I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a box and landing on my head. Now I am thirty-two. I can vaguely(模糊地) 　1　 the brightness of sunshine and what color red is. It would be wonderful to see things again, 　2　 a disaster can do strange things to people. It happened to me the other day that I might not have come to love 　3　 as I do if I hadn’t been blind. I believe in life now. I am not sure that I would believe in it so 　4　. I don’t mean that I would prefer to go without my eyes. I 　5　 mean that the loss of 　6　 made me enjoy more of 　7　 I have now.

Life asks us to keep making 　8　 to reality. If a person is able to get ready for anything changeable his world will 　9　 more meaningful. I became blind, but I was 　10　. My parents and my teachers saw 　11　 in me－a potential(潜力) to live, you might call it－which I didn’t see, and they make me fight it out with blindness.

The hardest 　12　 I had to learn was to believe in myself. That was what I had to do at least. If I hadn’t been able to do that, I would become a chair rocker for the 　13　 of my life. When I say I believe in myself I am not talking about simply the kind of self-confidence that helps me down an unfamiliar staircase 　14　. That is part of it. But I mean something bigger than that: A belief that I could deal with anything alone; that somewhere in the 　15　 there is a special place where I can make myself fit.

1. A. imagine       B. find             C. remember     D. guess

2. A. but           B. though               C. so           D. because

3. A. myself        B. life             C. eyes         D. blindness

4. A. that          B. therefore            C. happily      D. deeply

5. A. seldom        B. just             C. hardly           D. always

6. A. them      B. it                   C. blindness        D. light

7. A. that          B. what             C. which            D. where

8. A. moments       B. encouragements       C. improvements D. changes

9. A. become        B. change               C. look         D. end

10. A. brave        B. lucky                C. sad          D. wise

11. A. something    B. everything           C. nothing      D. anything

12. A. problem      B. experience           C. difficulty       D. lesson

13. A. rest     B. whole                C. need         D. last

14. A. lonely       B. alone                C. self         D. person

15. A. company  B. group                C. society  (社会)   D. family

 

 

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源头) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Lake Victoria provides a source of water, food, and power(电力) for several African countries. Lake Victoria is a big part of African life.

Unfortunately, Lake Victoria has a problem. It is shrinking. There are several power stations at Lake Victoria in Uganda. These are on the Nile River, and besides producing power, they keep the water of the lake at a certain level. For the past forty years, that level has been 11.9 meters. Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2.5 meters. There seem to be several reasons for this drop.

One possible reason is drought(干旱). Drought has been very bad in the area since 2000. Lake Victoria gets all of its water from rain, so the drought means less water in the lake.

However, some environmentalists believe that the real problem is the power plants(工厂) on Lake Victoria. Uganda depends on those power plants for most of its power, and they made the power plants larger in 2000. Many people believe the power plants have been taking too much water off Lake Victoria. As a result, they have been asked to use less water until Lake Victoria goes back to its old level.

Whether the low water level is caused by drought or power plants, the result is the same. This is already a poor area of Africa, where many people live a really hard life. People, animals and plants around Lake Victoria will suffer even more from low water levels on the lake. Many people need Lake Victoria for fishing or growing food. Fish need the water to live, and animals need it for water. Plants around the lake will die without the water, and then more animals and people will suffer. Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die.

1.Lake Victoria is __________.

A. an important lake in Africa

B. the largest lake in the world

C. the source of water, food and power for America

D. the only source for the Nile River

2.What does “It is shrinking” most probably mean?

A. It is becoming larger.

B. It is becoming more beautiful.

C. It is becoming smaller.

D. It is becoming more useful.

3.The water level of Lake Victoria is now __________.

A. 2.5 meters     　B. 11.9 meters              C. 14.4 meters          D. 9.4 meters

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Rain water is the only source for the lake.

B. There has been little rain in the lake area since 2000.

C. The power plants in Uganda provide water for the lake.

D The power plants in Uganda were made larger in 2000.

5.According to the passage, how can we solve the problems around Lake Victoria?

