Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team.“Football, tennis, cricket--anything with a round ball, I was useless.”he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England's rural Devonshire.

　　It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.

　　The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man's coldwater exploits（成就）. Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.

　　Journeys to the Pole aren't the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy.“John Ridgway was one of the few who didn't say,'You're completely crazy,'”Saunders says.

　　In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a close encounter（遭遇）with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.

　　Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he's skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.

　　This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1 800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.

(1).The turning point in Saunders' life came when ________.

[　　]

A．he started to play ball games

B．he got a mountain bike at age 15

C．he ran his first marathon at age 18

D．he started to receive Ridgway's training

(2).We can learn from the text that Ridgway _________.

[　　]

A．dismissed Saunders' dream as fantasy

B．built up his body together with Saunders

C．hired Saunders for his cold-water experience

D．won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic

(3).What do we know about Saunders?

[　　]

A．He once worked at a school in Scotland.

B．He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole.

C．He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole.

D．He was the first kid in his class picked for any sports team.

(4).The underlined word“Intrigued”in the third paragraph probably means ________.

[　　]

(5).It can be inferred that Saunders' journey to the North Pole ________.

[　　]

A．was accompanied by his old playmates

B．set a record in the North Pole expedition

C．was supported by other Arctic explorers

D．made him well-known in the 1960s

If you’re training for a marathon, a proper plan for water intake （攝入） is important. Of course, there’s the risk of dehydration （脫水）. But athletes now know they can also get into trouble by drinking to much . To much water intake can lower levels of sodium （鈉） in the blood. The death of a 28-year-old woman following the Boston Marathon caught the attention of many runners and led to new research.

Experts advise long distance runners to replace the liquids they sweat out. Their goal is to try to keep someone from not getting dehydrated by more than 2 percent of their body weight.

One technique for deciding how much water you need is to get the exact numbers. Runners have to weight themselves before and after a run to determine how much water they’ve lost. If their weight drops by more than 2 percent, they have not drunk enough water.

Hyponatremia occurs when runners drink so much water that blood salt levels drop off. A study published last year tested 488 runners who completed the Boston Marathon and found 13 percent of them had dangerously low blood salt levels. The first sign that runners may notice is slightly swelling in the hands. They can’t get their rings off, and then they might feel sick. They may not remember where they are. In fact, most runners get enough salt to get back to normal levels by eating just one meal after a run. Contrary to the old advice that runners should drink as much as they can to prevent dehydration, the new research has shown that the body is a remarkable machine that actually tells you via thirst when you need water.

56．The author of this passage is primarily concerned with 　　　.

　 A．the signs and treatment for dehydration

　 B．the long distance runners who need help

　 C．how to manage water intake during a marathon

　 D．a(chǎn) 28-year-old woman who died after a Boston Marathon

57．Why do runners have to weigh themselves before and after a run?

　 A．They can improve their performance in a run.

　 B．They can learn how much salt there is in the blood.

　 C．They can know the quantity of water they’ve lost during a run.

　 D．They can decide what kind of water they should take during a run.

58．What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

　 A．Taking much salt during a run can avoid swelling in the body.

　 B．Either too much or too little of water intake is harmful.

　 C．A rich meal is helpful to our performance in a run.

　 D．We should take enough salt during a run.

59．According the passage, which of the following statements is correct?

　 A．Too much water intake →blood sodium levels ↓→dehydration.

　 B．Too much water intake →blood salt levels ↓→hyponatremia.

　 C．No water intake →blood sodium levels ↑→hyponatremia.

　 D．No water intake →blood salt levels ↓→hyponatrenmia.

 

閱讀理解

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。

　　One of the best-known proverbs must be “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” The promises of health, wealth, and wisdom to those who join the ranks of the early retirers and risers must be particularly appealing to many people in our contemporary society. There is no doubt that one of the greatest concerns of modern man is his health. It is estimated that in the Unites States $ 200 billion are spent on health care each year. The medical field has grown into such a big business that it employs 4.8 million people; and it appears that in many places more staff is needed to meet the demands of the people who are concerned about their physical well-being.

　　Much more interest has been shown in preventive medicine in recent yeas. This is probably due in part to the increasing costs of medical treatment, but the writings of such people as Dr. Keneth Cooper have also played an important role. In his book Aerobics, Dr. Cooper communicated his message of the benefits of exercise so effectively many other authors have followed in his trail, and literally millions of readers have put on their sports shoes and taken to the highways and byways of America. A recent survey showed that over 17 million people are jogging. Many of these are so serious they have trained themselves to run the 26 miles and 385 yards: of the hard and tiring marathons (馬拉松) that are sponsored (發(fā)起) all over the country. The last time I was in Honolulu, I was amazed to see hundreds of people, young and old, running for their lives, and I discovered many of them have run in the Hawaiian Marathon.

　　Exercise has also become a major part of conversation. At a dinner party recently, the president of a bank asked me, “You look like a runner; how far do you run each day?” A few days later when I appeared on a national television show, the host suddenly asked me if I was a regular runner. On both occasions the conversation turned to the subject of exercise and I found, as I have found whenever I have traveled recently, that this is a subject on many people's minds. Of course, there are still many people who are less than enthusiastic about exercise. They appreciate the philosophy of Robert M. Hutchins who said, “Whenever the thought of exercise occurs to me, I lie down till it passes.”

1．The first paragraph indicated that medical workers ________.

[　　]

A．a(chǎn)re in great demand

B．make a lot of money

C．a(chǎn)re concerned with their won health

D．like sports more than ordinary people

2．In the United State medical treatment is ________.

[　　]

3．Aerobics is a book about ________.

[　　]

4．The examples of conversation in the last paragraph are used ________.

[　　]

A．to prove that people are tired of old conversation

B．to prove that the writer was a good runner

C．to show people's interest in exercise

D．to show the writer's love for travel

　　Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis, cricket-anything with a round ball, I was useless, ”he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devon-shire, England.

　　It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradu-ally, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon

　　The following year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learn-ed about Ridgway's cold-water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, then decid-ed that this would be his future.

　　In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier,Saunders started his first long-distance expe-dition(探險)towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite(凍 瘡), ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply-loaded sled(雪橇)up and over rocky ice.

　　Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he's skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old play-mates would not believe the change.

　　Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2 900-kilometre journey that has never been completed on skis.

(1) What change happened to Saunders after he was 15 years old?

[　　]

A．He became good at most sports.

B．He began to build up his body.

C．He joined a sports team.

D．He made friends with a runner.

(2) The underlined word “exploits” (paragraph 3)is closest in meaning to________.

[　　]

A．journeys

B．researches

C．a(chǎn)dventures

D．operations

(3) Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?

[　　]

a．He ran his first marathon.

b．He skied alone in the North Pole.

c．He rode his bike in a forest.

d．He planned an adventure to the South Pole.

A．a(chǎn)cdb

B．cdab

C．a(chǎn)cbd

D．cabd

(4) What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?

[　　]

A．He is a success in sports.

B．He is the best British skier.

C．He is Ridgway's favorite student.

D．He is a good instructor at school.