Ted spent seven years as a prisoner of war. There he discovered the power of    1    . For more than half of that    2   he was in isolation (隔绝). He lived for ten months in total     3    . Those ten months was the longest of his life. When they    4    with wooden boards the window of his little seven-by-seven foot cell, shutting out the light, he    5    if he was going to make it.

Ted spent hours a day exercising and thinking. But at times he felt he could do    6    but scream. Not wanting to give his    7    the satisfaction of knowing they’d    8    him, he placed clothing into his mouth to lessen the noise    9    he screamed at the top of his lungs.

One day Ted got down on the    10    and crawled (爬) under his bed. He found a hole that   11   air from the outside. As he approached the hole, he saw a    12    ray of light. Ted put his eye next to the wall and discovered a small crack in the building. It allowed him to glimpse    13   , though all he could see was a     14     piece of grass. But when he saw this, he felt a surge of joy, excitement and   15    that he hadn’t had in years. “It represented life, growth and    16    ,” he later said. It was the small hope that helped Ted    17    this nearly unbearable experience.

The human spirit is   18    . It seems to run forever    19    nothing but a faint (微弱的) hope. Without it, you have nothing. With it, nothing else    20    — even the worst conditions.

1. A. thought             B. scream            C. support               D. hope

2. A. prison                B. war                 C. time                    D. month

3. A. happiness           B. sadness            C. darkness              D. silence

4. A. strengthened         B. fixed               C. covered               D. broke

5. A. reminded            B. required            C. wondered             D. feared

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

7. A. soldiers             B. friends             C. enemy               D. army

8. A. wounded           B. quitted             C. satisfied              D. broken

9. A. till                 B. since               C. as                  D. after

10. A. window            B. floor               C. wall                D. board

11. A. let in            B. put out              C. took in              D. gave off

12. A. weak               B. soft                  C. strong               D. sharp

13. A. inside             B. outside              C. above               D. below

14. A. very               B. right                 C. specific             D. single

15. A. gratefulness      B. usefulness           C. fulfillment          D. establishment

16. A. courage         B. perseverance          C. choice              D. freedom

17. A. by              B. out                   C. over                 D. through

18. A. straight         B. strong               C. lucky                D. interesting

19. A. against              B. from                  C. on                   D. over

20. A. matters         B. relates               C. changes             D. happens

完形填空(共20小题；每小题l 5分，满分30分)

    阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

After winning a big game，athletes are often asked how they feel．Usually athletes say how  21  it is to win this big game．On the contrary，the fact is that losing a big game，or in my case，all the games，can be even harder．

From the spectators’ point of view，last year’s basketball  22  for my high school team was nothing  23  of an embarrassment．And  24  0—20 is certainly nothing to be proud of，that season had a bigger impact on me than any other．As a team captain，I knew it probably wouldn’t be the  25  year，but did I ever think we would lose every game？Of course not．Since six of our top players had graduated，it was clear that we were a (n)  26  team who would struggle．The struggle began earlier than expected，  27  ，as our team center was suspended (禁赛) for the season，and two key members decided to  28  for some reason．At this point，dropping out probably passed through every player’s mind，but in the end，we all stuck it out，  29  to work still harder．

Then there came a time when even our  30  had given up on us．Personally，I felt like it was  31  worthwhile giving my all．I thought，if even the coach doesn’t believe in us，why should I？But just as my hope began to  32 ，a teammate called a meeting．He said，“Nobody thinks we are going to win，but，as teammates and friends，we  33  it to each other to go all out every game．”

It was that moment that  34  me how to be a leader．It hit me that I certainly didn’t  35  the role．As a leader you can never quit  36  the team who looks up to you．It is one  37  to be named captain，feel great and go through the motions，but it is quite another to be a real captain and make sure everyone realizes their full  38  all the time．

I am sure it is great to go through without losing and bringing home awards．But in all honesty，I  39  the fact that my team lost every game last year．It may not help me to become a better basketball player，but it already has made me a better leader，and  40 ．

