They say that the real marathon begins at 35 kilometers — the rest is just a warm up. And sure enough, in 2009, at around the 36 kilometer point of the Beijing Marathon I experienced what runners call “hitting the wall”. I had been doing well until that point, but suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my leg. My pace slowed down dramatically and every brain cell in my head seemed to be screaming “stop!!!”
The last 5 kilometers were not fun; in fact, they were really hard work. Keeping motivated to run those last few kilometers was one of the hardest things I had ever done. But that is what makes running a marathon such a rewarding experience — if it were easy everyone would do it.
I have to admit it is sometimes not even easy to find the motivation to get out of bed, pull on your running shoes and head out into the morning to go for another run. These last two weeks of training for the Muztagata climb have been a little tough. I have been following my training plan for about three months but now I find that my original enthusiasm (热情) has all been used up. Day after day of going to the gym is beginning to wear me down and there still seems so much longer to keep this up. I have begun to doubt that I am actually making any progress or getting any fitter and even thought that I might be going backwards!
These are all very common experiences for people who are working towards challenging, longer term goals and I have learned to recognize these “highs” and “lows” in my energy and enthusiasm. Over the years I have learned a number of tricks that help me to deal with the days when my early motivation seems to have abandoned me for good.
1.Many runners say that the real marathon begins at 35 kilometers because it is at this point that __________.
A. runners begin to enjoy running the marathon race
B. runners are worn out as if they are breaking down
C. the rest part is just the preparation for the race
D. the race is a rewarding experience for runners
2.When people are working extremely hard towards challenging, _________.
A. they can keep themselves motivated all the time
B. they will never hesitate to continue carrying out their plan
C. they sometimes feel as if they stop making progress
D. they will fail to keep their spirits up
3.What is the author going to talk about in the following passage?
A. How to get trained.
B. Tips for becoming a marathon runner.
C. How to meet challenges.
D. Tips for keeping motivation high.
Air pollution is one of the hottest topics at present because poor air quality is an important factor in both the incidence and cause of respiratory(呼吸道) diseases.
Zhong Nanshan, a deputy to the NPC and a member of the CAE, said recently when the concentration of PM2.5 rises by 10 micrograms per cubic meter, hospitalization may rise by as much as 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, when the concentration of PM2.5 rises from 25 mgs per cubic meter to 200, the average daily death rate may rise to 11 percent.
Zhi Xiuyi, a leading expert in lung cancer treatment and also vice-president of the CATS, said medical authorities used to focus on tobacco control as a primary means of preventing lung cancer. "But in fact, air pollution is no less harmful than smoking and our research team released a report earlier this year showing that the cancer rate in Beijing is closely related to industrialization," he said.
The report, conducted by the Beijing Institute of Cancer Research, shows that the number of cancer patients in China has increased markedly during the past ten years. Chaoyang District, the city's main area of industrialization, has the highest incidence of cancer, almost double that of Yanqing, an area on the outskirts of the city. About four out of 1000 Chaoyang residents have some form of the disease, with lung cancer at the top of the list.
"The risk of having cancer largely depends on the length of exposure and the concentration of noxious gases(有毒气体的浓度)," said Zhi. In response to the doubt whether seven years' exposure to poor air quality will almost result in cancer, Zhi said the time scale was taken from research overseas that suggested the rate of incidence generally peaked in the seventh year of exposure to a heavily polluted environment.
1. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Medical researches on environment.
B. The disadvantages in big cities.
C. The only reason for the lung cancer.
D. Poor air quality contributing to lung cancer.
2.What can you conclude from the 3rd paragraph?
A. Compared with smoking, air pollution is more harmful.
B. Air pollution is as harmful as smoking.
C. It is very important to prevent people from smoking.
D. People realize the importance of keeping healthy.
3.If there were 3,000,000 people in Chaoyang District, how many would have respiratory diseases?
A. 16000 B. 12000 C. 8000 D. 7500
4.What can you infer from the passage?
A. Industrialization has its weakness as well as strengths.
B. The average death rate rises with different ages and places.
C. The air in Beijing is much more polluted than that in the other cities.
D. The more heavily-polluted air you breathe in, the sooner you’ll have cancer.
Exercise is one of the few factors with a positive role in long-term control of body weight. Unfortunately, that message has not gotten through to the average American, who would rather try switching to "light" beer and low-calorie bread than increase physical efforts. The Centers for Disease Control, for example, found that fewer than one-fourth of overweight adults who were trying to lose weight said they were combining exercise with their diet.
In rejecting exercise, some people may be discouraged too much by caloric-expenditure（热量消耗）charts; for example, one would have to quickly walk hard three miles just to work off the 275 calories in one delicious Danish pastry(小甜饼). Even exercise professionals accept half a point here. "Exercise by itself is a very tough way to lose weight," says York Onnen, program director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Still, exercise's supporting role in weight reduction is vital. A study at the Boston University Medical Center of overweight police officers and other public employees confirmed that those who dieted without exercise regained almost all their old weight, while those who worked exercise into their daily routine maintained their new weight.
