After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dear Dick,
My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew
1.The boy looked forward to meeting the author because _________.
A．he was one of the author’s fans
B．he wanted to get to the Olympics and win a medal
C．he was also good at weight lifting
D．he admired the author for his courage very much
2.From the passage we learn that _________.
A．Matthew was an athlete
B．Matthew was an optimistic and determined boy
C．The author used to have the same disease as Matthew had
D．Matthew became a champion before he died
3.Matthew didn’t accept the author’s medal because _________.
A．he thought it was too expensive
B．he was sure that he could win one in the future
C．he thought it was of no use to him as he would die soon
D．he would not be pitied by others
4.What would be the best title for this passage?
A．A sick boy. B．A special friend. C．A real champion. D．A famous athlete.
Why do people drink too much, eat too much, smoke cigarettes or take drugs? What’s to blame for all the bad behavior? Most people would say that, while these self-destructive (自我毁灭的) acts can have many root causes, they all have one obvious thing in common: they are all examples of failures of self-control, lacking the will power to resist them.
According to a recent study, however, if you really think about it, something about that simple answer doesn’t quite make sense. In fact, it turns out that sometimes it’s having will power that really gets you into trouble.
Think back to the time you took your very first sip (啜饮) of beer. Disgusting, wasn’t it? When my father gave me my first taste of beer as a teenager, I wondered why anyone would voluntarily drink it. And smoking? No one enjoys their first cigarette — it tastes awful. So even though smoking, and drinking alcohol or coffee, can become temptation (诱惑) you need will power to resist, they never, ever start out that way.
Just getting past those first horrible experiences actually requires a lot of self-control. Ironically (讽刺的是), only those who can control themselves well, rather than give in to them, can ever come to someday develop a “taste” for Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, or dark-roasted Starbucks coffee. We do it for social acceptance. We force ourselves to consume alcohol, cigarettes, coffee and even illegal drugs, in order to seem experienced, grown-up, and cool.
These bad habits aren’t self-control failures — far from it. They are voluntary choices, and they are in fact self-control successes. Self-control is simply a tool to be put to some use, helpful or harmful. To live happy and productive lives, we need to develop not only our self-control, but also the wisdom to make good decisions about when and where to apply it.
1.What do most people think causes bad behavior?
A．Being forced by others. B．Enjoying their first experiences.
C．Not having enough will power. D．Following the examples of their friends.
2.The author mentions his experience in the third paragraph to prove ____.
A．will power helps develop bad habits sometimes
B．drinking beer is harmful to the health of teenagers
C．self-control should be developed when one is young
D．everyone can be challenged by different temptations
3.In the last paragraph, the author stresses that ____.
A．without self-control, no one can succeed
B．applying self-control correctly is important
C．bad habits don’t always lead to bad results.
D．people can develop wisdom from bad behavior
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A．My First Sip of Beer B．Do You Have Will Power ?
C．Will Power Benefits Us D．Dark Side of Self-control
LONDON (Reuters)—New faces given to a Chinese man after a bear tore off part of his face and a FrenchCaribbean man disfigured by a rare tumor show that such transplants can work and are not medical oddities (怪异)，researchers said．
The findings give hope to some people with severe facial disfigurement and suggest the transplants could prove longlasting without major problems．Despite the tissue rejection in the first year after their transplants，neither men had psychological problems accepting their new faces and have been able to rejoin society，they reported．
Only three people have received face transplants．The world’s first was carried out on French woman Isabelle Dinoire in November 2005 after she was disfigured in an attack by her dog．In 2007，her doctors reported that she had recovered slowly and steadily，overcoming two periods of rejection．
In 2006，Chinese doctors performed a face transplant on a 30yearold hit by a bear．While there were some complications with tissue rejection following the operation，two years later the man was doing well，his doctors said．“This case suggests that facial transplantation might be an option for restoring a severely disfigured face，and could enable patients to bring themselves back into society，” Shuzhong Guo and colleagues at Xijing Hospital in China wrote．
A French team described their work on a 29yearold man who suffered from Von Recklinghausen disease，an illness that changes the shape of his face．“The man，who was not named，was given a new nose，mouth and chin in a 2007 operation．He began to work 13 months after the transplant has more function in his face and has not rejected the new tissue，” his doctors said．
“Our case confirms that face transplantation is practical and effective for the correction of specific disfigurement，” Dr．Laurent Lantieri and colleagues at the HenriMondor hospital outside Paris wrote．
1.What’s the main idea of this passage?
A．Face transplants help regain confidence． B．Face transplants can work．
C．Three people have received face transplants． D．Disfigured people need face transplants．
2.The underlined word “restoring” in Paragraph 4 means “________”．
A．removing B．recovering C．repairing D．rejecting
3.What problem resulted from the facial operations?
A．The patients usually suffered from tissue rejection．
B．It was hard for the patients to get along with others．
C．It took some time for the patients to recover from the operation．
D．The patients wouldn’t accept the facial change．
When you’re a preteen, a huge problem might be that you just have to have a new rock-rap CD, 1 your parents won’t give you the money for it. I thought life was so 2 when things like this happened-----until September 11, 2001.
I was in P.E. when the planes hit the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. As soon as I got home and for weeks before, I saw the disaster 3 on TV. Seeing the innocent people running for their 4 as the debris(瓦砾) started coming down the fire and smoke rose out of the 5 brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t help imagining what the people on the 6 and in the buildings were thinking and going through, not 7 what was going on. I admired the courage of the firefighters who rushed in and risked their own lives to 8 others. It tore my heart apart to watch the 9 looks on the faces of so many people who didn’t know if their loved ones were dead or alive while 10 in all the debris.
Then it 11 me: All my life I had thought mainly of myself. I had it easy in life and had been taking it all for granted.
A feeling of coldness 12 down my back, and I cried just thinking of the possibility that it could have easily 13 to my family. My mom or dad could have been killed like that, and I would never, ever see them again. I began to evaluate what a real 14 in life was.
This disaster 15 me that awful things can happen to anyone at any time. Now when my mom or dad or sister go somewhere, even if it’s just 16 the store, I try to remember to tell them that I love them because I know there is a 17 that I may never tell them that 18 .
Not getting a new CD is not going to 19 my life. I can live with those kinds of problems. But losing someone I love would 20 make my life miserable.
9/11 showed me just what I am.
1. A．or B．so C．but D．for
2. A．unfair B．uncomfortable C．unbelievable D．uncertain
3. A．happen B．occur C．strike D．unfold
4. A．lives B．families C．houses D．friends
5. A．curtains B．buildings C．gates D．bedrooms
6. A．seats B．planes C．corners D．streets
7. A．believing B．thinking C．caring D．knowing
8. A．join B．save C．meet D．calm
9. A．puzzled B．severe C．dirty D．desperate
10. A．hidden B．found C．trapped D．placed
11. A．hit B．surprised C．rewarded D．told
12. A．cooled B．dropped C．ran D．passed
13. A．happened B．compared C．related D．turned
14. A．relationship B．problem C．need D．fate
15. A．persuaded B．reminded C．taught D．informed
16. A．to B．in C．at D．on
17. A．story B．doubt C．chance D．plan
18. A．ever B．once C．enough D．again
19. A．end B．save C．spare D．break
20. A．rather B．truly C．probably D．frequently
-----I followed your advice on how to learn English, but I am still poor in it. Why?
------Well, __________.
A．all is well that ends well. B．one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
C．no pains, no gains. D．no sweet without sweat.
Thank you so much! But for your text message, I ______ home without my ID card yesterday.
A．would have left B．would leave C．had left D．left
