2 . A cancer survivor has become the first woman to complete an exhausting “Sea to Summit” triathlon (三项全能运动), which saw her swim, cycle, and run over 330 miles in just five days. Andrea Mason was overjoyed when she crossed the finish line early Wednesday morning.

The race was set in the French Alps. Setting off at 6:15 am on Friday, 39-year-old Mason battled through severe pain, and hallucinations (幻觉), but she pushed on — managing to complete the race in an impressive four days, 23 hours, and 41 minutes. Andrea had been diagnosed with cancer and needed life-saving surgery. Following a successful operation, she is now hoping to raise awareness of women’s health. In the past year, Andrea set up her own charity, Lady Talk Matters, in order to improve surrounding females’ health.

Andrea, from Blackpool in Lancashire, England, said, “I am so happy all went according to the plan as there were so many things that could have gone wrong. I wanted to do it in five days and I did so, but it was very tough. I had some low moments, particularly when I couldn’t sleep in my limited rest periods, and when I couldn’t keep any food down as I was running. For sure, I had some doubts along the way as I was exploring the unknown with such a huge run, particularly as large parts of it were in the dark. It was bigger than I imagined. The impact on my body was huge. But every time I felt like giving up, I thought about all the women out there in pain or who still hadn’t been diagnosed. That is why I put myself through this.”

Andrea had to swim 23 miles around Lake Annecy, cycle 205 miles with 30,000 feet of vertical climbing around Mont Blanc, and run 105 miles with 4,000 feet of vertical climbing around The Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. You could say Andrea’s actually spent a lifetime training for an event like this. She completed her first three-mile race “powered by chocolate bars” when she was just four.

1. Why is the woman special?

A．She won first in the race of the triathlon.

B．She survived cancer and finished the triathlon.

C．She tried to promote the triathlon after regaining health.

D．She recovered from cancer after exercising for the triathlon.

2. What is Lady Talk Matters according to Paragraph 2?

A．An organization for helping people in need.

B．A group of people meeting for a very amusing game.

C．A group of people chosen to make decisions or schedules.

D．A government organization responsible for a certain area of administration.

3. What problem did Andrea meet with during her race?

A．She lost her way due to the darkness.

B．She couldn’t swallow food while running.

C．She fell down when climbing around Mont Blanc.

D．She rode her cycle so hard that it broke down on the way.

4. What did Andrea do around Lake Annecy to complete the triathlon?

A．She ran the 105 miles.	B．She sailed the 30 miles.
C．She swam the 23 miles.	D．She cycled the 205 miles.

3 . Age has never been a problem for Thessalonika Arzu-Embry. After all, she’s already got her master’s degree.

The North Chicago-area girl started homeschooling at the age of 4. She began having an influence on others soon after. When she was 6 years old, she was an inspirational speaker at an organization called Tabitha House Community Service, a shelter for people who were forced to leave their homes due to the situations such as earthquakes, flood and other natural disasters.

At the age of 11, she graduated from high school and then earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2013. She completed those classes online as she was traveling for leadership meetings.

She doesn’t stop there, though. The girl plans to focus on aviation psychology(航空心理学) for her further study, a decision inspired by her father who is a pilot. She grew up around airplanes and took flights all the time. Her goal is to use it to determine whether pilots are dealing with problems that could have deadly results once the plane takes off—a topic that has been in the news lately. For her, it’s a mix of two of her interests.

In her free time, Thessalonika enjoys playing tennis, swimming and being active in her youth group. She also has three self-published books, which are on her site. Jump the Education Barrier is written to help students finish college, and In the Future aims to help business owners deal with trends. Her third book The Genius Race has a wider appeal. It is designed to help people to be geniuses in various areas of life.

1. What can we know about Thessalonika from the passage?

A．She majored in science and technology.

B．She gained her master’s degree at the age of 11.

C．She started homeschooling when she was 6 years old.

D．She got her bachelor’s degree through online courses.

2. What is Thessalonika’s next plan according to the passage?

A．Majoring in aviation psychology.

B．Being active in her youth group.

C．Making inspiring speeches for leadership meetings.

D．Writing another book to help people to be geniuses.

3. Why does Thessalonika write the book Jump the Education Barrier?

A．To help people to be successful.

B．To raise concern about psychology.

C．To share her own experience with others.

