1 . Jim Thorpe is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He had amazing athletic abilities and was well-known during his lifetime, yet that did not make Thorpe a stranger to adversity.

Thorpe was an American Indian from Oklahoma who developed his extraordinary athletic skills in his youth through hard labor. It was also in his youth that he learned to endure hardship brought upon by racial prejudice. Many would say his childhood was not easy. He grew up poor and at age 9 his twin brother passed away and a few years later he lost both of his parents.

But that did not stop him from doing what he loved and pursuing his dreams. Nothing seemed to stop him, not even stolen shoes. Just hours before Thorpe was going to compete in the 1912 Olympics, somebody stole his shoes. Thorpe improvised (临时拼凑) by getting shoes out of the garbage. The shoes were two different sizes. He wore an extra pair of socks on one foot to even them out.

He still went on to win two gold medals—winning each event he competed in except for one, the javelin (标枪). The javelin was the only event he didn’t win, probably because he had never competed in that event before. It is interesting to note that Thorpe had tried to throw the javelin once before in the Olympic trials. At the time, he didn’t know that he could throw it with a running start. He threw it standing still and was placed second.

At the Olympics，he also took part in the decathlon (十项全能运动). He finished first in two events, third in four events, and fourth in two more. Thorpe ended up finishing third in the world. He was undoubtedly a dominating force that couldn’t be stopped and just kept on going.

I think Paul Dughi said it best, “It’s hard to imagine now that pro athletes get paid millions of dollars just to wear a particular brand of shoes. For Jim Thorpe, it didn’t matter what kind he wore.”

1. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．The adversity Thorpe met with led to his success.

B．Thorpe’s success was no guarantee of a better life.

C．Thorpe’s career brought him both gains and losses.

D．Thorpe suffered many hardships despite his success.

2. Why did Thorpe wear more socks on one foot?

A．To prevent the foot from injury.	B．To make the shoe fit the foot.
C．To stop the shoe from being stolen.	D．To show his problem-solving skills.

3. What most likely led to Thorpe’s failure to win the javelin?

A．Loss of his own sports shoes.	B．A casual attitude towards the event.
C．Lack of experience in the event.	D．A shortage of talent for the event.

4. Which of the following words can best describe Jim Thorpe?

A．Loyal and enthusiastic.	B．Genuine and creative.
C．Tough and strong-minded.	D．Selfless and good-tempered.

2 . New technology rules the whole world now. But I still remember when I was a child, I did not have a cell phone or a computer because it was not necessary at all in those days. The internet was not popular, and the touch screen technology was unknown.

At this time here in the US smartphone are really a need, especially for young and business people. There are many applications really useful like maps, dictionaries, e-mails and games.

For me, I use my smartphone to check the weather and to look for something on the internet and of course to keep communicating through calls and texts. Besides, I like music applications, GPS and Facebook.

Many tests have discovered that cell phones cause damages to us because they send out radioactive(具有放射性的) waves to our bodies and this could cause cancer.

Psychologists say that these devices can affect behavior and I believe everyone knows it is harmful to the eyes if we are sitting for a long time in front of computer. However, it seems to be difficult for us to give up, even if we know how bad it is for our health. The use of technology becomes more and more important in our lives.

I think the use of technology has brought us unimaginable things. If we use technology correctly, I am sure it would be possible to decrease the damage to our bodies.

Keep in mind that it is important not to focus only on technology, but to spend time with our families and people close to us.

1. What can we know from the passage?

A．The author is a businessman working for a cell phone company.

B．The author has suffered a lot from the use of electrical devices.

C．The author knows little about the functions of modern cellphones.

D．The author is quite pleased with the various functions of cell phones.

2. Which of the following does the author agree with?

A．It’s not necessary to add more applications to the cell phone.

B．Cell phones have made our world a boring place to live in.

C．New technology has done people more harm than good.

D．New technology makes people separated from each other.

3. What does the underlined word “decrease” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．keep

B．cause

C．reduce

D．add

3 . 根据句子结构的语法性，在下面空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词的适当形式填空。

Peru is a country on the Pacific coast of South America,     1    includes three main areas: narrow, dry, flat land     2    (run) along the coast, the Andes Mountains, and the Amazon rainforest. In the high plain area is Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world, on which boats can travel. Peru has abundant plants from desert grasses     3    vast areas of jungle.

Peru     4    (rule ) by Spain from the 16th century to 1821. So Spanish is     5    (official) spoken in Peru. The ancient Inca capital, Cusco, is a popular destination for the     6    (tour) as it is close to the famous Inca ruins of the city of Machu Picchu.

There are two especially interesting things for us     7    (admire) about the Inca civilization. The first is the roads and paths they built to connect     8    (they) important cities. Second, the Inca built wonderful cities,     9     there were no markets in these cities. One of the interesting     10    (question) of history is how the Inca lived without shopping.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Once there lived a rich man     1     wanted to do something for the people of his town. At first, he wanted to find out     2     they deserved his help.

In the center of the main road into the town, he placed a very large stone. Then he hid behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his cow. “Who put this stone in the center of the road?” said the old man,     3     he did not try to move the stone. Instead, with some     4     (difficult) he passed around the stone and continued on his way. Another man came along and did the same thing, then another came, and another. All of them     5    (complain) about the stone but not tried to move it. Late in the afternoon a young man came along. He saw the stone, saying to     6     (he): “The night     7     (be) very dark. Some neighbors will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone.”

