The new mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan, is a man of the people, ready to listen to their problems, but only until 6 p.m. Then he has to do his homework. Michael Sessions, 18, beat former mayor Douglas Ingles, 51, by just two votes and became the new mayor of Hillsdale. He is America's youngest mayor.
As Sessions was too young to enter the election in the spring of 2005, he registered- to vote on Sept. 22, one day after his 18-year-old birthday. The day after that he started his write-in campaign, which means he should persuade voters to remember his name and write it by hand on the voting ballots（選票）.
To help get his name known, Sessions earned＄700 by selling apples over the summer. He spent the money on posters and put them on the Hillsdale's lawns.
Sessions' month-long campaign included going door to door, explaining his ideas of the town's future in the kitchens of his neighbors. "They'd look at me, and say‘How old are you again? How much experience do you have?'And I say‘I'm still in high school', "he said. Sessions promised Hillsdale's voters he would renew local economy. “I was hopeful the whole time, ”he explained. One day he spent so long out on the streets knocking on the doors that he ended up in a hospital emergency room.
Sessions said that his schoolwork will not get in the way of his job as a mayor. “From 7:50 a.m. to 2:30p.m., I'11 be a student. From 3 to 6, I'11 be the mayor of Hillsdale," he said.
“He did a very brave thing that couldn't have been easy for him to do, "said Jack Vettel, a councilman in Hillsdale, a city of 8,200 about 75 miles southwest of Detroit. "He does care about this town. He's been here all his life. ”
Sessions will receive＄3, 600 a year during his four-year term, and will work out of his bedroom since the town does not provide the mayor with an office.
【小題1】What is TRUE of Sessions' election campaign according to the text?

   Probably many of you know the idiom “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. But do you believe a tooth for an eye? That’s something a little bit different.

   This strange exchange is neither a form of retribution(報(bào)應(yīng)) nor an unexpected gift from the Tooth Fairy --- it’s actually a very generous gift from a young Irishman, Robert McNichol, 23, to his formerly blind father, 57-year-old Bob McNichol.

   In 2005, Bob McNichol’s sight was destroyed in an accident when his eyes were doused(濺在……上面)with liquid aluminum(鋁). Doctors predicted that he would never be able to see again.

   But McNichol never liked to take no for an answer: when he heard about a unique operation called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis, he knew he had to give it a shot, even though the success rate was a mere 65 percent.

   In the technique, the eye socket(眼窩) is rebuilt and implanted(植入) with a human tooth and part of the jawbone, to provide support for an artificial cornea(角膜). Luckily for McNichol, Robert was willing to sacrifice one of his teeth to help his father regain his sight.

   The technique isn’t simple: McNichol’s first stint on the operating table lasted ten hours, with a five hour follow-up session at a later date. But thanks to his son’s gift, he’s already seeing astonishing results.

   “Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. I have come out from complete darkness.” he told his friends.

Bob McNichol lost his sight ____ .

       A. after he had an operation on his eyes     

       B. because of an accident 

      C. because he met with a serious traffic accident 

       D. when he was 57 years old  

The underlined phrase “give it a shot” (in Paragraph 4) probably means “____”.

       A. give it a try      B. make a remark C. fire a gun              D. kick the ball

The tooth Bobert donated to his father is used to ____ .

       A. make the eye socket look prettier          B. cause his jawbone to function well

       C. help his father take in more food         D. support the implanted artificial cornea

What would be the best title for the passage?

       A. Father and son               B. A unique eye operation 

      C. A man defeating darkness       D. Blind man sees with aid of son’s tooth

Liu Xiang, athlete, born in 1983

Liu Xiang made his name by winning the 110-meter hurdles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This was the first time an athlete of non-African descent (血統(tǒng)) had gone under 13 seconds for the event. In the same year, Liu set a new 110-meter hurdling world record at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, with a time of 12.88 seconds.

Lang Lang, pianist, born in 1982

Lang Lang began piano lessons at age three. His father quit his job to accompany his boy to Beijing. At 11, Lang Lang was awarded first prize for his outstanding performance at the Fourth International Young Pianists Competition in Germany. In 1995, at 13, he won first place at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians’ Competition in Japan. At 17, Lang Lang made his breakthrough in the West and has performed with many of the world’s major orchestras since then.

