Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis Cricket―anything with a round ball, I was useless, “he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England’s rural Devonshire.

It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.

The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man’s cold-water exploits(成就).Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.

Journeys to the Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy. “John Ridgway was one of the few who didn’t say, ‘You are completely crazy,’” Saunders says.

In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a closer encounter(遭遇) with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.

Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.

This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.

56. The turning point in Saunders’ life came when _____

A.      he started to play ball games

B.      he got a mountain bike at age 15

C.      he ran his first marathon at age 18

D.     he started to receive Ridgway’s training

57. We can learn from the text that Ridgway _______.

A.      dismissed Saunders’ dream as fantasy

B.      built up his body together with Saunders

C.      hired Saunders for his cold-water experience

D.     won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic

58. What do we know about Saunders?

A.      He once worked at a school in Scotland.

B.      He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole.

C.      He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid.

D.     He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole.

59. The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph probably means_____.

A.  Excited          B. Convinced        C. Delighted               D. Fascinated

60. It can be inferred tat Saunders’ journey to the North Pole ______.

A.      was accompanied by his old playmates

B.      set a record in the North Pole expedition

C.      was supported by other Arctic explorers

D.     made him well-known in the 1960s

Recently, a professor of philosophy in the U. S. has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life. He has discovered that how we   41  money in our day-to-day life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to   42  every penny they spend for a week.   43  they spend their money, they can see what they really   44  in life.
He says our relation with others often becomes clearly   45  when money enters the picture. You might have   46  with somebody and you think that you are very good friends. But you will   47  him only when you ask him to lend you some money. If he does, it brings   48  to the friendship that seems stronger than ever before. Or it can suddenly  49 the friendship if he doesn’t.
Since money is so important to us, we consider those who possess a lot of it   50  very important. The author interviewed some millionaires for   51 . Question: What is  52  thing you have discovered about being rich, because you are a self-made man? Answer: What makes me surprised most is how people give me  53 . I am nothing. I don’t know much. All I   54  money
People just   55  making more and more money, but what is it   56 ? How much do I need for a given purpose in my life? In his book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society: to bring back   57  that money is an instrument   58  the end.  59  plays an important role in the material world, but expecting money to give happiness may be  60   the meaning of life.

【小题1】
A.get throughB.deal withC.give away D.look after
【小题2】
A.keep a record ofB.run out ofC.keep up with D.use up
【小题3】
A.In this wayB.By this meansC.By the wayD.From the way
【小题4】
A.insist B.value C.dreamD.offer
【小题5】
A.doubtfulB.uncertainC.definiteD.distrustful
【小题6】
A.poor relationB.a quarrelC.wordsD.wonderful friendship
【小题7】
A.knowB.recognizeC.respectD.admire
【小题8】
A.everythingB.nothingC.anythingD.something
【小题9】
A.strengthenB.weakenC.threaten D.protect
【小题10】
A.isB.to beC.beingD.is to be
【小题11】
A.his familyB.his friendsC.much moneyD.his book
【小题12】
A.the most surprisingB.the less surprising
C.the most surprised D.a most surprising
【小题13】
A.so less respectB.so much respect
C.so much moneyD.so much envy
【小题14】
A.have isB.am hasC.have butD.am to be
【小题15】
A.pay no attention toB.make no sense of
C.have an idea ofD.lose consciousness of
【小题16】
A.againstB.byC.beyondD.for
【小题17】
A.the designB.the idea C.the planD.the argument
【小题18】
A.rather thanB.more thanC.other thanD.less than
【小题19】
A.SpiritB.FriendshipC.MoneyD.Character
【小题20】
A.missingB.gettingC.receiving D.understanding

Up, Up, and Away!
An adventurer who became the first person to fly across the English Channel on a cluster(簇)of balloons has launched a house into the sky just like in the hit movie Up-in reparation for a more ambitious journey and a new record
Fearless Trappe , from North Carolina, stepped into the cartoon themed home before flying above the leon International Balloon Festivel in Mexico more than a week ago.
The 38-year-old Trappe was using the event as a warm-up for his planned trans-Atlantic flight scheduled for next summer ,He aims to complete the 2,500-mile journey in a seven-foot lifeboat carried by 365 huge helium(氦气)ballooms
The brave man is learning to sail a lifeboat ,in case he meeds to ditch (在海中迫降)into the ocean during the danger-filled adventure
He sill fly at between 18,000 feet and 25,000 feet , beating his previous world altitude record of 21,600 feet ,and must fly uninterrupted a distance ten times longer than his previous world record of 230 miles in order to succeed.
The adventurer Trappe ,who holes records for crossing the Alps, flying the most cluster balloons, and the longest distance , has opent his entire carreer ,building up to this ambitious plan.
“I didn’t wake up one day and think:‘I’ going to fly across the Atlantic, ’”he said “he said  Every attempt before this was prepared for this fight ,I’ve been training for a long time”
【小题1】The adventurer flew across the English Channel to          

A.test the balloons
B.launch a house
C.shoot a hit movie
D.prepare for breaking a record
【小题2】To finish the journey ,he will fly a distance of           
A.2500 milesB.18,000 feetC.25,000 feetD.230 miles
【小题3】About the ambitious journey ,which is NIT mentioned in the passage?
A.When he will flyB.How high he sill fly
C.How far he will flyD.How long it will take him
【小题4】How many world records does Jonathan hold?
A.TwoB.ThreeC.FourD.Five
【小题5】What does he last paragraph imply?
A.Trappe can’t sleep worrying about the adventure
B.Trappe was born to set world records
C.Trappe always keeps his ambition in mind
D.Trappe never thought of crossing the Ataantic before

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