LONDON, England (CNN) —The youngest person to sail solo around the world returned home Thursday from his 30,000-mile, 282-dav ocean journey.
Mike Perham, 17 , sailed into Lizard Point in Cornwall, the southernmost point in Britain, at 9:47 a. m.,his race team said.
" It feels absolutely brilliant," Mike told CNN by phone hours before crossing the finish line. "I'm really, really excited to be going across the line at last. It doesn't feel like long since I crossed it first."
Mike set off on his round-the-world trip on November 18, 2008. He has been sailing his yacht single-handedly, though a support team has been sailing next to him along the way.
The teen has now achieved the title of Youngest Sailor to Circumnavigate the Globe Solo, according to the Guinness World Records.
Mike learned how to sail when he was seven years old from his father, Peter and at age 14,he sailed across the Atlantic alone.
The teenager's school—which Mike describes as "highly supportive" of his trip—has redesigned his coursework to fit in with his trip. It also gave him some coursework to do during "quiet moments," according to Mike's Web site.
There haven't been many of those quiet moments. Repeated autopilot failures forced him to stop for repairs in Portugal, the Canary Islands,South Africa,and twice in Australia,according to his Web site.
Bad weather in the Southern Ocean—between Australia and Antarctica—forced Mike to battle 50ft waves and 57 mph winds. He said at one point,a "freak wave" picked up the boat and turned it on its side.
"My feet were on the ceiling at the time," he told CNN. "That was a really hairy moment, and I was certainly thinking, 'Why am I here? ’ But we took the sails off and the day after I thought/This is brilliant!’"
Mike describes his father as his biggest hero,always supportive of what he wanted to achieve. Peter Perham said he wasn't too worried about his son facing dangerous situations at sea, as long as he knew what to do and stayed safe. Mike Perham returned to Britain in ______ .
A.August | B.September |
C.October | D.November |
Mike Perham is ______ that went on the round-the-world trip in the world up till now.
A.the first | B.the bravest |
C.the luckiest | D.the youngest. |
We can infer from the passage that ______ .
A.the English school is the same as ours |
B.the English school doesn't care for students |
C.the English school has a humane management |
D.the English school gives students a lot of course work |
The passage mainly tells us ______ .
A.Mike's exciting sail trip around the globe |
B.how Mike's father taught him to sail a boat |
C.why CNN wanted to report the news to the public |
D.the introduction of the Guinness World Records |
If you feel at present that you don’t have enough friends in your life, one reason may be that you have let yourself become too busy to make time for the relationships you already have. Starting and keeping friendship requires effort and commitment.
Many of us let our lives become so busy with work and other commitments that we don’t get around to scheduling time for pleasure and renewal(叙旧)with the friends, relatives and acquaintances we already have.
Making the effort to call your friends more regularly and to accept more of the invitations you receive from others can improve your social life in a hurry!
Are there any people you could call right now and be assured of a pleasant welcome? Are there people that you could count on to help you in time of difficulty? Can you have close talks with them? Do you have fun when you are together? Are you happy to have them in your life?
If you haven’t seen much of them lately, is it because you have become too busy? Have you grown apart? Was there an argument?
If the main reason you haven’t been getting together with the people you already know is that you have gotten too busy, take a good look at how you spend your time. Compare it with your real values and priorities(优先考虑的事)in life. Is your busy lifestyle really bringing you the quality of life that you want?
If you have become too busy for friends, why has this happened? Are you seeking material toys in your life at the expense of relationships with other human beings? Have you allowed your time to be over-committed because you never say “No” to anyone? Do you insist on doing things yourself that could be delegated to others? If so, why? Do you believe that everything depends on you?
Examine whether the way you are now spending your time accurately reflects your deepest values and priorities. Make sure that you schedule adequate time for the things that are truly most important to you.
If you really want to keep friends in your life, make a space in your schedule, and a space in your heart for them.
60.The author mainly discusses ______in this passage.
A.how to spend our spare time
B.how to balance friendship and work
C.whether we should keep friendship
D.whether we should invite friends to dinner
61.Which of the following doesn’t indicate a good relationship?
A.You have someone to count on when you are in trouble.
B.You have someone to have close talks with.
C.You have fun when you are with someone.
D.You feel depressed with others in life.
62.What does the underlined word “delegated”(para.7)probably mean?
