Chopin (肖邦) was born in March, 1810 near Warsaw (華沙) in Poland (波蘭). He was one of the
greatest musicians in the world. In 1831, when he went to Paris, no people but he could play the piano
very well.
      At that time people in Paris liked the Hungarian (匈牙利) pianist liszt (李斯特). One night, at a concert,
Liszt went to the piano and all the people shouted. As all the lights in the concert were turned off, a
wonderful piano concert started. The music was so good that the listeners were all greatly interested. They
kept praising the pianist and thought that Liszt reached something new in playing the piano. 
     Suddenly, all the lights were turned on again as the music came to an end. And there stood a young man
instead of the famous Hungarian pianist Liszt. 
     Liszt planned all this. As the lights went out, Liszt left his chair and let Chopin take his place. So with
the help of Liszt and his own talent (才能), Chopin soon became famous.

1. Chopin was            .

A. the greatest musician in the world
B. a famous Polish pianist
C. a famous Paris pianist
D. one of the greatest musicians in Hungary.

2. The wonderful piano concert started            .

A. after all the lights were turned on
B. when Liszt sat down at the piano
C. after all the lights were turned off
D. when Chopin went to piano.

3. When the music came to an end,            .

A. Liszt stood at the piano
B. all the lights were turn off again
C. Chopin stood at the piano
D. people went out of the hall

4. Chopin became famous            .

A. before he came to the concert
B. because he was a student of Liszt's
C. because people in Paris liked him
D. since he played so well at the concert

5. From the story we know             .

A. Chopin could be famous because of his own talent and the help from Liszt
B. Liszt planned to make Chopin famous
C. Liszt was Chopin's teacher
D. one could be famous only with the help of a famous pianist

      In 1961 Obama was born in Hawaii, US. His father was an African and his mother was a white
American. He grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii.
      When Obama was 10 years old, he was one of the only three black students at his school in Hawaii.
He felt very different from most other students. White girls wanted to touch his hair. A white boy even
asked him what his father was.
     "I lied to them that my father was a Kenyan prince. But I kept asking myself who I am," said Obama.
      However, 37 years later, the boy made history. Obama became the first black president in US history. 
      This unusual background made him wonder who he was. He once turned to alcohol (酒) to help forget
this question.
      With the help of his friends, Obama finally turned his life around at college. His hard work made him a
star at Harvard. Later, he became the third black senator (參議員) in US history.
     "Obama's success has made Martin Luther King's dream come true. That is: A man should not be
judged (判斷) by the colour of his skin, but by the content of his character," wrote ABC news.

1. Obama was born in ______.

A. Britain
B. America
C. Kenya
D. Indonesia

2. There was / were ______ black student(s) besides Obama at the school where he studied when
    he was ten.

A. no
B. one
C. two
D. three

3. Obama became the first black president in US history when he was ______.

A. 37
B. 38
C. 47
D. 48

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Obama's father was a Kenyan prince.
B. Obama once forgot who his father was with the help of alcohol.
C. When he was young, Obama was so dishonest that nobody believed in him.
D. Obama changed his college life because of his friends' help and his hard work.

5. From the passage we can see that ______.

A. we could judge a person by the colour of his skin
B. we could not judge a person by the content of his character
C. we should not judge a person by the colour of his skin
D. we should judge a person by what he did when he was young

    Kong Linghui, the Chinese former (前) table tennis genius who claimed gold metals for ping pong at
three world-level events, said during his career (一生事業(yè)) that he had two wishes: to be an "ever-green
tree" in the table tennis field; and to contribute to the Olympic Games in his homeland.
    One of those wishes is soon to come true. On the morning of October 18 last year the Chinese champion,
who won the World Table Tennis Championships, Table Tennis World Cup, and Olympic Games, boarded
a bus to the table tennis training base in Zhengding, Hebei Province. He was about to spend his 31st birthday
as coach of the Chinese women's ping pong team for the Beijing Olympic Games.
     A week earlier Kong had made an emotional announcement that he was retiring. "I really don't want to
drop my ping pong bat," he said, before following with the news about his new coaching role, to a burst of
applause (掌聲).
     "I'm so excited and this applause gives me great encouragement to switch from a player to a coach," he
added.
     "It's still hard for the young table tennis players in Sweden to surpass (超過) the veteran Waldner if they
want to continue their career, but it's not the same here in China, where young ping pong talents keep
popping up and overtaking the old generation."
     The game of table tennis first appeared in the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. Since then China has
claimed 11 gold medals, and in many Chinese fans' eyes nothing but first place is good enough. It is a
position that puts a huge amount of pressure on Kong as he prepares the women's team for 2008.
     "I think he's going to be a good coach based on his presence and glorious past achievements. He's going
to make a difference in the Beijing Games," said Liu Guoliang, one of Kong's ex-teammates and now coach
of the national men's team.
     Kong's father is also a table tennis coach. He started playing ping pong when he was 6 years old. During
his 25-year career Kong produced many memorable moments of table tennis brilliance, of which two
definitely deserve mentioning. 
     One was in 1995, when the 20-year-old Kong won his first men's singles title in gripping style at the
World Table Tennis Championships. Another was at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 when he defeated
Swedish star Waldner by a tiny margin (差距) and then kissed the Chinese national flag printed on his
T-shirt, howled and burst into tears.
     Kong's story cannot be told without mentioning Liu Guoliang, who is one year younger, but was already
lead coach for the Chinese men's team when Kong took on his new role. They met each other for the first
time at the national training camp for juniors at the end of 1987.
     In the round robin of the team Liu defeated Kong. Rather than turning Kong against Liu, his defeat
brought the pair closer and they worked together vowing to some day become world champions.
     In 1995 Kong beat Liu in the male singles final at the 43rd World Table Tennis Championships. Stepping
down from the winner's platform, Kong shook hands with Liu and said to him that competition is cruel, on
which Liu agreed. It marked the beginning of a friendly rivalry between the close friends that lasted years.

