Tracy Caulkins is known as the first American to set an American record and win an American title in each of four swimming strokes（泳姿）: breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, freestyle.

         Tracy Caulkins was born in Minnesota and lived in Iowa until she was six. She began swimming when she was eight, after the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee. While unwilling at first to swim in cold water or get her face wet, she began to train in earnest (认真地) as her talent became clear. Though her father worked for the public schools, the family sent her to a private school when the public schools could not accommodate (适应) her training schedule.

         At age 13, Tracy Caulkins took part in the trials(选拔赛) for the 1976 Olympics, but did not make the team. She continued to win national and international titles, and was disappointed in 1980 when the U.S. didn’t attend the Moscow Olympics. She continued to train and compete.

         In 1981, Tracy Caulkins began college, graduating in 1985. In college, she continued competing and training, though she had slowed down from her peak (顶峰) years.

         Caulkins trained especially hard for the 1984 Olympics, and not only made the team, but was captain of the swim team and at Los Angeles, won three gold medals and was named Sportswoman of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee. After that she retired from swimming, and was a commentator (解说员) for swimming events as well as taking advantage of her fame to do business.

         Tracy Caulkins married Australian swimmer, Mark Stockwell, in 1991, their romance having begun at the 1984 Olympics when he jumped into a warm-up pool to introduce himself. They married in Nashville and moved to Australia, where they had three children. Caulkins continued to be professionally involved in sports.

1.Tracy Caulkins was sent to a private school because _____.

A. the schedule of the public school wasn’t suitable for her

B. her parents had to work in the school

C. her family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee

D. she showed strong interest in swimming

2.Which Olympic Games did Tracy Caulkins attend?

A. The 1976 Olympic Games.              B. The 1980 Olympic Games.

C. The 1984 Olympic Games.                        D. The 1992 Olympic Games.

3.Give the correct order of the following events in Tracy Caulkins’ life.

a. She was named Sportswoman of the Year.

b. She became a commentator.

c. She got married.

d. She went to college.

e. She attended the Olympics.

A. d; e; a; b; c     B. d; e; c; b; a               C. d; a; e; c; b                  D. d; e; a; c; b

4.When was Tracy Caulkins born?

A. In 1963                   B In 1953           C In 1960           D Not mentioned

We are all interested in equality,but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality,other,still in the name of equality,want only to destroy it.

Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils.The standards may be changed—no examination is perfect—but to have to tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards.There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not ?believe? either in examinations or in any controls in schools or on teachers.This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency,the values and the purpose of each teacher.

Without examinations,employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them—a form of favouritism will replace equality.At the moment, the bright child from an ill?respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job,while the lack of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well?respected school.This defence of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away,and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s reputation,unable to compete for employment with the child from the favoured school.

The opponents of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils.According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class.They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area:all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection.The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.

The underlined word “favouritism” in Paragraph 3 is used to describe the phenomenon that_______.

A. bright children also need certificates to get satisfying jobs

B. children from well?respected schools tend to have good jobs

C. poor children with certificates are favoured in job markets

D. children attending ordinary schools achieve great success

What would happen if examinations were taken away according to the author?

A. Schools for bright children would lose their reputation.

B. There would be more opportunities and excellence.

C. Children from poor families would be able to change their schools.

D. Children’s job opportunity would be affected by their school reputation.

The opponents of the examination system will agree that_______.

A. jobs should not be assigned by systematic selection

B. computers should be selected to take over many jobs

C. special classes are necessary to keep the school standards

D. schools with academic subjects should be done away with

The passage mainly focuses on_______.

A. schools and certificates    B. examination and equality

C. opportunity and employment   D. standards and reputation

Not all think laughter is the best medicine, but it seems to help．So scientists carried on a new study of diabetes （糖尿病） patients who were given a good dose of humor for a year to prove it．
Researchers divide 20 high-risk diabetic patients into two groups．Both groups were given standard diabetes medicine．Group L viewed 30 minutes of humor of their choice, while Group C, the control group, did not．This went on for a year of treatments．
By two months into the study, the patients in the laughter group had lower level of the hormones epinephrine （肾上腺素）, considered to cause stress, which is known to be deadly．After the 12 months, HDL cholesterol rises 26 percent in Group L but only 3 percent in Group C．In another measure, C-reactive proteins, a maker of heart disease, drop 66 percent in the laughter group but only 26 percent in the control group．
“The best doctors believe that there is a physical good brought about by the positive emotion, happy laughter,” said study leader Lee Berk of Loma Linda University．And other research has found that humor makes us more hopeful．Still, more study is needed, Berk said．The research by Berk found that humor can bring about similar changes in body chemistry, which was proved in the new study．The research result will be presented this month at the meeting in the US．Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow in a way thought to be healthy．
“Lifestyle choices have an important effect on health and these are choices which we and patients should pay attention to, rather than prevention and treatment,” Berk said in a statement this week．
【小题1】Why did the scientists carry on the new research?

Tara、Claudia、Monica、Terry 和Tony正在挑选自己所需要的网站。第56至60题是他们的个人情况介绍。阅读下面六个网站的简介(A、B、C、D、E、F)，选出符合各人需要的最佳选项，选项中有一项是多余选项。
56. Tara has got a new video camera and is crazy about it. Wherever she goes, she’d like to take it with her and record everything she finds interesting. She thinks it cool to share her life with others through the recordings.
57. As a newcomer to this city, Claudia wants to make new friends with people around her. She likes this city except for one thing, that is, she is not allowed to raise any pet due to the flat rules. That’s too much for an animal lover like her.
58. Monica is clever with her hands and likes making toys. She wants to find a way to show her work to others and share the pleasure with them. If possible, she’d like to make pocket money by selling the toys.
59. Terry worries about his phone bill every month. As he has lots of friends, making phone calls, sending and receiving messages are a necessary part of his life. Sometimes he has to say hello to each of his friends by mobile phone. It costs him lots of time and money.
60. In his spare time, Tony travels a lot. It’s hard for his friends to get in touch with him when he’s away. He’d like to find a way to share his travel experiences with his friends and let them know where he is.
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A. www.ddff.com
The site enables users to keep track of where their friends are and get informed of who is visiting their hometown. Users put in their travel plan and link to their friends. It allows them to see where everyone is.
B. www.euke.com
A New York-based Internet businessman once said it was “your place to buy and sell all things handmade”. You can sell everything made by yourself from clothes and furniture to music on Euke.com. The site was founded in 2005 and now has more than half a million users and 60,000 sellers.
C. www.momo.com
Created by a London games firm, Momo combines computer pet games with social communication and questions. Players keep “pets”, and look after them by answering regular questions. “Pets” can play with each other online, providing “pet owners” with chances to socialize. With its funny pictures and attractive qualities, Momo wants to become the next craze for young people.
D. www.png.canwest.com
The site provides a platform for companies and individuals that try to satisfy every need of today’s customers. The practice has moved from the office to the customer’s kitchen and beyond. And the services provided include everything from dog walking to laundry. Founded this year, the site already has more than 5,000 users.
E. www.cosm.com
Instead of marketing videos, Cosm centers on online video diaries. The site has not gone public yet, but has had positive reviews from testers. The website’s founder was once an Internet advisor to an international company.
F. www.ttter.com
Ttter enables you to text messages to large groups of people at a time, and for free. Sign up and send it a message, from a phone or the Internet, and it will be sent to receivers. The message is limited to just 140 characters. Set up in March, 2006, Ttter.com has already attracted over 500,000 users.