Today, when a man steps on to the moon, or something new and important happens, the world learns about it immediately. What did the newspapers say about that first flight in 1903? Strangely enough, they said hardly anything about it at all. There were only a few reports about it in the papers. These reports said very little. Some of the things they said were not even correct.

　　In 1904 the Wrights built a second machine. They called it "Flyer No. Two". They invited some reporters to a field near Dayton to watch them fly. Unfortunately there was some mechanical （机械的）trouble with the plane and it did not fly at all that day. The newspapermen went away. They were disappointed and did not come back. The Wrights went on with their work. In 1905, they built an even better machine, "Flyer No. Three". They were able to stay upon the air for half an hour and more in the machine and they were able to turn and climb in the air. Farmers and travelers on the road around Dayton often saw them flying. But when these people told newspapermen about it, they refused to believe them.

　　The Wrights offered "Flyer No. Three" to the United States govern ment. The government was not interested. They seemed to think the Wrights wanted money in order to build a plane. They did not understand the Wrights had already done this, and flown it as well. Experts were still saying that mechanical flight was impossible. At the end of 1905, the two brothers took their plane to pieces. The parts were put into a huge wooden box. It seemed nobody was interested.

　　1．The reports about the first flight________

　　　　A. were not carried in any newspaper

　　　　B. said nothing

　　　　C. were quite different from the fact

　　　　D. were not quite correct

　　2．Newspapermen didn't believe what farmers and travelers said because_______

　　　　A. they didn't see "Flyer No. Three" flying

　　　　B. they saw the Wrights failed to fly "Flyer No. Two"

　　　　C. they had never seen a machine that can fly

　　　　D. all the above

　　3．The U. S. government could not understand that __________

　　　　A. the Wrights had already built a machine that could fly

　　　　B. experts still thought flight was impossible

　　　　C. the Wrights wanted more money to build an airplane

　　　　D. "Flyer No. Three" was then in a woken case

　　4．The Wrights took their plane to pieces because ________.

　　　　A. they planned to leave for Europe

　　　　B. nobody was interested

　　　　C. the government didn't give them any money

　　　　D. the newspapermen didn't report their flights

He drove after drinking alcohol, having a severe accident and had to get his arms removed．Since then, he has had to __31__ on his younger brother, who became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was totally unable to do __32__ else. As the two brothers grew up together, they had their own problems and would often __33__. Finally, his younger brother went away and lived __34__, leaving him heartbroken and at a loss what to do.

　　　 __35__, a misfortune befell（降临）a girl. One night she was preparing dinner when the kerosene light on the stove was overturned, __36__ in a fire which took her hands away. Having decidedly __37__ her sister’s willingness to help her, she determined to be thoroughly __38__. At school, she always studied hard．Most of all she learned to be self-reliant. “I am lucky. Though my __39__ are broken, my heart can still fly.” she wrote in her blog.

　　　 One day, the young man and the girl were both invited to a（n）__40__ programme. The boy told the television hostess about his __41__ future, whereas the girl was full of __42__ for her life. They were both asked to write something on a piece of paper with their __43__. The boy: My younger brother’s arms are my arms. The girl: Broken wings, flying heart.

　　　 They had both gone through the same ordeal（痛苦经历）, but their different __44__ determined the nature of their lives. As seems the case, __45__ disasters can strike our life at any time. How you handle the __46__ when faced with it is the true __47__ of your character. If you choose to __48__ or escape from the ordeal, it will follow you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the __49__ will turn out to be a fortune on which new __50__will arise.

31．A．live　　　　　　　　　　 B．stand　　　　　　　　　 C．rely　　　　　　　　　　 D．assist

33．A．quarrel　　　　　　　 B．share　　　　　　　　　 C．support　　　　　　　 D．dislike

34．A．happily　　　　　　　 B．lonely　　　　　　　　 C．separately　　　　　 D．disappointedly

35．A．Unfortunately　　　 B．Unexpectedly　　　 C．Similarly　　　　　　 D．Naturally[来

36．A．leading　　　　　　　 B．bringing　　　　　　　 C．causing　　　　　　　 D．resulting

37．A．turned to　　　　　　 B．turned down　　　 C．turned off　　　　　 D．turned against

38．A．alone　　　　　　　　　 B．free　　　　　　　　　　 C．independent　　　　 D．successful

39．A．arms　　　　　　　　　 B．wings　　　　　　　　 C．dreams　　　　　　　 D．promises

40．A．interview　　　　　　 B．radio　　　　　　　　　 C．sports　　　　　　　　 D．health

41．A．hopeful　　　　　　　 B．uncertain　　　　　　 C．bright　　　　　　　　 D．miserable

42．A．calmness　　　　　　 B．enthusiasm　　　　 C．patience　　　　　　 D．excitement

43．A．hands　　　　　　　　 B．strength　　　　　　　 C．toes　　　　　　　　　 D．mouths

44．A．characters　　　　　 B．desires　　　　　　　 C．opinions　　　　　　 D．attitudes

45．A．unexpected　　　　 B．passive　　　　　　　 C．rough　　　　　　　　 D．serious

46．A．emergency　　　　 B．misfortune　　　　　 C．difficulty　　　　　　 D．accident

47．A．test　　　　　　　　　　 B．reflection　　　　　　 C．display　　　　　　　 D．problem

48．A．ignore　　　　　　　　 B．resist　　　　　　　　　 C．complain　　　　　　 D．suffer

49．A．problem　　　　　　 B．result　　　　　　　　 C．failure　　　　　　　　 D．hardship

50．A．solutions　　　　　　 B．ways　　　　　　　　　 C．rewards　　　　　　 D．hopes

If I raised the question, “What would be the last thing you would expect to happen while watching your son’s flag football game?” you probably still couldn’t come up with what happened to me and my family.

