Liu Xiang, athlete, born in 1983

Liu Xiang made his name by winning the 110-meter hurdles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This was the first time an athlete of non-African descent (血统) had gone under 13 seconds for the event. In the same year, Liu set a new 110-meter hurdling world record at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, with a time of 12.88 seconds.
Lang Lang, pianist, born in 1982

Lang Lang began piano lessons at age three. His father quit his job to accompany his boy to Beijing. At 11, Lang Lang was awarded first prize for his outstanding performance at the Fourth International Young Pianists Competition in Germany. In 1995, at 13, he won first place at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians’ Competition in Japan. At 17, Lang Lang made his breakthrough in the West and has performed with many of the world’s major orchestras since then.
Li Yuchun, singer, born in 1984

Born into a middle-class family, Li was not encouraged by her parents to pursue a career in entertainment. The turning point came when she entered the Super Girl contest in 2005. This competition drew the largest audiences in Chinese television history. She rose above 120,000 applicants with her tomboy style and Latin-flavored performance. Her win came as a surprise to many people because she didn’t fit the stereotype of female singers. She has millions of fans of all ages all over the country. Her haircut and manners have been copied by tens of thousands of girls. Her first album sold more than 430,000 copies in the first month.
Ding Junhui, snooker player, born in 1987

Ding quit school at 13, after his father insisted he concentrate on snooker. His parents then sold their house to help Ding kick-start his career. In March 2005, he celebrated his 18th birthday by reaching the final of the China Open in Beijing, along the way beating world top-16 ranked players Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu and Ken Doherty. In the final, he defeated the then world No 3, Stephen Hendry, ranking first in the tournament. After shooting to fame, questions were raised over the father’s decision for Ding to quit school.
【小题1】Who is the passage intended for?

Liu Xiang, athlete, born in 1983

Liu Xiang made his name by winning the 110-meter hurdles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This was the first time an athlete of non-African descent (血统) had gone under 13 seconds for the event. In the same year, Liu set a new 110-meter hurdling world record at the Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, with a time of 12.88 seconds.
Lang Lang, pianist, born in 1982

Lang Lang began piano lessons at age three. His father quit his job to accompany his boy to Beijing. At 11, Lang Lang was awarded first prize for his outstanding performance at the Fourth International Young Pianists Competition in Germany. In 1995, at 13, he won first place at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians’ Competition in Japan. At 17, Lang Lang made his breakthrough in the West and has performed with many of the world’s major orchestras since then.
Li Yuchun, singer, born in 1984

Born into a middle-class family, Li was not encouraged by her parents to pursue a career in entertainment. The turning point came when she entered the Super Girl contest in 2005. This competition drew the largest audiences in Chinese television history. She rose above 120,000 applicants with her tomboy style and Latin-flavored performance. Her win came as a surprise to many people because she didn’t fit the stereotype of female singers. She has millions of fans of all ages all over the country. Her haircut and manners have been copied by tens of thousands of girls. Her first album sold more than 430,000 copies in the first month.
Ding Junhui, snooker player, born in 1987

Ding quit school at 13, after his father insisted he concentrate on snooker. His parents then sold their house to help Ding kick-start his career. In March 2005, he celebrated his 18th birthday by reaching the final of the China Open in Beijing, along the way beating world top-16 ranked players Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu and Ken Doherty. In the final, he defeated the then world No 3, Stephen Hendry, ranking first in the tournament. After shooting to fame, questions were raised over the father’s decision for Ding to quit school

1. 1.

   Who is the passage intended for?

   1. A.
      People only interested in China Daily
   2. B.
      Children born after the 1980s
   3. C.
      Students and the young crazy fans
   4. D.
      Readers of all ages
2. 2.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   1. A.
      Liu Xiang was the first to prove the Asians can equal the African descent in the hurdles
   2. B.
      Li Yunchun’s talent made her the best-known singer in China
   3. C.
      Ding Junhui was forced to drop out of school because of his low grades
   4. D.
      Lang Lang was the most popular with the students in China
3. 3.

   Who was the youngest when they rose to fame?

   1. A.
      Li Yuchun
   2. B.
      Liu Xiang
   3. C.
      Ding Junhui
   4. D.
      Lang Lang

Asian athletes have had a spare time in the first two days of the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England. But Chinese hurdler(跨栏运动员) Liu Xiang surprised everyone by taking the bronze medal in the men's 60-meter hurdles.

Liu became the first Chinese male athlete to get a world indoor medal in the 18-year history of the championship and was the only Asian medallist this time. 

"Karaoke (卡拉OK)! That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get a big group of my friends together and sing. I love both Western and Chinese music but especially Michael Jackson," said Liu after clocking 7.52 seconds in the final to take his place on the podium (领奖台).

"Frankly speaking, I didn't think I was in the shape to win a medal," Liu said. "On my arrival here, my aim was just to fight my way into the final. After I did that, I thought I might just get into the top six. I knew British hurdler Colin Jackson was going to be here and he's the world record holder indoors and out."

"There was also Cuba's reigning (统治的) Olympic champion Anier Garcia and Allen Johnson, from the United States." It was Johnson, the reigning world outdoor champion, who was successful in 7.47 seconds with Garcia second and Jackson finished back in fifth. 

Now Liu will never underestimate his chances again and is aiming for glory in Paris later this year.

"There is the World Championship outdoors in the summer and I have now got to think that I can get a medal. I can never again think that I can't get a medal," he said. Liu's success here marks his rapid transition into the senior ranks.

