After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletes and viewers have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletes and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest paralympians will not be taking part.
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thompson. Born with spina bifida （脊椎裂） which left her paralysed（瘫痪的） from the waist down, Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. At first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.
Indeed, Tanni's athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100 meters at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 meters. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the100, 200, 400 and 800 meters relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.
Tanni's enduring success has been part motivation, part preparation. “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter （短跑运动员） enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keep me prepared for whatever distance I want to race... I am still competing at a very high level, but as 1 get older things get harder and 1 want to retire before 1
fall apart."
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In spite of ups and downs, she never takes her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in a series of Paralympics— a top level athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.
What advice does she have for young athletes? "Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again."
41. Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?
A. Basketball. B. Swimming. C. Tennis. D. Horse-riding.
42. When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?
A. In 1984. B. In 1988. C. In 1992. D. In 2007.
43. The underlined word "that" in the 5th paragraph refers to____.
A. fifty weeks' training B. being a good sprinter
C. training almost every day D. part motivation and part preparation
44. What's the right order of the events related to Tanni?
a. She works as a coach.
b. She took up athletics.
c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.
d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.
e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.
A. b, d, c, e, a B. a, d, b, c, e C. a, d, c, e, b D. b, d, a, e, c
45. What can we learn from Tanni's success?
A. Union is strength. B. Never too late to learn.
C. Well begun is half done. D. No pains, no gains.
IV. Reading(30)
A
Mathematical ability and musical ability may not seem on the surface to be connected, but people who have researched the subject -- and studied the brain—say that they are. Three quarters of the bright but speech-delayed children in the group I studied had a close relative who was an engineer, mathematician or scientist, and four fifths had a close relative who played a musical instrument. The children themselves usually took readily to math and other analytical subjects and to music.
Black, white and Asian children in this group show the same patterns. However, it is clear that blacks have been greatly overrepresented in the development of American popular music and greatly underrepresented in such fields as mathematics, science and engineering.
If the abilities required in analytical fields and in music are so closely related, how can there be this great discrepancy? One reason is that the development of mathematical and other such abilities requires years of formal schooling, while certain musical talents can be developed with little or no formal training, as has happened with a number of well-known black musicians.
It is precisely in those kinds of music where one can acquire great skill without formal training that blacks have excelled popular music rather than classical music, piano rather than violin, blues rather than opera. This is readily understandable, given that most blacks, for most of American history, have not had either the money or the leisure for long years of formal study in music.
Blacks have not merely held their own in American popular music. They have played a large role in the development of jazz, both traditional and modern. A long string of names comes to mind—W.C. Handy, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker…and so on.
None of this presupposes(假设，意味着) any special innate（先天的）ability of blacks in music. On the contrary, it is perfectly consistent with blacks having no more such inborn ability than anyone else, but being limited to being able to express such ability in narrower channels than others who have had the money, the time and the formal education to spread out over a wider range of music, as well as into mathematics, science and engineering.
36. what is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A. Mathematical ability and musical ability are connected.
B. Mathematical ability has more to do with the brain than musical ability.
C. More people are good at music than math.
D. More research should be done into the relationship between mathematical ability and math ability.
37. The word “discrepancy” (Para. 3) most probably means ____.
A. difference B. excellence C. inborn ability D. inability
(38. What can be inferred about opera?
A. It requires formal training.
B. It is often enjoyed by those with strong analytical ability.
C. It is disliked by blacks.
D. It is more difficult to learn than classical music.
39. Which of the following statements is true according to the last paragraph?
A. Blacks have special innate ability in music.
B. Unlike others, blacks do not have innate ability in music.
C. Jazz is one of the narrow channels through which blacks express their ability in music.
D. Those who have money and time choose mathematics over music.
40. which of the following questions does the passage mainly concern?
A. Are musical ability and mathematical ability connected?
B. Why have blacks been greatly over represented in the development of American popular misic?
C. What kinds of music require formal training?
D. What are the contributions made by black musicians?
II.Fill in the blanks(10)
The first and smallest unit that can be discussed in relation to language is the word. In speaking, the choice of words is 16 great importance. Proper _17__(choose) will get rid of one source of likely breakdown in the communication cycle. Too often, careless use of words___18___ (prevent) a meeting of the mind of the speaker and listener. The words used by the speaker may cause __19___(favor) reactions in the listener_20__interfere with his comprehension; hence, the transmission-reception system breaks down. Moreover , inaccurate or indefinite words may make _21__ difficult for the listener to understand the message which __22__(transmit) to him. The speaker_23__does not have specific words in working vocabulary may be unabe to explain or describe in _24_ way ___25_ can be understood by listeners.
III.cloze(15)
Nobody wants to appear fat. Many girls who care too much about their self-image(个人形象) choose to eat less food to 26 themselves from gaining weight. Some even take medicine to achieve their goals. Those unhealthy ways may lead to being 27 to a certain drug and the addiction is usually very 28 . There is little difference to committing suicide (自杀). I used to eat 29 a lot, which is said to be high in protein but low in calories. But the moment bird flu 30 out, I stopped eating this kind of meat. To me, health always comes first, because no matter how wealthy you are, your 31 will deprive(剥夺) you of the right to 32 your life, so why should we put ourselves in danger and suffer? However, you’d better keep it in mind that whether you go on a calorie-restricted (限制热量的) diet or not, exercising and 33 eating are excellent ways to keep your body in good 34. Their emphasis is that the healthy way to lose weight is 35 to make permanent changes to your lifestyle.
26. A. protect B. make C. promise D. keep
27. A. used B. addicted C. exposed D. devoted
28. A. painful B. useful C. cheerful D. sorrowful
29. A. fruit B. vegetable C. chicken D. pork
30. A. let B. set C. gave D. broke
31. A. medicine B. weight C. diet D. disease
32. A. enjoy B. make C. change D. take
33. A. regular B. healthy C. good D. normal
34. A. size B. shape C. situation D. style
35. A. usually B. generally C. quickly D. gradually
_____ their hats into the air, the fans of the winning team let out loud shouts of victory.
|
A． To throw |
B．Thrown |
C．Throwing |
D．Being thrown |
No decision____ about any future appointment until all the candidates have been interviewed.
|
A． will be made |
B．is made |
C．is being made |
D．has been made |
I will give you my friend’s home address, _____I can be reached most evenings.
|
A． Which |
B．when |
C．whom |
D．where |
