Twenty-three-year-old Michael Phelps has become a phenomenon (神话) in swimming.
At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, he won eight gold medals. That was more than the whole Australian team could put together. He beat (打败) Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven wins in the pool at the one Olympics. Phelps has put his name next to seven world records.
Nine days, 17 games, morning and night he competed and won. He had to beat former (从前的) world record-holders and gold medalists. He had to turn their wins into old news.
Michael Phelps started to swim at the age of 5. Guess which stroke (动作) he first tried? The backstroke. It’s because he didn’t want to put his face in the water.
By the age of 7, he had taken part in a lot of swimming competitions. At 11, he met Bob Bowman who saw the kid’s great talent.
How did Phelps become so good? He was born with the body of a swimmer. He stands 1.87meters high and has a wide wingspan (臂展). He knows how to use his body to full advantage. His hands and feet are like paddles (踏板) in the water and he has a strong kick.
But that’s not all；he also has the heart and will to win. He thinks that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it.
Swimming is Phelps’ life. Every day he spends five hours in the water, swimming about 11 kilometers. He never takes a day off. This is a young man who knows what he wants.
“If I didn’t swim my best, I’d think about it at school, at dinner, and with my friends. It would drive me crazy,” he said.
“There are no limits (限制). The more you dream, the further you get.”
【小题1】Who did best in swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games?

The nine-year-old Marc Yu is called Little Mozart. He is too short to reach the pedals (踏板) of a piano. Marc, from California, USA, says, “The problem is that my legs aren’t straight enough, so I have to get very close to the piano.”

Marc’s 34-year-old mother played Beethoven’s CDs to him when she was pregnant . Marc started playing the piano at a birthday party when he was only two. While the other children were singing “twinkle, twinkle, little star …”, he walked over to the piano and started playing the song. It astonished his mother, because that was the first time he’d been near a piano. Marc gave his first public performance, playing Beethoven, at six, the same age as Mozart. After that concert, Marc won a ￡225,000 university scholarship.

At present he practices the piano eight hours a day. He also studies part-time at the famous Colbum Music School in Los Angeles, and flies once a month to China for lessons at Shanghai Music School. Marc says, “I like playing the piano because it makes me have a lot of different feelings —sadness, excitement, happiness and so on. I like playing difficult pieces, especially those that my teacher says I shouldn’t.”

1.The nine-year-old Marc Yu is from       .

A．China            B．France            C．Canada           D．the United States

2.Marc played the piano at the age of        for the first time.

A．two              B．five              C．six               D．nine

3.According to the passage, the underlined word “astonished” means “     ” in Chinese.

A．使……理解                           B．使……担心

C．使……惊奇                           D．使……难过

4.At present Marc practices playing the piano        .

A．once a month                          B．eight hours a day

C．in his free time                         D．only on weekends

5.What Marc says in the last paragraph tells us that       .

A．he likes challenges                      B．he doesn’t like challenges

C．he is afraid of challenges                  D．he wants to be happy and famous.

Twenty-three-year-old Michael Phelps has become a phenomenon (神话) in swimming.

At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, he won eight gold medals. That was more than the whole Australian team could put together. He beat (打败) Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven wins in the pool at the one Olympics. Phelps has put his name next to seven world records.

Nine days, 17 games, morning and night he competed and won. He had to beat former (从前的) world record-holders and gold medalists. He had to turn their wins into old news.

Michael Phelps started to swim at the age of 5. Guess which stroke (动作) he first tried? The backstroke. It’s because he didn’t want to put his face in the water.

By the age of 7, he had taken part in a lot of swimming competitions. At 11, he met Bob Bowman who saw the kid’s great talent.

How did Phelps become so good? He was born with the body of a swimmer. He stands 1.87meters high and has a wide wingspan (臂展). He knows how to use his body to full advantage. His hands and feet are like paddles (踏板) in the water and he has a strong kick.

But that’s not all；he also has the heart and will to win. He thinks that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it.

Swimming is Phelps’ life. Every day he spends five hours in the water, swimming about 11 kilometers. He never takes a day off. This is a young man who knows what he wants.

“If I didn’t swim my best, I’d think about it at school, at dinner, and with my friends. It would drive me crazy,” he said.

“There are no limits (限制). The more you dream, the further you get.”

1.Who did best in swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games?

A．Bob Bowman.                          B．Mark Spitz.

C．Phelps.                               D．The Australian team.

2.How many games did Phelps take part in at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games?

A．8.               B．9.                C．7.               D．17.

3.Why did Phelps try backstroke first?

A．Because he was born with the body of a swimmer.

B．Because his hands and feet were like paddles in the water.

C．Because he didn’t want to put his face in the water.

D．Because he had a wide wingspan.

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Phelps is the best swimmer in Australia.

B．It was Mark Spitz who saw the kid’s great talent.

C．Phelps won 8 gold medals and broke 7 world records.

D．At the age of seven, Phelps started to swim.

5.What can we learn from this passage?

A．The Australian team got 8 gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

B．If you have a wide wingspan, you must be a good swimmer.

C．Phelps was made to spend all his time swimming every day.

D．Nothing is impossible if you put your heart into it.

Penny was a five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were in a department store, Penny saw a plastic pearl necklace (珍珠项链). What a beautiful necklace! She wanted it very much, so she begged（乞求）her mother to buy it for her. The mother said, “Well, I can buy you the necklace, but when we get home, we should discuss what you can do to pay for it. Can we do that?” Penny agreed with much happiness, and she got the necklace.
How much Penny loved the necklace! She wore it everywhere and every minute. Penny also did part - time jobs to make pocket money. She worked very hard. Soon she succeeded in paying off the price for the necklace.
Penny’s daddy knew how she tried her best to get the necklace. He also knew how much Penny cared about it. One night, he asked Penny if she loved him. “Sure, Daddy.” the little girl said. “Then how about giving me your necklace?” “Oh, no, Daddy! Not my necklace!” Penny cried. “Oh, dear, it’s fine.” her father gave her a kiss.
Several days later, Penny went to her daddy, with her lips(嘴唇) trembling(颤抖). “Here, Daddy. I love you.” She held out her hand. Inside it was the plastic pearl necklace that she loved so much.
When he saw this, Penny’s father smiled with surprise. He then pulled a cute box out of his pocket. Inside the box was a real and colourful pearl necklace, which was waiting for Penny for so long. 
【小题1】 One day, Penny___________ in a department store.