40 years ago the idea of disabled people doing sport was never heard of. But when the yearly games for the disabled were started at Stoke Mandeville, England in 1948 by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the situation began to change.
Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who had been driven to England in 1939 from Nazi Germany, had been asked by the British government to set up an injuries center at Stoke Mandeville Hospital near London, His ideas about treating injuries included sport for the disabled.
In the first games just two teams of injured soldiers took part .The next year, 1949, five teams took part. From those beginnings, things have developed fast. Teams now come from abroad to Stoke Mandeville every year. In 1990 the first Olympics for the disabled were held in Rome, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games. Now, every four years the Olympic Games for the disabled are held, if possible, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games, although they are organized separately. In other years games for the disabled are still held at Stoke Mandeville, In the 1984 Wheelchair Olympic Games, 1,064 wheelchair athletes form about 40 countries took part. Unfortunately, they were held at Stoke Mandeville and not in Los Angeles, along with the other Olympics.
The games have been a great success in helping the progress of international friendship and understanding, and in proving that being disabled does not mean you can’t enjoy sport. One small source of disappointment for those who organize and take part in the games, however, has been the unwillingness of the International Olympic Committee to include disabled events at the Olympic Games for the able-bodied. Perhaps a few more years are still needed to persuade those fortunate enough not to be disabled that their disabled fellow athletes should be included.
【小题1】The first games for the disabled were held ___ after Sir Ludwig Guttmann arrived in England.

A．40 years

B．21 years

C．10 years

D．9 years

【小题2】Besides Stoke Mandeville, surely the games for the disabled were once held in_____.

A．New York

B．London

C．Rome

D．Los Angeles

【小题3】What do we know about Sir Ludwig Guttmann from the passage?

A．He is an early organizer of the games for the able-bodied

B． He is welcomed by the British government

C．He is an injured soldier.

D．He is from England.

【小题4】From the passage, we may know that the writer is_____.

A．in favor of holding the games for the disabled

B．against holding the games for the disabled

C．a disabled person who once took part in the games

D．one of the organizers of the games for the disabled

I was 230 pounds this spring and I decided to get down to a healthier 200.In a house full of food，including snacks bought for my 7­year­old sons，I had a hard time cutting calories. Then I noticed my neighbors were having diet meals (减肥餐)．I decided to do the same，knowing I would never be able to stick to a diet if I had to do the buying and cooking myself. I was looking for food that I could afford but I might take a diet more seriously if it hurt me in the wallet.
After online searches，I decided to compare the offerings of four companies：Zone Manhattan，Chefs Diet，Nu­Kitchen and eDiets. All four would send the meals to my door. Three send food daily，while eDiets sends a large package once a week. There were dozens of companies I could have chosen.Research suggests that the economic crisis has made diet programs less tempting.Consumers prefer do­it­yourself diets with foods bought from the supermarket.
Nu­Kitchen regards itself as the “personal chef”．I ordered the five­day plan ($230.53) and the taste was disappointing. I neither lost nor gained weight on the food.
eDiets promises “healthy，delicious meals sent to your door”．I ordered five breakfasts，five lunches and five dinners. My total cost was $119.70，or less than $25 a day. Overall，the food from eDiets was better than that from Nu­Kitchen.
Chefs Diet charged $380.99 for seven days，making it the most expensive of the four services.I never tasted anything terrible，but I never tasted anything that made me want to renew for a second week.
Zone Manhattan charged $349.80，with tax，for a week’s supply of food，or about $50 a day.I liked the food so much that I lost six pounds in the first four days on the diet.
【小题1】When the author began to have diet meals，she________.

A．was 200 pounds

B．didn’t have any children

C．worked as a cook in a company offering diet meals

D．didn’t believe she could stick to a diet if she had to cook herself

【小题2】What does the underlined word “tempting” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Attractive.

B．Expensive.

C．Delicious.

D．Useful.

【小题3】Which of the four companies’ food cost the least daily?

