Born in 1949, Diana Nyad took an early interest in swimming as a sport and was a Florida State High School swimming champion. Like many young athletes, she had Olympic dreams, but a serious illness kept her from competing in the Games. The disappointment didn’t stop her from going forward. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming. A brilliant athlete, she was well-conditioned for spending long periods of time in the water. As a long-distance swimmer, she would compete against herself and the obstacles presented by distance, danger, cold, and exhaustion.
For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best long-distance swimmers. In 1970, she swam a ten-mile marathon in Lake Ontario, setting the women’s record for the course. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. Then she broke a third record when swimming around Manhattan Island in 1975.
Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. Though the span of water is less than 100 miles wide, it is rough and dangerous. After battling the water for two days, she had to give for the sake of her own health and safety. Even so, she impressed the world with her courage and strong desire to succeed. For Nyad her strength of purpose was just as important as reading Cuba. That is how she defined success. It did not matter that her swim came up short; she believed she had touched the other shore.
When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things---travelling the world as a reporter, writing books and giving public speeches about her life. Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just as she did when she swam the waters of the world.

  1. 1.

    What prevented Nyad from taking part in the Olympic Games? (No more than 5 words)
    __________________________________________________________________________

  2. 2.

    What does the underlined word “obstacles” mean? (1 word)
    ___________________________________________________________________________

  3. 3.

    What achievement did Nyad make in 1970? (No more than 10 words.)
    ________________________________________________________________________________

  4. 4.

    Why did Nyad believe that she had touched the other shore? (No more than 10 words)
    ___________________________________________________________________________

  5. 5.

    Please explain how you are inspired by Nyad. (No more than 20 words)
    _______________________________________________________________________________

1. A serious illness (did)
2. Difficulties/Problems/Troubles/Challenges
3. She swam a ten-mile marathon and set women’s record. Or: She swam a ten-mile marathon, setting the women’s record. Or: She set the women’s record for a ten-mile marathon swimming
4. Because she had tried her best (to fulfill the task). Or: Her strength of purpose was as important as reaching Cuba
5. I am encouraged by her determination and strong will. Or: I am inspired by her courage and strong desire to succeed. Or: From her I learned that once we set a goal, we should try hard to achieve it. Or: We should never give up in the face of difficulty/failure. Or: We should never stop trying new things and we may achieve success in different fields
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special.

However, the idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon① in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices② and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a selfless and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spikane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge declared the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.

When children can’t visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental③. Most greeting cards are too special so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.

Notes:

① sermon  v.  布道

② sacrifices  n.  犧牲

③ sentimental  adj.  感傷的

1. The United States is special in Father’s Day because ______.

  A. many people celebrate the day                B. only America celebrates the day

  C. America makes it an official day              D. all men are honored in America

2. At first, Father’s Day was fixed on June 19th because ______.

  A. Sonora honored her father on her father’s birthday

  B. Sonora’s birthday was June 19

  C. it was decided by the president at that time

  D. her mother died on June 19

3. How many years has passed before Father’s Day became an official day since the father’s day was celebrated?

  A. 4     B. 10      C. 14     D. 24

4. According to the passage, on Father’s Day,  ______.

  A. people will wear the same flowers to honor their fathers

  B. only daughters wear red flowers to honor their fathers

  C. children must go home to honor their fathers

  D. fathers are often honored in different ways

5. According to the passage, we can infer that Henry Jackson Smart ______.

  A. was very kind to anyone

  B. did a lot for his daughter

  C. was the first father honored in 1924

  D. always help others by giving money

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科目：高中英語 來源：2010年福建省廈門市高一下學期質(zhì)量檢測英語卷 題型：閱讀理解

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For the first 10 years after the Wright brothers' original flight in 1903, flying was only a sport．It was a pastime for daredevils （不怕死的人）．One very determined daredevil was Bessie Coleman．She was the first black woman to fly an airplane．
Coleman, born in Texas in 1892, the tenth of 13 children, dreamed of becoming a pilot．To earn money for flying lessons, she washed other people's laundry．At the age of 19 she took a train to Chicago, where she began to study in a beauty school．For five years she worked in a barbershop, and then she looked for a flying school．There were none in the United States that would teach women, but Coleman heard that there were schools in France that would．So she studied the language and sailed off to France．
When she returned to the United States in 1921, Coleman was the first licensed black woman pilot．Her "aerial acrobatic （航空特技）exhibitions" impressed audiences．She took her airplane through loop-the-loops and flew upside down．She did slow rolls and sharp rolls．Audiences were amazed when she performed a move called "falling leaf．"
Coleman became a famous person．She performed her acrobatic flights all over the country．She also spoke to African-American audiences in schools, churches, and theatres．Fly, she told them．Be a part of the new aviation（航空） industry．Many young African-American men listened to her．Some became honored military pilots during World War II．Many others made their careers in aviation．
On April 29, 1926, Coleman was flying when a tool carelessly left in the airplane hit the control stick．The plane went into a dive and did not recover．The daring 34-year-old pilot was killed．
【小題1】Bessie Coleman went to France to ____．

