In high school I joined the girl athletic club. At our first track meet, I entered for the long jump, but was made an alternate（替补）for the 50 yard dash. I didn’t like it, since I was better at long distance, but they assured me I would never have to run; they just ran out of alternate.

As I walked up to the start line, I saw my Dad on the sidelines. He was watching. Position, ready, set and off went the starting gun. Believe it or not, I closed my eyes and ran like I’d never run before.

I knew I didn’t have a chance of winning. But I started to hear cheering and thought for a minute, was it possible? I opened my eyes and to my disappointment, everyone else was crossing the finish line, inches away from each other and I was only half the distance.

That moment felt like days. I felt so stupid. I just wanted to melt into the ground and disappeared. Worse than that, my Dad was watching and then I felt ashamed. I kept running hard as I could, crying all the way towards the finish line. It seemed no one noticed me as I crossed the finish line. I saw my Dad standing there looking at me. I was ashamed to look at him. He walked over to me and said, “I’m so proud of you.” I was surprised, “For what? Everyone else finished before I even got halfway. I looked like a fool.” “Because you didn’t give up, not even when you realized what had happened. You gave it your all and finished.” I laughed and cried at the same time.

I find I can face what seems impossible, even alone and afraid, and, that winning does not always come in as you expect. I give my best effort to all I do, win or lose. I don’t give up in the middle of anything.

1.The author meant to compete in        .

A. the 50 yard dash           B. the long jump    C. the long-distance run      D. the high jump

2.When the author heard cheering, she thought        .

A. she had the chance to win the game               

B. she left others inches away halfway

C. other competitors were encouraging her         

D. somebody had won the game                                

3.What happened after the author crossed the finish line?

A. She cried at the sight of her father.               

B. Everyone cheered her for her success.

C. Her farther came up and comforted her.         

D. She felt ashamed to meet her classmates.

4.What lesson can we learn form the author’s experience?

A. What seems impossible always becomes possible.

B. Don’t lose heart halfway whatever you do.

C. Success will come as long as you expect it.

D. Try to do everything until you win in the end.

If you ____________ of Mary, ask her to come and see me.

A. lose sight of           B. catch sight of

C. are in the sight of       D. are at the sight of

The audience waited until the curtain rose and then          laughter at the sight of the funny actor.

A new argument has been put forward as to whether penguins are disturbed by the presence of tourists in Antarctica.

Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds’ heart rates increased dramatically at the sight of a human as far as 30 meters away. But new research using an artificial egg, which is equipped to measure heart rates, disputes this. Scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge say that a slow moving human who does not approach the nest too closely, is not viewed as a threat by penguins.

The earlier findings have been used to partly explain the 20 per cent drop in populations of certain types of penguins near tourist sites. However, tour operators have continued to insist that their activities do not adversely affect wildlife in Antarctica, saying they encourage non-disruptive behavior in tourists, and that the decline in penguin numbers is caused by other factors.

Amanda Nimon of the Scott Polar Research Institute spent three southern hemisphere summers at Cuverville Island in Antarctica studying penguin behavior towards humans. “A nesting penguin will react very differently to a person rapidly and closely approaching the nest,” says Nimon. “First they exhibit large and prolonged heart rate changes and then they often flee the nest leaving it open for predators (掠夺者) to fly in and remove eggs or chicks.” The artificial egg, specially for the project, monitored both the parent who had been ‘disturbed’ when the egg was placed in the nest and the other parent as they both took it in turns to guard the nest.

However, Boris Culik, who monitored the Adelie penguins, believes that Nimon’s findings do not invalidate his own research. He points out that species behave differently ---- and Nimon’s work was with Gentoo penguins. Nimon and her colleagues believe that Culik’s research was methodologically flawed because the monitoring of penguins’ responses needed capturing and restraining the birds and fitting them with beart-rate transmitters. Therefore, argues Nimon, it would not be surprising if they became stressed on seeing a human subsequently.

1.According to the passage, what overall message is presented?

2.Which ONE argument of the following is stated in the passage?

3.What do you notice about the views presented in the passage?

4.What does the underlined word (final line) probably mean?

In high school I joined the girl athletic club. At our first track meet, I entered for the long jump, but was made an alternate（替补）for the 50 yard dash. I didn’t like it, since I was better at long distance, but they assured me I would never have to run; they just ran out of alternate.

As I walked up to the start line, I saw my Dad on the sidelines. He was watching. Position, ready, set and off went the starting gun. Believe it or not, I closed my eyes and ran like I’d never run before.

I knew I didn’t have a chance of winning. But I started to hear cheering and thought for a minute, was it possible? I opened my eyes and to my disappointment, everyone else was crossing the finish line, inches away from each other and I was only half the distance.

That moment felt like days. I felt so stupid. I just wanted to melt into the ground and disappeared. Worse than that, my Dad was watching and then I felt ashamed. I kept running hard as I could, crying all the way towards the finish line. It seemed no one noticed me as I crossed the finish line. I saw my Dad standing there looking at me. I was ashamed to look at him. He walked over to me and said, “I’m so proud of you.” I was surprised, “For what? Everyone else finished before I even got halfway. I looked like a fool.” “Because you didn’t give up, not even when you realized what had happened. You gave it your all and finished.” I laughed and cried at the same time.

I find I can face what seems impossible, even alone and afraid, and, that winning does not always come in as you expect. I give my best effort to all I do, win or lose. I don’t give up in the middle of anything.

The author meant to compete in        .

A. the 50 yard dash           B. the long jump    C. the long-distance run      D. the high jump

When the author heard cheering, she thought        .

A. she had the chance to win the game               

B. she left others inches away halfway

C. other competitors were encouraging her         

D. somebody had won the game                                

What happened after the author crossed the finish line?

A. She cried at the sight of her father.               

B. Everyone cheered her for her success.

C. Her farther came up and comforted her.         

D. She felt ashamed to meet her classmates.

What lesson can we learn form the author’s experience?

A. What seems impossible always becomes possible.

B. Don’t lose heart halfway whatever you do.

C. Success will come as long as you expect it.

D. Try to do everything until you win in the end.