A．Zone Manhattan’s.	B．Chefs Diet’s.
C．Nu­Kitchen’s.	D．eDiets’．

【小题4】We can learn from the passage that________.

A．the author gained weight on the food from Nu­kitchen

B．the author would choose the food of Zone Manhattan

C．the food from eDiets was the worst of the four

D．Zone Manhattan sends food once a week

For a long time, a boy wondered why his next-desk-pal was always the first in the class, whereas he could only rank the 21st. At home, he asked his mom, “Am I more stupid than other kids? How come I always lag behind? I just can’t come up with an answer.” Mom was aware that her son’s self-respect had been damaged by the ranking system, but she didn’t know what to say to help.
She was tempted (想要) to say that intelligence differs and that yes, her son’s friend really was the smarter boy. But that would have so upset her son. Thank goodness she resisted the temptation to say it.
Her son and his friend went on to high school that year, but despite trying as hard as he could, her son’s friend still outdid him. But she was proud of her boy for his hard work, sincerely proud. It was around this time she decided to take him on a trip to the seaside. On the trip, she at last found an answer for him.
Today her son no longer cares about rankings. He doesn’t have to, for he himself is now the top of the class – at the top national university he attends. Invited to speak to his old high school, he mentioned a valuable childhood experience: “Once, on a trip to the sea, my mother and I were lying on the beach. She pointed to the sea and said to me: ‘Do you see the seabirds fighting for food out there? When a wave comes near, the little birds rise quickly. The “clumsy” seagulls (海鸥) are far less agile (灵活的) and have to struggle to get away from the wave. But these “clumsy” birds prove to have the biggest, strongest wings, which open the widest and allow the bird to travel the furthest. When the season changes, they leave for foreign shores, leaving the little birds behind. Son, I have a feeling that you are one of those seagulls.”
【小题1】From the first paragraph, we could conclude the mother ______.

A．knew her son was not bright enough

B．saw the negative effects of the ranking system

C．decided to help with her son’s school work

D．was troubled by her son’s low rankings

【小题2】The mom was glad she didn’t give an answer at first because ______.

A．she knew her son would forget his rankings soon

B．she felt intelligence doesn’t mean everything

C．she knew he was not strong enough for the truth

D．she wanted to avoid another blow to her son’s self-respect

【小题3】The story conveys the message that ______.
a. only rankings show intelligence
b. hard work and confidence can lead to a change in rankings
c. parents should see children’s strengths and encourage them
d. competition between students is good for society

A．bc

B．cd

C．abc

D．bcd

Once when I was six years old I saw an amazing picture in a book called True Stories from Nature about the primeval（原始的）forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor(大蟒蛇) in the act of swallowing an animal. In the book it said：“Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole without chewing（嚼）it. After that they are not able to move and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion（消化）.”
I thought deeply then over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing. My Drawing Number One. I showed my work to the grown-ups and asked them whether the drawing frightened them. But they answered：“Frighten? Why should anyone be frightened by a hat？”
My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing. I drew the inside of the boa constrictor so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. That's my Drawing Number Two.
The grown-ups' response this time was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of ba constrictors whether from the inside or the outside and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. That is why at the age of six I gave up what might have been a great painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.
So then I chose another profession（职业） and learned to pilot airplanes. I have flown a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.
In the course of this life I have had lots of chances to meet with a great many people. And that hasn't much improved my opinion of them. Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried showing him my Drawing Number One which I have always kept. I would try to find out if this was a person of true understanding. But whoever it was, he or she would always say: That is a hat. Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors or primeval forests or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge and golf and politics and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such an intelligent man.
【小题1】The writer drew his first picture in order to ________.

A．show the grown-ups what the book was about

B．frighten the grown-ups trying to enter the forest

C．remind himself of the adventures of the jungle

D．illustrate（说明）a boa constrictor's act of digesting an animal

【小题2】How did the writer understand the grown-ups' response to his second drawing?

A．He was actually only good at academic study.

B．It was a waste of time for him to keep on drawing.

C．He had difficulty in communicating with the adults.

D．He was good at anything but geography.

【小题3】The underlined word disheartened in Paragraph 4 could most probably be replaced by ________.

A．discouraged

B．dissatisfied

C．discovered

D．disturbed

【小题4】Which of the following statements is true?

A．The writer could have become a pilot if encouraged when young.

B．The writer finally changed his opinion of grown-ups.

C．The writer has been showing his two pictures to others ever since.

D．The writer felt nobody could have really understood him.

For the past two years, 8－year－old Harli Jordean from Stoke Newington, London, has been selling marbles(弹珠)．His successful marble company, Marble King, sells all things marble-related—from affordable tubs of the glass playthings to significantly expensive items like Duke of York solitaire（独粒宝石）tables—sourced, purchased and processed by the mini－CEO himself.
“I like having my own company. I like being the boss,” Harli told The Mirror.
With profits now in the thousands, “the world's youngest CEO” has had to get his mother and older brothers to help him meet the growing demand.
Harli launched Marble King after swapping（交换）marbles at school led to schoolchildren depleting(削减) his marble collection. Yes, he literally（确切地）“lost his marbles.” Harli and his mother, Tina, turned to the Internet to find replacements.
Harli saw an empty space online: the marbles he wanted were hard to find. Within months, Harli had his own marble－selling website and orders started pouring in.
Tina says her son's obsession(迷恋) with marbles started when he was just 6.
“His obsession became so big we started calling him the Marble King, so when he wanted to set up a website it was the natural name for it，” she told The Sun.
“I never thought it would become so popular—we are struggling to cope with the number of orders at times.”
The 8－year－old boy has his sights set on expanding his business and launching his own brand of marbles.
“Sometimes his ideas are so grand we have to scale them back a bit. But his dream is still to own Britain's biggest marble shop and open stores around the world.” Tina told The Daily Mail.
“At the minute he is annoying me by asking about creating his won Marble King marbles, so that could well be the next step for him.”
【小题1】Why did Harli's marble company become popular as soon as he launched it?

A．Because it was run by “the world's youngest CEO”．

B．Because it filled the gaps of marble business.

C．Because Harli was fascinated with marble collection.

D．Because his mother and brothers helped him a lot.

【小题2】How many mass media are mentioned in the passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

【小题3】Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined expression “scale back”？

A．make smaller

B．carry out

C．turn down

D．frighten away

【小题4】What message do the last two paragraphs carry?

A．Conflicts often occur between Harli Jordean and his family.

B．Harli's mother and brothers are worried about Marble King's future.

C．Marble King marbles will be more popular with marble fans around the world.

D．The “Marble King” has great ambitions for his Marble King Company.

Everyone agrees that all the creatures want happiness and are afraid of pain and grief. The question, however, is “What is real happiness?” The desire for happiness has no meaning without understanding the real nature of happiness.
Generally, ordinary beings consider sensual（感觉的） pleasures as happiness, and their actions are directed toward gaining these. According to them, searching for happiness means searching for pleasures of the senses. The question, “What is happiness?”, does not arise（出现） in their hearts, because in their hearts they think of a life full of sensual joys as a happy life.
Some thinkers say, “Happiness does not lie in the objects of enjoyment; happiness or unhappiness lies in the imagination.” To prove their belief they give examples like the following one. A man has a two-storey house. When he thinks of those who have a house with three storeys or more, he feels unhappy. When he thinks of those who have just a cottage, he feels happy. Such happiness does not lie in possessions（占有物）, but in the imagination. They advise people to take inspiration from those who have few possessions but are quite happy. If you only consider people wealthier than yourself, you will always be unhappy.
If you want to be happy, they say, look at the poor. But it is unreasonable to hold that happiness lies in the imagination. And it is inappropriate to think that someone is happy if he only imagines himself better than the poor and the unhappy. This attitude also satisfies the sense of pride of possession. This can never be called happiness. Unless we find out where happiness lies, we cannot really become happy.
Some ask people to do this or that, and say, “This way your desires will be satisfied. That way you will get what you want and become happy.” People holding these views regard happiness as satisfaction of desires and unhappiness as denial(否定) of such satisfaction.
【小题1】What kind of life can make common people feel happy?

A．Life without pain and grief.

B．Life full of sensual pleasures.

C．Life with desire for possessions.

D．Life full of imagination.

【小题2】The underlined word “cottage” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to ________.

A．a house in one’s imagination	B．a modern building
C．a desired object	D．a small house

【小题3】The author may agree that ________.

A．by comparing themselves with the poor, people will feel happy

B．people won’t feel happy without a desire for happiness

C．possessing wealth may lead to a sense of pride

D．people have to experience pain and grief before finding happiness

【小题4】The best title for this passage would be “________”.

A．What Is Happiness?	B．How to Get Happiness
C．Happiness and Desire	D．Happiness and Imagination

The Golden Compass is the first movie based on the Philip Pullman’s bestselling novel, His Dark Materials. It is a work of imagination that tells us about a young girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend. Along the way she meets strange creatures, like witches and so on. Finally , she saves not only her world, but also ours as well.
Lyra is a young girl among scholars in Oxford’s Jordan College. She spends most of her time with her friend Roger, a kitchen boy. Together, they share a life with no worries. However, when Lyra hears a conversation about a very tiny particle(颗粒), she is thrown into a dangerous adventure. This particle is said to unite different worlds, and is feared by many people who want to destroy it. At the same time , children began to disappear without a trace, including Lyra’s good friend, Roger. As Lyra starts this horrible struggle, and begins to search for Roger, she meets strange creatures both big and small, and bad people who are not what they seem to be. Gobblers(饕餮者) that kidnap(绑架)children appear in the most unexpected places. And a magical compass made of gold will answer any question if one is skilled enough to read it. In unbelievable danger, Lyra doesn’t know that she is doomed to win, or to lose, this battle…
With the movie The Lord of the Rings making New Line cinema over a billion dollars, it’s easy to see why they got the rights to Pullman’s His Dark Materials quickly. The books, sold more than nine million copies in the world, have a different idea from the Harry Potter series. Pullman’s imagination may look suitable for children, but it works far better for adults.
【小题1】In the film The Golden Compass, Lyra______.

A．is a student in Oxford’s Jordan College

B．is a kitchen boy

C．hears a conversation of Roger’s

D．meets many strange creatures

【小题2】The film is named The Golden Compass probably because______.

A．the compass is useful enough to help Lyra

B．only skilled people can read the compass

C．the compass which is made of gold can answer any question

D．the compass throughout the whole story is a clue

【小题3】From the passage we can conclude that______.

A．New Line Cinema won Pullman’s trust through its achievement

B．The Lord of the Rings is also based on one of Pullman’s novels

C．His Dark Materials is similar to the Harry Potter series

D．New Line Cinema made over a billion dollars through the Harry Potter series

【小题4】Which group of people will like the film The Golden Compass the best according to the passage?

A．Children

B．Junior students

C．Adults

D．Only old people

Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.
A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can’t judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.
Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.
As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can’t expect all our customers are.
There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.
【小题1】What can be inferred from the text?

A．Hiring managers make the best impression on their candidate.

B．Candidates have to wear what companies prefer for an interview.

C．What to wear is a matter of customers’ acceptance to a great extent.

D．Companies sometimes have to change to respect their candidates.

【小题2】Which of the following is the newspaper editor’s opinion according to Paragraph2?

A．Customers’ choices influence dress standards in companies.

B．Candidates with tattoos or nose rings should be fairly treated.

C．Strange dress styles should not be encouraged in the workplace.

D．People’s appearances carry messages about themselves.

