I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.
“Mom, come here! There’s this lady here my size!”
The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize.
I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then I talked to the boy, “Hi, Mickey, I’m Darry Kramer. How are you?”
He studied me from head to toe, and asked, “Are you a little mommy?”
“Yes, I have a son,” I answered.
“Why are you so little?” he asked.
“It’s the way I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an dwarf (侏儒). Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids laughed at me.. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I’ve grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have---a great family, nice friends.”
It’s the children’s questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, position, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.
【小题1】Why did the mother apologize to the author?

请根据Helen, Sophie，Peter, Elena和Jacques五人各自的情况，从A、B、C、D、E、F六条信息中选出适合各人的匹配选项（选项中有一项为多余项）。
【小题1】Helen: A foreign tourist who loves rare animals.
【小题2】Sophie: An economical mother with three children on holiday.
【小题3】Peter: A man traveling in the north on business who enjoys southern dishes.
【小题4】Elena: A young lady who pays special attention to her appearance.
【小题5】Jacques: A French businessman who is particular about lifestyle.

You've heard of the fat suit and the pregnancy suit；now meet AGNES—the old person suit．
AGNES stands for “Age Gain Now Empathy(换位体验) System” and was designed by researchers at MIT's AgeLab to let you know what it feels like—physically—to be 75 years old．“The business of old age demands new tools，”said Joseph Coughlin，director of the AgeLab．“While focus groups and observations and surveys can help you understand what the older consumer needs and wants，young marketers never get that‘Ah ha!’moment of having difficulty opening a jar, or getting in and out of a car．That’s what AGNES provides．”
Coughlin and his team carefully adjusted the suit to make the wearer just as uncomfortable as an old person who has spent a lifetime eating poorly and not doing much exercise．Special shoes provide a feeling of imbalance，while braces on the knees and elbows limit joint mobility．Gloves give the feeling of decreased strength and mobility in the hands and wrists，and earplugs make it difficult to hear high—pitched sounds and soft tones．A helmet with straps(带)attached to it presses the spine(脊柱)，and more straps attached to the shoes decrease hamstring flexibility, and shortens the wearer's step．
AGNES has been used most recently by a group of students working on a design of an updated walker．By wearing the suit they could see for themselves what design and materials would make the most sense for a physically limited older person．Coughlin said the suit has also been used by clothing companies，car companies and retail goods companies to help them understand the limitations of an older consumer．
“AGNES is not the destiny of everybody,” he said．“She is a badly behaved lady who didn't eat and exercise very well．A secondary benefit we’ve found with AGNES is that it has become a powerful tool to get younger people to invest in their long-term health．”
【小题1】AGNES has been developed to       ．

D

We all accept that sports should stress skill over luck，and fairness over privilege(特权)．

They should be accessible to many and fun to watch．In the end，a sport,s champion should re-

present shared values and served as a role model．

But with today,s advances in technology，the power of sports equipment makers offers great

opportunity for the athletes who have access to the latest technology.

In 2008,108 world records were broken in the sport of swimming．The average number of

world records set in swimming in all past Olympic years is about 22．The average number of

world records set in a non-Olympic year is about 5．Now there are no“old”world records．

Suit technology has been the most widely recognized difference．The sharkskin suit and the

“paper”suits were all made public by suit manufactures before the Olympic．

As records continue to be broken，the Internet message boards for the swimming community

have taken a darker view of suit technology．“Time is meaningless”is one quote．I tend to agree．Some of the times I see being posted today are simply legends(传奇)．

Am I against suit technology?Not really．But 2008 marked an unbelievable change in the

sport of swimming．People are saying，“Bigger，faster，stronger at any cost!”，wanting no limits on technology，either suits or drugs．I am not one of those people．

I am a guy that recognized the sport of swimming being as simple as man vs．water．It used

to be the swimmer in the suit，not the suit on the swimmer．How times have changed．

53．According to the first paragraph，it is a common belief that________.

A．only a few people have chances to take part in sports

B．the latest suit technology should not be used in sports

C．sports should be interesting for people to watch

D．luck plays an important role in Olympic Games

54．It can be learned from the passage that_______.

A．the author is against the latest technology in sports

B．the athletes have become more skilled than before

C．some records are hard to break without technology

D．advanced suits and drugs can be used in Olympics

55．What does“Time is meaningless”mean in the swimming community?

A．Breaking records in swimming is too easy for most athelets．

B．It,s technology rather than skill that counts in some records．

C．Many athletes break records by luck and taking drugs．

D．Some rules aren,t obeyed when Olympic records are broken．

56．What,s the author,s opinion of the present sports?

A．Latest technology should be encouraged in compitition among athelets．

B．Time should be measured in a different way in modern Olympic Games．

C．All of the athletes should wear the same suits to ensure fairness．

D. Competition in skill should come first instead of that in equipment。

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分） 
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard the young voice. 
"Mom, come here! There's this lady here my ___31___!" 
The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to ___32___.
I smiled and told her: "It's okay." Then I talked to the boy, "Hi, I'm Darryl Kramer. How are you?"
He ___33___ me from head to toe, and asked: "Are you a little ___34___? 
"Yes, I have a son," I answered. 
"Why are you so little?" he asked. 
"It's the way I was ___35___," I said. "Some people are little. Some are tall. I'm just not going to grow any bigger." After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy's hand, and left. 
My life as a little person is filled with ___36___ like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents. 
It takes only one glance to see my ___37___. I stand 114 cm tall. I was born a dwarf（侏儒）. ___38___ this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn't ___39___ how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names（辱骂我）. Then I knew. I began to ___40___ the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I ___41___ to climb the school bus stairs.  
But I learned to smile and ___42___ the fact that I was going to be ___43___ my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I ___44___ in personality. 
I'm 47 now, and the stares have not ___45___ as I've grown older. People are ___46___ when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are ___47___, I remind myself: "Look what else I have -a great family, nice friends." 
It's the children's questions that make my life ___48___. I enjoy answering their questions. My ___49___ is that, I will encourage them to accept their peers（同龄人）, whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with ___50___.  
31. A. weight                       B. size                   C. shape                       D. personality 
32. A. scold                         B. explain              C. apologize                 D. Respond
33. A. studied                      B. identified          C. inspected                  D. Checked
34. A. lady                          B. mommy            C. person                      D. kid 
35. A. raised                        B. viewed              C. treated                            D. born 
36. A. stories                       B. pains                 C. stares                       D. Excuses
37. A. shortcomings                 B. strangeness        C. uniqueness                D. Shyness
38. A. Besides                      B. Despite             C. Except                            D. Beyond 
39. A. admit                        B. care                  C. realize                      D. fear 
40. A. hate                           B. tolerate             C. forget                      D. ignore 
41. A. determined                 B. struggled           C. managed                  D. learned 
42. A. refuse                        B. enjoy                C. accept                      D. consider 
43. A. exposed                            B. pitied                C. noticed                     D. Avoided
44. A. made up for               B. ended up with    C. kept track of             D. made use of 
45. A. increased                   B. decreased          C. accumulated             D. changed 
46. A. scared                        B. satisfied            C. amazed                    D. puzzled 
47. A. rude                          B. curious              C. regretful                   D. cruel 
48. A. fantastic                        B. meaningful        C. embarrassing            D. special 
49. A. promise                            B. intention           C. hope                        D. advantage 
50. A. respect                       B. frankness           C. sympathy                 D. emotion