阅读理解

　　Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all．Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist．That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin．Merlin's work was making musical instruments．In his spare time he liked to play the violin．Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams．People called him a dreamer．

　　One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball(化装舞会)．He was very pleased and a little excited．As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party．He had an idea．He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room．

　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll．Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe．These were the first roller skates．Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin．

　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin．Everyone was astonished to see him．There was just one problem．Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates．He rolled on and on．Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall．Down fell the mirror, breaking into pieces．Nobody forgot Merlin's grand entrance for a long time!

阅读理解

　　In choosing a friend, one should be very careful．A good friend can help you study．You can have fun together and make each other happy．Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends．They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away．How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability(可靠)．

　　Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend．A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling．He is not quick to judge．Instead, he tries to learn from others．He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful．He is also a good listener．

　　At the same time, however, a good friend is honest．He does not look for faults in others．He notices their good points．In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me．

　　Another quality of a friend is reliability．I can always depend on a good friend．If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there．If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me．

　　If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me．

　　There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special．A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun．We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship．That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with．A good friend likes the same things I like．We share experience(经验)and learn from each other．A good friend has a good sense of humor, too．He likes to laugh with me．That is how we share in the joy of being friends．And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me．

　　When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

阅读理解

　　When Kelsa Morgan dropped out of university after experiencing mental(心理的)health problems 15 years ago, she felt worthless．However, Kelsa, now 36, became a full-time volunteer for children's charity．Barnardo's．Kelsa is now a professional therapist(治疗师)in Hull．She believes that her job as a voluntary worker provided the strength she needed to help her get back on her feet．

　　Recent research backs Kelsa's experience and emphasizes the link between doing good and feeling good．A three-year study shows that voluntary work can do wonders for self-confidence, mental and physical health．It can even make you more attractive to potential(潜在的)partners．

　　This year, nearly three quarters of the adult population in the UK will do some kind of voluntary work, either formally through an organization or informally by helping a friend．Each week around 90 million hours of formal volunteering are completed by people in the UK．Research by the charity Community Service Volunteers suggests that almost half of those who do voluntary work believe their health has improved as a result．They may be right．A five-year study of 2,000 people showed those who volunteered for two or more organizations were 44％ less likely to die during that time than those who didn't do any charitable work．

　　Just why is helping others so beneficial? “It leaves you fulfilled(满足的)in a way you don't generally experience in your work,” believes Stephen Wright, chairman of The Sacred Space Foundation．It seems focusing on something outside ourselves makes us feel that we are an important part of the world around us and that people notice, care about and value our existence．

阅读理解

　　Everyone loves Adventureland! The Parks and Exhibitions were built for you to explore, enjoy, and admire their wonders．Every visit will be an unforgettable experience．You will go away enriched, longing to come back．What are you going to do this time?

　　Explore places you have never been to before, and experience different ways of life．Visit the Amazon jungle village, the Turkish market, the Tai floating market, the Berber mountain house and others．Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives, and things they make．You can try making a carpet, making nets, fishing…

　　This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives．It allows us to look into the future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we'll be living then．Spend some time in our space station and climb into our simulator(模拟装置)for the Journey to Mars!

　　This is not really one park but several．In the Safari Park you can drive among African animals in one of our Range Cruisers：see lions, giraffes, elephants in the wild．Move on to the Ocean Park to watch the dolphins and whales．And then there is still the Aviary to see…

　　This is the center of Adventureland．Run out of film, need some postcards and stamps? For all these things and many more, visit our underground shopping center．Come here for information and ideas too．

阅读理解

　　One of the most fascinating things about television is the size of the audience．A novel can be on the “best seller” lists with a sale of up to 100,000 copies, but a popular TV show might have 70 million TV viewers．TV can make anything or anyone well-known overnight．

　　This is the principle behind “quiz” or “game” shows, which put ordinary people on TV to play a game for prizes and money．A quiz show can make anyone a star, and it can give away thousands of dollars．Charles Van Doren, an English instructor, became rich and famous after winning money on several shows．He even had a career as a television personality．But one of the losers proved that Charles Van Doren was cheating．It turned out that the show's producers, who were pulling the strings, gave the answers to the most popular contestants(参赛者)beforehand．Why? Because if the audience didn't like the person who won the game, they turned the show off．The result of this cheating was a huge scandal(丑闻)．Based on the show off, a movie titled “Quiz Show” is on 40 years later．

　　Charles Van Doren is no longer involved with TV．But game shows are still here, though they aren't taken seriously．In fact, some of them try to be as ridiculous as possible．There are shows that send strangers on vacation trips together, or that try to cause newly-married couples to fight on TV, or that punish losers by humiliating(羞辱)them．The entertainment now is to see what people will do on TV．People still win money, but the real prize is to be in front of an audience of millions．

