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. Mam 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.”

Mam 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,” Mam said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”

The next day Mam 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. Mam 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, Mam’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 Mam’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 Mam’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 Mam’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 Mam 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.

 

III. Reading Comprehension

Section A

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

She's open-minded and I'm conservative(保守的). She loves vegetables and I prefer doughnuts. She saves ducks and I eat them. We are very best friends, completely ___(50)___ in everything we do, but true soul mates to the core.

It's truly an unusual relationship. Pat and I started out with the same ___(51)___ in Catholic(天主教) school, but over the years Pat could no longer handle the guilt and completely ___(52)___ her ideas, while I remain a Catholic and practice religiously.

___(53)____ our relationship sometimes has its ups and downs, it has lasted longer than any of our marriages, and ___(54)___, all of our disagreements work themselves out. We ___(55)___ our inner thoughts and dreams, and we know that our deepest darkest secrets are sacred.（神圣的）

When my father was dying, I ___(56)___ endless hours in the hospital. Pat visited ___(57)___, lifting my spirits in the midst of the sadness. Even my dad, in his final days, __(58)____ about Pat's native energy healings, after she performed one in his room, and he questioned if it was Santeria（古巴的一种宗教）—Cuban black magic. Those were the days I truly understood the meaning of ___(59)___, as she brought my Bombshell friends in, filled with gifts designed to make me laugh.

I didn't have time for new friends ___(60)___ Pat brought these Bombshell women into my life. On this day, I understood why my friend brought us all together. The compassion(同情，怜悯) and ___(61)___ I received from these women is a feeling I will ___(62)___ for the rest of my life.

Dad died that same night my friends came to see me, and Pat stood with my family at his bedside as he ___(63)___ his last breath. As my family embraced in a(n) ___(64) ___ farewell, I was thankful to God for bringing Pat into my life.

50. A. common                    B. opposite                  C. consistent                       D. same

51. A. interests                    B. ambitions                C. beliefs                          D. wishes

52. A. transformed                      B. kept                         C. develop                           D. promote

53. A. As                      B. if                             C. Though                           D. once

54. A. hardly                       B. unfortunately           C. especially                        D. finally

55. A. have                         B. share                       C. speak out                        D. change

56. A. spent                        B. kept                         C. lasted                              D. took

57. A. rarely                       B. specially                   C. carefully                         D. frequently

58. A. played                             B. joked                       C. showed                           D. brought

59. A. surprise                     B. help                        C. friendship                       D. joy

60. A. whom                        B. which                      C. because                           D. when

61. A. gifts                          B. friends                       C. love                   D. responsibility

62. A. emphasize                  B. admire                            C. value                              D. enjoy

63. A. got back                    B. took                         C. held                                D. let out

64. A. emotional                  B. amazing              C. shocking              D. unexpected

 

Your name made you do it, though unconsciously, suggests new research that finds your name can negatively make you achieve less. Psychologists at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.

Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out.

Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale have conducted five studies over five years using information from thousands of individuals.

“The conscious process is baseball players want to get a hit and students want to get A's,” Nelson says. “So if you get a change in performance consistent with the name-letter effect, it clearly shows there must be some unconscious desire operating in the other direction.”

The researchers' work supports a series of studies published since 2002 that have found the “name-letter effect” causes people to make life choices based on names that resemble their own. Those studies by Brett Pelham, an associate professor at SUNY University, have found that people are disproportionately（不定比例地）likely to live in states or cities resembling their names, have careers that resemble their names and even marry those whose surnames begin with the same letter as their own.

The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.”

The researchers say the effect is definitely more than coincidence but is small nevertheless. “I know plenty of Chrises and Davids who have done very well in school,” Simmons says.

1.The new research is mainly about the relationship between one’s ______.

A．name and unconsciousness	B．name and characteristics
C．name and success	D．sports and school achievements

2.Who may serve as an example to show the “name-letter effect”?

A．Miss Smith working as a lawyer.	B．Charles Brown married to Sue Rogers.
C．Mr. Watt living in Washington	D．Paula Snow fond of the color white.

3.Which can be used to explain the underlined word “twist” in the last but one paragraph?

A．Difference．	B．Conclusion．
C．Funny side．	D．Shared part．

4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that the “name-letter effect” ______.                

