It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man was waiting for a ride across the 36 . The wait seemed 37 .
At last he heard the slight, steady rhythm of approaching hooves (马蹄) coming along the frozen path. Anxiously, he 38 as several horsemen came around the bend (转角处). He let the first one 39 . Then another, and another. Finally, as the 40 rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue, the old man 41 the rider’s eye and said, “
Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t appear to be a passage way by 42 .”
The rider replied, “Sure.” Seeing the old man was unable to 43 his half-froz
en body from the ground, the horseman got down and helped the old man onto the h
orse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination.
As they neared the tiny but cozy (舒适的) cottage, the horseman’s 44 caused him to ask, “Sir, I notice that you let several other riders go by without making a(n) 45 to get a ride. Then I came up and you 46 asked me for a ride. I’m curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. 47 I had refused and left you there?”
The old man replied, “I’ve been 48 here for some time. I think I know people pretty good.” He continued, “I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no 49 for my situation. But when I looked into your eyes, 50 was evident. I knew, 51 , that your gentle spirit would 52 the opportunity to give me help in my time of 53 .”
Those heartwarming comments 54 the horseman deeply.
“I’m most grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man. “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I 55 to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”
With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.
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| A．meaningless | B．useless | C．careless | D．endless |
| A．watched | B．asked | C．waved | D．approached |
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The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during the break .She seemed so small as she pushed her way __36_ the crowd of boys on the playground . She___37__ from them all.
I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing __38__.She would practice dribbling(运球) and shooting over and over again, sometimes until __39__. One day I asked her __40__ she practiced so much. She looked __41___in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said, "I want to go to college. The only way I can __42__ is that if I get a scholarship, I am going to play college basketball. I want to be __43__. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."
Well, I had to give it in to her--- she was __44__.One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head __45_ in her arms. I walked toward her and quietly asked what was _46___. "Oh, nothing," came a soft reply. "I'm just too short." The coach told her that at her height she would probably __47__get to play for a top ranked team,___48__offered a scholarship. So she _49___stop dreaming about college.
She was __50___ and I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just didn't __51__ the power of a dream. He told her __52__she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, __53___could stop her except one thing-- her own attitude. He told her again," if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."
The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter(招聘人员). She was indeed offered a __54__ .She was going to get the college education that she had __55___and worked toward for all those years.
A．through B．across C．over D．into
A．brought out B．showed out C．stood out D．worked out
A．only B．lonely C．simply D．alone
A．dark B．dawn C．midnight D．daybreak
A．how B．when C．why D．what
A．worriedly B．shyly C．quietly D．directly
A．go B．get C．enter D．attend
A．worse B．better C．the best D．the worst
A．determined B．encouraged C．fixed D．fascinated
A．covered B．enclosed C．dropped D．buried
A．the affair B．the wrong C．matter D．the matter
A．ever B．even C．once D．never
A．far more B．much less C．much fewer D．many more
A．should B．must C．can D．may
A．overjoyed B．moved C．embarrassed D．heartbroken
A．understand B．experience C．learn D．believe
A．even if B．as if C．that if D．only if
A．anything B．nothing C．something D．everything
A．prize B．medal C．scholarship D．position
A．dreamed of B．accepted C．thought of D．appreciated
Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column. She had been a school teacher before she retired（退休），but she needed to keep 36 . She was even willing to work without pay. She then offered her 37 with a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people. Every day she 38 other old folks like her. By talking with them，she 39two things. Old people had abilities that were not 40 . But old people also had some 41 . She found a new purpose for 
herself then.
Through the years，she 42 to write stories about people for national magazines. There was now a new 43 ： Old people like herself. She began to write a newspaper column called “Sixty Plus”， which was about 44 old . She writes about the problems of old people，especially their problems with being 45 .
Anna Douglas uses her 46 ability to see the truth behind a problem. She understands 47problems begin. For example，one of her 48 said that his grandchildren49 the houses as soon as he came to visit. Mrs Douglas 50 some ways for him to understand his grandchildren.
