Big storms. High waves. Technical failure. Loneliness. After battling hard times and danger for over nine months, British teenager Mike Perham made history last month as the youngest person to sail solo(单独) around the world.
The 17-year-old made the record after he cleared the Panama Canal (巴拿马运河) and then sailed through the Caribbean and home across the Atlantic.
Mike is only three month s younger than Zac Sunderland, the 17-year-old American boy who had taken the crown as the youngest solo around-the-world sailor in July.
The two youngsters met in Cape Town in South Africa as they crossed the globe in different direciions. Mike insisted they were not rival (竟争对手). " No. It's two teenagers going out there,living their dream and having the adventure of a lifetime, " he said.
Mike may be young, but he is no stranger to sailing adventures. He picked up the hobby at age 6 when his father took him out in a small boat on a local lake. Father and son sailed separate boats across the Atlantic when Mike was 14, making him the youngest person to cross that ocean solo. That record gave him the taste for this even greater challenge.
On the recent journey, the scariest moment for Mike came when his sailboat was hit by storms in the southern Indian Ocean.
"We were picked up by what felt like a 60-foot wave and threw down on our side at 90 degrees , " he said.
"It felt like I was going right over. Stuff was flying around and I just thought ' Oh no' . "
At other times, he had to dive into the Pacific and fix problems. He tied himself to the boat, jumped into the water and went to work with a knife in 30-second dives undemeath (在......之下) the boat to cut a rope away.
Mike said he felt proud that he made his dream come true. " You've got to have confidence in yourself t
hat you will make it," he said.
1.What' s the main idea of the passage? (No more than 15 words)
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2.Which canal did Mike Perham cross? (No more than 3 words)
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3.What does the underlined word 'staste" in the fifth paragrapht mean? (1 word)
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4.What did Mike believe in? ( No more than 10 words)
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5.What do you think of Mike Perham? (No more than 10 words)
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I recently ran into a friend I hadn't seen for a long while. Our conversation was lively andfull of news from both sides. Before we parted she said "You'll have to drop in sometime. "immediately sensed that if I simply " dropped in" I would take my friend by surprise, and I would be discouraged by the image of her standing in her doorway, staring at me, and asking, " Oh ,err …what brings you here?"
Whatever happened to the unannounced drop-in visit? When I was growing up in the 
1960s, it seemed that people-mostly relatives, but also friends-were always dropping in . My parents would put coffee on, and my mom would find something in the kitchen to serve along with it. Then the conversation would begin…The neighbor lady, a worrier, was unloading her sadness while my mom quietly listened. The Irish man next door had such an atcent that I remember asking what language he spoke. My Polish relatives arrived in packs…But I never heard my parents say any- thing like " We weren't expecting you" or " This isn't a good time. " Drop-in visitors had a certain right of way and became No. 1.
What happened to such visits? Actually I know the answer. Times have changed. Everybody gets busy with work. There is no longer a stay-at-home mom keeping a pot of hot coffee or tea ready throughout the day for a surprise guest. Exploding malls and stores are now replacing homes as a central form of entertainment.
Just the other day a former student of mine showed up. "I'm sorry for the surprise visit. " my student began. "I just wanted to see if you still lived here. I'll only stay a minute. "
My response was immediate. "No, you won't," I said. " Just come in, sit, have coffee, and we'11 talk. "I had nothing in the kitchen but we ordered pizza. And we had a lovely time. I have tried to keep the drop-in tradition alive though it takes some effort.
1.The author thought of his friend's invitation- " You'll have to drop in sometime"-as______
A. a nice way of refusal B. an excuse of leaving
C. a kind o
f politeness D. an expression of surprise
2.The underlined phrase "dropping in" in the second paragraph means_________.
A. pay a sudden visit B. make many friends
C. make a special date D. have a good time
3.The woman from the neighborhood used to visit the author' s home to _______.
A. seek comfort from my parents B. make nevr friends
C. listen to my parents' story D. taste nice dishes
4.From the third paragraph of the passage, we can infer that_______.
A. unexpected visitors are still welcome now
B. modern people prefer outdoor activities
C. there are more jobs for the housewives now
D. the author misses the lost good days
5.The author writes the passage intending to ________.
A. encourage people to be drop-in visitors
B. explain how to deal with unexpected visitors
C. share his feelings about the drop-in tradition
D. show the importance of making friends
Human beings are the most intelligent of all animals because we are gifted with the ability to think and reason logcally. Scientists and even common people with special intelligence have made a lotol inventions and contributions to modern lifestyle in the past. "Houses" have been the most popular area for discoveries and inventions in the past and even now.
Many household items have been the result of people who desired better functioning of the existent products.Every indivicdual has intelligence and if it is used properly for the right purpose it leads to invenaion of a new tool or device.Many new household inveritions are made almost every day and there are specific companies, which particularly keep a record of all these inventions.
A lot of inventions have been made recently in the household field. These products are pa- tented(专利的) and have trade mark licenses(许可) . The patented sliding cinch is a very simple but effedtive method to prevent shoulder stress and injury for those who work before computers all day long. Vanity PC is a type of computer fumiture that speciflcally hides all the computer wires and keeps; a clean and good look. All the outdoor dust, mud and snow can be kept out of the house by installing(安装) the dirt drain(排水管) at the entrance of the door. Another important invention is the automatic toilet night-light, in which a small light starts when the lid of the toilet seat is opened and closes as soon as the lid is closed.
These are some of the new household inventions invented mostly by common people. Thus, a variety of new household items are invented every day, which helps in a better functioning of household chores and in a more useful manner.
