He has lived through various dangers but time may be running out for the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.
On September 11, Israel announced its decision to remove him, following several Palestinian suicide bomb attacks on Israel. “He should be punished for the killings,” an Israeli official said, “He has done nothing to stop the terrorist groups.”
But the decision has angered many other countries. China said that Arafat is the true leader, elected by the Palestinian people, and removing him would harm the peace in the Middle East. Other governments share this idea.
Arafat himself said: “They can kill me, but never get me out of my country.” He has spent most of his life in danger as the most important aim of Israel. But, just like a cat with nine lives, Arafat escaped every time.
For years he has made a practice of sleeping in a different bed each night, thinking a moving person is harder to hit. In 1985, Israel sent fighter planes to kill Arafat. The wild bombing destroyed his office in Tunis but Arafat himself was unhurt. In 1992, the aircraft in which he was flying over North Africa broke in two during a crash landing. The pilot was killed but he managed to remain alive.
What is so unbelievable is that he always remains calm in great danger. Israeli tanks and planes attacked his office building in Ram Allah in December 2001. When they saw the attackers coming, Arafat’s bodyguards took no notice of his orders to stay still and carried him to safety underground. Seconds later, several bombs were dropped nearby. Though safe, his bodyguards were so frightened that they were wet in sweat.
But, Arafat, with Israeli tanks only 200 meters away, showed no fear at all. He stayed in the damaged office, talking by phone with foreign leaders in hope of preventing further attacks from Israel.
All these experiences have made him a beloved leader to his people and an enemy to some others.
But has he used up the last of his nine lives? Only time will tell.
1.. According to the passage, which statement is true?
A. In 1992, Arafat’s plane crashed in South Africa.
B. Israeli officers thought Arafat himself sent the terrorist groups to Israel.
C. China is the only country against Israel’s decision of removing Arafat.
D. Being Palestinian leader, Arafat would rather die in his own country than be driven away
from his people.
2.. . What did the author mean by saying “just like a cat has nine lives” when he talked about Arafat?
A. Arafat is as clever as a cat.
B. Arafat can live as long as a cat.
C. Arafat can stay alive after accidents or disasters as if he has nine lives.
D. Arafat should have died for at least 8 times.
3.. The underlined phrase “took no notice of” can be replaced by __________.
A. obeyed B. ignored C. disagreed D. dissatisfied
4.. . What’s the writer’s attitude towards Arafat’s future, judging from the last sentence of the passage?
A. Hopeful. B. Interesting. C. Satisfactory. D. Doubtful.
As darkness fell, hundreds of people in the Swiss village left their houses. They were staring 36 at the mountain top in the distance. It was covered with 37 , beautiful and dangerous.
The huge mountain is called Matterhorn. Mountain climbers had 38 the top, using the southern route. But no one had ever dared to try a winter climbing up the 39 side. But now one man was daring to try the 40 route. He was Walter Bonatti, a great mountain climber from Italy.
For two days he had climbed. The village people had watched him 41 . Now they were waiting to see his 42 . If he planned to 43 the next day, he would light a green signal. A red light would mean that he was 44 .
A tiny green light 45 high on the mountain side. Bonatti was not giving up! The people 46 .
The next day he 47 his way upward. He was so lonely and so tired! But he would not give up. Again that night he lit the 48 light.
In the morning, Bonatti looked up. He could not see the top, but he knew he was 49 there. 50 the climb was painful, he moved up.
Bonatti had spent months 51 for the climb. Was the training enough? Did he have the strength and 52 to climb to the top?
He was finally at the top! News about his 53 was radioed to the world.
The trip down the southern 54 was easy. He was warmly welcomed in the village. He had done the " 55 ", and would be well remembered as a climber of all time.
1... A. up B. down C. back D. forward
2... A. green trees B. flowers C. rocks D. ice and snow
3.. A. passed B. reached C. climbed D. watched
4.. A. eastern B. western C. northern D. southern
5.. A. different B. difficult C. easy D. same
6.. A. anxiously B. carefully C. patiently D. eagerly
7.. A. signal B. flag C. face D. figure
8.. A. go down B. come back C. go on D. give up
9.. A. turning around B. turning back C. moving up D. in danger
10.. A. raised B. rose C. disappeared D. appeared
11.. A. cheered B. shouted C. laughed D. jumped
12.. A. stopped B. abandoned C. continued D. ended
13.. A. green B. yellow C. blue D. red
14.. A. already B. surely C. almost D. no longer
15.. A. Because B. Though C. Since D. When
16.. A. asking B. planning C. preparing D. training
17... A. money B. wish C. effort D. skill
18.. A. victory B. climb C. courage D. thing
19... A. pace B. route C. path D. passage
20... A. necessary B. great C. important D. impossible
—Guess what! I came across an old friend at the party last night.
—________ I’m sure you had a wonderful time.
A. Sound good! B. Very well. C. All right. D. How nice!
—It is said that we will have another examination next week.
—Really? ________, we must begin to prepare right now.
A. If so B. If possible C. Great D. Unfortunately
The food is not very good, but we shall just have to ______ it.
A. pay attention to B. hold on to
C. put up with D. keep up with
—What’s the matter with John?
—He’s had his leg ______ trying to save a boy from a fire.
A. wounding B. wounded C. being wounded D. to be wounded
