Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years．One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research．
By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts（地位相当者） visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out．
More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures．Men are more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities．Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people．
The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance（自立） and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience．
The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects．One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light．
A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gap­year plans．Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel．
Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller．Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs．
“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan，” she recalled．“It was OK but one day I did get chased by one．”
She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”．
【小题1】By referring to “gap year” the writer means ________．  

There are numerous similarities between Muhammad Ali and his 23-year-old daughter Laila. She is the only one of his nine sons and daughters to have those genes that led to the ring(拳击场). Her father’s great status had nothing to do with Laila’s decision to pursue a boxing career. She has always been proud of his achievements, but he was never a great man to her—just dad. [来源:学科网ZXXK]
What attracted her to take up boxing was the unusual sight of two women in the ring on the television screen when she was about to watch a Mike Tyson fight five years ago. She was very excited and said to herself, “I can do that. ”
Laila’s father would prefer her not to take up the dangerous sport. Johnny McClain, her husband and manager (former boxer himself) feels the same way. Even though both the men in her life worry about her, they’re 100 percent supportive. “They don’t want me to get hurt, ” she says.
Long before entering the ring, Laila was a fighter. Being the daughter of an outstanding boxer made her an easy target for high school kids to see how tough she was. They, not she, failed in the test. For the public, her biggest test took place last summer in the New York State when she took on Jacqui Frazier Lyde, the daughter of Joe Frazier, her father’s most famous opponent (对手) during the 1970s.
That fight provided the biggest shot in the arm that women’s boxing has received. News reporters poured in. Some called it “Ali/Frazier－GenerationⅡ”. No match involving women had ever attracted so much attention. Laila had a narrow victory in the fight.
Like it or not, she accepts the fact that she is the face of female boxing. And she hopes that her name and fame will help get the public to take it more seriously.
The name Ali has and always will bring her attention. But she is determined to make her own mark on opponents’ faces as well as in boxing history books. She says, “I want women’s boxing to get its due respect. ” Zxxk
【小题1】Laila took up boxing because of ________.

I grew up in a tiny Baltimore row house in a faraway mountain area. My parents ______ the necessities of life but they couldn’t give much more. If I asked my father for a pair of jeans, he would say, “ If you want them, make the money and buy them yourself.” He wasn’t being mean; he just couldn’t ______ them. From age 12 on, I did part-time jobs after school.

When I ______ from high school, I joined the navy. Soon I was in a boot camp(新兵训练营) at Parris Island, S.C., where I learned that life in the navy centered around completing daily ______. These could be anything from cleaning the camp to conducting mock(模拟的) battles. Completing these tasks successfully ______ discipline, team-work and responsibility. It didn’t ______ whether you were black, white or Asian; everyone worked together for the ______ of the company.

I went on to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academic and later became an officer in the navy. The part of my job I ______ most was the consulting(咨询) meetings I ______ with the family members of the men and women in my ______, trying to help them deal with the long periods of ______. These proved popular and word of them spread. Before long I was being asked to give encouraging ______ to business groups, educators and kids across the country.

But I consider the boot camp my first real ______, and my life is still guided by the ______ lessons I learned there. It taught me discipline, friendship and the pride related to setting a task every day and working hard to ______ it.

1.A. provided         B. got       C. made       D. bought

2.A. pay            B. find          C. produce          D. afford

3.A. came          B. returned       C. escaped          D. graduated

4.A. drills          B. tasks          C. exercises         D. reports

5.A. included       B. asked          C. required         D. met

6.A. matter         B. mean          C. exist            D. work

7.A. good          B. staff           C. rest             D. right

8.A. took          B. hated           C. enjoyed          D. did

9.A. ended         B. began          C. continued        D. held

10.A. charge        B. situation        C. position         D. choice

11.A. lessons        B. meetings       C. training          D. separation

12.A. gifts          B. descriptions     C. speeches        D. performances

13.A. vacation       B. place          C. job             D. travel

14.A. important      B. bitter          C. normal          D. difficult

15.A. gain          B. achieve         C. show           D. match

Wednesday, October 29,2008.
The United States federal government had two young men in the state of Tennessee arrested on October 22 on unknown charges.
In court documents published on Monday, it came to light that the men had discussed attacking an African – American school and killing 14 of them.
Another crime was about planning to murder Presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to their affidavits (口供), the suspects’ “final act of violence” would be like this: when they attacked Obama they would wear white suits and top hats and drive “their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows.”
The two suspects are Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee. According to the court papers, they met last month over the Internet through a friend. Schlesselman and Cowart are believed to share “very strong views” about White Power.
Schlesselman listed “being racist” as his occupation on his MySpace page. He further wrote: “I'm white. I'm proud. I get angry. I like guns.”
Cowart also had a MySpace page on which photos of guns were presented under a heading of “My Guns”. On his page he wrote, “Better to die quick fighting on your feet than to live forever begging on your knees.”
Some have questioned the pair's ability to carry out the charged plan, but authorities have been very concerned about Obama as the first black presidential candidate from a major party.
“We honestly don't know if they had the ability or the skill to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about.” said Malcolm Wiley, of the United Satates Secret Service in an interview with The New York Times. “But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is.”
Cowart and Schlesselman are scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursady.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about____________.

       At one time no one could travel on an English road faster than four miles an hour. That was the law until 1896. A man had to walk in front of a car which could not go faster than the man. At night the man had to carry a red lamp.

       Once Charles Rolls brought a car from France to England ,but he wanted to drive faster than four miles an hour .In order to have no trouble with the police ,he had a talk with some of the police officers ,who ordered their policemen to look the other way when the car came along the road. This was a good plan in the country ,but not so easy to follow in the busy streets of London.

       One night Rolls and some friends started from London on their journey to Cambridge. One of the men walked in front with the red lamp , but he walked as fast as he could .The police became very interested in walls and shop-fronts when they heard the car ,and not one of them saw it .

       They reached a hill ;but what a waste of time it was to drive down the hill at four miles an hour! Rolls was getting ready to jump into the car; but then he noticed a policeman who was not looking the other way. The slow car reached him.

       “Good evening,” said the policeman ,looking at the car.

       “Good evening,” said Rolls ,holding the lamp.

       “One of these horseless things,” said the policeman ,looking at it with interest.

       “Yes,” said Rolls, and waited.

       “I’ve often wanted a ride in one ; but of course policemen can’t buy things like that.” He turned and looked hopefully in Rolls’s face.

       “Jump in ,” said Rolls.

       “Thanks ,” said the policeman ,and did so . “Now ,”he said ,sitting down, “you can let it go just as you like down this hill. There isn’t another policeman on this road for a mile and a half.”

60．The policemen were told “to look the other way” (the underlined part in Paragraph 2) so that

           .

       A．they could watch the car coming from the other direction

       B．the car could go faster than four miles an hour

       C．they could make sure no one was in the way

       D．the car would not hit them on the road

61．In what way did the policemen carry out the order from their officers?

       A．They greeted Rolls when the car came along.

       B．They walked in front of the car with a red lamp.

       C．They pretended to be attracted by something else.

       D．They stood on duty every 1.5 miles along the road.

62．The policeman who said “Good evening” to Rolls wanted to        .

       A．teach Rolls a lesson                              B．take a free ride home

       C．have a talk with Rolls                           D．have a car ride experience

63．After the policeman jumped into the car ,Rolls       .

       A．dared not drive the car faster than he was allowed to

       B．could drive as fast as he wished within a certain distance

       C．could drive on any road he liked for the rest of the journey

       D．drove his car as fast as he could down the hill to Cambridge