A businessman had been on a long flight between meetings. After a while, a calm voice said, “We shall not be serving the drinks at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence(漩涡). Please be    1    your seat belt is fastened.”

As the businessman looked around in the aircraft, it became obvious that many  passengers were becoming a bit    2   . Later, the voice said, “We are so sorry that we are unable    3    the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.”

Lightning    4    the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a _  5    moving around on an ocean. One moment the airplane was    6    on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. All the passengers were upset and scared. Some were praying. The future seemed terrible and many were wondering if they would    7    it through the storm.

Then, he suddenly saw a little girl. Obviously the storm meant    8     to her. She was reading a book and everything within her small world was    9    and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would    10    again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her    11   . All the adults were scared half to __12___, but the great child wasn’t afraid at all.

The businessman could hardly believe his eyes. When the plane finally    13    its destination, he asked why she had not been afraid. The child replied, “Because my Daddy’s the pilot, and he’s flying the plane to take me home.”

There are many kinds of storms that    14    us physically, mentally and financially. And many storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and    15    out planes into uncontrollable movement.

Let us remember: Our Father is the pilot. He is in control and taking us home. So don’t worry!

1. A. quick            B. sure              C. true               D. worried

2. A. excited           B. curious           C. happy             D. nervous

3. A. to serve          B. to take            C. to finish            D. to produce

4. A. broke out         B. lit up             C. came across        D. gave off

5. A. bird             B. boat              C. plane              D. person

6. A. lifted            B. squeezed          C. knocked            D. dropped

7. A. make            B. get               C. carry              D. finish

8. A. something        B. anything           C. everything         D. nothing

9. A. funny            B. easy              C. moving            D. calm

10. A. lie              B. read              C. play              D. smile

11. A. book            B. world             C. story             D. body

12. A. death            B. cry               C. smile             D. madness

13. A. came            B. arrived            C. got               D. reached

14. A. wound           B. warn             C. trouble            D. kill

15. A. reduce           B. throw             C. make             D. destroy

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Even better, you might live longer, an American researcher reports.

“Adults who have ___16___ sense of humor live longer than those who don’t find life funny, and the survival edge is ___17___ (particular) large for people ___18___ cancer,” says Richard Smith of the Columbia University of Science and Technology.

He ___19___ (present) his study of about 54,000 Americans, ___20___ he had followed for seven years, at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting last Monday.

At the start, patients filled out questionnaires on how easily they found humor in real-life situations ___21___ how important a ___22___ (humor) idea was.

The study showed next the greater role humor played in their lives, the greater their chances were in ___23___（survive）the seven years. Adults scoring in the top one-quarter for humor appreciation were 35% more likely to be alive ___24___ those in the bottom quarter. In a smaller group of 2,015 people who had a cancer diagnosis(诊断) at the start, the study found ___25___ important that a great sense of humor cut the chances of dying by about 70%.

For their nick-of-time acts, Toby, a 2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a cute cat, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.   

As Amy Paul choked(哽住) on a piece of apple at her home, her dog jumped up, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece in her throat out. When the Keesling family of Indiana was about to be killed by carbon monoxide, their cat clawed at the wife Cathy’s hair until she woke up and called for help.

No one could explain their timely heroics.

Both pets were rescued by their owners in infancy-----Toby as a 4-week-old thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Cathy’s husband, Eric, had to feed her milk with an eyedropper.

As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump being used broke down, spreading carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie went to rescue, the couple’s 14-year-old son was already unconscious. “Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry sound,” Cathy Keesling said. The state police responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house.

Amy Paul’s husband was at his job when she took a midday break from making jewelry and bit into an apple. “Normally I peel them, but I read in Good Housekeeping Magazine that the skin has all the nutrients, so I ate the skin, and that’s what caused me to choke,” she recalled. “I couldn’t breathe and I was in panic when Toby jumped on me. He never does that, but he did, and saved my life.”

Both Toby and Winnie accompanied their owners to the awards luncheon.

26.   What would be the suitable title for the passage?

A. Great Honors for Cat and Dog

B. Dog and Cat Honored for Saving Their Masters

C. Unforgettable Experiences

D. So Smart Animals Are

27.   Winnie saved the lives of its owner’s whole family in an accident by __________.

A. jumping onto its owner                    B. calling for help

C. making some strange noises                D. clawing at Cathy’s hair

28.   Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “infancy” in Paragraph 4?

   A. babyhood         B. Youth       C. Middle age        D. agedness

29. What caused the carbon monoxide spreading through the house?

A. A pump breaking down.                  B. A driver breaking into the house.

C. The burning gas.                        D. The poisonous gas.

30. Why did Amy Paul choke on a piece of apple?

A. She was too young to care for herself.                

B. She had a big bite.

C. She didn’t peel the skin as usual.              

   D. The apple was too hard.

One day, Mary asked her mother, “Mum, what do people mean by saying they have a skeleton(骨架）in the closet(衣橱)?” Her mother paused thoughtfully and said, “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be a skeleton in his family’s closet. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”

“Why pick my family?” Mary’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?”  “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now.” Mary cut in before things grew worse.

After dinner, the house was quiet. Mary’s parents were quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Mary’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Mary’s mother sank into a faint(晕倒), waking only when Mary put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.

“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Mary. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Mary looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re crazy,” she thought.

31. According to Mary’s mother, “a skeleton in a closet” means _______.

A. a family honor                    B. a family wealth

C. a family story                     D. a family secret

32.   What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors from Paragraph 2?

A. They were brought to Australia as prisoners.             

B. They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C. They were involved in some crimes in Australia.                    

D. They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

33.   Mary’s mother fell down into a faint because she was_________.

A. knocked           B. terrified     C. injured      D. surprised

34.   Why did Mary bring a skeleton home?

A. She was curious about it.           B. She planned to keep it for fun.

C. She needed it for her school task.     D. She intended to scare her parents.

35.   Mary’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because________.

A. They were mentally ill.            

B. They were over happy.

C. They understood what had really happened.

D. They both thought they had won the quarrel.

It started off as part of French military training and has since evolved as a sport, founded by Sebastian Foucan and David Belle, to encompass a wide variety of techniques, philosophies and exercises. Park-our now enjoys the devotion of many die-hard fans across the world and has been the source for much inspiration.

But what is park-our? It is the art of using only your body to navigate from Point A to B in the least time possible, which involves besides leaping, climbing and sprinting, various unusual and complex movements to overcome barriers. Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.

Yes, that’s pork-our, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Park-our is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.

Park-our can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see much more in park-our than that.

To overcome all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念)behind park-our. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in park-our and never fall back from them in your life to reach the destination successfully. A park-our lover said, “I love park-our, because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”

Another philosophy we’ve learned from park-our is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself so that you earn energy and confidence.

36. Park-our has become popular throughout the world because of ________.

A. its founder, David Belle                   B. the film, Casino Royale

C. its risks and tricks                        D. the varieties of participants

37. The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “________”.

24、streets              B. objects           C. barriers        D. roofs

38. As its participants move around a city, _________.

   A. they can ask for help                     B. they may choose to escape      

   C. they should run to extremes                D. they must learn to survive

39. Which of the following is TRUE about park-our?

   A. It challenges human abilities.               B. It is a good but boring sport          

C. It needs special training                   D. It is a team sport

40. Which of the following is the philosophy of park-our?

A. Sports and extremes.                      B. Excitement and freedom.

C. Dreams and success.                      D. Self-confidence and freedom.