Charlie Boswell has always been a great hero. He has inspired thousands of people to rise above circumstances and live out true meaning of life.
He was blinded during World War II while rescuing his friend from a tank that was under fire. He was a great athlete before the accident. In order to prove his talent and determination, he decided to try a brand new sport, a sport he never imagined playing, even with his eyesight – golf! Through determination and a deep love for the game he became the National Blind Golf Champion! He won that honor 13 times.
One of his heroes was the great golfer Ben Hogan, so it truly was an honor for Charlie to win the Ben Hogan Award in 1958.
Upon meeting Ben Hogan, Charlie was respectful and stated that he had one wish and it was to have one round of golf with the great Ben Hogan. Mr. Hogan agreed that playing a round together would be an honor for him as well, as he had heard about all of Charlie’s accomplishments and truly admired his skills.
“Would you like to play for money, Mr. Hogan?” asked out Charlie.
“I can’t play you for money, it wouldn’t be fair!” said Mr. Hogan.
“Aw, come on Mr. Hogan…$ 1,000 per hole!”
“I can’t, what would people think of me, taking advantage of you and your circumstance?” replied the sighted golfer.
“Chicken, Mr. Hogan?”
“Okay,” replied the embarrassed Hogan, “but I am going to play my best!”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” said the confident Boswell.
“Now that you’re on. Mr. Boswell, you name the time and the place!”
The very self – assured Boswell responded, “10 o’clock … tonight!”Why didn’t Mr. Hogan want to play Charlie for money?
| A．He was worried he would lose the match. |
| B．He thought it was unfair for Charlie. |
| C．He didn’t care about money. |
| D．He preferred chicken to money. |
According to the text, what does the underlined word “self - assured” probably mean?
| A．ignorant | B．selfless | C．confident | D．sincere |
It can be inferred from the text that .
| A．Mr. Hogan was not good at playing golf |
| B．Charlie did well in other sports before playing golf |
| C．Mr. Hogan didn’t try his best to play |
| D．Charlie Boswell was born blind |
What would be the result of the match?
| A．Charlie won. | B．Hogan won. |
| C．Neither of them won. | D．Not mentioned. |
Which of the following can best describe Charlie?
| A．Competitive and generous | B．Energetic and reliable |
| C．Careful and considerate | D．Confident and smart |
Nowadays everybody seems to think that they know English. Many people speak it but few speak it really well. Practice is necessary in speaking English well.
Reading is also one of the things that will help you to speak English better. Read whenever you can and whatever you like! Read papers and Internet sites that you like in English every day. Then, you will see that the number of known words is increasing and you are able to speak with more skills. Then you will have made the foundations (基础) and a good basis of English. It is not good to stop and get stuck there.
Going to England or an English–speaking country is a good choice, but many people cannot afford it. If you cannot go, reading and speaking with your friends will also help you to practice your English. However, I think it is very good to visit some English – speaking country to see and test your knowledge in everyday life. You will understand the everyday usage of the language in its natural environment. There your level of English is going to improve even faster. Your ability to speak English is better. Nothing can match the excitement and happiness when a native speaker tells you that your English is very good!
Finally, in order to speak English well, you must be persistent (坚持的) and do it every day. It is like playing the piano. Pianists play it every day and so should you. Include English in your life and you will see where it is going. Practice, practice! Read, write and improve your language skills and you are on you way when you will be able to speak it with more and more confidence!Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Improve Your Language Skills |
| B．How to Speak English Well |
| C．Speaking English |
| D．Practice, Practice! |
What does the writer suggest about reading?
| A．Trying to improve your vocabulary. |
| B．Keeping on reading when you have time. |
| C．Stopping when you have a good basis of English. |
| D．Looking up every unknown word when reading. |
In the writer’s eyes, the essential(基本的) way to improve your speaking skills is _______.
| A．practicing | B．going abroad | C．reading | D．writing |
The main idea of the last paragraph is that ________.
