No one knows exactly how many disabled people there are in the world, but the number may be over 450 million. The number of disabled people in India alone is probably more than double the total population of Canada.

　　In the United Kingdom, about one in ten people have some disability. Disability is not just something that happens to other people. As we get older, many of us will become less mobile (可动的) , hard of hearing or have failing eyesight.

　　Disablement can take many forms and happen at any time of life. Some people are born with disabilities. Many others become disabled as they get older. There are many progressive disabling diseases. The longer time goes on, the worse they become. Some people are disabled in accidents. Many others may have disability in the form of a mental illness. All are affected by people’s attitude(态度) towards them.

　　Disabled people face many physical barriers(障碍). Next time you go shopping or to work or visit friends, imagine what would you do if you could not get up steps, or on to buses and trains. What would you do if you could not see where you were going or could not hear the traffic? But there are other barriers: prejudice(偏见)can be even harder to break down and ignorance (无知) represents by far the greatest barrier of all. It is almost impossible for the able-bodied to fully understand what the disabled go through, so it is important to draw attention to these barriers and show that it is the individual person(个人) and their ability, not their disability, which counts.

54. The first paragraph points out that ___________.

　 A. it is possible to get an exact number of the world’s disabled people

　 B. there are many disabled people in the world

　 C. the number of disabled people in India is the greatest

　 D. India has not much more disabled people than Canada

55. The key word in Paragraph 4 is ___________.

　 A. barriers 　　　　　 B. disabled　　　　　　　　　 C. disability 　　　　　　　　 D. prejudice

56. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. There are about 10 percent disabled persons in the UK.

B. The whole society should pay more attention to the barriers faced by the disabled people.

C. Even the able-bodied may lose some of their body functions when they get older.

D. There is still prejudice against the disabled which results mainly from ignorance.

57. It can be concluded from the passage that ___________.

　 A. we should try our best to prevent disablement

　 B. we must take a proper attitude towards the disabled

　 C. the able-bodied people will never fully understand the disabled

　 D. both physical and mental barriers are hard to break down

  Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.

But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).

Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ----between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty. 

1.. The Chinese for the word “puberty” is 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. 童年时期          B.婴幼儿时期        C.习惯养成期        D. 生长发育期

2. If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, _____.

   A. you should have enough exercise   B. you can ask doctors for help

   C. you should save the environment   D. You can record your growth during puberty

3. This passage is mainly about 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. how the genes work in your body           B. when is the time you grow fast

   C. why you look like your parents                D. how you grow to a certain height 

4. After reading this passage, we can explain 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. how good it is to be a doctor             B. how much sleep time we need

   C. why genes can’t decide everything            D. what healthy diet is

5. Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   A. Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.

   B. Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

   C. The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

   D. You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

Every morning, the newspaper chief editor（主编） holds a meeting with the reporters. They discuss the main events（事件） of the day. Reporters are then sent to cover the events.　　
As soon as the reporters know what to write about, they get down to work. They telephone people and fix a time for a face-to-face interview with them. Sometimes they do telephone interviews. Checking information is very important. They go to the newspaper's own library to look up any information that they need. This is called “doing one's homework”.
At the same time, the picture editor decides which photographs will be used for the next day's paper. All the people who work on a newspaper must be able to work fast. Reporters have to stop working on one story and start working at once on the important new one. They must find out the new information as quickly as possible. Later in the day, everything is put together at the news desk. Reporters return, type their stories into the computer and hand them to the editor.　　
The chief editor decides which will be the most important story on the front page. Sometimes this will have to be changed if something more important happens late in the day. Other editors read the stories which the reporters have written and make any necessary changes.　　
Finally, there is no more time left for adding new stories, and the time for printing（印刷） the newspaper has come. This is done on fast-moving printing machines. The newspapers are then delivered（发送） by truck, plane or rail. Speed is important. People want to buy the latest newspaper; nobody wants to buy yesterday's.　　
【小题1】What is the work in a newspaper office like?　

阅读短文，选择最佳答案
Feifei=F     Lingling=L　　
F: Good morning,Lingling.　　
L: Good morning, Feifei, This is my room.　　
F: Oh, is this your watch?　　
L: No, it isn't . It’s my brother’s watch. It’s green. My watch is white, in the drawer. Oh, my brother’s name is Dongdong.　　
F: Look! A red bag is on the table . Is this Dongdong’s bag?　　
L: No, it isn’t . It’s my sister’s bag. My bag is on the sofa.　　
F. Oh, yes. Your name is on your bag. Look! Some math books are in it.　　
L: Yes, a pencil case is in it , too.　　
【小题1】Feifei and Lingling meet in the       .　　
A. afternoon    B. morning  C. school  　　
【小题2】Dongdong’s watch is       .　　
A. white   B. yellow   C. green 　　
【小题3】Feifei and Lingling are        .　　
A. at school            B. in Feifei’s room  C. in Lingling’s room  　　
【小题4】Lingling’s bag is      .　　
A. on the table    B. on the sofa   C. in the drawer 　　
【小题5】    are in Lingling’s bag.　　
A. Some English books   B. Some math books   C. Lingling’s name