【小题3】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Appearances Do Matter

B．Hiring Managers Matter

C．Personal Choices Matter

D．Employees Matter

“Mama, when I grow up, I’m going to be one of those!” I said this after seeing the Capital Dancing Company perform when I was three. It was the first time that my dream took on a vivid form and acted as something important to start my training. As I grew older and was exposed to more, my interests in the world of dance certainly varied but that little girl’s dream of someday becoming a dancer in the company never left me. In the summer of 2005 when I was 18, I received the phone call which made that dream a reality: I became a member of the company dating back to 1925.
As I look back on that day now, it surely lacks any sense of reality. I believe I stayed in a state of pleasant disbelief until I was halfway through rehearsals (排练) on my first day. I never actually expect to get the job. After being offered the position, I was completely astonished. I remember shaking with excitement.
Though I was absolutely thrilled with the chance, it did not come without its fair share of challenge. Through the strict rehearsal period of dancing six days a week, I found it vital to pick up the material fast with every last bit of concentration. It is that extreme attention to detail (细节) and stress on practice that set us apart. To then follow those high-energy rehearsals with a busy show schedule of up to five performances a day, I discovered a new meaning of the words “hard work.” What I thought were my physical boundaries were pushed much further than I thought possible. I learned to make each performance better than the last.
Today, when I look at the unbelievable company that I have the great honor of being a part of, not only as a member, but as a dance captain, I see a tradition that has inspired not only generations of little girls but a splendid company that continues to develop and grow-and inspires people every day to follow their dreams.
【小题1】How many years has the Capital Dancing Company existed when the author received the phone call from it?

A．180

B．1925

C．2005

D．80

【小题2】How did the author feel when she look back on that day now?

A．strange

B．unrealistic

C．indifferent

D．lucky

【小题3】Which of the following statement can best interpret the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?

A．Though I was excited, I should share the chance with others.

B．Though I was excited, it’s fair to share the chance when there is challenge.

C．Though I was excited, it’s a challenge for me to share the chance with others.

D．Though I was excited, I know clearly where there is chance there is challenge.

【小题4】What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?

A．The company values practice most.

B．The company extremely focus on intelligence.

C．The company has an inherited tradition of inspiring its members break their limits.

D．The company sets the members apart in order to extremely stress detail and practice.

On the night of May 9, 2011, musician Gao Xiaosong ran his car into three other cars in Beijing.
But it wasn’t just a car accident—he was drunk(喝醉的).
Now, Gao has to go to prison (监狱) for six months and pay a 4,000 yuan fine.
Gao is the first star to be punished under China’s new drunk driving law.
From May 1 on, drunk drivers will pay a fine, and be banned from driving for five years or even forever.
Drunk driving has become a serious social problem in China.According to the Ministry of Public Security (公安部), police caught more than half a million drunk drivers last year, a 68 % increase from 2009.
The new law sees drunk driving as a crime.
In the West, drunk driving is also a crime. In the US, for example, if the police catch a drunk driver, the driver will pay a fine, lose his or her license (驾照) and even go to prison. If the driver wants to drive again, he or she must do public service, and take part in educational programs.
You may think: drunk driving is a crime? Isn’t this law too unkind? But experts say, “Not at all.”
“It is to protect people’s rights to life and health,” Li Gang, lawyer in Chengdu, told China Daily. “Drunk driving is very dangerous. No matter what the results are, it should not be allowed.”
【小题1】Mr. Gao ran his car into three other cars because _________.

A．there was something wrong with his car

B．he went home too late

C．he drank too much wine

D．the road was too crowded

【小题2】What does the underlined word “fine” in the third paragraph refer to(指)?

A．Health.

B．Traffic.

C．Weather.

D．Money.

【小题3】When did the new law come into use?

A．On May 1, 2010.

B．On May 1, 2011.

C． On May 1, 2009

D．On May 9, 2011.

【小题4】What do experts think of the new law?

A．Drunk driving is a crime.

B．The law is not kind to drunk drivers.

C．Driving has become a serious problem.

D．The law is too strict.

【小题5】 Which of the following sentence is TRUE?

A．Li Gang from Chengdu doesn’t like the law.

B．In the US, drunk drivers will only lose their licenses.

C．There were more drunk drivers in 2010 than in 2009.

D．The law is to protect drivers’ rights to life and health only.