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 endurance. At 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 Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many peiole 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.

The turning point in Saunders’life came when _____

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

We can learn from the text that Ridgway _______.

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

What do we know about Saunders?

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.

The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph probably means_____.

A. Excited   B. Convinced   C. Delighted    D. Fascinated

It can be inferred tat Saunders’ journey to the North Pole ______.

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

Beginning college is exciting: new ideas to explore, new challenges to be met and many decisions to be made; your future begins here.

However, you will find college life is different from your previous school environment. Many of us can be easily overwhelmed by the details of running a well-balanced life. While some of us may have the know-how, I guess there are more of us who can benefit from learning about the experiences of others who have walked the college halls before you.

The following you may find of use about life on campus:

·Plan well. There are so many new things to do at a new college or university. Give yourself time to make new friends and became familiar with the campus, but don’t forget why you are there. Give some time for social activities and manage your time wisely.

·If you don’t have a “system” for planning your time now (like a day timer a computer data book). get one. Most of all, don’t depend on your memory.

·Don’t miss the guidelines. The restrictions, rules and regulations of all kinds can usually be found in your student’s handbook. Consider them well-balanced food for thought. What dates are important? What pieces of paper need to be handed in? What can / can’t you do in your student residence（住处）? Who has the right for what? What do you need to complete to graduate?

·Write the word “STUDY” on the walls of our bedroom and bathroom, and maybe it will help to to write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the telephone, TV and the kitchen table. Consider this — you are paying thousands of dollars for your course. You pay every time you have to repeat or replace a course.

·Build your identity. This is the time for you to decide what to do and what not to do. Take as much time as you need to explore new ideas. Do not be afraid of the beyond. This is learning to make good choices.

What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To offer advice on college life.

B．To explain why college life is exciting.

C．To describe the importance of college life.

D．To persuade you to go to college.

According to the passage, why is it exciting to begin college life?

A．Because you will have more freedom at college.

B．Because you will no longer be afraid of the beyond

C．Because you prepare for your future career and life there.

D．Because professors there will provide you with many new ideas.

The underlined word “know-how” refers to _____

A．An understanding of how things are going at college

B．Practical knowledge about how to behave and what to do at college

C．College halls where rules and regulations are presented

D．An environment completely different from the one you’re used to

According to the passage, college students _______.

A．needn’t learn from those who went to college before them

B．spend as much time as possible on social activities

C．should know what they have fight for on campus

D．are supposed to repeat or replace at least one course

A severely handicapped teenager who cannot walk, talk or hold a

paintbrush has won a place at Oxford to study fine art. Hero Joy Nightingale, 16, who communicates through hand movements, is to be given assistants to paint and sculpt(雕塑) in place of her .Her mother Pauline Reid “translated” for her daughter during interviews for the place at Magdalen College.

The teenager is the most severely handicapped student ever to be given a place at Oxford. She suffers from a terrible disease caused by brain damage that makes her unable to speak and her body useless.

She is unlikely ever to be able to walk, feed or care for herself but, thanks to the efforts of her mother. She can communicate. When Hero was four, Pauline designed a system of hand gestures that is equal to the alphabet.

By dictating to the her mother , Hero has created an internet magazine, From the window, which contains by George Carey, Melvyn Bragg, Margaret Atwood and Kofi Annan — all of whom are invited to write for her.

A spokesperson for Oxford said, “The university welcomes applications from students with disabilities. In cases where students are profoundly disabled, there may be many issues(问题) that need to be carefully talked about before an individual can take up a place, such as fixing firmly how the student can best be taught and examined.”

Hero, who suffers almost daily epileptic fits and has a hole in her heart, has not attended school since she was six. She has been taught at home by her mother and father, who work at Kent University.

Peter Giles, her art tutor until last year, said she has a gift for art. “She is ferociously gifted. We would sit together and her mother would grab her daughter’s hand and then we would begin work,” he said.

Together, they www..combuilt several modern sculptures from plaster and metal. “The instructions would talk a while to decipher(解释，解密). But finally, they would come, and finally make sense.”

Hero’s classes will be held at the Ruskin School Drawing and Fine Art.

According to the passage, which of the following statement is NOT TRUE?

A. Oxford University has taken in other handicapped students besides Hero.

B. Hero’s mother is the only person who can understand her fairly well.

C. Hero can not create any art works without her fairly well.

D. Only through her hand movement, is Hero able to paint and sculpt.

In the sentence: “But finally, they would come and finally make sense.”, the word “they” refers to _______.

A. the assistants              B. the mother and the assistants

C. Hero’s instructions          D. the mother’s instructions

Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Disabled Hero and her Mother

B. Disabled Hero Wins Oxford Place

C. Oxford University Welcome Disabled Students

D. Disabled Students Living in Oxford University

A device that stops drivers form falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.

