I am here to announce my retirement from the game of basketball. It won't be another announcement to baseball or anything to that nature.

Mentally, I'm exhausted; I don't feel I have a challenge. Physically, I feel great. The last time in 1993 I had other agendas. I felt that I wanted to play baseball and I felt that at my age, it was a good opportunity and time to do it. And with the death of my father, and I was basically trying to deal with that.

Actually I talked to Jerry last year once the season ended and I told Jerry at that time, mentally, I was a little exhausted. I didn't know if I would play next year. I wanted to put him on awareness so that he could possibly prepare going into next season. And Jerry, once we had our conversation, wanted me to take time as I did in 1993 to make sure that it was the right decision because it was going to be the final decision.

I retired the first time when Phil Jackson was the coach. And I think that even with Phil being the coach I would have had a tough time, mentally finding the challenge for myself. Although he can somehow present challenges for me, I don't know if he could have presented the challenge for me to continue on to this season. Even though middle way of this season I wanted to continue to play a couple more years, but at the end of this season I was mentally drained and tired. So I can't say that he would have restored that.

I will support the Chicago Bulls. I think the game itself is a lot bigger than Michael Jordan. I've been given an opportunity by people before me, to name a few, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Doctor J, Jerry West. These guys played the game way before Michael Jordan was born and Michael Jordan came on the heels of3 all that activity. Mr. Stern and what he's done for the league, gave me an opportunity to play the game of basketball. I played it to the best I could play it; I tried to enhance the game itself. I've tried to be the best basketball player that I could be.

21. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. When Jordan wanted to retire the first time, Jerry was the coach.

B. Jordan thinks of himself as the greatest basketball player in the world.

C. The reason why Jordan wants to retire is that he is mentally tired.

D. Jordan is always the member of the Chicago Bulls.

22. In the last paragraph of the passage, a few famous basketball players are mentioned except               .

A. Kareem Abdul Jabbar      B. Doctor J    C. Jerry West        D. Yao Ming

23. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Jordan Retirement                       B. From Basketball to Baseball

C. The Greatest Basketball Player Ever         D. Basketball

Alone in the wilderness. Nothing but jungle. A world of shadow with the rays of light falling like blonde hair from the crowns of the giant trees. Jungle in the midday sun. Everything motionless. Not a sound from sky or earth. Complete silence. Only some coconuts falling, at long intervals, very far away. The world reduced to the soft touch of cool grass along my naked back, and a sweet smell of rich soil and vegetation. Stretched out with closed eyes beside my heavy burden of fruit and firewood, I enjoyed the feeling of fresh blood streaming through every part of my body and fresh jungle air filling every corner of my lungs.

  Resting motionless, I could see the sun through my closed eyelids, alone in the sky, as lonely as I, and as motionless and silent as everything else. The earth had surely stopped turning and somewhere on this planet there was supposed to be roaring traffic in busy streets. What a crazy, unbelievable thought!

  Another coconut fell, to make the world come to a complete standstill. I had to roll over onto my stomach to feel that at least I could move and make noises. Then I found company. A little brown ant was struggling to find its way with a bit of dry straw through the jungle of leaves and grass below my nose. I wondered if I could give the little fellow a lift with its burden, but it showed not the slightest sign of tiredness and struggled on with all six legs, head first or head last, waving its feelers(触角) energetically as if the trip had just started. Who ever saw a tired ant? Tiredness, disagreeable tiredness, is restricted to hunted animals, slaves and modern man. It is as great an effort for an office clerk to walk five blocks with a loaded brief-case as it is for a jungle-dweller to cross a valley with a goat on his back. It is as hard to get up and climb or run when you have been seated for years as it is to get up and walk when you have been in bed for months. The body is strange. Spare it, and you get really tired for almost nothing; use it, and almost nothing makes you really tired.

  I rose to my feet. I had heard a horse neighing down in the valley. Above me, on the open highland plains, there were wild horses. But down in the valley there was never a horse unless there was a man on it. Somebody was making his way up the valley and my wife was alone.

24.The author mentions coconuts’ falling to              .

A. show his loneliness                     B. add beauty to the jungle

C. express his love of nature           D. stress the absolute silence

25.How does the author feel about the ant?

A. He admired its attitude towards work. B. He was concerned about its tireless efforts.

C. He showed sympathy for the little ant. D. He was excited to have it as a companion.

26.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author would probably           .

A. work harder than before                B. talk to the man on the horse

C. make his way home                  D. stay in the valley

27.We can learn from the passage that the author                 .

A. enjoyed being alone                    B. experienced a world of quietness

C. missed his busy life in the city       D. had an unforgettable adventure

The Scar of Love

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator(短吻鳄) was getting close. The mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In great fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U—turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched(抓住) his legs. That began an unbelievable tug-of-war(拔河比赛) between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard their screams, rushed from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the terrible attack of the animal. And on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma(外伤), asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted the pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter,“Look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mum wouldn’t let go.”

