“I would rather die than go home!” said 13-year-old Liang. Liang is a Junior student from Hunan. Earlier this month, people found him in the undercarriage(起落架)of a plane! The plane was flying from Kunming to Chongqing. Liang stayed inside for more than one hour while the plane was high in the sky!

   It was very cold, very noisy and the winds were strong. Luckily, Liang survived. But his 12-year-old friend was not so lucky. He fell to his death during the take-off.

   So why did Liang do such a dangerous thing? Liang said his parents were divorced (离婚). He felt nobody cared for him. He was very sad so he left home.

   Kids face lots of problems these days, don’t they? They have too much homework to finish. They have a lot of exams to worry about. They sometimes fight with friends. Sometimes their parents don’t get on well. It can feel like the end of the world.

   How should we deal with these things? Do you just keep it secret and let it be? Do you write it down in your diary? Or do you do what Liang did and leave home? You don’t need to hide in a plane to get away from bad things. It’s very dangerous. Why not try talking to your parents?

1.Liang is a 13-year-old boy from ___________.

A. Chongqing      B. Hunan      C. Kunming       D. Beijing

2.Liang’s friend ___________ during the take-off.

A. died      B. went home     C. was saved      D. lived

3.While Liang was flying, he met with ___________.

A. serious cold      B. loud noise     C. strong winds     D. all of the above

4.Which of the following may NOT be the direct reason for Liang’s dangerous action?

A. His parents were divorced             B. He hated his school life.

C. He felt nobody cared for him.          D. He was very sad.

5.The easiest way to deal with your problems is ___________.

A. to hide in a plane to get away from them

B. to write them down in your diary

C. to share them with your parents

D. to leave home

 

I try to be a good father. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed (拉着) him 2.4 miles in a dinghy (小游艇) while swimming and pedaled (蹬车) him 112 miles — all in the same day. And what has Rick done for his father? Not much — except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled (使窒息) by the umbilical cord (脐带) during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

When Rick was 11 the Hoyts took him to hospital and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,’’ Dick was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.’’

“Tell him a joke,’’ Dick countered (反驳). They did. Rick laughed. It turns out that a lot was going on in his brain. Equipped with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor (光标) by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate.

And after a high school classmate was paralyzed (瘫痪) in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out (啄出), “Dad, I want to do that.’’

How was Dick, who had never run more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.

That day changed Rick’s life. “Dad,’’ he typed, “when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled any more!’’

And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed(迷恋) with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, “Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon (三项全能运动)?’’

Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 — only 35 minutes off the world record.

“No question about it,’’ Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.’’

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries (动脉) was 95% blocked. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,’’ one doctor told him, “you probably would have died 15 years ago.’’ So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life.

What is the meaning of the underlined word ‘limbs’ in Paragraph 3?

A. fingers and toes    B. hands and feet    C. arms and legs       D. wrists and knees

At the 24^th Boston Marathon, Dick and Rick ________.

A. reached the finish line within 160 minutes    B. nearly broke the world record

C. did better than 5082 athletes         D. completed the journey 35 minutes ahead of time

What changed Rick’s life?

A. Rick’s love for his father.        B. Rick’s joining in the charity run with his father.

C. A computer enabling Rick to communicate.     D. Rick’s strong will and perseverance.

What do we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A. Dick was considered as the Father of the Century by the public.

B. Rick made his father so well-known that the doctors treated him well.

C. Dick got into great shape by assisting his son in marathons and triathlons.

D. Rick saved his father when he had a heart attack in a race two years ago.

I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. What set him so far apart from others?

Hethat, in his opinion, it all came from anfrom his mother that happened when he was about 2 years old. He had been trying toa bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his on the slippery(光滑的) bottle and it , making its contents pouring all over the kitchen floor.

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead ofat him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said: “Robert, what an(a)and wonderful mess you have made! I haveseen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like todown and play in the milk for a fewbefore we clean it up?”

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said: “You know, Robert,you make a mess like this, you have to clean it up at last and restore everything to its proper. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you?” He chose the sponge and together theyup the milk.

His mother then said: “You know, what happened just now is aexperiment in how effectively to carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’sout in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you cana way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boythat if he held the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.

This scientist thenthat it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make.

Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?

A. added              B. advised             C. responded              D. commented

A. experience             B. accident            C. experiment              D. inspiration

A. send                   B. heat                  C. bring                       D. remove

A. hold                   B. control                     C. balance           D. way

A. fell                       B. rolled                C. turned                      D. burst

A. crying                   B. staring                     C. shouting                   D. laughing

A. terrible                  B. great                 C. unbelievable             D. alarming

A. shortly                  B. always                     C. already                     D. rarely

A. put                        B. get                    C. take                         D. lie

A. hours                  B. quarters             C. minutes                    D. seconds

A. however             B. whatever           C. wherever                  D. whenever

A. place                     B. order                C. style                        D. state

A. like                    B. prefer               C. take                         D. decide

A. cleaned                  B. drank                C. picked                      D. packed

A. finished                 B. shared               C. failed                       D. valued

A. go                         B. try                    C. run                          D. find

A. invent                   B. discover            C. imagine                   D. make

A. knew                     B. thought             C. convinced                 D. learned

A. concluded              B. sensed               C. remarked                  D. experienced

A. mistakes             B. assumptions       C. decisions                 D. differences

I’m lying on my back in my grandfather’s orchard（果园）,looking up at the branches above me. It is one of the last days of summer. Already the days are shorter and the nights are cooler. Some kinds of apples are already ripe（成熟的）. Others will be ready to pick soon. I think of my grandmother’s apple pie(苹果馅饼), and how I used to make it with her. She died last year, before the apple harvest, and I have not had her pie since. I really miss her. I hear bees busily humming about, visiting the late summer flowers. The gentle hum of their wings nearly sends me to sleep.

The sky is as blue as my grandfather’s eyes. Above me, big white clouds race across the sky like pieces of cotton blowing in the wind. School starts in another week, and time seems to have slowed down.

“Sophie!” calls my grandfather. “Is that you?” I stand up, take his hand, and tell him all about my day as we walk through the orchard. We talk about apples, and bees, and Grandma. He tells me that he misses her too.

He puts his rough, brown farmer’s hand around my shoulder and pulls me close. “You know, Sophie,” he says, “ I spent the morning in the attic（阁楼）, and you’ll never guess what I found. It’s the recipe（烹饪法）for Grandma’s apple pie. I used to help her make it sometimes. I can’t do it all alone, but you used to help her too. Maybe between the two of us, we can work it out. Want to try?”

“ But it won’t be the same without Grandma,” I tell him.

“ That’s true,” he says, “ but nothing is the same without Grandma. Still, I don’t think that she would want us never to have another apple pie. What do you say?” I nod yes, and we walk towards home… towards an afternoon in the farmhouse kitchen, making Grandma’s famous apple pie.

We learn from the passage that Sophie        .

A. likes to watch clouds in the attic             B. comes to the orchard after school

C. enjoys Grandma’s apple pie very much        D. picks many apples in the orchard

Both Sophie and her grandfather used to        .

A. help Grandma make apple pies           B. spend summer afternoons in the orchard

C. enjoy fresh fruit in the farmhouse kitchen   D. walk alone among the apple trees

The underlined part in the last paragraph shows          .

A. how much Sophie’s grandmother loved Sophie 

B. how much Sophie’s grandfather likes apple pies

C. how much Sophie loves her grandfather’s orchard 

D. how much Sophie’s grandfather misses Grandma

Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?.

A. My grandfather’s orchard                B. My grandmother’s apple pie

C. A morning in the attic                   D. The last days of summer

Try It a Different Way

Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a tough working－class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side. By tradition he __1__ have been, like his father or like most of his childhood pals, a construction worker or a policeman. But he wanted __2__. Attracted by the bright lights from the time Bobby was a teen, he tried to act. “I wasn't a __3__ actor,  but I had a driving need to do something __4__ with my life，” he says.

He moved to Hollywood, promising to find his __5__. But he didn't make __6__. For almost 10 years, he drove a taxi and worked as a waiter, __7__ at an actors' workshop that he opened in Hollywood. But Moresco kept working at his __8__ career.

In 1983 his younger brother was murdered in a mob－linked killing. Moresco moved back to his __9__ neighborhood. In 1988 he finally wrote a play that was __10__ to his life. Called Half－Deserted Streets, it was based on his brother's __11__ and staged at a small theater. A Hollywood producer __12__ to see it and asked him to work on a screenplay.

His __13__ grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood. However, it was never easy. By 2003, he was __14__ out of work and out of cash __15__ he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him. The two worked on the script but every studio __16__  it down. Moresco believed so __17__ in the script that he borrowed money, and sold his house. At last the writers found an independent film producer who would take a chance.

The movie, Crash, __18__ into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a hit and a critical success. It won three Academy Awards—Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing.

At the age of 54, Bobby Moresco became an __19__ success. “If you have something you want to do in life, don't think about the problems，” he says, “think about the __20__ to get it done. ”

1. A. must            B. should               C. can          D. need

2. A. over             B. far                    C. out                 D. up

3. A. simple       B. strict          C. firm      D. good

4. A. different     B. impressive      C. effective   D. special

5. A. occasion     B. treasure        C. fortune    D. possibility

6. A. it           B. one           C. this       D. that

7. A. communicating          B. entertaining

C. practicing               D. volunteering

8. A. afforded     B. chosen        C. respected   D. offered

9. A. early        B. worn          C. old       D. passed

10. A. turned     B. pointed         C. belonged  D. related

11. A. arresting    B. injuring        C. killing    D. shooting

12. A. advised    B. happened       C. intended  D. planned

13. A. influence  B. ambition         C. success  D. reputation

14. A. again     B. even           C. finally     D. still

15. A. before    B. when          C. since       D. while

16. A. let       B. looked         C. took       D. turned

17. A. strongly   B. hardly         C. deeply      D. bravely

18. A. moved    B. slipped        C. fell        D. put

19. A. effortless        B. enjoyable

C. overnight        D. optimistic

20. A. ways      B. lines    C. manners        D. actions