Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October, 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old woman in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercise every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday, Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying: Sorry, I’m still alive!
1.How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?
A. She is miserable and unhappy. B. She is cheerful and humorous.
C. She would like to live much younger. D. She feels she is going to die very soon.
2. We can owe her good health and long life to _______.
A. smoking only a little every day
B. her giving up smoking and drinking
C. drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day
D. the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercise
3. Which of the following word could best replace the word “move” in the fourth paragraph?
A. deal B. trick C. march D. sport
4. Why does Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive” to the lawyer every year on her birthday?
A. Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage.
B. Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed.
C. Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house.
D. Because the house she sold to the lawyer is worth the money he has already paid.
My grandfather worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates（木箱）for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage（孤儿院）in Brazil. On his way home, he found his glasses were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the crates. His new glasses were heading for Brazil!
The Great Depression was at its
height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for those
glasses that very morning.
“It’s not fair,” he thought as he walked home angrily. “I’ve been very faithful in giving my time and money to my work, and now this.”
Several months later, the
director of the orphanage came to the United States. He wanted to visit all the
churches that supported him, so he came to my grandfather’s small church in
Chicago.
He began by thanking the people for their kindness in supporting the orphanage. “But most of all, ” he said, “I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, some people had just come to the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were very worried about this. Then your crates arrived. When I removed the covers, I found a pair of glasses lying on top.”
He paused long enough to let his
words sink in. Then, he continued, “When I tried on the glasses, it was as
though they had been made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of
that!”
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But they thought it was strange because there were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.
Sitting quietly in the back, with
tears streaming down his face, my grandfather, an ordinary carpenter realized
his glasses had found a good place to go.
1. We know from the text that .
A. the author’s grandfather got
his glasses back from the director of the orphanage
B. the author’s grandfather found that his glasses were at home at last
C. the author’s grandfather’s
burden of supporting his family was very heavy
D. the author’s grandfather worked as a carpenter in a school in Chicago
2. From
the text we can infer that the author’s grandfather was very after
hearing what the director of the orphanage had said.
A. surprised B. disappointed C. pitiful D. proud
3. The
underlined word “miraculous” （Paragraph 7） can be replaced by .
A. practical B. wonderful C. necessary D. important
4.
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I grew up poor－living with my wonderful mother. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I was 21 and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still 22 a dream.
My dream was 23 . By the time I was sixteen, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and 24 anything that moved on the football field. I was also 25 : My high school coach was John, who not only believed in me, but also taught me 26 to believe in myself. He 27 me the difference between having a dream and remaining true to that dream. One particular 28 with Coach John changed my life forever.
A friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket－money for a new bike, new clothes and the 29 of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to 30 up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.
When I told John, he was 31 as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work, ”He said. “Your 32 days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them. ”I stood before him with my head 33 , trying to think of the 34 that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his 35 in me.
“How much are you going to make at this job, son? ”He asked. “3.5 dollars an hour, ”I replied.
“Well, ”he asked, “is $3.5 an hour the price of a dream? ”
That simple question made 36 for me the difference between 37 something right now and having a 38 . I decided myself to play sports that summer and the next year I was 39 by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was 40 a $20,000 contract（agreement）. In 1999, I bought my mother the house of my dream!
1. A. happy B. polite C. shy D. honest
2. A. live B. afford C. make D. need
3. A. athletics B. music C. business D. money
4. A. kick B. play C. pass D. hit
5.A. right B. popular C. lucky D. confident
6. A. how B. why C. when D. whether
7. A. gave B. taught C. brought D. asked
8.A. accident B. matter C. problem D. experience
9.A. keep B. end C. give D. pick
10. A. mad B. mournful C. frightened D. shameful
11. A. living B. playing C. working D. learning
12. A. moving B. nodding C. shaking D. hanging
13. A. answers B. excuses C. words D. ways
14. A. sadness B. regret C. hopelessness D. disappointment
15. A. direct B. clear C. straight D. bare
16. A. wanting B. changing C. dreaming D. enjoying
17. A. wish B. goal C. score D. desire
18.A. fired B. accompanied C. avoided D. hired
19. A. paid B. got C. offered D. presented
We’ll have to find someone to have a look at the door. It won’t _______.
A. shut B. be shut C. be shutting D. shutting
—Do you often talk with your friends on the telephone or mobile phone?
— . I like using QQ.
A. None B. Either C. Any D. Neither
After five hours’ drive, they reached _______ they thought was the place they had been dreaming of.
A. where B. what C. which D. that
