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.?

One day, a teacher was giving a speech to his students. He held up a glass of water and asked the class, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"

The students' answers ranged from 20 g to 500 g. "It does not matter on the weight itself. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance (救护车). It is exactly the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. "

If we carry our burdens (负担) all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier. "

"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again. "

We have to put down the burden sometimes, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.

1.   The teacher brought a glass of water to the class because         .

2."A glass of water" in this passage referred to          .

3.According to the teacher, you may feel      _  if you put down the burden sometimes.

4.   This was a lesson about     ____ .

5.   Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

King Akbar was in the habit of putting riddles and puzzles to his people. He often asked ___36___ which were strange. His people had to use words in a ___37___ way to answer these questions.
Once Akbar asked a very strange question. He looked at his people. ___38___ he looked, one by one the heads began to hang low in search of an answer. It was at this moment that Bridal entered the palace. Birbal ___39___ the habit of the king. He understood the ___40___ at once and asked, “May I know the question so that I can ____41___ for an answer?”
Akbar said, “How many crows(乌鸦) are there in the city?”
___42___ even a moment’s thought, Birbal replied, “There are fifty thousand five hundred and eighty nine crows, My Lord.”
“How can you be so ___43____?” asked Akbar.
Birbal said, “Make your men ___44___, My Lord. If you find more crows it means some have come to visit their relatives(亲戚) here. If you find ___45___ crows it means some have gone to visit their relatives somewhere else.”
Akbar was pleased very much by Birbal’s wise answer.

As a teenager, I am often asked what I am going to be in the future. A lawyer? A doctor? Or a scientist? No, my ideal career is to be a teacher. One of the       for that is I want to be a teacher like Mr. Chen.

“Look! Do you know what it is? A-ha, it’s the      ! And it will always move around the sun.” Mr. Chen said and pointed to his head. He then touched the nose and      , “Can you tell me the name of this mountain? It is the highest mountain on Earth! What’s the       of it? Yes, it’s 8844.43 metres…” I’ll never forget my first geography lesson. He was       humorous that we all fell in love with his lessons      . It’s Mr. Chen who opened the door of geography for us.

Generally speaking, most of the teachers are strict       students and sometimes a little bit demanding（苛求的）, not so with Mr. Chen. He is a lighthouse, showing us the way to the treasure of knowledge. He is a friend and easy to get         with, always encouraging us to speak out loud without        our shyness and other disadvantages. He is an example, volunteering his time to students and other teachers.

One day I happened to meet him in the hospital. Seeing the cut on his arm, I realized he was donating his        . I was moved and was         another lesson, a lesson of love and devotion.

Every time I see my globe（地球仪）, it would        me of Mr. Chen. He is the most unforgettable teacher I have      met and he will always be. Someday I hope I am        to be a teacher like him.

Thank you, Mr Chen, thank you for making learning not a job but a joy.

Thank you for helping me to discover what I do best and to do it even       .

Thank you for understanding all of us and giving us the time and care each of us needs.

1.A. replies               B. reasons                C. rewards                      D. results

2.A. moon      B. earth                   C. star                D. sun

3.A. advised             B. announced             C. added                     D. answered

4.A. distance  B. weight                     C. size                      D. height

5.A. very               B. too                        C. really                            D. so

6.A. at present       B. at once                    C. at times                        D. at first

7.A. with                B. to                         C. in                               D. for

8.A. away                B. together           C. angry                 D. along

9.A. thinking    B. caring               C. considering                  D. supposing

10.A. money  B. blood                      C. clothes                        D. time

11.A. taught        B. given                        C. taken                            D. had

12.A. remembers  B. represents      C. warns                           D. reminds

13.A. just                  B. never                     C. ever                           D. yet

14.A. able      B. about                      C. allowed              D. available

15.A. well           B. good               C. better                         D. best

Bill, Frank and Dave were three brothers. Every year they sent their mother expensive gifts on her birthday,. They liked to show her how rich they were.

The eldest brother. Bill, had a lot of money and he wanted his mother to have the most expensive gifts, but he didn’t know what to buy. So he put an ad in the newspaper. “Wanted－the greatest gift for my mother.”

About a week before his mother’s birthday a man came to his office. He brought a big bird.

“This bird.” the man said, “can speak ten languages and sing some pop songs.”

“Really?  I’d like to listen to it,” Bill said.

The man made the bird talk in French and tell a joke in Japanese. Then the bird sang a beautiful song. Bill was very happy and paid nine thousand dollars for the bird. The next day Bill sent the bird to his mother with a birthday card.

The day after his mother’s birthday he called his mother. “Well, mother” he asked, “What do you think of the bird?”

“Oh, it’s very delicious, dear.” said his mother.

1.Who is the eldest brother?

A. Dave  B. Bill   C. Jack  D. Frank

2.What did Bill put in the newspaper?

A. A show  B. A magazine  C. An ad  D. A report

3.How many languages could the bird speak?

A. Five  B. Seven  C. Fight   D. Ten

4.How much did Bill pay for the bird?

A. Nine dollars  B. Ten dollars   C. Nine thousand dollars  D. Ten thousand dollars

5.What did Bill send to his mother for her birthday?

A. A bird with a card  B. Some money  C. A joke   D. A song