High-climbing kid raises hopes

Michael McCarthy climbed to the top of the Willis Tower not long ago. The Tower stands 1451 feet (442 meters) tall, the highest building in the US.   

As he got to the last step, McCarthy almost fell down, but that didn’t stop him. The 14-year-old boy finally finished climbing the 2,109 steps and arrived at the top, where he enjoyed the cheers from the crowd.   

“I just want to show people that if a kid with no legs can do it, anyone can do it,” McCarthy said.   

McCarthy, who was born without legs, has to wear prosthetic legs（假肢）and use a set of crutches（拐杖）to walk. But McCarthy has a strong heart. He believes nothing can stop him from achieving his success.   

He has been in a karate（空手道）school since he was four years old. When he decided to climb the Willis Tower, his karate teacher, Jeff Kohn, was moved and offered to help train him. They spent more than 10 hours practicing climbing stairs and keeping balance with the prostheses and crutches on the steps every day. “It seems that he never knows what tiredness is. Sometimes, I was so tired that I asked him to call it a day,” said Kohn. “But he said he was still full of energy and wanted more exercise.”   

Kohn was with McCarthy for the climb. “I saw the last 10 floors — he went faster,” said Kohn. “He’s the most hard-working athlete I’ve ever trained.”   

McCarthy said he was proud of himself and that the Tower now holds special meaning. “When I’m older, I’ll point to the building and say ‘Look at this building I climbed,” he said.

(   )11. Why did McCarthy decide to climb the Willis Tower?

A. Because the Tower is very special. 

B. Because he wanted to set a world record.

C. Because he wanted to show that anyone can do it.

D. Because he enjoyed climbing stairs very much.

(   ) 12. Who helped McCarthy train for climbing the Willis Tower?

A. Nobody.   B. His brother.  C. His parents.   D. His karate teacher.

(   ) 13. What does the underlined phrase “call it a day” mean in Chinese?

A. 結(jié)束當(dāng)天的訓(xùn)練     B. 去打個(gè)電話     C. 再訓(xùn)練一天      D. 另請(qǐng)高明

(   )14. Which of the following is True?

A. The Willis Tower is 442 feet tall in total.

B. McCarthy had a traffic accident and lost his legs.

C. While McCarthy was climbing the Tower, nobody was with him.

D. Many people cheered when McCarthy arrived at the top of the Tower.

(   ) 15. What can we learn from this passage?

A. No man is born wise and learned.  B. Where there is a will, there is a way.

C. Time and tide wait for no man.    D. A little learning is a dangerous thing.

Aunt Ma sees an ad(廣告)in a newspaper for a nice bed in a shop. It costs 600 yuan. Aunt Ma likes it, so she goes to the shop. The shopkeeper (店主) shows one to her. Aunt Ma has a look at it and says, “There aren’t any beautiful pillows (枕頭) on this bed, but there are many on the bed in your ad.”

“Yes, that is an ad,” answers the shopkeeper. “If you want a bed the same as the one in the ad, you need to pay 60 yuan more.”

Aunt Ma isn’t happy. Then she says, “That’s dishonest.”

“Well,” answers the shopkeeper. “Look, there is a girl on a bike in an ad in your newspaper too, but can you buy the bike with the girl?”

1.How does Aunt Ma know about the bed?

2.How much is the bed with the pillows?

3.What does “dishonest” mean?

4.What does Aunt Ma want to do?

5.What else is in Aunt Ma’s newspaper?