Monty Roberts owns a horse ranch（牧马场） in San Ysidro. He told us his story. As a senior, he was asked to write a  36 about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

That night he wrote a seven-page paper  37 his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great  38 and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the  39  of all the buildings.

He put his heart into the  40  and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that   41 , ‘See me after class.’

The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I  42  an F?’

The teacher said, ‘This is an  43 dream for a young boy like you. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. There’s no  44 you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will  45 this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”

The boy went home and  46 it. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to  47 your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very  48 decision for you.’

Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the  49  paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my  50 .’

Monty now owned a 200-acre ranch. He had  51 his plan for a 4,000-square-foot house.

Two summers ago that same school teacher brought 30 kids to camp out on his ranch for a week. When leaving, he said  52  , ‘Look, Monty. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream  53  . During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams.  54  , you had enough perseverance not to give up on yours.’”

Don’t let anyone steal your dreams.  55 your heart, no matter what.

1.                A．paper          B．composition     C．passage   D．notice

 

2.                A．reaching        B．achieving        C．continuing     D．describing

 

3.                A．excitement      B．detail           C．demand D．spirit

 

4.                A．relation         B．advantage       C．location   D．meaning

 

5.                A．project         B．work           C．house    D．painting

 

6.                A．informed       B．read           C．wrote    D．reflected

 

7.                A．recognize       B．own            C．receive   D．admit

 

8.                A．unbearable      B．unbelievable     C．unrealistic     D．unusual

 

9.                A．need           B．way            C．doubt    D．time

 

10.               A．see            B．retell          C．discuss    D．rewrite

 

11.               A．thought about   B．cared about     C．set about D．talked about

 

12.               A．keep up        B．show up        C．sweep up D．make up

 

13.               A．unique         B．wrong          C．wise D．important

 

14.               A．same          B．final           C．correct    D．suitable

 

15.               A．promise        B．grade          C．dream    D．word

 

16.               A．put forward     B．carried out      C．taken up   D．sped up

 

17.               A．constantly       B．strongly        C．guiltily    D．delightedly

 

18.               A．catcher        B．seeker         C．dreamer   D．stealer

 

19.               A．Gradually       B．Personally       C．Strictly    D．Fortunately

 

20.               A．Follow         B．Guide          C．Arrange   D．Concentrate

 

 

The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar (祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.
It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的）rook, a large black bird like a crow. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!
Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites (虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.
Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.  
【小题1】 According to the passage, the phoenix _________ .

A．is a handsome and eagle-like bird living in Arab

B．used to be seen when the Egyptians held religious activities

C．has never really existed in the world

D．is the king of all kinds of birds

【小题2】 The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _________ .

A．the phoenix used to do so	B．they may get rid of the mites
C．they want to burn their feather	D．they can heat themselves

【小题3】Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A．The ancient Egyptians worshiped the phoenix.

B．The scientists have discovered why birds are attracted by fire.

C．The modern people still favor the idea of the phoenix.

D．The mythical tales about the phoenix were based on facts.

【小题4】Which of the following is closest to the underlined word “resurrection” in the 3^rd paragraph?

A．living forever	B．offering warmth
C．coming back to life	D．staying healthy

【小题5】What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?

A．Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire.

B．If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.

C．Our company will always be energetic and wealthy.

D．If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives.

The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar (祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.

It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的）rook, a large black bird like a crow. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!

Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites (虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.

Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.  

1. According to the passage, the phoenix _________ .

A．is a handsome and eagle-like bird living in Arab

B．used to be seen when the Egyptians held religious activities

C．has never really existed in the world

D．is the king of all kinds of birds

2. The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _________ .

A．the phoenix used to do so	B．they may get rid of the mites
C．they want to burn their feather	D．they can heat themselves

3.Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A．The ancient Egyptians worshiped the phoenix.

B．The scientists have discovered why birds are attracted by fire.

C．The modern people still favor the idea of the phoenix.

D．The mythical tales about the phoenix were based on facts.

4.Which of the following is closest to the underlined word “resurrection” in the 3^rd paragraph?

A．living forever	B．offering warmth
C．coming back to life	D．staying healthy

5.What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?

A．Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire.

B．If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.

C．Our company will always be energetic and wealthy.

D．If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives.

 

Ⅲ 阅读（共两节。满分40分）

第一节 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar(祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.

It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的） rook. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!

Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites(虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.

Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.  

41. According to the passage, the phoenix ______________ .

A. is a handsome and eagle-like bird living in Arab

B. used to be seen when the Egyptians held religious activities

C. has never really existed in the world

D. is the king of all kinds of birds

42. The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _____________ .

A. the phoenix used to do so

B. they may get rid of the mites

C. they want to burn their feather

D. they can heat themselves

43. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the phoenix.

B. The scientists have discovered why birds are attracted by fire.

C. The modern people still favor the idea of the phoenix.

D. The mythical tales about the phoenix were based on facts.

44. Which of the following is closest to “resurrection” in the 3rd paragraph?

A. living forever        B. offering warmth        C. coming back to life          D. staying healthy

45. What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?

A. Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire.

B. If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again.

C. Our company will always be energetic and wealthy.

D. If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives.