While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.

The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.

I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I'm not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.

I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.

But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.

No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout "Come on, you can do it! " and he did.

A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.

Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.

In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.

1.From the passage we can learn that the young man         .

A．made his turn to start back pitifully

B．was skillful in freestyle in the game

C．swam faster than the average swimmer

D．was not capable enough to win the medal

2.The crowd changed their attitudes because ________.

A．they felt sorry for the young man

B．they were moved by the young man

C．they wanted to show their sympathy

D．they meant to please the young man

3.According to the passage, "it is nice to watch an underdog" probably means _______.

A．it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills

B．it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself

C．it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors

D．it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Compete for Gold!                      B．Try again!

C．Break a Record!                        D．Go for it!

He was just 12 years old when he died. But he brought courage and hope to people around the world.

Nkosi Johnson, who died last June, is remembered today as an AIDS fighter. This young boy challenged his government’s AIDS policies and millions of South Africans in the fight against the disease.

Johnson was the longest survivor born HIV positive（艾滋病病毒携带者）.He survived with this deadly disease for 12 years before it claimed his life.

At first, Johnson was expected to live for nine months when his foster mother, Gail Johnson took him in at the age of two. She now runs Nkosi’s Haven across town from her house in Melville. The Haven is home to 20 children living with HIV or AIDS, and 11 of their mothers.

Johnson attracted the world’s attention and stole the hearts of thousands of people across the world at the 13^th International AIDS Conference in Durban in July 2000. He stood in front of a large audience including South African President Thabo Mbeki. He told them that he wanted AZT, a drug used to treat AIDS patients, to be given to HIV-positive pregnant（怀孕的） women to prevent the disease being passed on to their unborn babies. He received a loud cheer at the end of his speech.

Johnson’s speech was broadcast live across the world. With views beyond his age and even a sense of humor, Johnson soon became an international sign of the fight against AIDS and HIV.

1.The underlined words “claimed his life” (Paragraph 3) means _______.

A．did harm to Johnson’s life          B．helped Johnson to survive

C．caused the death of Johnson              D．made Johnson weak

2.The main idea in paragraphs 5 and 6 is ________.

A       Johnson attracted the world’s attention

B．Johnson stood in front of South African President Thabo Mbeki

C．Johnson wanted AZT to treat AIDS pregnant women

D．Johnson helped prevent the disease being passed on to an unborn baby

3.The AIDS child gave the speech in order to _________.

A．steal the hearts of thousands of people

B．be an AIDS fighter

C．get more help from the world

D．fight against the government

4.From the passage we can infer that _______.

         A．the government’s AIDS policies have to be improved

         B．the government did nothing to help those with HIV positive

         C．the boy’s speech changed the government’s policies

         D．no one lived longer than the boy

5.The best title for this passage is        .

         A．The Sad Story of an AIDS Child. B．The Courage of an AIDS Child

         C．AIDS, a Deadly Disease             D．A Hero in South Africa

  David Beckham was born in 1975, in London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy , his greatest passion was football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award （奖金）. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led him to go for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy he played for the schools of Essex and also for his county team.

  In 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under-21 team. In April, 1995, he played his first football league game against Leeds United. During 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both football seasons, with David scoring many goals.

  His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1996—1997 season, he scored an surprising goal from beyond the halfway line; seeing the goalkeeper a little way out of his goal, Beckham sent the ball over the goalkeeper’s head and into the goal. It was a wonderful goal and Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free—kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157 kph. He also had the ability to make the ball go from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal.

David Beckham won his first prize for football skills      

A. in 1975         B. in 1987       C. in 1991      D. in 1996

Which word can take the place of the underlined word “passion” in paragraph 1?

A. skill         B. prize      C. success       D. interest

The unusually surprising way that he scored goals      

A. made him popular in many British homes   B. helped him to gain many prizes for Essex

C. kept him playing for Leeds United      D. offered him the chance to join the national team

Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to Beckham?

a. Beckham played his first football league game.

b. Beckham won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award.

c. Beckham played for Manchester United Youth Cup team.

d. Beckham went to Spain to join a football training camp.

e. Beckham played for the schools of Essex.

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

The passage is mainly talking about        

A. when Beckham became famous all over Britain

B. how Beckham became a successful football player

C. why Beckham could win in football league games

D. what abilities Beckham had to score so many goals

When Sang Lan  got to the Goodwill Games held in New York, she felt very happy. She was a devoted athlete, who had spent many years practising her sport. Her strongest  31   was the vault and she was the best in China. She hoped to win this event at the games. However, during a practice vault, this young girl made a small mistake. Her mistake   32   her the ability to walk. Instead of landing on her feet, Sang landed on her head and broke her neck. She was   33   to a top hospital, and doctors said she would never walk again.

While in hospital, Sang had many   34   , including Christopher Reeve, an actor who once played Superman. Reeve could not   35   either, due to an unfortunate horse riding accident. He   36   Sang to stay positive and told her that being   37   wouldn’t help her get better. Sang already knew this and   38    the sympathy and admiration of people across the world with her good   39    and beautiful smile.

Sang   40   to China, and hosted a sports programme about the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Sang Lan works hard at everything she does. She is a role model for young people nationwide!

1.A. wish           B. event            C. point        D. happiness

2.A. spent          B. took         C. cost             D. moved

3.A. forced         B. told         C. persuaded        D. rushed

4.A. thoughts       B. visitors     C. partners         D. players

5.A. walk           B. work         C. live             D. play

6.A. asked          B. taught       C. encouraged       D. reminded

7.A. sad            B. positive     C. cheerful         D. frightened

8.A. gave           B. showed       C. won              D. needed

9.A. friendship     B. attitude     C. figure           D. reaction

10.A. came          B. returned     C. went             D. Flew

Linda British was an outstanding teacher who felt that if she had the time, she would like to create great art and poetry. When she was 28, however, she began to get severe   36 . Her doctors discovered that she had an enormous brain tumor (瘤). They told her that her   37  of surviving an operation were about 2 percent. Therefore,   38  operate immediately, they chose to wait for six months.
The night before the operation after six months, she   39  to give herself away. She made a   40 , in which she would donate all of her body parts to those who needed them in   41 of her death.
  42 , Linda died after the operation. Afterwards, her eyes went to an eye   43  in Bethesda, Maryland, and from there to a recipient in South Carolina. A young man, aged 28, went from darkness to   44 . That young man was so   45  that he wrote to the eye bank thanking them for existing.
  46 , he said he wanted to thank the parents of the donator. They must   47  be magnificent people to have a child who would   48  her eyes. He was given the   49  of the British family on Staten Island. He arrived unannounced and rang the doorbell. After hearing his introduction, Mrs. British   50  and hugged him. She said, “Young man, if you’ve got   51  to go, my husband and I would love you to spend your weekend with us.”
He stayed, and   52  he was looking around Linda’s room, he saw that she’d read Hegel. He’d read Hegel in Braille as well.
The next morning Mrs. British was looking at him and said, “You know, I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before.” All of a sudden she   53 . She ran upstairs and pulled out the last picture Linda had drawn. It was a portrait of her ideal man.
The picture was almost the same as this young man who had received Linda’s eyes.
Then her mother read the   54  poem Linda had written on her deathbed. It   55 :
Two hearts passing in the night
Falling in love
Never able to gain each other’s sight.