Imagine yourself on a boat looking out at the horizon and all you can see is the water meeting the sky with no land in sight and you are sailing straight ahead to meet the world. Jesse Martin does not have to imagine: he is living in it.
On Dec. 7, 1998, at 17 years old, Jesse set sail from Melbourne, Australia on his boat, attempting to become the youngest person to sail alone and nonstop around the world. He sailed south of New Zealand, through the South Pacific, around South America, north on the Atlantic, back south past Africa, through the Indian Ocean and back to Melbourne.
Even as a young child, Jesse had been an adventurer who traveled all over Europe and Asia with his parents. Born in Munich, Germany in 1981, he moved to Australia with his family when he was only two years old. They moved close to a rainforest in Cow Bay, about 3500kms north of Melbourne, where they built a small house with no electricity or running water. Jesse grew up at the beach enjoying the outdoors to its fullest.
At 14, he sailed for the first time with his father and brother, Beau. It was after this trip that he began to dream about sailing around the world.
Jesse’s family played an important role. “I was made to believe I could do anything.” he says. Although, he says, there were others that were not so encouraging or supportive, “People that I looked up to, respected and trusted told me I couldn’t. Thankfully, I trusted myself. There were people that said that the boat couldn’t be ready by the time I had to leave.” However, through perseverance and belief in himself he was able to do what many told him was impossible.
On Oct.31, 1999, more than 10 months after he set sail, Jesse Martin went down in history as the youngest person to sail around the world alone, nonstop and unassisted.
【小題1】 What’s the author’s purpose in encouraging the reader to imagine a sailing experience?

A．To show how difficult it is to be a sailor.

B．To show how wonderful Jesse’s sailing is.

C．To describe what Jesse’s sailing is like.

D．To describe what a sailor’s life is like.

【小題2】 Jesse Martin was at the end of his voyage when he _______.

A．sailed on the South Pacific.

B．sailed on the Indian Ocean.

C．sailed past Africa

D．sailed past South America.

【小題3】 Which of the following made Jesse decide to sail alone around the world?

A．His childhood adventure experiences.

B．His journeys to Europe.

C．His first sailing trip with his family.

D．His love for outdoor activities.

【小題4】 What can we learn from Jesse Martin’s story?

A．Interest leads to success.

B．A strong belief will make a person stronger.

C．Life is an unusual adventure we should enjoy.

D．Failure is the mother of success.

  Imagine yourself on a boat looking out at the horizon and all you can see is the water meeting the sky with no land in sight and you are sailing straight ahead to meet the world. Jesse Martin does not have to imagine: he is living in it.

On Dec. 7, 1998, at 17 years old, Jesse set sail from Melbourne, Australia on his boat, attempting to become the youngest person to sail alone and nonstop around the world. He sailed south of New Zealand, through the South Pacific, around South America, north on the Atlantic, back south past Africa, through the Indian Ocean and back to Melbourne.

Even as a young child, Jesse had been an adventurer who traveled all over Europe and Asia with his parents. Born in Munich, Germany in 1981, he moved to Australia with his family when he was only two years old. They moved close to a rainforest in Cow Bay, about 3500kms north of Melbourne, where they built a small house with no electricity or running water. Jesse grew up at the beach enjoying the outdoors to its fullest.

At 14, he sailed for the first time with his father and brother, Beau. It was after this trip that he began to dream about sailing around the world.

Jesse’s family played an important role. “I was made to believe I could do anything.” he says. Although, he says, there were others that were not so encouraging or supportive, “People that I looked up to, respected and trusted told me I couldn’t. Thankfully, I trusted myself. There were people that said that the boat couldn’t be ready by the time I had to leave.” However, through perseverance and belief in himself he was able to do what many told him was impossible.

On Oct.31, 1999, more than 10 months after he set sail, Jesse Martin went down in history as the youngest person to sail around the world alone, nonstop and unassisted.

What’s the author’s purpose in encouraging the reader to imagine a sailing experience?

    A. To show how difficult it is to be a sailor.

    B. To show how wonderful Jesse’s sailing is.

    C. To describe what Jesse’s sailing is like.

    D. To describe what a sailor’s life is like.

Jesse Martin was at the end of his voyage when he _______.

A. sailed on the South Pacific.

B. sailed on the Indian Ocean.

C. sailed past Africa

D. sailed past South America.

Which of the following made Jesse decide to sail alone around the world?

   A. His childhood adventure experiences.

   B. His journeys to Europe.

   C. His first sailing trip with his family.

   D. His love for outdoor activities.

What can we learn from Jesse Martin’s story?

   A. Interest leads to success.

   B. A strong belief will make a person stronger.

   C. Life is an unusual adventure we should enjoy.

   D. Failure is the mother of success.

Sailing Through History

A group of 1,309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died. The ship, which was headed to New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants, who were seeking a better life in America.

Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship, are on the Balmoral. They want to remember the doomed ship and those who died on her first and last voyage. The historic liner had set sail on April 10, 1912, from Southampton. Late at night on April 14, she hit an iceberg. In the early morning hours of April 15, the Titanic sank.

The Balmoral is following Titanic’s original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stops in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s last port of call before sailing to New York.

Balmoral will then cruise the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped the ship’s hull(外殼). On Sunday, April 15, at 2:20 a.m.—the time the Titanic went down—passengers and crew will hold a memorial service. The next two days will be spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the sinking are buried. Then, the Balmoral will reach its final destination in New York City, where Titanic was supposed to dock—but never did.

Until today, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered some items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And more trips are planned to the wreckage in the future. The Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there’s a much more important contribution that Titanic gave us. After she sank, lawmakers and shipbuilders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.

1.How many passengers in Titanic survived at last?

A．More than 1500.

B．About 1309.

C．About 1000.

D．Less than 750.

2.How many countries does the Balmoral reach before sailing to New York?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．five.

3.The Balmoral will stay in Canada just __________.

A．in memory of the dead passengers in the Balmoral

B．in memory of the survivors in Titanic

C．in memory of the dead passengers in Titanic

D．in memory of the survivors in the Balmoral

4.What might be the most important contribution of sunken Titanic?

A．Its site attracts more exploring teams.

B．It makes the later ships more secure.

C．Some of its items are on public display.

D．More trips are planned to its wreckage.

 

A group of 1,309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace (重走) the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated first voyage on April 10, 1912. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew aboard, more than l,500 died. The ship, which was headed for New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants who were seeking a better life in America.
Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship were on the Balmoral. They wanted to remember the Titanic and those who died on her first and last voyage.
The Balmoral was following Titanic’s original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked (進港) in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stopped in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s last port of call before sailing to New York.
The Balmoral then sailed the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where the Titanic hit an iceberg. On Sunday, April 15, at 2:20 a.m. — the time the Titanic went down － passengers and crew held a memorial service. The next two days were spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the Titanic are buried. Then, the Balmoral reached its final destination in New York City, where the Titanic was supposed to dock — but never did.
So far, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And the Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there’s a much more important contribution that the Titanic has given us. After she sank, lawmakers and ship builders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.
【小題1】We learn from the first paragraph that _____.

A．the Titanic sank on its second voyage

B．a(chǎn)bout 700 passengers of the Titanic survived

C．less than 2,000 passengers boarded the Titanic

D．a(chǎn)ll the passengers’ hopes of the Titanic lay in America

【小題2】Which of the following shows the correct route of the Balmoral?
a. Halifax  b. New York City   c. Cobh   d. Southampton e. Cherbourg

A．d-e-c-a-b

B．e-d-a-b-c

C．e-c-a-b-d

D．d-c-e-a-b

【小題3】What might be the most important contribution of the Titanic?

A．Its site attracts many exploration teams.	B．It has made later ships more secure.
C．Some of its items are on public display.	D．More trips are planned to its site.

【小題4】What would be the best title for the text?

A．The unsinkable ship	B．The Titanic today
C．The Titanic’s route	D．Sailing through history

 

III．閱讀理解：（共20 小題，每小題2分，滿分40分）

第一節(jié)：（共15小題，每小題2分，滿分30分）

         閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項A、B、C、D中選出最佳選項。

         For her first twenty-four year, she’d been known as Debbie---a name that didn’t suit her good looks and elegant manner．” My name has always made me think I should be a cheerleader, ”She complained．”I just don’t feel like a Debbie!”

         One day ,while filling out an application form for publishing job, the young woman suddenly changed middle name, Lynne, for her first name Debbie．“That was the smartest thing I ever did,” She says now．“ As soon as I stopped calling myself Debbie．I felt more comfortable with myself… and other people started to take me more seriously”．Two years after her successful magazine editor--- friends and associates call her Lynne．

         Naturally, the name change didn’t cause Debbie/Lynne’s professional achievement--- but it surely helped if only by adding a bit of self-confidence to her talents．Social scientists say that what you are called can affect your life．Through history, names have not only identified people but also described them．”… As his name is, so is he …? says the Bible．For better or worse, qualities such as friendliness or reserves, simpleness or charm may be suggested by your name and encourage other people before they even meet you．

         Of course , names with a good sense can work for you ---even encouraging new acquaintances．A recent survey showed that American men thought Susan to be the attractive female name, while women believed Richard and David were the most attractive to men．One woman I know turned down a blind date with a man named Harry because “he sounded dull．” Several evenings later she came up to me at a party, pressing for an introduction to a very nice man with whom they looked at each other all evening．“Oh, “ I said．” You mean Harry?” She was ill at ease．

1．Debbie’s changing her name ____．

         A．had actually little to do with her career．

         B．was what she happened to do when filling out the form

         C．did have an effect on her success

         D．entirely contributed to her luck

2．The author introduced Harry to the woman___

         A．a(chǎn)t the request of the woman herself

         B．to tell her that names didn’t matter really

         C．to make her feel uneasy in mind

         D．the person is more important than his /her name

3．The name Debbie may be connected with something ____

         A．huge           B．quiet            C．dull               D．a(chǎn)ttractive

4．The best possible title for the passage may be ____

         A．Names are the most important         B．Your name is your fortune

         C．Don’t care much for names       D．Names and making friends