Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis, cricket - anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.

It was a mountain bike he received for his 15^th birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set up his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon.

The following year he met John Ridgway and started to work as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of adventure（冒险） in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold-water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, he decided that this would be his future.

In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition （探险）towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite（冻伤）, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his sled up and over the rocky mountains.

Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.

1. What changed Saunders according to Paragraph 2?

       A. A friend’s words.               B. A mountain bike.

       C. His 18^th birthday gift.          D. His first marathon.

2.What did Saunders do in 2001?

A. He decided to build up his body.

B. He met John Ridgway in Scotland.

C. He worked as an instructor at school.

D. He took an adventure to the North Pole. 

3.What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?

A. He is a success in sports.           B. He is the youngest British skier.

C. He is Ridgway’s best student.         D. He is a good instructor at school.

 

短文填空  根据短文内容及首字母提示，补全空格内单词，使短文完整、通顺。（请在答题卡上写出完整单词）(10 分)

   Jiang Wen is at the top of the world - the world of Chinese cinema. His Let the Bullets Fly has just broken the box-office record for a Chinese film with some 700 million yuan ($107 million). It is s  1.  a big success that wherever you go, you can hear p 2.  talking about Bullets.

This time, he is not o  3. the leading actor in the film, but also the director himself. Young people believe he was playing himself because to them, he h  4.  is a true man. And experts (专家) also think highly of his way of t  5. stories. It seems that he does not need others to tell him h 6.  great he is ––– not any more.

    That does not mean he is not p  7.  of Bullets. It’s just that Bullets, for him, is fun. He has heard of all the political interpretations（政治隐喻的解读）of his story that have appeared across the Internet.

    The m  8.  wonderful scenes in his movies all seem to have something to do with reality (现实), for example, in Bullets it opens with a train pulled by white horses.

“I did not i  9. this set-up. For 30 years in the early 20th century, there was a part of rail line in Northeast China that was powered by h  10. ,” he explains, “You may come up with the most unlikely scenes, and you’ll find that fact is stranger than fiction.

 

Expressions cover all parts of our life. They may be around your ears every day. You may know a lot of Chinese expressions that describe how you feel. Here are some English ones for your enjoyment.

Have Your Heart in Your Mouth

This expression means that you're really afraid or anxious about something. When your heart starts beating so much that you can feel a thumping(怦怦跳) in your throat, it may feel like you "have your heart in your mouth."

Have Butterflies in the Stomach

How did butterflies get in your stomach? Well, those really aren't butterflies in there. It is a way of describing those nervous feelings you might get before a test or a very important decision.

These stomach flutters (跳动) are normal and happen to many people. Some people believe having a few butterflies might even help you perform better.    

Sick as a Dog

If you've ever been very sick, you may have used this expression. Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it's all right to describe someone who's not feeling well as being "sick as a dog".    

Under the Weather

When it's rainy all day outside, how would you feel? This expression comes from the idea that bad weather might hurt a person's health and mood(心情).

1. The expression "__" is most probably used while you are watching a thriller.

A. have your heart in your mouth    B. sick as a dog    C. under the weather

2.Someone believes__ if you "have butterflies in the stomach" before a test.

A. you're sure to fail      B. you will forget everything C. you might do better

3.It's __ to say somebody is "sick as a dog" when he is not feeling well.

A. impolite   B. suitable       C. wrong

4.When somebody says "under the weather", he must feel     

A. upset      B. happy            C. calm

5.All expressions discussed in this passage are about      

A. health      B. habits           C. feelings

 

Paul is a worker. One of his feet is bigger than    46 . He can’t    47  the right shoes    48   his feet. His friend, Dick, says to him, “   49   don’t you go to a shoemaker(鞋匠) ? A shoemaker can    50   you the right shoes.”   51   Paul goes to the shoemaker near Dick’s home. Very soon the shoemaker makes him a pair of shoes. Paul    52   the shoes but he is not happy. He    53   the shoemaker, “You aren’t    54   good shoemaker！I want you to make me one shoe bigger than the other.    55   you make me one shoe smaller than the other. ”

【小题1】	A．other B．the other C．another D．that one
【小题2】	A．see B．look for C．find D．look at
【小题3】	A．for B．on C．with D．about
【小题4】	A．How B．What C．Where D．Why
【小题5】	A．take B．give C．make D．mend
【小题6】	A．So B．After C．But D．Or
【小题7】	A．looks B．looks at C．sees into D．sees at
【小题8】	A．speaks B．says C．speaks to D．says to
【小题9】	A．an B．that C．this D．a
【小题10】	A．Then B．Or C．And D．But

 

Ole Bull was a very famous violinist from Norway. He really liked to play the violin. But his father thought that playing the violin was not useful. So his father sent him to university to study. However, playing the violin was his dream. He didn’t want to give up his dream. So he left university before he finished his studies and spent all his time and energy practicing the violin. Unfortunately, his violin teacher was not very good. So when it was time for him to start his concert tour, he still couldn’t play the violin very well.
Therefore, a Milan newspaper critic¹ criticized him and said that he was an untrained violinist. The critic said, “If he is gold, he is not ready to shine² yet.”
When facing this kind of problem, some people may become very angry and some people try to learn from it. Fortunately, Ole Bull belonged to the second group. He went to the newspaper office and found the critic. Instead of being angry, he talked about his mistakes with the man and listened to the man’s advice.
After he met the critic, he gave up the rest of his concerts. Then he went back to practice the violin with the help of good teachers. In the end, he got great success when he was only 26. He also became one of the most famous violinists in the world.
【小题1】Why didn't Ole Bull's father like him to play the piano?

A．Because he thought playing the violin was useless.

B．Because his father thought playing the violin would cost lots of money.

C．Because his father thought he couldn't play the violin well.

D．Because his father thought he couldn't make his dream come true.

【小题2】What does the underlined part "If he is gold, he is not ready to shine yet." mean?

A．Gold always shines no matter where it is.

B．He is an excellent violinist.

C．He doesn't play the violin very well.

D．If he sells gold, he will make a lot of money.

【小题3】What was Ole Bull's attitude towards the critic's article?

A．Angry.

B．Excited.

C．Modest.

D．Worried.

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Without a good teacher, one can't succeed.

B．The critic's advice helped Ole Bull a lot.

C．Ole Bull got success after many years' hard practice at last.

D．The critic helped Ole Bull find a famous teacher.

【小题5】What can we learn from the passage?

A．Becoming a violinist can make a lot of money.

B．When we meet problems, we should learn to face them.

C．Old Bull was a famous American pianist.

D．You can be famous easily if you play the violin.