The triathlon(铁人三项运动) promises to be one of the most popular Olympic sports.Recently it has drawn huge crowds attracted by athletes swimming 1,500m，cycling 40km，then running 10km without stopping.But what makes an attractive 17?year?old girl give up everything for the doubtful pleasure it offers?

Melanie Sears has not yet learnt those often?repeated phrases about personal satisfaction，mental challenge and higher targets that most athletes use when asked similar questions.“You swim for 1,500m，then run out of the water and jump on your bike，still wet.Of course，then you freeze.When the 40km cycle ride is over，you have to run 10km，which is a long way when you’re feeling exhausted.But it’s great fun，and all worth it in the end，” she says.

Melanie entered her first triathlon at 14 and she won the junior section.Full of confidence，she entered the National Championships，and although she had the second fastest swim and the fastest run，she came nowhere.“I was following this man and suddenly we came to the sea.We realised then that we had gone wrong.I ended up cycling 20 kilometres too far.I cried all the way through the running.”

But she did not give up and was determined that she never will.“Sometimes I wish I could stop，because then the pain would be over，but I am afraid that if I let myself stop just once，I would be tempted(诱惑) to do it again.”Such doggedness draws admiration from Steve Trew，the sport’s director of coaching.“I’ve just been testing her fitness，” he says, “and she worked so hard on the running machine that it finally threw her off and into a wall.She had given it everything，and she just kept on.”

Melanie was top junior in this year’s European Triathlon Championships，finishing 13th.“I was almost as good as the top three in swimming and running，but much slower in cycling.That’s why I’m working very hard at it.” She is trying to talk her long?suffering parents，who will carry the ￡1,300 cost of her trip to New Zealand for this year’s world championships，into buying a ￡2,000 bike，so she can try 25km and 100km races later this year.

But there is another price to pay.“I don’t have a social life，”she says.“After two hours’ hard swimming on Friday night，I just want to go to sleep.But I phone and write to the other girls in the team.” What does she talk about？Boys？Clothes？“No，what sort of times they are achieving.”

1.How does Melanie differ from other athletes，according to the writer?

A．She worries less than they do.

B．She expresses herself differently.

C．Her family background is not like theirs.

D．Her aims are different from theirs.

2.What upset Melanie during the National Championships?

A．She was tricked by another competitor.

B．She felt she had let her team?mates down.

C．She made a mistake during part of the race.

D．She realized she couldn’t cycle as fast as she thought.

3.What is Melanie trying to persuade her parents to do?

A．Buy an expensive bike for her.

B．Give her half the cost of a bike.

C．Let her compete in longer races.

D．Pay for her to go to New Zealand.

4.What does Melanie say about her relationships with her team?mates?

A．She would like to see them more often.

B．She only discusses the triathlon with them.

C．She thinks they find her way of life strange.

D．She dislikes discussing boys or clothes with them.

Some fifty years ago , I was studying in a middle school in New York . One day , Mrs. O’Neil gave a maths test to our class . When the papers were marked , she found that twelve boys had made exactly the same mistakes in the test .

There is nothing new about cheating in exams . Perhaps that was why Mrs. O’Neil didn’t even say one word about it . She only asked the twelve boys to stay after class . I was one of the twelve .

Mrs. O’Neil asked no questions , and she didn’t scold us , either . Instead , she wrote the following words on the blackboard : On your way home you find some money and you’re completely sure that you will never be found out . Later someone comes to ask you if you have found some money he lost . What will you do ?

She then ordered us to write down the question , and asked us to take our whole lives to try to find out our own answer to it .

I don’t know about the other eleven children . Speaking for myself I can say : it was the most important single thing of my life. From then on , I have been asking this question to myself when I have to make a decision .

Because of this , Mrs . O’Neil has become the most unforgettable teacher for me in my whole life . I often think of this : if Mrs . O’Neil had scolded us as many other teachers often did , would I go on cheating every day ?

1.Who wrote this story ?

    A．A student in New York who is not interested in maths .

    B．Mrs. O’Neil from New York who found some money on her way home .

    C．An old maths teacher in a middle school .

    D．An old person who once lived in New York when he was young .

2.When did the story happen?

    A．Over sixty years ago .                        B． Over fifty years ago .

    C．Over seventy years ago .                      D．Over eighty years ago .

3.In the sentence “…she didn’t scold us either” , what does “scold” maybe mean ?

    A．表扬      B．批评     C．教育         D．原谅

4.When Mrs. O’Neil found twelve boys made exactly the same mistakes in the test , she      .

    A．became very , very angry and shouted at the children for an hour

    B．thought maybe she made some mistakes in her teaching

    C．tried to find out who made the mistakes first

    D．wanted to teach the twelve boys to stop cheating

5.Why did the writer think Mrs. O’Neil unforgettable ?

A．Because Mrs. O’Neil often gave her student maths tests .

B．Because Mrs. O’Neil taught maths very well .

