He was once referred to as the Picasso of poetry. Beloved by Chileans of all classes, he is one of the most widely read and respected poets in history. And this year is the 100th birthday of Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).

Born with the name Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto, he was a tall, shy and lonely boy. He loved to read and started to write poetry when he was ten. The American poet Walt Whitman, whose framed picture Neruda later kept on his table, became a major influence on his work.

However, his father did not like the idea of having a poet for a son and tried to discourage him from writing. To cover up the publication of his first poem, he took the pen name Pablo Neruda.

In 1924 Neruda gained fame with his most widely read work “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair’’. Yet his rich experience as a diplomat and exile made him go beyond the theme of love. His work also reflected the political struggle of the left and development of South America. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Neruda loved the sea which he saw as creative, destructive and forever moving. He found inspiration in the power and freedom of the waves and the seabirds on the coast. “I need the sea because it teaches me,” he wrote. “I move in the university of the waves.” He loved how the sea forever renewed itself, a renewal echoed in his work.

5. The underlined word “Picasso” can probably be replaced by “________”.

A. most important person          B. famous person from Picasso

C. freedom fighter in Picasso     D. poem fan

6. Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto took the pen name Pablo Neruda because ________.

A. literary greats usually used the pen name

B. his father encouraged him to use the name

C. he wanted to prevent his father knowing the publication

D. he was greatly influenced by other poets

7. Which of the following is not the theme of his works?

A. Love.    B. Political struggle.  C. Social reform.   D. Development of South America.

8. The last paragraph mainly tells us ________.

A. the sea gave Neruda vast writing inspiration  B. the beautiful scenery along the Chile coast

C. Neruda’s poems were widely read overseas  D. Neruda loved to write his poems near the sea

Travel Unaccompanied

Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone．

Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents．

In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen. It is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone．It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own．

Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year．He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He said he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person,” said the 30-year-old．

Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that was ready to deal with anything”. He said: “The feeling of having conquered something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”

The great 19th century explorer John Muir once said: “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.”

1.Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?

A. Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.

B. It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.

C. It is comfortable to travel around without a friend.

D. Traveling abroad helps people to find new things.

2.Traveling alone is challenging because         .

A. it will finally build your character

B. you have to make things on your own

C. you depend on yourself whatever happens

D. it is hard for you to prove yourself to others

3.What can we infer about Chris Richardson?

A. He started traveling at an early age．          B. He was once shot in the arm.

C. His website inspires others a lot.      D. He used to work as a salesman．

President Bush’s dogs often play on the White House lawn（草坪）, but did you know that he also has cows and a cat? His cat is named India. India, also called “Willie”, has lived with the Bush family for more than ten years! On his farm in Crawford, Texas, he keeps a cow called Ofelia named after a person who worked with him when he worked in Texas.

Past Presidents brought many interesting animals to the White House. The wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President, had silkworms. Herbert Hoover, the 31^st President, had an opossum（负鼠）. And Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President, had a raccoon（浣熊）named Rebecca.

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26^th President, was famous for his many pets. His six kids had snakes, dogs, cats, a badger, birds, guinea pigs, and more. Once, Roosevelt’s son Quentin borrowed some snakes from a pet store. Running to show his father, Quentin interrupted an important meeting and dropped the snakes all over his father’s desk!

During World War Ⅰ, Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th President, kept some sheep on the White House lawn. He did this so the First Family would appear to be supporting the war effort. The sheep’s help was great. They ate the lawn and the sheep’s wool was auctioned （拍卖）to raise money for the American Red Cross.

Some of the more unusual U.S. Presidents’ pets have been gifts from other world leaders. James Buchanan received some elephants from Thailand. The Sultan of Oman gave Martin Van Buren a pair of tigers.

But even the more common pets have had an unusual time at the White House. Warren Harding, the 29^th President, and his family had a birthday party for their dog Laddie Boy. They invited other dogs and served a dog biscuit cake.

What’s next? A White House zoo?

