I can well remember that I was once asked to deliver a speech titled “A Real Test in My Life” before the whole class at the age of 9! You can imagine how 1. (terrible) shy I was with so many eyes 2. (fix) upon me. I had no 3. (choose) but to prepare for it, though. First of all, I was to draft the speech, which was just a piece of cake for me, a good writer. But the hardest part 4. (lie) in my oral presentation from my memory— for to read from the paper was not allowed. The real moment began 5. I stood on the platform with my legs trembling and my mind blank. But my listeners were waiting patiently without any signs of rushing me. Gradually I found myself back, 6. (deliver) my speech with difficulty. After what seemed to be a hundred years, I found my audience applauding(鼓掌)— I made 7.! From then on, my fear of talking before an audience disappeared. Actually with my 8. (confident) building up, I now turn out to be a great speaker. Looking back, I know the greatest difficulty on our way 9. success is our fear. Overcome it 10. we will be able to achieve our goals.
My name is Peter, and I use a wheelchair to get around. This year I ____ to be in the School Walkathon.
At the Walkathon last year, I helped hand out drinks to the walkers. The teachers and parents said they couldn’t have ____ without me.
“Are you going to give out drinks ____ this year?” my friend Michael asked.
“I ____ so,” I said. “But I ____ wish I could do laps (跑道的圈) with you.”
Michael told Mrs Hunt that I wanted to ____ the Walkathon. Mrs Hunt looked at me. “It’s not a good course for a wheelchair,” she said. “The hilly part would be too ____.”
“But I could push Peter over the hard bits,” said Michael.
“I’ll ____ it,” said Mrs Hunt.
That afternoon, Mrs Hunt called a class meeting. Michale told everyone about his ____.
“We could all take turns. That way no one would get too ____,” said Olivia. Then everyone said they would take a turn.
When the Walkathon began, I turned my wheels round and round as ____ as I could. When we came to the hilly bit, Michael ____ to push me up it. Olivia was waiting halfway up. “My ____ now,” she said. With all the help my ____ were giving me, I ____ the first lap and did a second lap — and another. I was tired in the ____.
“It’s time to announce the winner of the mystery prize. It goes to ... Peter!” Mrs Hunt said.
I looked at all the things I had ____, and felt extremely ____. But then I remembered that the whole ____ had helped me.
“I want everyone to ____ the prize,” I said. “Let’s keep all the things in our classroom. Then we can all have some fun!”
And that’s what we did.
1.A. need B. agree C. want D. offer
2.A. remembered B. waited C. helped D. managed
3.A. soon B. again C. once D. first
4.A. suppose B. hope C. do D. say
5.A. never B. really C. partly D. still
6.A. lead B. organize C. give up D. join in
7.A. difficult B. serious C. important D. different
8.A. take control of B. have pity on C. think about D. look after
9.A. fear B. idea C. success D. story
10.A. sad B. dirty C. slow D. tired
11.A. fast B. long C. far D. often
12.A. forgot B. avoided C. started D. hated
13.A. break B. decision C. turn D. plan
14.A. teachers B. friends C. parents D. neighbors
15.A. finished B. caught C. prevented D. wasted
16.A. day B. way C. past D. end
17.A. owned B. expected C. won D. discovered
18.A. nervous B. happy C. bored D. young
19.A. class B. family C. school D. world
20.A. share B. receive C. value D. show
The tradition of birthday parties started a long time ago. People thought that there was a special danger from evil (邪恶的) spirits, so friends and family came together to bring good thoughts and wishes and even presents. 1. But as time went by, children and then adults began to have their own birthday celebrations. There are some traditions — such as sending birthday cards, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake and singing the “Happy Birthday” song, which you can find almost anywhere, any time. 2.
In many English-speaking countries, a twenty-first birthday cake often has a key on top. 3. The key means that the young person is now old enough to leave and enter the family home at any time they want to!
In the past in parts of Europe, men who reached the age of thirty and were still single, had to clean the stairs of the City Hall. This way every girl could see that the man didn’t have a girlfriend. 4.
After the age of thirty, many people prefer to forget their birthdays rather than celebrate them … children often bring Mum (or Dad) breakfast in bed. 5. It’s also a day when your friends and family have to pay if you go out for drinks or a meal!
A. Birthday traditions are around the world.
B. At one time, only kings had birthday parties.
C. Or the cake itself is sometimes in the shape of a key.
D. It’s traditional to give flowers and enjoy a special meal.
E. Family members put many sweets on the birthday cake.
F. They could also see how good he was at cleaning the house!
G. Others are more specific to certain ages and certain countries.
Most buildings are built to stand up straight, but these look as if they might fall over!
The church tower of Suurhusen
Built in 1450, the 27-meter-high church tower lies in Suurhusen, Germany. It was built in wet land on foundations of oak tree trunks (树干). When the land was drained (排水) later, the wood broke down, causing one side of the tower to be a little lower than the other. In 1975, the tower became a real hazard and people were not allowed to enter until the foundations were made strong again. The lean (倾斜) of the tower is now about five degrees.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The work of building the tower began in 1173, and was finally completed in 1372. In fact, it began to lean after just a couple of floors were built. And this condition continued in the centuries after its completion. The tower was finally closed to the public in 1990 after people failed to stabilize (使稳固) its foundations. In 2001, it was reopened after engineers removed soil from underneath its raised side. Now it leans just an angle of 3.97 degrees.
Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi
Completed in 2011, the Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi was designed to lean eighteen degrees. The building stands next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and contains, among other things, a fine hotel with wonderful views of the harbour. Also known as the leaning tower of Abu Dhabi, the tower is one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Big Ben of London
The building leans 0.26 degrees to the northwest. This is mainly caused by the engineering projects that have been carried out in the ground below it since the late 1800s. The tower, which has been continuously open since it was completed in 1858, has nowhere near the lean of the Tower of Pisa and is still completely safe to enter.
1.The underlined word “hazard” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_____”.
A. danger B. church C. castle D. treasure
2.What can we learn about the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
A. It didn’t lean until ten years after its completion.
B. It took almost two hundred years to complete.
C. It was built on foundations of oak tree trunks.
D. It has been open since it was completed.
3.Which of the following towers leans the most according to the text?
A. The church tower of Suurhusen.
B. The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
C. Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi.
D. Big Ben of London.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. The history of towers
B. The art of building a tower
C. The leaning towers of the world
D. Top four tallest towers in Europe
One day, a patient came to see me. He worked as a waiter in a restaurant and his problem was acid reflux (胃酸倒流), a disease that influences as many as 40 percent of Americans, a marked increase in recent years. Reflux can lead to esophageal (食道的) cancer, which has increased by about 500 percent since the 1970s. The drugs we use to treat reflux don’t always work and may even increase the risk of developing cancer when used long term.
What is responsible for these worrying developments? For one, our poor diet, with its huge increases in the intake of sugar, fat, soft drinks, and unhealthy foods. But another important fact has been overlooked: dinnertime. Over the past twenty years, the time of my patients’ evening meals has become later and later. Dinner — already pushed back by longer work hours — is often further delayed by activities such as shopping and exercise.
In my experience, the single most important treatment for reflux is to avoid late eating. A patient with reflux came to see me because her father and uncle died of esophageal cancer, and she was afraid of getting it too. Her nightly routine (常规) included a 9 p.m. dinner with at least two bottles of red wine. The reflux was serious, and changes were needed.
She listened, then did not come back to see me for a year. “For the first two months, I just hated you,” she told me, “and for the next two months, I was having some trouble eating. I guessed I was going to die of esophageal cancer.” Then she added, “You know, we’re the reason that it’s not so easy to get 6 p.m. reservations (预约) at the good restaurants anymore.”
To stop the increase in reflux disease, we have to stop eating at least three hours before bed. As for my waiter patient? I told him to eat dinner before 7 p.m. Within six weeks, his reflux was gone.
1.The disease the waiter caught is _____.
A. on the rise
B. easy to control
C. unusual in America
D. the most dangerous cancer
2.What does the underlined word “overlooked” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Talked about a lot.
B. Paid no attention to.
C. Carefully looked into.
D. Taken into consideration.
3.Why did the woman patient hate the author?
A. He spoke of her dead father and uncle.
B. He asked her to change her eating habits.
C. He couldn’t find a way to deal with her problem.
D. He couldn’t make her healthy again within a year.
4.The author writes the text to tell us _____.
A. not to work late at night
B. to avoid eating at restaurants
C. unhealthy foods cause cancer
D. the danger of eating late at night
Some unwelcome visitors from North America have been turning up in the waters off the coast of Great Britain.
North American lobsters (龙虾) have been found in the North Sea (between Great Britain and Northwest Europe), far from their own habitat. The lobsters usually live along the eastern coast of Canada and the United States.
It is impossible that the lobsters could have made the 5,600-kilometre journey on their own. They were probably brought to Britain and then got away from containers. Some of the lobsters that were caught had elastic bands (松紧带) holding their legs shut, like lobsters that are kept in containers in stores or restaurants.
Many may have been “set free” from some ships passing through the area. Sometimes passengers order a live lobster from a tank in the dining room and then ask the waiter to throw it overboard instead of cooking it.
According to official records, 26 North American lobsters have been caught in waters off Great Britain since 1988. However, it is believed many more have been found but not reported.
It is against the law to let North American lobsters come into British waters. If they settle down in European waters, it would be bad for the local lobsters. The
two live in the same place and eat the same food. But North American lobsters are larger, stronger and more aggressive (好斗的) than European lobsters, and they produce young more quickly.
As a result, they could take food and space away from the local lobsters, and from other types of shellfish that live in the same area. These lobsters may also carry diseases that could harm the local lobsters.
1.Those unwelcome lobsters _____.
A. could travel 5,600 km a day on their own
B. used to live in waters off Great Britain
C. would soon disappear in British waters
D. might have escaped on the way to Britain
2.What can we learn about European lobsters?
A. They are growing too fast to be kept under control.
B. Shellfish often take away their food and space.
C. They are easily harmed by North American lobsters.
D. People become ill easily if they eat these lobsters.
3.The author's purpose of writing the text is most likely to _____.
A. discuss B. report
C. advertise D. introduce
