Football, to me, is more than just a game. I have probably learned more than valuable lessons from it than from school.
When I joined the team freshman year, I didn’t realize what I was getting into. Even though I had been playing since fourth grade and knew it was hard work, nothing would prepare me for the effort I would put into football that year. We worked all summer in the weight room and ran on the track to get in physical and mental shape before the season.
See, football is more of a mental sport than anything else, so running on the track wasn’t only about getting in shape . We would push our minds by running as hard as we could even if we felt like we were going to pass out. At the beginning, I was immature (幼稚的) and only thought of myself, sometimes even giving up when I was tired or hurting. Then after the third game I had a season-ending injury. Imagine working all summer and then only being able to play three games! I needed surgery on my arm and at least five months to recover.
After freshman year I decided that I would always give my best effort. Playing varsity (大学代表队) football has taught me so much more than just what my tasks are on a particular play or how to block. I have learned to think about others first, and realized how important working hard is. Being with all my friends, even sweating and bleeding with them, really made us unite as a group of hard-working young men, who will succeed in life.
65. What is the text mainly about?
A. How the author dislikes the game of football.
B. When the author began to play football.
C. How the author has changed his attitude to football.
D. What sport the author likes best.
66. The author thinks football is ________.
A. just a game    B. of a mental sport    C. hard to pass out  D. not worth his effort
67. From the text we can infer ________.
A. the author joined the football team with a clear aim.
B. football only brought the author certain tasks
C. the author worked all summer to get ready for the season.
D. the author never lost heart when he met with difficulties.
68. In the third paragraph, the phrase “getting in shape” probably means ________.
A. becoming physically fit             B. designing the playground
C. losing weight                     D. measuring the track

Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. Death Valley can be dangerously cold      during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley.
The air temperature during the summer has been as high as fifty- seven degrees Celsius. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as seventy -four degrees Celsius.                                                                     
Death Valley contains evidence of several ancient volcanoes that caused huge explosions. Evidence of one of these explosions is called Ubehebe Crater. The explosion left a huge hole in the ground almost a kilometer and a half wide. In many areas of Death Valley it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth. This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations. Some are red. Others are dark brown, gray, yellow or black.
The area was named by a woman in 1849. Thousands of people from other parts of the ountry traveled Lo the gold mining areas in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December they had reached Death Valley. They did not have to survive the terrible heat of summer, hut there was still an extreme lack of water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat.
The people could not find a pass through the call mountains to the west of the Valley. Slowly, they began co suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the Valley. As they left, one woman looked back and said, “Good -bye, death valley.”  The name has never been changed.
Almost everyone who visits Death Valley visits a huge house called Scotty' s Castle. The building design is Spanish, with high thick walls to provide protection from the fierce heat.
The castle is named for Walter Scott , called Scotty by his friends. He was a gold miner. He told everyone that he built the house with money he made from his gold mine. Many people believed him. But it was not really the truth.
【小题1】The first two paragraphs discuss Death Valley' s               ．

