For the second time in three years, Norway's Robert Sorlie delivered a brave performance to win sled-dog racing's toughest contest—the Iditarod. The 47-year-old firefighter crossed the finish line in Nome, Alaska, at 8:39 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.

"It feels good to be here," he declared, after passing the finish line. "I'm ready for breakfast."

Frosty temperatures, rough land, and exhaustion couldn't break the musher （赶狗拉雪撬的人）, who completed the race in 9 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes, and 31 seconds. Runner-up Ed Iten finished 34 minutes later, and defending champ Mitch Seavey finished third.

Sorlie took his first lead at the 365-mile mark, but fell into second place halfway through the race. With 500 miles to go, he regained the lead for good.

Iditarod officials rewarded Sorlie with a generous prize of $72,066 and a new truck. But even more exciting for the winner was the historic nature of his ride. By winning this year's race, Sorlie joins a best group of mushers, becoming only the sixth person to win the Iditarod more than once.

After winning several major long-distance races in Europe, Sorlie made his Iditarod first appearance in 2002, finishing in ninth place. A year later, he returned to take on the Alaskan wilderness once again, and won.

Iditarod: A Quick History

Since 1973, the world's top competitors have gathered in Alaska to undertake the Iditarod's 1,150-mile trail, which stretches from Anchorage to Nome.

The race commemorates（纪念）a group of courageous mushers and dogs. In 1925, they traveled across part of the Idit trail to deliver serum（血清）to save sick children in Nome.

How many times has Robert Sorlie won the Iditarod?

       A．Once.     B．Twice.     C．Three times.          D．Several times.

How long did it take Ed Iten to finish the race?

       A．9 days, 19 hours, 13 minutes, and 31 seconds.

       B．9 days, 18 hours, 5 minutes, and 31 seconds.

       C．9 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes, and 31 seconds.

       D．9 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes, and 31 seconds.

This win was very important for Sorlie because he could _____.

       A．get the generous prize of $72,066 and a new truck

       B．get a chance to race in Europe

       C．join a best group of mushers

       D．save sick children in Nome

How long has the Iditarod been held?

       A．Only 3 years.   B．Over 100 years.       C．About 80 years.       D．Over 20 years.

Holidays are really important.Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways.

But holidays are expensive and，for those on low wages or living on benefits, they are often unobtainable. Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for many families to meet.

For working parents，the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare. When an annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks，there is a need to spread this across the year.Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday. For some，this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult.

The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment.The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large in Nottingham and many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the day. Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support. Schools also have an important role in safeguarding children's welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils. During the long summer holidays，much of this is missed.

While teachers are holidaying in the UK，many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live. The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning.

   In setting out its plans for a five­term year，Nottingham City Council(委员会)is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks, with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks, each followed by a two­week break.We believe this will give real “down time” for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning.

We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff，particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care.

36．The passage is probably written by ________．

A．an experienced teacher  B．a working parent

C．an inspired student  D．a city council member

37．The underlined word “they” in the second paragraph refers to “________”．

A．environments  B．holidays

C．wages  D．benefits

38．It is suggested in the passage that the summer break be reduced to ________．

A．2 weeks  B．4.5 weeks

C．5 weeks  D．6 weeks

39．The plans for a shorter summer holiday will help students ________．

A．obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs

B．get a chance to spend six weeks a term with teachers in school

C．benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment

D．have more school days to receive free school meals

40．It can be inferred from the passage that ________．

A．working parents can enjoy a five­week break to care for their children

B．the suggested plans for a five­term school year can hardly be carried out

C．the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real “down time”

D．some school staff will say “No” to the plans for a shorter summer holiday

For the second time in three years, Norway's Robert Sorlie delivered a brave performance to win sled-dog racing's toughest contest—the Iditarod. The 47-year-old firefighter crossed the finish line in Nome, Alaska, at 8:39 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.

"It feels good to be here," he declared, after passing the finish line. "I'm ready for breakfast."

Frosty temperatures, rough land, and exhaustion couldn't break the musher (赶狗拉雪撬的人), who completed the race in 9 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes, and 31 seconds. Runner-up Ed Iten finished 34 minutes later, and defending champ Mitch Seavey finished third.

Sorlie took his first lead at the 365-mile mark, but fell into second place halfway through the race. With 500 miles to go, he regained the lead for good.

Iditarod officials rewarded Sorlie with a generous prize of $72,066 and a new truck. But even more exciting for the winner was the historic nature of his ride. By winning this year's race, Sorlie joins a best group of mushers, becoming only the sixth person to win the Iditarod more than once.

After winning several major long-distance races in Europe, Sorlie made his Iditarod first appearance in 2002, finishing in ninth place. A year later, he returned to take on the Alaskan wilderness once again, and won.

Iditarod: A Quick History

Since 1973, the world's top competitors have gathered in Alaska to undertake the Iditarod's 1,150-mile trail, which stretches from Anchorage to Nome.

The race commemorates (纪念) a group of courageous mushers and dogs. In 1925, they traveled across part of the Idit trail to deliver serum (血清) to save sick children in Nome.

1．How many times has Robert Sorlie won the Iditarod?

　 A．Once. 　　　　　　　　　　 B．Twice. 　　

　 C．Three times. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Several times.

2．How long did it take Ed Iten to finish the race?

　 A．9 days, 19 hours, 13 minutes, and 31 seconds.

　 B．9 days, 18 hours, 5 minutes, and 31 seconds.

　 C．9 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes, and 31 seconds.

　 D．9 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes, and 31 seconds.

3．This win was very important for Sorlie because he could _____.

　 A．get the generous prize of $72,066 and a new truck

　 B．get a chance to race in Europe

　 C．join a best group of mushers

　 D．save sick children in Nome

4．How long has the Iditarod been held?

　 A．Only 3 years.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．Over 100 years.

　 C．About 80 years.　　　　 D．Over 20 years.

 

— I saw a beautiful fish in the street market the other day. It was orange and blue. I'm thinking of buying some next Sunday.

— Where would you keep them?

—  61  

— It's a bit small, isn't it?

—  62 

— I think you should get a tank (水箱 ) if you want to keep fish .

—  63  

— Yes , You should never keep fish in a small round bottle . They don't get enough air. I suggest we go shopping together and look for a nice tank.

—  64

— Check the prices before you buy one . And you ought to get a few large rocks to put in the tank . Fish love swimming round the rocks and through holes in them.

—  65  

— Yes , you need to get some underwater plants . For one thing they keep the water clean . Also they make the tank look much prettier.

A . I haven't decided at all.

B . In that round bowl over there.

C . Is there anything else that I ought to get?

D . Really?

E . So are the fish .

F . That might be quite expensive .

G . What else should I do then?