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. Mam 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.”
Mam 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,” Mam said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”
The next day Mam 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. Mam 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, Mam’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 Mam’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 Mam’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 Mam’s promise lived.
【小题1】What was the problem with the author as a baby?

I have always heard the saying, “Any guy can be a ‘Dad’, but it takes a real man to be a ‘Father’.” This has become qutie true in my life since the birth of my son, Joshua. Since the birth of my son things have changed a lot in my life, but the changes have been   1 ! My wife and I have been through many   2  moments which have made both of us   3 .

My son was born with some medical prombles that   4   his regular doctors. He was

  5  several different medications, but he did not get any better. He had a bad breathing problem, and he could not keep his food down. My wife and I were both told many times by people that Joshua looked life he was born early; he had not gained much   6   since he was born.

As time progressed his regular doctor sent my wife and I to Louisville to a   7   by the name of Dr. Eld. He was astonished by my son’s condition, too. Many different tests were    8   on Joshua. The time spents there was very   9   for my wife and I. But we did make it through with God’s   10  .

Joshua is one year and one month old now and has gotten much better since then. His

 11  has been amazing and he is up to 27 pounds now. I keep telling my wife, that if he keeps growing like this he might get a football   12   sooner or later. There is saying that has helped me   13  these troublesome times. “Problems will either make you or   14  you.” When you think the darkest hours are upon you, remember the   15  is just in sight.

1.                A．bad            B．good           C．happy    D．sad

2.                A．exciting        B．interesting      C．challenging    D．amusing

3.                A．stronger        B．healthier        C．harder   D．weaker

4.                A．shook          B．trembled        C．shocked  D．quaked

5.                A．taken on        B．put on          C．gone on  D．lived on

6.                A．width          B．height          C．weight    D．sight

7.                A．dentist         B．specialist        C．scientist  D．tourist

8.                A．performed      B．laid            C．devoted  D．directed

9.                A．slow           B．easy           C．hard D．quick

10.               A．luck           B．smile          C．love  D．help

11.               A．score          B．progress        C．efforts    D．fact

12.               A．ticket          B．contact         C．contract   D．player

13.               A．get on         B．get through     C．take on    D．look through

14.               A．create         B．build           C．break D．enjoy

15.               A．future         B．help           C．dawn D．dusk

Churchill's full name was Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill. He was born in 1874. He was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

In 1900 Churchill was elected a member of parliament .As First Lord of the Admiralty , in 1911, he was responsible for strengthening the British navy.

During World War I, he still remained a member of parliament, but he resigned from his post in the British navy, and became a soldier again, fighting in France. In 1917, however, he became Minister of Munitions . In this job, he encouraged the development and use of the tank, which was then a new weapon. After the war, Churchill held several government posts.

From 1931 to 1939, he was only a member of parliament. He had fallen into dislike because of his militant (war-loving) attitude. Even his closest friends discouraged him from seeking higher office. But when World War II started in 1939. Churchill returned to his former job as First Lord of the Admiralty.

In May 1940, he became Prime Minister. Throughout the war, Churchill showed great strength and energy. He worked for long periods with little sleep and traveled many thousands of miles. By the courage and determination expressed in his speeches, he inspired the people of Britain to keep on fighting. His speeches also gave hope to people in parts of Europe occupied by enemy forces.

In the general election at the end of the war, the Conservative Party, of which he was leader, was defeated. But he became Prime Minister again in 1951. He resigned as Prime Minister in 1955. However, he remained a member of parliament until 1964. Some time later, in 1965, he died.

1.Before World War I, Churchill worked for his country as ____.

2.How many times was Churchill elected Prime Minister?

3.What can we learn from Para. 4?

4.We can know all the following from the text EXCEPT that ____.

1 

China in the 21st century is making great progress in space technology. In 2003, the country sent up the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-V. Four years later, Chang’e-I went into orbit (轨道) around the moon. In 2008 a Chinese man did the country’s first spacewalk.

