Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.

My father died when I was nine months old. Mom and I lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”

At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that I could walk again if I wanted strongly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school — walking on my own!

When the Great Depression (大萧条) hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support  both of us. At that moment, I decided never to be poor again.

Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point happened on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I wasn’t satisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they asked me an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for many American families. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽车旅馆) for families that would never ask extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.

Of course mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. But with my mother’s support and encouragement, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world — Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income (收入) of $ 1 billion a year.

You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

1.According to the writer, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?

2.What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

3.Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?

4.Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?

---Did you catch what the teacher said?

---No. She spoke so fast _______ I couldn’t hear her very clearly. 

A. which                               B. that                                  C. when                               D. since

阅读短文，简要回答问题。

　　I was December 25. Marie, a 13-year-old Australian girl, was happy. It was Christmas, and Marie's mother was making a special cake. She put four small coins into the cake ,and then she baked(烤) it .The four coins were for good luck. After dinner Marie and her family ate the cake. They found three coins in the cake and put them on the table. Where was the fourth coin? It was missing, but Marie's mother didn't notice.

　　After Christmas got sick. She coughed, and she couldn't speak. Marie's parents took her to hospital. Doctors at the hospital looked her over, and then said,“ We are sorry, but we can't help her.”For 12 years Marie didn't speak. She grew up, she got a job, and she got married. But she never spoke. One day, when Marie was 25 years old, she got a sore throat at work. She began to cough. She coughed up something small and black. What was it ? Marie didn't know. She took it to the hospital. A doctor at the hospital said, “This is a coin!”The doctor told Marie, “I think you can speak again.” Marie went to a special doctor, and soon she could talk.

1. What did Marie's mother make on Christmas?

　　____________________________

2.What did Marie's mother put some coins in the cake for?

　　____________________________

3. How many coins did Marie's family find after eating the Cake?

　　____________________________

4. Why did Marie's parents take her to hospital after Christmas?

　　____________________________

5.Could Marie speak at last?

　　____________________________

When we talk about stars, especially women stars，it seems that they are always young，pretty and own charming body shapes．But recently a Britain's Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely(完全地)．

Simon Cowell，one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyb's voice. “This lady came up，and I'm thinking, ‘This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea.’ That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face midway through —it was one of my favorite moments,” Cowell said.

The performance was posted On line and before long，the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world．

Speaking from her home in Scotland,MsBoyle said that she hadn't thought of changing her appearance．She said that her friend helped her with make-up．“I mean，that's hardly a makeover.” she added．

Ms. Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal(歌唱的) talents．”I was kind of slow at school, so getting something like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence．’’

1.Susan Boyle is __________．

A．a judge  B．a reporter  C．a beautiful lady D．a Scottish woman

2.Susan Boyle had a look of satisfaction on her face when she was singing because ______.

A．she was confident of her singing

B．she was satisfied with the judges

C．she was pretty and in good shape

D．she sang the song，I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables

3.What does the underlined word “views” mean?

A. 见解 B. 预告    C. 复习     D. 景色

4.According to the passage，which is NOT true?

  A．It was the vocal talents that built Susan's confidence．

  B．Susan Boyle was not good at her lessons when at school．

  C．Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance．

  D．Simon Cowell didn't think Susan Boyle a good singer at the time sight．

5.What can we learn from Susan Boyle's success?

A．It's never too old to learn．      

B．It's easier to succeed at the age of 47．

C．If you have a dream，try to make it come true!

D．If you are not able to study well，to be a singer instead．

When we talk about stars, especially women stars，it seems that they are always young，pretty and own charming body shapes．But recently a Britain's Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely．

Simon Cowell，one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice．”This lady came up，and I'm thinking, ‘This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea.’ That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face midway through —it was one of my favorite moments,” Cowell said.

The performance was posted online and before long，the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world．

Speaking from her home in Scotland．Ms. Boyle said that she hadn't thought of changing her appearance．She said that her friend helped her with make-up．“I mean，that's hardly a makeover．”she added．

Ms. Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents．”I was kind of slow at school, so getting something like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence．’

1.Susan Boyle is __________．

A．a judge                               B．a reporter

C．a beautiful lady                         D．a Scottish woman

2.Susan Boyle had a look of satisfaction on her face when she was singing because _________.

A．she was confident of her singing

B．she was satisfied with the judges

C．she was pretty and in good shape

D．she sang the song，I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables

3.According to the passage，which is NOT true?

A．It was the vocal talents that built Susan's confidence．

B．Susan Boyle was not good at her lessons when at school．

C．Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance．

D．Simon Cowell didn't think Susan Boyle a good singer at the time sight．

4.What can we learn from Susan Boyle's success?

A．It's never too old to learn．

B．It's easier to succeed at the age of 47．

C．If you have a dream，try to make it come true!

D．If you are not able to study well，to be a singer instead．