A Different View At age 14, 15 and 16, the way we looked was the most important thing in the world to us．My friends and I wanted nothing less than perfection.

In high school, we joined the gymnastics team, and our became even more important to us．We had no fat, only muscle．On the weekends, we would go to the beach, of our flat stomachs．

One summer day, all my friends were at my house ．At one point, I was running back to the pool．I on a bee, and while it was dying under my foot, it stung (蟄) me．I instantly started to feel ．That night, I began to run a high fever and my leg and foot were red, hot and swollen．I couldn’t walk．I could barely .

When my foot started to go numb, everyone became more ．My foot was not getting enough blood．I had to go to the , and my leg hurt as if it were badly broken．I couldn’t move．All I could do was think about how soft my middle was becoming．That me more than any concern over my leg.

That would all 1 when I heard the doctors mention possibly cutting off my foot．It was still not getting the supply it needed．The doctors would have to speed up their treatment.

Never before did I have such great for my foot．And walking seemed like a from the gods．Less and less would I want to hear my friends talk about and who was wearing what．More and more I expected visits from other kids in the hospital, who were quickly becoming my friends.

One girl came to visit me ．Every time she came, she brought flowers．She was recovering from cancer and felt she should come back and the other patients.

She still had no hair, and she was swollen from medications she had been taking．I would not have given this girl a second before．I now loved every inch of her and looked forward to her .

Finally, I was improving and soon I went home．My leg was still swollen, I was walking, and I had my foot! When I would go back to the hospital, I often saw my friend．She was still visiting people and good cheer．I thought if even there was an angel on this earth, it had to be her.

1.A．grades B．brains C．bodies D．clothes

2.A．a(chǎn)shamed B．proud C．sure D．tired

3.A．dancing B．chatting C．jogging D．swimming

4.A．stepped B．focused C．held D．took

5.A．upset B．fearful C．sick D．a(chǎn)nxious

6.A．jump B．run C．stand D．rest

7.A．concerned B．relieved C．surprised D．interested

8.A．beach B．hospital C．gym D．school

9.A．blamed B．impressed C．shocked D．troubled

10.A．change B．bother C．help D．happen

11.A．nutrition B．blood C．time D．a(chǎn)ir

12.A．observation B．devotion C．a(chǎn)ppreciation D．evaluation

13.A．gift B．hand C．promise D．treat

14.A．homework B．a(chǎn)ppointment C．movies D．gymnastics

15.A．suddenly B．regularly C．eventually D．recently

16.A．a(chǎn)dvise B．encourage C．serve D．instruct

17.A．choice B．thought C．glance D．chance

18.A．words B．ideas C．flowers D．visits

19.A．but B．then C．so D．for

20.A．enjoying B．gaining C．discovering D．spreading

Every day we are exposed to images, videos, music and news．In this age of visual and aural hyper stimulation, the medium of radio is making a great comeback.

“We’re at the beginning of a golden age of audio,” said US based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald．In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast (播客)．These statistics, released by Edison Research, show the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day’s digital podcast format．The term “podcast” was invented in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years．With the sharp increase in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast sales have jumped.

The appeal of the podcast partly lies in its multiplatform delivery and on demand capabilities (功能)．You can listen during those extra minutes of the day when you’re walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway．Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.

Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney University media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTurns．“I listen while I’m wandering around the house doing something else．It makes completing a boring task much more enjoyable… And it’s an easy way of keeping in touch with what’s going on in the rest of the world,” she said, “I mainly listen to BBC podcasts, but recently I’ve also been listening to This American Life and Serial．They have a special skill to really draw you in.”

Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers．Blumberg says this owes to the podcast’s ability “to create close relationship and emotional connection.” Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, majoring in social work and arts, agrees．“When you’re listening, it feels as if the voice of the podcast’s storyteller is talking directly to you．It’s comforting, ” said Proust.

It seems the age old tradition of verbal storytelling is very much alive and well.

1.From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that ________.

A．traditional broadcast has come back

B．Americans love listening to the radio

C．podcasts have become very popular today

D．smartphones sell well because of podcasts

2.The writer mentions Donna Jackson mainly to ________.

A．tell how young people relax themselves

B．explain why young people like podcasts

C．introduce what programs podcasts are presenting

D．show how popular podcasts are presenting

3.Paragraph 5 is mainly about ________.

A．the influence of radios

B．the advantage of podcasts

C．readers’ impression on radios

D．people’s reaction to the medium

4.What is probably the best title of the passage?

A．Return of Radio

B．Opinions of Podcast

C．Features of Radio

D．Technology of Podcast

Mom, could you lend me a few dollars until I _____ on Monday?

A．get paid B．got paid

C．will get paid D．had got paid

Though the number of Japanese army was _____ that of our Eighth Route Army, they lost the battle in that mountainous village．

A．a(chǎn)s large twice as B．twice as large as

C．large as twice as D．a(chǎn)s twice large as

Almost every teenager will experience a period in their life _____ they aren’t content with their parents．

A．when B．where C．that D．which

You are hardworking and surely most of you _____ a college admission notice by the end of September this year．

A．will receive

B．will be receiving

C．will be received

D．will have received

In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty．This was Stephen Hawking．I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree．

But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73．Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn’t merely survive．He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship．

Stephen received his “death sentence” in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study．Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University．He was said to be a “l(fā)azy” undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first class degree, an “entry ticket” to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement．Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well．But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began．In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32．

The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected — for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits．Stephen’s revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum(量子) theory has still not been tested．However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory(弦理論) has been to confirm and build on his idea．He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top ten living theoretical physicists．

1.What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking?

A．His brilliant research．

B．His bestselling books．

C．His serious disease．

D．His defeating hardship．

2.What made Stephen Hawking start his research career at Cambridge?

A．His death sentence．

B．His “l(fā)azy” attitude．

C．His above average talent and ability．

D．His rich experience．

3.It can be inferred that Stephen Hawking was born ________．

A．in the early 1940s

B．in the late 1940s

C．in the early 1930s

D．in the late 1930s

4.What can we learn from the text?

A．Hawking’s theory was proved years ago．

B．Hawking was not as successful as Newton．

C．String theory built on Hawking’s idea．

D．Hawking’s theory has had little influence on others．

5.Which of the following is Not True according the passage?

A．He achieved one success after another in his career despite his disease．

B．He couldn’t walk when the author first met him at Cambridge．

C．He not only survived his disease but contributed greatly to science．

D．He is among the greatest scientists to improve the knowledge of gravity．

Home is ________ somebody notices when you are no longer there.

A．that B．when

C．how D．where

Believe it or not，your ship isn’t quite sunk，as there are some ways to ________ a new career even if it’s something you’ve never done before．

A．burst into B．get through

C．break into D．comb through