I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, “You mean fortunately.” He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.
My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.
Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can vision be cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
One of the key factors of success in life is our attitude towards adversity (逆境). From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents, afflictions and difficulties. Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own. While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it.
Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, and you’ll never use crutches (拐杖) or a stick, and then have a go at evening. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”
The biographies of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.
Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.
【小題1】The underlined word “grumble” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ________.

A．tremble

B．complain

C．speed up

D．slow down

【小題2】Which of the following is true according to the author of the passage?

A．Climbing hills on bicycles is the best way to take exercise.

B．People are wise to pay to go to the gym.

C．Those who want to achieve success can’t expect to live an easy life.

D．People’s attitude towards adversity is the only factor that determines whether they will succeed.

【小題3】By quoting what Douglas Bader said, the author intends to tell us “________”.

A．Failure is the mother of success.

B．A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.

C．If you venture nothing, you will have nothing.

D．Nothing is difficult to the man who will try.

【小題4】Following this passage, the author will further talk about ________.

A．how his friend helped him to change his attitude towards the adversity he faced

B．what steps to take to change your attitude towards the adversity you face

C．what great people have in common

D．why it is important to keep optimistic in face of adversity

【小題5】Which of the following can best function as the title of the passage?

A．Face adversity with a smile

B．Different attitudes towards adversity

C．Nothing is impossible

D．Life is full of adversity

In the United States there was an unusual story telling of the daughter of a mechanic（技工）．One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl   16   to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose．After some time the girl   17   the mother would not return to her eggs and she   18   to take them home．There she carefully   19   the eggs in the heat of a lamp．Several days   20   the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the   21   ．

       Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother．  22   , to these young geese, the girl was their mother．

       As they   23  , the girl was able to   24   her birds to run across the grass, but she could not teach them to   25   ．The girl became increasingly worried about this, both when   26   and in her dreams．Later, she had an   27   : She would pilot a plane to guide them in   28   ．She asked her father for a plane and he assembled （組裝） a small aircraft for her．

       Caring about   29   safety, the father decided to pilot the plane himself．However, the birds did not __30__ or follow him, and   31   slept in the grass．

       One day, the girl   32   into the plane, started it and soon left the   33   ．Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds   34   flapped（拍打） their wings and   35   ．She flew the plane freely in the sky, her young birds following．

A．managed       B．a(chǎn)ttempted       C．happened           D．supposed

A．realized      B．expected        C．imagined     D．a(chǎn)dmitted

A．helped       B．decided          C．a(chǎn)fforded      D．meant

A．placed        B．protected       C．treated        D．examined

A．a(chǎn)go         B．out             C．later           D．long

A．family       B．lake            C．home          D．world

A．But         B．Also           C．Thus           D．Still

A．increased       B．improved       C．rose         D．grew

A．a(chǎn)sk         B．lead            C．want           D．a(chǎn)llow

A．fly           B．race            C．swim          D．sing

A．a(chǎn)sleep       B．a(chǎn)way            C．a(chǎn)round        D．a(chǎn)wake

A．idea         B．opinion          C．explanation    D．excuse

A．sky          B．space          C．flight          D．plane

A．his           B．her             C．their               D．its

A．respect     B．remember        C．recognize       D．receive

A．so          B．instead           C．hardly         D．too

A．climbed       B．looked           C．reached       D．fell

A．house       B．floor          C．water          D．ground

A．secretly       B．disappointedly  C．patiently     D．eagerly

looked away      B．set out           C．went by      D．turned back

 

 

U.S. airlines are seeing a major interruption because of hundreds of flights canceled due to the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, but European flight companies will face the biggest losses.

The airline business has been tough: The decline dramatically slowed traffic; February heavy snow forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights; and now the ashes from the volcano stopped all traffic in and out of northern Europe for days.

"For U.S. flight companies, it'll be a relatively short-term hit," said Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International, an aviation (航空學(xué)) consulting firm. "We think right now they're down about $80 million in terms of lost income, and they're down domestically about 80,000 passengers that would have been flying domestically but aren't because they can't get here."

Delta announced that volcano-related interruption grounded about 400 flights until Monday at a cost of $20 million in lost revenues. But compare that to the recent snowstorms, when the airline canceled 7,000 flights and lost $65 million in revenue.

The disruption has created uncertainty for customers, but analysts say U.S. airlines won't face as many costs as you might think. They are not flying in extra planes to handle the passengers in trouble because, airline analyst Robert Mann said, companies simply don't have them.

"Airlines run a very lean operation now," Mann said. "So, since there are no spare aircraft or crews, the airlines will attempt to maximize loads on every one of their aircraft that do fly. But it may take days, or in some cases a week or so, to get some of these customers to where they want to go."

1. Which negative consequences mentioned in the passage did the disasters cause?

A. coldness, pollution and airlines’ losses    

B. airport damage, pollution and slow traffic

C. passenger delay, coldness and airport damage   

D. passenger delay, airlines’ losses and slow traffic

2. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. The fewest airplanes will fly the trapped passengers to their destinations.

