Gloria arrived in Barbados on 26 January, 2008 after rowing * across the Atlantic for three months
and a half. Gloria was in one of 36 small wooden rowing boats that set off on 7 October, 2007 from Tenerife
Island on the Atlantic Rowing Challenge Race. Each boat was exactly the same design and each one had food
for the journey. There were two people in each boat and their challenge was to row across the Atlantic, a
journey of about 3,360 kilometers.
     Gloria began the journey with her husband in a small boat. However, after 14 days he became very afraid
of the huge ocean and was not able to go on, so he left her with the help of a helping boat. This did not make
Gloria give up. Instead, she decided that she would continue by herself. So, for the next hundred days, she
rowed her small boat alone and fought against the waves and the winds, and her own fears.
     When she finally arrived in Barbados, Gloria was not willing to leave her boat although her husband and
family were there to greet her. She sat so long in the boat that she could hardly stand, her husband had to
carry her off the boat. After that, the first thing she did was to drink a toast  to her small boat, the very
special lady. This lady carried her safely through many storms on her long journey and she loved it.
     Gloria is really a brave woman. She has become the tenth woman in the world to row across the Atlantic.
Like the others, she has experienced great joys and terrible things. But a brave person is not always brave,
"Sometimes I wanted more than anything to be warm and dry in bed and safe from the storm around me.
I wanted to stop being brave," she said.

1. When did Gloria's husband leave her? It was _________.

A. on 7 October, 2007
B. on 26 January, 2008
C. on 21 October, 2007
D. on 12 January, 2008

2. When she reached Barbados, _________.

A. Gloria thanked her husband
B. Gloria felt sad to leave her boat
C. Gloria jumped off her boat quickly
D. everyone drank a toast to Gloria

3. What does "the very special lady" mean?_________.

A. Gloria's boat
B. Gloria's mother
C. Gloria herself
D. Gloria's motherland

4. Which of the following is similar in meaning to the sentence "A brave person is not always brave."?

A. She was not willing to leave her boat, her close friend
B. Her husband became very afraid of the huge ocean and left her
C. She fought against the big waves and strong winds, and her own fears
D. Sometimes she wanted to be warm and dry and to stop being brave

5. Why does the writer think that Gloria is really brave? Because _________.

A. she got to Barbados successfully with her husband
B. she took part in the Atlantic Rowing Challenge Race
C. she arrived at Barbados after rowing 3,360 kilometers
D. she didn't need her husband at all during the journey

     Erden Eruc has been rowing across the Pacific Ocean (太平洋) in a rowboat since he left California on
July 10, 2007. He has been heading for Australia with only birds, fish, and sharks ever since. 
     Crossing the Pacific is only part of his journey. Eruc has decided to go all the way around the world using
his own energy. He will row, bike, walk, and climb the world without help from any motors (發(fā)動機) at all.
His plan includes climbing the tallest peak on six of the continents (洲) along the way.
     For the first part of his trip, he bicycled 5,546 miles from Seattle, Washington to Mount McKinley in Alaska
and back, walked 67 miles to base camp, and climbed 20,320 feet to McKinley's peak. Now in the second part
of his adventure (冒險活動), he is rowing to Australia.
     Why would he try to go around the world this way? He explains that he wants to encourage kids to dream
their dreams and get to their own goals. He wants to show kids that there might be hard parts along the way,
and sometimes they might not even get to that final goal. But they can have great adventures and learn a lot
along the way.
     Eruc. has already faced some difficulties. For example, winds and waves keep pushing him westward
when he wants to go south toward the Solomon Islands. If his luck doesn't change, he will cheerfully change
his plan, and aim to land at Papua New Guinea. One way or another, he's sure he'll get to his next goal:
Australia.
     When his trip around the world takes him across land, he enjoys meeting people-especially children. He
has already visited many schools and shared his story.
     Eruc encourages all kids to set their eyes on a goal and not give up. He says, "With goals, we will make
progress, and we will be farther along than when we started, even if we don't get to some goals. Tnat's called
life!"

