The North Pole is one of the coldest places on Earth. In winter, it is -20 to -40 degrees Celsius. Ice
and snow are everywhere. There are also extreme winds all the time.
    Jordan Maguire always wanted to  go  to  the North Pole . In April 2006, his dream came true. The
15-year-old Scottish native traveled to the Pole with a team of six people. He was the youngest boy
ever to visit the area(the youngest person ever to reach the North Pole is Alicia Hempleman-Adams.
She made the trip in 2005 at age 15)
    Jordan and his team started their walk to the North Pole in Northern Russia. The trip was not easy.
The group skied 10 hours every day. The biggest challenge was the weather.  But  there were other
dangers, too(for example, polar bears and large pieces of ice). On the eighth day, the team reached
the North Pole. In total, they traveled 111 miles(178 kilometres). As part of the trip, Jordan also made
money(?19,000) for the children’s charity(慈善) WellChild.
    So what are Jordan’s plans for the future ? " I want to visit the North Pole again , " he says. " It was
unbelievable."

1. The passage is about____________.

A. the weather and wildlife at the North Pole  
B. the dangers of traveling to the North Pole
C. people who live close to the North Pole    
D. one person’s visit to the North Pole

2. Jordan Maguire____________.

A. walked to the North Pole from Scotland
B. is the first teenager to have gone to the North Pole
C. went to the North Pole alone
D. is the youngest boy to have reached the North Pole

3. What was the hardest part of Jordan’s North Pole trip?

A. The weather.  
B. Polar bears.  
C. The ice.  
D. Walking.

4. What special thing did Jordan do?

A. He wrote diaries about the North Pole.    
B. He made a movie about his trip.
C. He climbed a mountain at the North Pole.  
D. He made money to help children.

    "The only thing holding you back is yourself. Never say never", said a rising 17-year-old singer, Justin
Bieber, who was just an ordinary boy in Canada a few years ago.
    After the accident of falling from the 18th floor and lying in the snow for three hours, my hands were
frozen and my spinal cord (脊髓)was seriously injured. All the doctors and professors in the famous
hospitals in Beijing told me that there was little chance for my hands and my body to recover (康复).
    After half a year of medical treatments and recovering exercises , I could not make any more progress
for over a year . What was worse , I suffered a lot from depression ( 绝望).On top of this , I suffered from insomnia , making every minute of the light seem to last forever. Hopelessly , mom and I came back to my hometown, which is small town in Guangdong.
    At that time , I thought that I would never be able to walk again. I would never love and be loved. I
would never be able to earn even a penny. I would never be able to repay the kindness I got from my
parents and many nice people . Life was meaningless.
    Now two years has passed.My hands are 80% recovered.I can even type faster than a healthy person ! Up to now, I have worked for a law firm as an interpreter for half a year already. Although I don’t earn as much as before, I am able to pay for the food and clothes I need. What’s more , I even have extra money
to buy thanksgiving presents for my parents and my boyfriend. Through my blogs( 博客) , many people
get to know me and like me.I can bring happiness to them. I can help those who are still suffering from
depression and the pain of illnesses by chatting with them….You see, I am living a meaningful life and I
am happier than ever I could have dreamed.
    So, my friends, never say never. As long as you are alive , there is always hope and possibilities. It is
never too late to take action to realize your dreams.           

1. What's the writer's present job?

A. A singer.              
B. A typist .              
C. A professor .    
D. An interpreter.

2. What does the underlined word " insomnia" in the third paragraph mean in Chinese?

A. 失眠                
B. 失忆                  
C. 麻木          
D. 低烧

3. All of the following words can be used to describe the writer's present life EXCEPT___________.

A. helpful              
B. meaningful              
C. painful        
D. hopeful

4. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the writer is TRUE?

A. She gets a lot of help through her blogs.          
B. She is in love with a young man at present.
C. She got medical treatment soon after the accident.  
D. She had no job and earned little before the accident.

    Ever thought of moving to a new country? How about starting a new country? Patri Friedman is
planning to do just that. He left Google years ago to set up the Seasteading Institute. And his dream is
to build seasteads-----floating micro-nations in the middle of the ocean.
    So, what will life on a seastead be like? Probably a bit like life on a cruise liner ( 游轮), but much
larger, with shops , gyms , swimming pools, schools and other areas. In fact , the early seasteads may
actually be specially-rebuilt cruise liners. But as science advances, Friedman believes they’ll become
more like floating cities, with several hundred people.
    Seasteading raises a lot of questions . First of all , how will the new countries make money? The
Seasteading Institute has suggested several money-making ideas, including ocean-based theme parks,
casinos ( 赌场) and fish farming. There’s also the questions of safety. With storms, typhoons and pirates( 海盗) , the high seas are a dangerous place. However, the Institute says that it can stand bad weather
and prevent crimes with its well-designed systems.
    So, is this just a day dream? Well, maybe not. One of the people behind the project is Peter Thiel.
He founded PayPal and was one of the first investors (投资者) in Facebook. So far , he’s donated $
500,000 to the project.
    And Friedman isn’t wasting any time . He recently announced the creation of the Poseidon Award.
This will be given to the first seastead with fifty people. Friedman is hoping to hand out the award in
2015.

