High-climbing kid raises hopes

Michael McCarthy climbed to the top of the Willis Tower not long ago. The Tower stands 1451 feet (442 meters) tall, the highest building in the US.   

As he got to the last step, McCarthy almost fell down, but that didn’t stop him. The 14-year-old boy finally finished climbing the 2,109 steps and arrived at the top, where he enjoyed the cheers from the crowd.   

“I just want to show people that if a kid with no legs can do it, anyone can do it,” McCarthy said.   

McCarthy, who was born without legs, has to wear prosthetic legs（假肢）and use a set of crutches（拐杖）to walk. But McCarthy has a strong heart. He believes nothing can stop him from achieving his success.   

He has been in a karate（空手道）school since he was four years old. When he decided to climb the Willis Tower, his karate teacher, Jeff Kohn, was moved and offered to help train him. They spent more than 10 hours practicing climbing stairs and keeping balance with the prostheses and crutches on the steps every day. “It seems that he never knows what tiredness is. Sometimes, I was so tired that I asked him to call it a day,” said Kohn. “But he said he was still full of energy and wanted more exercise.”   

Kohn was with McCarthy for the climb. “I saw the last 10 floors — he went faster,” said Kohn. “He’s the most hard-working athlete I’ve ever trained.”   

McCarthy said he was proud of himself and that the Tower now holds special meaning. “When I’m older, I’ll point to the building and say ‘Look at this building I climbed,” he said.

(   )11. Why did McCarthy decide to climb the Willis Tower?

A. Because the Tower is very special. 

B. Because he wanted to set a world record.

C. Because he wanted to show that anyone can do it.

D. Because he enjoyed climbing stairs very much.

(   ) 12. Who helped McCarthy train for climbing the Willis Tower?

A. Nobody.   B. His brother.  C. His parents.   D. His karate teacher.

(   ) 13. What does the underlined phrase “call it a day” mean in Chinese?

A. 结束当天的训练     B. 去打个电话     C. 再训练一天      D. 另请高明

(   )14. Which of the following is True?

A. The Willis Tower is 442 feet tall in total.

B. McCarthy had a traffic accident and lost his legs.

C. While McCarthy was climbing the Tower, nobody was with him.

D. Many people cheered when McCarthy arrived at the top of the Tower.

(   ) 15. What can we learn from this passage?

A. No man is born wise and learned.  B. Where there is a will, there is a way.

C. Time and tide wait for no man.    D. A little learning is a dangerous thing.

One day during winter holiday , Jacob went to visit his grandmother . The six-year-old boy form Connecticut(康涅狄格州) couldn’t wait to play baseball when he got to her house . Jacob had brought his bat , but he had forgotten to bring a baseball .

Jacob’s problem gave him an idea . After returning home , he cut off the top of his bat with his parents’ help . The bat was hollow inside . Jacob dropped some balls into the hollow bat . Then he put a cap on the bat to close it . With the balls inside the bat , Jacob didn’t have to worry about forgetting them on his next visit to his grandmother . Since the balls were inside the bat , the new toy also allowed Jacob to carry the bat and balls in one hand . Jacob called his new toy a batball .

When school started , he took the batball to his school’s invention fair . Many people liked it , especially Jacob’s teacher . Jacob felt very proud about it .

A bit company heard about Jacob’s invention . They liked his idea and decided to sell “batballs” in shops . The batballs were blue (Jacob’s favourite color) and had three balls inside them .

Jacob also won an award for his toy . In 2002 , his batball was named the best new American product (产品) made in Connecticut .

11.Why did Jacob invent the batball ?

