Thanks a Million, Dad

I was born disabled．A difficult birth, feet first, my head stuck．By my first birthday, I couldn't stand or walk．

When I was three, the doctor told dad I had cerebral palsy （腦癱）．A loss of oxygen to my brain had destroyed brain signals to the right side of my body．

But no son of my dad' s was going to be disabled．Every morning before breakfast and every evening before bed, my dad placed me on the bedroom floor to exercise my right leg．The muscles were shrunk and twisted together．Back and forth up and down, my dad pushed and pulled the muscles into shape．

But my dad' s exercise of passion didn't stop there．For my 13th birthday, he threw me a special party．When everybody was gone, he brought me to open a large box, it was a-set of boxing gloves．We put them on．My dad kept on beating me mercilessly．Each time I tried to get up, leather kissed my nose, eyes and jaw．I "begged him to stop．He said he beat me to get me ready for the tough world．

That same year, I was the only kid in my neighbourhood that wasn't picked for Little League．Two weeks later．Dad started the Shedd Park Minor League, and every kid played．Dad coached us and made me a pitcher （棒球投手）．

The power of my dad' s love guaranteed I walked and more．In high school, I became a football star．

In 1997, a brain surgeon in San Jose told me I didn’t t have cerebral palsy after all．He explained how and where the doctor' s forceps （鑷子） at birth had damaged my brain．

My dad never knew the whole truth since he passed away years ago．But all that counts is the bottom line．After all his madness, on this Father' s Day, like every Father' s Day, I' m no longer disabled．

1.What caused the author' s disability?

2.What do we learn from the passage?

3.Paragraph 3 suggests that the author' s father____．

4.The author wrote the passage to ____．

The market is a concept. If you are growing tomatoes in your backyard for sale you are producing for the market. You might sell some to your neighbor and some to the local manager of the supermarket. But in either case, you are producing for the market. Your efforts are being directed by the market. If people stop buying tomatoes, you will stop producing them.

If you take care of a sick person to earn money, you are producing for the market. If your father is a steel worker or a truck driver or a doctor or a grocer, he is producing goods or service for the market.

When you spend your income, you are buying things from the market. You may spend money in stores, supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants. Still you are buying from the market. When the local grocer hires you to drive the delivery truck, he is buying your labor in the labor market.

The market may be something abstract (抽象的). But for each person or business that is making and selling something, it is very concrete. If nobody buys your tomatoes, it won’t be long before you get the message. The market is telling you something. It is telling you that you are using energies and resources in doing something the market doesn’t want you to do.

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

A. Selling and Buying.               B. Everything you do is producing for the market.

C. What is the market?               D. What the market can do for you.

All of the following acts are producing for the market except________.

A. working in a bank                         B. attending a night school

C. driving a taxi                   D. growing beans for sale

You are buying from the market when you________.

A. borrow a book from the library       B. drive to the seaside for a holiday

C. look after your children           D. dine at restaurant

The word “concrete” in the last paragraph may most probably mean________.

A. serious             B. important              C. necessary         D. real

When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.

.   So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.

Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.

Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through Crying, and then we can deal with them.

Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical (身體的) health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural  — and healthy — emotional response (反應).

1.Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?

2.According to the author, which of the following statements is true?

3. What might be the most suitable title for the text?

Brenda Linson never goes anywhere without an empty spectacles case. It is as vital to her as her purse. Yet, she doesn’t wear glasses. The reason she cannot do without it is that she cannot read and she cannot write. If ever she gets into any situation where she might be expected to do either of these things, she fishes around in her bag for the spectacles case, finds it’s empty, and asks the person concerned to do the reading for her. Until a few months ago hardly anybody knew about her problem. Her husband didn’t know and her children didn’t know. The children still don’t.

She had many tactics for hiding her difficult—for example, never lingering near a phone at work, in case she had to answer it and might be required to write something down.

