After a year at sea, 16-year-old Laura Dekker can finally say, "Mission accomplished！"Last month, she finished a daring trip around the world aboard her 38-foot boat, Guppy. Dekker, who is from the Netherlands, traveled more than 30,000 miles all by herself. She is the youngest person ever to sail around the globe alone.

Dekker had wanted to take on this challenge when she was even younger. She first tried to set sail at the age of 13, but a court in the Netherlands stopped her. They said that she was too young to make such a risky trip by herself. But Dekker insisted she had the navigation skills and patience of an adult sailor.

She finally started on August 21, 2010. During her trip, Dekker battled loneliness, storms, and worries about pirates. But she also got to surf, scuba dive, and started a new hobby: playing the flute. Although Dekker didn't spend all of her time at sea—she stopped at ports along the way—she did spend her 16th birthday on the open ocean. To celebrate, she ate doughnuts for breakfast.

But Dekker didn't sail into the record books. Guinness World Record and the World Sailing Speed Record Council no longer recognize records for "youngest" sailors. They dropped the category in 2009 to discourage children from attempting such dangerous feats(壮举). But that didn't stop Dekker, who was born on a yacht(大游艇) during a seven-year world voyage undertaken by her parents.

Dekker doesn't mind that she won't hold an official record. She says it was a personal goal, and she is happy she achieved it.

"I am not disappointed at all that Guinness World Records won't recognize my attempt, "Dekker wrote on her website, "I did not start on my trip to achieve any record. I did it just for myself."

【小题1】What does the underlined word "accomplished" in Paragraph 1mean?

A．Failed.	B．Finished.
C．Continued.	D．Started.

【小题2】Dekker wasn't allowed to sail at the age of 13 because________.

A．people were concerned about her safety

B．she didn't learn the sailing skills well

C．she had to continue her study at school

D．she didn't have enough patience for long trips

【小题3】Why were the records for "youngest" sailors canceled in 2009?

A．To set a higher sailing standard for teen sailors.

B．To stop children entering Guinness World Records.

C．To encourage parents to sail with their children.

D．To prevent children making dangerous attempts.

【小题4】What could be the best title for this passage?

A．A New Guinness World Record in Sailing

B．A New Sailing Standard for Teen Sailors

C．A Teen Girl Sailing Alone Around the World

D．The Youngest Sailor in Guinness World Records

   Trekking (徒步旅行) 500 miles across Spain is no easy task for anyone, but for the wheelchair user Justin Skeesuck, achieving the dream seemed nearly impossible. However, Skeesuck’s lifelong best friend, Patrick Gray, simply didn’t accept that idea. He said, “We’ve done everything together so far. Why don’t we have one more adventure?”

That’s exactly what he did — pushing Skeesuck across northern Spain’s Camino de Santiago. Though Skeesuck has a muscle disease similar to ALS (肌萎缩侧索硬化) and high blood pressure, he first got the idea to go on the journey after he watched a travel show about the trail. He said, “I knew immediately since my heart was just telling me, ‘You need to do this.’”

With Gray on board and the blessings of their family, the two best friends from Idaho set off to make Skeesuck’s dream of going for the journey a reality. However, neither Gray nor Skeesuck realized how physically and emotionally arduous the trip would be. Not only did they have a strict time limit — about six weeks to get from start to finish, but they also faced extremely difficult obstacles (障碍). With Gray pushing Skeesuck in a three-wheel wheelchair, the pair crossed mountains, rivers and a desert. “I’ve never been that physically exhausted in my entire life,” Gray said. The pair came across countless kind people during their trip who were eager to help them finish their journey, but they refused their help with gentle words. 34 days later, the two best friends finished their journey, realizing a dream that helped them learn about themselves and others. “The adventure has taught me for sure that when you do something with faith, and never give up, amazing things can really happen,” Skeesuck said.

Gray recorded their incredible trip in a book — “I’ll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends and One Wheelchair”, which would be published soon. Skeesuck and Gray are also working on a children’s book that will tell the story of their adventure. They hope that the book will give kids strength when they deal with difficulties.

