After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.

　 She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found athletics, and never looked back.

　 Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.

　 In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved she first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

　 Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race…. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”

　 Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

　 In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.

　 What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”

41. Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

A. Basketball         B. Swimming.          C. Tennis.        D. Horse-riding.

42. When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

A. In 1984.           B. In 1988.             C. In 1992.       D. In 2007.

43. The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

A. fifty weeks’ training             B. being a good sprinter

C. training almost every day         D. part motivation and part preparation

44. What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?

a. She works as a coach.      b. She took up athletics.

c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.   d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.

e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.

A. b, d, c, e a    B. a, d, b, c ,e     C. A,d,c,e,b       D. b.d.a.e.c

45. What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

A. Union is strength.                 B. Never too late to learn.

C. Well begun is half done.         D. No pains, no gains.

In the past 500 years，nothing about people—their clothes，ideas，or languages has changed as much as what they eat.The original (最初的) chocolate drink was made from the seeds of cocoa tree by South American Indians.The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500’s.And although it was very expensive，it quickly became fashionable (时髦的)．In London shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places.Some still exist today.

The potato is also from the New World.Around 1,600，the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe，where it soon was widely grown.The potato was the main food at Irish table.Thousands of Irish people starved (饿死) when the crop failed during the “Potato Famine” (马铃薯饥荒) of 1845～1846，and thousands more were forced to move to America.

There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World.But some others went in the opposite (相反的) direction.Brazil is now the world’s largest grower of coffee，and coffee is important crop in Colombia and other South American countries.But it is native to Ethiopia (埃塞俄比亚)．It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400’s.

According to an Arabic story，coffee was discovered when a man named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red fruits on a coffee bush.He tried one and experienced the “wide­awake” feeling that one­third of the world’s population now starts the day with.

46．According to the passage，which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?

A．Food.　　　　　　　　　　　B．Chocolate drinks.

C．Potato.  D．Coffee.

47．“Some” in the sentence “Some still exist today” refers to______.

A．cocoa trees                                         B．chocolate

C．shops                                                 D．meeting places

48．Thousands of Irish people starved because________.

A．they depended on the potato

B．they were forced to move to America

C．the weather conditions in Ireland were not fit for growing the potato

D．the potato harvest was bad

49．Coffee originally came from________.

A．Brazil                                                 B．Colombia

C．Ethiopia                                              D．Arabia

50．The writer used an Arabic story to prove that________.

A．coffee was first discovered by Kaldi

B．coffee was first discovered by Kaldi’s goats

C．coffee was first discovered in south American countries

D．coffee drinks were first made by Arabs

The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment （预担的义务）, self - improvement.

Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.  

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .

A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .

A. a moral duty               B. a thankless job

C. a rewarding task            D. a source of inevitable pain

From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .

A. hatred　　B. misunderstanding　 C. prejudice　　　　　D. ignorance

To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .

A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

C. put up with pain under all circumstances

D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun

What is the author trying to tell us?

A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain．

B. One must know how to attain happiness.

C. It is important to make commitments.

D. It is pain that leads to happiness.

Listen carefully, working people, we would like to tell you something that could save your precious time and money! Best of all, it is free!

It’s “no”.

What do you ask? We’ll say it again: “No”.

Sweet and simple “no”.

Say “no” at your office and see how quickly that pile of work on your desk disappears.

“Saying ‘no’ to others means you are saying ‘yes’ to yourself, ” said Leslie Charles, a professional speaker from East Lansing, Michigan.

“Time is precious. People are spending money buying time. And yet we are willing to give up our time because we can’t say ‘no’.”

Susie Watson, a famous writer, said people who always say “yes” need to say “no” without guilt(内疚)or fear of punishment. “I would rather have someone give me a loving ‘no’ than an obligated(强制的) ‘yes’, ” she said.

Susie Watson says she feels “no” obligation to give an explanation when she says “no” either socially or professionally. Does she feel guilty about it? “Not at all, ” said Watson, who is director of advertising and public relations at Timex Corp in Middlebury, Conneticut. “Most people are afraid of saying ‘no’… My advice is to say ‘yes’ only if you don’t mean ‘no’.”

Watson said “no” is the most effective weapon against wasting time. “Every year there are more demands on your time… Other people are happy to use up your time, ” Watson said. Time saving appears to be “no’s” greatest friend.

“No” can be your new friend, a powerful tool to take back your life. “No” may even take you further in the business world than “yes”.

“No” is power and strength. “No” now seems completely correct. “Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy. But finally it’s greatly liberating,” Charles said. But, he added, a “no” project needs to be worked on every day because it is hard to change long-term habit.

But, he also warns: “Don’t go to extremes. Don’t find yourself saying ‘no’ to everything. In return you should learn to hear ‘no’.”

The sentence “Saying ‘yes’ to yourself” means _______.

A. you can have more time to play with others

B. you needn’t care about other’s feeling if you are happy

C. you are selfish and treat others rudely

D. you can deal with your business as you have planned

When you say “no” to others you should say it in a _______.

A. secret way　　　B. polite way

C. proud way　　　　　D. guilty way

In Watson’s opinion, people can save much time on condition that _______.

A. they say “no” at a suitable time

B. they say “no” as much as possible

C. they are afraid of saying “no”

D. they make others angry at them

If a person says “no” to everything, the result he or she receive may be that he or she _______.

A. enjoys a wonderful life     B. makes a lot of money

C. faces difficulty in life　　D. forgets to say “yes” in the end

When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying: “We have to go to work now,” you’re left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.

　　Stage schools often act as agencies（代理机构）to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education.

　　A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn’t settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?

　Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 to 80 days.

　The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don’t make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case.

　People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing that the children they’re talking to________.

　　  A. attend a stage school　　　　  B. are going to the theatre

　　  C. have got some work to do 　　  D. love singing and dancing

　　 In the writer’s opinion, a good stage school should ________.

　　  A. produce star performers

　　  B. help pupils improve their study skills

　　  C. train pupils in language and performing arts

　　  D. provide a general education and stage training.

　“Professional work” as used in the text means ________.

　　  A. ordinary school work　　　　　  B. money-making performances

　　  C. stage training at school 　 　  D. acting, singing or dancing after class

　 Which of the following best describes how the writer feels about stage schools?

　　  A. He thinks highly of what they have to offer.　　　　

　　  B. He favours an early start in the training of performing arts.

　　  C. He feels uncomfortable about children putting on night shows.

　　  D. He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached.