8、The boy was 1．7 meters tall when he just started his third year at primary school． As his feet had  1  even his father’s shoes, his parents had to look up and down the streets for size-46 shoes． At 16, he  2  to a height of 2．2 meters, and no store or market in the whole of China has stock of size -53 shoes for his big  3 ．The parents watched rather disturbingly their son shooting up  4  like a young tree．

The young giant felt  5  for his troubled parents, who needed to take extra care of him for his food,  6  and traveling． Time and again he  7  his “great desire” to his good friend, teammate and roommate Liu Wei, “I will do my best． Once I enter the Shanghai No．1 Team, I won’t have to worry about my  8 ．”

That boy was Yao Ming．

    Today’s Yao is a great basketball star． Back then, however, his  9  was not championship, NBA, or stardom． He trained like mad, struggled hard, all for a pair of shoes that would  10  his feet, merely to relieve his  11  of their worry about his shoes． Such a simple 12  may seem completely unimaginable for a star like Yao． 13  it was exactly this very simple stimulus（激励） that urged Yao to achieve today’s  14 ．He earnestly and realistically sets the goal for every stage of his life and spare no  15  to reach it, and to surpass （超越）it．

       It is not a（n） 16  thing for anyone to set a goal． The tough part is to know how to pursue and 17  it． Many people leave their aspirations in blueprints  18 ．If we take a look at those abandoned causes and goals along many people’s life  19 , we should remind ourselves of Yao Ming: travelers first need a fitting pair of shoes, and then  20  one firm step at a time towards their goals．

1． A．forbade                   B．outgrown                C．matched                 D．affected

2． A．measured             B．raised                     C．shot                       D．stretched

3． A．height                     B．size                        C．length                    D．feet

4． A．wildly                     B．immediately             C．gradually               D．sharply

5． A．upset                   B．anxious                   C．sorry                      D．responsible

6． A．growth                   B．study                      C．clothing                  D．future

7． A．expressed            B．applied                    C．suggested               D．contributed

8． A ．jeans                     B．shoes                      C．future                     D．wages

9． A．dream                     B．achievement            C．recreation               D．prejudice

10． A．meet                     B．protect                    C．fit                          D．hold

11． A．friends                  B．teammates               C．parents                   D．coaches

12． A ．goal                    B．demand                   C．incident                  D．task

13． A．Though                 B．Yet                         C．Because                  D．As

14． A．recreation              B．harmony                 C．access                    D．glory

15． A．mind                     B．time                        C．effort                            D．benefit

16． A．easy                            B．difficult                   C．common                 D．normal

17． A．recognize              B．grasp                      C．approach                D．reach

18． A．once                     B．soon                       C．forever                   D．sometimes

19． A．travel                    B．trip                         C．journey                   D．tour

20． A．miss                     B．leap                        C．gain                        D．take

7、When I was about six years old, my mother came home one day and found that I had collected half dozen babies of the neighborhood----all of them too young to walk----and had them sitting before me on the floor while I was teaching them to wave their arms．When she asked the explanation of this, I informed her that it was my school of dance．She was amused, and placing herself at the piano, she began to play for me．This school continued and became very popular．Later on, little girls of the neighborhood came and their parents paid me a small sum to teach them．This was the beginning of what afterwards proved a very well-paid occupation．

My mother took me to a famous ballet teacher, but his lessons did not please me． When the teacher told me to stand on my toes, I asked him why, and when he replied “Because it is beautiful,” I said that it was ugly and against nature and after the third lesson, I left his class, never to return．This stiff（僵硬的）and commonplace gymnastics which he called dancing only disturbed my dream．I dreamed of a different dance．I did not know just what it would be but I was feeling out towards an invisible world into which I guess I might enter if I found the key．

My art was already in me when I was a little girl, and it was owing to the heroic and adventurous spirit of my mother that it was not stifled（窒息）．I believe that whatever the child is going to do in life should be begun when it is very young．I wonder how many parents realize that by the so-called education they are giving their children, they are only driving them into the commonplace, and refuse them of any chance of doing anything beautiful or original．

