What's the meaning of "dark horse"? It's someone who wins when no one expects it. Han Xiaopeng took China's first gold on snow. He became an Olympic "dark horse" by winning the gold medal in men's freestyle aerial skiing at Turin in Italy. He made two almost perfect jumps for the highest score. Han had never won a world gold medal before, let alone in the Olympics! "I never thought this would happen," said the 23-year-old. "I feel like I'm in a dream." It's China's second gold medal at the Turin Olympics. But more important, Han's gold was the country's first ever in a snow sport. In 2002, China's Yang Yang won the gold for speed skating at the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, US. That Han's win was unexpected doesn't mean that he didn't work hard. Han grew up in Jiangsu Province. Before he started his training on snow, he used to be an acrobat at a circus. In 1995, a coach found his talent . The coach, Yang Er'qi, said Han had the agility and courage to be a ski jumper. When Yang first took the 12-year-old to northern China, the boy couldn't swim, skate or ski. But he wasn't afraid of the high platform and kept on training. Han almost left the sport after hurting his knee months before the Salt Lake Games. In that Olympics he only got 24th. "I was hopeless at that time, but my family and the coach stood firmly behind me, helping me through," he recalled. Han Xiaopeng worked so hard that he won the gold medal in the Olympics at last. Because of his success, more and more people in China are becoming interested in skiing. We are proud of him and we hope he will have another big success in the next winter Olympics. Where did Han Xiaopeng take China's first gold on snow? A) In China B) In Italy. C) In America. D) In Australia.
B
When I heard the piano, I walked to Mrs. Windsor's house and waited outside as I always did. That meant she was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I'd rather be doing. "Almost anything", I sighed _ . I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn't have a gift for it. It didn't come to me naturally. I thought back to happier times when I was writing stories and acting them out with my friends, cutting up old clothes to make dresses that performers wear in plays, and building scenery out of old things we found. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try. The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music. "Hello," I heard a voice behind me say softly. I turned around to see a little girl standing behind me, eating an apple. But before I could make any response, Mrs. Windsor walked into the room in her usual urgent manner and announced,"Jennifer, this is my niece, Pasha. Pasha, this is Jennifer. Pasha will be giving you your lesson today. I'm up to my ears in something else!" she then exited to the kitchen. Pasha set her apple down on the side table and slid beside me on the piano bench. "What piece do you like best?"she asked. "What do you mean?" I asked. "They're all the same to me. I don't know. "You mean you don't have a favorite?" "No, not really." Pasha looked at me, rather puzzled, then opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys and studied the notes on the page for a moment. Then I frowned and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I have to admit I was a rather mechanical pianist. After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. "What are you hearing in the music?" I looked at... Jennifer got lost in thought when she _ A) played the piano with Pasha for the first time B) listened to Pasha tell her story about the princess C) remembered happier times of writing stories and acting them out D) discovered that Mrs. Windsor's niece would be giving the piano lesson
C
(Question)
Nick Petrels is a doctor in Montreal. He works 60 hours a week. He takes care of 159 patients a week in the hospital and at his office. He's been a doctor for ten years. Dr. Petrels gives his patients good medical advice. But he doesn't just tell his patients what to do. He also sings to them on television! Dr. Petrels has his own TV show. The show is in Italian, English and French. The doctor starts the show with a song and then gives medical advice. He explains a medical problem or disease in simple language. After that, he sings another song. Dr. Petrels produces and performs in his own show every week. The program is very popular with his patients and with people who enjoy his singing. His dream is to perform in Las Vegas. His favorite songs are love songs, and he has a compact disk of love songs that he wrote. Dr. Petrels says, "I always loved to sing. All my problems are gone when I sing." But when Dr. Petrels was young, his father didn't want him to be a singer, so he went to medical school. Some people tell Dr. Petrels he can help people more as a doctor. But Dr. Petrels says he helps people when he sings, too. "I like to make people smile. Sometimes it's difficult to make a sick person smile. Medicine and pleasure both try to do the same thing. They try to make people feel good." Dr. Petrels says he likes to _ . A) help people sing B) make people feel better C) do the same thing D) make difficult people smile
(Answer)
B