Courage is a big, tough word that no child should have to know, but too often they do. When they do, courage takes on a whole new meaning.

　　 Alex was diagnosed(诊断) with cancer on September 13, 2008. On that dark night, his mother was 36 after hearing the diagnosis, but she kept up her 37 , went into Alex’s room in the hospital and lay down beside him.

　　 "When I told Alex, he 38 over and patted my arm and said, 'It will be OK, Mama, '" said Kim Morgan. "His 39 was for me, not for himself. But that’s Alex. He is the most 40 little boy that I have ever known. He always 41 others before himself. He is amazing, and he has so much 42 ."

　　 In fact, five years ago, Alex’s father, Ron Morgan was also 43 with cancer. He 44 the disease and the treatments well, but he also kept his 45 from others.

　　 "We really didn’t want people to 46 ,"Kim Morgan said. "But by 47 Ron’s illness from others, we kept blessings from them 48 people really want to help. But when Alex was diagnosed, we got on the telephone and started 49 people. By church time on Sunday morning, there was 50 a church in Pike County that didn’t have Alex on its prayer list. We 51 so much the prayers and the concern of the people of Pike County."

　　 "That Ron had 52 the cancer and had done so well was a great encouragement to all of us," Morgan said. They knew that cancer could be fought and 53 . Also there was a lot of 54 in their little boy. "Alex is a(n) 55 ,"Morgan said. "Whatever he does, he gives it his all. And we knew that he would have the courage to do whatever it took to fight this disease."

36. A. frightened 　 　B. curious 　　C. interested 　　　 　 D. strange

37. A. convenience 　B. creativity 　　C. spirits　　　　 D. appearance

38. A. stepped　　　 B. reached　　　 C. switched　　　 D. swept

39. A. comment　　　 B. effort　　　　 C. situation　　　 D. concern

40. A. optimistic　　 B. considerate 　　C. intelligent　　 D. friendly

41. A. thinks of　　　 B. believes in　　 C. depends on　　 D. cheers up

42. A. difficulty　　　 B. loneliness　　 C. courage　　　 D. influence

43. A. diagnosed　　 B. bearing　　　 C. astonished　　 D. debating

44. A. handled　　　 B. insisted　　　 C. improved　　　 D. prepared

45. A. cure　　　　　 B. attitude　　　 C. opinion　　　 D. illness

46. A. suspect　　　 B. accuse　　　　 C. imagine　　　 D. know

47. A. stopping　　　 B. keeping　　　 C. taking　　　　 D. holding

48. A. though　　　 B. before　　　　 C. because　　　 D. until

49. A. selecting　　　 B. calling　　 　　C. observing　　 D. promising

50. A. nearly　　　　 B. frequently　　 C. generally　　　 D. hardly

51. A. appreciate 　　B. praise　　　　 C. receive　　　　 D. offer

52. A. gone over　　 B. come through　 C. broken into　　 D. thrown up

53. A. defeated　　　 B. avoided　　　 C. watched　　　 D. prevented

54. A. quarrel　　　 B. debate　　　　 C. fight　　　　　 D. disagreement

55. A. journalist　　 B. coach　　　　 C. interviewee　　 D. competitor

The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted on Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.

The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths (虚构的故事) backed by the Mayan calendar. It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X—or Nibiru—heads toward or collides with the Earth.

Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’ s existence, but the US space agency denounced such stories as an “Internet hoax(恶作剧) ”. “There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-answer posting on its website. “If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years.” added NASA.

There is another planet, Eris, floating in space. But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.

Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.

NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward. And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible”, NASA said.

“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare, ” NASA noted. The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs.

“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said.

61．_______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors.

A. A new book　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. The Internet and a new Hollywood movie

C. NASA　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. An Indian calendar

62．The film 2012 is _______.

A. about the end of the world　　　　　　　　　　 B. based on the scientific prediction

C. well accepted in the science field　　　　　　　　 D. about a romantic love story

63．We can infer that _______.

A. people didn’t take the rumors seriously　　　　　　　

B. Planet X—or Nibiru does exist

C. astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years

D. the rumors caused a panic among some people

64．NASA thinks that Eris _______.

A. might pose a threat to the Earth　　　　　　　　 B. doesn’t pose any threat to the Earth

C. is too far away to be visible　　　　　　　　　　 D. is similar to our planet, where life might exist

65. Which of the following is the best title?

A. New Hollywood movie 2012　　　　　　　　B. December 21, 2012, NOT the end of the world

C. End of the ancient Mayan calendar D. How rumors came into being