Then he decided     8     (move) the stone. He pushed and pulled,     9     (struggle) to move it with all his strength.     10     (fortunate), under the stone, he found a bag of money and a note, reading “Thanks for your kindness!”

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

    1     (hero) come in different shapes and sites. Some are born to give others a hand. Then there are the people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time. That was the case for John Underwood.

A storm broke near his home     2     a cold evening. Underwood was heading over to help his sister when the roads were flooded. He saw some other drivers get     3    (stick), so he got out of his truck to help. “My belief is that if I have the ability to do good, then I should do it. There should be no excuse.” he said. Underwood wasn't out of his vehicle long before he heard a cry, “Someone was screaming, “My parents, my parents!” Moments later, a 12-year-old boy ran up to Underwood,     4    (say) his parents were trapped and asked for help. The Hammonds went to get things from the basement when the walls failed     5    (bear) the weight of rain and fell down, and they couldn’t escape. Worse still, the water was rising fast. Time was of extreme significance, so Underwood took action at once. Any inappropriate action could add more dangers. Luckily, Underwood had experience     6     a contractor (承包商). “Digging a hole in the living room floor, I knew it's a safe way." He said.

With physical strength,     7    (patient), and a lot of bravery，Underwood saved their    8    (life). He said he did what anyone would do, but that’s not necessarily true. It's hard to put yourself in a dangerous way to rescue another. That's    9     the American Red Cross honored him. Ann Otto, who was in charge of the 23rd Annual Acts of Courage Awards, said the Awards should go to heroes like Underwood who have acted    10     (courage) and selflessly in a time of emergency.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Around twenty years ago, I was going through hard times. I couldn’t find a    1    (satisfy) job. To my shame, I had to drive a school bus    2    (make) ends meet. One afternoon, while    3    (drive) through a suburban neighborhood, I was so sad that I kept asking    4    (I), “Why has my life become so hard?

What’s wrong with the world?” Then I pulled over the bus to drop off a little girl. As she passed, she    5    (hand) me a pretty earring, saying she found it on the floor and I should keep it in case the owner came to look for it. In the evening, the owner did come to look for her earring.

When I gave it to her, she got excited and said    6    (excited), “Thanks, you are a real gentleman.” I told her that she should thank the little girl    7    had found it. She said, “Yes, and you are a good driver, too. What a lovely world    8    is!” Then she left with satisfaction. I    9    (touch) by her words. I had thought something was wrong with the world just because of my poor condition. In fact, nothing was wrong with the world. I should change my attitude    10    life.

10 . A world in which extinct creatures could be brought back to life came a step closer yesterday. Australian scientists have managed to extract a gene from a preserved sample of a Tasmanian tiger and make it active. The breakthrough has left them dreaming that one day they will be able to recreate the animal, which died out more than 70 years ago. And if it can be done with the Tasmanian tiger, it may also be possible to resurrect(复活) creatures that have been extinct for far longer.

“There used to be a time when extinction meant forever, but no more,” said Professor Mike Archer. “We are now able to seriously challenge whether those animals that have gone have gone for ever. What has been achieved is a very important step in bringing back those animals that are extinct. And while I think that technically it is still pretty difficult at the moment, we can now see the possibilities. I’m personally convinced that the Tasmanian tiger will be brought back to life in my lifetime.”

The breakthrough came after nine years of experiments by scientists at the University of Melbourne, who extracted a gene from one of several tigers preserved in alcohol in a Melbourne museum. They removed the equivalent gene from a mouse embryo (胚胎), implanted the tiger gene and then watched as the mouse continued to grow normally, suggesting the tiger gene had been activated.

Team leader Dr. Andrew Pask said it was the first time DNA from an extinct species had been used to” induce (引起) a functional response in another living organism”.

However, the animal’s entire gene structure would have to be revived in the same way to even begin the possibility of bringing the Tasmanian tiger back from the dead. Mick Mooney, a wildlife officer of the Tasmanian Government, was worried that such developments could encourage people’s indifference to the protection of endangered species.

“If people think that we can bring animals back to life after they’ve gone, they will start saying that there is nothing to worry about because we can fix it up later.”

1. What does the underlined word “breakthrough” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．A tiger gene has been extracted successfully and activated.

B．Scientists have recreated new animals.

C．Scientists have resurrected endangered animal.

D．It has turned out that some creatures would not go extinct.

2. Scientists are carrying out the experiments in order to __________.

A．transplant the genes of tigers into other animals

B．find out what factors lead to the animals’ extinction

C．find a new way to extract animals’ DNA

D．bring extinct animals back to life

3. Mike Archer thinks that __________.

A．scientists now have no technological difficulty reconnecting extinct animals

B．it’ll be a century or so before a Tasmanian tiger walks on the earth again

C．reconnecting extinct animals is impossible

D．humans have come closer in reconnecting extinct animals

4. We can learn from Mick Mooney’s words that __________.

A．he thought it unnecessary to worry about endangered animals

B．he is concerned that bringing extinct animals back to life may have a negative effect

C．his opinion is in contrast with that of the Tasmanian Government

D．he thought people should be encouraged to protect endangered animals