1．The attitude of the author’s mother toward her school of dance was ______．

     A．negative             B．neutral        C．supporting           D．indifferent

2．The author thought that ballet was ______．

     A．elegant, graceful and gentle                 B．stiff, ugly and unnatural

     C．charming, attractive and cool                D．touch, inviting and challenging

3．From this passage we know that the author owed her success in art to ______．

     A．her strict and adventurous ballet teacher

B．the good training that her parents gave her

     C．the support and understanding of her mother

     D．the inspiration gained from the neighborhood babies

4．The key message we may get from the passage is that ______．

     A．parents should help to develop the natural gift of their kids

     B．parents should give a hand to their kids doing something original

     C．a good mother should be both heroic and adventurous in education

     D．ballet is no good as a form of dance and thus should be forbidden

6、When a consumer finds that something he or she bought is faulty（假冒的） or in some other way does not live up to what the producer says for it, the first step is to present the warranty（保单），or any other records that might help, at the store of buying．In most cases, this action produces results．However, if it does not, there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction．

A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complain directly to the store manager．In general, the “higher up” the consumer takes him or her complaint, the faster he or she can expect it to be settled．In such a case, it is usually settled in the consumer’s favor, taking it as true that he or she has a just right．

Consumer should complain in person whenever possible, but if they can not get to the place of buying, it is acceptable to phone or write the complaint in a letter．

Complaining is usually most effective when it is done politely but firmly, and especially when the consumer can show clearly what is wrong with what was bought in question．If this can not be done, the consumer will succeed best by presenting specific information as to what is wrong, rather than by making general statements． For example, “the left speaker does not work at all and the sound coming out of the right one is unclear” is better than “This stereo（立体音响） — does not work．”

The store manager may advise the consumer to write to the producer, if so, the consumer should do this, stating the complaint as politely and firmly as possible．But if a polite complaint does not achieve the expected result, the consumer can go a step further．He or she can threaten to take the seller to court or report the seller to a public organization responsible for protecting consumer’s rights．

1．To gain a relatively quick settlement of his problem, which one below is a consumer advised to complain to ______．

     A．the manager                                           B．the producer

       C．a shop assistant                                         D．a public organization

2．The most effective complaint about what was bought can be made by ______．

     A．asking politely to change it                        B．saying firmly it is of the poor quality

     C．writing to the producer directly                    D．explaining exactly what is wrong with it

3．The passage mainly informs us ______．

A．how to make the effective complaint

B．how to settle a consumer’s complaint

C．how to avoid buying something wrong

D．how to deal with complaints from consumer

4．According to the passage, the last way a consumer has to use is ______．

      A．to find the manager and reason with him

B．to write to the producer stating the problems

      C．to gather several fighters to threaten the seller

D．to warn the seller of reporting to a public organization

5、Not long after I started teaching at Kamiakin Junior High near Seattle, Michael, my six-month-old son, was diagnosed with elodysplastic syndrome（骨髓发育不良综合症）．It's a pre-leukemia（白血病前期） disease．He needs a bone-marrow transplant（骨髓移植）．Soon after the diagnosis, everyone in the family had a blood test in the hope that one of us would be the bone-marrow donor（捐献者）．

On March 20, my wife Kristi called me at work to share some good news, "Amy is a perfect match!" As a result of the donor search, however, a dark cloud cast a shadow over our hope．The bone-marrow transplant would cost more than $200,000．We would gladly pay that to save any one of our children----but how could we pay it?

