“A lot of learning comes through play,” says Mardy McGarry, 52, who has been a special education teacher for 28 years. But her students were too often left out. She had seen the wood chips and sand of traditional playgrounds stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks. When she wanted to build a playground for children with special needs,she knew it wouldn’t take long to develop interest in it around the small fishing village. But she never expected that 2,800 people — a third of the town—would all be willing to make a great effort to bring her vision to life.

McGarry started doing some research into play equipment and contacting design companies and she also found a piece of land available. When the city council(市议会) agreed to set aside an area for a playground, she also asked physical and professional therapists(治疗专家) for their investment. And she turned to her friend, Sue, for help. “Neither of us is good at maths, which is why $450,000 didn’t sound like a lot of money,” McGarry says of the initial estimate.

Her Kiwanis Club came through with $7,000,and that’s when the grassroots movement really got started. One woman gave $25,000 and had her company match it. Soon, smaller businesses were joining in. There was a silent effort to collect money. The local Pieper Family Foundation offered to donate half of the remaining $170,000. All McGarry needed was 500 volunteers to work six 12-hour days.

On September 16, 2008, the first day of construction, they came. Two women heard about the project on the way to work and took the day off to help. A couple in their 80s operated their tractors. Ten-year-olds cleared up the mess. “None of them was paid. It was truly an amazing week,” says McGarry. Only three building managers were paid. Volunteers with “building experience” became coordinators(协调人); those who could operate power tools formed a separate group. One team served meals donated from local restaurants and churches, and another organized activities for the children of volunteers.

Today, Possibility Playground is one of the most popular destinations in Ozaukee County. All children, including the ones with special needs, play shoulder to shoulder. “Some playgrounds have special equipment in a different section. Here, you see all the kids in the same playground, all having fun.”

It’s exactly what McGarry imagined. “People used to ask, ‘Why do you want to build a playground just for children with disabilities?” She says, “It’s only when you build a playground for children with disabilities that you build one for all children.”

It didn’t occur to Mardy McGarry that __________.

A. her plan would soon draw the interest of people in the small village

B. so many people would volunteer to help her realize her dream

C. she would meet with so many difficulties in raising funds

D. the playground would be the most popular destination in Ozaukee County

We can learn from the fourth paragraph that __________.

A. the playground was finished in September 2008

B. everything was well prepared, apart from the volunteers

C. everyone worked unpaid, except for three building managers

D. the playground is so popular that it is overcrowded all the time

It can be inferred from the text that __________.

A. Mardy McGarry is a famous architect in the small town

B. Sue was forced to join in the project because of her son

C. people always ignore the real needs of disabled children

D. Mardy McGarry’s vision has been successfully accomplished at last

What would be the best title for this text?

A. Mardy McGarry: A Woman with Great Determination.

B. Cooperation: The Greatest Power in Overcoming Any Difficulty.

C. Show Real Concern for Poor Disabled Children.

D. Make it Matter to Build a Playground for Disabled Children.

  Water goes around and around Earth in a never ending journey called the water cycle(循环). The sun heats up lakes, oceans, and other wet places on Earth. When the water gets warm enough, it changes into vapour. Plants also give off lots of water vapour. Some of this water vapour cools off high in the sky and becomes clouds. Then it falls back to Earth in a new place as rain or snow. This cycle happens over and over again.

 The ground can absorb water like a sponge (海绵). If you could see this groundwater, it wouldn’t look like a lake or river. The groundwater is mixed in with the rocks and sand that lie in layers(层) below Earth’s surface.

 Groundwater moves along slowly. How slowly? Maybe 1.5 kilometres in one century. Some of this water has been underground for thousands of years. And once groundwater is pumped out of the ground from a deep well(井) by people, it may take hundreds of years for another water to take its place.

In which order does water go around Earth?

   a .Fall down as rain or snow.  b. Heated up by the sun on lakes, oceans and other wet places.

   c. Cool off high in the sky.     d.  Form clouds.     e.  Change into vapour.

   A. dacbe                B. becda           C. caebd          D. bceda

The groundwater seems to________.

   A. be just on the ground        B. be pure water like that in a lake or river

   C. exist in rocks and sand       D. flow along like rivers or streams

The underlined word “pumped” in the passage can be replaced by________.

   A. run                       B. pushed            C. drawn             D. picked

What conclusion(结论) can we draw from the passage?

   A. Groundwater can be quickly replaced by other water once pumped out.

   B. Groundwater is very valuable.

   C. Groundwater has nothing to do with human beings.        

   D. Groundwater travel in an unknown way.

How Long Can People Live?

    She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121 st birthday.

    When it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s record holder. She lived to the ripe old age of 122. So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(寿命)? If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150-or beyond?

    Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers. “Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,” says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas.

    Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees. “People can live much longer than we think,” he says. “Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110. When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120. So why can’t we go higher?”

    The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing. “Anyone can make up a number,” says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan. “Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine.”

    Won’t new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries? Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120. Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most. So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller, “adding another 50 percent would get you to 120.”

    So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers? That life span is flexible(有弹性的), but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington. “We can get flies to live 50 percent longer,” he says. “But a fly’s never going to live 150 years.” Of course, if you became a new species (物种), one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story, he adds.

    Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve (进化)their way to longer life? “It’s pretty cool to think about,” he says with a smile.

72. What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?

       A. People can live to 122.        B. Old people are creative.

       C. Women are sporty at 85.     D. Women live longer than men.

73. According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, ______.

       A. the average human life span could be 110

      B. scientists cannot find ways to slow aging

      C. few people can expect to live to over 150

      D. researchers are not sure how long people can live

74. Who would agree that a scientist will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?

      A. Jerry Shay.           B. Steve Austad     C. Rich Miller     D. George Martin

75. What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?

       A. Most of us could be good at sports even at 120.

      B. The average human life span cannot be doubled

      C. Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before.

      D. New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species

One night I went to Himeji, a city not far from Kobe. As I walked with my family along the river I saw a __20__. It was a young man who looked just like me. He was wearing a cap and smiling. Around his neck was a leather strap (皮带)and in his hands was a saxophone. He was __21___ the saxophone to his __22__ and just about to play. My family walked on up the river towards the castle __23__ I stayed there by the statue, __24__ of playing a saxophone on TV.

Two weeks later it was my birthday. Imagine my __25___ when I opened my present from my parents and found that it was a __26__! I put it to my lips to play, but it wouldn’t make a sound. Then Dad told me to read the __27___ book to find out what to do. After about 15 minutes the saxophone was ready to play. I __28__hard but I couldn’t get the saxophone to play. I was almost __29___ when suddenly the saxophone made the most beautiful sound – loud and clear like I __30__ the music of the man by the river in Kobe. 

1.

A. car

B. bus 

C. train

D. motorcycle

2.

A. bank

B. castle

C. mountain 

D. river

3.

A. closed

B. open

C. broken

D. clear

4.

A. low

B. lonely

C. loud

D. deep

5.

A. man

B. statue

C. photo

D. picture

6.

A. playing 

B. picking

C. lifting

D. rising  

7.

A. hands

B. ears

C. eyes

D. lips

8.

A. though

B. but

C. so

D. or

9.

A. dreaming 

B. pretending 

C. admiring

D. observing

10.

A. anger

B. regret

C. sickness

D. joy

11.

A. guitar

B. drum

C. saxophone 

D. violin

12.

A. music

B. exercise

C. instruction

D. note

13.

A. blew

B. flew

C. shook

D. beat

14. 

A. reading

B. crying

C. talking

D. asking

15.

A. made

B. heard

C. played

D. imagined

 

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