A．work in a barbershopB．study the language
C．look for a flying schoolD．take flying lessons
【小題2】Which of the following is probably an "aerial acrobatic"?
A．Flying upside down．B．Speaking to audiences．
C．Getting a pilot's licence．D．Impressing audiences．
【小題3】The underlined word "exhibition" in paragraph 3 means _____．
A．a(chǎn) holding backB．a(chǎn) public show
C．falling leafD．loop-the-loops
【小題4】What would be the best title for the passage?
A．An early daredevilB．The first flying woman
C．A pioneer in aviationD．The first licensed black pilot

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科目：高中英語 來源：2015屆浙江省樂清市高一第二次月考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：完型填空

Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn，New York in 1917.Her mother was away for much of her　36　.So her grandmother helped raise her.

At the age of sixteen，Lena　37　work as a dancer at the famous Cotton Club in New York City.After　38　 voice lessons，she soon began performing there as a singer too.At the age of nineteen，Lena moved to Pittsburgh and 　39　Louis Jones，who was an actor.　40　，their life together did not last long.But they had two　41　，Gail and Edwin.

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Lena Horne became very　47　.After performing at a club in Hollywood，California，she　48　filmmakers.So with the help of some filmmakers，she soon　49　making movies.Lena Horne said that she was able to make movies　50　she was the kind of black person that white people could accept.But she said this was the　51　kind of acceptance.It was because of the way she　52　，not because of how good she was or how hard she worked.

However，through her hard work，she helped　53　racial barriers.During her sixty year career as a performer，Lena Horne earned people’s　54　and respect.She used her fame to　55　social injustices(不公正)toward African?Americans.

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2.                A．disliked         B．found          C．lost  D．wanted

 

3.                A．taking          B．giving          C．making   D．designing

 

4.                A．saw            B．changed        C．surprised D．married

 

5.                A．Excitingly       B．Amazingly       C．Unfortunately  D．Happily

 

6.                A．relatives        B．children        C．friends   D．parents

 

7.                A．stay           B．play            C．perform  D．communicate

 

8.                A．a(chǎn)lways         B．hardly          C．never    D．a(chǎn)lso

 

9.                A．for            B．with           C．without   D．on

 

10.               A．black          B．yellow         C．brown D．white

 

11.               A．shows          B．dances         C．a(chǎn)ctivities   D．people

 

12.               A．popular        B．hard-working    C．happy D．interesting

 

13.                                A．took care of B．looked down upon

C．got away from                     D．caught the attention of

 

14.               A．stopped        B．preferred       C．began D．enjoyed

 

15.               A．because        B．so             C．though    D．if

 

16.               A．fastest         B．worst          C．best  D．biggest

 

17.               A．served         B．sang           C．looked    D．a(chǎn)cted

 

18.               A．break          B．protect         C．exchange  D．show

 

19.               A．hate           B．service         C．pity  D．love

 

20.               A．hide           B．fight           C．make D．experience

 

 

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But now she’s back in the Bird’s Nest, and this time she’s not competing, or carrying a flame,    18    working for the media. Jin said that she was a little regretful for not being able to participate    19    the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

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Now she is still smiling, but this time from the    25    side of the camera, as she watches Chinese athletes won another gold medal.

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：20102011浙江瑞安中學高二下學期期中考試英語試題 題型：閱讀理解

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children．On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special．

However, the idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington．A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909．Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her．It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices（犧牲） and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a selfless and loving man．Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spikane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910．

In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge declared the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day．Roses are the Father’s Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died．

When children can’t visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card．Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental（傷感的）．Most greeting cards are too special so fathers laugh when they open them．Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child need Dad．

1.．The United States is special in Father’s Day because ______．

A．many people celebrate the day                    B．only America celebrates the day

C．America makes it an official day                     D．a(chǎn)ll men are honored in America

2.．At first, Father’s Day was fixed on June 19th because ______．

A．Sonora honored her father on her father’s birthday

B．Sonora’s birthday was June 19

C．it was decided by the president at that time

D．her mother died on June 19

3.．How many years has passed before Father’s Day became an official day since the father’s day was celebrated?

A．4                    B．10                   C．14               D．24

4.．According to the passage, on Father’s Day,  ______．

A．people will wear the same flowers to honor their fathers

B．only daughters wear red flowers to honor their fathers

C．children must go home to honor their fathers

D．fathers are often honored in different ways

5.．According to the passage, we can infer that Henry Jackson Smart ______．

A．was very kind to anyone                          B．was the first father honored in 1924

C．did a lot for his daughter                       D．a(chǎn)lways help others by giving money

 

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