60. What do we know about President Bush’s pets?

A. A horse is his favorite pet.

B. Willie was named after a person.

C. India has lived with him for a long time.

D. Ofelia was raised on the White House lawn.

61. Who raised an interesting animal called Rebecca in the White House?

A. Herbert Hoover            B. Woodrow Wilson

C. Calvin Coolidge           D. James Buchanan

62. According to the passage, what happened to President Theodore Roosevelt?

A. His pets were a great help to the American Red Cross.

B. He was once disturbed by his son when he was working

C. His wife once sent him an opossum in order to please him.

D. He received a pair of tigers as a gift from Oman’s leader.

63. According to the passage, who held a party for his pet dog?

A. The 6^th President           B. The 31^st President

C. The 26^th President.         D. The 29^th President.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的四个选项（A,B,C和D）中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen  36  for almost a month. The crops were dying. Every day, my husband  37  to get water to the fields. But  38  we saw some rain soon, we would lose everything.

However, one day I learned the true lesson of  39  and witnessed the only miracle I had  40  seen before. I was cooking in the kitchen when I saw my son, Billy,  41  toward the woods. He was walking  42  with effort, trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the  43 , he came running back. I went on cooking, 44  that whatever he had been doing was finished. Moments later,  45 , he was once again walking slowly toward the woods. This activity went on for an hour. Finally I couldn’t help  46  him and saw the most amazing  47 .

Several large deer stood in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I  48  screamed(尖叫) for him to get away, because a huge deer was dangerously  49  to him at that time. But the deer didn’t even move as Billy knelt down(跪下). I saw a tiny  50  lying on the ground, obviously suffering from  51 , lifting its head to drink the water cupped in Billy’s hands. When the water was  52 , Billy ran back to get more. It then became quite  53  to me what my son was doing.

I stood there, watching my  54  boy working so hard to save another life. As my tears began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God himself was weeping with pride. The rain that day 55 our farm.

36. A. water            B. rain                 C. cloud                D. storm

37. A. decided        B. chose                C. tried                D. offered

38. A. before         B. if                      C. until            D. unless

39. A. sending               B. sharing               C. forgiving            D. begging

40. A. ever                 B. never                C. once               D. yet

41. A. running              B. jumping             C. walking             D. riding

42. A. slowly               B. quickly              C. hurriedly            D. dangerously

43. A. plants                B. flowers              C. vegetables           D. woods

44. A. thinking              B. wondering           C. worrying            D. dreaming

45. A. though               B. besides              C. however            D. too

46. A. beating               B. following            C. teaching            D. hoping

47. A. sign                  B. field                       C. world              D. scene

48. A. almost                B. already                     C. just                 D. even

49. A. weak                B. ill                         C. close               D. brave

50. A. horse                B. crop                       C. baby               D. deer

51. A. thirst                B. diseases                     C. heat             D. pain

52. A. lost                  B. cleaned                     C. gone               D. dried

53. A. comfortable          B. clear                       C. acceptable          D. simple

54. A. kind                B. clever                      C. naughty          D. honest

55. A. hit                   B. washed               C. ruined              D. saved

LONDON (Reuters)—New faces given to a Chinese man after a bear tore off part of his face and a French­Caribbean man disfigured by a rare tumor show that such transplants can work and are not medical oddities (怪异)，researchers said.
The findings give hope to some people with severe facial disfigurement and suggest the transplants could prove long­lasting without major problems.Despite the tissue rejection in the first year after their transplants，neither men had psychological problems accepting their new faces and have been able to rejoin society，they reported.
Only three people have received face transplants.The world’s first was carried out on French woman Isabelle Dinoire in November 2005 after she was disfigured in an attack by her dog.In 2007，her doctors reported that she had recovered slowly and steadily，overcoming two periods of rejection.
In 2006，Chinese doctors performed a face transplant on a 30­year­old hit by a bear.While there were some complications with tissue rejection following the operation，two years later the man was doing well，his doctors said.“This case suggests that facial transplantation might be an option for restoring a severely disfigured face，and could enable patients to bring themselves back into society，” Shuzhong Guo and colleagues at Xijing Hospital in China wrote.
A French team described their work on a 29­year­old man who suffered from Von Recklinghausen disease，an illness that changes the shape of his face.“The man，who was not named，was given a new nose，mouth and chin in a 2007 operation.He began to work 13 months after the transplant has more function in his face and has not rejected the new tissue，” his doctors said.
“Our case confirms that face transplantation is practical and effective for the correction of specific disfigurement，” Dr.Laurent Lantieri and colleagues at the Henri­Mondor hospital outside Paris wrote.
【小题1】What’s the main idea of this passage?