We all have weaknesses and strengths, no matter who we are. Sometimes the weaknesses seem to outweigh the strengths and sometimes it’s the other way around. Some people get sick easily. Some struggle to manage their money properly. Some people are hopeless communicators and struggle with relationships.
Many people accept it as just bad luck, but not everyone. Some people facing huge limitations still manage to achieve surprising things. They rise above their weaknesses and do not allow them to limit their possibilities.
I attended a school prize-giving ceremony not so long ago and the guest speaker was Andrew Becroft, who had a severe stutter(口吃) as a child. Instead of allowing this to limit him, he chose to work hard to overcome it. He is now the Principal Youth Court Judge for New Zealand. Not only did he become successful, but he did so in a profession where he had to speak in front of others regularly.
Lots of people face far more significant limitaions than you do. They may be missing limbs or are born into extreme poverty. But no matter what the limitation you will always find people who have overcome it. Brett Eastburn has no arms or legs and yet is an inspirational speaker and also a very good wrestler. Ringo Starr, drummer for the Beatles, came from a very poor background. He was constantly plagued with illness as a child and spent large amounts of time in hospital. Mark Inglis lost both of
his legs below the knees in a mountaineering accident, but has since climbed Mt Everest.
Most of us will never have to face the challenges these people faced. Yet most of us will never achieve to the degree that these people have either, unless we choose to. If Mark Inglis can climb the highest mountain in the world without legs, _________ ?
【小题1】What is the main idea of Paragraph 1? (Within 8 words.)
_______________________________________________________
【小题2】Which sentence in the text is the cloest in meaning to the following one?
All of the people don’t think it unlucky to have weaknesses, although many may think so.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
【小题3】List three people who rose above their weaknesses according to the text. (Within 8 words.)
①_________________　　②______________　　③________________
【小题4】Fill in the blank in the last paragraph with proper words. (Within 6 words.)
_________________________________________________________________
【小题5】Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 into Chinese.
_________________________________________________________________

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

Mary had her own special kind of joy, and she knew exactly how to spread it around. She lifted children from 　31　 into laughter, love, and belonging. Each time she found a new 　32　 for a child, she gave the family one of her little homemade paper roses. It had become a 　33　 for her, and the families didn't ever forget it.

One evening, Mary was 　34　 a meeting for adoptive parents. One of the 　35　 fathers stood up to introduce himself. But before he spoke, he reached into his coat pocket and held up a 　36　, red paper rose.

“Twenty years ago today, I felt alone and 　37　. I didn't know the talents inside me or what was possible for me.

Then Mary 　38　 two wonderful people into my life. They taught me what it was like to feel 　39　. They not only loved me 　40　. They opened a world of 　41　 that I didn't know existed. My new parents told me, ‘Reach for your dreams!’

I did, and today I'm 　42　 to be giving that chance to a child who 　43　 just like me. My mother gave me this little rose. By now, all of you 　44　 where she got it so long ago.

Mary sent me a new rose just yesterday. And my new rose 　45　 a new spring, a beautiful new 　46　 for my own little girl. It 　47　 me to show her what unconditional love is, and to teach her to reach for her own beautiful dreams.

Thank you, Mary, for the special little things like roses that 　48　 our lives together. And thank you for all you've done for me and so many families over the years!”

One brief even can send our spirits soaring or 　49　 us in quiet to ponder a new beginning.　50　 it is also the very small things, like Mary's roses, that tie together the meaningful things.

A. poverty                B. loneliness               C. misery                    D. suffering

A. home           B. place               C. school              D. life

A. glory            B. favor               C. habit               D. tradition

A. organizing        B. planning                 C. hosting              D. attending

A. new              B. grateful                  C. kind                D. active

A. broken          B. faded                    C. treasured            D. dried

A. tasteless         B. powerless                 C. priceless              D. worthless

A. directed         B. introduced               C. brought             D. accepted

A. loved           B. protected            C. cared              D. cheered

A. silently        B. continuously          C. unintentionally   D. unconditionally

A. necessities      B. possibilities                C. beauties             D. riches

A. eager          B. willing                     C. proud              D. lucky

A. started out      B. came up                   C. turned out           D. grew up

A. understand      B. guess                      C. tell               D. know  

A. replaces        B. symbolizes                C. equals            D. creates

A. chance         B. mystery               C. challenge            D. beginning

A. reminds            B. helps                        C. accompanies         D. drives

A. fix             B. close                 C. tie                   D. gather

A. cause            B. push                        C. put                            D. leave

A. Yet            B. Besides                    C. Otherwise           D. Therefore

阅读下面文章，回答问题。

(A)

  The Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Indian architecture (建筑). It is at Agra in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools.

　 　The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor (皇帝) Shah Jehan, who ruled India in the seventeenth century. It is in memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638, was designed by a local Muslim architect (建筑师), Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The whole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal stands at one end of the garden tomb with marble (大理石) path. The room is softly lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls. The building now is kept in good condition.

　 　The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build. Shah Jehan planned a similar building, but in black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But before it could be built, Shah Jehan was imprisoned (监禁) by his son and buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal. 