As we were sitting on the sidelines enjoying the game, a low-flying bird came swooping in attempting to land on my daughter’s head! It honestly came out of nowhere. We were seated by ourselves on the tree lined side of the field. I was able to calm my daughter’s shock and fear once I showed her that the bird was not some wild animal, it was in fact, somebody’s pet!

Now, we’re sitting at the outdoor fields of the Pontiac Silverdome, far from any populated area, wondering where this very social cockatiel, an Australian parrot (澳洲鹦鹉) could have come from. I walked up to the bird and put out my hand. Immediately, it hopped on and chirped in a friendly way. We looked around us and knew that we could not just leave and suppose that the bird would return to where it came from. This was a very domesticated bird that needed help or it would not survive.

The flag football game had ended so we walked the bird over to other groups of adults and asked if they knew of anyone who had lost a bird. All the kids were excited about the bird and fed it with some post game snacks. The bird’s nails were getting long and he was looking pretty dirty, so we knew it had been out here for a long time and was hungry. Since its wings were clipped, it could fly a little but probably not more than 100 yards or so at a try. We all just scratched our heads as a group wondering what to do with the lost bird.

We explained to the kids that this bird needed our help since it was someone’s pet and would not know how to get its own food, and it could not fly well since its wings were clipped. The kids understood, and all of them wanted to take the bird home! The parents however, knew this was not a good choice as one had a large dog, another two cats, etc. We explained to the kids that one of us could take the bird home for the night and then bring it to the Humane Society in the morning in hopes to connect it to its owners. We couldn’t keep the bird. It wasn’t ours. This was tough for the kids to understand at first. We couldn’t just leave the bird either. There was no way it could attend itself. The group of us sat around the Silverdome practice fields for quite a while trying to determine the best course of choice for the lost bird. It was getting dark out but no one was willing to leave that parking lot until we had a game plan for how to help the bird.

The owner of the football league, Chris Novak, offered to take the bird. It was extremely nice of him and he really stepped in to help while all the rest of us who had kids tugging on our shirts and begging to take it home. We took a box and put a bunch of holes in it and he brought it home for the night. Another mom went online and found a family that had lost a bird that looked just like the one we’d found. She emailed the info to Chris who got in touch with the family and the next day, reunited the bird with the family that lost it almost 3 weeks earlier! When Chris emailed us to let us know, we could not believe that this bird had traveled from The Rochester Tienken area all the way to the Silverdome!

We were so happy to be able to save this bird and get it back to its family. I showed my kids the email about how the other family got their pet back. The family has 3 kids who were so happy to see their bird. My kids realized what a nice ending this story had. Not only had we been able to save this bird’s life, but we were able to bring it back to the family that loves and misses him.

The life lesson in the missing bird story seemed to miss its mark with my kids at first. They were a little bummed out that they couldn’t keep the lost bird. I explained to them that when an animal or someone needs help, you just can’t turn a blind eye and hope everything works out OK. The “lost bird incident” was also a reminder to them that teamwork and the kindness of strangers can make a world of difference and that a group of well-meaning strangers can work together to help someone. It wasn’t a heroic act, but one that I knew had sunk in with my kids when they realized that trying to help was the best and only real course of action. 　

1.What happened when the author watched his son’s football games?

A．A parrot tried to eat their food.

B．His daughter was hurt by a parrot.

C．A parrot flew towards his daughter.

D．A parrot landed on his daughter’s head.

2.The underlined word “domesticated” in the second paragraph probably means_______.

A．having been abandoned                  B．having been used to home life

C．having been used to life in the wild          D．having been week and hungry

3.Who was the first one to find the bird’s owner?

A．The author                            B．Chris Novak

C．The Humane Society                     D．A participant’s mother

4.What can be learned from the “lost bird incident”?

A．Strangers can also work well together.

B．Humane Society helps children in teamwork.

C．Children can keep lost injured pet birds home.

D．Helping others is always regarded as a heroic act.

5.What did the author want to tell in the text?

A．How to help a lost parrot to find home.

B．The experience of watching a football games.

C．The importance of teamwork and helping others.

D．How a parrot can fly a long distance from home.

6.The best title of the text should be________. 

A．What Animals Can Teach Us

B．Complete Care for a Lost Bird

C．Life Lessons When You Least Expect It

D．Love First, Teamwork and Kindness Second