These achievements would have been unthinkable without the contribution of Qian Xuesen, a key scientist on space programs and rocketry (火箭技术) of the People’s Republic of China. This pioneering scientist passed away in Beijing on October 31 in 2009 at the age of 98.

   Once called “the father of our space industry”, Qian began working on China’s missile and space technology in 1956, when China had little technology. When asked by General Chen Geng whether the Chinese could develop their own missiles, Qian said Chinese could do anything that foreigners could.

His research helped lead to the explosion of China’s first atomic bomb (原子弹) in1964, as well as to its first man-made satellite in 1970 and its first manned spacecraft in 2003.

    Qian was born in Shanghai. He graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University in 1934.Then he studied in the US at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later at the California Institute of Technology. During World WarⅡ, Qian’s research contributed to the development of rocket technology that the US military (军队) began using in the 1940s. He was once prevented from leaving the country because it was decided that he knew too much about certain military matters. It was not until in 1955 that Qian returned to China with the help of the late premier Zhou Enlai.

    “I plan to do my best to help the Chinese build a nation where they can live with dignity (尊严) and happiness, ” Qian told reporters before sailing for China in 1955. The great scientist devoted all his life to keeping the promise.

1. What is the article mainly about?

A. It gives a short history of Chinese missile and space programs.

B. It is about how Qian contributed to the Chinese space program.

C. It lists important events that Qian experienced.

D. It is a brief introduction to Qian, a famous Chinese scientist.

2.. Which statement about Qian is TRUE?

A. He was born in China and brought up in America.

B. He went to America for further study after graduation from university.

C. He returned to his hometown right after finishing his education.

D. He had worked on missiles in the US military before coming back to China.

3.Qian was personally involved in many historic events in China EXCEPT       .

A. the first spacewalk                                           B. the first man-made satellite

C. the development of missiles                   D. the explosion of an atomic bomb

4. From the article, we can conclude that       .

A. the US military had hoped to take full advantage of Qian’s talent

B. Qian had an important position in the US military in the 1940s

C. when World War broke out, Qian was studying at Shanghai Jiaotong University

D. it was not easy to get Qian back from the US

      Louis Armstrong had two famous nicknames (绰号). Some people called him Bagamo. They said his mouth looked like a large bag, Musicians often called him Pops, as a sign of respect for his influence (影响) on the world of music.

       Born in 1901 in New Orleans, be grew up poor, but lived among great musicians. Jazz was invented in the city a few years before his birth. Armstrong often said, “Jazz and I grew up together.”

       Armstrong showed a great talent (天赋) for music when he was taught to play the cornet (短号) at a boy’s home. In his late teens, Armstrong began to live the life of a musician. He played in parades, clubs, and on the steamboats that traveled on the Mississippi River. At that time, New Orleans was famous for the new music of jazz and was home to many great musicians. Armstrong learned from the older musicians and soon became respected as their equal.

       In 1922 he went to Chicago. There, the tale of Louis Armstrong begins. From then until the end of his life, Armstrong was celebrated and loved wherever be went Armstrong had no equal when it came to playing the American popular song.

       His cornet playing had a deep humanity (仁爱) and warmth that caused many listeners to say, “Listening to Pops just makes you feel good all over.” He was the father of the jazz style(风格) and also one of the best-known and most admired people in the world. His death, on July 6,1971, was headline news around the world.

41.Armstrong was called Pops because he         .      

A. looked like a musician                                 B. was a musician of much influence

C. showed an interest in music                          D. traveled to play modern music

42.The third paragraph is developed           .

A. by space                  B. by examples              C. by time             D. by comparison

43.Which statement about Armstrong is true?

A. His tale begins in New Orleans.                    B. He was born before jazz was invented.

C. His music was popular with his listeners. D. He learned popular music at a boy’s home.

44.Which would be the best title for the text?

A. The Invention of the Jazz Music                    B. The Father of the Jazz Style

C. The Making of a Musician                      D. The Spread of Popular Music