1 . Twenty-one years ago, Eric Moussambani became the first swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, one of the smallest countries on the African. continent, to compete in the Olympics. He recorded the slowest men's 100m freestyle ever in the Olympics, swimming so slowly that he almost drowned, but he left a deep impression on the audience.
As Moussambani prepared for Sydney, he conducted most of his training in a hotel pool, which was only 13 meters long and fell far short of Olympic level. He spent time in rivers and lakes. Moreover, his coaching came from fishermen, who tried to adjust Moussambani's arm and leg movements to prevent sinking
Upon his arrival in Sydney, Moussambani was struck by the sights of the foreign city and the size of the Olympic Village. But Moussambani was overwhelmed by the Olympic pool, which was surrounded by seating for 17,500 audience. "When I saw the swimming pool for the first time, I was so scared. The pool was so big for me," he said.
Of three swimmers, the other two swimmers were disqualified for starting the race too early, leaving a frightened Moussambani as the only man in his race. Although he maintained a consistent speed during the opening section, he couldn't be in a harmonious breathing pattern. In the final half of the race, he struggled to stay afloat so much that those on the sidelines（两侧场外区域）considered jumping in and helping him out of the water. Finally, Moussambani touched the wall, stopping the clock in 1：52：72.
Of course, there was no medal awarded to Moussambani. But he was treated as a celebrity for his inspiring swim. "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well." The description fits Moussambani perfectly. Anyone can be inspired by what Moussambani achieved because we've all been where he was. On his own, out of his depth, and just trying to stay afloat.
1. What can we know about Moussambani?| A．He was the first swimmer from Africa. | B．He practiced in standard swimming pools. |
| C．He set the slowest. time in men's 100m freestyle | D．He accepted training from professional coaches. |
| A．Amazed. | B．Excited | C．Embarrassed | D．Disappointed. |
| A．He broke the rules. | B．He was disqualified |
| C．He seemed nearly drowned | D．He kept a consistent speed. |
| A．Caring and humorous. | B．Aggressive and demanding. |
| C．Generous and hardworking. | D．Persevering and determined. |
2 . Researchers from Purdue University have developed a new white paint that can reflect over 95 percent of sunlight, which can cool the surface even lower than the surrounding temperature. Painted on a building, the new paint could help cut cooling costs and energy use.
Many different reflective cooling paints have been developed over the years, but they all have their disadvantages. For the new study, the Purdue researchers developed a new method—using calcium carbonate（碳酸钙）fillers, which are much richer, cheaper, and absorb less ultraviolet（紫外线的）light. And the new reflective cooling paint can give off more sunlight—reflecting 95.5 percent of the light that strikes it. That's better than many of the other paints in development, which manage between 80 and 90 percent, although it falls short of the record holder—the Teflon coating, which reflects 98 percent of light.
The team tested the new coating outdoors over two days, and showed that under direct sun- light it remained 1. 7℃ below the surrounding temperature. In another set of tests, the researchers painted some parts of a pattern with the new paint, and others with a regular white paint of the same thickness. Using a special camera, they could see the pattern clearly, thanks to the difference in temperature between the two materials.
The team says that the new paint could not only help cool buildings, but prevent outdoor electrical systems from overheating. But to ensure that it is commercially practicable, the researchers next plan to investigate how well it lasts out in the environment.
"The cost of our paint may be comparable to other commercial paints or even lower than them," says Xiulin Ruan, an author of the study. "The key is to ensure the reliability of the paint so that it is workable in long-term outdoor applications."
1. What's the advantage of the new paint?| A．Absorbing enough sunlight. | B．Developing new energy |
| C．Lowering cooling costs. | D．Improving electrical system |
| A．By analyzing special pictures. | B．By conducting field tests. |
| C．By collecting temperature data | D．By assessing its nature. |
| A．The paint still needs testing | B．The paint can be used for long. |
| C．The paint is incomparable. | D．The paint has reliable performance |
| A．A new white paint helps cool building | B．Researchers lower the costs of paints |
| C．A regular paint solves heat consumption. | D．Environment-friendly paints come into market. |
3 . The Best American National Parks to Visit for Christmas
The Christmas season can be stressful if you spend every moment cleaning, cooking, and hosting guests. Or the holidays can be a joyful celebration of beauty and peace if you plan an escape to one of America’s splendid national parks.
