Michael Jordan told me not to mention this until the season was over and I promised him at that time. Now I think it’s time.
Early last season, I wrote a column about an act of kindness I had seen Jordan do to a disabled child outside the Stadium. After it ran ,I got a call from a man in the western suburbs. He said, “I read what you wrote about Jordan, but I thought I should tell you another thing I saw.” Here it comes, I thought. It always does. Write something nice about a person, and people call you up to say that the person is not so nice.
A few weeks later Jordan and I were talking about something else before a game, and I brought up what the man had said. Was the man right? Has Jordan really been talking to those two boys in that poor and dirty neighborhood?
“Not two boys,” Jordan said, “but four.”
And he named them. He said four names.
And what did they talk about?
“Everything,” Jordan said. “I’ve asked to see their grades so that I can check whether they’re paying attention to their schoolwork. If it turns out one or two of them may need teaching, I make sure they get it.”
It’s just one more part of Michael Jordan’s life, one more thing that no one knows about, one more thing Jordan does right. The NBA season is over now, and those boys have their memories. So do I! When the expert reviewers begin to turn against Jordan, as they surely will, I’ll think about those boys under the streetlight, waiting for the man they know to come, for someone they can depend on.That man called after reading about what Jordan did to a disabled child because he wanted to ____.
| A．become famous himself |
| B．know why Jordan appeared in a poor area |
| C．let the author know that Jordan was not that nice |
| D．offer another example to show that Jordan was a nice man |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．Jordan is not such a great person. |
| B．Jordan deserves the admiration he had from others. |
| C．Jordan is always ready to make friends with young people. |
| D．Jordan is always misunderstood by expert reviewers. |
What does the underlined word “ran” probably mean?
| A．Published. | B．Finished. | C．Disappeared. | D．Drove |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why the author wrote this passage?
| A．He would like to keep the promise he had made. |
| B．He thought it was time to help the disabled children. |
| C．He hated to see Jordan become someone else’s target. |
| D．He was impressed by Jordan’s deeds for the ordinary poor. |
What’s the purpose of the writer writing the passage?
| A．to show us the life of Jordan |
| B．to tell us everybody will make mistakes including Jordan |
| C．to criticize Jordan |
| D．to defend Jordan against attack |
My 16-year-old son, Anton, had gone to the local swimming hole. Most of the kids who swim there are fit and strong teens, and there are plenty of rocks for them to use as safe harbors, so I had no fears for his well-being. Still, the firefighter’s first words, “You need to come up here to the Stillwater River,” made me catch my breath.
When I got to the river, I saw Anton sitting quietly on a low platform of the fire engine, with a towel wrapped about his shoulders.
I hurried over to him. “You OK?” I asked.
“Yeah,” was all he said. But my eyes begged for an explanation. I didn’t get it from my son.
The story was this: A couple in their 20s, unfamiliar with the Stillwater, had gotten caught in the current and began screaming for help. Without hesitation Anton and his friend dived into the water, swam out to the drowning(溺水的) woman, and brought her safely to shore.
In an age in which the world “hero” is broadcast with abandon(随意）and seemingly applied to anyone, I realized the real thing in my son and his friend—the disregarding of personal safety for the sake of another human being. I know that teens are headstrong and self-centered, but this didn’t lower the gravity of the event and the desire to do good.
Along the way home I tried to get some more information from him, but the only words were, “What’s for supper?”
I thought twice about the tragedy(悲剧) that might have been. Questions flew across my mind like a flight of swallows: Would I have risked my life to save a drowning person? Or would I have chosen to dial 911? Would I have told the story over and over to anyone who’d listen?
The next morning, when Anton got up, I half expected him to tell me the story from his point of view, now that he had some distance from the event. But all he did was to toast a pie, pull himself together, and head for the door to begin the new day.The writer caught her breath when she heard the fire fighters’ first words because______.
| A．her son saved a woman |
| B．she was scolded by fire fighters |
| C．she was anxious about her son’s safety |
| D．her son was to blame for a fire |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．firefighters always turn up in case of emergency |
| B．parents are always worried about their children |
| C．it’s dangerous to swim in an unfamiliar river |
| D．teens are more responsible than expected |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．My Mother, My Love | B．My Son, My Hero |
| C．A Narrow Escape | D．A Silent Boy |
Anton kept silent about his deed because_______.
| A．he was still in fear |
| B．he was annoyed with mother |
| C．he regarded it as a normal thing |
| D．he was afraid of being scolded |
As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mail carrier, and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop, and Dad did.
In the spring, Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens, and when I was a boy it was such fun to stick your fingers through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers.
On Dad's final day of work, it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds because at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service. "Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route," he used to say, “and a story at every one." One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.
Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail. One note left in a mailbox read, "Nat, take these eggs to Marian; she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs." Mailboxes might be buried in the snow, or broken, or lying on the ground, but the mail was always delivered. On cold days Dad might find one of his customers(顾客) waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate. A young girl wrote letters but had no stamps, so she left a few buttons（纽扣）on the envelope in the mailbox; Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash（现金）in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank. Once, the amount came to $ 32,000.
Ten years ago, when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad's death, the mailboxes along the way reminded（回想） me of some of his stories. I thought I knew them all, but that wasn't the ease.
As I drove home, I noticed two lamp poles(杆), one on each side of the street. When my dad was around, those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground. One box was painted green, and the other was red, and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering: SANTA CLAUS, NORTH POLE. For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes.
