Nick Santonastasso has one arm equipped with one finger. He has no legs. He also has no limitations(局限).

“ I know anything’s possible ,” the 12-year-old told TODAY ’s Ann Curry.

He can play baseball and football, play the keyboard and drums, and play video games with his brothers.

When Nick was born, he suffered a disease only found in 11 other people. The Santonastassos had three other children, and they decided to treat Nick the same as others, with love but without excuse

“ We’re supposed to be heroes to our children, but Nick is a hero to us,” his father Michael said. But heroes have heroes, too, and Nick’s is Tiki Barber, the former football superstar who retired last year and became a reporter for TODAY. Curry told Nick that for his birthday, the show wanted to give him a new skateboard. The person who presented it to him was Barber.

“ You’re an inspiration,” Barber said. “ There are a lot of kids who might be at a disadvantage.

You give them strength.”

Curry observed that most parents try to protect their kids from failure, but the Santonastassos didn’t do that with Nick.

“Absolutely not, “Nick’s mother Stacey said. “ If you do have a small failure, it just makes you stronger to succeed at the next stop.”

“ It builds self-confidence in yourself to try it again,” Nick added.

Recently, Nick entered a drawing in a statewide contest in New Jersey. His drawing was a tree with a spreading canopy (树冠) and deep toots. Above the tree were the words, “The roots of a family are…” Below the ground, the roots spelled out the final word for the message: “ Love.”

It won the contest. The judges didn’t know Nick’ physical condition. He won on merit (成绩), the same way he does everything else in life.

1.How did the Santonastassos treat Nick?

2.In the opinion of Barber, Nick__________.

3.What message did Nick’s drawing express?

4.According to the passage, ______ other people have the same disease as Nick’s.

5. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

Throughout time, people have loved music for its ability to transport them into a world of rhythm and melody. Recently more and more hospitals and clinics have been tapping into the power of music –not only to comfort patients, but to help cure them as well. Welcome to the world of music therapy(疗法).

After each of the two world wars, musicians visited hospitals and played instruments for injured soldiers suffering from emotional and physical pain. Today's music therapists continue this practice, playing instruments such as guitars and harps to bring comfort to their audiences.

Therapist Eric Mammen encourages his patients at a children’s hospital to participate with him as he plays. During visits with 13-year-old cancer patient Lawrence Garcia, Mammen encourages Garcia to beat on electric drums while he plays the guitar. The therapy won’t cure his cancer, but it does, according to Garcia’s mom, take away much of the boy’s depression(沮丧).

Music therapy can put patients in better moods and ease the symptoms of depression according to the American Music Therapy Association. Other benefits include relieving pain, calming tension, aiding sleep, reducing worry or fear, and easing muscle tension.

Jose Haro personally experienced the benefits of music therapy when he was recovering from heart surgery. During his recovery, he played a piano whose keys lit up, indicating which keys to touch to play along with the background music. Soon he was playing tunes and noticing something strange. “I was searching for my pain.” He says of his experience, “but it was gone.”

While Haro's experience provides an evidence of the power of music to relieve pain, scientific research has proven music also helps patients with Alzheimer's disease and arthritis.

In addition, music therapy helps premature babies. Doctors are tapping into a powerful way to teach premature babies that haven’t yet learned how to suck. Doctors use a device that comforts the babies by playing music when they suck on a pacifier（奶嘴）. Soon the babies learn to suck in return for music, gaining weight faster and going home earlier than those who do not use the device.

Even perfectly healthy people are discovering the power of music to calm and heal. Drum circles attract people who find stress relief in beating out rhythms. While music is not a cure-all, it does make life a little easier.

1.In the first paragraph, the underlined phrase “ tapping into “ can be replaced by “_________”

A．discussing on       B．looking for         C．showing interest in  D．making use of

2.According to the passage, Jose Haro_______________.

A．went through an obvious effect of music on his recovery

B．was asked to play the piano with the background music

C．felt no pain in his surgery because of music therapy

D．recovered from heart disease completely

3.From the passage, we know_________________.

