Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis Cricket—anything with a round ball, I was useless, “he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England’s rural Devonshire.

It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.

The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man’s cold-water exploits(成就).Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.

Journeys to the Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many peiole dismissed his dream as fantasy. “John Ridgway was one of the few who didn’t say, ‘You are completely crazy, ’”Saunders says.

In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a closer encounter(遭遇) with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.

Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.

This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.

The turning point in Saunders’life came when _____

A. he started to play ball games

B. he got a mountain bike at age 15

C. he ran his first marathon at age 18

D. he started to receive Ridgway’s training

We can learn from the text that Ridgway _______.

A. dismissed Saunders’ dream as fantasy

B. built up his body together with Saunders

C. hired Saunders for his cold-water experience

D. won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic

What do we know about Saunders?

A. He once worked at a school in Scotland.

B. He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole.

C. He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid.

D. He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole.

The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph probably means_____.

A. Excited   B. Convinced   C. Delighted    D. Fascinated

It can be inferred tat Saunders’ journey to the North Pole ______.

A. was accompanied by his old playmates

B. set a record in the North Pole expedition

C. was supported by other Arctic explorers

D. made him well-known in the 1960s

When I was in primary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I can't   16  what it was about, but I have never forgotten the   17  I learned that day.
I was   18  that I was right and he was wrong — and he was sure that I was wrong and he was right. The  19 decided to teach us a very important lesson. She  20 both of us up to the   21  of the class and   22  him on one side of her desk and me on   23 . In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could   24  see that it was black. She asked the boy what   25  the object was. "White," he answered.
I couldn't believe he said the object was white,  26 it was obviously black! Another  27  started between my classmate and me, this   28   about the color of the object.
The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed   29  , and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I   30  answer, "White." It was an object with two   31  colored sides, and from his side it was white.   32  from my side was it black.
My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must   33  in the other person's shoes and look at the   34  through their eyes in order to   35  understand their view.

阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题。(请注意问题后的词数要求)

[1]Some expressions describe people who are important，or who at least think they are．One such expression is bigwig．

[2]In the seventeenth century，important men in Europe began to wear false hair，called wigs．As years passed，wigs began to get bigger．The size of a man’s wig depended on how important he was． The more important he was—or thought he was一                 ．Today，the expression bigwig is used to make fun of a person who feels important．People never tell someone he is a bigwig．They only use the expression behind his back．

[3]Big wheel is another way to describe an important person．A big wheel may be the head of a company，a political leader，a famous movie star．They are big wheels because they are powerful．What they do affects many people．Big wheels give the orders．Other people carry them out．As in many machines，a big wheel makes the little wheels turn．Big wheel became a popular expression after World WarⅡ．It probably comes from an expression used for many years by people who fix parts of cars and trucks．They said a person roiled a big wheel if he was important and had influence．

[4]The top of something is the highest part．So it is not surprising that top is part of another expression that describes an important person．The expression is top banana．A top banana is the leading person in a comedy show．The funniest comedian is called the top banana．The next is second banana．And so on．Why a banana?A comedy act in earlier days often included a part where one of the comedians would hit the others over the head with a soft object. The object was shaped like the yellow fruit：the banana．Top banana still is used mainly in show business．Yet the expression can also be used to describe the top person in any area．

1.What’s the best title of the text ?(no more than 7 words)

2.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. (no more than 6 words)

3.How and when is “bigwig” used in a proper way nowadays?(no more than 20 words)

4.Complete the following sentence with proper words from Paragraph 3 . (no more than 3 words)

As a big wheel makes the little wheels turn in many machines, powerful people give orders for others to            .

5.Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 into Chinese.

完形填空(共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)

    阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，

选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Two old beggars were sitting on a busy corner. They watched helplessly as scores of people walked by, some purposely ___36___ them and others too caught up in their own cares to even notice their __37__. Every so often, a __38__woman or a small child would drop a few coins in the __39__ which lay in front of them.

   As the crowd began to die down, they started to __40_ their things and head for their evening shelters. Just as they were getting ready to leave, they noticed a man walking toward them. He was obviously a _ 41   man ----they could tell that from his finely tailored business suit.

   The first beggar whispered to the second with _____, “ He’s coming our way!”

   The two tried not to look ___43____ at the man as he stepped closer to them, but they couldn’t ___44___ gazing up with anticipation (期待) as he reached into his pocket and took something out.

    “Trunk” was the only sound they heard __45___ what looked like a piece of hard _46__, wrapped in tissue paper hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man __47__ and continued on his way, not making a backward glance.

“How insulting (侮辱人的)!” said the first beggar. “He could have __48___ left us a few coins or a spare bill, but he mocks (嘲弄) us with a piece of rock candy. Who does he think we are ----__49___? There’s no way we can even eat this ---------we have no __50___.” He picked up the object and threw it into the gutter(排水沟).

“I haven’t had anything like this for ages,” the _51_beggar thought. “I can’t chew it, but I can suck on it for while, and the sugary juices will stay in my _52__ for a long time. How nice of that man to offer me something so sweet.”

With that, he _53_ the white tissue paper, but to his _54__, there was no hard rock candy inside. _55_, into his fell a shiny white pearl worth thousands of dollars.

E  
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.
The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics. Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance. A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.
Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.
77.For children who receive allowances, they’d better not ________.　　
A. waste money to buy gifts for their parents or friends　　
B. buy their favorite clothing or electronics for themselves　　
C. save money like their parents or other adults　　
D. ask for the next allowance before the decided date.
78．Many parents give children an allowance regularly to ______.　　
A. meet children’s basic need for life       
B. give control over their children　　
C. see whether they have financial mistakes  
D. help children learn how to manage money
79.If children are required to save their allowance, they ______.　　
A. can experience three things related to money　　
B. can understand the relation between goals and sacrifice　　
C. will do more work around the house　　
D. help themselves found the basis for their future life
80. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Be Generous to Pay Your Children
B. Be Wise to Avoid Financial Mistakes
C. Saving Allowances Does Good to Children
D. Allowances Help Children Learn about Money