Parents whose children show a special interest in a particular sport have a difficult decision to make about their children’s careers. Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen or sportswomen? For many children it means starting very young and school work, going out with friends and other interests have to take second place.

It’s very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train for five hours a day, even at the weekend, when most of his or her friends are playing. Another problem is of course money. In many countries money for training is allocated from the government for the very best young sportsmen or sportswomen. If this help cannot be given, it means that it is the parents who have to find the time and the money to support their child’s development, and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment, etc. can be very expensive.

Many parents are understandably worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age. Doctors agree that young muscles may be damaged by training before they are properly developed. Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by starting young that you can reach the top as a successful sportsperson. What is clear is that very few people do reach the top and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training.

【小题1】The underlined word in Para. 2 is closest in meaning to “__________”.

A．separate	B．provide
C．drop	D．spread

【小题2】What do we learn about the children who train to be sportsmen or sportswomen?

A．They has less school work than others.

B．Their parents made sports their careers.

C．They can play with friends for five hours on weekends.

D．Their training, sports clothes and equipment cost much.

【小题3】What is the doctors’ attitude towards the early training?

A．Supportive.	B．Disapproving.
C．Indifferent.	D．Doubtful.

【小题4】What is the writer’s intention to write this passage?

A．To debate on early sports training.	B．To discuss training methods.
C．To give details about training costs.	D．To suggest a training programme.

   I like music so much that I believe I can't live without it. I was once asked by a friend of mine why I took such a great interest in it. First I would like to go deep into my soul and find myself through the music I like. Actually，some people call it the process of looking for the purpose of life，but I consider it to find my own spirit rather than the purpose of life. And the other reason is that I can communicate with other people and share all the things we have with the help of music. In fact，the use of music as a communication tool has been kept by human beings for thousands of years.

My friend asked me for further explanation after hearing what I said. I told him that this can date back to the original time，and to the very beginning of the world. At the very beginning of human beings，our forerunners（先驱）already had a special hobby of music. You'll know exactly what I mean if you happen to know the musical sentence when Adam，the first man，said to the first woman Eve，“Madam，I'm Adam”，which may have the meaning when you read from the end to the beginning. Later on，Adam and Eve and their children began to enjoy the sound of nature as a result of the special hobby of music. They found interest in listening to the sound of wind and rain, the singing of birds, the howls of beasts as well as the simple songs they themselves made.

As time went by, people started to form different kinds of music, such as Eastern music, pop music, rock and roll and light music. People became more skillful at enjoying the music. They were not just paying attention to the words and melodies, but they went deep into the soul of a piece of music. They began to know the relationship between music and their own life. They realized the power of music and started to use music to show their feelings and emotions. At the same time, people who listened to music and found the right way of enjoying it were going deeper and deeper into their soul and spirit through music. They got the whole colourful world which was surrounded by music. They began to communicate with others and share their feelings with the help of music. Music has become a kind of language since then.

Nowadays, people take a greater interest in music than ever before. More and more people begin to like music because they want to find their soul deep in their spirit and also because they have a need to share their life with other people. It is said that music has become an exactly international language today. It is even believed that if there are creatures on other planets and all other ways can't help communicate with them, music will probably do!

【小题1】The passage is intended to ___________.

A．show people how to enjoy music

B．persuade people to take interest in music

C．tell people the origin of music

D．present the reasons why the writer loves music

【小题2】The underlined word "this" in Paragraph 2 refers to“___________”.

A．the explanation	B．his love of music
C．music	D．the history

【小题3】In Paragraph 2 the example of Adam is meant to ___________.

A．arouse people's curiosity

B．show music has a long history

C．reveal the real meaning of music

D．explain how music came into being

【小题4】Which of the following does NOT agree with the writer according to the passage?

A．Music can serve as a means of communication.

B．People can associate music with their own life.

C．Music helps to find the purpose of life.

D．Music is a universal language in a sense.

   How to inspire children to explore the world full of mysteries? An organization is using a special way to make children interested in the unexplained world.

