We may look at the world around us, but somehow we manage not to see it until whatever we’ve become used to suddenly disappears. ___36___, for example, the neatly-dressed woman I ___37___ to see--or look at--on my way to work each morning.
For three years, no matter ___38___ the weather was like, she was always waiting at the bus stop around 8:00 am. On ___39___days, she wore heavy clothes and a pair of woolen gloves. Sometimes ___40___out neat, belted cotton dresses and a hat pulled low over her sunglasses. ___41___, she was an ordinary working woman. Of course, I ___42___ all this only after she was seen no more. It was then that I realized how ___43___ I expected to see her each morning. You might say I ___44___ her.
“Did she have an accident? Something ___45___?” I thought to myself about her ___46___. Now that she was gone, I felt I had ___47___ her. I began to realize that part of our ___48___ life probably includes such chance meetings with familiar ___49___: the milkman you see at dawn, the woman who ___50___walks her dog along the street every morning, the twin brothers you see at the library. Such people are ___51___markers in our lives. They add weight to our ___52___ of place and belonging.
Think about it. ___53___, while walking to work, we mark where we are by ___54___ a certain building, why should we not mark where we are when we pass a familiar, though ___55___ person?
36. A. Make B. Take C. Give D. Have
37. A. happened B. wanted C. used D. tried
38. A. what B. how C. which D. when
39. A. sunny B. rainy C. cloudy D. snowy
40. A. took B. brought C. carried D. turned
41. A. Clearly B. Particularly C. Luckily D. Especially
42. A. believed B. expressed C. remembered D. wondered
43. A. long B. often C. soon D. much
44. A. respected B. missed C. praised D. admired
45. A. better B. worse C. more D. less
46. A. disappearance B. appearance C. misfortune D. fortune
47. A. forgotten B. lost C. known D. hurt
48. A. happy B. enjoyable C. frequent D. daily
49. A. friends B. strangers C. tourists D. guests
50. A. regularly B. actually C. hardly D. probably
51. A. common B. pleasant C. important D. faithful
52. A. choice B. knowledge C. decision D. sense
53. A. Because B. If C. Although D. However
54. A. keeping B. changing C. passing D. mentioning
55. A. unnamed B. unforgettable C. unbelievable D. unreal
I teach a bilingual kindergarten class. One Monday I noticed that two of my students, Juan and Cynthia, had a shared on Friday of that week. I told both their moms that they could bring in to celebrate their children’s birthdays.
I wondered whether either wanted to bring in a birthday treat for the kids. On Thursday, I asked Juan and Cynthia about it, but they didn’t know anything about their parents’ plans. Both children, however, were very about having a birthday party the next day in class. As I was tired after work, I decided to it until the next day.
The next morning my first thought was: What should I do about the cake? It would be terrible if there was nothing for the kids to at the party. The thought worried me as I approached (接近) the Mexican bakery on my drive to school.
The shop had four large pieces of cake for a dollar each. The only thing was I was on cash. I needed the five dollars in my purse to until payday. However, I decided the party was the most important.
After story time, I told the students that we are celebrating the double birthdays of Juan and Cynthia.I brought out the cake and lit the candles, and then we sang Happy Birthday. I cut each of the four pieces of cake into five little pieces. It was just , all 20 of my students had come to class that day.
At the end, they said thank you to me. As I watched them walk away, still , tears came to my eyes.
After talking with their parents, I learned that our simple celebration had been both Cynthia’s and Juan’s first birthday party. I had to the last couple of days of that month on the one dollar ---- but it was certainly worth it!
A．birthday B．interest C．room D．feeling
A．toys B．parents C．cakes D．friends
A．excited B．disappointed C．relaxed D．puzzled
A．try B．leave C．keep D．change
A．see B．say C．play D．eat
A．weak B．short C．hard D．out
A．save B．make C．last D．owe
A．half B．over C．all D．enough
A．smiling B．dreaming C．singing D．shouting
A．struggle B．occupy C．labor D．spare
Christopher Reeve made many successful films and TV shows but he is most famous for his Superman films. Unfortunately, disaster came in 1995. The doctors did not him to live.
However, he made amazing progress. He learnt to breathe on his own and started a new life with great j . Like many people suffered some terrible injury, Christopher Reeve was changed by that experience. He raised a lot of money to promote medical research into back injuries. He also made speeches about his experiences. It not only drew public attention, but also encouraged people living with all kinds of problems.
Reeve has never thought of . He got involved with charity work to improve the quality of life for all disabled people.
Christopher Reeve died on October 10, 2004, but people all over the world will always remember him as a real-life .
A．want B．wish C．expect D．encourage
A．energy B．courage C．effort D．decision
A．who B．whose C．which D．whom
A．giving in B．giving out C．giving up D．giving off
A．film star B．history maker C．player D．superhero
Do you know one bird whose name is crow(乌鸦)?Here is a story about one of them. There was once a lazy crow, who thought it was too much trouble to food. “Caw! Caw!” he said, “If someone brought me my food every day, I’d be very !”
One day, he saw a(n) pigeon flying by. “How happy and well-fed it looks,” the crow said to himself. So the crow the pigeon until they came to a . There were some other there too. Before long, an old man came along and brought them a large bag of food. When the man had gone, the crow flew over to the pigeons. “Caw!Caw!” said he. “Can I you?”
“No, you can’t!” the pigeons angrily. “We don’t know you.”