1. The Taj Mahal was built for____ .

A. Mumtaz                     　B. Shah

C. Either Mumtaz or Shah        　D. Both Mumtaz and Shah

2. The passage mainly tells us____ .

A. why the Taj Mahal was built

B. the love story between Shah and Mumtaz

C. some information about the Taj Mahal

D. the Taj Mahal—the pride of Indians

3. Form the passage we can learn that____ .

A. the Taj Mahal looks more beautiful than before.

B. the Taj Mahal doesn't exist now.

C. the Taj Mahal has completely changed.

D. the Taj Mahal has become a place of interest.

(B)

Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing. Three years ago, few people would go swimming in the icy waters. But now there is a Winter-swimming Enthusiasts’ Club（冬泳爱好者协会）and it has more than 2 000 members. The oldest is 84 years old and the youngest is only 7. The members are from all walks of life. They may be workers, peasants, soldiers, teachers, students…

Though it is now the coldest part of the season and the water temperature in the city’s lakes is around 0℃, many winter-swimmers still swim in the icy waters, even when it is snowing. They enjoy themselves in the lake, while the people by the side of the lake are wearing heavy clothes.

Why are so many people interested in winter-swimming? Because winter-swimming can be good for one’s health.

Bei Sha is a good example. He is 69, and he once suffered from heart trouble for 26 years. After ten years of winter-swimming he is now in good health. Scientists are now studying the effects of winter-swimming on health.

4. What does the underlined sentence “The members are from all walks of life” mean?  

A. The members do different jobs at different places.

B. They come from all parts of Beijing.

C. They are persons of different ages.

  D. They are men and women, old and young.

5. The winter-swimmers are able to swim in the icy waters, even on snowy days because       .

  A. they are not afraid of coldness

  B. they often swim in the icy waters

  C. they know that they can benefit（得益）from it

  D. winter-swimming can make people healthy

6. Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing because       .

  A. more and more people like to swim in Beijing

  B. it is more interesting than swimming in summer

  C. winter-swimmers are brave men

  D. winter-swimming does a lot of good to one’s health

7. What’s the best title for this passage?

  A. People in Beijing Like Swimming in Winter

  B. Winter-swimming—A Craze（狂热）in Beijing

  C. People Benefit from Winter-swimming

  D. Winter-swimmers Are Brave Men

　　"Mark Twain" was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) when he wrote books. His father was a lawyer, but a poor one, who lived at Florida, Missouri. The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching. He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met. His father died when he was very young, and then there was even less money than before.

　　Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great River Mississippi, and he did this himself at one time (1857).

　　Where did he find the name "Mark Twain"? It came from the great river itself. It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships. When a man called "By the mark twain!"  he meant that the river was "two marks deep" there, that is to say, six feet deep ( "Twain" is an old form of the work "Two".) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young, and he used them as a penname all his life.

　　During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds, and this helped him a great deal when he started to write. But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861. Many of the great ships on the river stopped work. Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother, who was at that time Governor of Nevada. There, near the town of Carson, Samuel became a gold miner, but he never made much money at the time. He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him. He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada, and this seemed more hopeful. He found that he could write.

　　He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy. In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon, and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing. Among his books is his own story (1908).

　　He is now always known as Mark Twain, and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens. He traveled in America and in England, and went to Oxford in 1907. He was one of  the great American writers of the time, and could make his readers laugh – a thing which few writers can do. He died in 1910.

"Mark Twain" was _________.

      A. a famous American writer  B. name of a book

      C. a great river in America  D. a large ship

As a child, Samuel did not get much education because _________.

A.his father died too early

B.the family was very poor

  C. he disliked school very much

D. he could learn what he liked from the people he met

What gave him a great deal when he started writing? _______

A. His poor childhood     B. The Mississippi river 

C. All kinds of travelers he met  D. His brother

We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. Samuel loved writing from his early age

B. Samuel did not love writing at the beginning

C. his writings to the newspaper were successful

D. his brother encouraged him to write more

According to the writer of the passage, a good writer could _________.

A. write a lot for his readers

B. make a lot of money for his family

C. cause his readers to laugh

D. travel everywhere he wanted

winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing. three years ago, few people would go swimming in the city waters. but now there is a winter-swimming
enthusiasts’club(冬泳爱好者协会)and it has more than 2,000 members. the oldest is 84 years of age and the youngest is only 7. The members are from all walks of life. They may be workers, peasants, soldiers, teachers, students....Though it is now the coldest part of the season and the water temperature in the city’s lakes is around 0°c, many winter-simmers still swim in the icy waters, even when it is snowing. They enjoy themselves in the lake, while the people by the side of the lake are wearing heavy clothes.
why are so many people interested in winter-swimming? Because winter-swimming can be good for one’s health.
Bei Sha is a good example. He is 69 years old, and he once suffered from heart trouble for 26 years. After ten years of winter-swimming he is now in good health. Scientists are now studying the effects of winter-swimming on health.
【小题1】Guess what “the members are from all walks of life” means ______   .