Big storms. High waves. Technical failures. 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 around the world.
The 17-year-old made the record after he cleared the Panama Canal and then sailed through the Caribbean and home across the Atlantic.
Mike is only three months 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 directions. Mike insisted they were not rival. “No. It’s two teenagers going out there, living their dream and having the adventure of a life time.” 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 underneath 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 that you will make it,” he said.
1.Which canal did Mike Perham cross? （No more than 3 words）
2.What does the underlined word “taste” in the fifth paragraph mean? （1 word）
3.What did Mike believe in? （No more than 10 words）
4.What’s the main idea of the passage? （No more than 15 words）
5.What do you think of Mike Perham? （No more than 10 words）
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied (依赖) on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.
1.What does this passage mainly talk about?
A. Competition helps to set up self-respect.
B. Opinions about competition are different among people.
C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D. Failures are necessary experiences in competition.
2.Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
A. It pushes society forward.
B. It builds up a sense of duty.
C. It improves personal abilities.
D. It encourages individual efforts.
3.The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
A. those who try their best to win
B. those who value competition most highly
C. those who are against competition most strongly
D. those who rely on others most for success
4.What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
A. One's worth lies in his performance compared with others.
B. One's success in competition needs great efforts.
C. One's achievement is determined by his particular skills.
D. One's success is based on how hard he has tried.
5.Which point of view may the author agree to?
A. Every effort should be paid back.
B. Competition should be encouraged.
C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.
D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week ago, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers (抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment (公寓房间), I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were welling to help each other.
1. How did the writer feel when she was walking home after work?
A. Cold and sick.
B. Fortunate and helpful.
C. Satisfied and cheerful.
D. Disappointed and helpless.
2.From the first paragraph, we learn that the writer was busy ______.
A. solving her problem at the bank
B. taking part in various city activities
C. learning acting in a n evening school
D. preparing for the first night show
3.On her way home the writer ______.
A. lost her wallet unknowingly
B. was stopped by a garbage truck driver
C. was robbed of her wallet by an armed man
D. found some homeless people following her
4.In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
A. Someone offered to take her back home.
B. A red-haired man came to see her.
C. She heard someone call her name.
D. Her wallet was found in a garbage truck.
5.From the text, we can infer that the writer ______.
A. would stop working at night
B. would stay on in San Francisco
C. would make friends with cleaners
D. would give up her job at the bank
When first entered, Vanak Restaurant does not look like much of a restaurant, but once the pleasant smells of kabob（烤肉串）hit the senses, you are incapable of calling it anything less.
Owned by a local couple, this Persian restaurant has an inviting, homelike atmosphere that many restaurants lack.
The space is small with only a few dining tables and nearly no decoration, but the environment is truly charming.
Lying in a hardly noticeable street corner, the restaurant still attracts all customers, especially those experienced in the delights of Middle Eastern cooking.
A common sight is that of old Persian men sitting in the corner talking loudly about world topics, watching news events on TV, drinking a black tea known as Persian chai, an reading local Persian newspapers all the while trying to finish off their plates piled with food.
The variety of food at the restaurant is limited, but the amount of each dish is fairly large. Most of the meals can serve two people and are under $10, so not only is it affordable but practical as well.
The food, especially appeals to health-conscious eaters because each dish is very healthy, made with limited fat and oil and served straight off the grill （烤肉架）.
The main dish that the restaurant is popular for is its kabobs, which are different style of grilled meat. One delicious and extremely healthy dish is the Joojeh Kabob, which is made of grille chicken pieces served with either rice or bread. Another great kabob is the Cbelo Kabob, kabob consisting of grilled beef.
Although the restaurant is small, the atmosphere and the food is delicious. It is a place that should not be overlooked.
1.When first entering the restaurant, one can find that it ______.
A. is splendidly decorated
B. has pleasant smells of kabobs
C. is crowded with dining tables
D. looks like a common restaurant
2.What activity is also mentioned apart from dining in the restaurant?
A. Watching news events on TV.
B. Drinking a kind of black coffee.
C. Reading local English newspapers.
D. Discussing world topics in low voices.
3.The food of the restaurant ______.
A. is served in small amounts B. is rather expensive
C. is rich in variety D. is very healthy
4.What is the dish Joojeh Kabob mainly made of?
A. Rice B. Chicken C. Bread D. Beef
5.It can be inferred from the passage that the restaurant ________.
A. occupies a large space
B. owns a favorable location
C. is popular for its special food
D. has a quiet environment inside
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He advertised for hired hands. Most people were to work on farms along the Atlantic. They feared the awful that spread across the Atlantic, damaging the buildings and crops. the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received many .
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, the farmer.” Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer asked him.
“Well, I can when the wind blows,” answered the little man.
Although by this answer, the farmer, for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the , busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt with the man’s work. then one night the wind howled（怒号）loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer took a lantern and next door the hired hand’s sleeping room. He shook the little man and , “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down they are blown away! The little man rolled over in bed and said , “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows” by the answer, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. , he hurried outside to prepared for the storm. To his , he discovered that all of the haystacks（干草堆）had been covered with tarpaulins（帆布）. The cows and the chickens were all in the places, and the doors were fastened. The windows were tightly . Everything was . Nothing could be blown away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
1.A. unfit B. curious C. undoubted D. unwilling
2.A. hurricanes B. storms C. earthquakes D. wars
3.A. if B. once C. as D. until
4.A. refusals B. suggestions C. rewards D. desires
5.A. approached B. interviewed C. reminded D. educated
6.A. work B. sleep C. wake D. flee
7.A. excited B. touched C. puzzled D. discouraged
8.A. convenient B. famous C. bad D. desperate
9.A. farm B. company C. ocean D. station
10.A. bored B. satisfied C. patient D. honest
11.A. walked B. slipped C. rushed D. fell
12.A. cheered B. whispered C. asked D. cried
13.A. while B. after C. before D. unless
14.A. firmly B. weakly C. strangely D. closely
15.A. moved B. angered C. beaten D. calmed
16.A. therefore B.as a result C. as usually D. instead
17.A. surprise B. regret C. horror D. sorrow
18.A. wrong B. proper C. top D.clean
19.A. painted B. stored C. secured D. destroyed
20.A. flied away B. died down C. blown away D. tied down
The glass doors have taken the place of the wooden ones at the entrance, ______ in the natural light during the day.
A. to let B. letting C. let D. having let