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从16-35各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
The Price of a Dream
　　I grew up poor—living with my wonderful mother. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I was 　16　 and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still 　17　 a dream.
My dream was 　18　. By the time I was sixteen, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and 　19　 anything that moved on the football field.
I was also  20　. My high school coach was John, who not only believed in me, but also taught me 　21　to believe in myself. He 　22　 me the difference between having a dream and remaining true to that dream. One particular 　23　 with Coach John changed my life forever.
　　A friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket—money for a new bike, new clothes and the 　24　 of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to 　25　 up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.
　　When I told John, he was 　26　 as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work,” He shouted. “Your 　27　 days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them.” I stood before him with my head 　28　, trying to think of the right　29　　that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his 　30　 in me.
　　“How much are you going to make at this job, son?” He asked. “3.5 dollars an hour,” I replied.
　　“Well,” he asked, “is $ 3.5 an hour the price of a dream?”
　　That simple question made  31    for me the difference between  32 　something at once and having a 　33　. I decided myself to play sports that summer and the ___34    year after I finished high school, I was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was 　35　 a $ 20,000 contract. Finally, I bought my mother the house of my dream!
16. A. happy                 B. polite　             C. shy　                        D. honest
17. A. live                    B. have　　　       C. make　　　           D. need
18. A. athletics                 B. music　　　     C. business　　              D. money
19. A. kick                   B. play                   C. pass　　　　             D. hit
20. A. right                   B. popular　　       C. lucky　　　             D. honest
21. A. how                   B. why　　　        C. when　　　           D. whether
22. A. gave                   B. taught　　　     C. brought　　　          D. asked
23. A. accident                 B. matter　　      C. problem　　            D. experience
24. A. aim　　　　    B. idea　　　       C. start　　　　           D. purpose
25. A. keep　　　      B. end　　　       C. give　　　　           D. pick
26. A. mad　　　　     B. mournful　             C. frightened　           D. shameful
27. A. living　　　     B. playing　　        C. working　　            D. dreaming
28. A. moving　　      B. nodding　　       C. shaking　　           D. hanging
29. A. answers　　      B. excuses　　        C. words　　　            D. ways
30. A. sadness　　    B. regret　            C. hopelessness           D. disappointment
31. A. direct　　　　  B. clear　　           C. straight　　　      D. bare
32. A. wanting　　　    B. changing　　       C. dreaming　　           D. enjoying
33. A. wish　　　　　 B. goal　　　                 C. score　　　　      D. desire
34. A. following　　　 B. same　　           C. previous　　            D. very
35. A. charged　　　　B. got　　　　         C. offered　　       D. presented

Think for a moment about the teachers you have had at school or at university.  Which one did you like best?  And Why?  Were the teachers you liked best also the ones who were the best teachers, in you opinion?  Before you read any further, consider for a minute the qualities that make a teacher outstanding(出色).
Some very common answers to this question are that teachers need to love their students, that they need to have an expert knowledge of their subjects, and that they should devote themselves completely to their jobs.  All of these ideas are, of course, true to a certain extent(程度)but they are perhaps a little too simple.
It is impossible for anyone to love everyone they know, and teachers deal with a very large number of students over the years.  On the other hand, teachers should certainly be able to make their students feel that they are interested in them as people and in the development of both their characters.  A deep knowledge on to the students effectively-a teacher needs to be trained in the skills of teaching.  These skills include how to control a class, and so on.  Finally, teachers have to devote a lot of time and energy to their work, of course.  However, they are also models that their students must follow;  so it is important that they should be well-balanced people with interests outside their school work-family, friends, hobbies, etc.  A teacher who only lives for work is likely to become too narrow-minded.
1. The author suggests that you think about the teachers you have had at school or at university so that_______
A. you might praise outstanding teachers
B. you might know the qualities of outstanding teachers
C. you might select outstanding teachers
D. you might learn from outstanding teachers
2. The author does not consider it possible for a teacher_______
A. to love all the students he has taught or is teaching
B. to have a good knowledge of the subject he teaches
C. to pass the knowledge of his subjects on to his students effectively
D. to be an example for his students to follow
3. A well - balanced person is one_______.
A. who devotes all his time and energy to his work
B. who devotes most of his time and energy to his family, friend, hobbies, etc
C. who has interests both in and outside his work
D. who has interests neither in nor outside his work
4. From the passage, we can conclude that_______.
A. most teachers are born with such skills as how to explain a lesson clearly
B. it is not necessary of teachers to spend much time and energy on their work if they do have an expert knowledge of their subjects
C. teachers should be trained to love all the students they are teaching or have taught
D. even if a teacher has a good knowledge of his subjects, he can not be a good teacher if he doesn’t have the ability to pass that knowledge on to his students.

The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light，I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”。
I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer，In fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve. “ Oh，dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures（生物） in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的）now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed，“Oh，God，please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards，Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later，with my head on the desk，I fell asleep.
【小题1】The underlined word “wretched”in Paragraph 3 probably means _______ .