Imagine someone has crossed the seas joining five continents by swimming. It is a major success for anyone. But it is an even greater success for Philippe Croizon, who has no arms, and no legs! His achievements show that we can all achieve great things—no matter who we are.

Philippe Croizon was 26 years old when he had an accident. The doctors had to remove both of his arms and legs. “When they cut off my last leg I wanted to die. I suffered great depression and my spirit was as low as you can get. But you have to choose—and I chose to live!” said Croizon.

While he was recovering in hospital, Croizon saw a television programme about a woman who had been swimming across the English Channel. After watching the programme Croizon decided to do it. He began to exercise every day to make him strong and it took him two years to prepare.

Finally in 2010, Croizon was ready. He entered the cold, grey sea of the English Channel. He was now 42 years old. It took him from early morning until night to swim the distance. He felt a lot of pain. But he had become the first person without arms and legs to swim between France and England. Croizon had achieved his dream, but he did not stop there. He looked for a new goal.

Early in 2012 he planned to swim across the seas that join five major continents. During the next few months he swam between the four continents of Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe and finally in the cold waters of the Bering Strait between the continents of Asia and the Americas.

“We want to show people something. If disabled people have courage and a lot of training they can do the same things as those who are not disabled,” said Croizon.

1.According to the passage, Philippe Croizon _____.

A. was born with disability                      

B. suffered a lot from the accident

C. chose to live because of a TV programme        

D. was fond of swimming since he was young

2.What do we know about Philippe Croizon’s swimming across the English Channel?

A. It took him two years to finish it.            

B. He was the first person to achieve it.

C. It was easy for him to finish the swim.        

D. He spent a lot of time preparing for it.

3.Philippe Croizon’s crossing the seas joining five continents______.

A. lasted a month                             

B. ended in the Bering Strait

C. happened when he was 42 years old       

D. was inspired by a television programme

4.Which of the following can best describe Philippe Croizon’s story?

A. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.           

B. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

C. Actions speak louder than words.          

D. The finest diamond must be cut.

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Hope in the corner                        

B. A disabled man’s dream

C. Challenges to Philippe Croizon              

D. Philippe Croizon’s amazing swim

 

It’s really unbelievable! Can you ________ her swimming across the English Channel?

A．believe

B．imagine

C．mind

D．think

 

Down on the beach of Dover, 56-year-old Channel swimmer Jackie Cobell bravely set off for Calais. The time was 6:40 am. 28 hours and 44 minutes later the exhausted, successful mother from Kent crawled (爬行) to the shore and walked proudly into the record books. After five years in training, Mrs Cobell became the slowest person to cross the Channel under her own steam. The previous record for the slowest crossing, set by Henry Sullivan at 26 hours and 50 minutes, has stood for 87 years before Mrs Cobell started at Dover Saturday morning.

   She had struggled through changing tides that swept her first one way, then the other. It turned the 21-mile crossing into a 65-mile one. She declared, “Time and tide wait for no man—and they certainly didn’t wait for me. I was fully expecting it to get dark before I got to Calais but I never imagined I’d also see the dawn again. But I wasn’t going to give up.”

   Her feat(壮举) raised more than $2,000 in charity sponsorship for research into Huntingdon’s disease, a sum that was continuing to grow as news of her achievement spread. That was why she did it. “I don’t really know myself,” she said. “ I just kept thinking of all the people I’d be letting down if I stopped.”

 Mrs Cobell took to the water so well at school. But after bringing up two daughters, she started to gain weight. Five years ago she took up swimming again and decided to prepare for the Channel challenge to lose weight. She became much fitter. Then came the big swim. “I practiced on Windermere lake,” she said. “it’s about half the distance of the Channel so I just doubled it, added some extra time, and worked out I could probably get to Calais in about 16 hours.”

Her husband David, trainer, official observer and friend sailed alongside her on a boat. She said, “I sang to keep myself going. When they told me I was a record breaker I thought they were just having a joke—until I realized it was the record for the slowest crossing. But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker.”

1.According to Paragraph 1, Mrs Cobell_____________.

