The first day of school our professor introduced a little old lady to us.

"Why are you in college at such a young age?" I asked later. She jokingly replied, " I'm here to meet a rich husband,get married,have a couple of children,and then retire and travel."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one! ”she told me.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class to?gether and talk nonstop. I was always listening to this " time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to make a speech to our football team. I'll never forget what she taught us. As she began to deliver her prepared speech,she dropped her note card on the floor. A little embarrassed she simply said, "I'm sorry. This whiskey is killing me!I'll never get my speech back in order to let me just tell you what I know."As we laughed she cleared her throat and began:" We do not stop playing because we are old;we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young,being happy,and achieving suc?cess. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams,you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing,you will turn twenty years old. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did,but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral to honor the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

(   ) 1. Rose set us a good example by        in realizing her dream.

   A. perseverance   B. hard working   C. resolution   D. determination

(   ) 2. What does the underlined phrase "at her age" really mean?

   A. She is actually a middleaged woman.

   B. She is quite a young woman.

   C. She is considerably an old woman.

   D. She is neither young nor old.

(   ) 3. What can we infer from the sentence "Why are you in college at such a young age?"?

   A. The writer asks frankly because he/she thinks Rose is really young.

   B. The writer asks jokingly because he/she knows Rose is really an old woman.

   C. The writer asks the question for sure because he/she doesn't know her real age.

   D. The writer asks the question because he/she thinks Rose is too young to learn.

(   ) 4. What is the best title for this passage?

   A. An Old Wonderful Woman Pursuing Her Dream

   B. No Matter How Old You Are,Never Give Up Learning

   C. Never Too Old to Learn

   D. A Good Student,A Good Example

 On March 25,1925 Scottish inventor John Logie Baird gave a demonstration of the televi?sion set,which would change the world,allow us to know what was going on at the other side of the world and change entertainment forever. But,at that time,he just thought it was cool that he could see his face on a screen.

  It all began in March 1925 when John Logie Baird gave a demonstration of what can only be described as the first ever television set. All that was seen were images of people on a dark gray screen. Then on January 26 ,1926 he gave the world's first public demonstration of a work?ing television system at his laboratory in London. This was the world's first glimpse at televi?sion.

  In 1928 Baird's company broadcast the first transatlantic television signal,between London and New York. This was a great development in television history. In 1931,the first live televi?sion broadcast was made by this stage,the number of television sets was only about 200 in Brit?ain,so it was only the rich and famous who witnessed this great moment in television history.

  The television set itself was going through great change. Originally,the first ever television model,the 1928 Baird model C had a screen of only about two and a half inches square;how?ever by 1935,the Baird T5 had a significantly bigger screen and obviously had much better sound quality and picture quality.

  By 1939,with the American DuMont 183 it was clear that television was going to revolu?tionize the world,with a picture quality of outstanding clearness for the time. By this stage,television sets were still not accessible by Joe Bloggs,but the number of television sets was rela?tively large; in 1939,7000 television sets were sold.

(   ) 5. What can we infer from the passage?

   A. At first,Baird didn't think that his invention could be a contribution to changing the world.

   B. The rule of inventing television sets was very simple.

   C. John Logie Baird wanted to make contributions to humans.

   D. Watching much television can be harmful to people's health.

(   ) 6. Which of the following is true about Baird's achievement?

   A. He gave the first public demonstration of working television systems.

   B. He was the first to make the television broadcast worldwide.

   C. His company was the first to produce electronic television sets.

   D. His company produced DuMont 183 that revolutionized TV.

(   ) 7. What do the underlined words "Joe Bloggs" refer to?

   A. Famous people. B. Scientists.

   C. Inventors. D. Common people.

(   ) 8. This passage is organized in the pattern of         .

   A. comparison   B. time and events

   C. cause and effect   D. meaning and classification

  Failing to drink enough water can make our brain shrink (萎缩) ,experts have warned. Re?search showed that dehydration not only affects the size of the brain but also how it works. Just 90 minutes of steady sweating (出汗) can shrink the brain as much as a year of aging,research?ers believe.

  Being short of water,the brain is also forced to work harder to process the same informa?tion. Over days and weeks,lack of liquids could have an impact on performance at work and school,causing exam results to fall. But there is no need to panic,because after a glass of water or two,the brain quickly returns to normal.

