While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight．It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage．

　　　 The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks．For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified．That left only one to complete．It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important．

　　　 I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong．I'm not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality．When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle．The crowd started to laugh．Clearly this man was not a medal competitor．

　　　 I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time．Finally he made his turn to start back．It was pitiful．He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out．

　　　 But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed．

　　　 No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer．Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did．

　　　 A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race．The crowd went wild．You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have．Even though he was recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors．

　　　 Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race．His country had been invited to Sydney．

　　　 In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog．

51. From the passage we can learn that the young man ________．

　　　 A. made his turn to start back pitifully　　　　　　　

B. was skillful in freestyle in the game

　　　 C. swam faster than the average swimmer　　　　

D. was not capable enough to win the medal

52. The crowd changed their attitudes because ________．

　　　 A. they felt sorry for the young man　　　　　　　　　

B. they were moved by the young man

　　　 C. they wanted to show their sympathy　　　　　　

D. they meant to please the young man

53. According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means _______．

　　　 A. it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills

　　　 B. it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself

　　　 C. it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors

　　　 D. it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals

54. What’s the best title for the passage?

　　　 A. Compete for Gold!　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

B. Try again!

　　　 C. Break a Record!　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

D. Go for it!

About a year ago, a couple with three children moved into the apartment next door to me. I never heard any noise from the children, but the parents were always yelling at them.

　 We often met, I always spoke, but the only answer I ever got was a hello from a four-year-old girl. One day when I returned, they were just coming back to their apartment and the little girl was holding the door in the hall open for the others. I remained in the car doing unnecessary things. The parents were telling her to hurry. I looked up and saw the little girl was still holding the door open, waiting for me. I hurried as much as I could and thanked her. She was smiling from ear to ear.

That afternoon I was at the K-Mart and saw a white teddy bear. I thought of the little girl and said to myself,‘I bet she would like it.’ So I bought it for her.

The next day there was a knock on the door and it was the little girl and her father. She was so proud of her bear and thanked me. Then I noticed her mother and the other children were there in the hall, too.

Now when we meet in the hall, we all speak in a friendly manner. Last night we had about four inches of snow. The temperature was below zero. When I opened the outside door, there was my car with all the snow removed. The man next door was the only person I knew in the whole building, so when I saw him the next day, I asked him if he was the nice person that removed the snow. He said NO. He wanted to, but his wife said she wanted to do it.

Isn’t it amazing that the small kind act of a four-year-old girl can change so many things for the better?

61. Why did the author do unnecessary things in his car?

A. He did not wanted to be embarrassed.　　　　　　 B. He did not know how to kill time.

C. The weather was cold outside.　　　　　　　 　 D. His neighbor yelled at him.

62. The author bought a teddy bear to ____________.

A. show off his wealth　 　　　　　　　　　 B. express his thanks

C. please his neighbor D. refuse the help

63. The underline word “yelling” in the passage probably means _____________.

A. knocking　　　　　 B. beating　　　　 C. shouting　　 　　　 D. laughing

64. What the four-year-old girl did made the author feel _____________.

A. cold　 　　　　　　 B. sad　　　　　　 C. warm　　　　 　　　 D. angry

65. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Children should be polite to their neighbors.　　　　　 　　　　　　

B. People should be kind and communicate with each other.

C. Your neighbors are not as bad as you think.　　

D. Things can be changed by removing snow.

We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom. The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids. Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age. I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions. But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying. I said, “What are you doing here, my dear?” She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?” I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.

Now whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.

56. The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over”(paragraph 4) means_____.

A. show much concern about　　　 B. have a special effect on

C. list jobs to be done for D. do good things for

57. We can conclude (得出结论) from the passage that_____.

A. parents should pay more attention to the elder children

B. the younger children are usually more easily hurt

C. people usually like the younger children more

D. adults should treat children equally

58. The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs because of her_____.

A. beautiful hair　　 B. pretty clothes　　 C. lovely smile　　 D. young age

59. Kristen felt sad and cried because_____.

A. the guest gave her more coats to carry

B. she didn’t look as pretty as Kelly

C. the guests praised her sister more than her

D. her mother didn’t introduce her the guests