It was early morning. Peter Corbett helped Mark Wellman out of his wheelchair and onto the ground. They stood before El Captain, a huge rock almost 1.2 kilometers high. Mark had long dreamed to climb El Captain when he was a child. At the age of twenty?one, he had fallen while climbing mountain, losing his legs. But he never lost his love for life.?
Mark knew he couldn't finish the climb alone, but his friend Peter would be there to lend a helping hand. They thought it would take seven days to reach the top. Now Peter climbed about 30 meters up and hit a piton(岩钉) into the rock. Fastening(拴紧) one end of a 50?meter rope(绳子) to the piton, he let the other end of the rope fall down. Mark caught the rope and fastened it to his belt. He next reached above his head and fastened a T-bar(丁字铁) to the rope. Mark took a deep breath, pushed the T?bar up almost as far as his arms could reach, and began the first pull?up. High above, Peter let out a cheer, “You're on your way.”?
For the first four days the two men progressed upward(向上) without accident. But on the fifth day, a very strong wind began to blow, making it hard for Mark to hold on to his rope. But Mark kept on pushing up the T-bar and pulling himself up.?
It took them one day more than they had expected. But as the two heads appeared the group of people waiting on the top went wild with joy.?
Mark Wellman showed that if you set your heart and mind on something, no wall is too high, no dream impossible.
【小题1】 With the help of his friend, Mark could climb up El Captain about  meters in height each day.?

It was three o'clock. A man was walking down a high street in the north of England. He was wearing a dark suit and carrying a suitcase. His name was Terry and he and he had lived away from home for twenty years. In fact he was in prison(监狱),
Terry was feeling totally depressed because everything in his hometown had changed. The park where he used to play was now a car park. The house where he was born had dis appeared and in its place,  ironically(具有讽刺意味地)， was a bank. Terry wanted to have a cup of coffee in the old small restaurant where he used to go with his friend after school,   but it had become a fast food restaurant. He entered it,   sat down,   and asked for a cup of coffee. Then he felt sadder when he thought of what he had seen.
While paying for the coffee he found an old ticket in his wallet. It was for a pair of shoes he had taken to be repaired the day before the bank robbery 20 years ago. The shoe repairer was an old man then, so Terry was sure that he must be dead. But when he turned the cor ner of the steet, he couldn't believe his eyes. The shop was still there! And it was the same shoe repairer! He looked about a hundred years old. Terry was so happy! Terry told him that he had lived in Australia for the past twenty years and that he forgot to pick up the shoes before he left England. The shoe repairer disappeared into the back of the shop. After ten minutes he came back.
"Were they dark brown,   Italian shoes,   size 42?"he asked slowly.
"Yes!nsaid Terry,   excitedly.
"I haven't repaired them，”the shoe repairer said slowly. “You can take them tomorrow afternoon. ”
【小题1】How long had Terry been away from home?

According to some predictions, human beings will die out in 2012. Nearly all people think it’s impossible, but there are some more earthquakes in recent years.

Animals can predict the weather or other natural events. It may sound strange, but farmers living in the countryside think so. For hundreds of years , they have observed animals.

“Animals ’ behavior can be connected to future weather conditions or events.” They say. For example, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. There are many traditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Many people think that these stories don’t have scientific evidence( 根据 ) at all. Scientists, however, are beginning to take another look at some of these ideas.

A Japanese earthquake researcher named Kiyoshi Shimamura noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquake hit. Then he did research on twelve public health centers in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after the 1995 earthquake . He got some interesting information about the month before the big earthquake:  treatment for animals’ bites had increased . In fact, aggressive(侵略的)behavior in dogs, such as biting and barking loudly , jumped 60 percent.

There are also other changes in animals’ behavior before the earthquake. For example, fish began swimming together in large groups , but only in the middle of the water and not near the edges. Birds flew away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected . These animals’ behavior suggests that animals may be able to predict natural events better than people.

1.What would cows behave before a rainstorm?

A．Running          B．Biting             C．Lying down        D．Sleeping

2.What do dogs begin to do just before an earthquake?

A．They leave their homes.                  B．They hurt people.

C．They lie down in grass.                   D．They stay together in large groups.

3.Which of the following animals behave strangely before an earthquake according to this passage?

A．Fish              B．Cows             C．Pigs              D．All of the above.

4.In Kiyoshi Shimamura’s investigation(调查)，before the big earthquake, treatment for animals’  bites had _________.

A．disappeared       B．increased         C．been the same as before.  D．never changed.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Natural events and animals’ actions.

B．What animals do during earthquakes

C．Many earthquakes of Japan.

D．Some stories about animals.

阅读下面短文，判断正误。（10分）
What a cold winter! How wonderful it would be if there were a fire! Fire keeps us warm. But fire is very dangerous, and can kill us. November 9 is National Fire Safety Day. It's a time for us to learn a lot more about fire, especially what to do if we are caught in a fire.
Call 119
Never try to put out a fire by yourself, even if it is a very small one. Get help from your parents or call 119. Tell 119 where you are and what is on fire. Listen to 119's instructions.
Keep down close to the floor
If there is a lot of smoke in your room, keep down close to the floor. There is less smoke down there, so it's easier to breathe(呼吸) and see where you are going. If you don't, the smoke may kill you before the fire does.
Don't use the elevator
Never use the elevator(电梯) during a fire. Always use the stairs. An elevator may stop at the floor where the fire is burning. It may also go wrong and keep you inside.
Don't go back
Never go back into a burning building. Even if you have left your pet or favorite toy inside, do not go back for it. Don't worry about your pets. Animals have a very good sense of smell(嗅觉). They often get out of the building before people.
阅读短文，判断正（T）误（F）
(   ) 11. National Fire Safety Day is on November 9.
(   ) 12. If you smell smoke or see a fire, you should call 120 first.
(   ) 13. If there is a lot of smoke or a fire, the fire may kill you before the smoke.
(   ) 14.You mustn't use stairs during a fire because it may catch fire as well.
(   ) 15.Animals have a good sense of smell.

Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.

When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time—like my wedding (婚礼) and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address (地址) Unknown. ” I had no idea how to find Linda.

Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share (分享) happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.

One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman — Linda’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but J still wrote to her.

She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother. ”

Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!

根据以上短文内容，然后从每题所给的四个选项中选择最佳选项。

1.The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans _______.

A. at the age of 13??????

B. before she got married

C. after they moved to new homes?????

D. before the writer’s family moved away

2.They didn’t often write to each other because they _______.

A. got married????????????? ?

B. had little time to do so

C. didn’t like writing letters?

D. could see each other on special time?????????????

3.The writer was happy when she _______.

A. read the newspaper?

B. heard Linda’s voice on the phone

C. met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda?

D. wrote to the woman whose last name was Wagman

4.They haven’t kept in touch _______.

A. for about 40 years?????????????

B. for about 27 years

C. since they got married?

D. since the writer’s family moved away