In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

But Roebling refused to listen to them. He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. After much discussion and persuasion he convinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished. With great excitement, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but several months after it began, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was so seriously injured that he was never able to walk, talk or even move again.

"We told them so", "Crazy men and their crazy dreams", "It's foolish to chase wild visions", the critics said and most thought the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

Washington's wife tried to inspire and pass on her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay in his hospital room, an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife's arm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her. Then he used this method to tell his wife what the engineers should do. It seemed crazy but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.

Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.

1._ What did most people think about Roebling's idea to build the bridge?

A. It would never become a reality.          B. Washington was not experienced enough.

C. It would take a lot of time.              D. Finding the money would be impossible. 

2._The underlined word `daunted' (para. 6) is closest in meaning to '______'.

  A. unpleasant    B. scared    C. amazed    D. determined

3._ Which of the following shows the correct order of the events that happened in the story?

   a. Roebling convinced his son.

   b. Washington found a new way to communicate.

   c. They hired the crew.

d. The bridge was completed.

   e. Roebling wanted to build a bridge.

   f. There was a tragic accident.

A. e, a, c, f, d, b     B. e, a, f, b, c, d    C. e, f, a, b, c, d    D. e, a, c, f, b, d　　

4._ What can we learn about Washington's wife?

A. She knew sign language very well.

B. She was devoted to her husband.

C. She developed a code to communicate with her husband.

D. She helped her husband design the plan.

5._ What does the story tell us?

  A. Success will come with the passing of time.

  B. Struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

  C. Even the most distant dream can be realised with a never-say-die attitude.

  D. The people who make a difference in our life should be remembered forever.

There was a very special teacher who made a far-reaching difference in my life.

Fall, 1959, the first day of class at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School was about to begin. “Who”, I asked a senior, “is Mrs. McNamara, my 10th grade English teacher?” He just 1 and said something about my being in 2 . Soon, I understood what he meant. Mrs. McNamara had a pattern of 3 that she repeated again and again. We would have a literature reading task for 4 . The next day, when we came to class, there would be two or three topics on the blackboard 5 to the homework reading. We were 6 to write an in-class essay about one of the topics. The following day, she would 7 the corrected and graded essays and each person would be called 8 to stand in front of the class and to 9 his/her essay. The class were required to criticize （评论） that essay, 10 the grade of everyone in class would be reduced.

The first time that I 11 her read-write-criticize method, I had not 12 to do the homework and had written something without knowing what it meant. 13 the extreme embarrassment I suffered, standing before my classmates, 14 myself. No one laughed at me; no one would be 15 enough, or foolish enough, to do that in Mrs. McNamara’s class. The embarrassment came from 16 and along with it came a strong 17 not to let it happen again.

Mrs. McNamara kept all of our written work in files; it was easy to see the 18 in writing that had occurred. What was not so easy to see was the inner transformation that had taken place, at least for me. What Mrs. McNamara 19 me to do was to see myself as others see me and, having done that, I could improve myself. And I 20 . Thank you, Mrs. McNamara.

难易度：难

1..A.nodded　　　　 B. laughed　　　　 　 C. apologized　　 　 D. shouted

2. A. trouble　　　　 　 B. sorrow　　　　 　 C. danger　　　　 　 D. anger

3. A. behaviour　　　 　 B. evaluation　　　 C. activity　　　　 D. thought

4. A. review　　　　 B. performance　　 　 C. practice　　　　 D. homework

5. A. added　　　　 B. related　　　　 C. contributed　　 D. compared

6. A. expected　　　　 B. persuaded　　　 C. allowed　　　　 　 D. advised

7. A. collect　　　　 　 B. return　　　　　 C. send　　　　　 　 D. receive

8. A. on purpose　　　 B. at first　　　　 　 C. by chance　　　 　 D. in turn

9. A. talk through　　 B. hand over　　　 C. read out　　　　 D. show off

10. A. so　　　　　　 B. and　　　　　 C. but　　　　　 D. or

11. A. tried　　　　　 B. adopted　　　　 C. examined　　　 D. experienced

12. A. undertaken　　　 B. attempted　　　 　 C. bothered　　　 　 D. hesitated

13. A. Remember　　 B. Predict　　　　 　 C. Bear　　　　 D. Imagine

14. A. playing jokes on B. making a fool of C. setting a trap for 　 D.taking advantage of

15. A. brave　　　　　 B. careless　　　　 C. proud　　　　　 　 D. selfish

16. A. above　　　　　 B. within　　　　 　 C. behind　　　　 　 D. below

17. A. tendency　　　 　 B. preference　　 　 C. determination　 D. sense

18. A. improvements　 B. pains 　　　　　 C. difficulties　　　 　 D. advantages

19. A. trusted　　　　 B. invited　　　　 C. forced　　　　　 D. permitted

20. A. did　　　　　　 B. could　　　　　 　 C. had　　　　　 D. would

Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare； there are weddings on mountain-tops with guests barefooted； and there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs.
　　Before a couple is married，they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready，then comes the most exciting moment.
　　The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played. The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will "give her away". The groom enters the church from a side door. When the wedding party is gathered by the altar， the bride and groom exchange vows. It is traditional to use the words "To have and to hold from this day forward， for better， for worse， for richer， for poorer， in sickness and in health， to love and to cherish， till death do us part". Following the vows， the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom.
　　After the ceremony there is often a party, called a "reception" which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds.
The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons, streamers and shaving cream. The words "Just Married" are painted on the trunk or back window. The bride and groom run to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests. When the couple drives away from the church， friends often chase them in cars， honking and drawing attention to them. And then the couple go on their honeymoon.
【小题1】 What’s the main idea of the passage?

Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare； there are weddings on mountain-tops with guests barefooted； and there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs.

　　Before a couple is married，they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready，then comes the most exciting moment.

　　The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played. The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will "give her away". The groom enters the church from a side door. When the wedding party is gathered by the altar， the bride and groom exchange vows. It is traditional to use the words "To have and to hold from this day forward， for better， for worse， for richer， for poorer， in sickness and in health， to love and to cherish， till death do us part". Following the vows， the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom.

　　After the ceremony there is often a party, called a "reception" which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds.

The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons, streamers and shaving cream. The words "Just Married" are painted on the trunk or back window. The bride and groom run to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests. When the couple drives away from the church， friends often chase them in cars， honking and drawing attention to them. And then the couple go on their honeymoon.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Introducing the kinds of wedding in the USA

B. introducing the whole procedure of the wedding in the USA

C. Introducing the traditional wedding ceremony in the USA

D. Introducing a forgetful wedding party in the USA

2.Which of the following sentences is true?

A.        In American ,before a couple are married, they never get engaged.

B.        It is an old custom to wear the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the right hand.

C.        They don’t invite the relatives who live far away to the wedding party.

D.        The couple will go on their honeymoon on the very wedding day.

3.Which is the last but one step of the wedding ceremony?

A. The bride carrying a bouquet enters with her father who will "give her away"

B.t he bride and groom exchange vows

C. the couple exchange rings

D. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played

Paula Radcliffe, chasing a third London marathon title, says she has became a stronger person after her terrible experience at the 2004 Athens Games.

Radcliffe, who failed to complete the Olympic marathon and the 10,000m last August, said: "Athens made me a stronger person and it made me care less about criticism"

"In the past I wanted to please everyone, but now I am going to listen even more to the people around me."

She didn't care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz McColgan, who felt Radcliffe should have rested and let her body recover after her failure in Athens.

"Liz is someone I look up to but she hasn't spoken to me since last year and if she really cared for me, I'm sure she would have contacted me."

Instead Radcliffe won the New York City marathon just 11 weeks after Athens.

"In New York I wasn't in my best state but I did know I was good enough to win the race."

Radcliffe insisted her only goal in Sunday's race would be winning a third title and not chasing world records.

However, Radcliffe has not ruled out in the future chasing her "final" world record time and questioned sayings that marathon runners have the ability in their career to produce only four or five world-class times.

"I don't think that ——although I can't put a number on it," said. Radcliffe. "That changes from person to person."

Radcliffe is sure she can better her winning London 2003 performance at some point in the future. Following a successful three-month training period in the United States, the 31-year-old will chase a third title on Sunday after her first victory in 2002 and again 12 months later.

Radcliffe clocked a time of 2:18:56 in her first 42.2-kilometre race three years ago.

Afterwards she set a "mixed course" mark of 2:17:18 five months later in Chicago before lowering that to a time of 2:15:25 in the 2003 London event.

1.Radcliffe’s failure in Athens made her___________.?

A. develop respect for Liz?   B. love people around her more?

C. rest for five months?      D. face criticism calmly?

2.Which of the following is true according to the passage??

A. Radcliffe broke the world record in the New York City marathon.?

B. Radcliffe didn’t fully recover before the New York City marathon.?

C. Radcliffe won her first marathon title in the New York City marathon.?

D. Radcliffe had a 3-month training before the New York City marathon.?

3. By saying “I can’t put a number on it,” Radcliffe means she’s not sure ___________.?

A. if she has the ability to set a new world record?

B. if she can win another race though she has won many times?

C. how many times a marathon runner can set the world record?

D. if she has the ability to produce four or five world-class times?

4. According to the text, Radcliffe has won ___________ London marathon title(s).?

A. one　　　　　B. two?             C. three          D. four

5.What can we learn from Radcliffe’s story??

A. Practice makes perfect.?            B. Well begun is half done.?

C. Where there is a will, there is a way.?  D. A friend in need is a fried indeed.