【正文】 “Hi! How are you?” The woman smiled as she took the seat beside me. She had to lower herself slowly, squeezing her big bottom into the seat， filling all available space. “Hi”， I replied with obvious dislike. I turned away to stare out the window, feeling angry about the long hours of disfort I was going to experience with this monster beside me. She pushed me with her meaty arm. “My name is Laura. I’m from Britain. How about you? Japan?” “Malaysia,” I barked. “I’m so sorry! Will you accept my heartfelt apology? Come, shake my hand. If we’re going to spend six hours sidebyside on this flight, we’d better be friends, don’t you think?” I shook the hand unwillingly, still silent. Laura started a conversation with me, taking no notice of my unfriendly reactions. I gave her oneword answers to her questions about me. Her voice was warm and caring. She was considerate when we were served drinks and meals, making sure that I had room in my seat. To my surprise, her face which bothered me hours before, now opened into extraordinary smiles, lively and calm at the same time. I couldn’t help but let down my guard slowly. During our conversation, Laura managed to make every cabin crew who served us walk away laughing at her jokes. When a flight attendant was clearing our plates, Laura made several jokes about her size. I asked Laura, “You aren’t worried about diseases that e with being overweight?” “Not at all. You only get the diseases if you’re worried about your weight all the time. Why would I want to waste my time on slimming centres when I have so many other important things to do and so many people to be friends with? I eat healthily and walk regularly； I’m this size because I am born to be big! There is more to life than worrying about weight all day long.” A. fiving B. changing C. cautious D. defensive 26. How does the fat woman deal with her overweight? A. She takes pride in her shape. B. She is too busy to care about it. C. She eats a healthy diet. D. She leaves it as it is. 27. What can we learn from the author’s experience? A. Don’t judge a person by appearances. B. Actions speak louder than words. C. Every coin has two sides. D. All’s well that ends well. C In East Africa, the sport of cycling has been growing in popularity in recent years. There are plenty of hills for cyclists to climb and a mild climatenot too hot, but not too cold. In addition, twotime Tour de France winner Chris Froome was born in Kenya. Now an area 50 kilometers southeast of Nairobi is seeking to bee Kenya’s center for cycling. But with hills in Kenya rising as high as 1, 600 meters above sea level, cycling the countryside is anything but effortless. That makes Machakos County, Kenya, a good place to test the abilities of East African cyclists during the Tour de Machakos. Twentythreeyearold Cyrus Wambua is one of the riders. Born and raised in Machakos, Wambua has been riding bicycles since he was a child. He says his mother urged him to start: “My mother got inspired by that strong guy from the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong. So I used to read documentaries（紀錄片） and when we were a small kid， they used to tell us that one day you’ll race like Lance Armstrong.” Uganda’snational cycling coach. Jesper Fiedler, says this is one reason why Kenya’s and East Africa’s cycling munity has continued to grow over the years. He said, “Mainly because of the sports events on TV.” More people can watch these races on TV, and then the more people who are riding around in different towns around East Africa, the exposure’s just bigger. So people, they see and they say, “Maybe we should pick up this sport.” Alex Tibwitta anized the Tour de Machakos. He says Machakos has it all—nice hills, good roads and a government that supports the cycling munity. “I’m pretty confident that with the right promotion, this is definitely the best place to base a sort of cycling in Kenya, and probably in East Africa,” he said. The Tour de Machakos covers 400 kilometers around Machakos County. It is the biggest road race in Kenya. This year there were 130 registered cyclists —double the number from last year. 28. What goal is Machakos County of Kenya pursuing? A. To hold the Tour de Machakos for the second time. B. To bee the most important place for cycling. C. To draw more cyclists to e to practise cycling. D. To make itself a worldfamous centre of tourism. 29. Who was encouraged by his mother to take part in cycling? A. Lance Armstrong. B. Jesper Fiedler. C. Alex Tibwitta. D. Cyrus Wambua. 30. What is Alex Tibwitta’s attitude towards Machakos? A. He sings high praise for it. B. He is not satisfied with it. C. He wants more help from it. D. He praises not its roads but its hills. 31. What do you know about the Tour de Machakos? A. It covers the longest distance in cycling races. B. It is the biggest road race in the world. C. The number of cyclists doubled in it. D. Fewer athletes will take part in it. D The winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences studies personal consumption（消費） .He also has explored how spending can affect both living conditions and poverty. The Royal Swedish