Helen Thomas, the pioneering White House reporter known for putting presidents on the hot seat, died at 92.

To those who regularly watch presidential press conferences, Helen Thomas is a familiar figure.Usually dressed in red and always seated in the front row, she is always the first or second reporter the president calls upon.It is an honor she has earned.Besides, it affords her the perfect opportunity to do what she does best ---- challenge the president and other public officials to tell the plain truth.She said, "We reporters' priority(首要事情) is the people's right to know ---- without fear or favor.We are the people's servants."

Helen Thomas was born in Kentucky in 1920.All the nine Thomas children were brought up to value education, and all were expected to make something of themselves through working hard.She made up her mind while still in high school to become a reporter after writing for the student newspaper.After receiving her bachelor's degree in 1942, Thomas headed straight for Washington, D.C.in search of a newspaper job.Before long, she landed one at Washington Daily News.Her duty included fetching coffee and doughnuts for the paper's reporters and editors.The eager young woman found the atmosphere exciting and was convinced she had made the right career choice.

Her big break came when she was sent to Florida to report on the vacation of President-elect John F.Kennedy and his family.Once President Kennedy took office, Thomas changed her focus from the president's family to his policies.She began attending the daily press briefings at the White House as well as presidential press conferences.Thomas has covered every president since Kennedy.Over the years, Thomas found her job "thrilling and inspiring," but never boring.And she took very seriously her duty to "keep an eye on the president" and keep American people informed.

1.What can we learn about Helen Thomas from the passage?

A. Her career took off after covering the Kennedys.

B. Her first job was to deliver doughnuts to a news agency.

C. She was born to a large family in Kentucky in 1942.

D. She decided to be a reporter while in college.

2.Paragraph 3 is written to show Helen Thomas

A. is a good decision maker for her career

B. appreciates education and hard work

C. wants to be famous by writing reports

D. has great support from her family

3.What does Helen Thomas think other work?

A. Unbearable. B. Exciting.

C. Challenging. D.Unforgettable.

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A.A reporter sticking to the facts.

B.A reporter challenging President Kennedy.

C.A reporter from an ordinary family.

D.A reporter for Washington Daily News.

In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.

My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.

Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.

You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8. Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each semester.

The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.

In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!

I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the middle of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.

1. When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be __________.

A. a writer B. a teacher

C. a judge D. a doctor

2.Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?

A. She wanted to study by herself.

B. She fell in love and got married.

C. She suffered from a serious illness.

D. She decided to look after her grandma.

3.What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A. She was busy yet happy with her family life.

B. She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.

C. She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.

D. She was too confused to make a correct choice.

4. What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A. Failure is the mother of success.

B. Little by little, one goes far.

C. Every coin has two sides.

D. Well begun, half done.

5. Which of the following can best describe the author?

A. Caring and determined.

B. Honest and responsible.

C. Ambitious and sensitive.

D. Innocent and single-minded.

A sure way to destroy your chances of learning how to write skillfully is to believe that writing is a “natural gift” rather than a learned skill. People with such an attitude think that they are the only ones for whom writing is unbearably difficult. They feel that everyone else finds writing easy or at least tolerable. Such people often say, “I’m not any good at writing” or “English was not one of my good subjects.” They imply that they simply do not have a talent for writing while others do. The result of this attitude is that these people try to avoid writing, and when they do write, they don’t try their best. Their writing fails chiefly because they believe that they don’t have the “natural talent” needed to write. Unless their attitude changes, they probably will not learn how to write effectively.

A realistic attitude about writing must build on the idea that writing is a skill. It is a skill like driving, typing, or cooking; and, like any skill, it can be learned. If you have the determination to learn, you will develop your writing skills by practicing extensively.

Many people find it difficult to do the active thinking that clear writing demands. It is frustrating to discover how much of a challenge it is to transfer thoughts and feelings from one’s head onto a sheet of paper. But writing is not an automatic process: We will not get something for nothing — and we should not expect to. For almost everyone, skillful writing comes from hard work — from determination and sweat. The good news is that the skill of writing can be mastered, and if you are ready to work, you will learn what you need to know.

1.Why do some people think writing is difficult?

A. They have no time to practice writing.

B. They believe few people can write well.

C. They have no good teachers to help them.

D. They don’t think writing can be learned.

2. It can be inferred from Para. 1 that ______.

A. “natural gift” is the determining factor in one’s success

B. diligence can result in success

C. a person without “natural gift” is sure to fail in writing

D. attitude determines what one will be

3. What is the topic of the passage?

A. Why writing is important.

B. Whether writing is a born gift.

C. Benefits of essay writing.

D. How to improve writing skills.

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