If you have been sedentary (极少活动的) and decide to start walking one mile a day, the added exercise could burn an extra 100 calories daily. In a year's time, assuming no increase in food intake, you could lose ten pounds. By increasing the distance of your walks gradually and making other dietary adjustments, you may lose even more weight.
1.What is said about the average American in the passage?
A. They tend to hate "light" beer and low-calorie bread.
B. They usually ignore the effect of exercise on losing weight.
C. Most of them were combining exercise with their diet.
D. They know the actors that play a positive role in keeping down body weight.
2."Even exercise professionals accept half a point here" means "They ".
A. agree that the calories in a small piece of pastry can be easy to work off by exercise
B. partially believe diet plays a supporting role in weight reduction
C. are not fully convinced that dieting can help maintain one's new weight
D. are not sufficiently informed of the positive role of exercise in losing weight
3.What was confirmed by the Boston University Medical Center's study?
A. Controlling one's calorie intake is more important than doing exercise.
B. Even occasional exercise can help reduce weight.
C. Weight reduction is impossible without exercise.
D. One could lose ten pounds in a year's time if there's no increase in food intake.
4.What is the author's purpose in writing this article?
A. To stress the importance of maintaining proper weight.
B. To support the statement made by York Onnen.
C. To show the most effective way to lose weight.
D. To introduce the study of the Boston University Medical Center.
Mothers and daughters go through so much—yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co-writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped (重叠).
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s: both have full-time careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read. They also love to travel—in fact, they often take trips together. But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression (大萧条), Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls. Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished. Perri, on the other hand, grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s. For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful in trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together. Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork. Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy. Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long-hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together, Perri and Sheila tell their mother-daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other. A written account in two voices, Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet (二重奏) that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.
1.Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother’s?
A. They both have gone through difficult times.
B. They have strong emotional ties with each other.
C. They have the same joys and pains, and love and bitterness.
D. They both have experiences as daughter, mother and writer.
2.The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
A. something rare but not pleasant
B. something that cannot be imagined
C. something expensive but not necessary
D. something that can only be enjoyed by boys
3.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A. The content of the book. B. The purpose of the book.
C. The influence of the book. D. The writing style of the book.
4.How are women’s lives explored in this book?
A. In a musical form. B. Through field research.
C. With unique writing skills. D. From different points of view.
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I grew up with a fat dad------450 pounds at his heaviest. Every week he’d try a new diet, and my family____ eating whatever freeze-dried he was trying at that moment. He hoped every new diet could stop his waistline from______ .My mother, on the other hand, had no____ in preparing food. Therefore, almost all of our meals____ my dad’s diet foods.
What I remember most about those years is that I was always hungry ------ hungry for food, hungry for nice clean clothes, hungry for someone to ____ when I ran away from home or hid in the closet(壁橱) for hours. I just ____ to be cared for.
But on Friday nights, I was____ hungry. My grandmother would take me to her home for the weekend. When we____, there was always a pot of something cooking on the stove. She taught me how good it felt to be cared for, and how to care for myself and others through____. My grandmother was always____ of my parents’ strange eating habits and ____ on processed diet foods, and made it her duty to teach me how to ____ myself.
After my third-grade year, my dad changed his jobs. ____ as I was, I had to move away from my hometown, Chicago, and leave my grandmother and her delicious food behind. I felt extremely lonely and lost, and I____ my grandmother terribly. My grandmother knew just how I felt------ and she knew the ____: Every week, she would send me a card with a $20 bill, a recipe and a list of what to buy at the market. Her____ filled my body and soul.
Now I’ve grown to better understand my father’s struggles with____. Today, he weighs 220 pounds. Food is no longer a barrier that keeps us____, but a bridge that keeps us connected. There’s nothing my dad enjoys more than talking with me about dietary theories and his weight-loss____. And now I am the one____ sending recipe cards to my father’s house, just as my grandmother did for me.
1.A. put off B. set out C. gave up D. ended up
2.A. changing B. expanding C. decreasing D. disappearing
3.A. fault B. difficulty C. interest D. pride
4.A. consisted of B. differed from C. belonged to D. made up
5.A. follow B. accompany C. stop D. notice
6.A. forgot B. desired C. proved D. pretended
7.A. undoubtedly B. especially C. even D. never
8.A. arrived B. approached C. agreed D. returned
9.A. creativity B. guidance C. cooking D. observing
10.A. envious B. skeptical C. proud D. fond
11.A. judgment B. influence C. dependence D. impression
12.A. feed B. relax C. convince D. enjoy
13.A. Embarrassed B. Unfortunate C. Ashamed D. Unwilling
14.A. appreciated B. missed C. imagined D. responded
15.A. cure B. reason C. feeling D. rule
16.A. expectations B. recipes C. promises D. words
17.A. health B. money C. weight D. promotion
18.A. apart B. down C. up D. out
19.A. problems B. anxieties C. benefits D. victories
20.A. completely B. casually C. regularly D. gradually
------Don’t forget to return the book in two weeks.
------ _____ Don’t worry about it.
A. Yes, I won’t B. No, I won’t C. Yes, I will D. No, I will
