He was struggling(费劲) to tie his shoes. I was struggling with whether I should help him.

I did, and he was grateful.

“Thank you,” he said.

“I’m glad I could help. I just thought it would be easier for me to reach,” I said.

He was a disabled man, and forced to look down most of the time. His arms and legs were twisted(扭曲的) terribly, and he couldn’t do what the rest of us would consider easy tasks. He always managed to look up to see how you reacted(反应) to his words, however. He had a big smile, making me feel comfortable.

I was still on my knees by his wheelchair.

“ Nice shoes,” he said.

“Thanks. No one ever complimented me on them before,” I said.

“No one has the same view of the world as I do,” he replied.

“Tell me about the world as you see it,” I said smiling.

“Most people can see if someone is comfortable with them or not in their eyes. I see it in their feet.” he said. “If people keep moving their feet, I just let them go, because I know they’re impatient with me. I don’t want to make people uncomfortable.

“What about me? I asked.

“I could see your compassion. And then you came down to my level. I was the one who was nervous.” he said. “I don’t normally have someone look me in the eye.”

“They don’t know what they’re missing,” I told him.

“My old face is nothing to brag(自夸) about.” he said.

“But that smile is so big.”

Yes, and it’s not only a big smile but an attitude.

1.The disabled man knew people were impatient mostly by their _________.

A．words

B．eyes

C．feet

D．smile

2.The unlined word compassion is the closet in meaning to ___________.

A．attention

B．pity

C．trust

D．duty

3.We learn that the disabled man _________.

A．had great difficulty looking after himself

B．always asked people for help

C．couldn’t have a big smile

D．liked to talk about people’s shoes

4.The writer felt comfortable because _________.

A．he had a nice talk to the man

B．the man looked him in the eye

C．he didn’t move his feet before the man

D．the man had a big smile on the face

5.We can infer from the passage that _________.

A．the disable man had something wrong with his mind

B．not many people went down to the man’s level

C．the man was good at telling people about the world

D．the writer would not give the man move help

 

I am a professor of sports and exercise so I often deal with nervousness in my research with sports people. Actually, most people experience nervousness at some time or another.
If you are feeling anxious, my advice is to first find the cause or causes. Make s list of those things that are making you nervous and work out which ones you can do something about. Focus all of your efforts on managing the causes that you can control.
Most people cannot tell the difference between controllable(可控制的) and uncontrollable causes, so things they can’s control become a big reason for nervousness. Dealing with this is very important if people want to keep a healthy mind.
Simply try to accept the uncontrollable causes of nervousness. You might be worried about the weather on a big day, an accident or an attack on the train, or perhaps just things that other people are doing at work. The results may be very important but there is still no use worrying because you can’t control any of these things. Accept that you can’t control everything. Once you understand this, it becomes easier not to worry.
If a situation, such as swimming, is causing you to be anxious, try to face it as often as possible so that you can get used to it.
It can often help to think about yourself doing the thing that makes you nervous—then close your eyes and imagine it going well. Imagine how the flight or job interview is going to happen so that you can get used to it. This will help you understand that the thing you fear most is probably not going to happen.
【小题1】Who wrote this passage?

A．A reporter.

B．A sportsman.

C．A patient.

D．A professor.

【小题2】The writer thinks there is no use worrying about some causes of nervousness because____.

A．most are not very important

B．they are not the real causes of the problem

C．they cannot be controlled by people

D．it’s better to deal with one cause at a time

【小题3】 If swimming makes you nervous, what should you do according to the writer?

A．Go swimming often to get used to it.

B．Avoid going to the swimming pool.

C．Find a swimming teacher.

D．Imagine watching others swim.

【小题4】What is true about nervousness according to the passage?

A．It usually has only one cause.

B．It is usually caused by people.

C．People can easily manage it.

D．Most people suffer from it.

【小题5】 What is the main purpose of this passage?

A．To introduce the writer’s sports experience.

B．To advise on how to deal with nervousness.

C．To help people remember their fears.

D．To explain the dangers of nervousness.

阅读短文，根据短文内容及首字母提示，在空白处填入一个适当的单词

Coober Pedy is a small town in the Australian desert (沙漠). It's famous not only for its opals (猫眼石) , but also for a very unusual1. r________—the people live and work underground.

Why do people choose to live under the ground? To avoid (避开) the2.h_______ days and cold nights-daytime temperatures can rise to 50 °C or more and on a cold night they can fall to3.z_______. The locals say that their strange lifestyle is the only answer4. t________ the unpleasant climate (气候) . In the underground homes,the temperature is always a very pleasant 19°C to 24°C .But that's not the only advantage ; the people there don't need to pay builders if 5. t_______want to build a home or make any changes.

You would be very surprised to see 6. h________well people manage to live underground. They have modern kitchens and bathrooms, sometimes even spas (温泉)“People think it's impossible to live here and that we're like ancient people, 7. b_______ that's not true. " says Bev Smith, who has lived in Coober Pedy for over 30 years. When my husband, Larry, and I first came here, life was very8. d _______ and many people decided to leave. But now, things have9. c________a lot and we’re very comfortable. We now have underground shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes and churches!”

Abigail and Brian Tynan 10.1_______ their large house in Melbourne(墨尔本) two years ago to have in an underground home. "My mouth fell open when I saw my wonderful underground home," remembers Brian. " I really enjoy living here. "

 

Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts (蝗虫) and they are eating everything in their path.
And now in order to fight against this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 5 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts. “We think this idea will get more people to take part in the fight against the locusts,” said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal’s worst affected area.
This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years. Now it is moving east and it leads to the loss of crops. When they move, they have babies, so their number is getting bigger. and will soon threaten (威胁) Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it may reach Asia.
Experts say many people in the areas will go hungry because of this disaster. What’s worse, governments in the areas don’t have enough things to fight the locusts.
Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not enough. ‘We are now treating 6,000 hectares (公顷) per day with pesticide (杀虫剂), but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,’ said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, leader of locust control(控制) in Mauritania.
【小题1】What does“dark cloud”mean in the first para­graph, the writer of the article ___________.

A．wanted to show the size and speed(速度) of the coming locusts

B．wanted to show the great damage that locusts may cause

C．wanted that locusts could cover the continent like rain clouds

D．both A and B

【小题2】The locust disaster ________.

A．may be even more serious in Asia

B．is (was) such a big problem that people can’t do anything to solve it.

C．affected only the warning areas

D．can not be stopped if people can’t get more pesticide.

【小题3】How many kilograms of rice can Mike get if he catches and kills 450 kilos of locusts?

A．15

B．25

C．30

D．45

【小题4】 Which of the following is WRONG?

A．Sud-Fm offered a reward(奖励) to those people would join in catching and killing locusts.

B．Senegal is to the northwest of Sudan.

C．People in West Africa often go hungry.

D．12 countries worked together but they didn’t have enough pesticide.

【小题5】The story is mainly about ________.

A．Countries in West Africa worked together to fight a natural disaster

B．the difficulty in controlling locusts

C．how locusts caused great damage (破坏) to West Africa

D．a fight against a disaster brought by locusts in West Africa

用方框中所给词语的适当形式填空，使短文正确和通顺。

The best way of learning a language is (1) it. The best way of learning English is talking in English as (2) as possible. Sometimes you'll get your words mixed up and people will not (3) you. Sometimes people will say things too (4) and you can't understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor, you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make. Don't be (5) if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes. It's (6) for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you, because they don't understand what you are saying. The most important thing for (7) English is: “Don't be afraid of(8) mistakes because everyone makes mistakes.”