Down on the beach of Dover, 56-year-old Channel swimmer Jackie Cobell bravely set off for Calais. The time was 6:40 am. 28 hours and 44 minutes later the exhausted, successful mother from Kent crawled (爬行) to the shore and walked proudly into the record books. After five years in training, Mrs Cobell became the slowest person to cross the Channel under her own steam. The previous record for the slowest crossing, set by Henry Sullivan at 26 hours and 50 minutes, has stood for 87 years before Mrs Cobell started at Dover Saturday morning.

   She had struggled through changing tides that swept her first one way, then the other. It turned the 21-mile crossing into a 65-mile one. She declared, “Time and tide wait for no man—and they certainly didn’t wait for me. I was fully expecting it to get dark before I got to Calais but I never imagined I’d also see the dawn again. But I wasn’t going to give up.”

   Her feat(壮举) raised more than $2,000 in charity sponsorship for research into Huntingdon’s disease, a sum that was continuing to grow as news of her achievement spread. That was why she did it. “I don’t really know myself,” she said. “ I just kept thinking of all the people I’d be letting down if I stopped.”

 Mrs Cobell took to the water so well at school. But after bringing up two daughters, she started to gain weight. Five years ago she took up swimming again and decided to prepare for the Channel challenge to lose weight. She became much fitter. Then came the big swim. “I practiced on Windermere lake,” she said. “it’s about half the distance of the Channel so I just doubled it, added some extra time, and worked out I could probably get to Calais in about 16 hours.”

Her husband David, trainer, official observer and friend sailed alongside her on a boat. She said, “I sang to keep myself going. When they told me I was a record breaker I thought they were just having a joke—until I realized it was the record for the slowest crossing. But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker.”

1.According to Paragraph 1, Mrs Cobell_____________.

   A. started to learn swimming five years ago

   B. arrived at Calais on late Sunday morning

   C. wanted to break the record for the slowest crossing

   D. was too exhausted to move after crossing the Channel

2. Why did Mrs Cobell spend so much time crossing the Channel?

   A. Because the tides changed her direction.

   B. Because she was not in good condition.

   C. Because she wasn’t good at swimming.

   D. Because the winds kept her from swimming fast.

3.Mrs Cobell crossed the Channel for the main purpose of____________.

   A. taking a risk

   B. losing more weight

   C. raising money for charity

   D. becoming famous worldwide

4.How did Mrs Cobell feel about the record she set?

   A. Dissatisfied        B. Excited         C. Annoyed         D. Proud

 

I stood outside New York’s Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.

From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knee, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.

Life was tough. I couldn’t stand, much less walk. I rarely left the farmhouse—and then only in someone’s arms. Mom bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.

“The world will see him when he can walk,” she told Dad. “And he will walk.”

Mom devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.

A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.

“There’s nothing anyone can do but you can’t,” Mom said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”

The next day Mom dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mom took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan,” she said.

We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I’d walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mom's eyes shining with a mother's pride.

That night, back on our farm, I lay exhausted on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I’d done on my walk.

Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mom's words came back to me—Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do—and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.

I’ve sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world’s finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mom’s words chiming in my ears. Then I began singing. I couldn't feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my heart, the same place where Mom’s promise lived. 

1.What was the problem with the author as a baby?

A. He was expected unable to walk.                                        B. He was born outward in character.

C. He had a problem with listening.                                         D. He was shorter than a normal baby.

2.The underlined word “deformity” in the second paragraph most probably means _________.

A. shortcoming                  B. disadvantage                    C. disability                     D. delay

3.Why did Mom dress him and herself in finest clothes?

A. To hide their depressed feeling.                               B. To indicate it an unusual day.

C. To show off their clothes.                                    D. To celebrate his successful operation.

4.From the story we may conclude that his mother was __________.

A. determined                  B. stubborn                              C. generous                    D. distinguished

5.According to the writer, what mattered most in his success?

A. His consistent effort.                                               B. His talent for music.

C. His countless failures.                                               D. His mother’s promise.

 

 

There is nothing else but economy that occupies the minds of Americans at present times of economic crisis（危机）. The statistics on unemployment，housing costs and consumer confidence keep coming and coming，leaving people not just scared to spend money but also very stressed and emotionally exhausted. This stress has an effect on everything，starting with our sleep，mood，physical health，relationships and eating habits.

    “Time of economic stress leads to increase rates of depression(忧郁)，”says Dr. Christopher Palmer，director of continuing education at McLean Hospital in Belmont，Massachusetts. “It worsens illness in people who have been constantly depressed. But it also causes new cases of depression. Just the fear of losing one’s job can put people over the edge. ”

And，without any doubt，just depression alone can create a variety of bad health effects.

    ●Sleep

    33 percent of Americans reported that they have lost sleep due to the economic crisis. 26 percent say they are sleeping less than 6 hours per night，which is considered to be at least one hour less than the most favorable 7 to 8 hours recommended by sleep experts.

    ●Mental health，stress and heart attack

    80 percent of Americans reported that last year the economy is a huge source of stress; 49 percent said the situation makes them feel nervous or anxious; 48 percent reported that they feel very sad and have developed depression.

