“I Went Skydiving at 84!”

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001,when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community（社区）announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.

In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this， I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.

On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落伞）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.

Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.

1.What happened to the author in 2001?

A. She flew an airplane              B. She entered a competition

C. She went on a hot air balloon ride   D. She moved into a retirement community

2.The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to       .

A. build up her own reputation        B. show her admiration for him

C. compare their health condition      D. make her argument persuasive

3.How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A. Excited           B. Scared      C. Nervous        D. Regretful

4.What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A. The beautiful clouds     B. The wonderful view

C. The company of Jay     D. The one-minute free fall

5.Which word could be used to replace the word “instructor,” in Paragraph 3?

     A. doctor             B. conductor       C. pilot        D. trainer

完成下列句子15%

1  Jack昨晚本该在家学习，他们今天要考试。

Jack___________ __________ studied at home last night, for we are _________ ____________ _____________today.

2.Mr White 一生致力于研究地震。

Mr White _____________all his life __________ studying earthquake.

3.那时其他学者对他的理论评价不高。

The other scholars ___________  _________ _______ his theory at that time.

4.她一旦下定决心，她一定会按日程表完成任务。

___________ she has _________ _________ __________ ___________,she will finish her task ____________ ____________.

5.Mary 很害羞，以至跟陌生人交流有困难。

Mary is __________shy _______ she ________ __________ ___________ communciating with strangers.

6.我是上周在图书馆碰巧遇到他.

It ________ in the garden ________I___________　________  to meet him

 in the library last week.

7. 我们要充分利用时间学习。

We must _______   _________  ________     _______to study.

.

第二节完型填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

My parents passed away ten years ago and I miss them terribly. But I know they are with me every day in what they taught me and in the   36   they gave me. Every morning my father’s message to me was: Remember that   37   you walk out of this door, you carry responsibility, the good name of this family, the hopes and dreams of your mom and dad. My mother often urged me to   38   the high standards she set for me.

When I was in high school, I played in a rock band with friends in my class. We were devoted and practiced constantly. We moved past the guys – in – a – garage stage and   39   to be pretty good, doing getting – paid gigs (演奏会) most weekends, which made me   40  . At that time, though part of me was   41  up in that band, another part of me was the oldest son in the Clark family,   42  of my origin and a dedicated student busy applying to colleges. Without even telling my parents, I applied to Harvard. I didn’t think I had much chance of getting in,   43   I wanted to try. So I was riding around being Mr Cool Rock Musician half of the time, and the other half I was focused on family and   44   goals. I was running on parallel   45  .

When the group won a city wide Battle of the Bands, things heated up. My band mates had stars in their eyes – we might be able to make it big. However, I began to feel   46  . I realized I was on quite different tracks: I   47   was becoming two people,   48   identities back and forth depending on who I was with. I had to make an option. As I considered my   49  , my parents’ words were right there, helping me to see that my dreams weren’t about signing a record deal, letting my hair grow, and living in a tour bus. So I   50   out. My bandmasters were   51  . They thought I was crazy to withdraw   52   the peak of real success. But however successful that band got, I knew it wasn’t in line with my   53  , with my feeling of what I was   54   to do, with who I was – it simply wasn’t me.

In that instant and in many others throughout my life, my parent’s advice has helped me recenter and   55  . I could remember who I was – the hopes and dreams I carried.

36．A．property      B．advice         C．guide         D．aid

37．A．when         B．before         C．while         D．since

38．A．come up with   B．stand up to       C．live up to     D．keep pace with

39．A．got           B．failed              C．hoped          D．attempted

40．A．lost          B．disappointed     C．confused      D．thrilled

41．A．wrapped      B．centred        C．spent         D．offered

42．A．scared         B．proud          C．guilty          D．ashamed

43．A．if             B．unless          C．until         D．yet

44．A．economic     B．political       C．academic     D．literary

45．A．tracks          B．ways         C．processes     D．directions

46．A．confident     B．optimistic     C．cheerful       D．uncomfortable

47．A．exactly        B．actually       C．eventually     D．fortunately

48．A．switching     B．acting          C．discovering      D．seeking

49．A．conditions     B．choices        C．competence      D．health

50．A．gave         B．looked         C．called          D．dropped

51．A．disturbed     B．cool         C．shocked       D．tolerant

52．A．in            B．to             C．by            D．at

53．A．goals         B．interests       C．personality       D．consideration

54．A．meant          B．demanded     C．forced         D．aimed

55．A．recall              B．refocus        C．rebuild        D．reunite

When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.

.   So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.

Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.

Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through Crying, and then we can deal with them.

Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical (身体的) health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural  — and healthy — emotional response (反应).

1.Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?

2.According to the author, which of the following statements is true?

3. What might be the most suitable title for the text?

“I Went Skydiving at 84!”

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2011,when my husband arranged for me me ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time ,I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community（社区）announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.

In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it.

One june 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reachen 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落伞）, then we just floated downward fo zhout five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air ballon. I was just enjoying it.

Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.

1.

What happened to the auther in 2001?

A. She flew an airplane

B. She entered a competition

C. She went on a hot air balloon ride

D. She moved into a retirement community

2.

 The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to       .

A. build up her own reputation

B. show her admiration for him

C. compare their health conditon

D. make her argument persuasive

3.

How did the authou feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A. Excited    B. Scared    C. Nervous    D. Regretful

4.

 What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A.The beautiful clouds     B. The wonderful view

C. The company of Jay     D. The one-minute free fall