C．Because Mrs. O’Neil loved her students as she loved her own children .

D．Because Mrs. O’Neil taught a very important lesson to the writer .

Some fifty years ago , I was studying in a middle school in New York . One day , Mrs. O’Neil gave a maths test to our class . When the papers were marked , she found that twelve boys had made exactly the same mistakes in the test .
There is nothing new about cheating in exams . Perhaps that was why Mrs. O’Neil didn’t even say one word about it . She only asked the twelve boys to stay after class . I was one of the twelve .
Mrs. O’Neil asked no questions , and she didn’t scold us , either . Instead , she wrote the following words on the blackboard : On your way home you find some money and you’re completely sure that you will never be found out . Later someone comes to ask you if you have found some money he lost . What will you do ?
She then ordered us to write down the question , and asked us to take our whole lives to try to find out our own answer to it .
I don’t know about the other eleven children . Speaking for myself I can say : it was the most important single thing of my life. From then on , I have been asking this question to myself when I have to make a decision .
Because of this , Mrs . O’Neil has become the most unforgettable teacher for me in my whole life . I often think of this : if Mrs . O’Neil had scolded us as many other teachers often did , would I go on cheating every day ?
【小题1】Who wrote this story ?

The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.―Thomas MacaulaySome thirty years ago, I was studying in a public school in New York. One day, Mrs. Nanette O’Neil gave an arithmetic(算术)  ___ 36 ___  to our class. When the papers were  ___ 37 ___  she discovered that twelve boys had made the same mistakes throughout the test.

  There is really nothing new about  ___38___  in the exams. Perhaps that was why Mrs. O’Neill  ___39___  even say a word about it. She only asked the twelve boys to  ___40___  after class. I was one of the twelve. Mrs. O’Neill asked  ___41___  questions, and she didn’t  ___42___  us either. Macaulay, she wrote on the blackboard the  ___43___  words by Thomas Macaulay. She then ordered us to  ___44___  these words into our exercise-books one hundred times.

  I don’t  ___45___  about the other eleven boys. Speaking for myself I can say: it was the most important single  ___46___  of my life. Thirty years after being introduced to Macaulay’s words, they  ___47___  seem to me the best yard-stick(准绳), because they give us a  ___48___  to measure ourselves rather than others. ___49___  of us are asked to make  ___50___  decisions about nations going to war or armies going to battle. But all of us are called  ___51___  daily to make a great many personal decisions.  ___52___  the wallet, found in the street, be put into a pocket or turned over to the policeman? Should the  ___53___  change received at the store be forgotten or  ___54___? Nobody will know except ___55___. But you have to live with yourself, and it is always better to live with someone you respect.

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. ---Thomas Macaulay

Some thirty years ago, I was studying in a public school in New York. One day, Mrs Nanette O'Neill gave an arithmetic   36   to our class. When the papers were   37   she discovered that twelve boys had made exactly the same mistakes throughout the test.

There is nothing really new about   38  in exams. Perhaps that was why Mrs O'Neill didn’t even say a word about it. She only asked the twelve boys to   39   after class. I was one of the twelve.

Mrs O'Neill asked   40   questions, and she didn't   41   us either. Instead, she wrote on the blackboard the   42   words by Thomas Macaulay. She then ordered us to    43   these words into our exercise-books one hundred times.

I don't know about the other eleven boys. Speaking for   44   I can say:it was the most important single   45   of my life. Thirty years after being introduced to Macaulay's words, they   46   seem to me the best yardstick(准绳), because they give us a way to _47____ourselves rather than others.

 48   of us are asked to make   49    decisions about nations going to war of armies going to battle. But all of us are called   50   daily to make a great many personal decisions.   51   the wallet, found in the street, be put into a pocket or turned over to the policeman? Should the   52  change received at the store be forgotten or   53  ? Nobody will know except   54  . But you have to live with yourself, and it is always   55   to live with someone you respect.

1.A. test           B. problem       C. paper            D. lesson

2.A. examined   B. completed         C. marked           D. answered

3. A. lying     B. cheating      C. guessing            D. discussing

4.A. come      B. leave              C. remain          D. apologize

5.A. no        B. certain          C. many          D. more

6.A. excuse     B. shout           C. help               D. scold

7.A. above      B. common         C. following       D. unusual

8.A. repeat     B. get            C. put                 D. copy

9.A. myself     B. ourselves        C. themselves        D. herself

10.A. chance        B. incident       C. lesson          D. memory

11.A. even      B. still              C. always          D. almost

12.A. measure       B. respect          C. love              D. believe

13.A. All           B. Few            C. Some            D. None

14.A. quick     B. wise           C. great           D. personal

15.A. out           B. for            C. up               D. upon

16.A. Should   B. Must           C. Would           D. Need

17.A. extra     B. small              C. some            D. necessary

18.A. paid      B. remembered     C. shared          D. returned

19.A. me            B. you            C. us              D. them

20. A. easier       B. more natural  C. better          D. more peaceful