阅读下面短文，从每小题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。

　　After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student． An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him． I agreed．

　　During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew． He had mus-cular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症) , When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told he would not make it to ten． Now he was thirteen． He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dream．

　　I spent over an hour talking to Matthew． Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams． Obviously, he knew what he was talking about． He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was differ-ent． He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me．

　　When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck． I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and over-coming obstacles than I ever would． He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me． He said, “You are a champion． You earned that medal． Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you． ”

　　Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away． They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before

　　Dear Rick ,

　　My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me． 1 also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that 1 don ‘t have long to live anymore． But I still smile as much as 1 can．

　　I told you someday 1 was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal． But I know now I will never get to do that． But I know 1 ‘m a champion , and God knows that too． When I get to Heaven , God will give me my medal and when you get there , I will show it to you． Thank you for loving me．

Your friend ,

Matthew

1．The boy wanted to meet the author because________．

[　　]

A．he was interested in weight lifting

B．he wanted to get a gold medal．

C．he admired the author very much

D．he wanted the author to know him．

2．The underlined part “Why me?” in the third paragraph probably means “________”

[　　]

A．Why do you come to see me?

B．Why do I have to stay at home?

C．Why does the disease fall on me?

D．Why not give a gold medal to me?

3．We can infer from the passage that ________．

[　　]

A．Matthew is a determined boy

B．Rich used to have the same disease

C．Matthew became a champion finally

D．Rick regarded Matthew as normal

4．The boy refused the author’s medal because ________．

[　　]

A．he wanted the picture instead

B．he did not like to be pitied by others

C．he did not know he would die soon

D．he himself could earn one in the future

When he was asked suddenly about the matter ,he couldn’t_____an answer at once.

A. come up with         B. look for  C. put up with      D. answer for

任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

It all began with ...

Orlando Bloom was not a “good” student in school. Because of dyslexia, a reading and writing disorder (障碍), he struggled in many courses.

But Bloom says the dyslexia gave him the encouragement to overcome (克服) his difficulties.

In an interview with the Telegraph, the 32-year-old said the condition turned him into an ambitious person. “Because of the dyslexia, I always thought I had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to go the same distance,” he said. “That gave me a real kick as a kid and a lot of encouragement later on. In one sense, I guess that I'm grateful (感激的).”

Bloom is always preparing it thoroughly(充分地) when it comes to an audition (试镜) for a part. Perhaps this is what won him his role in the Lord of the Rings, a highly successful film trilogy (三部曲). “I really prepared it thoroughly for the audition and it's paid off,” he said.

It was the beginning of a fame that led to even greater success as a movie actor. But unlike some young people who aim for fame and fortune, Bloom believed an acting career “has been fulfilling (实现) his childhood fantasies”.

“Aged 9, I had this girlfriend and we used to have running races in the park to see who would be her boyfriend for the day. I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her. Once I realized Superman was an actor, I thought, ‘That's for me''.”

Bloom has always played special characters, like a knight (骑士) and a prince. It's difficult to picture him in everyman roles.

In October, Bloom was named Goodwill Ambassador (亲善大使) for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). His first task will be to film a documentary about the importance of clean water supplies.

In fact, Bloom started work for the UNICEF in 2007. On his first visit to Nepal, he was asked by students to take a small part in a play they were performing on local radio.

A man was selling medicine at a fair（集市）．At first he sold bottles of a cure（药剂）for colds（感冒）for just a dollar a bottle．

Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure．

Then，when he had a big crowd， the man held up a very small bottle．

“And now，ladies and gentlemen，he shouted，“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for．The cure for old age．Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever．?

“And，ladies and gentlemen，the man continued，“I'm not going to charge（向……要价……）you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine．I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle．I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle．Now，ladies and gentlemen，I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle． Think，my friends，for ten dollars you can live forever．?

Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this．

One person shouted，“If it can make you live forever，why don't you drink it？?

Then an other person cried，“Yes， you look as if you're at least sixty years old．?

“Thank you，sir，thank you，the man answered，“I'm so glad you said that． My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine．?

The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man ．One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by ，“Is that true？?he asked．“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine？?

“Don't ask me，?the assistant said，“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years．?

What did the man sell at first at the fair？

   A．a cure for colds  

   B．bottles   

C．a cure for old age

D．a medicine that made people live forever 

How much did the man charge for the cure for old age？

   A．one dollar a bottle        B．twenty-five dollars a bottle

   C．ten dollars a bottle        D．fifty dollars a bottle

What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage？

       A．仆人  B．朋友  C．同伴  D．助手

What does this passage really mean？

       A．The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive．

       B．The man is not honest，and so is his assistant．

       C．The cheaper the medicine is，the more people will buy．

       D．The two men are very honest，and they would like to help people live forever．

One Sunday morning, Li Ming and his grandpa are  1. ________

feeding the bird in the cage. The bird was unhappy          2. ________

because it had enough food and water. Li Ming.did not       3. ________

know why not. The next morning on his way to school,      4. ________       

Li Ming saw some birds flew in the sky. Then he thought    5. ________    

about the lonely bird in the cage. He decided to persuade his  6. ________    

grandpa to set the bird free. When he got to home, he said    7. ________     

to his Grandpa,“Birds also need friends!” To his delighted , his 8. ________        

grandpa agreed.The bird set free. Grandpa and the children   9. ________

were very happy to see the bird flying away in the sky.      10. ________