Li Yuchun, singer, born in 1984

Born into a middle-class family, Li was not encouraged by her parents to pursue a career in entertainment. The turning point came when she entered the Super Girl contest in 2005. This competition drew the largest audiences in Chinese television history. She rose above 120,000 applicants with her tomboy style and Latin-flavored performance. Her win came as a surprise to many people because she didn’t fit the stereotype of female singers. She has millions of fans of all ages all over the country. Her haircut and manners have been copied by tens of thousands of girls. Her first album sold more than 430,000 copies in the first month.

Ding Junhui, snooker player, born in 1987

Ding quit school at 13, after his father insisted he concentrate on snooker. His parents then sold their house to help Ding kick-start his career. In March 2005, he celebrated his 18th birthday by reaching the final of the China Open in Beijing, along the way beating world top-16 ranked players Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu and Ken Doherty. In the final, he defeated the then world No 3, Stephen Hendry, ranking first in the tournament. After shooting to fame, questions were raised over the father’s decision for Ding to quit school.

1.Who is the passage intended for?

A．People only interested in China Daily.        B．Children born after the 1980s.

C．Students and the young crazy fans.          D．Readers of all ages.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Liu Xiang was the first to prove the Asians can equal the African descent in the hurdles.

B．Li Yunchun’s talent made her the best-known singer in China.

C．Ding Junhui was forced to drop out of school because of his low grades.

D．Lang Lang was the most popular with the students in China.

3.Who was the youngest when they rose to fame?

A．Li Yuchun.         B．Liu Xiang.          C．Ding Junhui.        D．Lang Lang.

When Jackie Robinson walked onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, on April 15, 1947, he changed baseball forever. As the first African American to play in the Major League in modern times, many believe he changed the country forever.

Robinson was born in 1919. He lived in a time when rules controlled what African Americans could do. He was a top athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball. But playing for a major League team was off limits to Robinson because of his race.

Branch Rickey, president and manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed (和……簽約) Robinson in 1947. He believed that Robinson not only had the skills, but the courage to face the challenge of becoming modern baseball’s first black player.

It wasn’t easy. Robinson sometimes faced boos (噓聲) from fans. But he became a star, anyway. In 1962, he became the first African-American player chosen to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress can give to an American.

By breaking baseball’s color barrier (膚色障礙), Robinson opened the door for many to follow his footsteps, not only in baseball, but in other areas of life as well. After he stopped playing the game, Robinson worked as a manager for a coffee company. He wrote a newspaper column (專欄). He also  started a bank.

1.Before Jackie Robinson, no African-American players could __________.

2.According to Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson was __________.

3.We can know that Jackie Robinson’s story __________.

4.Which of the following is NOT what he once did?

第三部分: 閱讀理解 (共兩節(jié)，滿分40分)
第一節(jié)（共15小題；每小題2分，滿分30分）
When Jackie Robinson walked onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, on April 15, 1947, he changed baseball forever. As the first African American to play in the Major League in modern times, many believe he changed the country forever.
Robinson was born in 1919. He lived in a time when rules controlled what African Americans could do. He was a top athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball. But playing for a major League team was off limits to Robinson because of his race.
Branch Rickey, president and manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed (和……簽約) Robinson in 1947. He believed that Robinson not only had the skills, but the courage to face the challenge of becoming modern baseball’s first black player.
It wasn’t easy. Robinson sometimes faced boos (噓聲) from fans. But he became a star, anyway. In 1962, he became the first African-American player chosen to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress can give to an American.
By breaking baseball’s color barrier (膚色障礙), Robinson opened the door for many to follow his footsteps, not only in baseball, but in other areas of life as well. After he stopped playing the game, Robinson worked as a manager for a coffee company. He wrote a newspaper column (專欄). He also started a bank.
56. Before Jackie Robinson, no African-American players could __________.
A. play baseball                                                      B. play in the Major League
C. play football and basketball                                  D. watch Major League games
57. According to Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson was __________.
A. poor but clever                                            B. unlucky but confident
C. proud and strong                                                 D. brave and skilled
58. We can know that Jackie Robinson’s story __________.
A. changed many Africans’ ideas
B. had an effect on many black people’s lives
C. encouraged black people to fight with whites
D. started a hot discussion about the color barrier
59. Which of the following is NOT what he once did?
A. a newspaper column writer                        B. a banker     
C. a university teacher                      D. a manager in a company