At least once each winter I manage to get a good flight in the middle of a snowstorm. Last Sunday was that flight. My gliding(滑翔的) partners had looked at the weather reports of showers and decided to stay at home. People say that you shouldn’t fly by yourself, but on that day I felt the urge to go flying and so headed for my favorite gliding site.
I had the mountain ridge to myself. After a smooth lift-off, I floated stably in the breeze, feeling at peace with myself and the world. I looked across the valley to Bedford and a moment later saw the town disappear in a band of snow that was moving towards me.
The breeze remained strong enough for flying and I knew that as long as the visibility was good, it was OK for me to stay in the air. The snow moved in and swirled around me. It was a light dry snow. The day was already very quiet but, somehow, the light snow made it even more silent. I felt like a snowflake.
Two bald eagles joined me. They didn’t pay me any attention and spent a few minutes flying around the ridge before disappearing. I flew through another band of snow. I had been flying for about 45 minutes when I next looked across the valley. I could see there were more bands of snow to come and the breeze was dying too.
It was time to go home, get in a hot bath and warm up. I couldn’t wait to tell my gliding partners that they had missed out on a perfect flight.Why did the author’s gliding partners refuse to fly on that day?
| A．They preferred to fly alone |
| B．The weather did not permit |
| C．They did not like winter flights |
| D．The equipment was not adequate |
Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “” in Paragraph 3?
| A．Weather |
| B．Skill |
| C．Possibility |
| D．View |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The bald eagle can cause damage to the author’s flight |
| B．The author will land and go home after the snow stops |
| C．Brand of snow will be a great threat to the author’s flight |
| D．The author will hesitate to share his experience with his partners |
What could be the best title for the article?
| A．The First Flight Alone |
| B．A Narrow-Escape Flight |
| C．One Never-Again Flight |
| D．An Impressive Winter Flight |
How to improve my life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say, "This is my fate, my destiny. I cannot change it."
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your destiny depends on you, not on any other external factors.
I know someone who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that God has intended for her to live; that her luck can only change if God wills it. Of course God wants us to be happy and live our life to the fullest, but we have to do our share of exerting(运用) the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you reap what you sow. You just don't sit around and wait for a million dollars to fall from the sky. You have to get off the couch, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone. Don’t expect your luck to change unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; but use it as feedback. Learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in the trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand (or sit ) there, do something to improve your life.According to the woman mentioned in Para.3, her life ____________.
| A．Doesn't need improving | B．couldn't be improved |
| C．will be better some day | D．Will be worse in the future |
What does the author think of the woman's life? ____________.
| A．positive | B．satisfying | C．colorful | D．passive |
Which of the following statements is the author's opinion? ___________.
| A．Your temporary problem is not discouraging. |
| B．Your luck can be changed by your efforts |
| C．You can only achieve success when God wills it. |
| D．You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends. |
In Para.5, the author emphasized the importance of _____________.
| A．positive action | B．positive thinking |
| C．hope for the best | D．intention to succeed |
The text is mainly written to advise you to ____________.
| A．understand yourself | B．improve your life |
| C．believe in yourself | D．change your normal way |
ARIEL, West Bank: A suicide bomber blew up near Israeli soldiers outside a Jewish settlement in the West Bank yesterday, killing at least three people and wounding about 30
Ron Nachman, mayor of the settlement of Ariel. “Soldiers were among the casualties（伤亡者）. ”People on the spot said the bomber blew up after soldiers eating at a food stand in a petrol station at the entrance of the settlement found him. According to some people on the spot accounts reported by Israeli media, a soldier shot and wounded the bomber, who then exploded.
The Magen David Adorn ambulance service said at least three people were killed and at least 30 wounded in the blast（爆炸）, which set the bomber burning at Ariel, about 25 kilometers east of Tel Aviv.
A fire brigade（旅） official said: “The bomber was still burning when we got there and we put out the fire immediately.”
Meanwhile, a blast shook homes in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp early yesterday, damaging buildings but causing no injuries, Palestinian sources said. They said the bomb was planted outside the home of a member of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction in Ain el-Hilwch camp, and exploded while the family was sleeping.Some of people including ________were killed or wounded in the blast accident.
| A．mayor | B．soldiers |
| C．rescue workers | D．a fire brigade official |
The suicide bomber blew himself up because________.
| A．there was something wrong with his brains |
| B．he couldn’t see the settlement’s mayor |
| C．a soldier shot and wounded him |
| D．he wanted to make himself known |
It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a(n）________.