  A team of scientists from around the UK scanned the brains of teenagers after an hour and a half of cycling. Some exercised in three layers of clothing. Others were much more lightly dressed in shorts and T-shirts. The brain tissue (组织) of those who were wrapped up had shrunk away from their skulls (头骨) .

  Researchers Dr. Matthew Kempton and Ulrich Ettinger,of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London,said; "It's clear that we saw a general shrinking of the brain tissue. Liquidfilled space in the middle of the brain expanded and there was a comparative shrinking of the brain tissue. The people who lost the most weight had the most shrinkage of the brain. " On average,the amount of shrinkage equated to 14 months of agerelated wear and tear,or the brain shrinking matched two and a half months of Alzheimer's disease (老年痴呆症) .

  The sweaty students did just as well when they were asked to play a computer game that tests the ability to plan and solve problems. But the scans showed they used more of their brain to do it,the journal Human Brain Mapping reports.

  Professor Ben McGannan of the study's funder,water cooler firm of Water for Work and Home,said:" We strongly believed loss of water was an issue affecting students' performance,but we offered financial support for this research to give us clear evidence. Most importantly,we're seeking a way to get rid of the undesirable impacts and make up enough water effectively,such as drinking beers."

(   ) 5. What does the underlined word "dehydration" probably mean?

   A. Plenty of water.

   B. The inappropriate way to drink water.

   C. Great damage done to the brain.

   D. Dryness resulting from lack of water.

(   ) 6. Without enough water,          .

   A. it is hard for the brain to think normally

   B. the body can't sweat in time

   C. people will suffer from ageing

   D. the liquidfilled space will disappear

(   ) 7. What do Professor Ben McGannan's words suggest?

   A. We should make effort to take good care of our brain.

   B. More research is needed to solve the brain's loss of water.

   C. Drinking beers is the best way to make up water in the body.

   D. Students must drink enough water to improve their performance.

(   ) 8. What subject is talked in the passage?

   A. The brain structure. B. Exercise and the brain.

   C. Lack of water in the brain. D. The importance of water.

 Years ago,in a small fishing village in Holland,a young boy taught the world about the rewards of unselfish service. Because the entire village lived by fishing,a volunteer rescue team was needed in case of emergency. One night the winds blew heavily,the clouds burst and a sudden storm overturned a fishing boat at sea. In trouble,the crew sent out the S. O. S. The captain of the rescue rowboat team heard the alarm and the villagers gathered in the town square overlooking the bay.

  An hour later,the rescue boat reappeared through the fog and the cheering villagers ran to greet them. Falling tired out on the sand,the volunteers reported that the rescue boat could not hold any more passengers and they had to leave one man behind. Even one more passenger would have surely overturned the rescue boat and all would have been lost.

  Madly,the captain called for another volunteer team to look for the lone survivor. Sixteen-year-old Hans stepped forward. His mother seized his arm,begging, "Please don't go. Your father died in a shipwreck 10 years ago and your older brother,Paul,has been lost at sea for three weeks. Hans,you are all I have left."

Hans replied, " Mother,this time I have to do my duty. When the call for service comes,we all need to take our turn and do our part. " Hans kissed his mother,joined the team and dis?appeared into the night.

  Another hour passed,which seemed to Hans' mother like a century. Finally,the rescue boat moved through the fog with Hans standing up in the bows. Cupping his hands,the captain yelled, "Did you find the lost man?" Barely able to control himself,Hans excitedly cried back, "Yes,we found him. Tell my mother it's my older brother,Paul!"

(   ) 5. Why was another rescue team organized?

   A. Because the first rescue team was in trouble.

   B. Because the first rescue team couldn't save the crew.

   C. The rescue boat was not large enough to carry all the crew.

   D. Another fishing boat was trapped on a lonely island.

(   ) 6. Why did the mother prevent his son,Hans,from joining the rescue team?

   A. She didn't think her son old enough to join it.

   B. She was so selfish that she didn't want to serve others.

   C. She needed some comfort and help from her son.

   D. She was deeply stricken by the loss of her husband and elder son.

(   ) 7. The underlined word "cupping" in the last paragraph means         .

   A. holding tightly a cup in his hands

   B. circling his hands around a cup

   C. drinking a cup of water thirstily

   D. making his hands into the shape of a cup

(   ) 8. The passage is written mainly         .

   A. to tell us an unforgettable experience

   B. to promote a close tie among people

   C. to encourage people to be brave and devoted

   D. to show respect for the brave captain

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