B. All the customers are sure to be sent to their destinations in time.

C. The U.S. and U.K. airlines suffered the same losses in the natural disasters.

D. The volcano eruption reduced the traffic to and from northern Europe.  

3. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A. the troubles that the airlines will face after the ash cloud disappears

B. the measures that the airlines will take to maximize their profit

C. the present situation of the airlines and their plan to deliver the passengers

D. the reasons why the airlines run a fine operation

4. Why will it take a long time for airlines to send the passengers to their different destinations?

A. Because the passengers enjoy staying in airports to talk with one another.

B. Because the airlines don’t have spare planes or employees to serve.

C. Because the airlines don't have enough financial support after the disaster.

D. Because the passengers are asking for full refund from the airlines.

5. The passage is most probably from_______.

A．a(chǎn) novel           B．a(chǎn) news report        C．a(chǎn) magazine        D．a(chǎn) thesis

 

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route．He replied, “You mean fortunately．”He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided．

    My attitude to the hill has now changed．I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following．This hill will exercise my heart and lungs．It will help me to lose weight and get fit．It will mean that I live longer．This hill is my friend．Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free．I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill．

Problems are there to be faced and overcome．We cannot achieve anything with an easy life．Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree．Her activism and writing proved inspirational．She wrote，“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet．Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened，vision cleared，ambition inspired and success achieved.”   

   One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity(逆境)．From time to time we all face hardships，problems．a(chǎn)ccidents、afflictions and difficulties．Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own．While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it．

Douglas Bader was 21 when in 193l he had both legs cut off following a flying accident．He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans．He was an inspiration to others during the war．He said, “Don't listen to any-one who tells you that you can’t do this or that．That's nonsense．Make up your mind，you'll never use crutches(拐杖)or a stick，then have a go at everything．Go to school，join in all the games you can．Go anywhere you want to．But never，never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”

    The biographies（傳記）of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced．The common thread is that they did not become depressed．They chose their attitude．They chose to be positive．They took on the challenge．They won．

Nevertheless．there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity．

1.Which of the following is true according to the author of the passage?

A．Climbing hills on bicycles is the best way to take exercise．

B．People are silly to pay to go to the gym．

C．Those who want to achieve success can't expect to live all easy life．

D．People's attitude towards adversity is the only factor that determines whether they will succeed．

2.By quoting what Douglas Bader said，the author intends to tell us“             ．”

A．Failure is the mother of Success．   

B．A fall into the pit，a gain in your wit．

C．If you venture nothing，you will have nothing． 

D．Nothing is difficult to the man who will try．

3.Following this passage，the author will further talk about         ．

A．how his friend helped him to change his attitude towards the adversity he faced

B．what steps to take to change your attitude towards the adversity you face

C．what great people have in common[來源:Z+xx+k.Com]

D．why it is important to keep optimistic in face of adversity

4.Which of the following can best function as the title of the passage?

A．Face adversity with a smile           B．Different attitudes towards adversity

C．Nothing is impossible               D．Life is full of adversity

 

In the United States there was an unusual tale telling of the daughter of a mechanic （技工）. One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl  36   to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose. After some time the girl   37   the mother would not return to her eggs and she   38   to take them home. There she carefully   39   the eggs in the heat of a lamp. Several days   40   the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the   41  .

Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother.   42  , to these young geese, the girl was their mother.

As they   43  , the girl was able to   44   her birds to run across the grass, but she could not teach them to   45  . The girl became increasingly worried about this, both when   46   and in her dreams. Later, she had an   47  : She would pilot a plane to guide them in   48  . She asked her father for a plane and he assembled（組裝）a small aircraft for her.

Caring about   49   safety, the father decided to pilot the plane himself. However, the birds did not   50   or follow him, and   51   slept in the grass.

One day, the girl   52   into the plane, started it and soon left the   53  . Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds   54   flapped（拍打）their wings and   55  . She flew the plane freely in the sky, her young birds following.

36. A. managed            B. attempted                 C. happened          D. supposed

37. A. realized                    B. expected                  C. imagined          D. admitted

38. A. helped               B. decided                          C. afforded           D. meant

39. A. placed               B. protected                 C. treated              D. examined

40. A. ago                   B. out                         C. later                         D. long

41. A. family               B. lake                               C. home               D. world

42. A. But                           B. Also                       C. Thus                D. Still

43. A. increased                   B. improved                 C. rose                 D. grew

44. A. ask                           B. lead                               C. want                D. allow

45. A. fly                    B. race                               C. swim                D. sing

46. A. asleep                B. away                              C. around             D. awake

47. A. idea                  B. opinion                   C. explanation      D. excuse

48. A. sky                           B. heaven                    C. flight               D. plane

49. A. his                            B. her                                 C. their                        D. its

50. A. respect              B. remember                C. recognize          D. receive

51. A. so                     B. instead                    C. hardly              D. too

52. A. climbed             B. looked                     C. reached            D. fell

53. A. house                 B. floor                              C. water               D. ground

54. A. secretly              B. disappointedly          C. patiently           D. eagerly

55. A. looked away      B. set out                     C. went by            D. turned back