A. September 1st. B. August 31st. C. July 1st.

II. 完型填空 （共20小题；每小题1分, 满分20分）

　　A man, aged 26, whose ability to walk was threatened after a car accident in his teens, completed a 200-mile cycle across Baffin Island in the Arctic. It took him eight days to complete the ___1___. This man was Ben Rockett, from Taunton, England.

　　He battled ___2___ temperatures of minus 27℃ and wound up to 100 knots to raise more than $1,000 for the charity Action for Children. Ben had to cycle in___3___ conditions, but was helped with a(n) ___4___ designed bike. He spent months ___5___ for the challenge with David Hempleman-Adams, who was the first person to reach the geographic and magnetic North and South Poles.

　　Ben said, "I've always loved to cycle in ___6___ places and this was an amazing experience. When I first arrived, it was nearly minus 30℃, but the wind was the most ___7___ thing ---it was extremely strong and made ___8___ on the bike extremely difficult." He ___9___ , " Any part of the skin that wasn't covered ran the ___10___ of getting frostbite (冻疮). I had to cycle with my face covered and I wasn't able to ___11___ any clothing for more than a minute at the most. I ___12___ had to keep changing the distribution of weight on my bike to stop it from ___13___ into the deep snow!" Despite the great risk involved, he remained optimistic about his surroundings saying, "The ___14___ was breathtaking and impressive. My ___15___ part was cycling on top of a river that was frozen ___16___. It was so clear that it was like hovering (盘旋) above the ground!"

　　Ben decided to ___17___ his Arctic adventure after completing a PhD at the University of Bath, where he studied the ___18___ of long-term foster care placements (寄养安排) on children and carers. It was then that he knew about the ___19___ of Action for Children, and wanted to ___20___ money and raise awareness about the charity.

1. A. project B. survey C. challenge D. connection

2. A. on B. against C. with D. at

3. A. tough B. specific C. actual D. present