Question

阅读理解 　　Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team．“Football, tennis, cricket－anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh．But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England’s rural Devonshire． 　　It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him．At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest．Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend．Gradually, Saunders set his mind building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance．At age 18, he ran his first marathon． The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean．Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man’s cold-water exploits(成就)．Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future． 　　Journeys to the Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy．“John Ridgway was one of the few who didn’t say,’ You are completely crazy,’” Saunders says． 　　In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole．He suffered frostbite, had a close encounter(遭遇)with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit． 　　Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton．His old playmates would not believe the transformation． 　　This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis． (1) The turning point in Saunders’ life came when ________． [　　] A． he started to play ball games B． he got a mountain bike at age 15 C． he ran his first marathon at age 18 D． he started to receive Ridgway’s training (2) We can learn from the text that Ridgway ________． [　　] A． dismissed Saunders’ dream as fantasy B． built up his body together with Saunders C． hired Saunders for his cold-water experience D． won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic (3) What do we know about Saunders? [　　] A． He once worked at a school in Scotland． B． He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole． C． He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid． D． He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole． (4) The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph probably means ________． [　　] A． excited B． convinced C． delighted D． fascinated (5) It can be inferred that Saunders’ journey to the North Pole ________． [　　] A． was accompanied by his old playmates B． set a record in the North Pole expedition C． was supported by other Arctic explorers D． made him well-known in the 1960s

Answer 1

答案：1．B;2．C;3．A;4．C;5．B;
解析：

(1)	由第二段第一句可知，是15岁生日的礼物改变了Saunders。
(2)	由第四段最后一句“John Ridgway was one of the few who didn’t say, ‘You are completely crazy,’”可知A项错误；B项文章没有提及；C项与第三段中“Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland”不符；D项与第三段第一句话意义相符。
(3)	由第三段“Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland”可知，他曾在苏格兰的一所学校工作过。
(4)	excited意为“激动的；兴奋的”；convinced意为“信服的”；delighted意为“高兴的”；fascinated意为“着迷的；被强烈吸引的”。根据当时的情况，有了那么一个机会，用fascinated形容Saunders最佳。
(5)	由第七段可知，Saunders成为了独自滑雪到北极的最年轻的人，并且他在北极独自滑雪也最多，所以答案为B项，他创造了北极探险的新记录。