When I was little, I was really little. But my dream was big. I dreamed of being a basketball player. I tried out for the teams at school, but I was never given a chance.

As I got older, I did grow a little bigger, but not a lot bigger. On my 12th birthday, I decided to try a new sport: running. I told Grandpa. “I’m going to be an athlete.”

“Dave.” Grandpa began gently, “if you can’t be big, you can do something big.”

I ran 12 miles on my 12th birthday. On my 13th birthday, I did it again, but I added an extra mile. On my 14th birthday, I ran 14 miles. 15 on my 15th, 16 on my 16th, and you guessed it—17 miles on my 17th birthday.

All this running inspired（激发）another big dream. Someday, I’d run the Boston Marathon（波士顿马拉松赛）. I told Grandpa about my decision.

“But, Dave, you haven’t trained for the marathon. Are you sure you’re ready?” Grandpa asked. But he still promised to walk over and cheer me on.

I ran fast that day, But I fell at Mile 18 and was driven to the hospital. Later that night, I called Grandpa and told him I failed.

“No,” he said calmly, “you didn’t fail. You discovered something.”

“I did?” I asked.

“Yes, you discovered that big dreams don’t just come true. They take work. If you train and work hard, I promise to wait for you next year and cheer you on.”

I trained every day, running miles and miles. Sadly, just two months into my training, Grandpa died. He wouldn’t be waiting for my second Boston Marathon. I decided I’d run for him.

That day, I ran fast. “Keep going! You can do it!” His words filled my head as I forced my legs to make each painful step. As I crossed the finish line, I threw my arms in the air and cried, “Grandpa, we did it!”

8. Why did Dave fail to join the school basketball team?

A．He couldn’t run fast.	B．He didn’t work hard.
C．He was not tall enough.	D．He wasn’t a quick learner.

9. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Adding an extra mile.	B．Running on his birthday.
C．Training for the marathon.	D．Trying out for the basketball team.

10. Which of the following words best describes Grandpa?

A．Creative.

B．Modest.

C．Generous.

D．Encouraging.

11. What is the best title for the text?

A．Dream Big	B．The Boston Marathon
C．Think Twice	D．The Story of Grandpa

Imagine a tiny robot crawling（爬）through your body, helping doctors with their work. It’s not from a science novel. Doctors are now using robots to do operations（手术）. This is because robots can do some work that doctors can’t. The robots carry small cameras, which allow doctors to look inside patients’ bodies. The robots also have tiny scissors and other tools. “It’s like having little hands inside the patients,” said Dr. Wang from a hospital in Beijing.

Here’s how they work: The doctor makes a small cut in a patient. Then, the doctor puts the robot through the cut. Next, the doctor controls the robot to reach where it needs to go. Finally, with the help of the robot, the doctor looks inside the patient’s body and begins to work.

The robots have many advantages for doctors and patients. They help cut medical costs and make difficult operations quicker and easier. They allow doctors to operate with less damage（伤害）to patients’ bodies, too. This helps them to heal（治愈）faster.

However, the robots aren’t perfect. They can be expensive. What’s more, they are just tools to help humans, and they must be used by skilled doctors. Even the best robots can’t do everything that humans can do.

Scientists are working to make robots, smarter. Someday, robots may do even more than expected for humans.

12. The robots carry ________ to help doctors look inside patients’ bodies.

A．small cameras

B．little hands

C．common tools

D．tiny scissors

13. In what order does the doctor do operations with the help of the robot?
a. Look inside the patient’s body and begin to work.
b. Control the robot to reach where it needs to go.
c. Put the robot into the patient’s body through the cut.
d. Make a small cut.

A．d→b→c→a

B．d→c→a→b

C．d→a→c→b

D．d→c→b→a

14. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The size of the robots.

B．The future of the robots.

C．The costs of the robots.

D．The advantages of the robots.

15. What may be the best title for the passage?

A．Doctors Cut Medical Costs

B．Scientists Make Robots Smarter

C．Robots Help Doctors with Operations

D．Patients Do More than Expected