A. People must build more power plants.

B. More sources of water must be found.

C. Every country should offer some money to Africa.

D. All the people living in the area should move to another place.

 

完形填空（15分）

阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

I stood in the doorway, watching my elder brother carefully putting clothes into his bag. I coughed uneasily. Finally 　　36　　 that I was there, Rocky turned towards me with a sad smile.

“I’m 　　37　　 tomorrow,” he said.

“I know.” My __38____ was almost a whisper. I was 　　39　　 at myself for being so weak, but I wasn’t about to cry.

“My 　　40　　 is early, so there is still 　　41　　 time to come to the airport,” he said. Seeing the 　　42　　 look on my face, he quickly added, “I promise I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”

I tried to say 　　43　　 , but didn’t. It’s always 　　44　　 to keep quiet if you’re about to cry. “You promised you wouldn’t cry,” he said to me, thinking that I was close to 　　45　　.

I remember the day he taught me how to ride a bike. 　　46　　 I thought he was always right behind me, holding the seat to keep me from 　　47　　. I was happy with this, but he knew he couldn’t hold me up all my life. He told me that one day he would have to let go.

His coughing stopped my thinking. What was left to say? How could I say 　　48　　 to the person who taught me everything?

The next morning I 　　49　　 , looked at my alarm clock, and realized he had left　50　 ago. We never even said goodbye.

Goodbye, Rocky! Although he may have been many miles away, I knew he heard me, even if it was only an answer in his heart.

1.A. forgetting         B. realizing            C. watching         D. learning

2.A. arriving　         B. living　         C. coming　         D. leaving

3. A. voice             B. sound　          C. noise                D. word

4.A. glad　             B. moved　          C. angry　          D. pleased

5. A. ship　                B. flight　         C. train　              D. bus

6.A. enough　           B. little　         C. no　             D. busy

7. A. surprised　           B. excited　            C. sad              D. happy

8. A. anything　            B. everything　     C. something　      D. nothing

9.A. stranger　         B. better　         C. worse　          D. easier

10.A. tears             B. smiles　         C. words　          D. sadness

11. A. At last　            B. Since　          C. At first　           D. So far

12. A. riding　         B. running          C. walking          D. falling

13.A. goodbye　         B. hello　          C. yes              D. sorry

14. A. gave up　            B. stood up         C. looked up　      D. woke up

15.A. minutes　         B. hours　          C. days　           D. weeks

 

 

　 I heard a story about a famous scientist who had made several very important achievements.What made him 　41 from others?

　 He said it all came from 　42 that happened when he was two years old. He tried to 43 a bottle of milk away from the fridge, but the slippery(光滑的) bottle fell, spilling its milk all over the 　44 floor.

　 When his mother came in, 45 shouting at him, she said, “Robert, what a great mess(一团糟) you have made! I have never seen such a big puddle(水坑) of milk. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes 　46 we clean it up?”

　 Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “Robert, when you make a mess like this, you have to clean it up at last. So, 　47 would you like to do that? We would use a towel or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the towel and together they cleaned up the milk.

　 His mother then said, “We had a failed 48 in how to carry a big milk bottle with two small hands in the kitchen. Let’s go out and fill the bottle with water and see if you can 49 a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he held the bottle at the top near the lip(杯口) with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.

　 This scientist then said that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to 50 .So, what have you learnt from the story?

41. A. serious　　 　　 B. similar　　　　　　 C. different　　　　 D. important

42. A. an experience　　 B. advice　　　　　　 C. a promise　　　　 D. an idea

43. A. pass　　　　　　 B. bring　　　　　　 C. drink　　　　　　 D. take

44. A. kitchen　　　　 B. bedroom　　 　　 C. bathroom　　　　 D. living room

45. A. from　　　　　 B. with　　　　　　　 C. because of　　　 D. instead of

46. A. after　　　　　　 B. before　　　　　　 C. as soon as　　　　 D. since

47. A. when　　　　　 B. what　　　　　　 C. how　　　 　　　D. why

48. A. experiment　　　 B. condition　　　　 C. survey　　　　　 D. research

49. A. look　　　　　　 B. discover　　　　　 C. recognize　　　 D. develop

50. A. clean the floor　　 B. spill milk　　　　 C. make mistakes　　 D. realize mistakes