1. We can learn from the passage that Eruc ________ during his adventure.

A. took a train
B. rowed his boat
C. travelled by air
D. travelled by bus

2. Eruc takes adventures to ________.

A. make himself healthy
B. find out difficulties in life
C. make his mind strong
D. set an example for children

3. Eruc seems to have a special love for ________.

A. children
B. animals
C. rowing
D. bicycling

4. Eruc thinks that it is important for children to ________.

A. have all kinds of sports
B. have dreams and goals
C. face a lot of difficulties
D. take great adventures

5. To Erac, life means ________.

A. going around the world
B. climbing the world's tallest peaks
C. struggling for the goals
D. rowing across the Pacific Ocean

     CHENGDU-After flying for five minutes over Wenchuan, Li Xiang finally found a landing place for his
helicopter (直升機) on a hill near the earthquake-hit county.
     Li, an officer of the Aviation Regiment (陸航團) of the Ghengdu Military Area Command, then made a
soft landing and waited as his team got off food and medicine while the people around cried, "Thank you,
soldiers! Finally, we have hope."
     After the quake, Li's regiment was the first to fly into the counties and towns such as Wenchuan,
Maoxian, Yingxiu and Beichuan.
     After struggling with all difficulties, the regiment provided a lifeline from the sky for the people who they
would have been unable to get to in any other way.
     At 2: 28 pm on May 12, a heavy shake woke up the pilots who were taking a rest. At 2:48 pm, they were
told to fly to the quake-hit area. And Li's regiment started the largest rescue (營救) operation in its history.
     By Wednesday, the regiment had carried more than 304 tons of food, medicine and water. It had also
flown 959 injured (受傷的) peopleout of the quake-hit areas and carried 1,232 rescuers and medical workers
into the areas.
     Since May 12, the regiment has made 815 flights into the quake-hit areas, with a total flying time of 758
hours.
     The pilots also risked their lives for foreigners trapped in the high mountains for four days. On May 15,
two helicopters transported 35 foreign tourists from Wolong village to Ghengdu. The tourists, mainly from
the US, the UK and France, could finally put an end to their panda-viewing trip.

1. According to the passage, ________.

A. the helicopters got to the trapped people easily
B. no one flew to the area before Li's regiment did
C. the regiment had not gone to any rescue before
D. the helicopters were used as they could land anywhere

2. It can be inferred from the passage that ________ were among the most needed soon after
   the quake happened.

A. tents, food and clothes
B. food, medicine and water
C. food, water and clothes
D. tents, water and medicine

3. Which of the following may NOT be included in the regiment's tasks?

A. To carry medicine to the quake-hit areas.
B. To carry rescuers to the quake-hit areas.
C. To take injured people out of the quake-hit areas.
D. To take buried (被埋的) people out of the rubble (瓦礫).

4. The foreign tourists who were rescued ________.

A. came from Europe, America and Oceania (大洋洲)
B. had been trapped in the mountains for 5 days
C. went to Sichuan to have a look at pandas
D. would continue their journey to Wolong

5. The proper title for the passage is "________".

A. They carry a lifeline through the air
B. They carry things to quake-hit areas
C. They send love to people in danger
D. They bring trapped people to safety

     They're best friends. They go to school together every day. They often go to the shopping mall at
weekends. Both of them have hair the colour of honey (蜂蜜), but one has big blue eyes and the other deep
brown eyes.
     One of the friends, Jenny Siegle, is in a wheelchair. The other, Augie, is an amazing dog who helps Jenny.
Jenny, who is 14 years old, is a quadriplegic (四肢癱瘓者), which means she cannot use her arms or legs.
Augie is a Freedom Service dog who is Jenny's arms and legs.
     How does Augie do this? In school, he picks up the pencil or notebook that Jenny drops. Jenny is also
training Augie to pull off her jacket so Jenny doesn't have to ask anyone for help.
     At home, Augie brings her the newspapers. He even helps clean Jenny's room. When Jenny asks him.
Augie goes to get her parents or sister. Augie also carries his food dish back to Jenny so she can fill it with
dog food. Then Augie puts it back neatly in its place.
      At the mall, Augie wears a pack that tells everyone he is a Freedom Service dog. When Jenny wants to
buy things, Augie carries them to the counter (柜臺). He gives the cashier Jenny's wallet and waits for the
change (找零).
      P. J. Roche, who started Freedom Service Dogs, says, "These dogs are a social bridge, Kids who don't
know Jenny come up to talk to her because she's got a dog." Augie is truly Jenny's best friend and helper
and her bridge to the world.

