The marathon(马拉松) in my town usually takes place in hot weather. My job was to follow the runners to help those who needed medical help. “We should stay behind the last runner, so take it slowly,” I said to the driver, Doug.

As it began, the front runners started to disappear(消失). Then I noticed a woman in blue running shorts and a white T-shirt. “ Doug, look!” We knew we were watching our “last runner”. Her feet turned in , yet her left knee turned out. Her legs were so crippled(畸形的) that it seemed impossible for her to be able to walk. How could she run a marathon？

We watched in silence as she slowly moved forward. We would move forward a little bit, then stop and wait for her. Then we would slowly move forward a little bit more. As I watched her try to put one foot in front of the other, I found myself breathing for her. I wanted her to stop, and at the same time, I hoped that she wouldn’t. Finally, she was the only runner left in sight. When the finishing line came into sight, we found the cheering people had all gone home. She slowly crossed through the line and lifted her hands, full of happiness.

I do not know the woman’s name, but since that day she has become a part of my life. For her, it was about finishing what she had set out to do, no matter what. When I think things are too difficult and want to say “I just can’t do it”, I think of the last runner. Then I realize how easy the task before me really is.

1.When does the marathon usually take place in the writer’s town？

2.The last runner had problems with her      .

3.Why did the woman take part in the marathon?

1 

Many people in the world have not seen snow. Some countries never have snow; some have only a little on top of the high mountains. In the north of England, there is quite a lot of snow every winter, but in the south of England, there is usually little.

  When a student from a warm country comes to England in autumn for the first time, he feels cold at first. There are often clouds, grey sky and cold rain in England in autumn, and most students from warm countries do not like this.

  But snow is different. It is beautiful. Perhaps, after several mornings, the student wakes up one day, and there is a lot of light in his room. He thinks, “Is it so late?” and jumps out of bed. But no, it is not very late. He looks out of the window and there is snow on the ground and on the houses and everywhere.

1.In the ________ of England there is little snow in winter.

A. east     B. west     C. south    D. north

2. In the autumn of England, we can often see ________.

A. cold rain    B. grey sky   C. dark clouds     D. all of the above

3. Snow is __________.

A. beautiful    B. dark    C. warm    D. happy

4.The sentence “Is it so late?” means ___________.

A. it’s very late    B. he wants to go to school

C. he wants to catch a bus    D. he usually gets up early

5. Which of the following is true?

A. Everyone in the world has seen snow.

B. It often sunny in the south of England.

C. Foreign students like the weather in England.

D. The light of the room comes from clean, beautiful snow.

In northern China during spring, big sandstorm often make trouble for people. Sandstorms usually happen in spring. They have happened in more than 10 provinces in northern China this year. People in southern China don’t have to worry about this kind of bad weather. Most of the sand comes from the north of China. In northern China, lots of places have few trees and don’t get much rain. When there aren’t many trees, the ground can’t keep enough water. Over the years, the ground dries up and turns to sand. When spring comes and the ice melts, the ground becomes loose. Strong winds take the loose sand into the sky. Besides, in northeast China, there lies some vast deserts.
Sandstorms are bad for people’s health. If people breathe in too much sand, they will cough or have serious illnesses. Sandstorms also give farmers lots of problems. Sometimes their sheep get lost in the storms and never come back home. The winds also tear the farmers’ houses down.
What can you do to stop sandstorms? Here’s a piece of advice. Ask your parents to help you plant some trees this spring. If you see people cutting down too many trees, tell them about the dangers of sandstorms, and ask your government to stop them.
【小题1】When do sandstorms usually happen?

用所给单词的适当形式完成短文。

The Nature of an Autumn Day

丰富多彩的秋日户外活动

Autumn is a good time for children to go outside and see the changing colors of nature. What outdoor activities do 1. like? What do children in other countries like to do in autumn? Follow Teens 2. let’s have a look.

The wind is cool, the days are 3. and the leaves are changing colors. Autumn is a great season for kids to 4. outside.

In China, students often have an autumn picnic held by their school 5., they will to an amusement park or to places that are 6. to nature.

What kinds of autumn activities are there for children in 7. countries?

Japanese students often go hiking. It is a perfect mountain climbing in such nice 8. to get exercise while enjoying the outdoors. Weather is also a good choice.(选择)

Children in the U.S. 9. to go for bike rides in autumn. Take a mountain bike ride and you can explore new trails(小路). Playing in a leaf pile is popular, too. Kids jump into the leaf pile to 10.the colorful leaves fly all around. They also make leaf rain and leaf beds- all a lot of fun.

In the UK, school kids like to camp outside with their parents. They make snacks over the fire and tell ghost stories.

One day, there was a blind man called John sitting on the bench with a hat by his feet and a sign that read, "I am blind. Please help me.”

A creative publicist(广告员)named Tom was walking by the blind man and stopped to see that the man only had a few coins in his hat. He put a few of his own corns in the hat. Without asking for permission, took the sign, turned it around and wrote a new message. Then he put the sign by the feet of the blind man, and left.

Later that afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was almost full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized(识别)his footsteps and asked if it was he who had changed his sign. He also wanted to know what the man wrote on it.

The publicist said, "I just wrote the message a little differently.” He smiled and went on his way.

The new sign read, "Spring has come, but I can't see anything.”

1.What's the blind man's name?

A. Tom.         B. John.        C. Tony.        D. Sorry, I don't know.

2.Who wrote a new message?

A. The blind man.       B. The teacher.

C. The publicist.       D. The farmer.

3.How did the blind man recognize the publicist?

A. By his sign. B. By his footsteps. C. By his voice.  D. By his corns.

4.When did the story happen?

A. In spring. B. In summer. C. In autumn.  D. In winter.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

   A. Publicists are always friendly and helpful.

   B. We can get more money by changing a sign.

   C. The blind man is very stupid, so he has little money.

   D. The power (力量) of language is great.