1. Where did Friedman use to work?

A. In Facebook.          
B. In Seastead Institute .  
C. In PayPal.        
D. In Google.

2. A future seastead may be most likely to look like ___________________.

A. a cruise liner          
B. a floating city        
C. a theme park      
D. a fishing farm

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Friedman is planning to move to a new country.    
B. Friedman is worried about the safety of seasteads.
C. Friedman has got some supporters for his project.  
D. Friedman has already won the Poseidon Award.

4.Which of the following can be the best titles of this passage?

A. Seasteading: a new idea of living                
B. Seasteading : a wild way of farming
C. Peter Thiel : a man behind the project            
D. Patri Friedman: a crazy day dreamer

                                             Three Things to Do Before You Are 18
       Are you bored with your daily life? Here are some things you should try before you are 18, because
  after that it's too late.
       Learn to swim
       Seriously, this is so important that it can save your life. If you can't swim well, you won't be able to do
   water sports like waterskiing, surfing and diving. Even taking a boat trip will be dangerous for you. Make
   sure you do it.
       Try at least one kind of team sports
       Being a good team player is an important skill in life. You can't just think of yourself, but have to work
   well with other people. Other advantages of team sports like basketball, football and baseball are that
  they keep you fit and healthy, and they are also great fun. Teams usually have a good social life too -
  you'll go to lots of parties and make many friends.
       Collect something
       One of the best hobbies for under - 18s is collecting things. You could collect kinds of  stamps, or you
   could collect things that make you remember what you have done, like cinema tickets for films you have
  seen or emails from friends. The best way to collect is to have a special album to put your collection in
  and to write what each thing means to you. That way you won't forget.

1. The most important reason for learning to swim is that _____.    

A. it can save your life                            
B. it can make you healthy
C. you might easily do lots of things        

2. "A good social life" in the passage means _____.

A. you'll study in groups            
B. you'll go to parties and make many friends  
C. you'll take part in many matches                    

3. The writer tells us that one of the best hobbies is to _____. 

A. collect something                                
B. do some water sports
C. send emails to your friends       

4. What kind of collection is NOT mentioned (提及) in the passage?

A. stamps      
B. cinema tickets      
C. snowballs 

5. The passage is mainly about _____ before you are 18.

A. good habits to keep      
B. skills to have      
C. things to do

     I will never forget the lesson about my window. Four years ago, I moved to a house in a large town.
One of my new neighbors’ house was only a few feet away from mine. There lived a woman. Through
one of my windows, I could see her reading by her window every afternoon.    
     Several months later, I found I couldn’t see the woman clearly. I thought her window was too dirty.
I said to myself, “Why doesn’t she clean her window? It looks terrible!”
     One afternoon, I decided to clean my house including(包括) the window. I felt tired after three hours
of hard work. So I sat down by the window for a rest. What a surprise! I could see the woman reading
there clearly again! By that time, I realized that my own window was too dirty, not hers! I really felt
ashamed for myself. I had been watching her through my dirty window in the past days!
     The experience is very important for me. So I try to clean the window of my heart before judging
(评判) others.

1. How long has the writer lived in the house according to the passage?

A. Two years.  
B. Three years.  
C. Four years.    

2. The writer couldn’t see the woman clearly because ________.

A. the writer’s window was dirty              
B. the woman’s house was too far
C. the woman didn’t open her window

3.The underlined word “ashamed” means _________.

A. 高兴的 
 B. 放松的  
C. 羞愧的

4. According to the passage, the writer has learnt how to _________.

A. clean the house  
B. judge others  
C. help neighbors

1.  The  underlined word  "unbearable" means ____________ in Chinese.

A. 难以想象的
B. 难以克服的
C. 难以忍受的
D. 难以适应的

2. After she  received her  father's  reply,  the woman__________.

A. went back home              
B. was coming home
C. decided to stay there        
D. decided to go back home with her husband

3. From her father's reply, we can infer (推断) that ____________.

A. two men looked out from prison bars
B. one man was in prison, the other was out of prison
C. two men were out of prison
D. her parents wanted her  to stay  there with her husband

4. Which of the followingis wrong according to the passage?

A. A woman went to live with her husband in a big city.
B. The woman finally made friends with the natives.
C. She wrote her parents that she was coming.
D. The woman received her parents' reply by airmail.

5. The main idea of this passage is that __________.

A. a woman went to live with her husband in camp
B. the desert hadn't changed, but her attitude had
C. the daughter's parents wanted her to stay with her husband
D. a change of attitude could change everything