D
I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my adult-education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-year-old daughter. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said, “Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”
This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, eat, rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to the doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip, but neither helped. He said, “My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤) — if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪) by sorrow, you know what the meant.
“But thank God, I had one child left — a four-year-old son. He gave me the solution to the problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked, ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent fellow! I had to gave in. Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.”
“The following night, I made a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired. Amazingly, I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention. During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry.”
No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said, “I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”
53. The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to _____.

A. having lost a loved one
B. having lost a valuable article
C. having lost a profit-making business
D. having lost a well-paid job
54. Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because _____.
A. he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family
B. he was suffering from sleeplessness disease
C. he couldn’t get out of mental pressure
D. he felt tired of adult-education classes
55. Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because _____.
A. he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them
B. he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them
C. the items had actually been broken and needed attention
D. repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind
56. At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to _____.
A. prove that he followed Churchill’s example
B. support his student’s solution to his problem
C. show that he was successful in his career
D. make it clear how his conclusion was reached


D
I told my friend Graham that I often cycle the two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route.He replied, "You mean fortunately." He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.
My attitude to the hill has now changed.I used to complain as I approached it but now I tell myself the following; This hill will exercise my heart and lungs.It will help me to lose weight and get fit.It will mean that I live longer.This hill is my friend.Finally as I wend my way up the incline I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free.I have a smug smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.
Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life, Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a University degree.  Her activism and writing proved inspirational.She wrote, " Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved."
One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity.From time to time, we all face hardships, problems, accidents, and difficulties.Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own.While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it.
Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident.He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying experts in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans.He was an inspiration to others during the war.He said, "Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that.That's nonsense.Make up your mind, you’11 never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything.Go to school, join in all the games you can.Go anywhere you want to.But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible."
The biographies of great people are filled with examples of how they took kinds of steps to overcome the difficulties they faced.The common thread is that they did not become defeatist or depressed.They chose their attitude.They chose to be positive.They took on the challenge.They won.
68.The writer has a smug smile of satisfaction as he reaches the top of the hill because________.
A.he was actually killing two birds with a stone
B.compared with those silly people, he was smarter
C.he lost weight by cycling to the town center every day
D.he was informed of a short route from his house to the town
69.The writer quoted Helen Keller and her saying as an example to demonstrate_________.
A.one cannot achieve anything with an easy life
B.only disabled persons can experience hardship deeply
C.one' s success is determined by nothing but his/ her attitude
D.it' s rare for a deaf and blind person to gain a University degree.
70.From this passage we know that Douglas Bader was a person of___________.
A.individual and creative character        B.stubborn yet charming personality
C.great bravery and strong will           D.excellent speaker with great influence
71.In writing style, the last paragraph serves as____________
A.an explanation        B.a demonstration    C.an introduction  D.a summarization

阅读下列回函:
Reply letter A
Thank you for your valuable suggestions. We have decided to show the Chinese character along with the Hanyu Pinyin for names of Chinese personages, places and specific things as from the next issue.
Reply letter B
Thank you for your suggestions. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. One of our staff reporters has just returned from Xinjiang and written a long article about her trip. Next year, we will have even more coverage of Xinjiang.
Reply letter C
Other readers have asked us for similar information and we have so far answered them individually. In this issue, we will print an open reply. We discovered after making a survey that there are few books to be found on China printed in English. Most are published by the Foreign Languages Press and China International press, from where it is possible to buy books directly.
Reply letter D
A majority of Chinese tourists travel abroad in order to see different landscapes and various cultures, to appreciate an exotic atmosphere and to get to know local customs. Some Chinese tourists nevertheless go to China towns, because they can eat Chinese food there. For those who don’t know English or the native language of the country they visit, it is convenient to go shopping or find entertainment in a Chinatown.
Reply letter E
We have taken on your suggestions to start a column on personalities. There are kinds of reports, such as movie stars, directors, businessmen, singers and so on. Our reports not only introduce their achievements, but also report their inner world. We hope you will enjoy it.
Reply letter F
Thanks for your appreciation of our magazine. We have mailed your letter and your e-mail address to Tingting. Since both of her two letters were sent by ordinary mail and did not give her e-mail address or telephone number. We could not get in touch with her any other way.
阅读下列信函,然后匹配相关信息:
Letter A
I have just started reading your magazine regularly and enjoy the articles very much. I have one comment to make. Can you include the Chinese characters for the names of people, places, etc that you mention with the Hanyu Pinyin of Romanized phonetic system that you use? For example, what is “Emei” or “Qitaihe”or “Shaoxing” in Chinese? It’s also helpful for those of us who are learning Chinese.
Letter B.
It was interesting to read the magazine. I wonder if you could start a column which introduces the Chinese elites of art, business, sports, politics, especially directors, actors, anchors(主持人)and singers. I believe readers will also appreciate a livelier style.
Letter C
I am a civil servant in Xinjiang, a region relatively underdeveloped in comparison with other provinces. But this does not mean it belong to another world. Xinjiang could benefit from overseas exchanges as well as contact with people living in other regions. Could you include articles about Xinjiang and its people? I suggest magazines report more about the western regions, especially exotic and charming Xinjiang.
Letter D
I am an avid(热衷的)reader of your magazine and it has helped me to introduce China to foreign friends. Thank you for great efforts to bring New China to the world. Next month, I may get the opportunity to go to Nigeria, so I must learn more about China’s history and culture. Could you kindly recommend a suitable book in English?
Letter E
It was interesting to read “Chinese Travelers Step out”. It seems a large percentage of Chinese tourists visit the West. In Indonesia, Chinese New Year is an official holiday. How would you assess the level of interest Chinese tourists have in Indonesia? Would they like to visit Chinatowns or other unique attractions in Indonesia?
信函                                         回函
【小题1】LetterA                                  A. Reply letter A
【小题2】LetterB                                  B. Reply letter B
【小题3】LetterC                                  C. reply letter C
【小题4】LetterD                                   D. Reply letter D
【小题5】LetterE                                  E. Reply letter E

US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.

    The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.

    “This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,”said Boulder’ s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

   “The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”

   Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).

  “Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.

    Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.

The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.

 Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.

1.The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.

A. 80 square miles                  B. 1,500 square miles

C. 3.4 billion square miles             D. 300 million square miles

2.When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ____.

A. hot and wet      B. wet and warm         C. cold and dry     D. cold and wet

3.Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?

A. Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life.

B. Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there.

C. Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars.

D. Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there.

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era.

B. The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years.

C. The discovery can’ t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life.

D. The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now.

 

 

New archaeological discovers suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began in some form many countries earlier than once thought. The findings, coupled with a widening range of scientific and historical research could add a fascinating new page to the epic of the Silk Road.

The farest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of and Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia.

The official origin of East-West commerce along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC which was the agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission(使命)across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijion,. Histerents have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world’s two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthians of old Pet la lu exchange for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury markets in Rome.

But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia.

1.The word “coupled” in the first paragraph could best be replaced by         .

A. produced       B. contributed      C. doubled        D. combined

2.The silk thread found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy suggests that          .

A. Egyptians had probably travelled to China to buy silk

B. trade along the Silk Road began earlier than once thought

C. historical research often achieves fascinating results

D. new light can now be thrown on ancient trading practices

3.Until recently most historians believed that trade along the Silk Road        .

A. originated in the 2nd century BC

B. extended human migration into eastern Asia

C. began a million years ago

D. primarily benefited the Egyptians

4.Historians have always considered Zhang Qian’s mission important because they believe            .

A. be brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor

B. be discovered the Silk Road

C. be helped establish East-West trade

D. be travelled as far as Afghanistan

 

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