阅读理解

　　James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves．His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9．There, a school teacher asked the youth his name．

　　“J．C．,”he replied．

　　She thought he had said“Jesse”, and he had a new name．

　　Owens ran his first race at age 13．After high school, he went to Ohio State University．He had to work part time so as to pay for his education．As a second year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later．

　　A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs．His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet．He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event．He did try, and the results are in the record book．

　　The stage was set for Owens victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political．Hitler did not congratulate any of the African American winners．

　　“It was all right with me,”he said years later．“I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway．”

　　Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either．In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death．

　　Owens Olympic victories made little difference to him．He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles and dogs．

　　“Sure, it bothered me,”he said later．“But at least it was an honest living．I had to eat．”

　　In time, however, his gold medals changed his life．“They have kept me alive over the years,”he once said．“Time has stood still for me．That golden moment dies hard．”

阅读理解

　　Mary Masterman hasn't decided where she will attend college, but when she does, she'll have plenty of money to pay for it．The 17-year-old took home a ＄100,000 scholarship Tuesday as the top winner of the 2007 Intel Science Talent Search．

　　"It was a complete surprise," said the senior at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma．"I wasn't expecting it．" Masterman earned first place at this year's competition by building a low-budget spectrograph(摄谱仪)－ an instrument that identifies the unique characteristics, or "fingerprints," of different molecules．Spectrographs are used in a variety of fields, including astronomy, medicine, and law enforcement．They can sense the presence of explosives or drugs, and they can also help determine the age of a piece of artwork．

　　Normally, the cost of a spectrograph can run as high as ＄100,000．Mary, however, built her device－which she crafted from lenses, a laser, aluminum(铝)tubing, and a camera－for just ＄300．"I wanted to build one that was lower-costing so it would be more available to anyone interested in spectrography," she said．

　　Sticking to a budget was only half the battle．Getting the machine to work was another challenge．"I had to keep coming up with creative ways to adjust or change something," Mary admitted．"It took three months to build and another three months before it actually functioned properly．"

　　Mary competed with more than 1,700 other high school seniors in this year's science challenge．Forty finalists were invited to Washington, D．C．, where they presented their projects at the National Institute of Science．In all, 10 students took home awards for their innovative projects．

完形填空

　　One night I was sitting in my kitchen half-listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy antagonized(招惹)my 12-year-old brother Kevin．I didn’t pay attention when Kevin 　　1　　 up the stairs with the hurt on his face．

　　About 20 minutes later, I heard Kevin crying inside the 　　2　　．I knocked on the door and asked, “Hey, Kev, do you want a talk?” No response．So, I grabbed some index(索引)cards and a pencil and wrote, “If you don’t want to 　　3　　, we can write notes to each other．”

　　An hour later I was still 　　4　　 on the floor outside the bathroom with two piles of index cards in front of me．One was 　　5　　 and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his unpleasant feelings into words．　　6　　 I read one Kevin’s notes, tears came to my eyes．It said,“　　7　　 in this family cares about me．I’m not the youngest, and I’m not the oldest, and I’m not 　　8　　．Tommy thinks I can do nothing and Dad 　　9　　 he had the other Kevin as a(n)　　10　　 because he’s better at basketball．And you’re never around to even 　　1　　 me．”

　　It was 　　12　　 what he had said about me．I wrote back “I really do love you and I’m 　　13　　 I don’t always show it．I am here for you and you are 　　14　　 in this family．”

　　There was no 　　15　　 for a while, but then I heard a 　　16　　 sound coming from inside the bathroom．Kevin, who had 　　17　　 cards wrote on a torn-up paper cup, “Thanks．”

　　Since then, I try my best to never 　　18　　 half-notice my family members anymore．Kevin and I have a closer 　　19　　 now, and sometimes when one of us notices that the other is 　　20　　, we’ll smile and say “Write it on a paper cup．”