“It's important to know51 about your grandchildren's world，”says Mrs Douglas. “That means questioning and listening，and 52 is not what old people do best. Say good things to them and about them，”she continues. “Never try to 53 your grandchildren or other young people. Never 54 your opinion. Don't tell them what they should do. 55 ，they have been taught they should have respect for old people. The old should respect them as well. ”
A．free B．busy C．powerful D．rich
A．students B．money C．service D．books
A．met B．observed C．comforted D．answered
A．enjoyed B．followed D．demanded
A．studied B．agreed C．used D．gave
A．problems B．mistakes C．questions D．characters
A．had B．used C．was D．ought
A．way B．life C．subject D．plan
A．employing B．respecting C．getting D．supporting
A．unknown B．misunderstood C．refused D．discouraged
A．leading B．working C．writing D．thinking
A．that B．when C．whether D．why
A．readers B．visitors C．listeners D．friends
A．invented B．chose C．suggested D．imagined
A．everything B．anything C．something D．nothing
A．speaking B．listening C．pleasing D．advising
A．scold B．praise C．trouble D．encourage
A．speak out B．give up C．get back D．stick to
A．Commonly B．Surprisingly C．Happily D．Naturally
Many years ago, I owned a service station and roadhouse on the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide．
One very cold, wet night at about 3 : 30 a．m, there was a 36 at the front door of our house．A young man, 37 from head' to toe, explained that he had 38 out of petrol about 30 km up the road．He had left his pregnant （怀孕的） wife and his two children 39 at the car and said that he would hitchhike （搭便车） back．
As soon as I 40 a can with petrol, I took him back to his car, where his two-year-old and four-year-old children were both 41 .They were wet and cold．I suggested that they 42 me back．
Before leaving, I had turned the heater 43 in the roadhouse, so when we went in, it was nice and 44 ．While the little ones played and ran 45 ,1 prepared bread and butter for the children, 46 hot chocolate for the adults．
It was about five a．m．before they 47 ．The young fellow asked me how much he should pay me and I told him that the petrol 48 had shown $ 15．He 49 offered to pay call-out fee, but I wouldn’t accept it．
About a month later,! received a 50 from Interstate, a large bus company that we had been trying to 51 to stop off at our roadhouse for a long time．It 52 out that the young fellow I had helped was its general manager, the most 53 person in the company．
In his letter, he thanked me again and 54 me that, from then on, all their buses would stop at my service station．In this 55 , a little bit of kindness was rewarded with a huge amount of benefit．
A．kick B．strike C．beat D．knock
A．cool B．hot C．wet D．warm
A．driven B．used C．come D．run
A．away B．behind C．off D．out
A．supplied B．poured C．equipped D．filled
A．sleeping B．crying C．quarrelling D．fighting
A．get B．ring C．lead D．follow
A．on B．off C．in D．over
A．clean B．dry C．warm D．tidy
A．around B．away C．out D．up
A．or B．but C．so D．and
A．left B．arrived C．ate D．stayed
A．tank B．can C．pump D．pipe
A．suddenly B．hurriedly C．worriedly D．thankfully
A．call B．letter C．check D．notice
A．get B．force C．require D．make
A．pointed B．turned C．worked D．found
A．generous B．successful C．serious D．powerful
A．praised B．persuaded C．informed D．warned
The job of raising children is a tough one. Children don’t come with an instruction manual(说明书). And each child is 36 . So parents sometimes pull their hair out in frustration(挫折), not 37
what to do. But in raising children—as in all of life—what we do is 38 by our culture. Naturally then, American parents teach their children basic American 39 . To Americans, the goal of parents is to help children40 on their own two feet. From 41 each child may get his or her own room. As children grow, they get more 42 to make their own choices. 43 choose their own forms of entertainment, as well as the friends to 44 them with. When they 45 young adulthood, they choose their own jobs and marriage 46 . Of course, many young adults still 47
their parents’ advice and approval for the choices they make. But once they “leave the 48 ” at around 18 to 21 years old, they want to be on their own , not 49 to their mother’s apron strings (围裙带). The relationship between parents and children in America is very informal. American parents try to 50 their children as individuals—not as extensions of themselves. They allow them to achieve their own51 . Americans praise and encourage their children to give them the 52
to succeed. When children become adults, their relationship with their parents becomes more like a (an) 53 among equals. But 54 to popular belief, most adult Americans don’t make their parents pay for room and board when they come to 55 . Even as adult, they respect and honor their parents.
A．strange B．different C．new D．unlike
A．noticing B．remember C．knowing D．deciding
A．influenced B．made C．controlled D．changed
A．services B．standards C．rules D．values
A．sit B．get C．stand D．rise
A．adulthood B．girlhood C．boyhood D．childhood
A．freedom B．space C．time D．money
A．Adults B．Teenagers C．Americans D．Parents
A．help B．join C．share D．provide
A．gain B．pass C．become D．reach
A．wives B．partners C．husbands D．couples
A．seek B．invite C．try D．choose
A．room B．house C．nest D．place
A．connected B．held C．stuck D．tied
A．serve B．treat C．describe D．recognize
A．jobs B．plans C．dreams D．hopes
A．dependence B．trust C．belief D．confidence
A．friendship B．companion C．membership D．association
A．known B．similar C．contrary D．due
A．travel B．visit C．see D．live
In every country there are times to celebrate, weddings, birthdays, religious festivals. Although the U.S.A is a multi-cultural society, where different groups celebrate their own traditional 21 , Christmas is the most popular holiday in the U.S.A. Some of the 22 of Christmas time are old and others are newer.
Already in the late 18th and the 19th centuries, people felt sentimental (眷恋的) about Christmases of the past. The American 23 , Washington Irving, wrote in 1819 about the old-fashioned Christmas he experienced in England. He was taken in a stagecoach (驿站马车) full of happy people, food and presents, to an old house in the 24 . There, he found a crowd of happy farmers, lots of food and drinks, snow, games and ghosts.
The first Christmas card, which was printed in England, showed people eating and drinking 25 . It was sent in 1846, but Christmas cards did not become really 26 until the 1860s, when color printing became possible.
By this time, stagecoaches had 27 running, replaced by the railroad. More and more families 28 the country and were living in towns and cities, but the dream of the 29 Christmas remained. The loaded stagecoach driving along the country road through the snow still 30 on many Christmas cards today.
A．left B．preferred C．admired D．reached
A．amazing B．new C．merry D．old-fashioned
A．turns B．appears C．puts D．gets