1. Kong Linghui will act as a ______ for China in 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

A. player
B. coach
C. reporter
D. businessman

2. Waldner is a (an) ______ ping pong player in ______.

A. young; China
B. old; Sweden
C. old; China
D. young；Sweden

3. The game of table tennis has been an event of Olympic Games for ______.

A. about 100 years
B. nearly 20 years
C. about 4 years
D. more than 20 years

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Liu Guoliang hates Kong Linghui.
B. Liu GuoLiang beated Waldner at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
C. Kong Linghui is older than Liu Guoliang.
D. Kong Linghui became a coach earlier than Liu Guoliang.

    Most great inventors had to get over thousands of difficulties before they could succeed. The following
is 1.            of the examples. 
    George Stephenson, a 2.            British inventor made the first train in 1825. When he was experimenting
(試驗) with the engine (發(fā)動機) on the train, he met with trouble from the government, the newspapers and
the gentlemen in the country. They said that the 3.             and the smoke would kill cows, horses and sheen.
People believe 4.            they said. George Stephenson 5.            the people that the train could go on small
rails, and that it was safe. But it was a very difficult matter for him to 6.            them believe, Luckily, after
some time, he was able to do it, and the first train proved (證明) what he had said and it was a great
7.           . 
    The first day when the train ran on the rails, people along the way were so afraid of the noise and the
smoke 8.            they ran back home for fear and closed their doors quickly. They were afraid to 9.            
out until it had passed. A week 10.            an old woman still said that her hen was very terrified and it didn't
lay any eggs for three days.

    Rain is a Korean pop star whose real name is Jung JI-hong (鄭智熏). He is famous in Asia for both his
R&B music and TV roles. His mother died of diabetes (糖尿病) six years ago. The huge sadness kept him
away from drink, night life and girls. He concentrated on performing, as his mother gave up medical care
so he could train professionally." I'm like the usual 25-year- old who wants to hang out with friends and
have a girlfriend," Rain told the New York Daily News. "But when my mother passed away, I made up my
mind that I would be the top star to honor her. I don't feel sorry for this lifestyle."
    Rain had been rejected 18 times by artistic management companies for the reason "he was too tall and
too ugly." But now he has performed in several Asian countries as well as the USA. A lot of people are
infatuated (傾倒) with Rain's music and dancing talents. In April 2006, the Time magazine named him the
second most influential (有影響的) entertainer (藝人) in the world. The future of Rain is bright.

1. From the passage we know that ______.

A. everyone thought that Rain is handsome
B. Rain worked very hard
C. rain often hangs out with friends
D. Rain has only performed in Asian countries

2. Why did Rain's mother give up her medical care? Because ______.

A. She was seriously ill
B. she had no money
C. she had no time
D. she wanted her son to train professionally

3. When did Rain decide to be the top star in the world?

A. After his mother died.
B. Before his mother died.
C. When he was very young.
D. When he was 20 years old.

4. In the second paragraph the underlined word rejected probably means ______.

A. interviewed
B. refused
C. loved
D. visited

    Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254. He was the most famous foreigner to visit Asia during the
Middle Ages. He wrote a book about his travels. In his book he wrote all the things he saw and heard.
Many people in the west read the book, but few believed what Marco Polo said in the book. He told
stories about a lot of strange people and places. But at that time nobody knew these places and the
people.
    When Marco Polo was still very young, he decided to travel together with his father. It took them
more than three years to travel to China, later he became a friend of the Chinese emperor (皇帝). He
learned to speak Chinese when he traveled around, and he talked to many people in Chinese. The emperor
liked him and made him a Chinese Official. At that time Marco Polo was only thirty years old. After nearly
seventeen years' travel in the east, Marco and his father wanted to go back home.
    When Marco and his father arrived in Venice many years later, their family and friends saw them again.
They couldn't believe their eyes because Marco and his farther were quite old. Marco Polo and his father
had been away for almost 25 years.

1. Marco Polo was                foreigner who ________ to Asia during the Middle Ages.
2. Marco Polo wrote a famous book ________ "The Travels of Marco Polo". He told people _______
    he saw and heard in the book.
3. Many people in the west read the book, but ________ believed ________.
4. It took Marco Polo and his father over three years to ________. And Marco Polo worked as in
    1284.
5. Marco Polo and his father had been away _______. When they got back home in Venice, they
    were _______.

    Last month, Xian Jishu, a nurse from Chongqing Southwest Hospital, won Nightingale Awards
(南丁格爾獎章). She is the first nurse who won it in Chongqing. Nurses in Chongqing are all 1.          
 of her.
    Who is Nightingale? Florence Nightingale was the first great 2.            in the world. She was 3.          
 in a rich family on May 12, 1820. She was very kind-hearted and enjoyed 4.            others, especially
people who were 5.           . She thought that helping patients was 6.            a duty and a pleasure. So she
decided to be a nurse when she was 24. But her parents didn't agree. Her family had lots of money, so they
thought it was not necessary for her to work. Besides, nurses were not well respected (尊重) at that time.
But Nightingale didn't change her mind. She believed that she would 7.            her dream. Later she went to
Germany and France to learn to be a nurse. 8.            that time there were no nursing schools. So she had
to learn a lot of nursing knowledge by practicing.
    During the war she went to the front hospitals to look after soldiers. She used her 9.            money to
buy clothes, beds, medicine and food for the patients. After the war, Nightingale opened the world's first
nursing school.
    In 1910, she died quietly in her sleep at the age of 90. Her 10.            made people sad. In 1974, her
birthday became International Nurses Day because of the great love and help she gave to people.