Hitler(希特勒) did not give congratulations to any of the black American winners.
"It was all right with me." he said years later. "I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with him,
anyway."
After returning 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 success made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and racing against cars and dogs.
"Sure, it worried me," he said later. "But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat."
In the end, however, his gold medals 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." In the Big Ten games, Owens_______.
| A．hurt himself in the back |
| B．had to give up all events |
| C．tried every sports event but all failed |
| D．was successful in setting many records |
We can infer(推断)from the text that Owens was treated unfairly in the US at that time because_______.
| A．he didn't talk to the US president on the phone |
| B．he was the son of a poor farmer |
| C．he was the grandson of black slaves |
| D．he didn't shake hands with Hitler |
When Owens says "They have kept me alive over the years", he means that the medals
| A．have been changed for money to help him live on |
| B．have made him famous in the US |
| C．have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs |
| D．have encouraged him to face difficulties in life |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．How to Be Successful |
| B．Jesse Owens - A Great American Sportsman |
| C．The Big Ten Games |
| D．Making a Living As a Sportsman |
Michael Jackson is one of the world’s best singers. Michael Jackson was born in the middle west of Gary, Indiana, in 1958. He began singing with his four brothers. They called the group “Jackson Five”. The group became very popular after appearing on a television progam. They started singing in 1965, became popular soon. In 1970 the group made their first record the name of “I Want You Back”. It was very popular. One of their hit records was “Never Say Goodbye”.
Michael was good at dancing as well as singing, for example, his dance moves and moon walking. He was asked to act in a film in 1978 for the first time, in the same year he made a record on his own, which sold eight million copies all over the world.
Michael nearly didn’t go out because he was too famous. Once his fans went off in a faint（晕倒） when they saw him at the concert. No one can do it by now. He lived in a large house and kept lots of animals. He never ate meat. He often raises money for charity. This made him win the Guinness World Records（吉尼斯世界纪录）in 2006. He died on June 25th, 2009, but he would live in our heart forever.What’s the name of their first record?
| A．“Never Say Goodbye” | B．“See You, See Me” |
| C．“I Want You Back” | D．“On the World” |
Michael was good at __________ according to the passage.
| A．rock music | B．street dance |
| C．playing the piano | D．moon walking |
Why did Mochael have to stay at home most of the time?
| A．Because he was too famous |
| B．Because he often felt lonely. |
| C．Because he had no friends |
| D．Because his company asked him to do so |
If someone says to you: “ Give me five”, do not search your pocket to get five yuan! It will make others laugh! The person’s not asking for your money, but your fingers.
In the US, “ give me five” or “ give me the high five” is a popular gesture ( 动作 ). You can see it often in films or on TV. It means the clapping ( 拍 ) of each other’s raised right hands together.
People do it when they meet for the first time or something happy happens. For example, a student has good marks in exams or wins a lottery ticket ( 彩票 ). If a football team wins a game, the players will give high fives to everyone around to celebrate.
This gesture may come from the old Roman gesture of raising the right arm for the king. This showed that the person raising his arm did not have a sword ( 剑 ) in his hand.
Why not try to give the high five to your friends?“ Give me five” is a gesture to ______________.
| A．ask for money | B．celebrate success |
| C．search one’s pocket | D．play |
The gesture “ give me five” is the clapping of _________.
| A．toes | B．hands | C．arms | D．legs |
When you ________, you give your friends high fives.
| A．lose your money | B．go back home |
| C．win a football game | D．do badly in exams |
The gesture started in _______ according to the story.
| A．Rome | B．America | C．China | D．Britain |
Why did the Romans raise the right arm for the emperor? Because ________.
| A．they were proud of their emperor |
| B．they were happy to see the emperor |
| C．they wanted to show there were no swords in their hands |
| D．We don’t know |
Once there was an old farmer. He had a horse and the horse was almost as old as himself. One morning he set out with his young son to sell the horse before it died. The father and the son walked because the farmer did not want the horse to be too tired.
They met two men on the road. They said, “Why are you walking, farmer? You have a horse. It’s a long way to get to the market. ” The farmer knew that this was true, so he rode on the horse while his son walked.
Then they met two old ladies. “What are you doing up there, farmer? Can’t you see how tired your son is? ”So the farmer got down, and let his son ride on it.