D．To give students a hand to complete college.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．Homeschooling	B．To Be a Genius
C．Three Published Books	D．The Story of Thessalonika

4 . Last summer holiday, Aunt Emily took us to a safari park (野生动物园),not far from Liverpool.

I was very happy to go as I had never been to a safari park before. It’s a very interesting park, full of wild animals running freely.

When we got there, we bought our tickets and drove into the park. We were very excited at the thought of going to see the lions. But to get to the lions’ place we had to go through the monkeys’ land first. And that was an unforgettable experience because they climbed all over the car, ate apples and bananas, and threw all kinds of things at us. They seemed very unfriendly.

Anyway, we went on our way to the lions’ place where we had to lock ourselves in the car as we knew lions could be dangerous. A lion came up very close to us. Then it was on the bonnet (车盖). It looked calm but we felt terrified. Aunt Emily, who isn’t very brave, started to call for help. The kids started crying. Only my brother, George, stayed calm. I sounded the horn (喇叭) but nobody heard us.

In the end a guard arrived in his car, and the lion just got off our car and started smelling the guard’s hand as if nothing was the matter.

1. Which animal did the author want to see the most?

A．The monkeys.

B．The elephants.

C．The lions.

D．All of them.

2. Why did they lock themselves in the car?

A．Because the monkeys might steal things.	B．Because they were afraid of being robbed.
C．Because something was wrong with the car.	D．Because the lions might be dangerous.

3. What does the underlined word “terrified” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Frightened

B．Confused.

C．Curious.

D．Amazed.

4. Who stayed calm among the visitors when they met the lion?

A．Aunt Emily.

B．George.

C．The guard.

D．The author.

5 . Exercise and I have never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad________me into a dozen sports. ________, I didn’t like any of them.

When I entered University of Regina, my dad________telling me “You have to find a way to stay ________” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15 pounds, do you?” So I________ to give swimming a shot, but I________ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was ________ to convince myself that “Yeah, that’s OK.”

Spring semester came. A friend of mine________me one day asking if I wanted to go to Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically exercise dancing to Latin and pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be________ .

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my________ of tea. The instructor would always say: “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________about sports. I didn’t have to be________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just need to ________the music and move. Zumba did________ me from the Freshman 15 pounds, but it also did so much more. It let me make peace with my________past with physical fitness, and enjoy staying healthy.

1.

A．expected

B．allowed

C．forced

D．explored

2.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．Instead

D．Besides

3.

A．avoided

B．pretend

C．regretted

D．kept

4.

A．in shape

B．for fun

C．at last

D．on business

5.

A．refused

B．happened

C．quit

D．decided

6.

A．hardly

B．only

C．immediately

D．gradually

7.

A．unhappy

B．satisfied

C．awkward

D．disappointed

8.

A．laughed

B．comforted

C．came to

D．annoyed

9.

A．happy

B．proud

C．careful

D．sure

10.

A．cup

B．part

C．share

D．mouth

11.

A．curiosity

B．love

C．fear

D．confidence

12.

A．perfect

B．warm

C．anxious

D．confident

13.

A．accept

B．feel

C．display

D．compare

14.

A．watch

B．separate

C．discourage

D．save

15.

A．pleasant

B．happy

C．unpleasant

D．excited

6 . A young woman one day said something that hurt her best friend of many years. She regretted it immediately and would like to do anything to take the words back. what she had said hurt her friend so much that her woman herself also felt very painful. To make up what she had done, she went to an old wise man in the village and ask for advice.

The old man understood the young woman’s suffering. He know he must help her. He knew he could never remove her pain, but he could teach. And he also knew the result would depend only on her character.

“Tonight, take your best feather pillows and put single feather on the doorstep of each house in the village before the sun rises,” he said.

The young woman hurried home to prepare for it, even though the feather pillows were very dear to her. All night long, she made her efforts alone in the cold. Finally it got light and she places the last feather on the step of the last house. Just as the sun rise, she returned to the old man.

“Now,” said the man, “go back and refill your pillows with the feathers you have put on the steps. Then every thing will be as it was before.”

“You know that’s impossible! The wind blew away each feather as fast as I placed them on the doorsteps!” The young woman was surprised.

