B

TaIL Spin

Two dolphins race around in a big pool in the Ocean Park. The smaller dolphin Grace, shown off a few of her tricks, turning around and waving hello to the crowd. The most amazing thing about her, however, is that she’s even swimming at all. She doesn’t have a tail.

Grace lost her tail as a baby when she got caught up in a fish trap.

When the dolphin arrived at the Ocean Park in December 2005, she was fighting for her life. “Is she going to make it?” Her trainer, Abbey Stone, feared the worst. Grace did make it --- but her tail didn’t. She ended up losing her flukes and the lower part of her peduncle.

Over the past six years, she has learned to swim without her tail. Dolphins swim by moving their flukes and peduncle up and down. Grace taught herself to move another way---like a fish! She pushed herself forward through the water by moving her peduncles from side to side.

The movement put harmful pressure on Grace’s backbone. So a company offered to create a man-made tail for her. The tail had to be strong enough to stay on Grace as she swam but soft enough that it wouldn’t hurt her.

The first time Grace wore the artificial tail. She soon shook it off and let it sink in the bottom of the pool. Now, she is still learning to use the tail. Some days she wears it for an hour at a time, others not at all. “The tail isn’t

necessary for her to feel comfortable,” says Stone, “but it helps to keep that range of motion(动作) and build muscles(肌肉).”

Now, the dolphin is about to get an even happier ending. This month, Grace will star in Dolphin Tale, a film that focus on her rescue and recovery. Her progress has inspired more than just a new movie. Many people travel from near and far to meet her. Seeing Grace swim with her man-made tail gives people so much courage.

60. When Grace first arrived at the Ocean Park, her trainer worried about her ______.

A. physical build                                        B. potential ability

C. chance of survival                                 D. adaptation to the surroundings.

61. A man-made tail is created for Grace to ______.

A. let her recover faster                              B. make her comfortable

C. adjust her way of swimming                   D. help her perform better tricks

62. The story of Grace inspires people to ______.

A. stick to their dreams                              B. treat animals friendly

C. treasure what they have                         D. face difficulties bravely

 

A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.

One  1 they arrived to find the schoolhouse was on fire. They dragged(拖) the senseless(无意识的) little boy out of the burning building more dead than alive. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely  2  .

But the brave boy didn’t want to die. He made up his  3 that he would survive somehow, and to the amazement of the doctor, he did survive. When the  4 was past, the mother was told that he would be a lifetime cripple(跛子) with no  5  of the lower part of his body at all.

Once more, the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a  6  . He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor(运动神经的) ability. His thin legs were all but lifeless.

Finally he returned from the  7  . Every day his mother would massages(按摩) his little  8 , but there was no feeling. Yet his  9  that he would walk was as strong as ever.

One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the  10 to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He walked his way to the white   11 .With great  12 , he raised himself up on the fence(篱笆) . Then, he began dragging himself along the fence and  13  that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence.  14  through his daily massages and his iron determination, he did  15 the ability to stand up, then to walk by himself and then to run. This determined young man, Dr Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile!

1.                A．afternoon       B．evening         C．noon D．morning

 

2.                A．die            B．survive         C．fail  D．recover

 

3.                A．mind           B．heart           C．idea D．view

 

4.                A．disease         B．disaster         C．danger   D．failure

 

5.                A．effect          B．use            C．good D．work

 

6.                A．cripple         B．patient         C．trouble   D．winner

 

7.                A．school         B．home          C．factory   D．hospital

 

8.                A．hands          B．legs            C．arms D．feet

 

9.                A．decision        B．dream          C．promise  D．determination

 

10.               A．street          B．school         C．yard  D．shop

 

11.               A．fence          B．wall           C．houses    D．door

 

12.               A．job            B．time           C．effort D．success

 

13.               A．promised       B．decided        C．insisted   D．predicted

 

14.               A．Frankly         B．Finally          C．Actually   D．Secondly

 

15.               A．build          B．improve        C．choose    D．develop

 

 

C

I spotted (发现;认出) him at the checkout counter, bagging at No.14. His arms shook violently as he placed a carton (纸板箱;纸盒) of eggs into a plastic bag. He wore a yellow plastic name tag on which he had written “Jerry” in kindergarten penmanship (书法). He looked middle-aged but his mental age must have been about 12.

Ever since I smiled at him the first time he bagged my groceries at my local supermarket, Jerry has followed me around like an adoring fan. His lack of boundaries makes me uncomfortable. I don’t know how to avoid being noticed by him. I don’t want to speak to the manager — my complaint could get him fired. So I start avoiding him.

There are other grocery stores, but I choose this one because it employs people with disabilities, from which my brothers have also suffered.

Last Wednesday after I finished choosing what I wanted, I turned around and drove my cart to Checkout No.3, hoping Jerry would not notice me and stay at No.14.

“Paper or plastic, ma’am?” Jerry’s soft voice surprised me from behind. “Paper, please.” I noticed that the checkout stand created plenty of space between Jerry and the clerk. In this situation, he knew where to stand. The clerk said to me: “＄27.30, please.” I handed my own cart, signed my receipt and stepped around the counter, where Jerry was holding my last packet of biscuits. He came towards me, stopping an inch from me. He was too close. I wanted to dash out of the store and leave behind the packet. Instead, I stood with my hand frozen on the cart. His eyes looked lonely — I knew they would follow me after I left the store. I wanted to apologize for my coldness. “I’m …I’m sorry.” A tiny voice inside me said. I tapped my head with my hand as if I had forgotten something. “Forgive me. I’m from New York City. I’m not used to people being so helpful.”

He laughed. I laughed. His eyes brightened. “It’s my job, ma’am. I like it.” he said. When he offered to push my cart, I didn’t care but nodded deeply. 

（   ）64. The author feels uncomfortable because _______________ .

A. Jerry is like an adoring fan to her

B. Jerry is mentally younger

C. Jerry’s handwriting is terrible

D. Jerry is too close to her without proper distance

（   ）65. At the checkout stand, _______________ .

A. Jerry offered to pay my biscuits

B. Jerry was left behind with a packet of biscuits.

C. Jerry knew the social importance of distance.

D. Jerry was not close to me.

（   ）66. From the passage we can infer that _______________ .

A. Jerry liked his job

B. the author was afraid of Jerry

C. the author’s brothers were disabled

D. Jerry saw the author as his close friend

（   ）67. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. Too Close for Comfortable

B. Don’t Look Down upon the Disabled

C. How to Keep a Good Relation    

D. Don’t Smile at Strangers

A 56-year-old Canadian man who left home after his business went bankrupt（破产）completed an 11-year walk around the world on Sunday? and told people his new goal was to promote peace．

Jean Beliveau, who arrived to a hero's welcome in Montreal of Canada from loved ones and supporters, said his real task was to urge Canada and other governments to create peace．"We are all different, and that is what is beautiful about life on Earth—our different colors, different beliefs, different political systems," he said．"Those are all musical notes．．．we must create harmony （和谐） from them．"

Beliveau left Montreal on the day of his 45th birthday—August 18, 2000—after his small business went bankrupt．He decided to run around the world to try to escape the pain．The Canadian ran all the way to the city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA and started his walk for what would become the longest walk around the worlds 75,000 kilometers （46,600 miles） across 64 countries．Over 11 years, he traveled across deserts and mountains．He fell in love for nine days in Mexico, wore a turban （穆斯林的头巾） and a long beard in Sudan （苏丹）, ate snake in China．

Upon his return on Sunday, Beliveau reunited with his mother, whom she had not seen for 11 years．She welcomed him in a tight embrace．Longtime girlfriend Luce Archambault who offered Beliveau emotional and financial support for his journey, and his two children from a previous marriage were also present at the celebration．More than 100 supporters walked the final kilometers with Beliveau through the streets of Montreal．

56．Beliveau said that his new goal is to _____．

       A．promote world peace                     B．forget his pain

       C．create a common belief                   D．have a good rest

57．Which foreign country did Betiveau first enter in his long journey?

       A．Sudan．           B．USA．              C．Mexico．          D．China．

58．Many people took part in the celebration to welcome Beliveau's return EXCEPT _____．

       A．his mother                                      B．his girlfriend          

       C．his children                                     D．his former wife

59．What would be the best title for this passage?

       A．How can exercise kill mental problems?

       B．What is the best way to escape from pain?

       C．Beliveau, a world peace promoter and his family

       D．Canadian man completes 11-year round-the-world walk

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.

　　The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, and this is what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home, my parents will be wondering where I am.”

　　She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself to Boungalow 163, where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now, the sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite coat on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... it all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.

She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready, I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jenny would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jenny just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different. She wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her room.

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice. “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared.”

60. The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph refers to ___________.

A. the beautiful scenery　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. the relaxed atmosphere

C. being alone　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. going back home

61. According to the fourth paragraph, which of the statements is TRUE?

A. The girl wore her favourite clothes and felt warm.

B. The girl’s parents worried about her very much and have looked for her for several days.

C. The girl’s father didn’t always keep everything clean and tidy.

D. The girl’s mother dealt with everything at home.

62. The author wrote the passage to show how___________.

A. she got home by overcoming so many difficulties

B. wonderful it was to be home again no matter what happened

C. hardworking her parents are

D. dangerous to get back home

63. It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.

A. the girl’s parents always treat her badly

B. the girl has a miserable childhood

C. the girl got a teenager’s problem

D. the girl has a poor family