When an NBA player is young he thinks he can win the championship by himself. It is only later when he has aged and been through many battles that he learns an important lesson: there is no “I ” in “team”.

There is no better example of the value of teamwork than the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were all superstars on three different teams. Yet, none of them had any titles to show for it. Then, last season, they decided to sacrifice money and individual statistics to play together. Garnett and Allen joined Pierce on the Celtics and changed the NBA in the process.

It started in simple ways. Garnett and Allen are two of the most intense athletes in the world. They treat every second of every practice like it is the NBA championship. If you want to play alongside them then you will have to do the same. So, the young guys on the Celtics started giving their full effort too.  

Pierce had been the star of the Celtics for many years. He used to shoot the ball many times a game. But with the addition of Allen and Garnett he shot less and focused on defense. His selflessness showed the young players that doing what made the team better was the only thing that mattered.  

When the Celtics were winning and the game was almost over, Garnett, Pierce and Allen would come out of the game. But they wouldn’t just sit on the bench. Instead, they stood and cheered and screamed for their teammates. They wanted to support their friends and teammates.

Now, the guys who don't play know they can still affect the game by cheering so they scream and cheer when Garnett, Allen and Pierce are playing. The Celtics have developed a strong relationship. They are more than just teammates. They are brothers. 

The result: the Boston Celtics won the championship and are considered the favorites to win the Eastern Conference championship again this year.  

There is a saying that goes, "A successful team beats with one heart." If that is the case, the Celtics may have the biggest heart in the NBA. 

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The stories of three famous basketball superstars.

B．A famous basketball team named the Boston Celtics.

C．The importance of teamwork among teammates.

D．Matches between the Boston Celtics and other teams.

2.What does this sentence “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’.” mean in Paragraph 1?

A．"I" will be missing once "I" am on the court.

B．The cooperation of the teammates is more important than the individual.

C．"I" work so hard in a team that "I" will forget who "I" am

D．Surrounded by other players, "I" don’t seem to exist.

3.Which of the following is NOT true about Pierce’s recent performance?

A．He became an even better shooter with others’ help.

B．He focused much more attention on defense.

C．He created more chances for teammates.

D．He stood and cheered for his teammates

4.Which of the following didn’t contribute to the success of the Boston Celtics?

A．The whole team has become devoted to each and every stage of the game.

B．The cooperation and teamwork among the teammates in the match.

C．The influence of Garnett, Allen, Pierce and other teammates’ cheering.

D．The increasing frequency of team players on the bench

 

Some people believe that international sports create goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international competitions encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused mainly by minor national competitions.

　One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation（愤慨）after a hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the loser’s objection to the final decision. They were sure that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents’ victory was unfair. Their manager was very angry and he said, “This wasn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension（停赛）of the team for at least three years.

　The American basketball team announced that they would not give up the first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their competition. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player popped the ball into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury discussed the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.

　Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sports are played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism（爱国主义）.

1.According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ________.

A．caused national pride for athletes

B．created goodwill between the nations

C．hardly showed any international friendship

D．led to less misunderstanding between countries

2.What did the manager mean by saying “Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished”?

A．His team would no longer take part in international games.

B．There should be no hockey matches organized by the Federation.

C．Hockey and the Federation are both ruined by the unfair decisions.

D．The International Hockey Federation should be dismissed forever.

3.By taking the basketball game for example, the author wants to prove that ________.

A．too much patriotism was displayed in the games

B．the announcement to prolong the match was wrong

C．the appeal jury was too hesitant in making the decision

D．the team was right in refusing to accept the silver medals

4.What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?

A．Sports should be played for the love of one’s nation.

B．Unfair decisions are common in the Olympic Games.

C．International competitions will lead to misunderstanding.

D．The organization for the Olympic Games must be reformed.

 

"If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!"

That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better.

Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too. You can even feel sounds against your skin. Have you ever wanted to know why some people like very loud music? They must like to feel the sounds of music.

