Obama has made history by becoming the first African-American in American history.

Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. His parents didn’t live together when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama grew up with his mother in Hawaii, and for a few years in Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York, where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983. Obama met his wife, Robinson, in June, 1989 and married her on October 3^rd, 1992. The couple’s first daughter was born in 1998, followed by a second daughter in 2001.

Obama took office in January 20, 2009. However, just when he became the president, he had to face many serious challenges ---- two foreign wars, the climate change and what he had described as “the worst financial crisis (经济危机) in a century”. But Obama said that he himself had been ready to face these challenges.

Obama’s success is a true milestone. It speaks to the fact that in America you really do get a chance to do anything, if you have the talent and abilities and you work hard enough.

1.   How old was Obama when he became the American president?

2.   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Obama grew up with his father in Hawaii.

B. Obama has two sons with Robison.

C. Obama is the first black president in the USA.

D. Columbia University is in Washington.

3.Obama’s success tells us that __________.

4.   What does the underlined phrase “took office” in the third paragraph mean?

5.   According to the passage, Obama had to face the following challenges except for _____________.

Learning Chinese may seem difficult to foreigners outside China．  36  , Daisy Raffan, an   37  girl in Britain, hopes to bring the language to the young people．Daisy has   38  an online learning website(网站) to teach the language to as   39  people as possible all over the world．  40  China’s fast development in the world, Daisy thinks   41  important for people to learn the language sooner rather than later．Daisy has   42  Putonghua since the age of five．Two years ago, after she decided to pass on what she had learned, this teenager   43  the idea for the website, kids Chinese club．com．She said, “People are afraid to learn Putonghua．One of the main reasons is that they think it’s an   44  language to learn, but I have had fun   45  it．And I hope what have done is easy and fun．”Her   46  offers a series(系列)of lessons, which are videos of Daisy teaching a group of students on topics from greetings and numbers to Chinese culture．
Daisy’s website has   47  the support of several important persons—the teenager   48  she has received a letter praising(赞扬)her work from Gordon Brown, who is the British Prime Minister(首相)．
She said, “I wrote to him and told him what I was doing and got a letter   49 ．He said that what I was doing was a really good  50 ．I thought it was amazing．I was excited that someone so important was supporting what we’re doing．”

My life suffered a lot in a summer five years ago. My father died in a car accident, leaving my mother, my two younger brothers and I alone. At that time, I was a senior high school student. After my father’s funeral (葬礼), I had no choice but to drop out of school and work in a factory.

I really wanted to return to school and wanted to go to college, but I couldn’t. I only hoped to bring up my two younger brothers. Life was not easy for me, for I can’t afford their tuition (学费) even if I worked from day to night without stopping. Without my father’s protection, I thought I was a slave (奴隶) to the fate.

Later on, something changed my life. I still remember that it was a rainy day. I put myself in the rain and walked slowly in the street.

Suddenly the rain stopped! I raised my head and found “the sky” was in fact a dark blue umbrella. Then I noticed a middle-aged man with one leg on crutch (拐杖) standing behind me. He said to me, “Why not run without an umbrella? If you didn’t run, you would get drenched.”

The man told me that he was promoter (推销员). He once dreamed of being a policeman, but an accident ruined (毁灭) his dream. Though his present job was not suitable for his legs, it was wonderful start to him. He was very happy that he didn’t lose heart and still “ran” on the road of life…

I was encouraged by the man’s words. I went to a big city and I became an assurance representative (保险代理人). After two years’ running, I did well and my family condition turned better little by little. Later I returned to school and succeeded in my entrance to university.

Life is like this. When you are in rainy days in your life, if you couldn’t find a way to prevent you from being wet, you would be overwhelmed (被制服). But if you decide to get rid of it, you’ll discover that the rainy days last not so long as you imagine.

1.What happened to the writer at the beginning of the story? 

    A. His father died in a car accident six years ago.

    B. He didn’t have money to hold the funeral for his father.

    C. He had to drop out of school to look after his sick mother.

    D. He couldn’t afford his two brothers’ tuition even if he worked from day to night.

2.About the middle-aged man with one leg on crutch, which of the following is NOT true?

    A. He lost one leg in an accident.

    B. He had dreamed of being a policeman.

C. He became a promoter after an accident.

    D. He had a good job which was suitable for him very well.

3.What does the underlined word “drenched” mean in Chinese?

    A. 干燥的       B. 湿透的      C. 紧张的      D.舒服的

4.What’s the main idea of the sixth paragraph?

   A. The writer learned from the man and the situation soon got better.

B. The writer didn’t want to listen to the man and left without any word.

   C. The writer had to give up his dream and became a promoter as the man.

   D. The writer made friends with the man and they got on well with each other.

5.Which is the best title for the passage?

   A. Try to Be Independent.

B. Care for the Disabled Person.

   C. Run out of the Rainy Season of Your Life.

D. Get to Know More About Middle-aged People

What’s your favorite cartoon? It may be difficult for you to decide. But for pianist Lang Lang, Tom and Jerry is the best one.

When Lang was two years old, he saw Tom play the piano. This was his first time to enjoy western music and this experience encouraged him to learn to play the piano.

His talent at the keyboard has taken him from Shenyang to the world. Lang became a good piano student at three. Ever since, the boy has been doing better and better. In 1997, the 15-year-old boy studied at a famous American music college.

Lang’s performances are energetic. He is well-known for making facial （面部的）expressions and moving around while playing the piano.

The road to success has never been easy. Lang’s father stopped his job to look after him, while his mother stayed in Shenyang to make money. But Lang thinks himself lucky and believes he should give something back. He has helped the children in poor areas a lot.

1.What made Langlang first enjoy western music?

2. How old was Langlang when he became a student of a famous American music college?

3. What is Langlang famous for?

4. Why did Langlang’s mother stay in Shenyang?

5.From the passage, we can say it _______ Langlang and his parents a lot of time to get success.

He _________ for two years. We are still sad about his _________.

A. died, dead? B. died , death?? C. has been dead , dead? D. has been dead, death