It has never occurred to the children that their mother cannot read. She doesn’t read them stories, but then their father doesn’t either, so they find nothing surprising in the fact. Similarly they just accept that Dad is the one who writes the sick notes and reads the school reports. Now that the elder boy Tom is quite a proficient reader, Brenda can skillfully get him to read any notes brought home from school simply by asking,“What’s that all about, then?”

Brenda’s husband never guessed the truth in ten years of marriage. For one thing, he insists on handling all domestic correspondence and bills himself. A salesman for a large company, he travels a great deal and so is not around so much to spot the truth. While he’s away Brenda cores with any situations by explaining that she cannot do anything until she’s discussed it with her husband.

Brenda was very successful in her job until recently. For the last five years she had worked as waitress at an expensive restaurant, and had eventually been promoted to head waitress. She kept the thing a secret there too, and got over the practical difficulties somehow.

1. Brenda’s children have never found out about her problem as__________.

A. she isn’t often at home.

B. they are too young to guess the truth.

C. they find it normal to ask their father for everything.

D. they think it natural that short-sighted people like their mother don’t do much reading or writing.

2.What most probably made Brenda try hard to hide her difficulty?

A. Her desire to be successful in her job.          

B. Her fear of losing face.

C. Her deceitful nature.                        

D. Both A and B.

3.Of the following suggested titles, which is the most appropriate?

A. Brenda and Her Family                    

B. A Woman Who Doesn’t Wear Glasses

C. A Woman with an Empty Spectacles Case      

D. The Miserable Life of a Waitress

Twenty years is just a blink in time. But 20 years is also long enough for a man to grow up. It is always painful. For Andrew Agassi, maturing in the spotlight of international tennis competition was even harder.

    On September 3, the American tennis player said a tearful goodbye to his 21-year career after a third-round defeat in the US Open. The 36-year-old tried his best, but was unable to keep up with German Benjamin Becker, more than ten years his junior.

     "The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what I've found," Agassi said to the fans. "I have found inspiration and you willed me to succeed." It was an emotional speech at the end of a long career.

     Agassi hated tennis as a teenager as much as he loves it now. His father made him play when he was a child. He got bored, and became a rebel(叛逆). The strict training that his father pushed upon him got in the way of his wild lifestyle. He grew hair long, wore colorful clothes and spat at a judge. Over the years, he has made bad jokes during news conferences. Asked what he would say to his 17-year-old self, Agassi answered, "I would say, I understand you a lot more than I want to be you."

    The turning point in Agassi's career came in 1992 when he unexpectedly won his first Grand Slam (大滿貫賽事)at Wimbledon. It was the first time Agassi understood what real champions finally understand: winning is a test of courage and not just power, it's a marathon, not a sprint(短跑).

     And what a marathon Agassi was about to begin. He cut his long hair, got fitter and tightened up emotionally. On the court, he ranked No. 1 for almost two years. His lowest point came in 1997 when his ranking dropped to No. 141. He didn't quit though. "I knew that I would try to get the most out of myself every day from that day forward. That was my promise," he said. "That never stopped." www.zxxk.com

1.The underlined phrase "more than ten years his junior" in the second paragraph means _________.

A. having lower ranking than Agassi for more than ten years

B. having higher ranking than Agassi for more than ten years

C. more than ten years older than Agassi

D. more than ten years younger than Agassi

2.How did Agassi feel when he was defeated in the competition?

A. He felt angry with the judge

B. He felt satisfied with the scoreboard

C. He felt regretful but encouraged

D. He felt in great desperation

3.The passage implies ______.

A. after 1997 Agassi began to take up marathon besides tennis

B. Agassi began to play tennis before he was fifteen

C. Agassi hesitated to quit his sports career

D. the reason why Agassi lost his last competition was that he lacked courage and power

4.The score of the match between Agassi and Becker is ______.

A. 0-2                                 B. 0-3                                  C. 1-3                         D. 2-3