I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house. Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps. There, at the door, stood Frank Townsend, Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years. So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories.
At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes. "What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas?" he asked.
"The letters?"
"I guess you never knew."
"Knew what?"
"Remember, when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street? It was your dad who answered all those letters every year. "
I just sat there with tears in my eyes. It wasn't hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old oak table in our basement reading those letters and answering each one. I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood, and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families.
For me, just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime.It can be inferred from the passage that the writer considered his travels with Dad as .
| A．great chances to help other people |
| B．happy occasions to play with baby chickens |
| C．exciting experiences with a lot of fun |
| D．good opportunities to enjoy chocolate cookies |
The writer provides the detail about the businessman to show that .
| A．Dad had a strong sense of duty |
| B．Dad was an honest and reliable man |
| C．Dad had a strong sense of honor |
| D．Dad was a kind and generous man |
According to the passage, which of the following impressed the writer most?
| A．Dad read letters for a blind lady for years. |
| B．Dad paid for the stamps for a young girl. |
| C．Dad delivered some eggs to Marian. |
| D．Dad answered children's Christmas letters every year. |
What surprised the children most when they received letters in reply( 回复) from Santa Claus every year?
| A．Santa Claus lived alone in the cold North Pole. |
| B．Santa Claus answered all their letters every year. |
| C．Santa Claus had unique mailboxes for the children. |
| D．Santa Claus had so much information about their families. |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Mail | B．Christmas Letters |
| C．Special Mailboxes | D．Memorable Travels |
The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” –-- and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer --- which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet ---used the title in 2008. A lovely bear --- popular in the US and UK --- that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London’s Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce(电子商务) first came into use.
Most “i” products are targeted at （针对）young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition（定义）,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last ten years.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.People use iPlayer to __________.
| A．listen to music | B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online | D．read newspapers |
We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is designed for _________.
| A．young readers | B．old readers |
| C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
The underlined word “ambiguous” means “__________”.
| A．popular | B．uncertain |
| C．clear | D．unique |
Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are __________.
| A．portable | B．environmentally friendly |
| C．advanced | D．recyclable |
The writer wants to express that __________.
| A．“i” products are often of high quality |
| B．iTeddy is alive bear |
| C．the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products |
| D．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.The passage mainly tells us that __________.
| A．Man’s life will be different in the future |
| B．Future man will look quite different from us |
| C．Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes |
| D．Man’s organs’ functions will change |
What serves as the evidence that man is changing?
| A．Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had. |
| B．Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner. |
| C．Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker. |
| D．Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years. |
The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.
| A．he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity |
| B．his brain has grown larger over the past centuries |
| C．he will use his brain more and more as time goes on |
| D．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time |
Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?
| A．He is hairless because hair is no longer useful. |
| B．He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses. |
| C．His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them. |
| D．He thinks and feels in a different way. |
It is implied that __________.
| A．human beings will become less attractive in the future |
| B．parts of our bodies will become poorer if they are not used often |
| C．human beings hope for a change in the future life |
| D．future life is always predictable（可预测的） |
When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write and illustrate my own books. Half the students sneered. The rest nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. “Don’t be silly, only geniuses can become writers,” the English teacher said, “And you are getting a D this term.” I was so humiliated(羞辱) that I burst into tears.
That night I wrote a short sad poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the Capri’s Weekly newspaper. To my astonishment, they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer. I showed it to my teacher and fellow students. They laughed. “Just plain dumb luck,” the teacher said. I tasted success. I’d sold the first thing I’d ever written. That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck, that was fine with me.
During the next two years I sold dozens of poems, letters, jokes and recipes. By the time I graduated from high school, with a C minus average, I had scrapbooks filled with my published work. I never mentioned my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again. They were dream killers and if people must choose between their friends and their dreams, they must always choose their dreams.
I had four children at the time, and the oldest was only four. While the children slept, I typed on my ancient typewriter. I wrote what I felt. It took nine months, just like a baby.
A month later Crying Wind, the title of my book, became a best seller, was translated into fifteen languages and Braille and sold worldwide. I appeared on TV talk shows. I traveled from New York to California and Canada on promotional tours. My first book also became required reading in native American schools in Canada.
People ask what college I attended, what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is: “None.” I just write. I’m not a genius. I’m not gifted and I don’t write right. To all those who dream of writing, I’m shouting at you: “Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Don’t listen to them.” I don’t write right but I’ve beaten the odds. Writing is easy, it’s fun and anyone can do it. Of course, a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.Why did many students laugh after hearing what the writer said?
| A．Because they didn’t like him |
| B．Because they wished he could be successful as a writer |
| C．Because their teacher laughed, too |
| D．Because they felt it impossible for him to succeed |
When the writer graduated from high school, ___________.
| A．he had become a famous writer |
| B．he had made progress in his studies |
| C．his classmates and teachers changed their attitudes towards him |
| D．he decided he wouldn’t become a writer |
What stopped him telling others about his writing?
| A．The characters in his story. | B．His teacher. |
| C．His early experience. | D．His parents. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．It is difficult for a person, who cares about what others say, to succeed. |
| B．It is important for a person to tell others what he wants to do. |
| C．It is necessary for a person, who wants to succeed, to take others’ advice. |
| D．It is impossible for an ordinary person to be a writer in the future. |
Which of the following is the best title?
| A．A famous writer | B．I Hate My Classmates and Teachers |
| C．I Never Write Right | D．A Genius Can Be a Writer |
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