Like many people, I have no clear idea about heroes. At some point, we all wonder if we need a hero and what a hero really is.
Although there are a lot of differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics (特点) which give us courage and make us want to learn from them. 
A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a special story to tell and people think highly of it. But a hero is not just the person with great fame (声誉) .
A hero has powers (力量) larger than himself. Some people want to live like a hero, and they have to experience life with new and further meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom they serve. What do they want to live and die for? If the answer suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes.
A hero has a vision from the mountaintop. He has the power to move people. He creates new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of Britain. Without Martin Luther King, Jr., Americans might take different buses, eat in different restaurants, go for walks in different parks, and shop in different stores because of the different colors of their skin.
There might be changes in society without a hero, but the speed of change would be rather slow. Thanks to heroes in history, they make the society develop so rapidly.
【小题1】According to this passage, a hero is a person who always __________.

Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through pop music or basketball or being a TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem rather important to your life right this minute. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures (the opposite of success). JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.

No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to tell when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.

And even when you’re struggling(奋斗), even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel other people have given up on you—don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

1.Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the third paragraph?

A. To compare these two famous persons.

B. To explain that the more failures he has, the more successful he is.

C. If you want to be successful, you should fail first.

D. To show that failure is the mother of success.

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. No one can be successful without working hard.

B. Failure can be good if you treat it in a right way.

C. Those who believe in themselves shouldn’t ask others for help.

D. One should try his best to make his dream come true.

3.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. One shouldn’t ask questions because it is a sign of strength.

B. One should believe in himself though he will face much difficulty.

C. One doesn’t have to work hard when he has failed several times.

D. One doesn’t have to ask for help because it is a sign of weakness.

词汇运用 (共l0小题；每小题l分，计l0分)
【小题1】Tsim Sha Tsui is regarded as the _______ center of Hongkong (文化).
【小题2】He has ______the book with many pictures in it since two weeks ago. (借)
【小题3】I’m afraid you should pay more _______ to your study of English grammar. (关注)
【小题4】Are you sure this is a task well _______(在……范围内)your ability?
【小题5】Would you please list all the _______ names on the paper?.(邮递员)
【小题6】One of the secrets of our success is to believe in ________ (we).
【小题7】For ________ information, you can contact Amy on 55560678 (far).
【小题8】You have changed a lot and I can feel your _________ (improve).
【小题9】It’s ________ for us to finish the work in such a short time. (hope)
【小题10】The children all screamed _______ when they saw their favourite Disney characters(excite).

Yao Ming, the centre of the Chinese National Men’s basketball team, joins the Houston Rocket in the 2002 NBA. The 2.2 m, 120kg basketball star becomes the first one to come from a foreign (外国的) team. Yao Ming was born in Shanghai in September, 1980. His mother is a leader of the Chinese National Women’s Team. His father plays basketball, too. Yao Ming is welcome in China. He becomes a very important basketball player in China Basketball Association. It’s short for CBA.
During the 2000-2001 seasons, he gets 27.1 scores for the Shanghai Oriental(东方) Sharks in every match. Yao Ming joins the Houston Rockets in November, 2002. He says this is a new start in his basketball life. He world do his best to learn from the NBA and improve(提高) himself. Sport analyst(分析家) Bill Walton says, “Yao Ming is very strong. He has the capability(能力) of changing the future(未来) of basketball.”
【小题1】The Houston Rockets is the name of a _______ team.