Down on the beach of Dover, 56-year-old Channel swimmer Jackie Cobell bravely set off for Calais. The time was 6:40 am. 28 hours and 44 minutes later the exhausted, successful mother from Kent crawled (爬行) to the shore and walked proudly into the record books. After five years in training, Mrs Cobell became the slowest person to cross the Channel under her own steam. The previous record for the slowest crossing, set by Henry Sullivan at 26 hours and 50 minutes, has stood for 87 years before Mrs Cobell started at Dover Saturday morning.
She had struggled through changing tides that swept her first one way, then the other. It turned the 21-mile crossing into a 65-mile one. She declared, “Time and tide wait for no man—and they certainly didn’t wait for me. I was fully expecting it to get dark before I got to Calais but I never imagined I’d also see the dawn again. But I wasn’t going to give up.”
Her feat(壮举) raised more than $2,000 in charity sponsorship for research into Huntingdon’s disease, a sum that was continuing to grow as news of her achievement spread. That was why she did it. “I don’t really know myself,” she said. “ I just kept thinking of all the people I’d be letting down if I stopped.”
Mrs Cobell took to the water so well at school. But after bringing up two daughters, she started to gain weight. Five years ago she took up swimming again and decided to prepare for the Channel challenge to lose weight. She became much fitter. Then came the big swim. “I practiced on Windermere lake,” she said. “it’s about half the distance of the Channel so I just double
d it, added some extra time, and worked out I could probably get to Calais in about 16 hours.”
Her husband David, trainer, official observer and friend sailed alongside her on a boat. She said, “I sang to keep myself going. When they told me I was a record breaker I thought they were just having a joke—until I realized it was the record for the slowest crossing. But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker.”According to Paragraph 1, Mrs Cobell_____________.
| A．started to learn swimming five years ago |
| B．arrived at Calais on late Sunday morning |
| C．wanted to break the record for the slowest crossing |
| D．was too exhausted to move after crossing the Channel |
Why did Mrs Cobell spend so much time crossing the Channel?
| A．Because the tides changed her direction. |
| B．Because she was not in good condition. |
| C．Because she wasn’t good at swimming. |
| D．Because the winds kept her from swimming fast. |
Mrs Cobell crossed the Channel for the main purpose of____________.
| A．taking a risk |
| B．losing more weight |
| C．raising money for charity |
| D．becoming famous worldwide |
How did Mrs Cobell feel about the record she set?
| A．Dissatisfied | B．Excited | C．Annoyed | D．Proud |
Psychiatrists(精神病专家)who work with older parents say that maturity(成熟) can be an advantage in child raising—older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, decreasing energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents’ biggest, and often unspoken fear. “Having late-life children often means parents, particularly fathers, end up retiring much later. For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream.” says Brandy Gabrielle, an economics professor.
Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he’s also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he’s been taking afternoon naps to keep up his energy. “My body is aging,” says Metcalf. “You can't get away from that.”
Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists (治疗专家)who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. “They worry they’ll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they’ll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school,” says Joann Gals, a New York psychologist. But at the core(核心)of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: “that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their children,” she says.
Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of pregnancy treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband, Randy, had twins. “We both wanted children,” says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years — a sense of family. Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. “The dads are older, more mature,” says Dr. Silber, “and more ready to focus on parenting.” The reason why psychiatrists regard maturity as an advantage in child raising is that _____.
| A．older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children. |
| B．older parents can better balance their resources against children's demands. |
| C．older parents are often better prepared financially. |
| D．older parents tend to devote more love and patience to their children. |
According to Brandy Gabrielle, what can we know about old parents?
| A．They support and protect their children at the cost of their lives. |
| B．They can get retired earlier to educate their children. |
| C．They have to go on working beyond their retirement age. |
| D．They attach more importance to work rather than child raising. |
What’s the author’s attitude toward the older parents?
| A．Encouraging | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Worried. |
What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen?
| A．They thought it was too late to have children in their fifties. |
| B．When they reached middle age, they thought of having children. |
| C．They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter. |
| D．Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family. |
Who’s in control of your life? Who’s pulling your strings(绳子)? For the majority of us, it’s other people—society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation.”
So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug—we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix(一剂毒品), we worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.
But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda(议程), and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they’re more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.
So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values—not values imposed from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic(真实的), effective, purposeful and happy life.What Oscar Wilde says implies that _____.
| A．most people have a variety of thoughts. |
| B．we have thoughts similar to those of others. |
| C．other people’s thoughts are more important . |
| D．most people’s thoughts are controlled by others. |
What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph?
| A．We may lose ourselves to please others. |
| B．The price of taking the drug is freedom. |
| C．We need to pay for what we want to get. |
| D．Changing opinions may cost us our freedom. |
It can be concluded from the passage that _____.
| A．it’s better to do what we like |
| B．we shouldn’t care what others think |
| C．we shouldn’t change our own opinions |
| D．it’s important to accept others’ opinions |
The author tries to persuade the readers to accept his arguments mainly by _____.
| A．discussing questions |
| B．making suggestions |
| C．analyzing causes and effects |
| D．providing examples and facts |
Australians have been warned that they face a life or death decision over their water—drink recycled sewage (污水) or die.
