It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.

Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn’t work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.

“I’m sorry, sir,” said the first soldier. “I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back.”

And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier’s turn. He said, “I’m sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…”

Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, “If you say something was wrong with your bus, I’ll punish you at once!”

“No, no, sir,” said the young man. “My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!”

The military camp was built in the village to _______.

A. stop the soldiers going to towns

B. stop the soldiers meeting their friends

C. train the new soldiers

D. make the young men live quietly

Mr. Hunt let the nine soldiers have a holiday because _______.

A. he was kind and understanding  

 B. they felt lonely

C. they had something important to do

D. they were the best of all the soldiers

The young officer was worried because _______.

A. a traffic accident had happened

B. he was afraid something happened to the nine soldiers

C. the nine soldiers didn’t come back on time

D. the nine soldiers drank too much in the town

The nine soldiers returned to the camp late because _______.

A. something was wrong with their buses

B. their horses died on the return way

C. it took them much time to run back

D. they all had drunk much in the town

Which statement do you think is right?

A. The officer believed only the last soldier.

B. The officer believed the nine soldiers.

C. The officer believed none of the nine soldiers.

D. The officer wouldn’t punish his soldiers.

I try to be a good father. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed (拉着) him 2.4 miles in a dinghy (小游艇) while swimming and pedaled (蹬车) him 112 miles — all in the same day. And what has Rick done for his father? Not much — except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled (使窒息) by the umbilical cord (脐带) during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

When Rick was 11 the Hoyts took him to hospital and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,’’ Dick was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.’’

“Tell him a joke,’’ Dick countered (反驳). They did. Rick laughed. It turns out that a lot was going on in his brain. Equipped with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor (光标) by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate.

And after a high school classmate was paralyzed (瘫痪) in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out (啄出), “Dad, I want to do that.’’

How was Dick, who had never run more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.

That day changed Rick’s life. “Dad,’’ he typed, “when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled any more!’’

And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed(迷恋) with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, “Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon (三项全能运动)?’’

Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 — only 35 minutes off the world record.

“No question about it,’’ Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.’’

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries (动脉) was 95% blocked. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,’’ one doctor told him, “you probably would have died 15 years ago.’’ So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life.

What is the meaning of the underlined word ‘limbs’ in Paragraph 3?

A. fingers and toes    B. hands and feet    C. arms and legs       D. wrists and knees

At the 24^th Boston Marathon, Dick and Rick ________.

A. reached the finish line within 160 minutes    B. nearly broke the world record

C. did better than 5082 athletes         D. completed the journey 35 minutes ahead of time

What changed Rick’s life?

A. Rick’s love for his father.        B. Rick’s joining in the charity run with his father.

C. A computer enabling Rick to communicate.     D. Rick’s strong will and perseverance.

What do we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A. Dick was considered as the Father of the Century by the public.

B. Rick made his father so well-known that the doctors treated him well.

C. Dick got into great shape by assisting his son in marathons and triathlons.

D. Rick saved his father when he had a heart attack in a race two years ago.

It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.

Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn’t work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.

“I’m sorry, sir,” said the first soldier. “I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back.”

And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier’s turn. He said, “I’m sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…”

Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, “If you say something was wrong with your bus, I’ll punish you at once!”

“No, no, sir,” said the young man. “My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!”

The military camp was built in the village to _______.

A. stop the soldiers going to towns

B. stop the soldiers meeting their friends

C. train the new soldiers

D. make the young men live quietly

Mr. Hunt let the nine soldiers have a holiday because _______.

A. he was kind to them

B. they felt lonely

C. they had something important to do

D. they were the best of all

The young officer was worried because _______.

A. a traffic accident had happened to the nine soldiers

B. he was afraid something happened to the nine soldiers

C. he didn’t think the nine soldiers would come back

D. the nine soldiers drank too much in the town

The nine soldiers returned to the camp late because _______.

A. something was wrong with their buses

B. their horses died on the return way

C. it took them much time to run back

D. they all had drunk much in the town

Which answer do you think right?

A. I’ll believe only the last soldier.

B. The officer believed the nine soldiers.

C. I’ll believe none of the nine soldiers.

D. The officer won’t punish his soldiers.

I’ll never forget my first daughter, who died too early from a bad accident. During those years, life was   36   . One Christmas I found my 3-year-old daughter   37   with a roll of golden wrapping paper. I had bought the paper to finish a rather important project. So I became   38   and scolded her loudly, “You are not good. And you are   39   your father’s money. You don’t know how hard your parents are working.” She was   40   and cried bitterly, running away.

      41  , she brought a gift, a golden   42   made of golden wrapping paper to me the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” I was   43   of my earlier hurting words, but my anger rose again when I found out the box was   44  . I shouted at her, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?” She   45   at me with tears in her eyes and cried, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew   46   into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.”

       I was completely   47  . I put my arms around her and begged for her   48  . A year later, a serious   49   took the life of my daughter. I was so sad that I   50   in bed for three days and three nights, saying nothing with tears rolling down my cheek. From then on, I hated cars and kept the golden box by my bed for many years. Whenever I was   51   , I would take out an imaginary kiss and   52   the love of my daughter who had put it there.

       In a very real   53   , each one of us, as humans beings, has been given a golden container   54   with unconditional love and kisses ... from our children, family members, friends, and God. There are   55   no other possessions that anyone could hold more precious than this.

A. nice         B. hard            C. instructive  D. dull

A. tearing        B. littering          C. cutting           D. busy

A. disappointed   B. curious           C. angry      D. anxious

A. using           B. spending        C. sparing       D. wasting

A. confused      B. frightened        C. amazed      D. calm

A. Therefore           B. However        C. Thus         D. Though

A. box           B. tie              C. car          D. pen

A. scared         B. happy            C. ashamed     D. satisfied

A. full            B. broken               C. cheap       D. empty

A. looked around B. looked away      C. looked up   D. looked down

A. kisses          B. love             C. hearts      D. prays

A. glad           B. touched          C. upset       D. confident

A. thanks          B. gifts            C. forgiveness D. explanation

A. event           B. illness           C. operation    D. accident

A. lay            B. stood            C. knelt        D. sat

A. lost            B. hungry           C. discouraged       D. sick

A. realize          B. remember        C. recognize   D. respond

A. way         B. state            C. direction    D. sense

A. decorated       B. filled            C. covered      D. linked

A. only           B. naturally        C. simply       D. actually

It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.
Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn’t work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.
“I’m sorry, sir,” said the first soldier. “I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back.”
And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier’s turn. He said, “I’m sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…”
Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, “If you say something was wrong with your bus, I’ll punish you at once!”
“No, no, sir,” said the young man. “My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!”
【小题1】 The military camp was built in the village to _______.

A．The officer believed only the last soldier.

B．The officer believed the nine soldiers.

C．The officer believed none of the nine soldiers.

D．The officer wouldn’t punish his soldiers.