A.replaced B.appointed C.defeated D.handled
63.The reason why you have become too busy for friends may be the following except that_____.
A.you feel it difficult to keep friendship
B.you spend too much time seeking material toys in your life
C.you stick to doing everything all by yourself
D.you never refuse whatever other people ask you to do
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;,每小题2分,满分40分)
第一节(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
Ammie Reddick from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was only 18 months old when she had the accident that has scarred her for life. While her mother was away for a moment, the inquisitive baby reached up to a hot kettle in the family kitchen and poured boiling water all over her tiny body.
An ambulance was called and rushed the baby to a nearby hospital. Twenty percent of Ammie's body had been burned and all of her burns were third-degree. The doctors could tell immediately that Ammie's best chance of survival was a specialized burns unit(科) some miles away at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. There, using tissue taken from unburned areas of Ammie's body, surgeons performed complex skin grafts(移植)to close her wounds and control her injuries, an operation that took about six hours. Over the next 16 years, Ammie had 12 more operations to repair her body.
When she started school at Maxwelton Primary at age four, other pupils made cruel comments or simply wouldn't play with her. “I was the only burned child in the street, the class and the school,”she recalls. “Some children refused to become friends because of that.”
Today, age 17, Ammie can only ever remember being a burned person with scars; pain is a permanent part of her body. She still has to have two further operations. Yet she is a confident, outgoing teenager who offers inspiration and hope to other young burns victims.
Ammie's parents Ruby, a funeral director and Gibby, a policeman, have been a great support. “They told me if people had a problem with my burns, the problem was theirs not mine,” says Ammie. “They taught me to cope with other people's reactions and constantly reminded me I was valued and loved." Ammie's positive philosophy(人生观) means she is now in demand with burns organizations, helping younger patients build their self-esteem to live with permanent scars.
“Now she is a member of the Scottish Burned Children's Club, which a charity set up last year.” says Donald Todd, chairman of the club and a senior burns nurse at Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children, “Ammie provides so much encouragement for younger ones. She is upbeat and outgoing and a perfect role model for them.”
This month, Ammie will be joining the younger children at the Graffham Water Centre in Cambridgeshire for the charity's first summer camp . "I'll show them how to shrug off unkind stares from others," she says. Ammie loves wearing fashionable sleeveless tops and she plans to show the youngsters at summer camp that they can too. "I do not go to great lengths to hide my burns scars," she says. “I gave up wondering how other people would react years ago.”
56. Ammie was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary because ____________ .
A. it was the nearest hospital away from her home
B. it was a hospital specializing in childhood disease
C. only there can skin grafts be performed
D. it has more advanced and specialized techniques to cure burns
57. How many operations will Ammie have to receive altogether?
A. 12 B. 13 C. 14 D. 15
58. The underlined phrase “shrug off” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______ .
A. perform B. ignore C. accept D. tolerate
59. Which of the following best describes Ammie’s?
A. Strong-minded, optimistic and helpful
B. Shy, pessimistic and discouraged
C. Fashionable, sensitive and easygoing
D. Careful, confident and intelligent
C
A light emitting diode (发光二极管), or L.E.D., is a device that shines when electricity passes through it.But it works differently than traditional kinds of light bulbs.Light emitting diodes use less energy and last much longer than bulbs with a filament (灯丝) inside.L.E. D.’s are also cooler to the touch, and shine a lot brighter than they used to.
Red L.E.D.’s have long been used as signal lights on electronic equipment.But now light emitting diodes also come in blue and other colors.Colored L.E.D.’s are used to show images on everything from wireless phones to huge video signs.And white L.E.D.’s are being used increasingly to replace traditional lighting systems.
But all these require electricity.In poor countries, people often burn fuel to produce light.But the smoke can make people sick.So an electrical engineering professor from Canada started a project to produce L.E. D.lighting systems for the developing world.These lights are powered by batteries that can be recharged with energy from the sun.The batteries can also be charged through other ways, such as wind power and water power.
Professor David Irvine-Halliday tells the story of how he got the idea.In 1997, while climbing in the Annapurna mountains in Nepal, he saw a small school.All the children were outside.He looked through a window and saw that inside the school was dark.The school had a sign that read: "We have no teachers.If you want to stay and teach for a few days, we would be very pleased." Professor Irvine-Halliday says that experience had a big effect on him.Back at the University of Calgary, he was on the Internet one day.He saw a company in Japan selling bright white L.E. D.’s.So he built a light with some.This is how he began the Light Up the World Foundation.