Yellowstone National Park
Dreaming of a white Christmas? Yellow stone, the country’s first national park, is your top choice. Your family can enjoy a quiet and private getaway（假日休闲地）at Old Faithful Snow Lodge & Cabins. Sit by the fire with hot cocoa and look out at the vast wilderness all around you. Also you can photograph a bison and other wildlife on a winter photo safari.
Rocky Mountain National Park
If you really want to get away from it all over the holidays, plan a trip to a park less traveled in the winter. Rocky Mountain National Park is quiet and uncrowded, but the wildlife is still active. Seeing a moose（麋鹿）in its natural habitat is an experience you won’t forget. Sledding and skiing are also exciting possibilities.
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park offers a fun holiday experience for families. Families can get on the Polar Express that runs from Arizona to the South Rim of the park through early January and enjoy a pleasant ride complete with hot chocolate and cookies. When you reach the “North Pole”, Santa Claus is waiting with a gift for each child. It’s the best way for your kids to enjoy the magic of Christmas.
Virgin Islands National Park
If snow isn’t your thing, don’t worry. Virgin Islands National Park is perfect for you to escape winter. With white sandy beaches, clear blue water, and more than 800 subtropical plants, you will feel like you traveled outside the U.S. to a tropical area. Cinnamon Bay is a major spot for Christmastime visitors looking for water sports like sailing, diving, and snorkeling（浮潜）.
1. In which park can you both see animals and go skiing?| A．Yellow stone National Park. | B．Rocky Mountain National Park. |
| C．Grand Canyon National Park. | D．Virgin Islands National Park. |
| A．Art lovers. | B．Explorers. |
| C．Outdoor photographers. | D．Families with children. |
| A．Various water sports. | B．Beautiful train rides. |
| C．The quiet environment. | D．The snow-covered landscape. |
4 . The pace of our lives is closely linked with so many things: hormonal changes, growing pains, and dental development. Most of us don’t remember teething, but plenty recall having our wisdom teeth erupt. It’s just one dental milestone and one of three molar (磨牙) milestones, but until recently we had no idea why wisdom teeth emerged so late in life.
“It turns out that our jaws develop very slowly, likely due to our overall slow life histories and, in combination with our short faces, resulting in our very late ages at molar emergence,” said Gary Schwartz, the author of the paper. It’s easy to forget that our teeth undergo quite a bit of mechanical pressure as they chew down on food, as does your entire jaw structure. If wisdom teeth emerged earlier, the molars could actually damage the jaw they’re growing out of.
All of this is the result of two fundamental things about humans: we have long lives and short faces. Life, short as it may seem, is pretty stretched out for humans in comparison with other creatures, even other primates (灵长类). We spend an extraordinarily long period just becoming adults. Unlike our primate cousins, our faces are quite flat. Just take a look at gorillas (大猩猩), you’ll notice that their jaws stick out such that their mouths are mostly in front of their brain. The combination of these factors means that our jaws can’t accommodate that final set of molars until fairly late in life.
Lots of people in the US get their wisdom teeth taken out, which might make you think that they’re some kind of evolutionary leftover. But the truth is that you don’t necessarily need to get them removed. In the UK, for instance, wisdom teeth are only removed if they become problematic, as the National Health Service notes that there is otherwise no proven benefit (but there is the added complication of having a minor surgery).
1. Why do our wisdom teeth grow so late according to Gary Schwartz?| A．Because they’re looking for a safer place. |
| B．Because the wisdom teeth take a long time to appear. |
| C．Because our jaws develop slowly and our faces are short. |
| D．Because their preparing for molar emergence needs a long period. |
| A．To show human’s face is flat. |
| B．To prove human’s life is longer. |
| C．To indicate their growing periods are shorter. |
| D．To stress their molars are different from human’s. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Objective. | C．Careless. | D．Negative. |
| A．Why Should We Have Wisdom Teeth Out? |
| B．How Do Wisdom Teeth Shape Our Face? |
| C．Why Do We Grow Wisdom Teeth as Adults? |
| D．What Do Primates and Human Have in Common? |
5 . Shifting to a new food freezing method could make for safer and better quality frozen foods while saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, according to a new study.
“A complete change over to this new method of food freezing worldwide could cut energy use by as much as 6.5 billion kilowatt-hours each year while reducing the carbon emissions that go along with generating that power by 4.6 billion kilograms, the equal to removing roughly one million cars from roads,” said the research food technologist Cristina Bilbao-Sainz.
