I stood outside New York’s Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.
From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knee, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.
Life was tough. I couldn’t stand, much less walk. I rarely left the farmhouse—and then only in someone’s arms. Mom bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.
“The world will see him when he can walk,” she told Dad. “And he will walk.”
Mom devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.
A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.
“There’s nothing anyone can do but you can’t,” Mom said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”
The next day Mom dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mom took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan,” she said.
We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I’d walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mom's eyes shining with a mother's pride.
That night, back on our farm, I lay exhausted on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I’d done on my walk.
Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mom's words came back to me—Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do—and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.
I’ve sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world’s finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mom’s words chiming in my ears. Then I began singing. I couldn't feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my heart, the same place where Mom’s promise lived. 
【小题1】What was the problem with the author as a baby?

A．He was expected unable to walk.

B．He was born outward in character.

C．He had a problem with listening.

D．He was shorter than a normal baby.

A．shortcoming	B．disadvantage
C．disability	D．delay

A．To hide their depressed feeling.

B．To indicate it an unusual day.

C．To show off their clothes.

D．To celebrate his successful operation.

A．determined

B．stubborn

C．generous

D．distinguished

Millions of British people have ditched the traditional ‘thank you’ and replaced it with the less formal ‘cheers’, according to a survey.
Although the average person will say ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’ where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.
One in 20 now say ‘nice one’ instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a ‘cool’ than a ‘thank you’.‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and even ‘gracias’ were also listed as common phrases to use, as was ‘much appreciated’.
One in twenty who took part in the survey of 2,000 people by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day, which is marked on November 24, 2011, said a formal ‘thank you’ was now not often needed in everyday conversation. More than one in ten adults said they regularly won’t say thank you if they are in a bad mood. Most people declared that saying thank you was something drilled into them by their parents. A huge 70 percent of those questioned will say thank you to a person’s face without even meaning it, while a fifth avoid saying it when they know they should — on at least two occasions every day.
It seems our friends and family get the brunt (压力) of our bad manners with half admitting they’re not good at thanking those closest to them — many justifying (为…辩解) the lack of thanks because their family ‘already know I’m grateful’.
When spoken words won’t do, it falls to a nice text to do the job for most people. A third will still send a handwritten thank-you note — but 45 percent admit it’s been more than six months since they bothered to send one.
A quarter of British people say thank you with food, with 23 percent cooking a meal to show their appreciation to someone. Another 15 percent bake a cake.
It follows that 85 percent of people will be annoyed at not getting the gratitude (感激) they feel they should receive.
【小题1】Most of the people who took part in the survey say that they say “thank you” _____.

I'm from the South Bronx. At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe. It was a small town to me. Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are your mom knew about it before you got home. I felt watched over and safe.
But just before I turned 8, things began to change. I watched two buildings on my block burn down. I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out. Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them.
That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx. He was shot above the left eye and died instantly.  
People who could moved out of the neighborhood, and all I wanted to do was get out, too. I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from. To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person. It felt like a stain.
After college, I didn't want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to. I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents' home. It felt like a defeat, and I hated it.
At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care — including many of us who lived here. They were like, "Well, it's a poor community; what's the difference?"
I was very angry. It drove me to act. It moved my spirit in a way that I didn't know was possible. And it changed my beliefs — it changed the way I felt about myself and my community. I worked hard with others who felt the same way, and together, we defeated the plan.
After that, I realized it's just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something. So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump — and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one. And it's a glory. It was the seed from which many new plans for our community have grown.
Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it's a badge(象征) of honor for me. I believe that where I'm from helps me to really see the world. Today, when I say I'm from the South Bronx, I stand up straight. This is home, and it always will be.
41. Paragraphs 2 and 3 make the readers believe ____________.

He almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front her Mercedes and got out.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt.

He said, “I am here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened, had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were many people who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

1.This story most probably took place_______.

A. in a garage   B. on a highway    C. in a busy street    D. near a gas station

2.When the man approached the old lady, the first thing he did was to______.

A. ask what was wrong with her car       

B. get the old lady out of her car

C. change her tire as soon as possible     

D. make her know he wanted to help her

3.The underlined part in Paragraph 6 suggests that________.

A. the old lady had got ready to pay the man

B. the old lady was grateful to the man

C. the man had a lot of difficulty changing the tire

D. the man didn’t stop changing the tire

4.Which of the following words can best describe the man?

A. Warm-hearted and sensitive.  

B. Careful and serious.

C. Thoughtful and helpful.      

D. Generous and open-minded.

5.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______________.

A. the man was happy after helping the old lady

B. the man received a lot of money from the old lady

C. the man made the old lady feel cold and depressed 

D. the man felt extremely frustrated all the way home

Imagine someone has crossed the seas joining five continents by swimming. It is a major success for anyone. But it is an even greater success for Philippe Croizon, who has no arms, and no legs! His achievements show that we can all achieve great things—no matter who we are.

Philippe Croizon was 26 years old when he had an accident. The doctors had to remove both of his arms and legs. “When they cut off my last leg I wanted to die. I suffered great depression and my spirit was as low as you can get. But you have to choose—and I chose to live!” said Croizon.

While he was recovering in hospital, Croizon saw a television programme about a woman who had been swimming across the English Channel. After watching the programme Croizon decided to do it. He began to exercise every day to make him strong and it took him two years to prepare.

Finally in 2010, Croizon was ready. He entered the cold, grey sea of the English Channel. He was now 42 years old. It took him from early morning until night to swim the distance. He felt a lot of pain. But he had become the first person without arms and legs to swim between France and England. Croizon had achieved his dream, but he did not stop there. He looked for a new goal.

Early in 2012 he planned to swim across the seas that join five major continents. During the next few months he swam between the four continents of Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe and finally in the cold waters of the Bering Strait between the continents of Asia and the Americas.

“We want to show people something. If disabled people have courage and a lot of training they can do the same things as those who are not disabled,” said Croizon.

1.According to the passage, Philippe Croizon _____.

A. was born with disability                      

B. suffered a lot from the accident

C. chose to live because of a TV programme        

D. was fond of swimming since he was young

2.What do we know about Philippe Croizon’s swimming across the English Channel?

A. It took him two years to finish it.            

B. He was the first person to achieve it.

C. It was easy for him to finish the swim.        

D. He spent a lot of time preparing for it.

3.Philippe Croizon’s crossing the seas joining five continents______.

A. lasted a month                             

B. ended in the Bering Strait

C. happened when he was 42 years old       

D. was inspired by a television programme

4.Which of the following can best describe Philippe Croizon’s story?

A. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.           

B. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

C. Actions speak louder than words.          

D. The finest diamond must be cut.

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

A. Hope in the corner                        

B. A disabled man’s dream

C. Challenges to Philippe Croizon              

D. Philippe Croizon’s amazing swim