阅读理解

　　Michael McCarthy climbed to the top of the Willis Tower not long ago．The Tower stands 1451 feet(442 meters)tall, the highest building in the US．

　　As he got to the last step, McCarthy almost fell down, but that didn't stop him．The 14-year-old boy finally finished climbing the 2,109 steps and arrived at the top, where he enjoyed the cheers from the crowd．

　　“I just want to show people that if a kid with no legs can do it, anyone can do it, ”McCarthy said．

　　McCarthy, who was born without legs, has to wear prosthetic legs(假肢)and use a set of crutches(拐杖)to walk．But McCarthy has a strong heart．He believes nothing can stop him from achieving his success．

　　He has been in a karate(空手道)school since he was four years old．When he decided to climb the Willis Tower, his karate teacher, Jeff Kohn, was moved and offered to help train him．They spent more than 10 hours practicing climbing stairs and keeping balance with the prostheses and crutches on the steps every day．“It seems that he never knows what tiredness is．Sometimes, I was so tired that I asked him to call it a day, ”said Kohn．“But he said he was still full of energy and wanted more exercise．”

　　Kohn was with McCarthy for the climb．“I saw the last 10 floors-he went faster, ” said Kohn．“He's the most hard-working athlete I've ever trained．”

　　McCarthy said he was proud of himself and that the Tower now holds special meaning．“When I'm older, I'll point to the building and say ‘Look at this building I climbed’．”he said．

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完形填空

　　There are many kinds of animals in the world．Elephants are the 1 　 animals that live on land．Only some kinds of whales (鲸鱼) are bigger than elephants，but they live in the 2 ndline．The tallest animals are giraffes (长颈鹿) and the elephants are only the 3ndline　 tallest ones in the world．They live in Africa (非洲)．It can be 5．5 meters tall．Elephants are the only animals that have a long 4 　 that is called trunk．They can use the trunk like a hand．5ndline　 its trunk，an elephant can pick up a 270 kg tree，or pick up one peanut(花生)．Elephants have the biggest ears of all the animals．Their tusks (象牙) are the biggest teeth．

　　There are 6 ndline　 kinds of elephants桝frican elephants and Indian elephants．Indian elephants are 7 ndline　 called Asian elephants．

　　Elephants are very strong and very smart (聪明的)．People have used elephants for 8 ndline　 work for thousands of years．

　　The cheetah(猎豹)is also from Africa．It is in the cat family．A cheetah can run 110 km／hr．The ostrich (鸵鸟) from east Africa is the largest bird in the world．But it 9 ndline　 fly．

　　The kangaroo (袋鼠) lives in ustralia．It is an old kind of animal．A 10 ndline　 kangaroo lives in its mother's pouch (育儿袋)．It leaves the pouch when it is about six months old．And many people think they are very lovely．

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阅读理解

　　Probably you have seen photographs of the Grand Canyon (大峡谷)，the great valley in the desert country of Arizona (亚利桑那州)．But you must go there yourself to feel its true size and beauty．The Grand Canyon is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world．

　　The Colorado River formed the Grand Canyon over millions of years．Slowly，the river cut down through hard rocks．At the same time，the land was rising．Today，the canyon is one and a half kilometers deep and 445 kilometers long．The oldest rocks at the bottom of the canyon are more than one billion years old．The width varies (变化) from about 200 meters to 29 kilometers across．The rim or top of the canyon is about 2 300 meters above sea level on the South Rim，and about 3 000 meters on the other side，the North Rim．As a result，there are different kinds of plants and animals on opposite sides of the canyon．The South Rim is a dry desert country．The North Rim has tall forest．

　　The canyon looks different at different times of day，and in different seasons and weather．At sunrise and sunset，the red，gold，brown and orange colors of the rocks are especially clear and bright．In winter，the canyon is partly covered with snow．

　　The view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is the best．Most visitors come to the South Rim and stay in campgrounds or hotels．Every point along the canyon's edge offers a different view．

　　The North Rim of the canyon is quieter．It takes all day to drive there from the South Rim because there is only one bridge across the Colorado River．On the way，you go through Navaho Indian land,and a colorful pink desert called“The Painted Desert”．

　　You can walk down into the Grand Canyon,or you can take a boat trip down the Colorado River， and camp on the beaches at night．But whether you see the Grand Canyon from the top or the bottom，or from the North Rim or South Rim，it will be an experience that you will never forget．

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