48.Compared with traditional kinds of light bulbs, L.E.D.’S________.
A.waste a lot of energy B.need shorter time to make
C.shine much brighter D.are warmer to touch
49.According to the passage, we know that L.E.D.’s________.
A.will replace all the lights B.will be more and more popular
C.will be only colored ones D.will be only used in developing countries
50.According to the passage, we can infer that the purpose of the Light Up the World Foundation is to________.
A.develop L.E.D.lighting system for the developing world
B.sell bright white L.E.D.’s
C.collect money for developing countries
D.earn money by selling L.E.D.’s
B
Rome-Doctors and medical groups around the world last weekend reacted with strong opposition to the news that an Italian specialist is on the point of cloning the first human baby.
Dr.Severino Antinori, who is the head of a hospital in Rome, has been referred to in an Arab newspaper as claiming that one of his patients is eight weeks pregnant (怀孕的)with a cloned baby.
Antinori refused to comment on the reports, but in March 2001 he said he hoped to produce a cloned embryo (卵)for implantation within two years.So far seven different kinds of mammals have already successfully cloned, including sheep, cats and most recently rabbits.
Doctors showed their doubt and were strongly opposed although they admit that human cloning would finally come true unless there was a world wide ban on the practice.
Professor Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said: “I find it astonishing that people do this where the result can be foretold that it will not be a normal baby.It is using humans as guinea pigs.It makes people feel sick.” But Ronald Green, director of the Ethics institute at Darmouth College in the US, said it is unlikely that an eight-week-old pregnancy would lead to a birth.
So far all cloned animals have suffered from some different serious disorders, many of them dying soon after their births .
Doctors are opposed to human cloning because they are worried about the welfare of the cloned child if there is one.
“There are no benefits of cloned human beings, just harm,”said Dr.Michael Wilks of the UK.
45.What is the doctors’ general attitude to cloning of humans according to the passage?
A.They are against it. B.They support it.
C.They welcome it. D.They pay no attention to it.
46.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.Doctor Severino Antinori is strongly opposed to cloning human beings.
B.Up to now, seven kinds of animals have been cloned, including sheep, cats, humans and rabbits.
C.Professor Rudolf Jaenisch is carrying on an experiment on cloning an eight-week-old embryo.
D.Ronald Green doubts about the future successful birth of the so-called cloned embryo.
47.Which is the best title for the passage?
A.The Success of Cloning Humans B.The Anger at Cloning Humans
C.Failure of Cloning Humans D.First Cloned Human?
第二部分:阅读理解(共两节,满分30分)
第一节(共10小题,每小题2分,满分20分)
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,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Americans spend their free time in various ways.
America is a country of sports — of hunting, fishing and swimming, and of team sports like baseball and football.Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television.They also like to play in community orchestras (管弦乐队), make their own films or recordings, go camping, visit museums,attend lectures, travel, garden, read, and join in hundreds of other activities.The people also enjoy building things for their homes, sewing their own clothes, even making their own photographs.They do these things for fun as well as for economy.
But as much as Americans enjoy their free time, the country is at the same time a “self-improvement” country.More than 25 million adults continue their education, chiefly by going to school in the evening, during their own free time, at their own expense.Added to the time spent on personal activities, Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities.Many hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, parks, community centers, and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities, often without any pay.Why do they do it?
There are several answers.The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself.
When the country was first founded in 1776, it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live.They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom.There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government.People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities, rather than give the government more control.
Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid, to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community.It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work; or they are learning from the experience.
No matter what the reason is, hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard, unpaid work on one or another community need.
1.This passage is mainly about ________.
A.why America is a country of sports
B.how Americans spend their free time
C.why America is a “self-improvement” country
D.how Americans are devoted to their community activities
2.The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ________.
A.the early history of America
B.the American people’s determination to live
C.the reason for Americans’ willingness to cooperate and share responsibility
D.the American people’ s love for freedom
3.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure”?
A.work time B.energy C.effort D.spare time
4.What can we infer from the text?
A.The first settlers left their hometown for political and religious reasons.
B.Many Americans don’t trust the central government.
C.American people enjoy building things for their homes just for fun.
D.Americans continue their education at their own expense.