1.The first paragraph tells us the importance of
A. the particular changes in houses
B. the advantages of modern lifestyle
C. the difference between human beings and animals
D. human being role in making inventions
2.What plays the most impoltant role in causing people to invent new things?
A. To improve the present living conditions.
B. To earn more money and gain awards.
C. To be recorded by some special companies.
D. To meet the new demands of new science.
3.It can be inferred that the sliding cinch is used to
A. prevent your shoulder from being over-pressured
B. keep your shoulder safe and sound when you are in an accident or an operation
C. help you practice your shoulder more often and reduce shoulder pains
D. cover your shoulder and make it stronger to resist the outside strike
4.Common people can also make good inventions because
A.some inventions are easy to be made and can be mastered by common people
B.common people have a strong desire to do something for science research
C.wisdom and in spiration sometimes come from everyday life
D.success is often connected with hardship and bitter experience of common people
5.The passage is mainly talking about _______.
A. the correct use of household facilities
B. household inventions and t
heir influence
C. different ideas about household inventions
D. the history of household inventions
It happened to me recently, I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President.A friend I wsa talking to agreed with me that it was,in his 
words,”a brilliantly written book”.However,he then went on to talk about Mr.Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his back-ground at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.
And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven't. In the World Book Day's" Report on Guilty Secrets" ,Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I'm not one to Lie too often (I'd hate to be caught out) , I'll admit here and now that I haven't read the entire top ten. But I am pleased to say that, un- like 42 percent of peoples I have read the book at number one, George Orwell's 1984. I think
it's really brilliant.
The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens , Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven ' tread him, but haven't lied about it either) and Herman Melville.
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to "impress" someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in-depth !
But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella ( ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I' lI come clean: I do thi8 and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).
1.Which of the fokllowing is a "guilty secret" according io the world Book Day report?
A. 42% of people pretended to have read 1984.
B. Charles Dickens is very low on the top--tcn list.
C. The author admitted having read 9 books
D. Dreams From My Father is hardly read.
2.How did the author find his friend a book liar?
A. By mentioning a famous name. B. By discussing the book itself
C. By judging his manner of speaking. D. By looking into his background.
3.By lying about reading, a person hopes to_____.
A.learn about the book
C. appear knowledgeable
B. control the conversation
D make more friends
4.What is the author's attitude to 58% of readers?
A.Doubtiful B.Favorable C.Uncaring D. Friendly
5.In the sentenced I'd hate to be caught out". "catch out" can have the similqr meaning with ____.
A. catch up B.1ook for C. catch at D.find out
The year is 2094,It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the Earth.Most of it will miss our planet, but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the Earth.
On 17 July, a piece four kilometers wide enters the Earth’s atmosphere with a massive explosion.About half of the piece is destoryed but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200times the speed of sound.The sea boils and a huge gole is made in the sea bed.Huge waves are created and spread outwards form the hole.The eall of water,a kilometer high,rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour.Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned.
Before the waves reach South America.the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina.Earthquakes and volcanoes are set off in the Andes Moutains.The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles,San Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes,Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead,but the north won’t eacape for long.Because of the explosions the sun is hidden by clouds of dust,and temperatures around the world fall to almost zero.Crops are ruined.The sun won’t be seen again for many years.Wars break out as countries fight for food.A year later,no more than 10 million remain laive.
Could it really happen?In fact,it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth.The dinesaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years,Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared.Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space. The dinosaurs couldn’t live through the cold climate that followed and they died out .Will we meet the same end ?
1.What is mainly described in the passage ?
A.A historic discovery B.A research on space
C.A scientific adventure D.An imaginary event
2.When the first piece hits the South Atlantic,it causes_______.
A.an earthquake B.huge waves
C.damages to cities D.an Earth explosion
3.Why can’t the northern half of the earth escape ofr long?
A.Because the land is covered with water.
B.because people there can not live at the temperature of zero.
C.Because wars break out among countries.
D.Because the light and heat from the sun can not reach the earth.
4.By giving the example if dinosaurs,the author tries to prove________.
A.animals could not live in the cold climate.
B.what happened 65 mollion years ago was an invented story.
C.the human beings will die out in 2094
D.the Earth could be hit by other objects in space
5.We may guess that the writer is_________.
A.worried B.full of imagination C.practical D.a scientist
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy”at Microsoft.The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed.”he said.”Give me our e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in ,as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied,”But Idon’t have a computer,neither an e-mail.”
“I’m sorry,”said the HR manager,”If you don’t have an e-mail,that means you do not exist.And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all.He didn’t know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket.He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes.He then sold the tomatoes from door to door.In les
s than two hours,he succeded to double his capital,He repeated the operation three times,and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he can survive in this way,and started to go every day earlier,and return late,Thus,his money doubled or tripled every day.Shortly,he bought a cart,then a truck,and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles.Five years later,the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance He called an insurance broker and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail,The man replied,”I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered curiously,”You don’t have an e-mail,and yet have succeeded to build an empire.Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?”The man thought for a while and replied,”Yes,I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
1.Why can’t the man have the job at Microsoft?
A.Because he didn’t have an e-mail
B.B Because he was lazy.
C. Because he didn’t pass the test
D. Because he didn’t have a computer
2.The underlined word “triple”can be replaced by_______.
A.become 3 times B.become large C.increase quickly D.decrease quickly
3.According to the passage,which of the following is TRUE?
A.The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world.
B.The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview.
C.He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket.
D.Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft.
4.The man can be described as ______.
A.helpful and considerate B.smart and hardworking
C.positive and generous D.stubborn and unselfish
5.Which proverb can best describe the story?
A.Where there is a will,there is a way. B.Accidents will happen.
C.Misfortune may be an actual blessing. D.No pains,no gains.