阅读理解

　　As I grew older, my dad and I grew further apart．We always had totally different opinions．He thought that college was a waste of time, but for me it was important to finish college．He wanted me to work my way to the top as he had done in his field, but I wanted a different life．There was a time when we did not talk with each other．

　　A few months ago, I heard that my 84-year-old dad was in poor health．When he called and asked whether I could move from Colorado back to Tennessee to help him, I knew he was seriously ill．I am his only child and so it was time to meet my father's requirement．

　　Two weeks after moving back, we bought a boat and started fishing again．Fishing was one of the few things that we did while I was young and that we both enjoyed．It is strange but true that as we are fishing we are able to put things that have kept us apart for so many years behind us．We are able to talk about things that we have never talked about before．Fishing has been healing the old wounds that have kept us apart．

　　It is not important how many fish we catch．It is about enjoying the relationship that we have not had for years．I'm 62 and he is 84．When we are on the lake fishing, it is like two kids enjoying life．It is far better to find a way to put the unhappy past behind．I am so lucky to spend the happy time with my father in his last years．Now my heart is filled with love．A smile always graces my lips．

Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond．The concept is simple：help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time．

　　In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools．The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched(发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998．Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong．

　　In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program．As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city．Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character．

　　The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population．This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved．Or it may show that New Yorkers missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself．

　　Nancy points out that the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process．or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word．

Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

Llosa's Nobel Prize Settles an Old Score

　　Mario Vargas Llosa, 74, received a phone call early in the morning on October 7 when he was preparing to set out on a walk through Central Park in New York．He was informed that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature．

　　Initially, however, he thought it was a joke．It was because, as the Peruvian told the BBC, “a writer shouldn't think about the Nobel Prize as it is bad for one's writing”．

　　He told AP that the honor would not affect him．“I don't think the Nobel Prize will change my writing, my style, my themes,” he said．“(But)it's a good way to start a New York Day．”

　　Vargas Llosa is one of the most celebrated writers of the Spanish-speaking world．He has written more than 30 novels, plays and essays, including The Breen House and The War of the End of the World．Both of these are available in Chinese translation．His work “vividly examines the dangers of power and corruption in Latin America”, according to The NEW York Times．

　　Vargas Llosa realized that he wanted to be a writer when he was a child, after reading an adventure novel by Jules Verne．At 15, he was a crime reporter．He later lived in exile in many European countries．

　　In 1990, he ran for the presidency in Peru, but lost badly．On October 7 Vargas Llosa told Reuters that he had never wanted to be a politician but felt it was an obligation for a writer to participate in public debate．”

　　He is frequently mentioned with Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author of the classic work A Hundred Years of Solitude．Garcia Marquez won the literature Nobel in 1982, the last South American to do so．

　　Their relationship has involved one of greatest feuds(不和)in literary history．In a famous 1976 incident at a theater in Mexico City, Vargas Llosa punched Marguea, leaving him with a black eye．The two have reportedly not spoken in decades．

　　After the Nobel announcement, Garcia MARQUEZ wrote “now we're even” in Spanish on his microblog．

Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　“I Went Skydiving at 84!”

　　As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of a woman to do that．I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday．But the experience turned out to be very dull．Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive．So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream．

　　In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr．did it at age 80．Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health．A year went by and I heard nothing．But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners．I just couldn't believe it．

　　One June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane．My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience．The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn't frightened－I was really just looking forward to the experience．When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane．When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe．For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer．We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute, then we just floated downward for about five minutes．Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt－much better than the hot air balloon．I was just enjoying it．

　　Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life．I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don't stop living just because you are 84 years old．If there's something you want to experience, look into it．If it's something that is possible, make it happen．

　　The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life．I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when I ran into something solid．It was Carlos．

　　“My…, you're tall,” he said．

　　Of course, the class began to laugh．Angry, I walked to my seat without a word．

　　I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest．That would be the last straw．But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else．I didn't know why I considered Reed my friend．Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I．Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington．“Take that seat,” Mr．McCarthy told the proud newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room．

　　Carlos smiled broadly．“But I need a couple of dictionaries．” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him．He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side．

　　It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again．Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice president．“How come?” I kept asking myself．“How come this shrimp(虾)who's only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular．”

　　So on that morning, I stopped Carlos and said, “It doesn't seem to bother you－being short．” He looked up at me．“Of course I mind being short．But there isn't anything I can do about it．When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself．” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted．“But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is．” “The trouble with you is you're afraid to be yourself．You're smart．And you could be pretty．In fact, you might be more than pretty．” I felt myself turning red．