I’m a 20-year-old boy, and the following is my story.
A month after I graduated from high school in August, 2007, I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident. I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital.
I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn’t open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around. At that time, it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries. Just like my body, my dreams were completely destroyed. But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams.
After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions, I had to make every great effort to learn to talk, eat, walk, shower, and live on my own again. When I was out of hospital, I still had to go to outpatient therapy治疗，理疗in Waldorf, Maryland. After I spent a few months in a wheelchair, I took baby steps to walk on my own. It was a miracle that I was able to walk again, but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk, but also run. When it came true, I wanted to get back into the pool again. After having a few lung tests, I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week. After a few months of swim training, I began my freshman year at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team.
By telling my story, I want to make a positive influence on the world. I am just trying to live each day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them. I remember when I was still in my hospital bed, I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members. I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay. Somehow, things would work out for the best.The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of “_______”.
| A．operation | B．unconsciousness |
| C．treatment | D．emergency |
According to Paragraph 3, it can be inferred that the author _______.
| A．was unable to talk or communicate |
| B．was in despair |
| C．faced physical and mental challenges |
| D．felt anxious about his state |
What is the correct order of the following events?
a. went to outpatient therapy
b. received membership of the swim team
c. was pushed around to visit other patients
d. walked like a baby
e. learnt to live all by himself
| A．d、a、c、b、e | B．e、c、d、a、b |
| C．d、c、a、b、e | D．e、c、a、d、b |
In the last paragraph, the author mainly wants to show _______.
| A．his positive influence on other patients |
| B．his meaningful life |
| C．his purpose of sharing his story |
| D．his great achievements |
The best title for the passage would be “_______”.
| A．Attitude is everything |
| B．Actions speak louder than words |
| C．Everything happens for a reason |
| D．A good beginning is half done |
People like different kinds of vacations. Some go camping. They swim, fish, cook over a fire and sleep outside. Others like to stay at a hotel in an exciting city. They go shopping all day and go dancing all night. Or maybe they go sightseeing to places such as Disneyland, the Tai Mahan or the Louver.
Some people are bored with sightseeing trips. They don’t want to be “tourists”. They want to have an adventure--a surprising and exciting trip. They want to learn something and maybe help people too. How can they do this? Some travel companies and environmental groups are planning special adventures. Sometimes these trips are difficult and full of hardships, but they’re a lot of fun. One organization, Earth watch, sends small groups of volunteers to different parts of the world. Some volunteers spend two weeks and study the environment. Others work with animals. Others learn about people of the past.
Would you like an adventure in the Far North? A team of volunteers is leaving from Mormons, Russia. The leader of this trip is a professor from Alaska. He’s worried about chemicals from factories. He and the volunteers will study this pollution in the environment. If you like exercise and cold weather, this is a good trip for you. Volunteers need ski sixteen kilometers every day.
Do you enjoy ocean animals? You can spend two to four weeks in Hawaii. There, you can teach language to dolphins. Dolphins can follow orders such as “Bring me the large ball.” They also understand opposites. How much more can they understand? It will be exciting to learn about these intelligent animals. Another study trip goes to Washington State and follows orcas. We call orcas “killer Whale”, but they’re really dolphins—the largest kind of dolphin. This beautiful animal travels together in family groups. They move through the ocean with their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Ocean pollution is chasing their lives. Earth watch is studying how this happens.
Are you interested in history? Then Greece is the place for your adventure. Thirty-five hundred years ago a volcano exploded there, on Santorum. This explosion was more terrible than Karate or Mount Saint Helens. But today we know a lot about the way of life of the people from that time. There are houses, kitchens, and paintings as interesting as those in Pompeii. Today teams of volunteers are learning more about people from the past.
Do you want a very different vacation? Do you want to travel far, work hard and learn a lot? Then an Earth watch vacation is for you.The Tai Mahan may be _______.
| A．a shopping center | B．a hotel |
| C．a dancing hall | D．a place of interest |
From the passage, on an adventure trip, people ______.
| A．may not spend much time on sightseeing |
| B．won’t meet some difficulties or hardships |
| C．can’t enjoy them |
| D．can’t learn something |
If you want to learn something about people of the past, you can _______.
| A．join the team to Hawaii |
| B．join the team to the Far North |
| C．join the team to Washington |
| D．join the team to Greece |
The word intelligent in paragraph 4 means _______.
| A．exciting | B．beautiful |
| C．large | D．clever |
Which of the following is false?