The crow went home feeling . But he suddenly had a(n) . “I’ll paint my grey,” he said, “and then the pigeons will I am one of them.” After he finished the painting, he flew off to the park and was by the pigeons. The crow was so hungry that he got very excited at the food. “Caw! Caw! Give lots to me!” he said loudly. , the pigeons found he was a crow. They flew after him and made him .
Sadly, the crow flew to his own forest. But when his old friends, the other crows saw him, they asked him to . They did not him because of his grey-painted feathers. So the crow felt than before. His own did not want him, the pigeons wouldn’t let him into their group.
“What looks easier isn’t always so,” the crow said to himself. “I wish I had never painted my feathers grey!”
A．pick out B．look for C．put away D．hand in
A．lovely B．healthy C．happy D．pretty
A．boring B．funny C．old D．fat
A．followed B．caught C．protected D．taught
A．square B．forest C．park D．house
A．men B．visitors C．pigeons D．crows
A．help B．join C．see D．believe
A．explained B．advised C．shouted D．continued
A．lucky B．asleep C．tired D．sad
A．idea B．choice C．change D．accident
A．head B．feathers C．feet D．legs
A．understand B．guess C．hope D．think
A．welcomed B．discovered C．noticed D．attacked
A．Strangely B．Finally C．Suddenly D．Interestingly
A．wait B．stop C．cry D．leave
A．go away B．give up C．set off D．hurry up
A．miss B．like C．know D．forget
A．colder B．worse C．busier D．stronger
A．brothers B．friends C．parents D．sisters
A．though B．but C．as D．and
Once there was a group of men — a young hot-blooded man and a big number of old folks, doing a timber (木料) job in a jungle.
This young man was very . He always continued to work through his break time and that those old folks were wasting time, having to several times a day to drink and chat. As time went by, this young man noticed that he worked through break time and hardly took a , those old folks were chopping the same of trees as he did and sometimes did more. It was as if they worked through the break time as he did. So he to work harder the next day. Unfortunately the were even worse.
One day, one of the old folks him for a drink during their break time. That young man and said that he had no time! Then the old man smiled and said, “It is just a waste of effort to chopping trees without re-sharpening your axe（斧子）.Sooner or later you will or be so tired as you have spent too much .”
Suddenly the young man that actually during break times while those old folks were having a chat, they were re-sharpening their axes at the same time! And that's how they could faster than him, yet spending less time!
What we is efficiency by making use of our skill and ability . Only then can we have more time to do other things. Otherwise we will always keep saying ... I have no !
A．weak B．clever C．hard-working D．good-looking
A．admired B．complained C．reminded D．predicted
A．plan B．appear C．work D．break
A．even though B．only if C．because D．unless
A．photo B．rest C．step D．bath
A．weight B．height C．amount D．price
A．failed B．pretended C．agreed D．decided
A．marks B．results C．effects D．conditions
A．invited B．blamed C．thanked D．forgave
A．begged B．argued C．nodded D．refused
A．wrong. B．valuable C．extra D．exact
A．mind B．avoid C．practice D．keep
A．speed up B．give up C．watch out D．turn out
A．energy B．money C．life D．skill
A．warned B．expected C．realized D．announced
A．also B．hardly C．seldom D．never
A．talk B．chop C．walk D．climb
A．abandon B．introduce C．need D．teach
A．quickly B．curiously C．seriously D．intelligently
A．time B．tool C．job D．patience
As soon as I saw the cat in our yard, I knew he was a stray (流浪儿). He looked —a wounded warrior with a badly scarred (有伤疤的) body.
I started putting out food for him each day, but he wouldn’t come near me if other people were . Winter came, and he still wouldn’t us. Then, one day, a car hit him so we took him to the
vet’s.
After a week, we were eager to bring him home to our family. But when we went to take the cat home, the vet told us we should put him to immediately because the cat was so fierce and meant that he would become tame (驯服的), let alone a pet.
But I have always had in love’s power to even the wildest beasts. I told the vet, “I want to take him home.” We him Paws.
Three days went by, and we only knew Paws was the bed because when we walked past it we heard deep growling.
I wanted to somehow let him know he was and loved. So I put on a hard hat and a pair of welding gloves. I under the bed toward Paws, with my face to the and only the top of my head facing him. I out to stroke (抚摩) him gently over and over again.
He growled and tried to and bite me. It was scary—but I knew he couldn’t me, so I just kept going. Slowly, he began to . Then I slid out from under the bed and left the room.
Several hours later, I noticed a cat on the bed. It was Paws—all on the pillows! I couldn’t believe it.
That dear cat became the of our household. Although Paws finally died of cancer, his legacy(遗赠)—my and firm belief in the power of love—lives on.
A．cute B．strong C．fierce D．smart
A．around B．in C．out D．away
A．love B．attack C．refuse D．trust
A．please B．join C．see D．satisfy
A．death B．sight C．observation D．sleep
A．simply B．hardly C．easily D．gradually
A．sense B．interest C．faith D．feeling
A．comfort B．convince C．protect D．tame
A．named B．appointed C．accepted D．made
A．on B．beside C．under D．inside
A．hopeful B．pitiful C．careful D．safe
A．hid B．slid C．sheltered D．slept
A．bed B．sky C．floor D．feet
A．turned B．reached C．pulled D．picked
A．play B．scratch C．touch D．push
A．hurt B．bother C．avoid D．leave
A．get angry B．give up C．run away D．calm down
A．stepped out B．stood out C．spread out D．stuck out
A．hope B．love C．support D．comfort
A．normal B．noble C．strange D．continued