Talk about a real-life hero! Ten-year-old Larry Champagne from St. Louis, Missouri, hit the brake (刹车) on a runaway school bus. He saved himself and 20 other kids on board from disaster.

It all happened in one terrible accident. On the way to school, the bus driver, Ernestine Blackman, suddenly fell ill. Seeing the car was running away, the other kids started to scream, but Larry ran to the front and stopped the bus.

“At first I thought, ‘We’re going to die,’” says Larry, “but after I pressed the brake, I felt safe.”

Larry’s speedy reaction made news all over the country. He appeared on TV shows as a hero. The bus company gave Larry a big gift. His school hung a medal of honor around his neck.

“My grandmother always tells me to do what’s right,” says Larry. He thanked his brother, Jerrick, 9, who “helped me get the bus driver up” during the emergency. How did he know how to stop the bus? Larry is something of a mechanic（机械师）. He helps his grandfather work on his old truck. “He gets his hands dirty,” says his grandfather. One thing is for certain: Larry knows where to find the brakes.

1.What did Larry do to save the runaway bus?

A．He parked it for the sleeping bus driver.

B．He helped all the kids climb out through the windows.

C．He made a call to the police.

D．He pressed the brake.

2.When did Larry finally feel safe?

A．When the kids finally stopped screaming.

B．When the police officers arrived.

C．Once he pressed the brake, and the bus stopped.

D．When the bus driver started driving again.

3.Larry got the following as praise for his hero action Except _______.

A．appearing on TV shows                   B．a scholarship from his school

C．a big gift from the bus company             D．a medal of honor

4.Larry thanked his brother Jerrick for ________.

A．helping him get the bus driver up

B．helping him work on his old truck

C．teaching him how to find the brake

D．teaching him how to stop the bus

5.The underlined sentence “Larry is something of a mechanic” tells us that ____.

A．Larry’s job is a mechanic

B．Larry knows something about machines

C．Larry is a robot

D．Larry knows nothing about machines

War Horse author Michael Morpurgo is being interviewed:
Reporter:How did War Horse become so successful?
Michael:War Horse was published in 1982,and it did not sell very well.But my publishers kept it in print,along with all my books.I am very grateful to Egmont and I’m sure now they are very grateful to themselves.
The book was discovered 21 years later,by accident.I was on Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 in 2003 when my work was becoming better known.One of the listeners was the mother of a director called Tom Morris,and after reading War Horse herself she told her son to read it.Two years later the play came out,and it was a huge hit that went to the West End,Broadway and now Canada and Australia,then a nationwide American tour in June this year.
In 2009 kathy kennedy,the producer who worked with Steven Spielberg,walked into the New London Theatre to see the play because her daughter liked it very much.She then phoned Spielberg and told him this would be his next film!The way it all happened is better than any of my stories.War Horse has now sold over 1 million copies.
Reporter:Has War Horse changed your life?
Michael:It has made all the difference in the world.The most important gift it has given us is not to have to worry about money,because there has always been a slight anxiety.It has allowed us to ensure our grandchildren’s education.There is a disadvantage to it as well,which is an assumption that I am super rich.I’m not,actually.It is very nice and completely unexpected but I have got to go on writing.If I were younger,I think,it would go to my head.Now I am too old for anything to go to my head.It is not the same as winning the lottery(彩票)。
【小题1】Why are Michael’s publishers grateful to themselves too?