The next day, Steven Mezich, Kamiakin's principal had a talk with me． "Jeff," he said, "with your permission I want to propose a fund-raiser（募捐） at this afternoon's staff meeting, to help your family．" I was surprised．Steven's thoughtful offer raised my spirits, though I doubted it could do much to help us overcome such a huge and urgent financial problem．

That afternoon, Dameon Sharkey, a student from my class, walked into my office with his mom and gave me his life savings of $60 ---- all in $5 bills．And the next day after the staff meeting, we received wishes for Michael's recovery, prayers, loving support, $350 cash, and checks． The outpouring of love from these friends moved me to tears．But that’s not the end．Joe Kennedy, Kamiakin's humanities teacher, challenged the school's students to see what they could do to help Michael．These high-spirited junior-high kids immediately went to work, making plans to start a walkathon, hold a raffle（抽奖）, set up donation boxes, and attract news coverage．As a result of the students' efforts, stories appeared in The Journal American and NEW YORK TIMES．Scores of independent, unrelated efforts took place all over Seattle areas．A month after Dameon's gift opened the floodgates, Michael's fund totaled $220,000． Our baby would get a second chance!

1．What worried the author most was whether there was ______．

     A．a bone-marrow donor                                 B．enough time for Michael to wait

C．support from the society                             D．money to cover the cost of treatment

2．We can learn from the underlined sentence that ______．

     A．the author was encouraged by Steven’s offer

     B．the author was discouraged by Steven’s words

     C．the author was still in despair at Steven’s words

D．the author was sure that he could get over the difficulty

3．From the passage we know that Steven Mezich was ______．

A．brilliant                   B．talkative                  C．helpful                    D．nosy

4．We can infer from the passage that ______．

      A．Amy is the author’s daughter                       B．Michael was cured in the end

      C．the students made a great contribution          D．a bone-marrow transplant costs a lot

4、National Estuaries Day is an annual celebration of the coastal areas where rivers meet the sea — estuaries．Celebrated on the last Saturday in September, National Estuaries Day is a great opportunity to learn more about these magical ecosystems．It is also the occasion to inform people from coast to coast about their connection to these beautiful places and how they can encourage its healthy future．National Estuaries Day was first established 21 years ago as part of Coast Weeks． Countless National Estuaries Day activities range from photography contests, canoe trips, estuary clean-ups, exhibits, to guided estuary tours．

However, most people are simply unaware of how much they depend on estuaries and how much their actions can have an effect on other places that might not seem to be so close to home．Your home, school or office is thousands of miles away from the nearest coast, but what each of us does affects an estuary and even people’s health．As ecosystems, estuaries are under threat from human activities such as pollution and over fishing．Industrial, agricultural, and domestic（家庭的）waste enter rivers and are poured into estuaries．Contaminants can be introduced which do not break up rapidly in the marine environment．Water flows seaward through systems of rivers, lakes and wetlands．Much of the air we breathe and water we drink, in turn, come to us on atmospheric（大气的）currents from oxygen produced by ocean plants and moisture（湿气）rising from the sea．

By celebrating National Estuaries Day you can help others understand that no matter where we live we are connected and we all share one world ocean, with our fate tied to the future health of our estuaries and ocean．Whether you live close enough to visit your local estuary, or you simply transport yourself to an estuary anywhere in the world via the Internet, take some time on September 26th, 2009, or any day of the year, to explore these amazing places．

1．Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

      A．How people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

B．Why people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

     C．When people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

D．Where people celebrate National Estuaries Day．

2．The underlined word “contaminants” in the second paragraph probably means ______．

A．wastes                    B．nutrients                 C．marbles                  D．oxygen

3．In the second paragraph, it seems that the writer is trying to make us know that ______．

A．estuaries have something to do with us

B．the farther you live, the less influence you get

C．it is high time that we forbade fishing in the estuaries

D．Much of the air we breathe now is polluted

4．The suitable title for this passage might be ______．

     A．How to protect estuaries                              B．Threat from human activities

     C．National Estuaries Day                                D．Estuaries ---- where rivers meet the sea

3、Changes in the value of currency help some parts of the economy and hurt others．