A．isn’t believed in by many people	B．doesn’t work with certain names
C．may not really exist	D．is often too small to show

 

Jonny Jones was a nice and popular boy, who everyone loved．He was so much fun, so good and so kind to everyone that they treated him wonderfully. But as everything he needed was given to him without asking, Jonny became a weed. He was so spoiled by everyone that he couldn’t stand any hardship.

One day Johnny heard a mother saying to her son “Come on, my boy, get up and stop crying. You are behaving like Johnny Jones.” That made Johnny feel very ashamed. But he was sure that he would prefer to be known as a good boy rather than a fool. Worried, he spoke to his father about all this, though he was afraid that maybe he would be laughed at for having such worries. His father, far from laughing at Johnny, told him that a teacher had taught him a secret trick to turn him into the toughest boy off all. “Eat a candy less, study a minute more, and count to five before crying.” Johnny asked, “Just that? ” “Yes, just that,” said his father, “It’s very simple, but I warn you that it won’t be easy.”

Johnny was happy like a bird, ready to follow the advice. He went to see his mother, and she noticed how happy he was when she offered him candies. “One candy less”, thought Johnny, so he only took one. That afternoon he had another chance to put it into practice by studying one minute more. The result was that he missed the first minute of his favorite program! But having achieved this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. The same happened when he ran up against the corner of the kitchen table. He only managed to count to four before crying, but that was left deeply in his mother’s memory.

Over the following days Johnny kept using the motto in his life as his father told him. And the more he put this into practice ,the easier it got. Before long he realized that he could also do things that would seem impossible before.

1.The underlined word "weed" in the first paragraph refers to ____．

    A．a person with a strong v/ill

    B．a person with a weak character

    C．a person who isn't popular with everyone

    D．a person who changes his behavior according to the situation

2.What made Jonny Jones decide to change himself?

    A．A mother's words．               B．Others' attitude to him．

    C．His father's advice．            C．His teacher's warning．

3.What is the key point of the advice from Jonny's father?

    A．Eat fewer candies than before．

    B．Count to five before crying．

    C．Talk with parents and follow their advice．

    D．Learn to control oneself and keep using the motto in life．

4.What message does the writer want to convey through the story?

    A．One should be brave to face his mistakes．

    B．Nothing is difficult as long as you set your mind on it．

    C．Spoilinga child too much may result in his selfish behaviors．

    D．A strong will can be developed by small but consistent efforts．

 

A woman was in a hurry to go to the airport. She told the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going by a different route.

Suddenly, a man got inside the cab. He took her handbag where she had placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.

The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so mean to her, and thought how unlucky she was in that situation.

That very same night, she heard some shocking news．Tears flowed down her face．Flight 230,which was the plane that she was supposed to have boarded, had crashed．If she had not lost her precious belongings, she could have lost something far more important—her life．

Sometimes bad things really happen．We lose money, fail our exams, or are rejected by others．There are times when nothing seems to go our way．

So what should we do about it? Should we be disappointed? The answer is a resounding “No!" We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the consistent faith that we will get what we deserve．

Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed．Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done．

What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?

There was a man who won the lottery．He thought he was the luckiest person in the world．He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on．

One day, he made it to the front page of the newspaper again．But this time, it was a different story．He had been killed because of his riches．

If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it．Hope for protection and guidance．Life is so unpredictable．You never know what will happen next．

Live one day at a time．we sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble．We ask ourselves: "What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my family leaves me and I've got no one else to turn to?"

Live for the moment．Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine． Believe me．And believe in yourself．As Captain Planet always says: "The power is yours!"

1.The underlined phrase "in cahoots with" in Paragraph 3 probably means "____"．

A．was forced by	B．was fighting bravely with
C．had cooperated with	D．was trying to beg

2.From the passage, we learn that___．

A．the woman was lucky to miss her flight

B．some people just never run out of good luck

C．robbers will get what they deserve

D．if you feel yourself lucky, you will continue to be so

3.According to the author, which of the following is the right attitude to adopt towards life?

A．Don't waste your time and energy because time is limited．

B．There's no need to worry or get frustrated．Just believe in yourself．

C．Even when everything seems to be going well, we should keep fully alert．

D．Worrying about what you don't have means you miss out on opportunities for other things．

4.The stories are intended to tell us___．

A．fortune only favors the prepared mind

B．gains and losses go hand in hand

C．misfortune might be a blessing

D．we should save up for a rainy day