The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20% - 40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.

Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel (方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound the driver’s response.

Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.

In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.

The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.

According to the text, Driver Alert ______.

A. aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents

B. has gone through testing at laboratories

C. aims to prevent drivers form sleeping

D. has been on sale for 12 months  

How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?

A. By sounding a warning.                                B. By touching the wristband.

C. By checking the driving time.                        D. By pressing the steering wheel.

We can learn form the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______.

A. about 400 milliseconds                                 B. below 500 milliseconds

C. over 500 milliseconds                                          D. about 4 minutes

     When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.

A. moves more regularly                                          B. stops working properly

C. opens the window for the driver                           D. sounds more frequently and loudly

English Teacher Needed

We are one of the biggest English Teacher agency in China, we refer lots of foreign teacher/employee to university or company daily. We provide this service to teacher for free.

What you need to do is log on our website www.languageteaching.com.cn and register, we will put your resume(简历) on Chinese website except contact details. There are thousand potential clients who will view your information daily, once they choose you we will contact(联系) with you. For any more details you also can send email to admin@languageteaching.com.cn

Part Time English Tutor wanted

We are looking for a part time English teacher, the teacher should come from U.S.A, Canada, UK, New Zealand or Australia. We would like to have 2 lessons a week, 2 hours each lesson.

Please send me your Resume with photo if you are interested, email: admin@languageteaching.com.cn

Private English Tutor Wanted

Senior Chinese manager is looking for a one-on-one English tutor for several hours per week. He would like to learn British pronunciation, so UK nationals will be preferred. Tutors should be fairly flexible to suit his busy schedule and be of professional appearance. Pay is to be discussed directly and will be very high for the right candidate. Teaching experience is not a must.

If interested, please send an email with your background information, pay expectations and a recent picture to dhanyatk@hotmail.com.

CALLING – Teacher/Librarian!  

We are a small Kindergarten to Grade 6 international school in Beijing. We need a teacher/ librarian. The teacher we are looking for will: - Be a Chinese /English speaking librarian.

Qualifications

Be self-starters, active team players,

Have a positive attitude and love to work with kids

Provide an exciting and innovative library program to students.

If you meet the above qualifications, please send your CV and a current picture to principalinchina@yahoo.ca .

The purpose of the advertisements is________.

A. to start a business

B. to employ English teachers

C. to provide the latest jobs

D. to help people find a suitable job

According to the first advertisement, we can learn that_______.

A. English Teacher agency charges teacher for this service

B. you must go online to offer your basic information first

C. you may call to get more information about the job

D. once you English Teacher agency, you will get a job

In the third advertisement, the private English tutor should________

A. be an English language expert from UK

B. speak American English

C. have rich teaching experience

D. have the ability to deal with changing situations

If you didn’t pass the interview for Teacher/Librarian, the probable reason should be that ________.

A. you like working with children

B. you have a strong team spirit

C. you lack teaching experience

D. you can only speak English

The underlines word “CALLING” in the fourth advertisement most means_________.

A. job or profession     B. wish     C. interest     D. chance

There are two kinds of physical activity which require special training. The first demands exact careful movements of the muscles. This kind of activity must be strictly controlled because even a slight movement in the wrong direction will lead a mistake. To type quickly, for example, a person needs training; the slightest movement of a finger in the wrong direction may cause a spelling mistake. A dancer who has to dance on the point of her shoes or turn around on one foot must be trained for a long period of time before she can sense her own center and balance herself. You may have seen a girl walking on a rope across an empty space, which, too, requires a lot of practice.  

The second kind of physical activity needs greater strength or extra effort. Most of us get tired if we try to run half a mile without stopping, but a specially-trained person can do this without much effort. Three years ago, some scientists carried out experiments, which produced meaningful and unexpected results. They wanted to find out whether a certain amount of physical exercise would injure those suffering from heart problems. They selected some male patients and trained them in continuous bicycle riding. They were surprised to find that the harmful effect of given amount of physical effort was actually less on the hearts of these trained patients than on those of the patients who were not similarly trained. This is important because it shows that regular physical exercise enables us to make better use of the oxygen we breathe in and that this training, in fact, reduces the amount of work our hearts do. Many tasks which are hard for untrained people are not hard at all for trained people.

The first kind of physical activity must be strictly controlled because _________.

 A．a mistake in the wrong direction is dangerous to the fingers

B．a wrong movement in a direction will cause no mistakes

C．a movement in the wrong direction will cause a mistake

D．a slight movement of a finger will lead to a mistake

What must a dancer do before she can balance herself?

 A．She must dance on the point of her shoes.

B．She must receive long-time training.

