题目内容
D
11-year-old Courtney Thompson was so passionate about gymnastics that she would practice five hours a day until her arms were sore and her elbows swollen．She rarely complained about her tough schedule，and for good reason．Courtney was ranked the best gymnast in the State for her age，and she dreamed of going to the Olympics．But on January 12th，2005，while practicing a routine exercise，she felt an unbearable pain in the left elbow．The medical examination then revealed a severe injury，resulting in an immediate surgery and a slow，painful recovery．
What happened to Courtney Thompson is a red flag in America's growing epidemic of youth sports injuries．Across the country，younger and younger athletes are injuring themselves in the pursuit of sports achievement．The U．S．Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 2.8 million Americans aged 5 through 24 received medical treatment for a sports-related or recreation-related injury in 2003．Severe injuries that used to be limited to professionals are now showing up in high school and even junior high athletes．
There are many reasons behind the outbreak in sports injuries，hut most experts agree on one：the extreme culture of organized youth sports．Gone are the days when children played a variety of games on playgrounds．Child kidnapping and street crime have ended casual neighborhood athletics in many places，leading parents to enroll their children in organized sports under the watchful， though demanding，eyes of adult volunteers and coaches．And movies like Friday Night Lights glorify the thrill of victory for young athletes with single-minded dedication to athletic achievement.
From high school gyms to county hall fields，41 million children younger than 19 participated in organized youth sports in 2005，according to the latest research by the National Council of Youth Sports. The figure represents a 25 percent increase since 1997．
Parental involvement 1”youth sports has also made childhood games less about having fun and more about training and competing for the top spot．1anding a college scholarship or launching a promising career Hoping to nurture the next Michelle Kwan or Apolo Ohno，some parents guide their children into specializing in one sport But the repetitive training required to master a sport places enormous stresses on hones and muscles that are still developing.
67．The passage is mainly about_________
A．children’s participation in organized sports
B．the main causes of the youth sports injuries
C．the way to train children in organized sports
D．the common occurrence of youth sports injuries
68．The underlined part “Fed flag” in the second paragraph most probably means“_______”．
A．warning B．problem C. symbol D．mark
69．Why is the number of sports injuries among children in America growing?
A．Because of their increasing fondness for sports．
B．Because children are not professional enough fur sports
C．Because more children are seeking for sports achievements．
D．Because of the involvement of the parents and more organized sports
We can learn from the passage that __________
A．about 10.25 million youngsters participated in organized sports in 1997
B．parents give limited chances for children to choose their sports
C．serious injuries often happened to young students in the past
D．courtney Thompson will never become a famous gymnast
67---70 B A D B
Wilderness activity week, Finland
Set off on a really wild adventure to Finland, where night is a distant memory during the endless days of summer.
From your cottage, set high in the hills above Koli National Park, you can explore a perfect wilderness, and pull over at a lakeside beach whenever you like a dip（游泳）.
Seven-night breaks cost from ￡899 per adult, ￡699 per child, including flights, accommodation, some meals and a guide. The Adventure Company (0845 450 5311; www.adventurecompany. co. uk).
Horseriding in the Tarn France
Learn to ride, or perfect your horse-riding skills at Les Juliannes in the Tarn Valley. Activities include everything from show-jumping to hacking（骑马）through the rolling hills and medieval（中世纪的）villages. Between sessions, you can relax by the pool, cycle along the country lanes or roam the grounds. Guests stay at a rural 17th-century farmhouse.
Seven-night breaks cost from ￡658 per adult, ￡628 per child aged 12-15 years. ￡553 for 10 to 11-year-olds and ￡423 for under-nines. Price includes return flights, transfers, half-board accommodation and ten hours’ riding, Inntravel（01653 617906；www. inntravel. co. uk）.
Learn to sail in Greece
Sunvil Sailing has live-aboard learn-to-sail breaks off the island of Lefkas that are designed for both the complete novice（新手）as well as those with a degree of sailing.
Seven-night breaks cost from ￡721pp in peak season, including return flights, transfers, live-aboard accommodation and tuition. Meals and dinner ashore are not included. Sunvil Sailing (020 8758 4780; www. sunvil. co. uk).
【小题1】If you want to have some experiences of country life in the past, you’d better go to .
| A．explore a perfect wilderness |
| B．stay for a few days in Finland |
| C．Horseriding in the Tarn, France |
| D． Learn to sail in Greece |
| A．￡2030 | B．￡1316 | C．￡1869 | D．￡1211 |
| A．a national park |
| B．a cottage high in the hills |
| C．a perfect wilderness |
| D． summer days without night |
| A．www. activitiesabroad. com |
| B．www. adventurecompany. co. uk |
| C．www. inntravel. co. uk |
| D．www. sunvil. co. uk |
Some say every day miracles are predestined (注定的)---- All that’s necessary is readiness, the right circumstance for the appointed meeting. And it can happen anywhere.