Twenty minutes later, three old men stopped them. One said, “Why are you walking, farmer? Get up. It’s too hot for an old man like you to walk today. ” So the farmer got up behind his son and they went on riding.
Some time later, a young woman passed them. “Why aren’t you walking? ” she asked, “It isn’t far to the market. Give your poor old horse a rest. ”So the farmer and his son got down once again. It is a fact that you cannot please all the people all the time.The farmer was______.
| A．nearly the same age as his horse |
| B．almost always older than his horse |
| C．not quite as old as his horse |
| D．a little older than his horse |
The two men on the road________.
| A．asked how far it was to the market |
| B．said they thought the horse looked very tired |
| C．asked why the farmer was not riding on his horse |
| D．told the farmer’s son to get off the horse and walk |
The two old ladies said it was wrong for_________ .
| A．the farmer to ride such a tired horse |
| B．the farmer to ride while his young son walked |
| C．the boy to ride instead of his father |
| D．only one person to ride such a long way |
The farmer got up behind his son because_________.
| A．the old farmer said it was too hot for him to walk |
| B．the three old men stopped them on the road |
| C．he did hot know why he was walking |
| D．his son could not ride the horse by himself |
What did the writer really want to tell us?
| A．The old man was a fool. |
| B．The horse was old and was going to die. |
| C．It is not right to listen to others. |
| D．It is impossible for a man to make everyone satisfied（满意）all the time. |
Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older. Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of 50. In fact, they say by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were when they were 18 years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 24 and 25. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings. They so spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.According to the survey of the Gallup Organization people are most likely to become happier .
| A．when they are between the ages of 18 and 85 | B．when they come to their old age |
| C．when they are in their twenties | D．when they are 18 years old |
You may have the highest level of stress when you are at the age of .
| A．20 | B．25 | C．35 | D．40 |
According to Arthur Stone, old people may .
| A．have a positive attitude towards their life | B．know how to spend money wisely |
| C．dream about good things every day | D．control their behaviors better |
Who would probably show the greatest interest in the passage?
| A．Those who are worried about getting old | B．Those who are single and unemployed |
| C．Those who feel unhappy all the time | D．Those who suffer from mental stress |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Getting Older Means Getting Happier | B．The Young Are Happier Than the Old |
| C．Women Are Easier to Be Happy in Life | D．The Younger, the Happier |
Take a look at teenagers around, dressed in baggy-pants (宽松裤), drinking soft drinks such as coke, reading Japanese cartoons. Whether you are in Beijing, Wuhan or Hong Kong, you will get the same impression. But should we copy others or should we maintain (保留) our differences?
It sounds convenient that people around the world speak the same language, dress in the same style, eat the same food and play the same games. If the world was like this, you won’t feel strange in any corner of world. But just imagine living in such a strange world. How dull and colorless it would be!
Different kinds of food that people can taste, the colorful and fashionable clothes that we dress in and different languages we speak are all part of the different cultures that our ancestors left us. These differences represent their creativity (创造力) and talent. And we all enjoy different cultures in our daily lives. When you travel to other places, you want to see different things. When you talk to foreigners you expect to listen to interesting stories. These differences in culture are what make life colorful.
But the whole world is shrinking into a small village as globalization (全球化) takes effect and many different cultures are disappearing. In most big cities around the world people wear the same clothes. Fast food stores are everywhere. Hollywood movies are kicking traditional performing arts out of our lives. The colors of our life are disappearing.
There is joke that even the panda and zebra want to live a colorful life. So let’s take action to protect our colorful culture before it becomes as simple as black and white.
It’s not difficult. Learning some folk songs, trying on a traditional clothing and even eating local food instead of going to KFC can help. And we’re sure you will enjoy it. The passage is written to _______.
| A．explain cultural differences | B．convince readers to maintain cultural differences |
| C．predict the future of globalization | D．show some cultural phenomena(现象) |
The author thinks that cultural differences _______.
| A．make the world colorful | B．make communication difficult |
| C．only exist in food and clothing | D．will never fade away |
The author starts the argument by ________.
| A．mentioning certain cultural phenomena |
| B．mentioning his view at the very beginning |
| C．mentioning the opposite view at the very beginning |
| D．giving examples of cultural differences |
The underlined word “shrink” probably means “_______”.
| A．expand | B．disappear | C．become smaller | D．grow in number |
The author talks of all the following cultural phenomena except _______.
| A．food | B．clothing | C．language | D．architecture |