| A．we should play the piano every day |
| B．speaking English is fun and entertaining |
| C．we should practice English every day to improve our speaking skills |
| D．if we’ve learned to read and write, we’ll certainly be able to speak |
According to the passage, what may make the author excited?
| A．Reading papers and Internet sites. |
| B．Having a good basis of English. |
| C．Going to an English–speaking country. |
| D．A native speaker’s praise. |
As a boy, Mark Twain caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play practical jokes on all his friends and neighbors. The nature of his jokes often led to violence (暴力). He hated to go to school and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi. He liked to sit on the bank of the river for hours at a time and just gaze at the mysterious island and the passing boats. He learned many things about the river during those days. He learned all about its history and unusual people. He later made them part of the history of America in the book Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Twain received his genius (天才) from his mother. Obviously he didn’t get it from his father. He once stated that he had never seen a smile on his father’s face. On the other hand, his mother had the ability to say humorous things. The same ability made Mark Twain an extremely humorous public speaker.According to the passage, Mark Twain was a _______ boy.
| A．shy | B．brave | C．naughty(调皮的) | D．poor |
Because of the nature of his jokes when he was a child, Mark Twain would _______.
| A．ran away form school |
| B．cause his parents to quarrel with others |
| C．get into trouble with his friends and neighbors |
| D．like to sit on the bank of the Mississippi River |
It can be learned form the passage that ______.
| A．Mark Twain’s father was a cruel man |
| B．Mark Twain never attended school on time |
| C．Mark Twain often went boating in the nearby river |
| D．Mark Twain’s mother was something of a humorist |
In his book Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain wrote much about _______.
| A．the Mississippi and the people living on it |
| B．his friends and neighbors |
| C．his school life |
| D．his parents |
It is inferred that what affected Mark Twain’s character mostly was _______ .
| A．his practical jokes |
| B．his father’s seriousness |
| C．the history of the Mississippi |
| D．his mother’s genius for humor |
Last month, students from one hundred and three universities in eighty-eight countries took part in an international computer programming contest, which took place in Harbin, China. Three-person teams from each school had five hours to solve eleven real world problems.
The students first listed the problems in order of difficulty. Then they figured out the requirements of each. They designed ways to test their solutions. And they wrote the needed software systems. Even the winning team from Shanghai Jiaotong University in China was not able to solve all the problems within the given limit. Stanford’s team solved five problems and finished in fourteenth place. Stanford was one of twenty-one American universities that took part in the contest this year.
The official name of the Battle of the Brains is the ACM International Collegiate Contest. The first final competition was held in 1977 at the Association for Computer Machinery Computer Science Conference. Today, a network of universities holds area competitions that send the winners to the world finals, now organized by IBM.
Contest spokesman Dong Heintzman says the world champions receive prizes and scholarships. They are also guaranteed an offer of employment or internship(实习) with IBM. He said, “We have had past world champions that IBM has gone and employed in our Zurich research laboratory and are now working on some of the leading edge materials in science and physics. We have a world finalist from China who’s been working on the Watson Supercomputer that in the near future will be playing Jeopardy(一种超级计算机名称)against the best Jeopardy players in the world. So this competition is an opportunity to be recognized and to be recruited(招聘) by some of the top technology and research firms around the world.” From the first paragraph we can figure out there were _______ programmers taking part in the contest.
| A．3 | B．88 | C．246 | D．a lot of |
From the last paragraph we know that _______.
| A．the winners will be offered a job in IBM |
| B．this contest provides a chance for the universities |
| C．this competition is held every four years |
| D．many big companies are short of programmers |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The Best Top Contest |
| B．The Battle of the Brains |
| C．The Difficult Competition |
| D．Courage and Wisdom Needed |
Zoe, Damacela, 19, didn't have nice clothes when she was young. It wasn't easy for Zoe’s hard-working single mother to make ends meet. They moved in and out of homeless shelters.