| A．announcement | B．advertisement |
| C．science research | D．news report |
They crossed in front of me as I was driving out of the store parking lot．My first reaction was filled with anger at being delayed for a whole ten seconds．But I quickly became patient when I realized that this was an elderly couple．
The man leaned on his wife who walked in front of him．He not only used her for support but it was obvious that he was blind．The two of them worked as one—each needing the other to function in this fast-changing world．
That little example of true strength changed my whole personal perception(理解)of life that day．Suddenly I wasn’t so mad about having to work a few extra hours on Saturdays．I had my strength，and I was still relatively young．
That picture of those two elderly people walking with dignity and strength stayed with me the entire week．My life wasn’t so bad after all．I had my health and a good job．I had a wonderful，supportive wife．I started to think—not only was I lucky to have these all, but also was that wonderful old couple，who，despite the trials and sufferings of a long life，still had the love and support of each other to carry them through this world．
There are so many people out there just like that couple．My wife and I sometimes picture ourselves in our old age, walking arm in arm into the sunset．That image always gives us a warm feeling of comfort．Just remember，none of us would be here if it wasn’t for our elders．We all should spend a little extra time and patience when it comes to helping our elder friends．When the author was about to drive away，the couple．
| A．entered the store | B．hit his car |
| C．got in his way | D．asked him for help |
What did the author think of the couple?
| A．They lived a happier life than he |
| B．They were admirable for their lasting love |
| C．They didn’t live a life without hardships |
| D．They wouldn’t be respected for walking together． |
From the passage，we learn
| A．the author hated working on Sundays |
| B．the author is satisfied with his life |
| C．old couples were advised to walk in the sunset |
| D．many people like that couple because they are blind |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Spend an Extra Minute | B．Stay with Your Wife |
| C．Be Careful When Driving | D．Respect the Blind，Please |
Make a five-minute film and win!
Do you love the summer holidays but hate being bored? Then why don’t you enter the Film Street Summer Shorts Competition by making a short film this summer with your family and friends?
What you have to do
To enter the competition, you have to make a short film that is around 5 minutes long (It can be shorter but not longer!) on a digital camera, or mobile phone.
Awards
The best short film entered into our competition will be shown in Film Street’s Cinema and you’ll win a Cineworld Cinema pass for yourself and three more for other members of your filmmaking crew. If you have a Cineworld Cinema pass, you can watch as many films as you like for a year, for free, at any Cineworld Cinema.
Rules
We can’t show films that tell others about either your, or any other kids’, name or address.
We can’t show films that hurt, harm or insult other people.
We can’t show films that have bad language.
Copyright Checklist
Getting permission to use someone else’s work in your film can be expensive, so check your film to make sure that:
Your film is original and you haven’t copied someone else’s.
There are no scenes of branding on shop signs, books, magazines or CDs.
There are no scenes of someone else’s artwork.
Address and Date
Post your finished film on tape, CD or DVD by Monday, October 1st, 2008 to:
Film Street Summer Shorts Competition
First Light Movies
Unit 6, Third Floor, The Bond
180-182 Fazeley Street
Birmingham
So what’s stopping you? Start making your Film Street Summer Short now!Who is the passage mainly written for?
| A．Students. | B．Parents. | C．Teachers. | D．Actors. |
How many Cineworld Cinema passes will the winner of the competition be awarded in all?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
From the third paragraph we can learn that ________.
| A．the winner’s short film can be shown in any cinema |
| B．the competition is held by Cineworld Cinema |
| C．the winner can watch films for free for one year at any Cineworld Cinema |
| D．the winner will be paid for his short film |
The underlined word “original” is the closest in meaning to “”.
| A．interesting enough | B．exciting enough |
| C．good for children | D．made by yourself |
He was the baby with no name. Found and taken from the north Atlantic 6 days after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, his tiny body so moved the salvage（救援）workers that they called him “our baby. ” In their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, people collected money for a headstone in front of the baby's grave, carved with the words: “To the memory of an unknown child. ” He has rested there ever since.
But history has a way of uncovering its secrets. On Nov. 5, this year, three members of a family from Finland arrived at Halifax and laid fresh flowers at the grave. “This is our baby,” says Magda Schleifer, 68, a banker. She grew up hearing stories about a great-aunt named Maria Panula, 42, who had sailed on the Titanic for America to be reunited with her husband. According to the information Mrs. Schleifer had gathered, Panula gave up her seat on a lifeboat to search for her five children -- including a 13-month-old boy named Eino from whom she had become separated during the final minutes of the crossing. "We thought they were all lost in the sea," says Schleifer.
Now, using teeth and bone pieces taken from the baby's grave, scientists have compared the DNA from the Unknown Child with those collected from members of five families who lost relatives on the Titanic and never recovered the bodies. The result of the test points only to one possible person: young Eino. Now, the family sees: no need for a new grave. "He belongs to the people of Halifax," says Schleifer. "They've taken care of him for 90 years. "
Adapted from People, November 25, 2002The baby travelled on the Titanic with his___________.
| A．mother | B．parents | C．aunt | D．relatives |
What is probably the boy's last name?
| A．Schleiferi | B．Eino. | C．Magda. | D．Panula. |
Some members of the family went to Halifax and put flowers at the child's grave on
Nov. 5__.
| A．1912 | B．1954 | C．2002 | D．2004 |
This text is mainly about how______________.
| A．the unknown baby's body was taken from the north Atlantic |
| B．the unknown baby was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| C．people found out who the unknown baby was |
| D．people took care of the unknown baby for 90 years |