12-year-old Christian Kasdorf says, “Being up in the sky is really great. I would like to be a pilot someday.” He told the Dakota County Star, a local newspaper in South Sioux City, Nebraska, “It’s fun. And you get to see things from above.”

Not only did Christian get a chance to ride in an airplane earlier this month, but also learned about flying it, thanks to a program called Young Eagles, which is created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). It’s designed to give children between the ages of 8 and 17 a chance to experience flight in an aviation (航空) airplane while educating children about aviation. This program offers donations and volunteers (志愿者) free of charge. The lessons are free. All you need is that your parents allow you to do so.

“It is just to get kids in the air to experience flying — and get them informed about aviation,” said Rick Alter, president of the EAA, which started the Young Eagles program hack in 1992. Since then, nearly two million kids across the United States and Canada have taken Young Eagles flight.

“All kids should experience the freedom of flight at least once. All the kids really seem to like it. And it’s a great way to get them interested in aviation,” Rick told Time reporter Sean Leary.

Young Eagles teams kids up with experienced pilots who show them what to do and how to do it. “Kids have a chance to help control the aircraft. They get an idea of how the aircraft flies and what the instruments and controls do,” said Dick Foat, a pilot from Big Bear, California.

“It wasn’t as nervous as I had expected. The hardest part was the landing,” Christian said. “I was scared at first. But I got used to it.”

【小题1】What does Christian think of his experience of flying a plane?

A．He thinks of it as a joke for a child.	B．He finds it frightening and boring.
C．He thinks it’s exciting and amazing.	D．He feels it is fun to take pictures on the plane.

【小题2】Why was the program of Young Eagles started?

A．To produce a team of younger pilots.

B．To make kids gain flying experience and know more about aviation.

C．To make kids learn to love their countries.

D．To persuade parents to have their kids develop freely.

【小题3】What can the kids do when they are on the plane?

A．Study skills and knowledge of flying planes.

B．Find how to get rid of fears of flying high.

C．Learn about enjoying the scenes in the high sky.

D．Enjoy the freedom of being away from parents.

【小题4】Who will teach kids to control a plane?
A. The volunteers making donations to the program.  

A．Expert pilots chosen by the program.
B．Older kids from California.	C．The president of the EAA.

   Summertime has always been my absolute favorite time of the year. When I was in school，I just lived for the long summer holidays when I could play with my friends and my sister all day at our ease. Everyone has different associations with summer. For some，they think of the smell of freshly cut grass，for some it's lying on a beach reading a book and for others it might be the taste of lemonade or ice cream. I am so happy to be spending this summer with my family and childhood friends here in the Highlands of Scotland after a year away in France.

One of my favorite things to do in summer is go to see the Highlands. These events happen all across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland over the summer and are a great chance for friends and families to get together and support the local community. A Highland Games event is a big gathering with food stalls（货摊），fair games for children and sports competitions. Many of the sports are very specific to Scottish tradition such as "caber toss". This is a competition in which the competitors attempt to lift a full-length tree log and throw it into the air. The oldest Highland Games of Scotland are now an iconic（象征性的）part of the Scottish summer.

Summer just would not be complete for me without my favorite fruit-strawberries. Here in the Highlands，strawberries are grown as one of the best-sellers over the summer months and one thing I love to do on a warm summer afternoon is to pick some strawberries to eat with cream at the end of the day. If you come here，I think you will fall in love with them.

【小题1】Why did the author treasure summertime as a child?

A．It was a long hot holiday for him.

B．He could see his brother every day.

C．He was able to feel quite relaxed.

D．It was the best time to live a life.

【小题2】What can we learn according to the first paragraph?

A．The author was born and raised in France.

B．The author spent one year out of his country.

C．The author moved to Scotland with his family.

D．The author devoted much time to reading books.

【小题3】What will you see at a Highland Games event?

A．People giving a hand to those in need.

B．Kinds of delicious food and happy children.

C．A cultural display of Scottish tradition.

D．Some extreme sports competitions.

【小题4】Why does the author refer to strawberries?

A．To show he only takes interest in this fruit.

B．To prove the Highlands is best for summer.

C．To attract readers to buy strawberries.

D．To suggest strawberries are the best fruit.