【小题1】What can we learn about Patrick Gray from Paragraph 1?

A．He is a wheelchair user.

B．He has been to Spain several times before.

C．He wanted to challenge what was thought impossible.

D．He didn’t think trekking 500 miles was an adventure.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “arduous” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Relaxing.	B．Disappointing.
C．Challenging.	D．Satisfying.

【小题3】What can we infer about the pair’s journey from Paragraph 3?

A．They set off on foot.	B．They finished it ahead of time.
C．They received a lot of help.	D．They met with no difficulties.

【小题4】Why did the two friends write a children’s book on that journey?

A．To encourage kids to face difficulties bravely.

B．To earn some money by selling books.

C．To persuade kids to take a trip to Spain.

D．To show kids the beautiful natural scenery.

语法填空

Nathan Sawaya showed a strong 【小题1】（prefer）for building blocks when he was young. At the age of 5, his grandparents bought his first set of building blocks and he 【小题2】（play）with them ever since. He even took his building blocks to college with him. Instead of books and a computer, he had a model of Greenwich Village 【小题3】（make）of bricks on his desk.

Nathan started as a lawyer 【小题4】 gave up his well-paid job to become 【小题5】 artist that uses toys in his art. He uses toy bricks to build everything from the Statue of Liberty to Superman！He has more than 1. 5 million colored bricks 【小题6】 are used by him to make pieces of art in his office in New York. He started by building small models but then decided to do something big and created a self-portrait. It took him two days just 【小题7】（build）the eyes.

Nathan's works have appeared in museums around the world. People love his arts because they are 【小题8】（fascinate）. Since it began in 2007, Nathan's exhibition "The Art of the Brick" has been very popular 【小题9】museum visitors everywhere.

"I'm proud that I have fulfilled my childhood dream, and I have actually made a job out of it, "says Nathan. "To do what you love in life is 【小题10】（important）thing. "

   Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table, reading his book. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to copy him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read the book just like you, but I don’t understand it, and I forget what I understand as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the book do?”

The grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandpa laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned. Out of breath, he told his grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, so he went to get a bucket instead. The grandpa said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough.” The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandpa the basket was empty again. Out of breath, he said, “Grandpa, it’s useless!”

“So, you think it is useless?” the grandpa said, “Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean.

“Grandson, that’s what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you’ll be changed, inside and out.”

【小题1】What puzzled the grandson most was _________.

A．why he forgot what he read soon	B．whether it was useful to read books
C．what kind of book he could understand	D．how he could read books like his grandpa

【小题2】Why did Grandpa ask his grandson to fetch a basket of water?

A．To get him to realize the use of reading books.	B．To punish him for not reading carefully.
C．To clean the dirty basket in the river.	D．To train him to run faster.

【小题3】What lesson can we learn from the story?

A．The old are always wiser than the young.	B．It is foolish to carry water with a basket.
C．You can’t expect to remember all you read.	D．Reading books can change a person gradually.

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Grandpa and Grandson	B．Carrying Water in a Basket
C．Baskets and Books	D．Reading for Total Changing

阅读下面材料，在空白处填上适当的内容或所给单词的正确形式。

Once there lived a rich man 【小题1】wanted to do something for the people of his town.【小题2】 first he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help.

In the centre of the main road into the town, he placed【小题3】very large stone. Then he 【小题4】(hide ) behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his cow.

“Who put this stone in the centre of the road?” said the old man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and continued on his way.【小题5】man came along and did the same thing; then another came,and another. All of them complained about the stone but not tried to remove 【小题6】. Late in the afternoon a young man came along. He saw the stone,【小题7】(say) to himself: “The night【小题8】(be) very dark. Some neighbors will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone.”

Then he began to move the stone. He pushed and pulled with all his  【小题9】(strong) to move it. How great was his surprise at last!【小题10】 the stone, he found a bag of money.