Everything changed for Zoe in grade nine. At that time, she heard about a sewing(缝纫) class at her school. She signed up and couldn't wait to turn her designs into clothes. The color of the first dress she made was white-black strips. Soon the clothes she wore were all made by her. Other girls at school loved her designs too. They asked her if they could buy dresses from her. Zoe sold her first dress for $13. Unfortunately, it cost her $25 to make the dress. “I had the creativity in designs," says Zoe. “But I really had no idea about business.”
Zoe kept selling the clothes she designed. Her business was booming, and even the girls who had ever teased her became her customers. In the eleventh grade, Zoe took a business class. She learned how to price her clothes so that she could be sure to make a fair profit.
Her business teacher suggested she take part in a contest for teenaged entrepreneurs (企业家). The contest was for teens from all over the United States. Zoe sent in her business plan, which explained how she planned to make her company grow. She won the second prize in the end. Zoe ’s success became a news item. Supermodel Tyra Banks heard about it and she invited Zoe to take part in her TV show. “Being recognized I felt really unreal,”says Zoe. Zoe has advice for teens who want to start their own business. “If you really work hard on it, you will be able to make it happen,” she says. “If I can do it, anyone else can.”We can learn that ______when she was in grade nine.
| A．Zoe had no interest in designing clothes |
| B．Zoe seldom wore her self-made clothes |
| C．Zoe didn' t know how to make money |
| D．Zoe attended a business course |
After winning the contest, Zoe ______
| A．considered it a reward |
| B．expected to be known |
| C．was proud of her own gift |
| D．could hardly believe it |
Zoe advised the teens ______ .
| A．to make efforts to achieve their dreams |
| B．to design and make their own clothes |
| C．to try every means to become famous |
| D．to do whatever they would like to |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How Zoe learned to design clothes. |
| B．A poor girl achieved success in business. |
| C．How Zoe got a prize in a contest. |
| D．A poor girl was invited to a TV show. |
While it is impossible to live completely free of stress，it is possible to prevent stress as well as reduce its effect when it can’t be avoided．The US Department of Health and Human Services offers the following suggestions for ways to deal with stress．
◆Try physical activity
When you are nervous, angry or upset, try releasing the pressure through exercise or physical activity. Running，walking，playing tennis，and working in your garden are just some of the activities you might try.
◆Take care of yourself
You should make every effort to eat well and get enough rest. If you easily get angry and can’t sleep well enough, or if you’re not eating properly, it will be more likely that you will fall into stressful situations．If stress repeatedly keeps you from sleeping，you should consult a doctor．
◆Make time for yourself
Schedule time for both work and entertainment．Don't forget，play can be just as important to your overall well-being as work. You need a break from your daily routine to just relax and have fun．Go window-shopping or work on a hobby．Allow yourself at least a half hour each day to do something you enjoy．
◆Make a list of things to do
Stress can result from disorganization and a feeling that “there’s so much to do，and not enough time”．Trying to take care of everything at once can be too much for you and as a result，you may not achieve anything．Instead，make a list of everything you have to do，then do one thing at a time，checking off each task as it is completed．Set out to do the most important task first．Which of the following statements shows that you have fallen into stressful situations？
| A．You can't sleep well all the time． |
| B．You have a break after work． |
| C．You always feel happy and relaxed． |
| D．You only do one thing at a time． |
According to the passage，how do you make a list of things to do?
| A．Try to take care of everything at once． |
| B．Do one thing at a time． |
| C．Only do the most important thing． |
| D．Have a break from your work． |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Deal with Stress? |
| B．How to Make Time for Yourself? |
| C．How to Take Care of Yourself? |
| D．How to Make a List of Things to Do? |
Which of the following would be the advice to deal with stress according to the passage?
| A．just lie in bed for a rest |
| B．always listen to pop music |
| C．insist on doing work |
| D．make a list to do things one by one |
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