Alexis was _ and tired. With rage in her voice she shouted, "Pull me up!I give up, I hate this. This is stupid!" It was at that moment when Jason, the adviser on the trip, looked at me and said, "Ed, I'm going to go down and talk with her." I then shouted down to Alexis, "Hold on! You can do this. We know you can!" Jason grasped another rope, put his climbing harness on and began to repel down the cliff. Within moments Jason was beside Alexis. She had her cheek directly against the face of the rock with her feet barely resting on a small piece of the cliff that jetted outward. Jason said to Alexis, "I know that you have been on this cliff now for what seems like a long time. Your feet and fingers are cramping up and your forearms feel as though they are on fire. But , Alexis, you are strong, look how far up you are already. You have taken one of the more difficult paths up the cliff. Look Alexis, look at the path you have taken." At that moment, Alexis moved her cheek away from the rock face and looked down. The bright white chalk she used on her hands to give her a better hold, showed the path where her tired hands had moved her upward on the cliff. Jason was right. Alexis had taken the hardest way up the cliff. Jason then looked straight into Alexis' eyes and in a calm voice he said, "You are not alone out here, there are people who care about you, who want to help you and see you succeed. We are going to do this together. Are you ready?" Slowly she shook her head yes and took a deep breath. Alexis would probably become   _  . A) more strong-minded B) easier to give up C) poorer in health D) less interested in rock climbing
A


Yesterday was my first day of school. I had to wake up at 6 am and I had a bit of breakfast and got dressed in my school clothes. I got a service car to the Nile and crossed the Nile in a motor boat. Then it dropped me off at the Luxor museum and I walked to school which is at the back of the Luxor museum. By the time I got to school, it was 7 am. My mum came with me the first day. I got my school tie wrong. My tie was grey and everyone else's was red. The shop had sold me the wrong one. So I had to change it that evening. Everyone has mobile phones but theirs are better than mine. In the morning we did a stupid dance and sang the Egyptian national song. We had to hold on to each other's bag as we marched to class. We had English class and boring literature and then we had math. After math the teacher gave out the books we would need for all our lessons, all 22 of them. My bag was so heavy. We had a break at 12 and we could buy food and drink. It lasted for half an hour. I enjoyed English and science. Yesterday we finished at 2:15 pm and my dad picked me up. I finished my homework soon after school and I felt happy about that. Today, I had to go to school by myself. This morning I got there at 7:15 am. After school, I came back by myself in the motor boat again and got myself an ice cream while I was waiting for it. Today I had no homework to do. So, when I got home, I helped my mother with cooking. The passage mainly talks about   _   . A) the writer's first two days at school B) how to get ready for the first day of school C) what to wear on the first day of school D) the writer's interesting experiences at school
A


Q: Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan's life. " Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything," Gloria said. "Gubans," she added, "are a musical people." Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English! When Gloria was ten , her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn't well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister. She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band leader Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine. Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978, Gloria and Emilio married. At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars. Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Estefan has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $ 2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. "We needed a party after that _ ," she said. Estefan said, "You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, 'that won't work.' You've got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it----that's the main thing." Estefan's father was ill   _  . A) after he returned from Vietnam War B) before they left their home country C) when they settled down in Miami D) as soon as she finished high school
A: A


Q: Big Ben   Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a huge clock in London. London is the capital of England. This clock has four faces. So,no matter where you stand,you can read the time on the face of Big Ben. Each face is the size of a double decker bus. The hands are about four meters long. It is about the size of two people standing on top of each other. If you go to London,you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament. There you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament. Maybe you will hear it as well as see it. The huge clock makes such a loud noise. "Ding dong,ding dong,"it goes every quarter of an hour.   The clock was named after a big man. He was Sir Benjamin Hall. This man did much building work in London many years ago. The clock strikes every   _   of an hour. A) ten minutes B) fifteen minutes C) thirty minutes D) forty-five minutes

A: B