You and I can identify with(认同) that little boy. We have scars, too. Not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friends, are because we have refused to let go.

28.The underlined part“the two”in the second paragraph refers to       .

  A. the son and the alligator        B.the mother and the son

  C.the driver and the alligator       D. the alligator and the mother

29.From the passage we can infer        .

  A.The mother was unwilling to let the alligator go

  B.The mother was actually stronger than the alligator

  C.The son was proud of his scars on his arms

  D.The son was ashamed of his scars on his legs

30.According to the last paragraph, what is the writer’s real meaning?

  A.To forget the past is to betray.       B.We should forget the scars.

C.Wounds are different from scars.     D.We should learn to let go sometimes.

31.What type does the author develop the passage ?

A. Comparison.                     B. Narration with comments.

C. Classification.                    D. Analysis.

   Text messaging is a surprisingly good way to receive candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. “The preliminary（初步的）results of our study suggest that people are more likely to disclose sensitive information via text messages than in voice interviews,” says Fred Conrad, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

    “This is sort of surprising,” says Conrad, “since many people thought that texting would decrease the likelihood of disclosing sensitive information because it creates a persistent, visual record of questions and answers that others might see on your phone and in the cloud.”

    With text, the researchers also found that people were less likely to engage in “satisficing”--- a survey industry term referring to the common practice of giving good enough, easy answers. “We believe people give more precise answers via texting because there's just not the time pressure in a largely asynchronous（非同步的）mode like text that there is in phone interviews, ” says Conrad. “As a result, respondents are able to take longer to arrive at more accurate answers.”

    Conrad conducted the study with Michael Schober, a professor of psychology at the New School for Social Research. “We're in the early stages of analyzing our findings,” says Schober. “But so far it seems that texting may reduce some respondents' tendency to shade the truth or to present themselves in the best possible light in an interview, even when they know it's a human interviewer they are communicating with via text. What we cannot yet be sure of is who is most likely to be disclosive in text. Is it different for frequent texters, or generational, for example? ”

    For the study, the researchers recruited approximately 600 iPhone-users through Google Ads, offering them iTunes Store rewards to participate in the study. Their goals were to see whether responses to the same questions differed depending on several variables(可变因素)whether the questions were asked via text or voice, whether a human or a computer asked the questions, and whether the environment, including the presence of other people and the likelihood of multitasking, affected the answers.

32. The underlined word “candid” in Para.1 probably means       .

    A. straightforward     B. doubtful  C. general      D. imaginary

33. We can learn from the passage that       . 

A. people fond of text messaging are more honest

B. texting will give away less sensitive information

C. different variables might affect the responses of messaging

D. about 600 iPhone users have been awarded iTunes by researchers

34. Compared with phone interviews, texting has the advantage that people could       .          

A. present their best to the interviewers

B. have more time to make a reply

C. pay less for sending a message

D. enjoy more freedom of speech

35. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Texting Downs Responses         B. Texting Exposes Identity

C. Texting Benefits Interviewees      D. Texting Ups Truthfulness

36 Teens can open the lines of communication too. As the saying goes, “talking is a two-way street”. If there is something on your mind or if you are feeling confused or if you just need to talk, there is always some trustworthy adult willing to listen. Choose an adult you know that will listen before reacting and make the ever so important move of“communicating ”. You’ll be glad you did that.

TIPS FOR TEENS—there is a lot to be learned by listening to adults.  37 

When they offer advice, think about what they are saying and where they come from. They aren’t out to ruin your fun. Even the most conservative adult advice has your best interests at heart. Before deciding that everything adults have to say is not true or that it is out of touch with the times, take a moment to really hear what is being said.  38  .

TIPS FOR ADULTS—know that the world has changed. It is important It is important that you respect the ways that their world is different. Listen to what they say about their world and relate it to what you remember.  39  Presenting facts over opinions is more likely to reach them than lecturing.

Bottom line—if anything is going to be done to change statistics like these, an honest dialogue is going to have to be entered into by both sides.   40  Adults will have to be honest about choices and consequences and stand behind their warnings with action.

A.You will be surprised at how much sense adults can make.

B.Remember to offer information rather than opinions.

C.You can punish them if they do something wrong.

D.Opening a dialogue is not as frightening as it may seem and it doesn’t have to be the adult who starts the discussion.

E.They have been through teen life and have the gift of hindsight(事后的觉悟) in making their judgments.

F.Teens will have to tell it like it is and adults will have to listen.

G.Schoolyard murder may be just what 21st century teens live with every day.