四、阅读理解（2分×15=30分）阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。
Talk about a real-life hero! Ten-year-old Larry Champagne from St. Louis，Missouri, hit the brake (刹车) on a runaway school bus. He saved himself and 20 other kids on board from disaster.
It all happened in one terrible accident. On the way to school, the bus driver, Ernestine Blackman, suddenly fell ill. Seeing the car was running away, the other kids started to scream, but Larry ran to the front and stopped the bus.
“At first I thought, ‘We’re going to die,’” says Larry, “but after I pressed the brake, I felt safe.”
Larry’s speedy reaction made news all over the country. He appeared on TV shows as a hero. The bus company gave Larry a big gift. His school hung a medal of honor around his neck.
“My grandmother always tells me to do what’s right,” says Larry. He thanked his brother, Jerrick, 9, who “helped me get the bus driver up” during the emergency（紧急情况）. How did he know how to stop the bus? Larry is something of a mechanic（机械师）. He helps his grandfather work on his old truck. “He gets his hands dirty,” says his grandfather. One thing is for certain: Larry knows where to find the brakes.
1. What did Larry do to save the runaway bus?
A. He parked it for the sleeping bus driver. 
B. He helped all the kids climb out through the windows.
C. He dialed 911.              D. he pressed the brake.
2. When did Larry finally feel safe?
A. When the kids finally stopped screaming.        B. When the police officers arrived.
C. Once he pressed the brake, and the bus stopped.   D. When the bus driver started driving again.
3. Larry got the following as praise for his hero action Except            .
A. appearing on TV shows                         B. a scholarship from his school
C. a big gift from the bus company                    D. a medal of honor
4. Larry thanked his brother Jerrick for             .
A. helping him get the bus driver up                  B. helping him work on his old truck
C. teaching him how to find the brake         D. teaching him how to stop the bus
5. The underlined sentence“Larry is something of a mechanic” tells us that               .
A. Larry’s job is a mechanic                       B. Larry knows something about machines
C. Larry is a robot                                     D. Larry knows nothing about machines

Tim Welford, aged 33, and Dom Mee, aged 30, both from England, were keen on (=like... very much) rowing boats. They made a plan to row across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. The name of their rowboat was “Crackers”. It was about seven meters long.

     They set out from Japan on May 17,2001. They had rowed nearly 5,500 miles when their boat was hit by a fishing ship on September 17,2001. Luckily they both escaped unharmed, but their boat was badly damaged and they had to abandon( = stop)their journey.

　 　In a radio interview, Dom expressed his disappointment and explained how the accident took place.

　　“A fishing ship came towards us with nobody on the bridge and ran us down. It all happened so quickly. I managed to dive into the water. Tim felt it would be safer to stay on board. He was trapped inside as the boat was driven under the water. Finally some people appeared on the ship and saw me in the water. I shouted at them to stop the ship and to get Tim out. When the ship stopped, I eventually saw Tim, and I was very, very disappointed that we were still alive. We were very disappointed that we couldn’t reach San Francisco. But we are alive. That above everything is the most important. ”

68. How long had Tim and Dom been at sea when their boat was hit by a fishing boat?
　　A. For one month　 　        B. For two months. 

C. For three months.　　     D. For four months.

69. According to Dom, the main reason for the accident was that________.
　A. Tim and Dom were too careless

B. the speed of the fishing ship was too fast
　C. nobody on the fishing ship saw them

D. their rowboat was not strong enough
70. Dom said that the most important thing in this accident was that________.
　A. their rowboat was not damaged

B. both of them existed after a dangerous time
　C. they enjoyed this journey

D. they failed to reach San Francisco

71. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. Some people on the fishing ship saved them.

B. Tim and Dom were going to San Francisco in the rowboat because they had no money to buy airplane tickets.

C. Dom dived into the water when the accident happened because he thought it would be dangerous to stay on board.

第二部分：阅读理解(第一节20小题。第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分)

第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该

选项标号涂黑。

     When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.

     It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.

     "Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint. " She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes ( 条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!

     The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother's face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.

     My mother shut the ear door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors' trees, but this! Come inside right now !" I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.

     "Now go clean it up!" Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.

     Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

1. What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

   A. To introduce Stephanie to her.          B. To prevent her from seeing his painting.

   C. To put the materials back in the yard.    D. To show his artwork to her.

2. In his mother's eyes, the writer __ .

   A. was a born artist                          B. always caused trouble

   C. was a problem solver                      D. worked very hard

3. The underlined word "rainbow" in the last paragraph refers to __ .

   A. the rainbow in the sky                     B. the stripes on the pavement

   C. something imaginative and fun              D. important lessons learned in childhood

4. It can be learned from the passage that parents should       .

A. encourage children to paint          

B. value friendship among children

C. discover the hidden talent in children 

D. protect rather than destroy children's dreams