The Olympic flame:

The Olympic flame is a symbol carried over from the ancient Olympics, where a sacred (神圣的) flame burned at the altar（神坛）of Zeus throughout competition. It was finally reintroduced at the 1924 Amsterdam Games, and again burned in 1932.

Carl Diem, chairman of the organising committee for the 1936 Berlin Games, proposed that the flame be lit in Greece and transported to Berlin via a torch relay. The idea was adopted, and continued at every Olympic Games since 1952.

The flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by the natural rays of the sun reflected off a curved mirror. It is lit at a ceremony by women dressed in robes resembling those worn in ancient times, who then pass it to the first relay runner.

Olympic motto:

“Citius, altius, fortius” is a Latin phrase meaning “swifter, higher, stronger”, which Baron de Coubertin borrowed from Father Henri Martin Dideon of Paris. Dideon was headmaster of Arcueil College, and used the phrase to describe the athletic achievements of students at the school. He had previously been at the Albert Le Grand school, where the Latin words were carved in stone above the main entrance.

Olympic oath(宣誓)

“In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.”

Written by Baron de Coubertin, the oath is taken by an athlete from the host nation while holding a corner of the Olympic flag. The athletes’ oath was first taken by Belgian fencer Victor Boin at the 1920 Antwerp Games. A judge from the host country also speaks the oath, with slightly different wording.

66. The Olympic flame was first burned at _______ in modern times.

A. the 1920 Games                    B. the 1924 Games

C. the 1932 Games                    D. the 1936 Games

67. From the passage we can learn ________.

A. before 1936, no flames burned at the Olympic Games

B. the first torch relay was held at the 1936 Berlin Games

C. Carl Diem proposed that flames should burn at the Olympic Games

D. The Olympic torch has burned since 1924

68. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. There was no athlete’s oath in the 1896 Olympic Games.

B. The 1920 Olympic games was held in Amsterdam.

C. The judge from the host country takes the same oath as the athletes does.

D. Dideon wrote Citius, Altius, Fortius for the Olympic Games.

 

    Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as “honor” helps you create this kind of life of good feelings.

    Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.

    Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.

    Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?

    In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable actions we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.

     There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.

63. According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ______ .

A. self-respect          B. financial rewards

C. advertising ability     D. friendly relationship

64. The phrase “bringing the error to the clerk’s attention” (in Para. 5) means ______ .

A. telling the truth to the clerk

B. offering advice to the clerk

C. asking the clerk to be more attentive

D. reminding the clerk of the charged item

65. How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?

A. We’ll be very excited.

B. We’ll feel unfortunate.

C. We’ll have a sense of honor.

D. We’ll feel sorry for the clerk.

66. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A. How to Live Truthfully

B. Importance of Peacefulness

C. Ways of Gaining Self-respect

D. Happiness through Honorable Actions

In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solutions without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.

This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.

Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.

You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.

People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.

The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ________.

they hadn’t solved the problems thoroughly

they expected to be paid back in the future.

they were friends of the worried individual

they had solved the problems secretly

The underlined word “pay it forward” means ________.                    

to repay someone who has helped you

to help someone else who needs help

to help someone who has helped you

to pay someone else who needs help

What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?

We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help.

We should work hard to get a good education.

We should learn to respect our grandparents.

We should never forget to repay people for their help.

By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be ________.

A. honest       B. mysterious           C.  unselfish       D. unforgettable

 

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分）

         阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Football, to me, is more than just a game. I have probably learned more than valuable lessons from it than from school.

When I joined the team freshman year, I didn’t realize what I was getting into. Even though I had been playing since fourth grade and knew it was hard work, nothing would prepare me for the effort I would put into football that year. We worked all summer in the weight room and ran on the track to get in physical and mental shape before the season.

See, football is more of a mental sport than anything else, so running on the track wasn’t only about getting in shape. We would push our minds by running as hard as we could even if we felt like we were going to pass out. At the beginning, I was immature (幼稚的) and only thought of myself, sometimes even giving up when I was tired or hurting. Then after the third game I had a season-ending injury. Imagine working all summer and then only being able to play three games! I needed an operation on my arm and at least five months to recover.

After freshman year I decided that I would always give my best effort. Playing football in the college has taught me so much more than just what my tasks are on a particular play or how to block. I have learned to think about others first, and realized how important working hard is. Being with all my friends, even sweating and bleeding with them, really made us unite as a group of hard-working young men, who will succeed in life.

51．What is the text mainly about?

A．How the author dislikes the game of football.

B．When the author began to play football.

C．How the author has changed his attitude to football.

D．What sport the author likes best.

52．The author thinks football is ________.

A．just a game                                                 B．of a mental sport

C．hard to be out-of-date                                        D．not worth his effort

53．From the text we can infer ________.

A．the author joined the football team with a clear aim.

B．football only brought the author certain tasks

C．the author worked all summer to get ready for the season.

D．the author never lost heart when he met with difficulties.

54．In the third paragraph, the phrase“getting in shape”probably means ________.

A．becoming physically fit             B．designing the playground

C．losing weight                     D．measuring the track

 

When Frida Kahlo's paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.

Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine （脊柱）become bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.

In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.

Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.

1.What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?

A．a far better artist

B．a far more gifted artist

C．a much stronger person

D．a much more famous person

2.The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by         .

A．polio

B．back injuries

C．the operations she had

D．her bent spine

3.Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the           .

A．1950s

B． 1930s

C．1940s

D．1970s

4.What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?

A．Devotion

B．Sympathy

C．Worry

D．Encouragement