B

Late that afternoon I took the train back to Sydney. There I found another surprise waiting for me. My room had been given to somebody else and they had no room for me. Harkin had known my travel plans and had arranged everything; how could he have booked the room only for three days? There was nothing to be done but to find another hotel. The waiters were happy to find me a new hotel, and when I said that I was happy to stay at the Airport, thinking it might be cheaper than staying in the city, they suggested the Holiday Inn at the airport. There was one small matter: the room rate was $300 per night. The best hotel in Katoomba had wanted only$145. I asked if there were anything cheaper they might suggest but they warned that most hotels would already be full by this time.

The hotel was far from the train station, so I'd best take a taxi, at $25. On the way to the Holiday Inn, we passed a hotel just two blocks from the Holiday Inn that advertised a room rate of $104. At the desk I asked if their room rate could go down a lot. “No, this is a 4­star hotel，”the waiter told me. “In that case，” I replied, “I'll just walk the two blocks to the cheap hotel.”But she warned me that they were probably full and that if I didn't take the room, it might not be available if I came back. Finally，I decided to take the room.

The room itself was big, but the air conditioning couldn't keep up with the Australian heat. I couldn't get to sleep until about 1：00 am.

25.Why did the writer have to look for another hotel?

A.He didn't book early.B.Harkin made a mistake.

C.He was short of money.D.He wasn't well received.

.How did the writer feel when hearing the room rate at the Holiday Inn?

A.Nervous. B.Happy.C.Surprised. D.Relaxed.

.What was the weather like at that moment?

A.Cool. B.Warm. C.Cold. D.Hot.

.Why did the writer take a room in the Holiday Inn finally?

A.It's a 4­star hotel.B.It' s around the station.

C.It was mid­night then.D.The room was in great demand.

C

BIG storms. High waves. Technical failures. Loneliness. After battling hard times and danger for over nine months, British teenager Mike Perham made history last month as the youngest person to sail solo (单独地) around the world.

The 17­year­old made the record after he cleared the Panama Canal (巴拿马运河) and then sailed through the Caribbean and home across the Atlantic.

Mike is only three months younger than Zac Sunderland，the 17­year­old Amencan boy who had taken the crown as the youngest solo around­the­world sailor in July.

The two youngsters met in Cape Town in South Africa as they crossed the globe in different directions. Mike insisted they were not rivals (竞争对手). “ No. It's two teenagers going out there, living their dream and having the adventure of a lifetime，” he said.

Mike may he young, but he is no stranger to sailing adventures. He picked up the hobby at age 6 when his father took him out in a small boat on a local lake. Father and son sailed separate boats across the Atlantic when Mike was 14, making him the youngest person to cross that ocean solo. That record gave him the taste for this even greater challenge.

On the recent journey, the scariest moment for Mike came when his sailboat was hit by storms in the southern Indian Ocean.

“We were picked up by what felt like a 60­foot wave and throw down on our side at 90 degrees，” he said.

It felt like I was going right over. Stuff was flying around and I just thought‘Oh，no'.

At other times, he had to dive into the Pacific and fix problems. He tied himself to the boat, jumped into the water and went to work with a knife in 30­second dives underneath the boat to cut a rope away.

Mike said he felt proud that he made his dream come true.“You've got to have confidence in yourself that you will make it，” he said.

29.What's the main idea of the passage?

A.A British teenager became the youngest person to sail solo around the world.

B.How a British teenager developed his sailing hobby.

C.A British teenager's brave experience.

D.A British teenager' s confidence.

.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A.Mike Perham crossed the Panama Canal.

B.Mike and Zac took the crown as the youngest solo around­the­world sailor at

the same age.

C.The two youngsters crossed the globe in different directions.

D.Mike was never frightened during the sailing.

31.What does the underlined word “taste” in the fifth paragraph mean?

A.Savor. B.Preference.C.Experience. D.Ability.