A severely handicapped teenager who cannot walk,talk or hold a paintbrush has won a place at Oxford to study fine art.

Hero Joy Nightingale,16,who communicates through hand movements,is to be given assistants to paint and sculpt on her behalf.Her mother Pauline Reid “translated for” her daughter during interviews for the place at Magdalen College.

The teenager is the most severely handicapped student ever to be granted a place at Oxford.She suffers from “locked-in syndrome”,a profound apraxia caused by brain damage that renders her body useless and her voice mute.

She is unlikely ever to be able to walk,feed or care for herself but,thanks to the efforts of her mother,she can communicate.When Hero was four,Pauline devised a complicated system of hand gestures that equate to the alphabet.

A spokesperson for Oxford said,“The university welcomes applications from students with disabilities.In cases where students are profoundly disabled,there may be many issues that need to be carefully addressed before an individual can take up a place,such as establishing how the student can best be taught and examined.”

Hero,who suffers almost daily epileptic fits and has a hole in her heart,has not attended school since she was six.She has been taught at home by her mother and father,the pro-vice chancellor of Kent University.

Peter Giles,her art tutor until last year,said she has a genuine talent for art.“She is ferociously gifted.We would sit together and her mother would grab her daughter’s hand and then we would begin work,”he said.

Together,they built several modern sculptures from plaster and metal.“The instructions would take a while to decipher.But eventually,they would come,and eventually make sense.”

Hero’s classes will be held at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.

Hero communicates with others _________.

A.through common hand movements

B.by typing words on computer

C.through a complicated system of hand gestures devised by her mother

D.by drawing pictures on a board

According to the passage,how does Hero paint or sculpt?

A.She instructs her assistants to paint or sculpt through hand movements.

B.She gives instructions,and her mother paints or sculpts following her instructions.

C.She paints or sculpts with her own hands.

D.She gives instructions,her mother “translates” them,and her assistants paint or sculpt according to the “translations”.

From the story we can infer _________.

A.Oxford welcomes any handicapped student who is good at fine art

B.Hero has not attended school since she was six

C.Hero is gifted in fine art

D.Hero is a strong-minded girl who loves life very much

Which of the following is NOT true?

A.Hero is the most seriously handicapped student ever to be admitted to Oxford.

B.Oxford will admit a disabled student without any requirements.

C.Hero has been taught by her parents at home for10 years.

D.Hero is not able to walk,talk or hold a paintbrush.

A morning rarely began so perfect. I took in the fresh air and felt my heart run into an enthusiastic rhythm. Though cool, the sun warmed my back as it rose over the horse from not far from my house. The slightest wind danced on my skin. Just enough to keep a runner form overheating. My ever-faithful jogging partner, a black dog named Nika pulled my leg with her mouth, mirroring my eagerness to start our run.

We raced forward with determination, ready to leap tall buildings and race against speeding trains. We pushed harder and ran faster, demonstration our skill and impressing passing motorists and neighbors.

We kept on running until we hit the Beast, a name for a very difficult, nearly two-mile long steep climb.

Only a few paces into the Beast, I gasped for air. Far short of superhero status, my enthusiasm and active steps were lost somewhere at the base of the hill. A vision of the newspaper and a cup of coffee waiting in my kitchen appeared, attracting me to turn back toward home.

With a glance I noticed Nika wasn’t doing any better. She continued to faithfully follow me, putting one paw in front of the other, but without her former eagerness. Her tiredness touched me. And in that moment, I felt a sudden spark of renewed determination to press on. I couldn’t allow this mountain to get the better of us. To improve both our spirits, I managed to shout, “Good girl, Nika! Keep going…you can do it!”

“I’m encouraging a dog, for heaven’s sake!’’ I needed to pull myself together. With a few simple words, I changed our course. One moment we were on the edge of quitting. The next, our feet picked up the pace and we continued. Though tired and discouraged myself, with a few kind words I impacted a dog’s ability to go further. I’m sure I could have completed the opposite with ill-chosen comments and an unpleasant tone. Instead, the Beast was defeated and we flew like heroes the rest of the way home.

Life is full of beasts to conquer. For some, it is the seemingly impossible climb of cancer. For others, their beast takes the shape of parenting a child or a teenager. Uphill climbs come in all shapes and sizes, common only in their ability to defeat, discourage and tempt tired travelers to quit. Sometimes all that’s needed is a few spoken, well-timed words of encouragement from a fellow runner – someone who sees the struggle, dares to jogs alongside, and cares enough to say, “Keep going! You can do it! You’re not alone. I believe in you!”

The writer starts the text by describing________.

A. the beautiful scene of the morning  

B. his or her preparations for a jogging

C. a lively dog named Nika

D. the growth of crops at the farm

The writer mentioned the newspaper and coffee to suggest that he or she _______.

A. liked reading newspapers while drinking coffee

B. had an intention to give up running

C. would treat himself or herself to coffee after running

D. might appear on the newspaper for the long running

The writer decided to continue running _______.

