Australia, also known as “the Land Down Under”, is a country, an island and a continent(大陆). It's the world's smallest continent and the sixth largest country. But only about 24 million people live there. The first people there were the Aborigines. In the late 18th century the British arrived. Today the British influence on Australia is still very strong. For example, the national language is English and drivers drive on the left side of the road.

Australia was cut off from the other continents a long time ago, so a lot of Australia's animals, like the koala and the kangaroo aren't found anywhere else in the world. Australia also has some of the most dangerous animals in the world. There are poisonous(有毒的) snakes and spiders. In the north there are huge saltwater crocodiles, and in the sea, around the coast, there are sharks and poisonous jellyfish.

The largest city in Australia is Sydney with its famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The 2000 Summer Olympics were held in Sydney. But Sydney isn't the capital of Australia. The capital is Canberra.

Australia is a huge country, but most Australians live in the south-east corner between Sydney and Melbourne. This is because most of the land is very dry. Australians call this dry area the outback. There are some huge farms there with millions of sheep. The children who live on these farms can't go to school, because the nearest town is too far away. They study at home with the School of the Air. They used to talk to their teachers by the radio and, nowadays, on the Internet. There is also a “flying doctor” service. The doctor comes to the outback by plane.

1.What's the population of Australia?

__________________________________________

2.What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

__________________________________________

3.Is Harbour Bridge in Sydney or Canberra?

__________________________________________

4.In which part of the country do most Australians live?

__________________________________________

5.Where do children living in the outback study?

__________________________________________

In 1959, when Jean Harper was in the third grade, her teacher asked them to write a report on what they wanted to be when they grew up. She poured her heart into her report and expressed her dream of becoming an airline pilot. Her paper came back with an “F” on it. The teacher told her it was a “fairy tale”. Jean was completely disappointed. As the years went by, Jean was beaten down by the discouragement. “Girls can’t become airline pilots; never have, never will. You’re crazy.” Finally Jean gave up.

In her senior year of high school, her English teacher was Mrs. Dorothy Slaton, a strict teacher with high standards. One day Mrs. Slaton asked this question, “What will you do in the future?” Jean felt a rush of the old enthusiasm (热情), and with excitement she wrote down the very old dream right away.

The next thing that Mrs. Slaton said changed the course of Jean’s life. “I have a little secret for you. You do have unlimited (无限的) abilities and talents. When you leave school, if you don’t go for your dream, no one will do it for you. You can have what you want if you try!”

The hurt and fear of years of discouragement disappeared suddenly. Jean felt thrilled and told her teacher about her dream of becoming a pilot. Mrs. Slaton slapped (敲) the desk top, “Then do it!” she said.

So Jean did. It didn’t happen overnight. In her l0 years of hard work, even facing all kinds of difficulties, she never gave up her dream.

Eventually, Jean Harper became a Boeing 737 captain (机长) of the United Airline Company.

1.Jean’s third-grade teacher thought her dream to be _____________.

A. great B. impossible C. challenging D. reasonable

2.Mrs. Slaton may think that _____________.

A. Jean is not a nice girl

B. only some of her students have great abilities

C. a belief helps to realize one’s dream

D. her students are good enough to enter the best schools

3.According to the passage, we can infer that _____________.

A. Jean’s dream was always in her deep heart

B. Jean didn’t go for her dream

C. most people around Jean were for her dream

D. Jean achieved her dream overnight

4.What does the underlined word thrilled in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. excited B. surprised C. disappointed D. relaxed

5.What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Face Difficulties B. Dream C. Voice Your Dream D. Go for your dream

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