I was born an albino．No one in my family had ever known what an albino was, what it meant to be an albino, and what had to be done differently because I was an albino．
My parents treated me just like they treated everybody else．That was just about the best thing they could have done．It helped me trust myself, so when the annoyances came along, I could deal with them．
True, my photo always looked like a snowball with two pieces of coal for eyes．Kids would tease me, asking if I was joining the circus and calling me“Whitey”．Like most albinos, I had terrible eyesight, and my grades suffered until eventually I overcame my feeling ashamed of myself and realized it was okay to ask to sit in the front of the classroom so I could see the blackboard better．People stared at me when I held reading material right at the tip of my nose so I could see it well enough to read．Even when I was eight or nine．movie-theater clerks started asking me to pay adult prices because I“looked older”．
The worst part for me was that because my eyesight was so bad, I couldn’t play sports very well．I didn’t give up trying, though．And I studied harder．
Eventually, I got better at school and loved it．By the time I got to college 1 was double majoring, going to summer school and devoting myself to every kind of extracurricular activity I could find．I had learned to be proud of being an albino．I did my best to make“albino”a positive word．And I decided to make my living with my eyes．
I couldn’t see well enough to play spots, but with a solid education and the drive to do it．I could make a living involved in the field I loved．I’ve done it now for more than thirty years in print and in video, and now in cyberspace．People make jokes about how I’m the only“blind editor”they know, but most of the time the jokes are signs of respect．And I make jokes about being an albino．
I was just a proud albino kid from the coal country of Pennsylvania．I now realize that being born an albino helped me to overcome difficulties, gain confidence, and be proud of my personal achievement and humble about my professional accomplishments．
(1)
What is an albino according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Someone with bad eyesight．
B．
Someone with some kind of disease．
C．
Someone who looks older than his age．
D．
Someone who joins the circus．
(2)
What does the underlined word“It”in Paragraph 2 refer to?
[ ]
A．
The fact that the author was born an albino．
B．
What had to be done differently to the author．
C．
The way that the author’s parents treated him．
D．
The fact that the author had no idea what an albino was．
(3)
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
[ ]
A．
The author’s study was affected by his eyesight at first．
B．
The author had to pay adult prices for movies when he was still young
C．
Despite his bad eyesight, the author played sport well．
D．
“Albino”has already become a positive word now．
(4)
Why are people’s jokes about the author mostly signs of respect?
[ ]
A．
Because he is an albino．
B．
Because he has a solid education．
C．
Because they think he is a great“blind editor”．
D．
Because they think he is proud of his achievement
(5)
Through the passage, the author tells us __________________．
In the world of fairy tales, great and powerful men are often helped to victory by the small and weak．But in the US it has happened for real．
Nine–year–old Noah McCullough from Texas, has taken on the role of speaking to the public in support of President George W．Bush’s social security reforms．
On February 25 he signed an agreement with the American Congress to work for the White House as a volunteer．“What I want to tell people about social security is not to be afraid of the new plan,”Noah said．“It may be a change, but it’s a good change．”
Besides this task, he already has a higher goal．He plans to run for the White House in 2032．So far, Noah seems to have a very bright future．
Despite his age, Noah already has his firm opinion on running the US．“I firmly believe that the combination of large business and small governments creates a peaceful and present society because industry can stimulate(刺激)economic growth,”he said．
Noah’s politics do not come from his parents．“He is very patriotic(爱国的)and very republican,”said Noah’s mother, Donna McCullough．“It’s the way he was born．”
Noah’s interest began after a mock(模拟)election in the kindergarten when he was five years old．Now he has read more than 3,000 books on presidential history．He can recite the names of all 43 American presidents．He can also describe the achievements and events that took place during a president’s term of office．
His unusual experiences in the presidential campaign last year made him a famous figure．He was a member of Bush’s presidential campaign team．He gave speeches at the Republican convention(大会)and followed Bush around on his tour of 27 states．President Bush thinks highly of the boy, saying that he is“the miracle kid of the White House”．
(1)
Noah McCullough worked for the White House ________．
[ ]
A．
to support George W．Bush in the presidential campaign
B．
to be a volunteer in the presidential campaign
C．
to show his gift in the presidential campaigns
D．
to drill for his running for the White House in 2032
(2)
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Noah seems to have a very bright future because he supports Bush．
B．
Noah is the youngest of the Americans who support Bush．
C．
Noah has been to more than half of the states in the presidential campaign．
D．
Noah was born with his parents’ dream of his becoming US President．
(3)
We can infer from the passage that ________．
[ ]
A．
Noah can surely succeed in the 2032 presidential campaign
B．
Noah’s polities are deeply affected by his parents
C．
Bush had known Noah well before the presidential campaign began
D．
Noah would develop industry and reduce government officials if he were elected President of the USA
(4)
Which is the best title of the passage?
