Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team, “Football, tennis, cricket – anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about Ridgways’s cold water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, then decided that this would be his future.
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long – distance expedition(探险)towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite(冻疮), ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply loaded sled(雪橇)up and over rocky ice.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.
Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900 – kilometer journey that has never been completed on skis.
1.What change happened to Saunders after he was 15 years old?
A.He became good at most sports. B.He began to build up his body.
C.He joined a sports team. D.He made friends with a runner.
2.The underlined word “exploits”(paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to .
A.journeys B.researches C.adventures D.operations
3.Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?
a.He ran his first marathon. b.He skied alone in the North Pole.
c.He rode his bike in a forest. d.He planned an adventure to the South Pole.
A.a,c,d,b B.c,d,a,b C.a,c,b,d D.c,a,b,d
4.What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?
A.He is a success in sports. B.He is the best British skier.
C.He is Ridgway’s favorite student. D.He is a good instructor at school
BCDA
A. Profits enlarging B. Technology developing C. Education investing D. Benefits transferring E. Dominance disappearing F. A nation rising |
The following is an imaginary diary entry written by US president. This diary is part of Global Trends 2025, which was written by the US National Intelligence Council
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The
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The
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Global wealth and economic power will shift from West to East.
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The transition from old fuels to new will be slow, as will the development of new technologies that present feasible alternatives to fossil fuels or help eliminate food and water problems. All current technologies are inadequate, and new ones will probably not be commercially possible by 2025