Anna Koumikova was born on June 7th, 1981 in Moscow. Her parents' names are Allah and Sergel. When she was 5 years old, her parents sold their TV to buy her the first tennis bat for Christmas. She played in a club near her place until aged 11. Then she moved to Bradenton, Florida(USA) to train with Nick Bollitierri. At 14, she represented Russia in a Fed Cup match and became the youngest player ever to win a Fed Cup match.

      Kournikova made her WTA first show at 15 years old at the US Open where she finally lost against player Steffi Graf. But she made it to the double quarter finals that same match. In 1996, Kournikova won the Rookie of the Year award and the next year. She improved very much to even make it to the semi - finals in Wimbledon. She lost to world number one Martina Hingis at the French Open and at Wimbledon. In 1999 she won her professional title at Midland, Miehigon, an international Tennis Federation match. She was 5th favourite in Illinois the same year and won her 2nd career ITF match. She won her first grand slam(大满贯) title ill 1999 with Martina Hingis in doubles at the Australia Open. Since then, they have played regularly together and have quickly become one of the 'best pairs. Aim in 1999,she made her first career WTA final in key Biscayne against Venus Williams in a tough 3 set match. She alto won her first doubles tile with Monica Seles in Tokyo.

      At present Kournikova is more successful on the net than at the net. She remains the "most searched" and "most download (网上下载)" on the internet, three times more popular than the NO. 2 sports figure, Michael Jordan. She is still very young and she seems to have a great future ahead !

Which of the following is right?

    A. Kournikova beat Steffi Graf at the US Open when she was 15.

    B. Kournikova won the Rookie of the Year award in 1999.

    C. Koumikova is now more lucky at the net than on the Internet.

    D. In 1997, Kournikova worked hard to make it to the semi - finals in Wimbledon.

Kournikova won her first grand slam title in doubles at the Australia Open with              .

    A. Steffi Graf       B. Venus Williams   C. Martina Hingis   D. Monica Seles

From the text we can know Kournikova won her professional title in an ITF match          .

    A. at Midland       B. in France         C. in Australia       D. at Biscayne

What can we learn about Kournikova?

A. She has a lot of fans on the Internet.

B. Her parents gave her much support.

C. She beat Martina Hings in 1996.

D. She played tennis for her home country Russia.

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 7 — At 26, many people haven’t even decided on a career. Luke Ravenstahl, cashing in on his family’s political tradition, is already the mayor of Pittsburgh, the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. Although mayors elsewhere have been younger, Jeff Dunkel was 18 in 2001 when he was elected mayor of Mount Carbon, small towns in New York, and elsewhere have also elected teenagers as mayors. But, Tallahassee, is the only other city with a population over 100,000 that has had a mayor as young as Mr. Ravenstahl. A supporter of Mr. Ravenstahl said concerns about Mr. Ravenstahl’s age would dissipate once the city saw his work ethic.

 But now comes the hard part. As he strives to be taken seriously and take charge of a city only recently back from the brink of bankruptcy, the baby-faced mayor said that even the smallest decisions felt weighty, even what to wear in the Steelers game matters.

And another pressing issue is to strengthen the city’s economy. Pittsburgh has lost all its mills, nearly half its population and much of its downtown commercial district in the last several decades. “But Pittsburgh has 50,000 college students, and our challenge is to figure out how to retain them and to increase downtown development.” He said.

But one of the biggest uncertainties is how long he will remain in office. According to the city charter, Mayor Ravenstahl’s term will not expire until November 2009. Some city lawyers, however, have argued that he must face the electorate next year. And residents in Pittsburgh are still withholding judgment on him. Deli, Jimmy Cvetic, a sandwich shop owner, said “I call him Cool Hand Luke. He’ll be all right, but he’s going to need a cool hand to get through this.”

Mayor Ravenstahl said he was still coming to terms with the challenge he faced.

41. About Luke Ravenstahl, which of the following statements is correct?

He is the youngest mayor in the U.S.A.

His family background has contributed to his successful political career.

His young age has won support from media and young voters.

He will be mayor of Pittsburgh at least until 2009.

42. The underlined word “dissipate” in the first paragraph probably means________.

A. disappear                 B. appear                      C. spread               D. reduce

43. What can you infer from the article about Pittsburgh?

A. It is a small town in New York famous for steel mills.

B. It has always enjoyed prosperous economic success.

C. Many young college students there are the new hope of the district.

D. It is a major city in the U.S.A with a population slightly smaller than 100,000.

44. Where can you find this article?

A. A magazine      

B. A brochure about politicians

C. A newspaper

D. An advertisement about some mayor candidates

45. What kind of Challenges will not Luke Ravenstahl cope with?

A. Distrust from his citizens                      B. pressure from other outstanding young majors

C. economical standstill of his city              D. decreasing population in his city

Puling heavy suitcases all day in the summer is hard work, especially when you’re a thin 14-year-old. That was me in 1940-the youngest and smallest baggage boy at New York City’s Pennsylvania Railway Station.

After just a few days on the job, I began noticing that the other fellows were overcharging passengers. I’d like to join them, thinking, “Everyone else is doing it”.

When I got home that night, I told my dad what I wanted to do. “You give an honest day’s work,” he said, looking at me straight in the eye. “They’re paying you. If they want to do that, you let them do that.”

I followed my dad’s advice for the rest of that summer and have lived by his words ever since.