A. after he or she found the dog was still energetic

B. because they came near the top of the hill

C. when he or she noticed the tired dog

D. before they arrived at the bottom of the hill

What does the writer expect to show by telling the story?

A. Words are powerful than deeds.

B. Beasts in life aren’t easily to conquer.

C. Dogs are the best friend of humans.

D. Try it one more time before giving up.

A severely handicapped teenager who cannot walk, talk or hold a

paintbrush has won a place at Oxford to study fine art. Hero Joy Nightingale, 16, who communicates through hand movements, is to be given assistants to paint and sculpt(雕塑) in place of her .Her mother Pauline Reid “translated” for her daughter during interviews for the place at Magdalen College.

The teenager is the most severely handicapped student ever to be given a place at Oxford. She suffers from a terrible disease caused by brain damage that makes her unable to speak and her body useless.

She is unlikely ever to be able to walk, feed or care for herself but, thanks to the efforts of her mother. She can communicate. When Hero was four, Pauline designed a system of hand gestures that is equal to the alphabet.

By dictating to the her mother , Hero has created an internet magazine, From the window, which contains by George Carey, Melvyn Bragg, Margaret Atwood and Kofi Annan — all of whom are invited to write for her.

A spokesperson for Oxford said, “The university welcomes applications from students with disabilities. In cases where students are profoundly disabled, there may be many issues(问题) that need to be carefully talked about before an individual can take up a place, such as fixing firmly how the student can best be taught and examined.”

Hero, who suffers almost daily epileptic fits and has a hole in her heart, has not attended school since she was six. She has been taught at home by her mother and father, who work at Kent University.

Peter Giles, her art tutor until last year, said she has a gift for art. “She is ferociously gifted. We would sit together and her mother would grab her daughter’s hand and then we would begin work,” he said.

Together, they www..combuilt several modern sculptures from plaster and metal. “The instructions would talk a while to decipher(解释，解密). But finally, they would come, and finally make sense.”

Hero’s classes will be held at the Ruskin School Drawing and Fine Art.

According to the passage, which of the following statement is NOT TRUE?

A. Oxford University has taken in other handicapped students besides Hero.

B. Hero’s mother is the only person who can understand her fairly well.

C. Hero can not create any art works without her fairly well.

D. Only through her hand movement, is Hero able to paint and sculpt.

In the sentence: “But finally, they would come and finally make sense.”, the word “they” refers to _______.

A. the assistants              B. the mother and the assistants

C. Hero’s instructions          D. the mother’s instructions

Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Disabled Hero and her Mother

B. Disabled Hero Wins Oxford Place

C. Oxford University Welcome Disabled Students

D. Disabled Students Living in Oxford University

D

I grew up in a small town. I was only ten years old when my dad gave me the responsibility of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable (马厩). He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace. I washed dishes and cooked from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged.

One night, a woman executive (董事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I had my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man.

68. Why was the writer once known as a singing cook?

A. He was a cook at a country music club.

B. He sang for guests while he worked as a cook.

C. He often sang while cooking.

D. He liked singing better than cooking.

69. Who first recognized the writer’s talents and helped make him successful?

A. His brother.      B. His manager.     C. His father.            D. A businesswoman.

70. It can be inferred from the passage that the ______.

A. writer’s success is partly due to his father     B. writer’s family was very poor

C. writer succeeded easily                   D. writer’s first record was a total failure

When William, a 10-year-old boy planned to learn the piano, the music teacher was reluctant （不愿意）to accept him. She   31  her students to start their music lessons at a young age when their   32  were able to move quickly and easily.
“William, why do you want to learn the piano?” the teacher asked.
“I want to play for my mother.”
She noticed the   33  in his eyes as he answered her. She had no heart to   34  and accepted William as her student. But at each music lesson, William appeared to be in a hurry and played   35  “My mother is waiting outside for me,” he would tell the teacher. She was tempted to advise William not to   36  his time with lessons anymore as he   37  hit the right notes.  38  there was something about William — - she was fascinated with the tender look in his eyes   39  he mentioned “Mother”.
Suddenly, William stopped coming for his lessons. At the end of the semester year, the music teacher decided to   40  a piano recital (独奏会) for her students and she asked them to participate.
She was   41  to find William’s application to contribute a musical piece. She would place him last in the recital   42  he made mistakes.
The day came and William appeared.  43  it was his turn to play, William bowed before the audience and said he was thankful for the music teacher’s   44  with him. “Tonight I am dedicating (献)my music to my mother.” he said.
Everyone later asked why William did not bring his mother as she would   45  be proud. William replied, “My mother was   46  and she could never  47  me play during her life time.   48   she sacrificed her time and money to let me learn the piano. This morning Mother passed away. I am sure she is now  49  as she can hear my piano recital. I chose a piece of piano music by Beethoven. As you all know, Beethoven was deaf by the end of his career. But music always symbolized his   50  for freedom and I would like to dedicate it to Mother.”
【小题1】.