After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.

　 She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.

　 Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.

　 In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

　 Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”

　 Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

　 In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.

　 What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”

41. Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

A. Basketball         B. Swimming.          C. Tennis.        D. Horse-riding.

42. When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

A. In 1984.           B. In 1988.             C. In 1992.       D. In 2007.

43. The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

A. fifty weeks’ training             B. being a good sprinter

C. training almost every day         D. part motivation and part preparation

44. What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?

a. She works as a coach.      b. She took up athletics.

c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.   d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.

e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.

A. b, d, c, e a    B. a, d, b, c ,e     C. A,d,c,e,b       D. b.d.a.e.c

45. What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

A. Union is strength.                 B. Never too late to learn.

C. Well begun is half done.         D. No pains, no gains.

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。

Growing up is not always easy. When facing difficulties, courage and a spirit of independence can be more useful than crying for     !That’s what Hong Zhanhui’s story of  __   from boy to man with family hardships  ( 艰难)tell us.

    Hong was born in 1982 in a poor family in Xihua County, Henan Province. When he was     11, his father became mentally（心理上） ill and one day came back with an abandoned ( 被抛弃的)baby girl. A year later, Hong‘s mother and younger brother both      home because of poverty ( 贫困)and pressure ( 压力)from his ill father.

  The burden  ( 负担)fell onto the 12-year-old’s shoulders: to treat his father’s illness, to    the adopted  ( 领养的)sister Chenchen, and to go on to study.

  Hong didn’t　  　. Since a young age, he has worked in part-time jobs to feed his family. At the same time, he has studied at college. To take care of Chenchen, he worked hard to    a room near his campus for her, and send her to school.

After Hong’s story went public, people were     to tears by his selflessness. Hard      his life was, Hong didn’t abandon his father and the adopted   , because they needed his help. With his hard –won money, he even helped other students     against misfortunes ( 厄运).

Today when many tend to worry more about their own happiness, Hong’s deeds     us of what we usually ignore（忽略）: love and care for others. Without these,      of us could survive.

Hong    donations  ( 捐献) from others. He said he felt encouraged by kind offers, but he could     his own work. Short of money to buy food, the boy climbed tall trees to get birds’ eggs for his baby sister. He walked two hours at weekends to buy different things to      around his school to earn money. Through his hard life, the boy developed     to rise above misfortune that made him a hero in people’s eyes.

Hong’s story shows that with love and willpower, no hardship can    a person but himself. So when facing difficulties, don’t  ___   about bad luck. Consider what more you could do for your family and society     you will find the world smiling back.    

1.A. money               B. food        C. clothes                       D. help

2.A. caring              B. growing              C. moving            D. turning

3.A. only                  B. already               C. ever                D. still

4.A. stayed                B. went                 C. sold                           D. left

5.A. bring up             B. give up               C. stick to            D. devote to

6.A. go away         B. give up           C. run out            D. turn down

7.A build                 B. rent        C. buy               D. borrow

8.A. encouraged          B. moved      C. inspired                       D. made

9.A. as              B because             C. unless.                        D. while

10.A. brother         B. daughter       C. sister                          D. uncle

11.A. struggling              B. learning            C. running                     D. turning

12.A. leave                  B. remember             C. remind                           D. tell

13.A. anyone                B. everyone          C. none                         D. no one

14.A. threw away    B. turned out         C. ran out                     D. turned down

15.A. depend on   B. stick to             C . refer to          D. turn to

16.A. show           B. eat                C. sell                D. share

17.A. a chance           B. an ability            C. a spirit            D. a belief

18.A. bury           B. defeat             C. kick                         D. knock

19.A. worry         B. care                C. complain              D. joke

20.A. and           B. or                  C. when             D. Until

 

　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop 　36　me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　37　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　38　interfered with how I spent it, even when I was spending it 　39　. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　40　, I would become more mature and 　41　 about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

　　Like many 　42　parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　43　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around 　44　. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　45　for me. In the end, my father won the 　46　on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins 　47　through the country who could 　48　shelter and help if I needed them.

　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　49　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not 　50　to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　51　year working his way on trains and ships to 　52　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly 　53　. Most parents start 　54　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have 　55　the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on.

