Erik Weihenmayer was born with an eye disorder. As a child his  eyesight became worse and then, at the age of 13, he lost his sight  completely. However, he did not lose his determination to lead a  full and active life  Erik became an adventurer. He took up parachuting, wrestling and scuba diving. He competed in long-distance biking, marathons and  skiing. His favorite sport, thought, is mountaineering.  As a young man, Erik started to climb mountains. He reached the summit of Mount McKinley in 1995 and then climbed the dangerous  1000-metre rock wall of EI Capitan. Two years later, while climbing   Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya with his girlfriend, they stopped for a  time at 13,000 feet above sea level-in order to get married. In 1999, he climbed Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America.  And then , on May 25, 2001, at the age of 33, Erik successfully completed the greatest mountaineering challenge of all. He climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Erik invented his own method for climbing mountains. He carries two long poles: one to lean on and the other to test the way ahead of  him. The climber in front of him wears a bell to guide him. Erik is  a good team member. He does his share of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls.  Although he could not enjoy the view, Erik felt the excitement of  being on the summit of Everest. He hopes that his success will change how people think about the blind. “When people think about a  blind person or blindness, now they will think about a person standing on the top of the world.

When was Erik born?

A. In 1967.        B. In 1995.       C. In 1968..         D. In 1969.

What was unusual about his wedding?

A. He got married on the summit of Mount McKinley.

B. He got married when climbing Mount Everest.

C. His wedding was held at 13,000 feet above sea level

D. His wedding was held after he prepared a lot.

What is Erik’s special method for climbing a mountain?

A. He takes his girlfriend with him.  B. He uses two long poles to help himself

C. He does his share of  the jobs.   D. He keeps a good team around him.

Which of the following shows the right order of what happened?

a. He topped Mount McKinley.

b. He became blind.

c. He challenged Mount Everest.

d. He reached the peak of Kilimanjaro.

e. He climbed the rock wall of EI Capitan.

A. b a e d c    B. b e d c a       C. a b e d c       D. b a c d e

Most people want to know how things are made. They honestly admit, however, that they hard??ly know a thing when it comes to understanding how a piece of music is made. Where a composer (作曲家) begins, how he manages to keep going - in fact, how and where he leams his trade -all are covered in complete darkness. The composer, in short, is a man of mystery. (神秘).

One of the first things the common man wants to know about is the part inspiration (灵感) plays in a composer' s work. He finds it difficult to believe that composers are not much interested in that question. Writing music is as natural for the composer as eating or sleeping for all. Music is something that the composer happens to have been born for.

The composer, therefore, does not say to himself: "Do I feel inspired?" He says to himself:

"Do I feel like working today?" And if he feels like working, he does. It is more or less like saying to himself: "Do I feel sleepy?" If you feel sleepy, you go to sleep. If you don't feel sleepy, you stay up. If the composer doesn' t feel like working, he doesn' t work. It' s as simple as that.

What would be the best title for the text?

A. Composer: a man of mystery                     

B. Practice makes good music

C. Relation between sleeping and music             

D. Music: product of nature

The words "covered in complete darkness" underlined in Paragraph I most probably mean

A. difficult to be made     

B. without any light     

C. black in color     

D. not known

Most people seem to think that a composer _______ .

A. finds it difficult to write music       

B. considers it important to have a good rest

C. should like to talk about inspiration 

D. never asks himself very simple questions

The author will most probably agree that composers _______

A. are born with a gift for music                

B. are people full of mystery

C. work late at night for their music           

D. know a lot about eating and sleeping

Silence is unnatural to man. He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness. In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he feats silence more than anything else. Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence. If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest headed chatterbox (喋喋不休的人). He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure (蜡塑人像).

    The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito (蚊子). But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind. He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing with his neighbours.

    Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new. Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other peoples ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove themselves to be successful conservationists

 

 72. According to the author, people make conversation to ______

   A. exchange ideas             B. prove their value

   C. achieve success in life   D. overcome their fear of silence

 73. By "the buzzing of a fly" (Para. 1), the author means"________”

    A. the noise of an insect              B. a low whispering sound

    C. meaningless talks                   D. the voice of a chatterbox

74. According to the passage, people usually ______talk to their neighbors ______.

    A. about whatever they have prepared

    B. about whatever they want to

    C. in the hope of learning something new

    D. in the hope of getting on well

75. What is the author's purpose in writing the passage? ________.

     A. To discuss why people like talking about weather.

     B. To encourage people to join in conversations.

     C. To persuade people to stop making noises.

     D. To explain why people keep talking.

 

Britain’s oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr. John Evans had never found the time or the money – to make the trip from his house near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all-expenses-paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.

Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr. Evans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century. “There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings (1 shilling ="1/20" pound) return from Swansea – too much I thought. All my money went to the family then, “he said.

During the next two days Mr. Evans will be taken on a whistle–stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament (国会).

The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move him about if he gets tired. “I don’t like the chair business – people will so think I am getting old,” he said.

His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized–no alcohol, no cigarette and no angry. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped, “I’m glad to see they’ve given me a return ticket. ”

1.It’s reported that Mr. Evans’s healthy long life was to a certain extent due to his _____.

A.wine drinking

B.proper smoking

C.mild temper

D.sense of humor

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A.A single trip from Mr. Evans’s house to the White City used to be ten shillings.

B.The first place for Mr. Evans to visit is the Houses of Parliament.

C.He appreciated people’s arrangement of a wheelchair during his visit

D.Mr. Evans once made the journey to London at the end of the century.

3.The word “quip” in the last sentence most probably means _____.

A.to make a witty remark

B.to express a happy message

C.to make a wish

D.to tell a joke

4.What might be the best title for this passage?

A.110-year-old Tourist

B.Secret for Long and Healthy Life

C.Free Return Ticket

D.Sightseeing in London

 

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