1.A．exciting         B．pleasant        C．tough           D．significant

2.A．game             B．event           C．league          D．season

3.A．short            B．full            C．lacking         D．sufficient

4.A．as               B．while           C．since           D．now that

5.A．most interesting B．dullest         C．most difficult     D．easiest

6.A．unique           B．adventurous     C．young           D．untraining

7.A．meanwhile        B．though          C．instead         D．somehow

8.A．quit             B．stay            C．resign          D．rest

9.A．hoping           B．swearing        C．claiming        D．wishing

10.A．fans           B．classmates      C．teachers        D．coach

11.A．only too        B．more than       C．not a little        D．no longer

12.A．fade           B．gain            C．destroy         D．grow

13.A．owe             B．think           C．demand          D．recommend

14.A．reminded        B．told            C．taught          D．guided

15.A．act             B．deserve         C．make            D．take

16.A．with           B．alongside       C．on              D．for

17.A．matter          B．aspect          C．issue           D．thing

18.A．potential       B．goal            C．enthusiasm     D．confidence

19.A．hate           B．treasure        C．admit           D．recognize

20.A．character       B．captain         C．person          D．coach

Antarctica and Environment

       Antarctica has actually become a kind of space station – a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world’s environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.

       Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet – a concern they believe the world at large should share.

       The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the “east” of the mountains is a high plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. “West” of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.

       While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious “dry valley” of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that descended 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea. Now the glaciers are gone, perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by vicious winds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges, rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulders sculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile-an-hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.

       Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry a message of hope of the verdant parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.

What is the best title for this passage?

A Antarctica and environmental Problems.

B Antarctica: Earth’s Early-Warning station.

C Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post.

D Antarctica: a Mysterious Place.

What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?

A The western part of the continent would be disappeared.

B The western part of the continent would be reduced.

C The western part of the continent would become scattered Islands.

D The western part of the continent would be reduced to a cluster of Islands.

Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?

A Vicious wind blasts the snow away.                B It rarely snows.

C Because of the global warming trend and fierce wind.  D Sand dunes.

Which of the following is true?

A The “Dry Valleys” have nothing left inside.

B The “Dry Valleys” never held glaciers.

C The “Dry Valleys” may carry a message of hope for the verdant.

D The “Dry Valleys” are useless to scientists.

We were travelling in Italy recently and what really made our trip memorable are the encounters (邂逅) with Italian grandmas. I just ___1___ a busy road in Rome. A grandma right next to me sprinted (飞奔) across and came back with my baby’s missing shoe. I hadn’t even ___2___ and she thought it would be easier to run twice than try to communicate with me through our language ___3___.
Another time, I was looking for Fontana de Trevis (许愿池) and ___4___ off in the name of looking at this and that. Out came a ___5___ from a small café and she at once knew I was ___6___. She took me by the hand and asked where I was heading for. Then she ___7___ me  to the fountain and three minutes later, I was standing in front of the masterpiece.
On the last day of our ___8__, we were in the local Metro train and a very old grandma got on. The train was ___9__ and many of us offered our seats to her. She accepted my ___10__ and a couple of stops later, I found myself ___11___ again, right next to her. We ___12__, she in Italian and me in English. When she ___13__ my husband and I were heading for Tivoli, she took out her return ___14__ for the expensive inter-city bus and put them into my hand.
I’ve lost count of the grandmas that played with our baby as if he was their own. But the ___15__ of all those grandmas is very hard to forget.

A boy of 14 has become the youngest student to win a place at Cambridge University. Arran Fernandez, who was  16 at home by his father, Neil, will 17  a mathematics degree at Fitzwilliam College next month and he hopes to have a career as a research mathematician to 18  the Riemann hypothesis(黎曼猜想) that has confused the brightest minds. It will make him the youngest Cambridge student  19 14-year-old William Pitt the Younger studied there in 1773.

Last night the child genius said: “I am looking forward to going to the  20  . I have started the first-year books  21   and it is all right, not too  22  . I can understand it. I am excited about going to Cambridge,  23  I am used to making records about being the youngest in education. It isn’t the youngest moment that is so important to me--  24  I’m more interested in going to Cambridge than comparing   25  with other people who go there.”

But  26 his age he will not be able to    27  many of the alcohol-fuelled festivities(庆典) traditionally  28  to Freshers’ Week. “I don’t think I’m missing too much fun,” he insisted. “Even if I was 18, I wouldn’t want to go out  29 . ”

Arran,  30   plans to join the bird-watching society instead and go boating while at university, was five when he  31  the youngest person to be  32   a GCSE (General Certificated of Secondary Education), after passing maths. He was offered the   33  to learn at Cambridge in 2010, when he was 14, on the condition he gained an A-level in physics, which he  34  with an A+ grade. Arran had already gained an A grade in further maths last year.

Cambridge also asked him to attend three GCSEs in subjects which were not related to maths and physics to  35   his knowledge. He gained A+s in English literature and French and an A in English language this summer.