The new freezing method, called isochoric freezing (等容冷冻), works by storing foods in a sealed, rigid container — typically made of hard plastic or metal— completely filled with a liquid such as water. Unlike conventional freezing in which the food is exposed to the air and freezes solid at temperatures below 32 degrees F, isochoric freezing preserves food without turning it to solid ice.
As long as the food stays immersed (浸入的) in the liquid part, it is protected from ice crystallization (结晶), which is the main threat to food quality.
“Energy savings come from not having to freeze foods completely solid, which uses a huge amount of energy, plus there is no need to turn to energy-consuming cold storage methods such as quick freezing to avoid ice crystal formation,” Bilbao-Sainz said. Isochoric freezing also allows for higher quality storage of fresh foods that are otherwise difficult to preserve with conventional freezing. Another benefit is that it also kills microbial pollutants during processing.
“The entire food production chain could use isochoric freezing. The process will even work in a person’s freezer at home after they purchase a product— all without requiring any major investments in new equipment,” said Tara McHugh, co-leader of this study. “With all of the many potential benefits, if this advanced concept catches on, it could be the next revolution in freezing foods.”
1. How does the author mainly develop paragraph 2?| A．By giving examples. | B．By presenting figures. |
| C．By making comparison. | D．By answering questions. |
| A．It turns food into solid ice. |
| B．It keeps unsteady temperatures. |
| C．It protects food from ice crystallization. |
| D．It has the special materials of the container. |
| A．Ways of preserving fresh foods. |
| B．Advantages of isochoric freezing. |
| C．Main applications of isochoric freezing. |
| D．Other methods of avoiding polluting foods. |
| A．It will be improved soon. |
| B．It will cut its high cost soon. |
| C．It can be applied more widely. |
| D．It can do more harm to the environment. |
6 . Happy people have habits you can introduce into your everyday life. Here are some of them. They surround themselves with other happy people.
Joy can spread. Researchers of the Framingham Heart Study who studied the spread of happiness over 20 years found that those who are surrounded by happy people are more likely to become happy in the future.
They try to be happy.
Yes. It’s as simple as it sounds.
They are mindful of the good.
They devote some of their time to giving.
Even though there are only 24 hours in a day, positive people fill some of that time doing good for others, which, in return, does some good for the do-gooders themselves. A long-term research project called Americans’ Changing Lires found a series of benefits associated with altruism(利他主义).
“When you listen, you open up your ability to take in more knowledge,” writes David Mezzapelle, author of Contagious Optimism. Good listening is a skill that strengthens relationships and leads to more satisfying experiences. A good listener may walk away from a conversation feeling as if their presence served a purpose, which is closely connected with increased happiness.
| A．They make a point to listen. |
| B．They smile when they mean it. |
| C．Just trying to be happy can lift your spirits. |
| D．Volunteer work was good for both mental and physical health. |
| E．This is reason enough to spend more time with cheerful people. |
| F．It’s important to celebrate great hard earned accomplishments. |
| G．Happy people take the time to appreciate these easy-to-come-by pleasures. |
“No 7, Jobie Nymble, takes the lead,” cried the announcer. “Just one more hurdle (跨栏) and ...” Cheers broke out. “Jobie Nymble from Riverside Middle School takes first place in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles!” The crowd went wild.
“County championships (锦标赛), here we come,” screamed Jobie, patting her green track spikes (钉鞋). They were her lucky shoes and she loved them. “Next Saturday, we’re taking home the gold,” Jobie whispered to her spikes, excitedly retying them.
“Don’t forget, guys,” said Marisol, one of her teammates. “My birthday party is next Friday at Hidden Park.”
Next weekend couldn’t come soon enough. Jobie smiled with excitement all week long. At track practice, she leaped over those hurdles faster than she’d ever leaped before. And it wasn’t long before everything in her path was a hurdle: flowerpots in her front yard, sidewalk cracks on the way to the bus stop and even her little sister, Teka!
The day of Marisol’s party, Jobie put on her favorite outfit: her blue shorts, an old track T-shirt from her dad, and her lucky spikes. “Perfect.” She smiled at herself in the mirror.
The party was under way when Jobie arrived at Hidden Park. She stopped by the track first, planning to do some practice.
“Jobie!” Two of Jobie’s teammates rushed toward her, breathless and barefoot. “Come on,” they yelled. “You have to try the slide.”
