Do  you know who shaped President Obama? It was his unconventional（非凡的）mother——Ann Soetoro. She was charming（有魅力的）and liked to laugh. She was a tireless and hardworking woman. When Obama was young, his mother said, “He can do anything he wants in the world, even be president of the USA.” And she was right.

  When Obama was a little boy, his mother paid much attention to manners（礼仪）. So Obama was very polite. He got up to study at 5 a．m. every morning. His mother typed and corrected his homework for him. Besides, his mother let him know the sense of duty to the world, the importance of hard work and the need to give back. Just as Obama said, “Like most of my values(价值观)，I learned about empathy(同情) from my mother.” When he was nine, his mother sent him to Hawaii, where she soon joined him. In 1975, his mother left him to grandparents, so as to return to Indonesia(印度尼西亚) to begin her PH．D. field work(为博士学位做实地考察)。

  Obama’s mother was optimistic and easygoing. This great mother produced an excellent son.

 47. What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Great Mother Made Obama Succeed

B. Hardworking Obama.

C. Ann Soetoro Got Ph．D。

D. Obama’s Mother Was Easygoing.

 48. Which of the following is true?

A. When he was nine, his mother and he went to Hawaii together.

B. Obama didn’t study hard when he was  young.

C. In 1975, Obama’s mother returned to Indonesia to begin her Ph．D. field work.

D. His mother didn’t want him to become President of the USA.

 49. According to the passage, we know that his mother       .

A. was a great mother and she knew how to educate her children.

B. didn’t like to study herself.

C. was so busy that she had no time to look after her children.

D. wasn’t hopeful about the future.

 50. The underlined word “optimistic” means       .

A. 消极的       B. 乐观的       C. 自私的      D. 善良的

 51. When Obama was young, his mother let him know         .

A. the sense of duty to the world

B. the importance of hard work

C. the need to give back

D. A, B and C

Do you know Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng? Fei Junlong was born in 1965. He is a Chinese astronaut selected（选拔）as a member of the Shenzhou program. He was born in Jiangsu and joined the People’s Liberation Army Air Force（中国人民解放军空军）in 1982 at the age of 17. And since then he has only returned home six times. As a fighter pilot（战机飞行员）, he was selected to an astronaut in 1998.
He married Wang Jie in 1991 and has one son.
Nie Haisheng was born in September 1964. He is also a Chinese astronaut selected for the Shenzhou program. He is from Hubei. After graduating from high school he joined the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, and became a fighter pilot. In 1998 he was selected for the astronaut program.
He was one of the three astronauts who were in the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 fight. Yang Liwei was also picked out for the flight, with Zhai Ahigang.
On September 23,2005 it was reported that Zhai and Nie would be one of the three pairs of astronauts who would be in the final training for Shenzhou 6. But in the end, Fei and Nie were chosen, and Zhai missed his chance to space again.
Nie Haisheng got married to Nie Jielin and has an 11-year-old daughter.
【小题1】When did Nie join the army?

Do you know Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng?

Fei Junlong was born in 1965. He is a Chinese astronaut selected(选拔) as a member of the Shenzhou program. He was born in Jiangsu and joined the People’s Liberation Army Air Force(中国人民解放军空军) in 1982 at the age of 17. And since then he has only returned home six times. As a fighter pilot(战机飞行员), he was selected to an astronaut in 1998. He married Wang Jie in 1991 and has one son.

Nie Haisheng was born in September, 1964. He is also a Chinese astronaut selected for the Shenzhou program. He is from Hubei. After graduating from high school he joined the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, and became a fighter pilot. In 1998 he was selected for the astronaut program. Nie Haisheng got married to Nie Jielin and has an 11-year-old daughter. He was one of the three astronauts who were in the final group to train for the Shenzhou 5 Flight. Yang Liwei was also picked out for the flight, with Zhai Zhigang.

On September 23rd, 2005. It was reported that Zhai and Nie would be one of the three pairs of astronauts who would be in the final training for Shenzhou 6. But in the end, Fei and Nie were chosen, and Zhai missed his chance to space again.

56. When did Nie join the army?

A. In 1982.   B. In 1998.   C. In 1991.  D. After his graduation from high school.

57. Who among the astronauts in this passage hasn’t been to space?

A. Zhai Zhigang.             B. Nie Haisheng.      C. Yang Liwei. D. Fei Junlong.

58. How many times has Fei Junlong returned home since he left at the age of 17?

A. Three times.          B. Four times.            C. Six times.              D. Eight times.

59. How many people did the writer mention in this passage?

A. 5.                           B. 6.                            C. 7.                           D. 8.

60. Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?

A. Yang Liwei was born in Jiangsu.

B. Nie Haisheng has an eleven-year-old daughter.

C. Fei Junlong is one year older than Nie Haisheng.

D. Zhai Zhigang got married to Nie Jielin and has a son.

You and your parents can stop worrying- Edison, Pasteur, Darwin and many others were far from being "bright boys " when they were under twenty. Some of them, in the eyes of their teachers, were day- dreamers or slow pupils. So, young men or women, if you have the same experience, don' t fed disappointed.

It is always the case that parents prefer giving mere inspiring examples to encourage their children. If you take piano lessons and are not practicing hard, your parents might justly complain and show you the famous picture of little Mozart in his night- shirt, playing the piano at midnight. But the fact is that he didn’t appear to have much talent(才干)for music when he was quite young. It was not until 22 that Mozart suddenly became fired with a great liking(爱好)for music.

In the sciences, there have been thousands of people who showed great interest in certain subjects from their earliest years, and hundreds who had no idea of what they would do in the future. The well-known French chemist Pasteur displeased his parents because Louris did nothing but drew pictures and went fishing. Pasteur was twenty years old before he showed any interest in science. You have the Wright brothers, who showed great talent in engineering when they were quite young. And you have Thomas Edi-son, whose teacher tried to get him out of the class because his brain was often confused. You have the Nobel Prize Physicist Enrico Fermi, who at 17, had read enough mathematics for a doctor's degree. But there is also Charles Darwin, who hated to go to school when he was young. His farther was once so angry and shouted, "You care for nothing but shooting dogs and rat - catching. You will put your parents to shame."

So who knows what might happen in the future? It is, of course, better for the young people to know what they want to do in life . But they needn’t despair if they don ' t . There is still plenty of time and it’s never too later for success.

1. Before the age of 20, Pasture, Darwin and Edison__________.

A. were very interested in their future work .

B. were far from showing their talents .

C. showed early promise(有成功的希望)

D. failed in school.

2. To encourage their children parents are likely to give them__________

A. very excited examples        

B. real examples

C. some false examples          

D. extremely(非常) good examples

3. At the age of 22 Mozart________

A. was accidentally wounded by a fire 

B. suddenly become a great musician

C. started to play the piano at midnight  

D. became greatly interested in music

4. Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

A. Most successful adults are failures before the age of 22.

B. Early schooling is not important for later success.

C. People who show no signs of great talent when they are young might turn out to be greatly successful as adults.

D. People who show signs of great success when they are young might turn out to be failures as adults.

5. Young people should not despair (丧失信心) if they are not successful because________.

     A. Edison and Darwin were not bright when young

     B. they have more years to live than adults

     C. they still have a lot of time to work for it

     D. no one can tell what might happen in the future