    When people go to foreign countries, they have direct experience with the exchange rate （汇率）of money．International travelers must use their own money to buy the currency of the country they are visiting．For example, Americans on holiday in a foreign country can buy more currency when the dollar has a high exchange value．

    So a high exchange value is good for vacationers．It is not so good for exporting．A strong dollar means that American exports are more costly．Other countries are less likely to import products from the United States because they are too costly．American agricultural goods, computers and airplanes all are more costly on the world market when the dollar is strong．

However, sellers of foreign goods within the United States are helped by a strong dollar．A strong dollar means that American companies can buy more with the same amount of money．They can sell goods at a low price in the "United States and still make a profit．

    This helps to increase the American trade deficit（贸易逆差）．

    A weak dollar helps American companies that do business overseas．For example, the American computer industry gains because its products are less costly to foreign buyers．Financial magazines report that technology companies like Intel and Microsoft have increased profits because of the weak dollar． Increased trade helps reduce the American trade deficit．

    The United States Department keeps information on America's imports and exports. Information on the third quarter of 2003 shows that America's trade deficit did fall．American exporters should gain the most from the falling dollar．But, the effect of the weakening dollar on the United States trade deficit remains to be seen．

1．American vacationers prefer dollars to be strong so that ______．

     A．they can buy more currency in foreign countries

     B．they can be proud of being Americans

     C．Americans can export more goods

     D．other countries import more products from the United States

2．Other countries are unwilling to import agricultural products from America, because ______．

     A．American businessmen import only a few goods from other countries

     B．American government don't want other countries to import goods from America

     C．American goods are more costly because of the strong dollar

     D．American businessmen make a lot of money by selling foreign products cheaply

3．According to the passage, American trade deficit can be reduced by ______．

     A．increasing the dollar exchange value

B．making the dollar weak in exchange value

     C．forcing foreign countries to open their markets further

     D．buying less costly foreign goods

4．Which best serves as a title for this passage?

     A．American imports and exports

B．Exports between America and other countries

C．Americans enjoying cheap foreign products

     D．The falling of the dollar

2、1．The achievements in science and technology _____________________（正应用于） all sides of our life． （apply）

2．Contrary to the belief _______________________ （它不可能沉没）, it sank after hitting an iceberg, killing most of the 2,500 people aboard．（sink）

3．Had I followed your advice to bring an umbrella with me , I _______________________ （就不会淋雨）, so now I am running a high fever． （catch）

4．There was a lot of fun at yesterday’s party． You ____________________ （本该来的）, but why didn’t you? （ought ）

5．Water can absorb and release a lot of heat without big changes in its temperature, thus ________________________________ （创造了稳定的环境）．（create）

6． I can’t see my old grandmother _______________________ （被独自留在乡下）, so I’ll have her stay with me in the city． （alone）

7．An increasing number of overseas students, _________________________ （其年龄范围从15岁到25岁）, flood into Chinese universities． （range）

8．She looks sad．Could you please tell me ____________________ （是什么） that prevents her from being as happy as before． （it）

9．The old professor found himself ____________________ （被一群可爱的孩子包围着） the moment he entered the hall． （surround）

10．So _________________ （他如此专注于科幻小说）that he didn’t hear my call．（absorb）

1、最近的一份调查表明中国青少年的体质明显下降，青少年的健康问题日益受到社会的关注。假如你是《21世纪报》的专栏作者，请根据下列表格内容，以 “The health of Chinese youngsters—a big concern”为题，写一篇英语短文，以唤起人们对这一问题的进一步关注。

参考词汇：肥胖 obesity；近视 short-sightedness

注意：

1．词数：100左右。

2．开头已写好（不记入总词数）。

3．可根据内容要点适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

The health of Chinese youngsters—a big concern

A latest survey shows that the health of Chinese youngsters has greatly declined．……

33、Students are asked to ________themselves in this boarding school and they are only allowed to go back home once a week．

A．behave        B．act         C．perform          D．observe