    Nearly twice the risk of heart attack or death was found in patients with the highest levels of depression or anxiety. Among those individuals，a 10 percent higher rise of heart attack or death was found in those whose anxiety rose over time.

    ●Relationships

    The chances of violent behavior are nearly 6 times higher for individuals who are left without a job. Workplace stress can lead to domestic violence.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. Now Americans don’t dare to spend money.

   B. Now all Americans have problems in sleeping.

   C. Economy is the most troubling problem for Americans now.

   D. Economic crisis has destroyed many American families.

2. How does the economic crisis affect most Americans according to the passage?

   A. They sleep fewer than six hours.                  B. They sleep less than the proper amount.

   C. Diseases caused by economy make them sleepless.   D. They lose sleep at night.

3. If a person is out of work，he might   __________.        .

   A. become more violent   B. get divorced    C. get rid of workplace stress   D. go mad

4. The best title of this passage is probably______________  .        .

A. The World Economic Crisis Is Getting Worse

B. Economic Crisis Affects Our Health

C. Economic Crisis Causes Trouble to Sleep

D. Ordinary People Suffer Greatly in Economic Crisis

5.What does the underlined word “favorable” mean?

   A. proper    B. perfect    C. useful     D. fashionable

 

Like all other mothers who have small children, I, too, have to steal time-from my own children at home and from the children who know me as their teacher-just to put a few words down on paper. Many times I've wanted to write for myself, for other women, for my parents, for my husband, and especially for my children. I would have liked to leave a legacy (遗产) of words explaining what it has meant to have twins. One reason that there is not a great deal written about being a mother of a new baby is that there is seldom a moment to think of anything else but the baby's needs.

    With twins, I did not have a spare hand to write with.

    Before my twins were born, my days were long and I had nothing to write about. After the twins' birth I did have something to write about, but I found myself facing not a pen and paper but milk bottles.

    Some nights, friends would visit. They would leave at 11 p.m., heading for bed, and for us the night was only just beginning. With twins, there is really no night. Each feeding lasts a long time. At 1:00 a.m., each of them would begin crying from hunger. At 4:00am, when I finally put them down, I felt exhausted.

    Two years have passed since then and we've managed to live through it all. My days are still very full and even now there isn't one evening when I put the twins down for the night that I don't have a break. At last a little time for myself.

1.When did the writer have time but she didn't feel like writing anything?

A. Before the birth of her twins.          

B. When she faced bottles of milk.

C. After her friends visited her home. 

D. When she had to think about the babies' needs.

2.What does the writer mainly write about?

A. Her role as a wife.                          B. Her work as a writer.

C. Her experience as a mother.                  D. Her feeling as a woman.

3.Why did the writer say the night was just beginning (in the 4th paragraph)?

A. Because her friends left her house too late.

B. Because she started to take care of the twins even at night.

C. Because her babies often cried and she woke up.

D. Because she could not sleep till four in the morning.

4. This passage is probably from a(n) _________.

A. blog         B. newspaper        C. guidebook        D. advertisement

5. What can we learn from the passage?

A. The writer was unhappy because of no time for writing.      

B. The writer cared about her babies more than her own interests.

C. The writer hated to be a mother of twins.

D. The writer could steal a little time at night.

 

简答题(共3小题, 每小题2分, 满分6分)

阅读下面短文, 根据第73至第75小题的具体要求, 简要回答问题, 并将答案转写到答题卡上.

Every January, Breckenridge hosts the International Snow Sculpture Championships. Fourteen teams travel from all over the world to Switzerland to compete. Teams sculpt for sixty-five hours over five days. Each team hopes that when the time is up, its sculpture will be judged the best.

As the championship begins, the fourteen teams are faced with huge blocks of snow that weigh twenty tons each. The sculptors bring out their favorite tools that work best on the hard iced snow, but they are not allowed to employ tools that use electricity.

Most teams are inspired by what they have seen in daily life. For example, one team carved a teapot with tea pouring out. Another team sculpted a little cat on its hind feet(后脚)reaching into a fish bowl complete with water ripples(涟漪) and a crab(螃蟹) trying to attack the cat. In 2006, Team USA sculpted a golden dog looking at its image reflected in a mirror. To create the effect that the little dog saw its reflection in the glass, the artists carved two dogs facing each other with their paws(脚爪)touching.

As the final hours of the competition tick by, exhausted team members add last-minute detail. They use small brooms to brush off snow caught in tiny holes. One team member counts down the last five minutes while others are busy cleaning up the tools. If they leave any tools behind, they will be out. When the whistle bows, everyone must step away from the sculpture. The judges then vote on creativity, technical skills, and visual impact (视觉效果)of the designs.

In 200, Team USA took first place for their golden dog sculpture titled “Discovery”. But the competition is not just about medals and ribbons. “It’s not about the prize,” said Rob Neyland, Team USA’s captain. “It’s about touching the audience. ”

Every year, as the championship ends, each team is already dreaming of the next masterpiece it will design.

What kind of tools are the sculptors Not permitted to use?(回答词数不超过6个)

                                                                              

What gives the sculptors ideas for their creative work? (回答词数不超过9个)

                                                                               

Why did Team USA win the competition in 2006? (回答词数不超过15个)