[ ]
A．
The Small and Weak Can Help the Big and Strong
B．
Little Boy Helps President Bush
C．
Beginning of Noah’s Political Life
D．
The US Future President
阅读理解
I remembered the first day I saw her playing basketball．I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids．The boys always tried to stop her but no one could, though she seemed so small．She would practice shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark．
One day I asked her why she practiced so much．Without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college．The only way I can go is to get a scholarship．I like basketball．I am going to play college basketball．I want to be the best．My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．”Then she repeated the routine．Well, I had to give in to her – she was determined．I watched her through those junior high years and into high school．Every week, she led her school team to victory．One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms．Quietly I walked to her and asked what was wrong．“Oh, noting,” came a soft reply．“I am just too short．”The coach told her that at 5.5 inches she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team, so she should stop dreaming about college．But her father said those coaches were wrong．They just did not understand the power of a dream．He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college and wanted a scholarship, nothing could stop her except one thing – her own attitude．He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count”．
The next years, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter．She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team．She was going to get the college education that she has dreamed of and worked toward for all those years．It’s true：If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．
(1)
How long has the girl probably been practicing basketball before she went to college?________．
[ ]
A．
At most 3 years
B．
About 2 years
C．
At least 6 years
D．
Less than 4 years
(2)
The underlined word in the passage referred to ________．
[ ]
A．
the person who finds new people to work in a company or a job
B．
the person w ho persuades others to do something
C．
the coach of a sports team
D．
the person who is in charge of admitting students into colleges
(3)
What is the best title of the passage?________．
[ ]
A．
A way to success
B．
If the dream is big enough
C．
Basket ball－A way to success
D．
A determined girl
(4)
Which of the following can lead a person to the goal according to this passage?________．
[ ]
A．
A good attitude
B．
A big dream, hard practices and opportunity
C．
Hard practice
D．
A big dream
阅读理解
Mathematical ability and musical ability may not seem on the surface to be connected, but people who have researched the subject and studied the brain say that they are．Three quarters of the bright but speech-delayed children in the group I studied had a close relative who was an engineer, mathematician or scientist, and four fifths had a close relative who played a musical instrument．The children themselves usually took readily to math and other analytical subjects and to music．
Black, white and Asian children in this group show the same patterns．However, it is clear that blacks have been greatly overrepresented(被过多的代表)in the development of American popular music and greatly underrepresented in such fields as mathematics, science and engineering．
If the abilities required in analytical fields and in music are so closely related, how can there be this great discrepancy?One reason is that the development of mathematical and other such abilities requires years of formal schooling, while certain musical talents can be developed with little or no formal training, as has happened with a number of well-known black musicians．
It is precisely in those kinds of music where one can acquire great skill without formal training that blacks have excelled(擅长)popular music rather than classical music, piano rather than violin, blues rather than opera．This is readily understandable, given that most blacks, for most of American history, have not had either the money or the leisure for long years of formal study in music．
Blacks have not merely held their own in American popular music．They have played a large role in the development of jazz, both traditional and modern．A long string of names comes to mind－W．C．Handy, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker…and so on．
None of these presupposes(假设，意味着)any special innate(先天的)ability of blacks in music．On the contrary, it is perfectly consistent(一致的)with blacks having no more such inborn ability than anyone else, but being limited to being able to express such ability in narrower channels than others who have had the money, the time and the formal education to spread out over a wider range of music, as well as into mathematics, science and engineering．
(1)
What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Mathematical ability and musical ability are connected．
B．
Mathematical ability has more to do with the brain than musical ability．
C．
More people are good at music than math．
D．
More research should be done into the relationship between mathematical ability and math ability．
(2)
The word“discrepancy”(Para．3)most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
difference
B．
excellence
C．
inborn ability
D．
inability
(3)
What can be inferred about opera?
[ ]
A．
It requires formal training．
B．
It is often enjoyed by those with strong analytical ability．
C．
It is disliked by blacks．
D．
It is more difficult to learn than classical music．
(4)
Which of the following statements is true according to the last paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Blacks have special innate ability in music．
B．
Unlike others, blacks do not have innate ability in music．
C．
Jazz is one of the narrow channels through which blacks express their ability in music．
D．
Those who have money and time choose mathematics over music．
(5)
Which of the following questions does the passage mainly concern?
[ ]
A．
Are musical ability and mathematical ability connected?
B．
Why have blacks been greatly overrepresented in the development of American popular music?
C．
What kinds of music require formal training?
D．
What are the contributions made by black musicians?
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