With the drought (干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified (净化的) waste water for drinking, even though there is great opposition to the measure.
Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier.
“I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water,” said Peter Beattie.
“These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold; it's a matter of life and death.”
Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking.
Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel.
But Australians have never liked the idea.
To try to change the way Australians think, Prime Minister John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have adhered to Queensland's move.
“I am very strongly for recycling and Mr. Beattie is right and I agree with him completely,” Howard said.
“Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water.” added Turnbull, “All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall.”What is the text mainly about?
| A．Australians face the choice of life and death. |
| B．Premier Beattie is worried about his people’s health. |
| C．We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy. |
| D．Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage. |
The underlined phrase “adhered to” in Paragraph 9 probably means _____.
| A．supported | B．gone against | C．disliked | D．doubted |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Australians have never like drinking purified waste water. |
| B．Australians should develop more water sources to live through the hard time |
| C．Australians can’t depend upon rainwater, which is not suitable for drinking. |
| D．Australian government has no ability to solve the problem of water shortage |
It can be inferred from what Premier Peter Beattie said that _____.
| A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water. |
| B．it is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage. |
| C．if the decision is made, people won’t survive the drought. |
| D．it’s up to you to either make a life or death decision. |
There are hundreds of national parks and wildlife areas in Africa that you can travel to. Here are the top four travel destinations in Africa:
Tanzania----Serengeti National Park
During the annual migration(迁徙), when the wildebeests(羚羊) and zebras pack up and leave their living areas to find fresher ones, the Serengeti is an astonishing place to be. It's a very good travel spot in Africa at other times of the year too, but the migration has been ranked by many as one of the wonders of the natural world.
Kenya----Masai Mara National Park
If you want to see the big cats, this wildlife park is the best of the best. Lion, leopard and cheetah abound and they are relatively easy to spot because of the grassland vegetation which means you get good views for miles around. Another big plus is the fact that going off road is allowed and it is a big advantage because the animals will rarely oblige you and stay next to the major roads.
South Africa-Kruger National Park
For the variety of species no other places in Africa can come close to the Kruger Park. And because it is so large it has a number of different ecosystems that you can pass through in your search for animals and birds. It is one of the best managed parks in Africa and the accommodation is well-equipped, too.
Zambia-South Luangwa National Park
South Luangwa is a diamond in the rough, just waiting for enough exposure to bring it to its rightful place in the crown of prime Africa trips. It has been regarded as one of the best places in Africa to see the special leopard and it is the birthplace of the walking travel. If you want to see more kinds of wild animals, you should go to _____.
| A．Serengeti National Park. |
| B．Masai Mara National Park. |
| C．Krunger National Park. |
| D．South Luangwa National Park. |
In which parks can visitors see leopards?
| A．Serengeti National Park and Krunger National Park. |
| B．Masai Mara National Park and South Luangwa National Park. |
| C．Krunger National Park and South Luangwa National Park. |
| D．Serengeti National Park and South Luangwa National Park. |
If you want to see wildlife on foot, you should go to _____.
| A．Serengeti National Park. |
| B．Masai Mara National Park. |
| C．Krunger National Park. |
| D．South Luangwa National Park. |
he writer's purpose in writing the text is to ________.
| A．tell us something about natural animals. |
| B．persuade more people to protect wild animals. |
| C．introduce to us some top natural parks in Africa. |
| D．discuss some problems in African travel industry. |
For their nick-of-time acts, Toby, a 2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a cute cat, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
As Amy Paul choked(哽住) on a piece of apple at her home, her dog jumped up, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece in her throat out. When the Keesling family of Indiana was about to be killed by carbon monoxide, their cat clawed at the wife Cathy’s hair until she woke up and called for help.
No one could explain their timely heroics.
Both pets were rescued by their owners in infancy-----Toby as a 4-week-old thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Cathy’s husband, Eric, had to feed her milk with an eyedropper.
As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump being used broke down, spreading carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie went to rescue, the couple’s 14-year-old son was already unconscious. “Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry sound,” Cathy Keesling said. The state police responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house.
Amy Paul’s husband was at his job when she took a midday break from making jewelry and bit into an apple. “Normally I peel them, but I read in Good Housekeeping Magazine that the skin has all the nutrients, so I ate the skin, and that’s what caused me to choke,” she recalled. “I couldn’t breathe and I was in panic when Toby jumped on me. He never does that, but he did, and saved my life.”
Both Toby and Winnie accompanied their owners to the awards luncheon.Why did Amy Paul choke on a piece of apple?
| A．She was too young to care for herself. |
| B．She had a big bite. |
| C．She didn’t peel the skin as usual. |
| D．She was reading a magazine. |
Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “infancy” in Paragraph 4?
| A．babyhood | B．youth | C．middle age | D．agedness |
What caused the carbon monoxide spreading through the house?
| A．The burning gas. |
| B．A pump breaking down. |
| C．The poisonous gas. |
| D．A driver breaking into the house. |
What would be the suitable title for the passage?
| A．So Smart Animals Are |
| B．Great Honors for Cat and Dog |
| C．Unforgettable Experiences |
| D．Dog and Cat Honored for Saving Their Masters |
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