Of all the jobs I’ve had, it was my experience at Pennsylvania Railway Station that has stuck with me. Now I teach my players to have respect for other people and their possessions. Being a member of a team is a totally shared experience. If one person steals, it destroys trust and hurts everyone. I can put up with many things, but not with people who steal. If one of my players were caught stealing, he’d gone.

Whether you’re on a sports team, in an office or a member of a family, if you can’t trust one another, there’s going to be trouble.

What can be inferred about the baggage boys?

       A．They could earn much, but they had to work hard.

       B．Many of them earned money in a dishonest way.

       C．They were all from poor families.

       D．They were all thin, young boys.

What does the father’s advice imply?

       A．It is wrong to give more pay to the passengers.

       B．Don’t believe them if they are paying you more.

       C．Don’t follow others to overcharge the passengers.

       D．It is difficult to work hard and live as an honest boy.

The writer can’t put up with stealing because he thinks that           .

       A．it is a totally shared experience

       B．it is considered as the most dangerous

       C．it does great harm to human relationship

       D．it may lead to the loss of his sports team

It can be concluded from the text that        .

       A．his father’s advice helped him to decide which job to take up

       B．working in the sports team was his most important experience

       C．he learnt much from his shared experience with his team members

       D．his experience s a baggage boy had a great influence on his later life

THE BRONTE FAMILY

Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels (小说) of the 19th century. These were Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The youngest sister, Anne, was also a gifted novelist, and her books have the same extraordinary quality as her sisters’.

Their father was Patrick Bronte, born in Ireland. He moved with his wife, Maria Bronte, and their six small children to Haworth in Yorkshire in 1820. Soon after, Mrs. Bronte and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care of the remaining three girls and a boy.

Charlotte was born in 1816. Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820. Their brother Branwell was born in 1817. Left to themselves, the children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills. They grew up largely self-educated. Branwell showed a great interest in drawing. The girls were determined to earn money for his art education. They took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes.

As children they had all written many stories. Charlotte, as a young girl, alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting. Therefore, they turned to writing for income. By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey. After much difficulty Anne and Emily found a publisher(出版商), but there was no interest shown in Charlotte’s book. (It was not published until 1859.) However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her works. Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it. It was accepted at once; thus each of the sisters had a book published in 1847.

Jane Eyre was immediately successful; the other two, however, did not do so well. People did not like Wuthering Heights. They said it was too wild, too animal-like. But gradually it came to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language. Emily lived only a short while after the publication of the book, and Anne died in 1849.

Charlotte published Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1853. In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis(肺结核) as her sisters had.

We know from the text that      .

A. Jane Eyre was published in 1847    

B. Charlotte Bronte wrote 22 books in all

C. the Bronte sisters received good education     

D. Patrick Bronte helped his daughters with their writing

The underlined words “the other two” in the 5 th paragraph refer to      .

       A. Shirley and Villette   B. The Professor and Agnes Grey

       C. Agnes Grey and Wutheriing Heights   D. The Professor and wuthering Heights

What do we know about the Bronte sisters from the text?

       A. Their novels interested few publishers.

       B. None of them had more than two books published.

       C. None of them lived longer than 40 years old.

       D. Emily was the least successful of the three.

Many people influenced various aspects of my life, based on their personal characteristics, accomplishments, and values. I have been fortunate to have had numerous teachers and professors who I respect for their patience and intelligence. There are artists that have inspired me by their natural talents and original creativity. I value many political leaders, who have inspired me by their contributions to society, and their ability to change our futures. But of all the people I have known in my life, the person I admire most is my father.

       As the youngest girl in my family, I always considered myself to be “Daddy’s little girl”. While I grew up, it always made me sad to see so many of my friends and neighbors without a father or father-like figure around. This helped me appreciate how my father always takes an interest in his children’s lives. In every aspect of my life my father continuously pushes me to excel, so I could accomplish my work outstandingly among my people. Whenever I feel like giving up, or have a question or a concern, I know I can always call on him for advice. From him I have also learned that sometimes you have to put others’ needs ahead of your own, but you should make sure you are not taken advantage of by others. His strength seems to be unbreakable during hard times, and he is extremely determined to accomplish anything he sets his mind on, no matter how tiny it is. I highly respect him for how he stands up for what he believes in, and will never back down. I have always admired his open mind, compassion(同情) for people, and sense of understanding. He is a very reserved man, but to everybody’s surprise, he has a great sense of humor, and always knows how to put a smile on the faces of his wife, his children and his friends.

       Living in his affection and instruction, I am very proud of my father. He also professes(声称) how proud he is of his children, and is still there to support us in whatever we are involved in.

What is the best title for the passage?

       A. How my father loved me                       B. My father—the person I admire most

       C. I am the apple on my father’s palm         D. My father—the one who influenced me most

Which of the following could not be used to describe the author’s father?

       A. Considerate and humorous                    B. Affectionate and open-minded

       C. Knowledgeable and sociable                   D. Energetic and helpful

Which of the following can best explain the underlined word “excel”?

       A. Do better than others.                                   B. Show off.

       C. Be cleverer than others.                         D. Keep healthy

According to the underlined part, the father was telling the author to ____.

       A. try to be good to those who were worth making friends with

       B. try to take advantage of those who were friendly to her

       C. think about others and help them, so that she could make them server her

D. think about others and help them, but not to be made use of in a negative way

What can we infer about the author?

       A. She appreciated her father because he solved all the problems for her.

       B. She considered her father humorous and was often made to laugh by him.

       C. She had sympathy for the fatherless.

       D. She was outstanding in work because her father pushed her hard.