"The university gives me a lot of flexibility. My courses are very easy and the teachers are very helpful," said Liu.

They might have to be even more accommodating(乐于助人的) now if Liu starts taking on celebrity status, although an invite to his homecoming karaoke party may help.

The first sentence "Asian athletes have had a spare time in the first two days…" means "________".

A. Asian athletes can do things at their will in the first two days

B. Asian athletes haven't any achievements in the first two days

C. Asian athletes could match athletes from other continents

D. Asian athletes are tired of competing in the first two days

The underlined sentence means "________".

A. I was not satisfied with my performances

B. winning a medal can't show what I have done

C. I didn't think I was able to win a medal

D. I haven't told anyone about my achievements in the hurdles

Liu ________ the World Championship outdoors in Paris later this year.

A. is busy preparing for

B. has great pressure on

C. is more confident of his ability in

D. pays little attention to

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Liu Xiang was the youngest athlete to take part in the competition in England.

B. Liu Xiang was the first Asian medallist to get a world indoor medal.

C. Liu Xiang is not only a good athlete but a music-lover.

D. Liu Xiang finds it hard to get along with teachers in university.

Ladji Doucoure of France beat Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China in the final meters to claim the title of the men’s 110 meters hurdles at the 10^th world championships in Helsinki on Friday．

Doucoure, who led the world this season with 12．97 seconds, over took the Chinese to win the race in 13．07 seconds．Liu was second in 13．08．Four-time world champion Allen Johnson of the United States took the third in 13．10．

The 22-year-old Doucoure said after the race, “ I can not tell you just how long I have been dreaming of this．This victory is the result of a lot of hard work, and also a lot of support from people who have believed in me．I had a bad start, touched a few hurdles, but after the 4^th hurdle I picked up my race and went straight to the finish line．”

Liu, who won the Olympic gold with a world record-tying time of 12．91 seconds, said, “I’m very satisfied with the second place．The result could have been worse．I felt quite well and did my best．I’ m not tired, I had some clearance problems at the start, so I should practice that some more．Finally, I didn’t lose by much, only by a little bit, but I did think I could win it．”

Liu’s coach, Sun Haiping said on Friday he was content with Liu’s performance．

“ Liu Xiang was quite good during his reaction period, but he was a little bit slow in the middle and he finally caught up during the last two hurdles,” Sun told Xinhua．

Although satisfied with the silver medal and the clocking of 13．08 seconds, Sun said Liu might have added the world title to the Olympic championship if Liu had run the track neighboring his major rivals（对手） of Doucoure Ladji or Allen Johnson．

“ If he had run next to Ladji Doucoure or Allen Johnson, Liu could have kept pace with them and then sprinted（疾跑） at the last stage．In this case, he could grab the gold,” said Sun, who had become a household name for coaching China’s first men’s Olympic champion in the track．

1．This passage probably appears_________．

A．in a story book                                         B．in a text book      

C．in a newspaper                                         D．in a fashion magazine

2．The following statements about Doucoure are true EXCEPT_______．

A．He won the gold medal in the men’s 110m hurdles in Helsinki．

B．He led the world in the men’s 110m hurdles with 12．97 seconds this season．

C．He did a lot of hard practice before the race in Helsinki．

D．He won the world champion title four times．

3．Which of the following can be used to replace the underlined phrase“picked up my race”in paragraph 3?

A．gathered speed                                        B．stood up

C．make up my mind                                     D．became better in health

4．According to Sun Haiping, Liu Xiang might have won the gold if ______．

A．he had done better during his reaction period 

B．he had run the track next to Ladji Doucoure or Allen Johnson

C．he had practiced clearance more before that race  

D．he hadn’t touched a few hurdles in the race

Some Chinese new - rich like eating shark fin soup because they think it shows their class. However, for the Chinese NBA idol Yao Ming, doing so is unacceptable as the practice has led to the overfishing of sharks.
When Yao and his wife Ye Li got married in 2007, they publicly announced that they would not allow shark fin soup to be served at their wedding banquet.
Actually, Yao had been saying no to shark fins since 2006, when he was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for wild life protection.
Now, the 226 - cm big guy is resorting to his personal influence to encourage more to say no to eating the soup and to raise awareness of protecting animals. “Sharks are friends of human beings. They are not our food,” Yao said.
Other celebrity athletes like Olympic champions. Li Ning and Kong Linghui are following on the heels of Yao, throwing themselves into serving the public as Goodwill Ambassadors for wild animal rescue. Recent reports about Yao’s retirement have saddened tens of thousands of basketball fans both at home and abroad. Yet Yao's influence goes far beyond the basketball courts.
Yao has engaged himself in charity and public welfare services for quite a while. When the devastating 8.0 －magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan in southwest China in 2008 , Yao donated 2 million yuan. “When I was a little boy, my parents and teachers told me to help others and to be a good man,” Yao recalled. “But I could nor donate then because I had not much pocket money. After I moved to Houston, I got involved in quite a number of community service activities and I felt a strong sense of achievement when I got people together,”Yao said.
Like Yao, newly crowned French Open champion Li Na has showed her willingness to donate. Li gave 480,000 yuan of her prize money from the open, plus 20,000 yuan from her own pocket, to a local nursing home in her hometown. Another Chinese sports icon, hurdler Liu Xiang, has also been actively involved in charity for years.
【小题1】The reason why some Chinese new-rich like eating shark fin soup is that they think            ．