Zhang Xini, a 15-year-old deaf girl from Shenzhen, has published four novels, created three websites,
and made two inventions. As the youngest member of Shenzhen Writers' Association, she has attracted
attention in the Chinese literary circle (文学界) with her latest biji. If I am Helen. She is compared (比做) to
Helen Keller by many people.
     Zhang does not complain although she has lost her hearing ability, as she believes fate (命运) actually
brought her to a world in which she can develop all of her potential (潜在的) abilities. When she was only
12, she had read more than 100 literary masterpieces (名著), and published a large number of essays in
newspapers and magazines. She said she felt lucky that she lived in an Internet time, which brought her a
virtual (虚拟的) way to express her feelings and chat with others. Even though she still cannot speak clearly,
she is always eager to communicate with her parents, teachers and friends. She wants to study in Beijing Film
Academy (学院) and major in movie directing in the future.

1. What's the name of Zhang Xini's latest book?
    __________________________________________________________
2. Who did many people compare her to?
    __________________________________________________________
3. What did she publish in newspapers and magazines when she was only 12?
    __________________________________________________________
4. What does she want to do in the future?
    __________________________________________________________
5. What can we learn from the passage?
   __________________________________________________________

     Steven Jobs, the designer (设计者) of Apple Computer, was not clever when he was in school. At that
time, he was not a good student and he always made troubles with his schoolmates. When he went into
college, he didn't change a lot. Then he dropped out (退学). But he was full of new ideas.
    After he left college, Steven Jobs worked as a video game designer. He worked there for only several
months and then he went to India. He hoped that the trip would give him some new ideas and give him a
change in life.
    Steven Jobs lived on a farm in California for a year after he returned from India.
    In 1975, he began to make a new type of computer. He designed the Apple Computer with his friend in
his garage (汽车库). He chose the name "Apple" just because it could help him to remember a happy summer
he once spent in an apple tree garden.
    His Apple Computer was such a great success that Steven Jobs soon became famous all over the world.

1. 判断正误（“T”表示正确，“F”表示错误）。
    (     ) Steven Jobs designed his new computer with his friend. 
2. Why was Steven Jobs not a good student in school?
   ______________________________________________________
3. Steven Jobs didn't finish college, did he?
   ______________________________________________________
4. What was Steven Jobs famous for all over the world? 
   ______________________________________________________
5. Put the underlined sentence in the passage into Chinese.
   ______________________________________________________

     Bill is only fifteen years old, but he is already very rich. Two years ago, Bill began a football website
(网站) for young people," I became interested in computers when I was 8 because my father's job is with
computers. As a little boy, I also loved football and so I decided to make a website, especially for people of
my age."
    Bill started the "Football OK!" website two years ago, and now more than 20,000 people visit it every day. 
    Bill is a schoolboy and a businessman as well. He usually gets up at six o'clock and looks at his e-mails.
Then he goes to school from nine to four. In the evenings, he always works for about four hours on his
website.
     Bill's next plan is to set up a new website:" At the moment I an thinking about a new website on American
football, maybe for next year."
     And is Bill the same person that he was three years ago?" No, I am very different now. I have met a lot of
interesting people on the website and I have traveled all over the world." Bill doesn't know about the future."
Maybe I will sell the website. I really don't know. I'll just wait and see.
    When he is 21, Bill will be a millionaire (百万富翁). He always says," Anything is possible"

1. How old was Bill when he became interested in computers? 
    ________________________________________________________
2. What's the name of Bill's website? 
    ________________________________________________________
3. What does Bill usually do after he gets up every day? 
    ________________________________________________________
4. Is Bill quite sure about his future? 
    ________________________________________________________
5. What do you think of Bill? 
    ________________________________________________________

     One of the best-known American writers is Samuel Clemens, whose pen name is Mark Twain. Born in
1835, Clemens grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri. As did many other young people
of his day, Clemens dreamed of traveling on riverboats and of someday becoming a riverboat pilot. He used
his memories (记忆) of the life of a river town in his two most famous books, Huckleberry Finn and Tom
Sawyer. 　　
     As a young man, Clemens held many jobs. He was a printer (印刷工), a gold miner (矿工) and a riverboat
pilot. During his pilot days, he used the name Mark Twain. This was a term used on the river to mean that
the water measured (测量) 2 fathoms (英寻), or 4 meters (nearly 12 feet), which was deep enough for safe
passage. 　　
     Finally Twain became a successful writer. He traveled a great deal, writing and speaking. He became very
popular both in the United States and in Europe. 　　
     Twain's style of writing was simple and direct. Among the things that he wrote about were superstitious
(迷信的) people and people who were really fool. He used his unusual gift for humor (幽默) to write about
many things of importance. 　　

阅读短文,然后判断正(A)误(B).
( )1. This article as a whole is about a riverboat pilot.
( )2. Mark Twain worked as a pilot all the time before he became a successful writer.
( )3. Mark Twain knew much about the Mississippi.
( )4. It is very difficult to understand Mark Twain's works.
( )5. Huckleberry Finn is a book about the life of the Mississippi River.