A. He wanted to sell it to a big company .　　 B. He had lost his bat and ball .

C. He wanted to solve a problem　　　　　　 D. He wanted to take it to the school’s invention.

12. Which event happened after Jacob took the batball to school ?

A. A toy company liked Jacob’s idea .　

B. Jacob took the top off his bat with his parents’ help .

C. Jacob got an idea .　　　　　　

D. Jacob wanted to play baseball at his grandmother’s house .

13. How did Jacob probably feel about the batball ?

A. Proud　　 B. Sad　　　 C. Brave　　 D. Surprised

14. The underlined word “hollow” means _________ .

A. 新的　　　 B. 铁的　　 C. 塑料的　　 D. 空的

15. Why were the batballs blue ?

A. Because people like this colour .　　　　　 B. Because blue is a nice colour .

C. Because blue is Jacob’s favourite colour .　 D . We don’t know .

There are many kinds of friends. Some are always   26  you, but don't understand you. Some say only a few words to you, but understand you. Many people will step in your life, but only   27  friends leave footprints (脚印).
I shall always think of the autumn and the girl with the   28 . It was the golden season. I could see the yellow leaves   29  in the cool wind. Autumn is a harvest（丰收）season and life is uninteresting. The free days always let   30  down. But one day, the sound of a violin came into my ears. I was so surprised that I jumped to see what it was. A young girl, standing in the wind, was   31   in playing her violin. I had   32  seen her before. The music was so nice that I didn't know I had been   33  there for so long.
Every day I went to watch her performance. I was the only listener. The autumn seemed no longer lonely and life became   34 . I thought we were already good friends,   35  we didn't know each other.
Autumn was nearly over. One day, when I was listening carefully, the sound suddenly
  36  . To my surprise, the girl came over to me.
“You must like violin.” she said.
“Yes. And you play very well. Why did you stop?” I asked.
  37 , a sad expression appeared on her face and I could feel something unusual.
“I came here to see my grandmother, but now I must leave. I once played very badly. It was your listening every day that   38  me.” she said.
“  39  , it was your playing that gave me a meaningful autumn,” I answered, “Let's be friends.” The girl smiled, and so did I.
I never heard her play again in my life. But I will always remember the girl. She is like a dream—so short, so bright, like a star giving off so much light that it makes the  40  beautiful.

What is a library for? Most libraries have books and other things to read. Many of them  have things to listen to. Some libraries even have computers. Very few people would think of a library as a place to live in.

  One library in New York City turned into(变成)a home for 250 people for a few days. These were all people near the library. They slept on the floor. Why did the people move into the library?

  The people moved into the library because the city wanted to close it to save money. These 250 New Yorkers loved their library. They didn't want to lose it. So they moved in. They knew that the library couldn't be closed if they were living inside it. At last the city agreed to keep the library open, and the people all went home.

(   )11. Where did the story happen?_________.

      A. In New York City.                 B. In a school in New York City.

      C. In the streets in New York City.      D. In most libraries in New York City.

(   )12. The library had hundreds of ___________.

      A. workers in it                      B. policemen in it

      C. people living in it                  D. computers in it

(   )13. The people in the story _______________.

      A. were all the workers in the library     B. were all people near the library

      C. didn't read any books               D. wanted to buy some computers

(   )14. Why did 250 people move into the library? Because_____________.

      A. these people wanted to save money

      B. these people needed places to live in

      C. the library was very quiet

      D. they loved the library and they didn't want to lose it

(   )15. From the passage we know that ___________.

       A. the library was kept open at last

       B. the library was closed because no one read in it

       C. the library became a home of these people

       D. the city saved a lot of money

Monty Robert’s father was a horse trainer. As a child, Monty often went from one farm to  21  with his father. Sometimes they didn’t have enough money to   22  food, but Monty still kept hoping to own a   23  farm.
When he was in school, his teacher asked him to write a paper   24  what he wanted to be and do when he grew up. He wrote a seven-page paper   25  his dream of having a horse farm one day. He   26  drew a picture of a horse farm in the paper.
The next day he handed   27  in to his teacher. Two days later, he got his paper back. On the front page was a large red “F” with some words “See me after class.”   28  the boy did and asked his teacher, “Why did I get an F?” The teacher said, “This dream will not   29   for a young boy like you.   30  a horse farm needs a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for a lot of things. There is no way you could ever do it.” Then the teacher added, “If you write this paper again with a   31  dream, I will give you a good grade.”
After school he thought about it   32 . At last, he decided to hand in the same paper, making   33  changes at all. He wrote, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my   34 .”
Many years later, Monty had his own 200 acres horse farm. His dream came true.
So don’t let   35  take away your dreams. Follow your dreams, no matter what they are.