　　36. A. taught　　　　 B. allowed　　　　C. treated　　　　 D. hired

　　37. A. anxious　　　　B. content　　　　C. proud　　　　　 D. hopeful

　　38. A. never　　　　　B. ever　　　　　 C. always　　　　　D. even

　　39. A. quickly　　　　B. foolishly　　　C. seriously　　　 D. honestly

　　40. A. work　　　　　 B. mistakes　　　 C. others　　　　　D. books

　　41. A. strict　　　　 B. reasonable　　 C. polite　　　　　D. responsible

　　42. A. American　　　 B. Japanese　　　 C. Chinese　　　　 D. British

　　43. A. helped　　　　 B. supported　　　C. shared　　　　　D. worried

　　44. A. Asia 　　　　　B. Africa　　　　 C. Europe　　　　　D. Oceania

　　45. A. journey　　　　B. experience　　 C. chance　　　　　D. possibility

　　46. A. argument 　　　B. game　　　　　 C. discussion　　　D. plan

　　47. A. send out 　　　B. give out　　　 C. carry out　　　 D. spread out

　　48. A. promise　　　　B. afford　　　　 C. provide　　　　 D. serve

　　49. A. leave　　　　　B. make　　　　　 C. take　　　　　　D. prepare

　　50. A. angry　　　　　B. eager　　　　　C. sorry 　　　　　D. sad

　　51. A. unusual　　　　B. hard　　　　　 C. strange　　　　 D. busy

　　52. A. accept　　　　 B. earn　　　　　 C. find　　　　　　D. search

　　53. A. welcome　　　　B. fit　　　　　　C. necessary　　　 D. common

　　54. A. bringing　　　 B. forcing　　　　C. pushing　　　　 D. protecting

　　55. A. selected　　　 B. admired　　　　C. afforded　　　　D. left

The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment （预担的义务）, self - improvement.

Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.  

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .

A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .

A. a moral duty               B. a thankless job

C. a rewarding task            D. a source of inevitable pain

From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .

A. hatred　　B. misunderstanding　 C. prejudice　　　　　D. ignorance

To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .

A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

C. put up with pain under all circumstances

D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun

What is the author trying to tell us?

A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain．

B. One must know how to attain happiness.

C. It is important to make commitments.

D. It is pain that leads to happiness.

Listen carefully, working people, we would like to tell you something that could save your precious time and money! Best of all, it is free!

It’s “no”.

What do you ask? We’ll say it again: “No”.

Sweet and simple “no”.

Say “no” at your office and see how quickly that pile of work on your desk disappears.

“Saying ‘no’ to others means you are saying ‘yes’ to yourself, ” said Leslie Charles, a professional speaker from East Lansing, Michigan.

“Time is precious. People are spending money buying time. And yet we are willing to give up our time because we can’t say ‘no’.”

Susie Watson, a famous writer, said people who always say “yes” need to say “no” without guilt(内疚)or fear of punishment. “I would rather have someone give me a loving ‘no’ than an obligated(强制的) ‘yes’, ” she said.

Susie Watson says she feels “no” obligation to give an explanation when she says “no” either socially or professionally. Does she feel guilty about it? “Not at all, ” said Watson, who is director of advertising and public relations at Timex Corp in Middlebury, Conneticut. “Most people are afraid of saying ‘no’… My advice is to say ‘yes’ only if you don’t mean ‘no’.”

Watson said “no” is the most effective weapon against wasting time. “Every year there are more demands on your time… Other people are happy to use up your time, ” Watson said. Time saving appears to be “no’s” greatest friend.

“No” can be your new friend, a powerful tool to take back your life. “No” may even take you further in the business world than “yes”.

“No” is power and strength. “No” now seems completely correct. “Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy. But finally it’s greatly liberating,” Charles said. But, he added, a “no” project needs to be worked on every day because it is hard to change long-term habit.

But, he also warns: “Don’t go to extremes. Don’t find yourself saying ‘no’ to everything. In return you should learn to hear ‘no’.”

The sentence “Saying ‘yes’ to yourself” means _______.

A. you can have more time to play with others

B. you needn’t care about other’s feeling if you are happy

C. you are selfish and treat others rudely

D. you can deal with your business as you have planned

When you say “no” to others you should say it in a _______.

A. secret way　　　B. polite way

C. proud way　　　　　D. guilty way

In Watson’s opinion, people can save much time on condition that _______.

A. they say “no” at a suitable time

B. they say “no” as much as possible

C. they are afraid of saying “no”

D. they make others angry at them

If a person says “no” to everything, the result he or she receive may be that he or she _______.

A. enjoys a wonderful life     B. makes a lot of money

C. faces difficulty in life　　D. forgets to say “yes” in the end