A．music can prevent people from suffering from arthritis

B．Garcia found much comfort in music according to his mom

C．musicians cured many soldiers after each of the two world wars

D．the more music they listen to, the faster premature babies gain weight

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A．Music to Patient Ears                     B．Music Popular in Hospitals

C．Musicians Work with Doctors              D．People's life Benefits from Music

As far back in history as we can tell , people have celebrated the start of a New Year. The people of ancient Egypt began their New Year in summer. That is when the Nile River flooded its banks bringing water and fertility（肥沃）to the land. The people of ancient Babylon and Persia began their New Year on March 21, the first day of spring . And some native American Indians began their New Year when the nuts of the oak trees became ripe. That was usually in late summer.

Noise-making is another ancient custom on the New Year. The noise is considered necessary to drive away the evil spirits of the old year. People around the world do different things to make a lot of noise. They may hit sticks together, beat on drums, blow horns, or explode fire-works.

　 Americans celebrate the New Year in many ways. Most do not have to go to work or school. So they visit family and friends, attend church services, share a holiday meal, or watch New Year’s parades（游行） on television. Most years university teams play in special holiday games. For those who have been busy at work or school, New Year may be a day of rest. They spend the time thinking about and preparing for the demands of the New Year.

1. Which of the following statements is right?

A. The people of ancient Egypt began their New Year in spring.

B. The people of ancient Babylon began their New Year on March 21, the first day of spring.

C. Some native American Indians began their New Year in early summer.

D. The people of ancient Persia began their New Year in late summer.

2. Why do people make a lot of noise on the New Year according to the passage?

A. The noise is considered necessary to frighten the evil spirits of the old year.

B. The noise is considered necessary to show people’s excitement.

C. They spend the time thinking about and preparing for the demands of the New Year.

D. People have no other better ways to show their happiness.

3. Americans celebrate the New Year by doing things as follows except___________ .

A. resting at home

B. visiting family and friends

C. attending church services

D. having sports and games

To face the music

Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life of the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music”.

When someone says, “well, I guess I’ll have to face the music,” it does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you.” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Looper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that was exactly what they did — facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” come to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”

Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced an inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass the inspection? Still the men had to go out and face the music of the band as well as the inspection. What else could they do? 

Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.

1.How many ways does the phrase “to face the music” comes from?

A. 1        B. 2        C. 3       D. 4

2. What’s the meaning of “to face the music?”

A. To face something far less pleasant.   B. To face the stage.

C. To face the back of one’s horse.       D. To face one’s leader.

3.Which of the following is a situation of facing the music?

A. When we are playing basketball.   B. When we are making a speech.

C. When we are having a party.    D. When we are talking with somebody. 

4. The underlined word “hostile” means _______. 

A. unfriendly       B. dislike      C. unkind   D. unnecessary

Bears and humans often meet in National Parks. Although campers and hikers are warned not to feed the bears, many people ignore these warnings and feed the beasts anyway. When bears are used to people’s food, problems soon arise.

Bears like to eat a large variety of things, both meat and vegetable. Without human assistance, bears live nicely on roots, twigs, leaves of trees, insects and small animals. With people around, the bears’ tastes quickly expand to include sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, and anything else they can temp humans into giving up.

Bears often develop clever strategies for getting people to let go their food supplies. More often than not, an unsuspecting hiker has taken off his or her pack for a rest only to have a bear charge out of the woods, grab the pack and quickly disappear into the underbrush with it. Hanging the pack on a tree branch won’t help. Bears have been known to climb up, jump off, and catch the pack on the way down. One mother bear stretched up with her baby on her shoulders to reach a pack stored on a pole. Many bears threaten people into giving up their supplies. Although a bear is unlikely to attack a person and would probably run away if screamed at, few people are willing to do so. Most people drop the pack and run the other way. This, of course, delights the bear. In some places, the Park Service installed some metal barrels with lids to help campers keep their supplies safe from bears. Although the bears were unable to open these containers, the effort was less than successful. Most campers, unable to tell the metal drums from rubbish cans, never used them for the intended purpose.

1.Feeding bears on people’s food         .

2.If people had never fed bears, the bears        .

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

4.Bear-proof containers didn’t work because         .