I got tired of living the life that everybody told me I “should” be living, so one day I decided to start living life in my own ways. Frustrated（挫败）with my job, I came home, put on my shoes, and just started running. It felt so good to be free. That first day I ended up running 30 miles without stopping. Yes, I had rediscovered my old passion ( 酷爱的事物) — and it felt so good that I set a goal to support myself and my family from my running alone.

I trained hard every day. Since I wanted to be the best I could be, I knew I would have to set some clear goals for myself. A couple of my goals were: run a 135-mile ultra-marathon(超级马拉松) across Death Valley, win the Badwater Ultra-Marathon, and run a marathon to the South Pole.

I had no idea how I was going to achieve these goals, but they certainly encouraged me to work hard. Today, I am really grateful to say that I have achieved all of them. Shortly after completing these goals, I set another goal: to run fifty marathons, in fifty states, in fifty days. Nobody had done anything like this before. To be honest, I was not quite sure if I could. But there was only one way to find out…so I just started training and preparing to give it my best try.

I completed that goal one year ago, and it felt great! But for me, life is not all about achieving goals. Sure, it feels good to succeed, but the greatest reward for me was learning more about myself and what I was able to do.

Only by stepping out into the unknown and stretching(使倾注全力) ourselves can we really discover what our true potential(潜能) is。

1.Which played an important role in the author’s success?

A. Setting goals                B. Learning from others.

C. Being honest                D. Keeping on reading .

2.According to Paragraph 3, before achieving the goals the author felt _____________

A. very grateful                B. not quite confident

C. quite afraid                 D. not very satisfied

3.What does the underlined part “that goal” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. Win the Badwater Ultra-Marathon.

B. Run a marathon to the South Pole.

C. Run fifty marathons, in fifty states, in fifty days.

D. Run a 135-mile ultra-marathon across Death Valley.

4.The author probably agrees that____________.

A. life means achieving goals

B. success is the greatest reward

C. sports help develop our potential

D. everyone may have great potential.

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.

I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.

“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”

I spread the quilt. It looked at if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.

“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.

“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”

I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(缝) a piece of cloth with these words:  “My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”

“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.

56. Why did the author go to mother’s home?

  A. To see her mother’s quilts.

  B. To help prepare for a show.

  C. To get together for the family dinner.

  D. To discuss her grandmother’s life.

57. The author was surprised because      .

  A. the quilt looked very strange.

  B. her grandmother liked the quilt.

  C. the quilt was the best she had seen.

  D. her mother had made some changes

58. The underlined wood “crooked” in the passage most probably means       .

  A. unfinished

  B. broken

  C. bent

  D. unusual

59. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

  A. A Quilt Show

  B. Mother’s Home

  C. A Monday Dinner

  D. Grandmother’s Quilt

As parents we like to make sure that our children are eating well and getting all the nutrients（营养）they need. Children need two to three kinds of vegetables every day.

A simple way to get our children to eat vegetables is by eating them ourselves. Following our example, they may start eating vegetables themselves. Don’t say things like, “If you eat your vegetables, you can have dessert. ” These methods work for a little while but can possibly lead them to hate vegetables more. Give your children new varieties of foods which will help them develop a taste for trying new things.

Sometimes the simple things just don’t work. We have to start becoming a little creative to make our children eat vegetables. By doing this in the beginning when children are small, we will help them learn to love vegetables.

Think of creative ways to make children eat vegetables. For example, cut up vegetables like carrots, cucumbers and place them in a creative way on a plate for an afternoon snack. Or try using cheese sauce either by dipping the vegetables in it or by putting the cheese right on top of cooked or raw vegetables.

If you prefer, you can also add a teaspoon of sugar on top of cooked green beans and peas to make them taste a little sweeter. Doing this shouldn’t lead to a sweet tooth as long as you only give them a small amount.

If you have children that refuse to eat vegetables, some of these suggestions I’ve listed will help to turn that around. In the end, you’re not only just getting them to eat vegetables, you’re also helping them to live a healthier lifestyle.

According to the passage, all the following ways to get children to eat vegetables are creative EXCEPT _____.

A. preparing carrots in an attractive way

B. adding some cheese sauce to vegetables

C. putting cheese on top of vegetables

D. making vegetables much sweeter

If you want your children to develop the habit of eating vegetables, you should _____.

A. set an example to them

B. be very patient to them

C. give dessert to them as an award

D. cut vegetables into different types to meet their tastes

The best title for the passage would probably be “_____”.

A. Vegetables are very important for children’s health

B. How to make children eat more vegetables

C. More and more children like eating vegetables

D. There are many kinds of vegetables for children

My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can't be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying，“What do you want? Take my wallet，” but at the time I thought of nothing.

I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house—Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen's voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy's head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy，and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn't crouch (蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.

I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help！” at eight o'clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the? more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in！” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy's screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.

The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to? come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely，“Please go and eat. We're OK.”

I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of? bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I? was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer? sentences wouldn't change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was? directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes? talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy? and me?

People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out? in force twenty minutes later. They were ill?tempered about what was, to them, much trouble? about nothing.? After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to? describing the gunmen. “Typical，” said one policeman when we couldn't even agree on how tall? the men were.? Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two? policemen who stayed to make the report didn't think that would be much help.

The policemen were matter?of?fact about the whole thing. The thin one said，“That was a? stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do? what you're told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.

Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the? house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys，” he said. “If you? had gone into the house with them...” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” ——he twisted his head toward me——“and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look，” said the fat policeman kindly, “ there's no right or wrong in the situation. There's just luck.”

All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car? window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many? hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time—no? intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There's only luck. The next time I might end up dead.

And I’m sure there will be a next time.? It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone.Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they're fooling themselves.

1.When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window，________.

A．she felt very annoyed

B．she lost consciousness

C．she felt very much nervous

D．she lost the power of thinking

2.What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?

A．Jeremy's fighting.

B．The author's screaming.

C．Their neighbour's brave action.

D．The police's arrival.

3.When the author called for help, the neighbors didn't come out immediately because________.

A．they were much too frightened

B．they were busy preparing dinners

C．they needed time to find baseball bats

D．they thought someone was playing a trick

4.What the author wants to tell us is that________.

A．neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty

B．the police are not reliable when one is in trouble

C．security is impossible as long as people can have guns

D．preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice