When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn’t _________. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could _________ a full-time music school. They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister __________ talent.

I was better at my _________. My teacher had told my parents that I had great __________. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to _________ me. But the only time he was _________was Saturday afternoons at 3 P. m. Back then, I was _________ about the British TV show “The Avengers”, which was ________ every Saturday at 3 P. p. m. I let nothing take up my “Avengers” hour . So I _________ this amazing opportunity. Today, I don’t even have a ________ in my house.

My sister became an engineer, but she _________stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she switched (转换)_________. She went back to college, got a _________ in music education, and became a music teacher. She starts kids out on their first instrument and gives them all the encouragement and support she never _________.

Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital(音乐独奏会). A big crowd of friends and family _________ for her. As she played, I looked around at the _________. Everyone was _________enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person who remembered that 7-year-old kid making those perfectly _________ sounds and knew how far she had come, despite _________.

Talent is important. But enthusiasm is even more important.

1.A. admit B. advance C. quit(停止) D. improve

2.A. attend B. join C. leave D. visit

3.A. admired B. lacked(缺乏) C. had D. instrument(仪器)

4.A. major B. project C. composition D. instrument

5.A. ambition(雄心 ) B. patience C. enthusiasm D. potential(潜力)

6.A. examine B. train C. Correct D. challenge

7.A. available(有空的) B. punctual(守时的) C. skillful D. occupied

8.A. sensitive B. serious C. crazy D. particular

9.A. aired(播送) B. filmed C. Designed D. commented评论

10.A. grasped B. valued C. waited for D. turned down

11.A. book B. play C. piano D. violin

12.A. already B. even C. never D. once

13.A. attitudes B. careers(职业) C. plans D. positions

14.A. degree B. chance C. scholarship D. sponsor赞助商

15.A. expected B. provided C. imagined D. received

16.A. paid off B. showed off C. stayed up D. turned up

17.A. audience B. students C. spotlights D. platform

18.A. appropriately(适当地) B. anxiously C. obviously D. desperately绝望地

19.A. sweet B. awful C. powerful D. unique

20.A. everybody B. everything C. something D. somebody

All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy,and to live longer.

Many people like to watch others play games. They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when “their” player or team wins.

Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them. Football,for example,has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake,whether in China,Egypt or Italy!And think of people in cold countries. Think how many people love to skate or ski in Norway or Canada.

Some sports or games go back thousands of years,like running or jumping. Chinese wushu,for example,has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet. People are inventing new sports or games all the time. Waterskiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

People from different countries may not be able to understand each other. But after a game together they may become good friends. Sports help to train a person's character. One learns to fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.

1.Why do some people get excited when they watch a game?

A. Because their favourite team wins.

B. Because they win the game.

C. Because they get the good news.

D. Because they can't help themselves.

2.Which of the sports has a long history?

A. Waterskiing. B. Basketball.

C. Sailing. D. Jumping.

3.What does the underlined word “grace” probably mean?

A. 气馁 B. 失望

C. 开心 D. 风度

4.“What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake…”means:

A. People like catching fish

B. People are interested in jumping

C. People enjoy themselves swimming in the water.

D. People feel happy when washing in the water

Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.

How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.

“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can manfen5 get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.

Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.

1.What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?

A. American kids’ sleeping habits. B. Teenagers’ sleep-related diseases.

C. Activities to prevent sleeplessness. D. Learning problems and lack of sleep.

2.How many hours of sleep do 11-year-olds need every day?

A. 7 hours. B. 8 hours. C. 10 hours. D. 18 hours.

3.Why do teenagers go to sleep late according to Carskadon?

A. They are affected by certain body chemicals.

B. They tend to do things that excite them.

C. They follow their parents’ examples.

D. They don’t need to go to school early.

It was a cold March day in High Point,North Carolina.The girls on the Wesleyan Academy softball were waiting for their next turns at bat during practice,stamping their feet to say warm.Eighth-grader Taylor Bisbee shivered(发抖)a little as she watched her teammate Paris White play.The two didn’t know each other well—Taylor had just moved to town a month or so before.

Suddenly,Paris fell to the ground,“Paris’s eyes rolled back,”Taylor says.“She stated shaking.I knew it was an emergency.”

It certainly was,Paris had suffered a sudden heart failure.Without immediate medical care,Paris would die.At first,no one moved.The girls were in shock.Then the softball coach shouted out,“Does anyone know CPR?”

CPR is a life-saving technique.To do CPR,you press on the sick person’s chest so that blood moves through the body and takes oxygen to organs.Without oxygen the brain is damaging quickly.

Amazingly,Taylor had just taken a CPR course the day before.Still,she hesitated.She didn’t think she knew it well enough.But when no one else came forward,Taylor ran to Paris and began doing CPR.“It was scary.I knew it was the difference between life and death,”says Taylor.

Taylor’s swift action helped her teammates calm down.One girl called 911.Two more ran to get the school nurse, who brought a defibrillator,an electronic devices(器械)that can shock the heart back into work.Luck stayed with them: Paris’ heartbeat returned.

“I know I was really lucky,”Paris says now.“Most people don’t survive this.My team saved my life.”

Experts say Paris is right: For a sudden heart failure,the single best chance for survival is having someone nearby step in and do CPR quickly.

Today,Paris is back on the softball team.Taylor will apply to college soon.She wants to be a nurse.“I feel more confident in my actions now,”Taylor says.“I know I can act under pressure in a scary situation.”

1.What happened to Paris on a March day?

A. She caught a bad cold. B. She has a sudden heart problem.

C. She was knocked down by a ball. D. She shivered terribly during practice.

2.Why does Paris say she was lucky?

A. She made a worthy friend. B. She recovered from shock.

C. She received immediate CPR. D. She came back on the softball team.

3.Which of the following words can best describe Taylor?

A. Enthusiastic and kind. B. Courageous and calm.

C. Cooperative and generous. D. Ambitious and professional.

I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.

I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving and never to come back was hardly in my head then.

The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism(乐观), but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”

My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers(移民局官员), took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles go away at last! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

1.How did the author get to know America?

A. From radio programs B. From books and pictures

C. From her mother D. From her relatives

2.Upon leaving for America the author felt __________.

A. excited B. confused

C. worried D. amazed

3.For the first two years in New York, the author __________.

A. often lost her way

B. did not think about her future

C. studied in three different schools

D. got on well with her stepfather

4.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?

A. She worked as a translator.

B. She attended a lot of job interviews.

C. She paid telephone bills for her family.

D. She helped her family with her English.

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