All children soon learn what "Don't touch!" means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it. The bottoms of our feet can feel things, too. You know this when you walk on warm sand, cool grass or a hard floor. All feel different under your feet.

There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them!

Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. Their signs say, "Do touch!" There you can feel everything on show.

If you want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see!

1.By touching things ______.

A. you will have a strange feeling

B. you will learn how to reach out your hand

C. you can learn more about them

D. you can tell what colors they really are

2.Which of the following can be the best title of the story?

A. Touching by Feeling                 B. To See or to Feel

C. To See Better-Feel                    D. Ways of Feeling

3.Which of the following parts can tell you the difference between two coins in your pocket?

A. Your fingers.   B. Your eyes.        C. Your foot.        D. Your back.

4.What can't your skin feel?

A. Sounds.                  B. Darkness. C. Water.              D. Coins.

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Touching is helping us to see better.

B. Our skins may help us enjoy music.

C. Feeling is a good way to learn.

D. Visitors can't feel the things on show in any museums.

 

The journey two divers made some time ago to the deepest point on the earth makes us realize how much of the world still remains to be studied. The two men went down seven miles to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean inside a small steel ball to find out if there are any ocean currents(水流) or signs of life.

It was necessary to set out early, so that the ball would come to the surface in daylight, and be easily found by the mother ship which would be waiting for it. The divers began preparations early in the morning and soon afterwards, when all was ready, the steel ball disappeared under the surface of the water.

The divers felt as if they were going down steps as they passed through warm and cold layers (层) of water. In time the temperature dropped to the freezing point. They kept in touch with the mother ship by telephone telling how they felt. Then, at a depth of 3,000 feet, the telephone stopped working and they were quite cut off from the outside world. All went well until some four hours later at 30,000 feet, the men were frightened by a loud, cracking noise. Even the smallest hole in the ball would have meant instant death. Luckily, though, it was only one of the outer windows that had broken. Soon afterwards, the ball touched the soft ocean floor raising a big cloud of "dust" made up of small dead sea creatures. Here, powerful lights lit up the dark water and the men were surprised to see fish swimming just above them quite untroubled by the great water pressure. But they did not dare to leave the lights on for long, as the heat from them made the water boil. Quite unexpectedly, the telephone began working again and the faint but clear voices of the divers were heard on the mother ship seven miles away. After a stay of thirty minutes the men began their journey up, arriving three hours later, cold and wet through, but none was worse for their experience.

65. The purpose of the divers' journey to the deepest point on the earth was to find

A. if there are water currents, and life in the great depths

B. if people can stand the severe cold in the great depths

C. if there are steps in the great depths

D. if the telephone works well in the great depths

66. The divers set out early in the morning so that                .

A. they could return to the surface during the day

B. they could see at the bottom of the ocean

C. they could avoid the cold at night

D. they could stay long at the bottom

67. As the divers went down to the ocean floor, the telephone              .

A. kept working all the time

B. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again after they reached the bottom

C. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again at 30,000 feet

D. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again when they returned to the same depth

68. On the ocean floor, the divers found that               .

A. there was no life but some small dead sea creatures

B. fish were swimming as freely as they do near the surface

C. fish were not swimming freely in the dark water

D. fish were not swimming freely under the high water pressure

 

My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen（牛） that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $ 1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.

It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More important, I earned my pay; it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.

I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $ 18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person can have.

When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dreamt of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.

 

The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb(番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field — except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.

1.The word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.

   A. difficult        B. boring            C. interesting   D. unusual

2.The writer learned that_______ from his first job.

   A. he should work for those who he liked most

   B. he should work longer than what he was expected

   C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner

   D. he should be respectful and faithful to the people he worked for

3._______ gave the writer self-esteem.

   A. Having a family of eight people

   B. Owning his own golf course

   C. Bringing money back home to help the family

   D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. He wanted to be a successful golfer.

   B. He wanted to run a golf course near his house.

   C. He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.

   D. He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.