C．She must turn around on one foot.

D．She must perform again and again.

The experiments done by some scientists showed that ________.

 A．some male patients were asked to ride bicycles regularly in the experiments

B．the physical exercise had more harmful effect on the hearts of the untrained patients

C．the physical exercise was harmless to the male patients with heart trouble

D．the physical exercise could be helpful for the patients to take in more oxygen

What would be the best title for this text?

 A．Training Our Bodies     B．Physical Activities

C．Movement Training D．Extra Body Effort

Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.

The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.

“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.

“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”

What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.

“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.

The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.

The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.

A. health     B. long life   C. ageing    D. effect

The text mainly talks about ________.

A. men’s heart cells

B. women’s ageing process、

C. the gender difference

D. hearts and long life

According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.

A. women have more cells than men when they are born

B. women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat

C. the female heart loses few of the cells with age

D. women never lose their pumping power with age

If you want to live longer, you should ________.

A. enable your heart to beat much faster

B. find out the reason for ageing

C. exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy

D. prevent your cells from being lost

We can know from the passage that ________.

A. the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out

B. scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells

C. the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss

D. women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20

Danielle Steel, America’s sweetheart, is one of the hardest working woman in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research some before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to divided into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.

Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, he worked in the public relations and advertising, industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times best-selling novels, and a series of “Max and Martha” picture books for children to help them. Deal with the real-life problem of death, new babies and new schools. Her l998 book about the death of her was shot to the top of the New York Times best-selling list as soon as it came out. Twenty-eight of her books have been made into film. She is listed in the Guinness Books of World Records for one of her books being the Times best-seller for 381 weeks straight.

Not content with a big house, a loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the moat important resource and has kept in touch with them by e-mail. While she is often compared to the heroines(女主人公) of her own invention. Her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable style. There is only one Danielle Steel

6. Danielle Steel is different from other writers in that        .

A. she can write several books at the same time

B. she often does some research before writing a book

C. she is one of the most popular American women writers

D. she can keep writing for quite a long time without a break

7. Children who have read “Max and Martha” picture books may know        .

A. how to deal with affairs at school

B. what to do if Max and Martha die

C. what to do when new babies are born into their families

D. how to solve the difficult problems in their writing classes

8. One of Danielle Steel’ a achievements is that        .

A. some TV plays were based on her books

B. her picture books attracted a lot of young men

C. one of her books became a best-seller in 1998

D. she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records

9. We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel        .

A. lives an exciting life

B. values her readers a lot

C. writes about quiet women

D. is pleased with her achievements

10. What does the underlined word “inimitable” mean?

A. hardworking             B. attractive           C. strange              D. unique

I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen. It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy, and push him into the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less

One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him a fair game. Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength making its way by fierce strokes(猛力地划) to the shore. I fled, but in vain. He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys. “Do you know what you have done?” they said, “It’s Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion at gym, he has got his football honor.”

I was frightened and felt ashamed. How could I tell his position when be was wrapped in a bath towel and so small. He didn’t seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word, “My father,  who is a great man, is also small.” At this be laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified the incident was closed.

1. The writer thought Amery “a fair game” because the boy        .

  A. looked like an animal                    B. was fond of games w*w*

C. was of similar size                   D. was good at sports

2. The writer felt “ashamed” because        .

  A. he was laughed at by other boys 

B. Amery turned out to be in the same grade

C. he pushed Amery hard and hurt him     

D. he played a joke on an outstanding athlete

3. By saying “My father, who is a great man, is also small”, the writer        .

  A. tried to please Amery                    B. challenged Amery

C. threatened Amery                   D. admired his father

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The writer could run faster than Amery.

B. The writer liked playing on boys of all sizes.

C. Amery was a student in Grade Four.

D. Amery forgave the writer for his rude behavior

5. What does the underlined word “overtook” mean?

A. catch hold of                                       B. catch up with

C. take a look at                                        D. shout at

People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hun??ted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or per??haps human beings have always wanted to tell stories accord??ing to pictures.

About 5,000 years ago the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as a kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet(字母表).

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell sto??ries by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was bur??ied. Some of these pictures are like modem comic-strip sto??ries. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic-strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.  

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area a-round the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days we can write down a story, or record informa??tion, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawings, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the streets, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pic??tures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

6. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ________.

A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures  B. the painters were animal lovers

C. the painters wanted to show imagination D. the pictures were thought to be helpful

7.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that ________.  

A. the former was easy to write         B. there were fewer signs in the former

C. the former was easy to pronounce    D. each sign stood for only one sound

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

B. The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.

C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.

D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyp??tians.

9. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures　__________.

A. should be made comprehensible         B. should be made interesting

C. are of much use in our life             D. are disappearing from our life