Liu Xiang, a 21-year-old Chinese athlete, got the gold medal of the fascinating men's 110m hurdles(跨欄) before a crowd of 70 000 at the Olympic Stadium in the 28th Olympics in Athens late Friday local time. He clocked an excellent 12.91 seconds to equal the world record set by Britain's Collin Jackson in 1993.?

It is the first gold Chinese men's athlete has ever won from the track and field in the Olympics history. China has won over 100 gold medals from the summer Olympic Games since 1984 but its male athletes only got one medal from Olympics' most popular sport.

The Shanghai native, with his father a truck driver and mother an out-of-work housewife, loved sports when he was very little. Liu was selected to the Junior Sports School of Putuo District of Shanghai to practice jumping as a fourth grader in the primary school. But after a bone test showing that he will not be able to become a tall man, Liu was asked to give up sports one year later, although he had won the national champion at that level.

In 1998 when he attracted coach Sun Haiping's attention as a 15-year-old jumper. Sun was a well-known hurdle coach and he believed a star was born at the first sight of Liu. He visited Liu's parents several times and finally persuaded them to let Liu transfer to the 110m hurdles.?

After only three years, Liu launched his career in style in the IAAF Grand Prix in Lausanne in 2001 by breaking the world youth and Asian record with a time of 13.12.

But the first warning he sent to the world was his bronze-winning feat(戰(zhàn)績)at the world indoor championships in Birmingham, England, last year.?

In 2004, Liu won the silver in the world indoor championships in Budapest in March. Two months later, he proved the winner in a race against American great Allen Johnson in the IAAF Grand Prix in Osaka, Japan, where he clocked a new Asian record and world's season best time of 13.06 seconds.

He went on to win two Johnson-absent races in Lille, France, on June 26 and Zagreb, Croatia, three days later. He put up an exciting show at the Golden Gala meet in Rome on July 3,when he and Johnson clocked an identical time of 13.11.Race officials had to examine a photo finish to declare Johnson the winner. Liu did a better job of clearing the hurdles than Johnson, but Johnson's stronger start ended up making the difference. The race boosted(提高) Liu's optimism for the Olympics, although Johnson bettered his season best time by 0.01 second in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 6.

The world has put the Olympics a Johnson-Liu duel but surprisingly Johnson crashed out of the Games after falling at the ninth hurdle at round 2.Johnson's early exit paved the way for Liu's win. He finally took the gold medal and put a Chinese man's name on the record book.?

(China daily. com. cn/Xinhua) Updated:2004-08-28 02:57

According to Paragraph One, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Liu Xiang is the fastest of the four mentioned athletes.

B. Liu Xiang has set a new world record in the event of the men's 110m hurdles.

C. Both Liu Xiang and Jackson have got a gold medal at the Olympics.?

D. In the Olympics history, Liu Xiang is as fast as Britain's Collin Jackson.

Before the 28th Olympics in Athens, _______.

A. no Chinese athlete got a gold medal from the track and field at the Olympics

B. there was already a Chinese male medallist in the track and field at the Olympics

C. Terrence Trammell got a gold medal from the men's hurdles at the Sydney Olympics

D. Zhu Jianhua got a bronze medal from the men's hurdles in the 1984 Los Angeles Games

In the last paragraph, the underlined word “duel” most probably means “_______”.?

A. contest       B. friendship   C. Partner       D. company?

.From the passage, we can conclude that _______.?

A. Liu Xiang had no gift for jumping when he was a little boy?

B. Liu Xiang set a new world youth record when he was 17 years old?

C. Liu Xiang has succeeded because of his coach Sun?

D. Johnson might have won the gold medal if he had not dropped out??

Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end — with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by (滑過) outside the bus window. Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”? 高☆考♂資♀源?網(wǎng)

      The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed — new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly careless or daring, the ride can be as thrilling as a horror story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting, but you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.

     The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the arm rests — even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at the right time. There just no more ways to sit.

The long bus rides and TV shows are alike, because         .

A. they both can offer people with thrilling stories                     

B. they both are boring

C. they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between              

D. they both force people to sit for a long time

During the whole bus ride, what come to the passengers’ eyes most frequently?

A. Some salty food on the bus.    B. The programs on TV.

C. Advertisements on the road.    D. Trucks on the road.

In order to pass the middle hours of the ride, you can         .

A. read the billboards           B. have something to eat

C. watch TV shows             D. sleep

The purpose of the passage is to         .

A. show how much bus rides differ from TV shows       高☆考♂資♀源?網(wǎng)       

B. teach us how to deal with each period of a long bus ride

C. persuade readers to take a long bus ride              

D. give the author’s opinion on long bus rides

We have moved into a four-room flat so far. Our room is between _____.

 A. Mary’s and Helen’s  B. Mary and Helen’s

 C. Mary and Helen        D. Mary’s and Helen

短文改錯 (共10小題；每小題1分，滿分10分)

It’s well known which Wilma Rudolph is the first American woman   76. _____

to have won three Olympic gold medal in track! However, when     77. _____

she was young, she was sick most of the time. At four, he couldn’t     78. _____

move her left leg as a result of a serious illness. Followed the      79. _____

doctor’s advice, her mother rubbed her sick leg every day and take   80. _____

her to the hospital once a week. After a year, Wilma could manage     81. _____

a sort of jump. At eight, she was walking a bit at the aid of a       82. _____

walking stick. Soon she was out in the yard playing the basketball.   83. _____

Her mother was surprising to see that. Little by little,         84. _____

Wilma became famous as a track star but won medals.         85. _____

Do you always understand the directions on a bottle of medicine? Do you know what is meant by “Take only as directed”? Read the following directions and see if you understand them.

To reduce pain, take two tablets with water, followed by one tablet every eight hours, as required. For night time and early morning relief take two tablets at bedtime. Do not take more than six tablets in twenty-four hours.

For children six to twelve years old, give half the amount. For children under six years old, ask your doctor’s advice.

Reduce the amount if you suffer from restlessness or sleeplessness after taking the medicine.

How many tablets at most can a person over 12 have in 24 hours?

   A. Three      B. Four      C. Six       D. Eight

How many tablets should a nine-year-old child normally take in 24 hours?

   A. Half a tablet    B. One tablet    C. Two tablets     D. Four tablets

What is the advice for one who can not sleep well after taking the medicine?

 A. Stop taking the medicine at bedtime  B. Continue to take the normal amount

 C. Take more than the normal amount   D. Take less than the normal amount

It can be inferred from the directions that this medicine ___________ .

 A. helps you to fall asleep quickly    B. may be dangerous to small children

C. cannot be taken if one feels sleepy  D. should not be taken by children under six

This text is most probably taken from a _____________ .

  A. textbook   B. newsreel    C. doctor’s notebook    D. bottle of medicine