1. Augie is ___________.

A. a girl in a wheelchair
B. Roche's friend
C. a helpful dog
D. a cashier

2. Augie helps Jenny do many kinds of things except ___________.

A. helping her take off her clothes
B. carrying things to Jenny at home
C. paying money to the cashier at the mall
D. helping Jenny learn all kinds of things at school

3. "Augie is Jenny's bridge to the world" means that ___________.

A. it helps Jenny a lot in her life
B. it does everything it can for Jenny
C. it picks up things Jenny drops at school
D. children who don't know Jenny come to talk to her because of Augie

     One afternoon little David was playing with his friends in the street when he was hit by a motorcycle.
He fell and broke his arm. And he was immediately taken to a hospital. There a doctor operated on his arm
and put it in a cast (石膏)-David couldn't move it at all.
     "You must keep your arm in the cast for a month," the doctor said. "That will give your arm a chance
to become healthy again."
     At the end of a month David went back to the hospital. The doctor cut the cast and took David's arm
out of the cast.
     "Can you move your arm, David?" he asked.
     David tried to move his arm. At first it was difficult, but soon he could move it easily.
     "Yes, it's fine," he said. "Thank you very much."
     "In a few days it will be as good as new," the doctor said. "Just exercise it a little."
     "Will I be able to play the violin?" David asked.
     The doctor smiled. "Of course you will," he said. "You'll have no problems."
     "That is good news," David said happily. "Because I couldn't play it at all before."

1. How was David's arm broken?

A. He hurt it himself.
B. A motorcycle hit him.
C. His friend broke it.
D. He fell off a motorcycle.

2. He had to keep his arm in a cast for about _____ days.

A. twenty
B. thirty
C. forty
D. fifty

3. The doctor told David to _____ after the cast was taken off.

A. keep his arm still
B. play the violin
C. exercise his arm a little
D. ride a motorcycle

4. At last David was pleased because _____.

A. he would get a violin
B. he would not have to play the violin again
C. he would play the violin with his friends
D. he thought he would be able to play the violin

     Years ago, a college teacher gave a group of graduate (畢業(yè)) students this job: Go to a poor place. Take
200 boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, and find out their living environment. The predict their chances for
the future.
     After doing some research, the students found that 90% of the boys would spend some time in jail (監(jiān)獄).
     Twenty-five years later, another group of students was given the job: Go to test what the first group of
students had predicted. They went back to the same place. These 200 boys had then become men. Some of
them were still there, a few had died and some had moved away. The students found that only four of them
had ever been sent tot jail.
     These men had lived in a place full of crime (犯罪, 罪行) for many years. Why did the have such a good
record? When the students asked the reason, the men said," Well, there was a teacher…?
     The students found the teacher. What did she do to these boys? Could she give the students any reason
why these boys should have remembered her?
     "No," she said, "no, I really couldn't give any reason."And then, thinking back over the years, she said
happily, " I loved those boys…?

1. The first group of the students took _____ boys to help them to do their job.

A. 12
B. 16
C. 90
D. 200

2. The underlined word "predict" in the passage most probably means "_____" in Chinese.

A. 證明
B. 預測
C. 提供
D. 證明

3. Which of the following is not true?

A. Four of the boys had been sent to jail.
B. The 200 boys were between 12 and 16.
C. The woman teacher could not give any reason at last.
D. The children lived I a place which was full of crime

4. What's the main idea of this passage?

A. Predicting never works
B. Teacher's love can change children's life
C. Two hundred boys were tested by students
D. The two groups of students could predict the boys' future