In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

But Roebling refused to listen to them. He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. After much discussion and persuasion he convinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished. With great excitement, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but several months after it began, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was so seriously injured that he was never able to walk, talk or even move again.

"We told them so", "Crazy men and their crazy dreams", "It's foolish to chase wild visions", the critics said and most thought the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

Washington's wife tried to inspire and pass on her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay in his hospital room, an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife's arm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her. Then he used this method to tell his wife what the engineers should do. It seemed crazy but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.

Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.

1._ What did most people think about Roebling's idea to build the bridge?

A. It would never become a reality.          B. Washington was not experienced enough.

C. It would take a lot of time.              D. Finding the money would be impossible. 

2._The underlined word `daunted' (para. 6) is closest in meaning to '______'.

  A. unpleasant    B. scared    C. amazed    D. determined

3._ Which of the following shows the correct order of the events that happened in the story?

   a. Roebling convinced his son.

   b. Washington found a new way to communicate.

   c. They hired the crew.

d. The bridge was completed.

   e. Roebling wanted to build a bridge.

   f. There was a tragic accident.

A. e, a, c, f, d, b     B. e, a, f, b, c, d    C. e, f, a, b, c, d    D. e, a, c, f, b, d　　

4._ What can we learn about Washington's wife?

A. She knew sign language very well.

B. She was devoted to her husband.

C. She developed a code to communicate with her husband.

D. She helped her husband design the plan.

5._ What does the story tell us?

  A. Success will come with the passing of time.

  B. Struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

  C. Even the most distant dream can be realised with a never-say-die attitude.

  D. The people who make a difference in our life should be remembered forever.

 

 

One morning Mrs Smith was driving home after she had done shopping. When she drove near a rubbish dump, she noticed a microwave oven(微波炉) not far from the side of the road.“John is a good electrician!”she said to herself.“Perhaps he can repair this. I'll take it home and let him try.”She picked up the oven and put it in the boot of her car. Then she drove on happily. A few kilometers later, she heard the siren (警报器)of a police car behind her. She looked in the driving mirror and saw a policeman waving to her to tell her to pull over and stop.

　Mrs Smith was very puzzled. She slowed down at the side of the road. A traffic policeman got out of the police car and walked up to her.　

“Can I see your driving license and insurance certificate(保险证)，please? ”he asked her. He copied down details of her name, address and the number of the car.“What's wrong, officer?” Mrs Smith asked. The policeman did not reply. He looked in the car and then at the back.      “Open the boot, please.”he said to Mrs Smith.

　Mrs Smith was still puzzled. She opened the boot and pointed to the microwave oven. "I found this old microwave oven a few minutes ago," she said. "I'm just taking it home to see if my husband can repair it." The policeman stared at her for a moment to see if she was telling the truth. "That's not a microwave oven." he said at last. "That's our radar set(雷达装置). It was the start of a speed trap. Do you mind if we have it back?"   Mrs Smith's face turned red. "Oh", she said," I'm very sorry. I wouldn't have touched it if I'd known what it was."

1.Why did Mrs Smith pick up the police's radar set and want to take it home?

A．She had no microwave oven and wanted one.

B．She took it for a waste microwave oven.

C．She saw nobody was looking.

D．She just wanted to steal it.

2.The underlined word "boot" in the third paragraph means_____ .

A．the outer covering for the foot

B．the outer covering for the car

C．the place for luggage at the back of a car

D．the place for metal equipment for protection

3.Choose the right order of the events(事件) given in the passage.

a. The policeman wrote down Mrs Smith's name, address and the car number.

b. Mrs Smith picked up a radar set and put it in the boot of her car.

c. The policeman took back the radar set.

d. Mrs Smith went shopping.

e. A policeman signed Mrs Smith to stop her car.

f. The policeman found the radar set in the boot of Mrs Smith's car.

A．b,d,e,f,c,a         B．d,b,e,f,c,a          C．b,d,e,a,f,c          D．d,b,e,a,f,c

 

I have a friend named John Roberts who owns a horse ranch （牧马场）in San Ysidro.　　The last time I was there he shared a story with me. “It is a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer. When he was a senior，he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”

That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch， showing the location of all the buildings，the stables and the track.　　

“The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’”

　　“The boy went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F？’”

　　“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There‘s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added， ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”

　　“The boy went home and asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son， you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’”

　　“Finally，after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.‘”

　　John continued, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “If I had changed my paper at that time, maybe we would not have the chance to be here talking about the dreams .”

1.What was the boy’s goal described in his seven-page paper? (No more than 6 words)

2.Why did the teacher give him a F”?                    (No more than 14 words)

3.How did John’s father respond to his son’s puzzlement?    (No more than10 words)

4.What can we learn from the article?                    (No more than 8 words.)