   A. started to learn swimming five years ago

   B. arrived at Calais on late Sunday morning

   C. wanted to break the record for the slowest crossing

   D. was too exhausted to move after crossing the Channel

2.Why did Mrs Cobell spend so much time crossing the Channel?

   A. Because the tides changed her direction.

   B. Because she was not in good condition.

   C. Because she wasn’t good at swimming.

   D. Because the winds kept her from swimming fast.

3.Mrs Cobell crossed the Channel for the main purpose of____________.

   A. taking a risk

   B. losing more weight

   C. raising money for charity

   D. becoming famous worldwide

4. How did Mrs Cobell feel about the record she set?

   A. Dissatisfied        B. Excited         C. Annoyed         D. Proud

 

CCTV—1 Channel 2
18:00 TV Classroom: Computer
18:30 China Music TV
19:00 News
19:30 Weather Report
19:40 Today’s Focus
20:05 40-part Serial（连续剧）The Gate of Reign（39）
21:25 Stories on the Map
22:30 China Sports Report
23:00 On the Screen Next We
CCTV—2 Channel 8
17:30 Foreign Light Music
18:10 Children’s Programme:
Cartoon City
19:05 World-famous Cities: Toronto
20:55 The Story of Earth
21:30 Economy 30 Minutes
22:00 News in English
22:30 Special Sports:  Football Match (China-Indonesia）
( TV programmes in Beijing Sunday, May 26, 2010   CCTV )
【小题1】If an Englishman wants to know about what’s happening in China, but he doesn’t know any Chinese, he may watch TV at ________． 

A．19:00 on CCTV—1 Channel 2

B．20:05 on CCTV—1 Channel 2

C．22:00 on CCTV—2 Channel 8

D．21:30 on CCTV—2 Channel 8

【小题2】If you are interested in football games, which of the following programs will you choose
first？

A．China Sports Report．	B．Special Sports．
C．Today’s Focus．	D．China Music TV．

【小题3】If you are going to Guangzhou by plane from Chongqing Airport, you’d better pay attention to the programme ________． 

A．Weather Report

B．World-famous Cities

C．Economy 30 Minutes

D．The Story of Earth

Ladies and Gentlemen, some strange, wild and wonderful stories colored the news in 2010, you may like them.

● A Copenhagen bus company has put "love seats" on 103 of its buses for people looking for a partner. "Even love at first sight is possible on the bus," said a spokesman for the company to explain the two seats on each bus that are covered in red cloth and a "love seat" sign.

● Shoppers at an international luxury fair in Italy, found a cell-phone-equipped golden coffin（棺材）among the items on display. The phones will help "the dead" contact relatives if they have been buried alive by mistake.

● A man in New York came up with a disarming（手无寸铁的）way to perform his latest bank heist , approaching the clerk’s window with a large bunch of flowers and handing over a note saying “give me the money!”

● An Englishman who lost all his legs and arms in an electrical accident successfully swam across the Channel, a challenge he had been preparing for two years. The whole cost is 400 dollars.

● A set of artificial teeth(假牙) made for Britain's war-time prime minister Winston Churchill known as "the teeth that saved the world" sold for nearly 18,000 pounds (21,500 euros, 24,000 dollars) at auction（拍卖）.

● A British woman caused an Internet hate campaign after she was caught on camera dumping（抛弃）a cat in a rubbish bin. She was fined 250 pounds (400 dollars, 280 euros) after pleading guilty.

● The BBC apologized completely and without any doubts after a radio presenter jokingly announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died.

● Two Australian men needed surgery（手术）after shooting each other in the bottoms during a drinking session to see if it would hurt and they were charged 400 dollars separately.

● A Kuwaiti MP(议员) suggested state-aid for male citizens to take second wives, in an effort to reduce the large number of unmarried women in the oil-rich state.

1.What is special about the coffin in the second news?

A．It is golden.                            B．It has a cell phone.

C．It is new.                              D．It has many items.

2.What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “heist” in the third news?

A．robbery          B．love              C．discussion         D．repair

3.Who has to spend 400 dollars to do the surgery?

A．A British woman who dumped a cat in a rubbish bin.

B．One who bought Winston Churchill’s artificial teeth.

C．An Australian man who was shot in bottom to test the hurt.

D．An Englishman crossing the Channel without legs and arms.