Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality of life.

In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.

The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四脚朝天).

When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.

Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.

Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out to do .”

1.What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．A happy thing.                          B．A difficult task.

C．A big dream.                           D．A beautiful scene.

2.Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?

A．This passage is a description of giraffes’ living habits.

B．Baby giraffes can’t stand up until three months old.

C．Irving Stone spent a lifetime studying and writing stories about great people.

D．The great people can’t stand up after they’re knocked down for years.

3.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to keep a baby giraffe.

B．Learning to Get Back Up.

C．Stories about the great people.

D．A mother giraffe and its baby giraffe.

Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality(现实) of life.

In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.

The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable(不合情理的) thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四脚朝天).

When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky(摇晃的) legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.

Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.

Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out(着手) to do .”

1.What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．A happy thing.                          B．A difficult task.

C．A big dream.                           D．A beautiful scene.

2.What does the book A View from the Zoo talk about?

A．A new-born giraffe’s first lesson.

B．A mother giraffe’s story.

C．The lives of some great people.

D．The way for a giraffe to stand up.

3.Why were some great people mentioned in the passage?

A．Because they all worked hard.

B．Because they all liked to read some special stories.

C．Because they were born with some illnesses.

D．Because they were similar to giraffes in some ways.

4.Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?

A．This passage is a description of giraffes’ living habits.

B．Baby giraffes can’t stand up until three months old.

C．Irving Stone spent a lifetime studying and writing stories about great people.

D．The great people can’t stand up after they’re knocked down for years.

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Raise a Baby Giraffe.

B．Learning to Get Back Up.

C．Stories about the great people.

D．A Mother Giraffe and Its Baby Giraffe.

She has bright eyes and a lovely smile．She also has a beautiful online nickname，“one-winged（单翼的）angel”．She used it before the May 12 earthquake but never expected that it would come true．

LiLu，15，lost her right arm and right leg during the Wenchuan Earthquake．But the girl from Dujiangyan chooses to stay happy--she moves thousands of people with her blog stories．

“Some kind people say blogging could be a way for me to support myself，so I want to try，” she said．

However，it was not easy for her to start a blog．After 12 operations（手术），it was only in July that Li was able to sit up．Then she learned to use her left hand to brush her teeth and comb her hair．She had to practice writing from scratch（从零开始）．

On her blog，Li tries to stay cheerful．However，sometimes she can’t help thinking of the happy old days．She wrote：

“We sat on the stairs teasing each other．We hung out together，enjoying pearl milk tea…someone invited me to go climbing，but I cannot promise（承诺）I will now．The one，whom I lost forever，shared the best days of my childhood…”

Some kind people help upload Li's diaries onto her blog．Li feels grateful as her blog has become popular and online messages encourage her to keep writing．

“A saying goes that if a door closes，somewhere God opens a window，” Li said．“I have to seize（抓住）the light through the window，though it may seem dim（暗淡的）at the beginning．”

1．“One-winged angel” is the girl's ________ name．

A．nickname              B．online nickname       C．first name              D．family name

2．How did the girl move thousands of people?

A．By losing her right arm and right leg．          B．By learning to use her left hand．

C．With bright eyes and a lovely smile．            D．With her blog stories．

3．After 12 operations，LiLu was able to ________ in July．

A．stand up              B．sit up                   C．brush her teeth       D．hung out

4．Why was it not easy for LiLu to start a blog?

A．Because she had to learn to use her left hand for everything．

B．Because she didn't know much about computer．

C．Because she is unhappy all the time．

D．Because she always misses the happy days in the past．

5．We can know from the story that ________．

A．LiLu used to like going climbing．

B．LiLu made her blog popular by herself．

C．LiLu's house is dark with only one window．

D．LiLu's life is filled with sadness．

Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality(现实) of life.
In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.
The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable(不合情理的) thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四脚朝天).
When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky(摇晃的) legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.
Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.
Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out(着手) to do .”
【小题1】What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?