“That’s true,” said the old man. “Each of your words is like a feather in the wind. Once your words are spoken, no matter how much effort you make and how sincere you are, you can never return them to your mouth. Choose your words well and protect people you love from being hurt.”

1. According to Paragraph 2, the old man ______.

A．could remove her pain	B．knew a lot about her character
C．refused to teach her	D．decided to help her learn something

2. When did the woman come back to the old man?

A．In the evening	B．At midnight
C．At sunrise	D．In the afternoon

3. After the women came back to him, the old man advised her to ______.

A．put the feathers back to the pillows	B．make some now pillows
C．take away the feathers	D．Find more feathers

4. What can we learn from the story?

A．Taking one’s advice before doing.

B．Thinking carefully before speaking.

C．Asking for advice when you have troubles.

D．Talking to people when you have troubles.

7 . In my town, people like to give smile cards to those who have received help. And the receivers continue to help others. With those cards, people enjoy helping and being helped.

I got some smile cards and used three of them just yesterday!

I used the first smile card when I was getting my dogs some food in a pet store. A man walked up to look at collars (项圈), looking puzzled. He asked me if I knew anything about dogs and collars, which actually I was quite familiar with. I helped him choose one. I hope it would work for his dog. When he said thanks, I handed him a smile card. He smiled and said he would help someone as soon as possible.

That was amazing! Then in a supermarket, when I was paying the bill, a grandma was trying to get her granddaughter out of a basket. I offered to help her, and she said “Yes, please.” Later she told me that she had just had an operation (手术) and couldn’t lift things very well. After getting the baby girl out, I handed her my second smile card.

Then I paid for someone’s food in a small restaurant and left behind the third smile card.

I felt very happy yesterday. It was great to help others and leave behind smile cards. I believe that more and more people will get happiness from receiving and giving smile cards.

1. How can a person get smile cards?

A．From stores	B．By receiving help
C．From friends	D．By offering help

2. The author went to a pet store to ______.

A．buy dog food	B．buy a dog
C．sell cards	D．play cards.

3. Where did the author use the third smile card?

A．In a pet store	B．In a supermarket
C．In a restaurant	D．In a hospital

8 . In a classroom in rural Kenya’s Rift Valley, a student, Priscilla Sitienei, takes notes alongside her fellow classmates. She wears the same school uniform. However, there is something different.

Sitienei is more than 80 years older than them. February 11 was Sitienei’s ninety-ninth birthday. “The main reason for my returning to school was that I would like to become a doctor because I used to be a midwife (助产士),” she said. She added that her children supported her decision.

Back in 2003, the government of the East African country began helping to pay for the cost of primary schooling. This has allowed some older members of society, who had missed out on education in their younger days, to go back to school.

This has given Sitienei more than an education. She has become a film star. Sitienei travelled to Paris last year for the launch (发布) of a film about her journey. It is titled Gogo, which means grandmother in her native Kalenjin language. She will also be heading to New York City soon for a showing of the film there.

Sitienei is in her sixth year of primary school. She said her aims were far more practical than becoming a movie star. She said, “I also enjoy school activities, including physical education classes. They keep me fit. I get to jump around, even though not as much as they do, but I at least move my body. That is my joy.”

Sitienei shares her wide experience and knowledge with the children. Her teachers also use her experience to keep the peace during lessons. Her class teacher, Leonida Talaam, said, “I use Sitienei to help control the class. And it works! When I go outside, the class remains silent.”

1. What does Sitienei mainly intend to do by going to school?

A．Take up a new career.	B．Make herself popular.
C．Have more classmates.	D．Return to society.

2. Why did Sitienei go to Paris last year?

A．She wanted to meet her grandma.	B．She wanted to learn the native language.
C．Her movie would come out there.	D．Her new journey plan was to be announced.

3. Which of the following best describes Sitienei?

A．Dependent.

B．Creative.

C．Honest.

D．Energetic.

4. What does Sitienei help her teachers do?

A．Keep order in class.	B．Organize school activities.
C．Stop the students going out.	D．Inspire the students to work out.

10 . 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。

A Frenchman went to a small     1     (Italy) town and stayed with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he     2     (feel) someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly     3     of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was     4     (go). He thought that     5     must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided     6     (follow) him and get back the watch. Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian.     7     of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist (拳头) while     8     (point)at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman. When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife     9     had happened. He was     10     (great) surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.