59. The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph probably means_____.

A. Excited　 　B. Convinced　 C. Delighted　　 D. Fascinated

58. 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.

57. 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

56. 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

48．Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history?

　　　 A．Washington, D.C.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．New York City.

　　　 C．Kentucky　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Pennsylvania

答案　 45.B　 46.A　 47.D　 48.A

Passage 20

(06·山东A篇)

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 peiole 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 closer 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.

47．In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die?

　　　 A．1934　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．1960

　　　 C．1964　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．1994

46．What is the title of the first American political cartoon?

　　　 A．Join or Die　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．Pennsylvania Gazette

　　　 C．What Hath God Wrought　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Kentucky Dorby

45．We know from the text that Buchanan is 　　　　　　　　.

　　　 A．Isaac’s father　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．a winning horse

　　　 C．a slave taking care of horses　　　　　　　　 D．the first racing horse in Kentucky

44.Which would be the best title for the text?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　 A.The Invention of the Jazz Music

　　　 B.The Father of the Jazz Style

　　　 C.The Making of a Musician

　　　 D.The Spread of Popular Music

答案　 41.B　 42.C　 43.C　 44.B

Passage 19

(06·全国ⅡB篇)

May: Happenings from the Past

May 5,1884

Isaac Murphy, son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby. He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times.

May 9,1754

Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon(漫画), showing a snake cutsin pieces, with the words “ Join or Dic ” printed under the picture.

May 11,1934

The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl , the result of years of drought(干旱), blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington, D.C.

May 19,1994

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s, died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64.

May 24, 1844

Samuel F.B Morse taps out the first message, “What Hath God wrought,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D,C, to Baltimore, Md.

43.Which statement about Armstrong is true?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　 A.His tale begins in New Orleans.　　　　

B.He was born before jazz was invented.

C.His music was popular with his listeners.

D.He learned popular music at a boy’s home.