1．Short and shy，Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team．
"Football，tennis，cricket-anything with a round ball，I was useless，"he says now with a
laugh．But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England's rural
Devonshire．
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him．At first the
teen went biking alone in a nearby forest．Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend．
Gradually，Saunders set his mind building up his body，increasing his speed，strength and
enduranceAt age 18，he ran his first marathon．
The following year，he met John Ridgway，who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean．Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's school of Adventure in Scotland，where he learned about the older man's cold-water exploits （成就）．Intrigued，Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions，then decided that this would be his future．
Journeys to the ole aren't the usual holidays for British country boys，and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy．"John Ridgway was one of the few who didn't say，‘You are completely crazy，'"Saunders says．
In 2001，after becoming a skilled skier，Saunders started his first long-distance
expedition toward the North Pole．He suffered frostbite，had a closer encounter （遭遇） with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit．
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole，and
he's skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton．His old playmates would not
believe the transformation．
This October，Saunders，27，heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the
South Pole and back，an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis．
26．The turning point in Saunders'life came whenB．
A．he started to play ball games
B．he got a mountain bike at age 15
C．he ran his first marathon at age 18
D．he started to receive Ridgway's training
27．We can learn from the text that RidgwayD．
A．dismissed Saunders'dream as fantasy
B．built up his body together with Saunders
C．hired Saunders for his cold-water experience
D．won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic
28．What do we know about Saunders？A．
A．He once worked at a school in Scotland．
B．He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole．
C．He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid．
D．He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole．
29．It can be inferred that Saunders'journey to the North PoleB．
A．was accompanied by his old playmates
B．set a record in the North Pole expedition
C．was supported by other Arctic explorers
D．made him well-known in the 1960s
30．he underlined word"Intrigued"in the third paragraph probably meansC．
A．Excited
B．Convinced
C．Fascinated
D．Delighted．
分析 本文介绍了又胖又害羞而被大家取笑的桑德斯从十五岁生日收到山地自行车开始改变到成为了跨越南海岸的南极和南极洲的第一人的非凡成就．
解答 26B．细节理解题．根据文章的"It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him…Gradually，Saunders set his mind building up his body，increasing his speed，strength and endurance．"可知正是在他的十五岁生日时收到的一辆山地车改变了他．故答案选B．
27D．推理判断题．根据文中的"The following year，he met John Ridgway，who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean．"可知Ridgway因为在大西洋的航行而赢得了他的名声，故答案选D．
28A．细节理解题．根据文章中的"Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's school of Adventure in Scotland，where he learned about the older man's cold-water exploits （成就）．"这句话可知他曾经在苏格兰的一所学校工作过，故答案选A．
29B．推理判断题．根据文中的"Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole，and he's skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton．"这句话可知他在北极探险中创了个纪录，成为单独滑到北极的最年轻的人，故答案选B．
30C．词义猜测题．根据"Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions"可知，Saunders对极地探险很感兴趣，并尽可能的了解相关的信息，故选C．
点评 本文是一篇人物传记类阅读文章．人物传记是记叙文体的一种，主要描写某人的生平事迹、趣闻轶事、生活背景、个性特征、成长奋斗历程等，包含记叙文的时间、地点、人物、事件等要素．其特点是以时间的先后或事件的发展为主线，空间或逻辑线索贯穿文章始终，脉络清楚，可读性较强．