     Barack Hussein Obama has made history by becoming the first African-American president in American
history.
     Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4,1961. His parents separated (分开) when he was two
years old and later divorced (离婚). Obama grew up with his mother in Hawaii,and for a few years in
Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York,where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983. Obama met
his wife, Michelle Robinson,in June 1989 and married her on October 3, 1992. The couple's first daughter,
Malia Ann, was bom in 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.
     Obama's success is a true milestone (里程碑) . It speaks to the fact that in America you really do get a
chance to do anything, if you have the talent and ability and you work hard enough.
     Obama will not take office until 20 January, 2009. However, when he does become president, he will
face many serious challenges, including two foreign wars,climate change and what he has described as "the
worst financial crisis (经济危机) in a century". But Obama himself is ready to face these challenges.

1. How old is Barack Obama when he becomes American president?

A. 48.
B. 40.
C. 37.
D. 31.

2. Obama's success tells us that ______.

A. any black people can become president
B. you can succeed if you are talented enough
C. everyone can succeed if he is lucky enough
D. a talented person can succeed if he works hard enough

3. What does the underlined phrase "take office " in the last paragraph mean?

A. 生效
B. 就任
C. 离职
D. 竞选

4. According to the passage, Obama will face the following challenges except ______.

A. climate change
B. financial crisis
C. population problem
D. foreign wars

5. The whole passage is mainly about Obama's ______.

A. childhood
B. family
C. education
D. experience

     Liu Xiang was born in Shanghai on the 13th of July, 1983. He is 1.88m tall and 1______(weigh) 74
kilograms. He began practicing jumping when he was at Grade Four in primai7 school. He 2______ (win) the
gold medal of the men's 110m hurdles in the 28th Olympic Games. It is the first gold medal that Chinese have
won from this competition in the Olympic history. He 3______(be) a great hero in Chinese eyes since then. He
also likes singing and seeing films. Once when he 4______(walk) in the street, he stopped to answer the
reporter, "I 5______(sing) songs with friends if I feel tired after training, or go to a movie for relaxation."

       A few days ago, few people knew his name or his face. But last Thursday, when he came back to the
earth after a 21-hour trip to space, Yang Liwei's smile was seen across the world.
       The 38-year-old astronaut was sent into space at 9:00 a.m. October 15, 2003 by China's Shenzhou V
spaceship, and it travelled around the earth 14 times. He landed safely at 6:23 a.m. the next day. So China
became the third country to successfully send a person into space, after the former Soviet Union (前苏联)
and the U.S.A.
       Yang was pleased with his job. "I think ours was one of the most successful," he said. 
       If you saw the breaking-up of the space plane named Columbia (哥伦比亚号) in February of 2003, you
would know that Yang Liwei would be in great danger. 
       Yang experienced very high temperature, while the gravitational forces (地心引力) on taking off (起飞)
and landing was strong enough to make tears from his eyes.
        He has spent five years training to become a spaceman after 1350 hours' flying in the air. Although it was
hard work, Yang loved it. Yang's success was well worth all the hard work. Yang has become China's first
spaceman.

1. What time was Yang Liwei sent into space?

[     ]

A. At 9:00 a.m.
B. At 21 o'clock.
C. At 6:23 a.m.
D. At 14 o'clock.

2. From the passage, we know China has become               to send a man into space.

[     ]

3. Which sentence is right?

[     ]

A. Yang Liwei was pleased with his job.
B. Yang Liwei works hard on his work.
C. The space plane named Columbia was landed successfully.
D. A and B

4. Shenzhou V spaceship spent               travelling around the earth at a time.

[     ]

A. one hour
B. two hours
C. one hour and a half
D. three hours

[     ]

A. 21 times.
B. 14 times.
C. Only one time.
D. 9 times.

     O. Henry was a great writer. His pen name was O. Henry and his real name was William Sydney Poiter.
He was born in North Carolina in 1862. When he was about 20, he went to Texas, where he tried different
jobs. He first worked for a newspaper, and then in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank,
some people thought he was the thief, so he was sent to prison. During the three years there, he learned to
write short stories. After he got out of the prison, he went to New York and went on writing. He wrote mostly
about New York and the life of the poor people there. And people liked his stories very much.

1. O. Henry was a _______.

A. writer
B. pianist
C. porter
D. teacher

2. During his life, O. Henry tried _______ jobs.

A. one
B. two
C. three
D. many different

3. O. Henry stayed in prison for _______ years.

A. two
B. three
C. many

4. O. Henry _______ during his staying in prison.

A. wrote some articles
B. wrote some books
C. wrote short stories
D. read short stories

5. O. Henry wrote most about _______ after he went out of the prison.

A. Texas
B. New York
C. the life of the poor
D. Both B and C