As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.
In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this, I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.
On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落傘）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.
Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.
【小題1】What happened to the author in 2001?
A. She flew an airplane.
B. She entered a competition.
C. She went on a hot air balloon ride.
【小題2】The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to       .

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.

In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this, I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.

On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落傘）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.

 Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.

1.What happened to the author in 2001?

A. She flew an airplane.

B. She entered a competition.

C. She went on a hot air balloon ride.

2.The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to       .

A. make her argument persuasive

B. show her admiration for him

C. compare their health condition

D. build up her own reputation

3. How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A. Excited.         B. Regretful.           C. Nervous.         D. Scared.

4.What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A. The beautiful clouds.                    B. The wonderful view.

C. The company of Jay.                      D. The one-minute free fall.

5.What is the best title of the passage?

    A. Impossible is nothing.                   B. A dream made come true.

    C. An unforgettable skydiving.              D. I Went Skydiving at 84!

As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001, when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around then, I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community organized an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.

I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and pretty healthy. At first I heard nothing. But then they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this, I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family and my doctor were against it.

On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered to watch my dive. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was very noisy, but I wasn’t frightened—I was just looking forward to the experience. Reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落傘）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt. I was just enjoying it.

Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.

41. What happened to the author in 2001?

A. She flew an airplane.

B. She entered a competition.

C. She went on a hot air balloon ride.

D. She moved into a retirement community.

42. The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to 　　　.

A. make her argument persuasive

B. show her admiration for him

C. compare their health condition

D. build up her own reputation

43. How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A. Excited.　 　　　　　 B. Regretful.　 　　　　 C. Nervous.　 　　　　　 D. Scared.

44. What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A. The beautiful clouds.　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. The wonderful view.

C. The company of Jay.　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. The one-minute free fall.

45. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Impossible is nothing. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. A dream made come true.

C. An unforgettable skydiving.　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. I Went Skydiving at 84!

閱讀下面短文，從短文后所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出能填入相應(yīng)空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。

　　Susan Cleveland is the young president of a candy company in Chicago. Her father  1 the company in the 1960s. He died three years  2 Now, the company  3 Susan.

　　Susan,  4 ,did not have any experience  5 becoming head of the company. She had just finished  6 .

　　The employees (雇員) became even more concerned (受到關(guān)心)  7 Susan's first months on the  8 . Mr Cleveland had been a strong leader. But Susan  9 many employees to make their own  10 .

　　One employee said: “Old Mr Cleveland always told us what to do. He kept people on a short leash. But the company did  11 .”

　　What does a “short leash” mean? A leash is  12 rope. We use a leash to walk our pet dogs. The leash keeps the dog from running away  13 getting into trouble.

　　Keeping a person on a short leash means keeping him or her under  14 control. The person can't make any decisions for himself or herself.

　　Ms Cleveland does not keep her workers on a short leash.   15 ,she encourages them to get better ways to do business.

　　For example, her secretary proposed an idea. She said the company should give a  16 to the best student in the high school near its factory. The   17 could use the prize money to study at a university.

　　Ms Cleveland  18 the idea. After the prize was announced, people who lived in this area of the factory began to buy  19 of the company's candy. Local newspapers  20 the competition. Business improved.

　　Ms Cleveland made her secretary the company's first Director of Public Relations. The former secretary was very pleased.

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The London Marathon is an annual event and of the thousands of runners who take part, many of them have a story to tell as to why they are running the 26.2 mile (42.2 km) course around London.

The men's race was won by Kenyan, Martin Lel, who finished the race in just two hours and five minutes, a personal best time for him. Irina Mikitenko was the winner of the women's race and this was astonishingly only her second race at marathon distance!

There was also a group of 24 runners who have competed in every single one of the 28 London marathons. Jeff Aston is one of them and at 60 years old, he finished in just over three and a half hours.

A lot of the non-competitive runners take part in the marathon to raise money for charity. Jeff estimates he has raised about ￡25,000 (350,000 RMB) over the 28 years he has been running.

Jane Tomlinson is a well-known name in the UK. She raised millions for charity doing long cycle rides, marathons and triathlons while struggling against terminal cancer, a battle she sadly lost last year. In honor of Jane, her husband and daughter took part in the marathon. They managed to raise ￡20,000 (280,000 RMB) for a charity set up in Jane's name.

 Another astonishing one was blind runner Dave Heeley completing the marathon. As if that wasn't enough, this was his seventh marathon in seven days, as he took part in a special challenge which took him to seven countries.

Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. A Variety of Athletic Runners                B. London Marathon

C. Inspirational Event                         D. Astonishing Marathon Stories

What do we know from the passage?

A. The London Marathon is held every year to raise money for charity.

B. Jane Tomlinson together with her husband took part in the marathon.

C. Dave Heeley is an inspiring marathon runner.

D. Kenyan, Martin Lel won the men's race just over three and a half hours.

The underlined word “triathlons” in the fifth paragraph probably refers to    .

A. a formal meeting                           B. a special challenge

C. a kind of disease                            D. an athletic competition