In 1999, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother's Little League team in Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, and giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give, the boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.
When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid. Penny Brown hadn't planned to be there that day, but at the last minute,she had changed her shift (轮班) at the hospital, and she was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving CPR, breathing into his mouth and giving chest compressions (按压). And he came to life.
After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.
Kevin, now 17, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking .
Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, using skills he'd first learned in Scouts, the food that was trapped in the woman's throat was freed. The color began to return to her face.
“The food was stuck. I couldn't breathe,” she said. She thought she was dying. “I was very frightened.”
Who was the woman?
Penny Brown.
【小题1】Kevin Stephan fell to the ground and fainted probably because ________.
| A．he stood close to the boy who was swinging his bat |
| B．he suffered from heart attack all of a sudden |
| C．he was too excited when watching the game |
| D．he swung the bat too hard to keep his balance |
| A．He was hit on the face by a boy and almost lost his life. |
| B．He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills. |
| C．He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college. |
| D．He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke |
| A．She was there to give her son directions. |
| B．She volunteered to give medical services. |
| C．She was a little worried about her son’s safety. |
| D．She came to watch her son’s game and cheered him . |
On August 5 at 10:31 p.m. PST, a rover（探测器）named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat.
My name is Clara, and when I was in Grade 6, I won the essay contest NASA held to name its next Mars rover. The essay I wrote was not even 250 words long, but somehow it was enough to change my life.
I still remember that cold December day, sitting in a science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and decided to get a Time for Kids magazine off Mrs. Estevez’s bookshelf. It was the 2008 Invention Issue, but that wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye. In the magazine, there was an article about a girl who named the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The article also talked about the essay contest NASA was holding to name its next Mars rover. Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind: Curiosity.
I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home from the bus stop, sat down at the computer and typed until my fingers ached. It turned out that I was just in time. A few days later, and the contest would have closed.
Five months later, shortly after I had turned 12, I was watching a National Geographic special on mammoths when the phone rang. My mom answered, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face. When she told me that I had won, I was happier than I could ever remember being, I screamed and ran up and down the stairs and all around the house. I completely forgot about the mammoths and did not even remember to turn off the TV until it was really late.
Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandfather and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. He’d tell me stories and point out the stars.
My grandfather lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas. I loved the stars because they kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space. No matter how much we learn, it will always possess some mystery.
In the past, space exploration may have been a competition to see who got somewhere first or the fastest. But now, it is one of the few things that bring people together. Science is a language that needs no translation. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you look like – you just have to have a thirst for knowledge and a passion for learning in order to succeed.
People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. Why do we explore? My answer to that is simple: because we can; because we’re curious; because we as human beings do not just stay holed up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.
The curiosity rover is more than just a robot. It is more than just a titanium body and aluminum wheels. Curiosity represents the hard work, passion, love and commitment of thousands of people from all over the world who were brought together by science. Science is so awesome. It is breathtaking and mind-blowing; and sometimes, it’s just a little bit crazy. The discoveries we make about our world are incredibly humbling. They move us forward and have the potential to benefit all of mankind.
This December it will be four years of my life that have been tied to Curiosity in some way. I’ve met so many amazing people through this experience, from scientists to engineers to administrators to volunteers. Their devotion and enthusiasm inspire me greatly. My journey with Curiosity and the MSL mission team has shaped the person that I am today, as well as the person I would one day like to become.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who made it possible for me to have this amazing adventure.
And to you, I hope your curiosity takes you far.
【小题1】 The method the writer uses to begin the passage is _____.
| A．telling a story | B．giving an example |
| C．offering an explanation | D．describing a scene |
| A．She had just gathered enough information from Time for Kids |
| B．She wanted to write down what flashed through her mind in time. |
| C．She knew from Mrs. Estevez the deadline for the contest was approaching. |
| D．She was afraid she might miss the chance to compete with the former winner. |
| A．she missed him very much. |
| B．he knew a great deal about space |
| C．he influenced her to love the stars |
| D．she treasured their happy moments |
| A．The writer was inspired to be a volunteer by the people she met. |
| B．The writer owed her success to her team members’ encouragement. |
| C．The writer met many difficulties in her four-year life with Curiosity. |
| D．The writer has benefited a lot from her experience tied to Curiosity. |
| A．Sharp. | B．Proud. | C．Aggressive. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．Curiosity is important to human beings. |
| B．A thirst for knowledge helps one grow up. |
| C．Entering a contest is a way to achieve success. |
| D．Curiosity changes people’s attitude towards science. |