| A．Some people find sightseeing trips boring. |
| B．Earth watch is planning all these special adventures. |
| C．The number of orcas is decreasing. |
| D．3 volcano explosions in all broke out 3, 500 years ago in Greece. |
When in 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States, there was no permanent capital in which to house the government. During the Revolutionary War several different cities had served as the national capital. In addition, members of congress could not agree as to where this permanent capital should be located. Some officials wanted it in the north, others wanted it in the south. Each of the states hoped that the capital might lie within its own state lines. At last it was decided that the capital should occupy a section by itself, separate from any of the states. The place chosen was situated on the Potomac River. The land belonged originally to the state of Maryland, but Maryland agreed to the national government. The section was named the Washington. Work was begun on the new capital in 1791. in the year 1899 Congress occupied the new capital building at the same time the White House was opened as the home of all future presidents.Before the year 1800, the capital of America had been located in _______.
| A．Maryland | B．Washington |
| C．New York | D．several cities |
Why was it decided that the capital should be separated from any of the states? Because ________.
| A．the District of Columbia was on the borders of several states |
| B．the District of Columbia was in the center of America |
| C．Maryland insisted that the capital lie in its own state |
| D．Each of the states wanted the capital might lie within its own state |
The capital was named after _______.
| A．an explorer, who first found the place |
| B．the place where it occupied |
| C．the first president of the United States of America |
| D．a famous general who fought in the war |
Presidents of the United States live in ________.
| A．the capital building | B．Maryland |
| C．New York | D．the White House |
A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.
The size and location(分布) of the world’s deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 yeas, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Algeria Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum(石油) on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles(摩托车) keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas. In this passage, “needles” refers to _______.
| A．small, thin pieces of steel. |
| B．long, thin pieces of branches. |
| C．small pointed growth on the stem(茎) of a plant. |
| D．small, thin pieces of sticks. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The greatest desert makers are humans. |
| B．There aren’t any living things in the deserts. |
| C．Deserts have been growing quickly. |
| D．The size of the deserts is always changing. |
People in some countries are fighting a battle against _______.
| A．the growth of deserts | B．the disappearance of desert plants |
| C．natural changes | D．congenital climate |
We can guess that Mauritania and Algeria belong to _______.
| A．Asian countries | B．American countries |
| C．European counties | D．African countries |
Choose the sentence which best gives the main idea of the passage.
| A．The deserts of the world are always changing. |
| B．Man is to take measures to control the growth of the world’s deserts. |
| C．Deserts are lands of silence and space. |
| D．Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years. |
The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited(not lived by people). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, pat them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable, no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.according to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of _______.
| A．clay | B．rock |
| C．sand | D．stones |
The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being _______.
| A．brave | B．cruel |
| C．strange | D．kind |
In the desert _______.
| A．it rains in spring only |
| B．it rains for a short time every month |
| C．there is some rain, but far from enough |
| D．the rainfall is just enough for the plants |
People live _______.
| A．only inside the oases | B．only outside the oases |
| C．both inside and outside the oases | D．in places with regular rainfalls |
From the passage we know that life _______.
| A．is hard in deserts | B．is happy in deserts |
| C．is impossible in deserts | D．in deserts in much better now |
“If it rings one more time, I’ll hang up,” Amy thought hopefully, as she waited for someone to answer. Apologizing wasn’t an easy thing to do.
“Hello,” a woman’s voice said. There was no backing out now.
“May I speak to Missy, please?”
“Just a minute.”
In much less than a minute, Missy was on the phone. “Hi, who’s calling?” asked the cheerful voice.
“It’s Amy. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry about what I said to you. I didn’t really mean it.” Amy paused, trying to think of what to say next.
“Thank you, Amy. No hard feelings.”
“Missy, you’re a very nice person. You’re a lot nicer than I am!”
Missy laughed. “You’re not so bad, Amy. By the way, I’ve got some great news. Mr. Grumbell said that you were the only candidate for class president. He talked me into being a candidate too. Isn’t that cool?”
Amy didn’t think the news was cool. Missy was very popular; she’d get a lot of votes. Fortunately, Amy was in a gracious mood. “You’ll be a tough opponent, Missy,” she said. “May the best woman win.” “Thanks, Amy,” Missy replied. “But you might even win.”
Amy had to laugh. “Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to make comments like that!” Amy called Missy on the phone to _______.
| A．tell her that the Titanic sank | B．tell her she needed a brain |
| C．apologize for insulting her | D．ask her to run for president |
Amy was hoping that no one would answer the phone because _______.
| A．she was too tired to talk |
| B．she felt uncomfortable about apologizing |
| C．she was afraid she had dialed the wrong number |
| D．she was wearing pajamas |
If one of the following statements is true, which is it?
| A．Missy was home alone. |
| B．Missy’s mother answered the phone. |
| C．Missy’s father answered the phone. |
| D．Missy’s little sister answered the phone. |
Which word best describes the girls’ conversation?
| A．Nasty. | B．Uncomfortable. |
| C．Sad. | D．Friendly. |
Missy let Amy know that she wanted something that Amy wanted. What was it?
| A．She wanted to have the most friends. |
| B．She wanted her own telephone. |
| C．She wanted mushrooms on her pizza. |
| D．She wanted to be class president. |