阅读理解

　　阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　There’s a modern African proverb I like to use when explaining why I feel it is so important to give back to my homeland：“When you take the elevator (lift)up to reach the top, please don’t forget to send the elevator back down, so that someone else can take it to the top. ”

　　As a young man, I was given a wonderful opportunity to pursue an education in the United States at Georgetown University. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would lead to a career in the NBA, which has allowed me to send the elevator back down to my people in Africa.

　　Africa has been described as a continent that is dying, a continent that is suffering, a continent that needs help.

　　It breaks my heart every day to think of all the children growing up in poverty (贫困), and without a sense of hope.

　　But there is hope. It’s hard for me to describe my feelings when I think about what NBA players are doing to spread good will to people all over the world, but especially in Africa.

　　I’ve waited so long for such a moment －seeing more NBA players participating and devoting their time and energy for the youth of the African continent. There’s nothing that brings more joy to my heart than this.

　　The kids that we were working with come from such deep suffering. Some have never even left their village before. To get an opportunity to board a plane and travel to another country to take part in Basketball without Borders, to meet and interact with NBA players and coaches, is like a dream come true. They got to eat wonderful meals. They’re given a uniform and basketball shoes. Some of them are so overwhelmed, they don’t even know what to say.

　　Pete Babcock, who was general manager of the Atlanta Hawks when I played for them, told me in all his years around basketball, he has never received as many thank you as he did in Africa. When I hear something like that, I feel such a deep sense of pride, because I know how truly appreciative these kids are for this experience.

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阅读理解

　　Walt Whitman was born in 1819 in New York City．During his long life, he watched America grow from a young nation to the strongest industrial power in the world．Whitman was influenced by events around him．But his poetry speaks of the inner self．He celebrated great people like President Abraham Lincoln．He also celebrated common people．

　　As a young man, Whitman worked as a school teacher, a printer and a newspaper reporter．He was thirty-six years old when his first book of poetry was published．He called it Leaves of Grass．It has only twelve poems．The poems are written in free verse．The lines do not follow any set form．Some lines are short and some are long．The word at the end of each line do not have a similar sound．They do not rhyme．

　　One of America's greatest thinkers and writers immediately recognized the importance of Leaves of Grass．Ralph Waldo Emerson praised Whitman's work．But most other poets and writers said nothing or denounced it．

　　The American Civil War began in 1861．During the war, Whitman worked without pay at army hospitals．He helped care for the wounded and dying soldiers．He sat beside these men for hours．He brought them food and wrote letters for them．After the Civil War, Whitman worked for government agencies．He watched the United States try to heal itself and increase democracy．

　　To Walt Whitman, democracy was more than a political system or idea．It was the natural form of government for free people．Whitman believed democracy was meant to honor the rights of every person and the equality of all people．

　　In 1873, Walt Whitman suffered a stroke．he spent the last few years of his life in Camden, New Jersey and wrote more poems．Whitman was poor and weak during the last few years of his life．He died in 1892．

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　　As a young man, Charlie traveled to America in a small company of actors．He was then invited to join a new company that was making film comedies(喜剧)．Very soon he had made dozens of short films for this company．And it was in his second film that he wore the clothes which made his reputation(声誉)－black hat, tight coat, baggy(松垂的)trousers, huge shoes, moustache and walking stick．

　　By the time he was thirty, Charlie was the greatest, best known and best loved comedian(喜剧演员)in the world．He worked very hard and had few close friends．Perhaps that was why the sad side of the little man began to show more clearly in the films he made．

　　Chaplin's films have attracted a large number of audience in various countries．People everywhere have sat and laughed at them until the tears stream down their faces．He will rush from one accident to the next．He will struggle through snow, slip on ice, fall from windows, and slide off bridges．He will fight men who are twice his size and fall in love with women who hardly notice him at all．He will be bullied(欺侮)and beaten by people stronger and richer than himself．But somehow he will always fight back and make the best of his broken heart．

　　Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films because they are mostly silent．It isn't what he says that makes us laugh．His comedy doesn't depend upon words or language．It depends upon little actions that mean the same thing to people all over the world．He is master of the art of mime－a kind of world language．

　　Having lived in America for forty years, Chaplin moved to Switzerland．There he died on Christmas Day 1977．He once described himself as a citizen of the world, rather than of any particular country．

　　He once wrote,“You have to believe in yourself．That's the secret of success．Even when I was in the children's home, when I was wandering about the streets trying to find enough to eat to keep alive, even then I thought of myself as the greatest actor in the world．”

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请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that．I got a taste of that dream in 2011, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday．But the experience turned out to be very dull．Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive．So when our retirement community(社区)announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream．

　　In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr．did it at age 80．Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health．A year went by and I heard nothing．But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners．I just couldn't believe it．Inspired by this．I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it．

　　On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane．My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience．The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn't frightened-I was really just looking forward to the experience．When we reached 13, 000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane．When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe．For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into? ” But then everything got calmer．We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute(降落伞), then we just floated downward for about five minutes．Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt-much better than the hot air balloon．I was just enjoying it．

　　Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life．I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don't stop living just because you are 84 years old．If there's something you want to experience, look into it．If it's something that is possible, make it happen．

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