B?

When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb(麻木的).She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours. Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.?

On that fourth morning of July in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so thick that she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks swam toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the coldness of the sea, she struggled on—hour after hour—while millions watched on national television.?

Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to give up. She never had...until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.?

Still thawing(使变暖和)her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not tiredness or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.?

Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same heavy fog, she swam with her faith intact(完整无损的)and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing(超越)the men’s record by two hours!?

41. Why didn’t Florence swim across the Catalina Channel for the first time??

A. Because she was too tired to go on swimming.?

B. Because the fog was so thick that she couldn’t see her support boats clearly.?

C. Because she couldn’t see the goal on land.?

D. Because the sea water was too cold.?

42. What does the underlined sentence mean??

A. She had never been so hopeless.?

B. She had never thought of giving up.?

C. She had never seen such a thick fog.?

D. She had never swum across the Channel before.?

43. Which of the following is NOT true??

A. Florence Chadwick spent less time swimming across the Catalina Channel than men.?

B. Florence Chadwick succeeded in swimming across the Catalina Channel in September,1952.?

C. People had to use guns to drive away some flesh-eating animals in the sea.?

D. No women but Florence Chadwick were able to swim the English Channel in both directions.?

C?

The producer appeared behind the recording studio window and smiled and waved to me like an old friend. And after I had read out a little test piece, he said, “That’s fine, wonderful, your voice is perfect, lively, wonderful.” Then I read a longer passage in English about the delights of touring in Britain, and another about t he delights of visiting London, and both were “excellent” and “just right”, and I began to consider a job in radio.?

To be honest, I was fairly sure of myself though I lacked experience. Across the room in the Hamburg News Agency where we both worked, a friend named Peter Turner called to me, “I say, Mike, a man on the phone here wants someone to do a recording in English, and I’m booked up. Would you read something to him in English as a sort of test?” I did, and they said, “Perfect, lovely, wonderful,...” Would I come round??

It was after reading their passage in English in the studio that they noticed my vowel(元音)pronunciations were not altogether King’s English, or even Prince Philip’s, there was a larger silence than usual, then the voice said: “Fine, lovely...,but you said the word ‘castle’ with a short ‘a’. Could we have the passage again please, but this time say ‘castle’.”?

This was easy. But then he noticed other differences in my pronunciation.?

“It’s my northern English accent,” I said, angry, because I had to apologize for it.?

“Oh, I see...but Mike, we’ll have to get it right, I’m afraid. The recording is for teaching English to German schoolchildren, and it must be spoken in the way it is taught in German schools.”?

I read the passage again...and again...and again. But of course you cannot change the pronunciation of a lifetime in an hour. The studio men were in the state of having lost hope and underlined the vowels which caused me to feel angry, so that I’d remember them. But because I had to concentrate(集中)on them, I made a lot of mistakes in my reading. Everyone got somewhat irritable(easily made angry), so we all went out for a beer.?

44. Broadcasting did not make Mike nervous_________.?

A. although he had never done any before ?

B. because he worked in a news agency?

C. because he was used to talking on the phone ?

D. although the passages were long?

45. What happened after Mike had read the third passage??