Jobie looked toward the party area. Suddenly, she saw it. The biggest slide she had ever seen was on the far side of the park. Smiling kids zoomed down the slide at unspeakable speeds. Without thinking twice, Jobie took off her spikes and dashed (猛冲) toward the slide. Its ladder stretched to the sky, but she reached the top in no time, closed her eyes and let go.
Jobie couldn’t get enough. She tried again and again. When it was finally time to go home, she unwillingly made her way back to the track where she’d left her shoes.
续写部分：
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语以为你写好；
Paragraph 1：
As she eyed the area from a distance, panic set in.
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Paragraph 2：
The next day, Jobie turned up in a new pair of spikes for the championships.
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8 . Gardens come in all shapes and sizes.
One of the most important things to remember when planning a garden is to grow what you love. This way, you’ll be sure to enjoy the process. You can grow vegetables. If you don’t like vegetables, try fruits or flowers. You can grow a garden to feed yourself, your neighbors, and a family that’s going through a hard time.
Once you decide what type of garden you’d like to start, you’ll need to plan a few things before getting to work.
After you have the correct soil, choose your plants. Will you start with seeds or young plants? Growing from seeds is often less expensive. And it’s more satisfying, because you have a chance to watch the growth from seed to plant.
| A．Now you’re ready to plant your garden. |
| B．Starting a new one might seem challenging. |
| C．But growing from young plants is easier. |
| D．First, work out where your garden will lie. |
| E．You’ll be able to plant season after season and try to grow new things. |
| F．It will help you explore and understand the whole progress of these plants. |
| G．There are many different things you can grow and many different reasons to grow. |
9 . Chase Poust is a 7-year-old boy. He and his dad Steven, and his 4-year-old sister, Abigail were out for a family boating trip on Florida’s St. Johns River near Mandarin Point. Chase and Abigail were swimming at the back end of the anchored boat while Steven was on deck (甲板) fishing.
It was an idyllic (悠闲的) outing — until a strong wave came. It was too strong for Abigail to hold onto the boat. Instantly realizing his sister would be swept away, Chase let go of the boat as well to try and reach her.
Steven jumped into the water but after realizing he couldn’t keep up with both kids, he was faced with a hard decision. “I told them I loved them because I wasn’t sure what’s going to happen,” Steven told News-4 JAX. “I tried to stick with both of them. I wore myself out. She drifted away from me.”
Directing Chase to swim to shore for help, Steven stayed behind, keeping as close as he could to Abigail as the life-vest that was keeping her above the waves floated further and further from his reach.
It was a tough go for the 7-year-old, but rather than attempting to swim all out, Chase wisely paced himself. Stopping to float or dog paddle when he was tired, he’d rest and then set off again. It took Chase an hour to reach the shore. Once on solid ground, he ran to the nearest house and called for help.
Rescuers arrived soon to search for Steven and Abigail. Miraculously, the two were found and rescued about an hour later-more than a mile away from the family’s abandoned boat.
1. What happened during the family boating trip?| A．Chase went out fishing alone. | B．The boat ran into an anchored boat. |
| C．Steven fell off the boat by accident. | D．Abigail was washed away by a wave. |
| A．He couldn’t stick with both kids. | B．He didn’t know how to swim. |
| C．He couldn’t find rescuers nearby. | D．He wasn’t sure what might happen. |
| A．To hold Abigail tightly. | B．To look for helpers. |
| C．To wait calmly in the water. | D．To give the life-vest to Abigail. |
| A．Brave and clever. | B．Innocent and kind. |
| C．Proud and patient. | D．Honest and helpful. |
10 . Cayce Zavaglia is an artist with a unique transformation to her work.
Cayce starts with the hair and forehead, then moves on to the shoulders and clothing, and finally the face. The human face is what she most enjoys creating in her art.
Cayce believes her success depends on three things: her choice of colors, the length and direction of the stitches, and her ability to make the portrait look true. She loves the surprise when people view her art. From a distance, people believe the portraits are painted.
| A．She makes sure the person looks straight into her. |
| B．The biggest challenge is making the skin look real. |
| C．Instead of painting with a brush,she sews with a needle. |
| D．Cayce's first step is deciding who will be in the portrait. |
| E．She loves creating portraits of her family and close friends. |
| F．It requires a lot of patience, for you often have to rethread your needle. |
| G．But when they take a closer look, they see the portrait has been embroidered. |
