I stood outside New York's Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.

    From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knee, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.

    Life was tough. I couldn't stand, much less walk. I rarely, left the farmhouse---and then only in someone's arms. Mam bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.

    “The world will see him when he can walk,” she told Dad. “And he will walk.”

    Mam devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.

    A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.

    “There's nothing anyone can do but you can't,” Mam said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”

    The next day Mam dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mam took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan,” she said.

    We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I'd walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mam's eyes shining with a mother's pride.

    That night, back on our farm, I lay exhausted on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I'd done on my walk.

    Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mam's words came back to me—Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do—and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.

    I've sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world's finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mam's words chiming in my ears. Then I began singing. I couldn't feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my heart, the same place where Mam's promise lived.

1.What was the problem with the author as a baby?

   A. He was expected unable to walk.              

B. He was born outward in character.

   C. He had a problem with listening.             

D. He was shorter than a normal baby.

2.The underlined word “deformity” in the second paragraph most probably means _______.

   A. shortcoming        B. disadvantage        C. disability           D. delay

3.Why did Mam dress him and herself in finest clothes?

   A. To hide their depressed feeling.             

B. To indicate it an unusual day.

   C. To show off their clothes.                   

D. To celebrate his successful operation.

4.From the story we may conclude that his mother was _______.

   A. determined         B. stubborn       C. generous          D. distinguished

5.According to the writer, what mattered most in his success?

   A. His consistent effort.                    B. His talent for music.

   C. His countless failures.                       D. His mother's promise.

 

Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that generally things turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply “yes” to all of these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may well be successful atwork and in love.

But you may be misguided because things don’t turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example，you may fail to obtain a new job，another chance will come around soon), Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams in your face. That's bitter reality.

Now a book has been published which confirms what we pessimists(悲观者）have suspected all along. It's called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, “What’s interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation’s outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better. ”

So far, so good. This is not rocket science. Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on a date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a back-up plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” and “ Don’t count your chickens until they hatch. “ To have a confident and optimistic approach to life’s problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien，the American comedian says, ”Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”

There are pros and cons to being an optimist and a pessimist. Don’t feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A．A book that has recently been published.

B．The dangers of being too optimistic.

C．The benefits of defensive pessimism.

D．How to become successful in life.

2.The underlined sentence “This is not rocket science” in paragraph 4 means     .

A．he cost is not so high                     B．there is no real proof

C．it’s not a dangerous thing to do            D．it is quite simple to understand

3.The writer would probably describe himself as          .

A．an optimist        B．a realist           C．a defeatist         D．a scientist

4.Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist believe?

A．“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

B．“Every cloud has a silver lining.”

C．“Whatever will be, will be.”

D．“The glass is half full not half empty.”

 

I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was a strange farmer. I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I really didn’t know who she was but I had to go.

It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. It seemed that Milly had died. “She meant more to me than anyone even my own wife!” he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal(丑闻). I was even more surprised when he told me he had put her in the barn(厩). “I couldn’t leave her in the cold!” he said. Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground.

“She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone except a doctor touch her!” he said and cried again.

60. The farmer wished that the writer might         .

A. look into the matter             B. bring Milly back to life

   C. free him from a scandal          D. keep the whole thing a secret

61. The underlined phrase in the first paragraph means “       ”.

   A. expect                               B. understand

   C. see clearly                            D. hear clearly

62. Before he arrived at the farmer’s house, the writer expected to see Milly lying         .

   A. on the ground of a barn          B. on the floor of a room

   C. in bed in a room                D. in bed in a barn

63. What do we know about Milly for the story?

A. She had met with an accident.         B. She had caused a scandal.

   C. She was seriously ill.            D. She was hidden somewhere.

64. The person who told the story is probably a        .

A. farmer                        B. policeman

   C. country doctor                D. newspaper re5-6porter

 

Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (论坛) asking what "PK" meant.

"My family has been watching the 'Super Girl' singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what 'PK' meant, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled father.

To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.

In the case of the "Super Girl" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.

Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students' compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand.

"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM'. I loved to 'FB' with him together; he always took me to the 'KPM'," went one composition.

"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). "PLMM" refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). "FB" means Fu Bai (corruption). "KPM" is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.

Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.

If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao!

1.By writing the article, the writer tries to  ________ .

A．explain some Internet language

B．suggest common Internet language

C．laugh at the Beijing father

D．draw our attention to Internet language

2.What does the writer think about the term "PK"?

A．Fathers can't possibly know it.

B．The daughter should understand it.

C．Online game players may know it.

D．"Super Girl" shouldn't have used it.

3.The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons ________ .

A．are used not only online

B．can be understood very well

C．are welcomed by all the people

D．cause trouble to our mother tongue

4.The underlined word "jargons" means " ________ " in Chinese.

A．行话

B．粗口

C．歌词

D．趋势

 

The day was warm and the sun shone down like a new beginning on my life. I was waving goodbye to my son, the last one of my fledglings （刚会飞的鸟）to leave home and go to new woods, "University actually" . I felt so lighthearted after spending many years looking after my four children—cooking, washing, ironing, teaching them how to look after themselves and manage their finances—that I actually thought “At long last, freedom".

But, as I watched my last one leave, although it was a joyous occasion, I realized I had not really prepared for this day, I was too tied up with bringing up these adults of the future to realize that they would all leave the nest and lives independently.

At first I didn't know what "I" wanted to do. I tried a part time job, which ended in me running out in tears. I started a business making soft furnishings, but that didn't work either.  I grew my own veggies and fruit, which lasted 3 years, until I was advised by my doctor that my feet couldn't take any more "tools” driven through them.

I began wondering if I had a future of my own. I cried for the life I was used to, and hadn't known or wanted anything different.

Then one day I saw an ad. for foster parents, I discussed it with my husband who was always behind everything I tried and with great disturbance , I rang up the number.

I now laugh and sing with my 14-year-old foster daughter, even when my cooker is a mess and my bathroom is a disaster area. I now know, 8 years later, what “I” was meant to be doing with all the spare hours, days, and weeks I had on my hands when my last fledgling flew the nest. The sun shines once again in my home.

1.How did the mother first feel when her last child went off to university?

A．Lonely.

B．Anxious.

C．Relieved.

D．Annoyed.

2.The underlined phrase “was tied up with” in the second paragraph means “        ”.

A．was occupied in	B．was associated with
C．was tired of	D．was addicted to

3.In the third paragraph, the poor mother did all the things just to         .

A．live a greener and healthier life

B．earn more money for her kids’ education

C．shift her attention and ease her anxiety

D．start her own decorating business

4.What did the empty-nested mother think of her husband?

A．Skilled

B．Supportive

C．Stubborn

D．Open-minded

5.Thanks to the foster daughter, the author         .

A．got rid of her busy work

B．forgot her other children

C．found a suitable job

D．knew what she really wanted