My dad was a fisherman. He worked hard and stayed out until he caught enough 36 to feed the family nearly every day. When the weather was bad he would 37 me to school. An old truck was used in his fishing business. When we got to the school, he would give me a big 38 on the face and tell me to be a good 39 . It was so embarrassing for me. I was 12 years old, and my dad would still kiss me goodbye!
I remember the day when I decided I was too 40 for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean (倾斜) toward me, but I put my hand up and 41 , “No, Dad.” It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way. He had a surprised look on his face for a long time, and his 42 started to be wet. He turned and looked out of the windshield (挡风玻璃). “You’re 43 ,” he said.“You are a big boy—a man. I won’t kiss you any more.”
It wasn’t long after that when my dad went out to 44 and never came back. It was a day when most of the fishermen stayed at home except Dad. He had a big family to feed
How I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would 45 have told my dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss.
A．food B．birds C．animals D．fish
A．ride B．carry C．drive D．bring
A．kiss B．laugh C．look D．hand
A．man B．boy C．teacher D．fisherman
A．old B．young C．excited D．moved
A．spoke B．said C．repeated D．answered
A．hands B．feet C．eyes D．face
A．kind B．clever C．wrong D．right
A．school B．sea C．boat D．river
A．still B．ever C．never D．only
My name is Ben Mansury. I’m fifteen years old and study in a middle school. In school, I never join in any group discussion or stage (舞台) program. So, I never knew what stage nervousness was.
Our community (社区) has a weekly “Students Ideas” program. About two years ago, I received a(n) 1 from the chairman of our community. He invited me to the “Students Ideas” talk the next morning to speak to the group.
The time between his call to the next morning was like several weeks for me. The whole night, I could not sleep. Many 2 were coming. One of them was to call the chairman, with regret, and tell him that I could not come. But finally, I thought, if I missed this 3 , the community would never invite me again to any of their programs. So, I decided to go.
I reached the hall in time. When my turn came and I started, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to 4 the words on the paper properly. I had no idea where I was standing and what I was talking. That was the day when I 5 my biggest weakness: public speaking.
After I finished, I met with the chairman and 6 what happened to me. He said that this happens to everyone. It is very 7 . He suggested that I should come again the next week.
I 8 a talk carefully. This time when I gave the talk, I was somewhat comfortable but not confident (自信的). Afterwards, I met with the chairman again and told him about the improvement I 9 I had made. He was kind enough to invite me again.
For around one month, I practiced a lot for my talk. This time I was feeling comfortable and both the chairman and my neighbors thought I did a good job.
I learned that everything is 10 if we take the first step, as the saying goes: A journey of thousand miles begins with first step.
A．letter B．call C．card D．email
A．topics B．regrets C．thoughts D．words
A．man B．group C．stage D．chance
A．read B．spell C．see D．recite
A．had B．forgot C．realized D．improved
A．asked B．checked C．explained D．wondered
A．useful B．successful C．difficult D．common
A．wrote B．prepared C．gave D．finished
A．knew B．felt C．believed D．hoped
A．easy B．great C．helpful D．possible
One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student, “You speak very good English.” But the girl answered, “No, no. My English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite 1 at the answer. Thinking he had not made 2 understood or the girl had not heard him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak very well.” But the girl still kept saying, “No.” In the end the American boy could not understand and didn’t know 3 to say.
What’s wrong with the girl’s answer? She didn’t 4a compliment (恭维)in the same way as the American people do. She should answer, “Thank you” instead of “No”. She 5 understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the west, people will feel proud and 6 when they are praised(赞扬). So if someone says the dishes you have cooked are very delicious, you should say, “Thank you.”
In our country we think being modest is a virtue (美德) and being proud is a bad thing, but in my opinion, being confident does not 7 being proud, so sometimes you should be confident 8 being modest.
9 you are modest and say, “No, I’m afraid I can’t do it well”, while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often say “No”, you will certainly be looked down on by others. When asking for a job, if one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “Let me have a try ”, he or she will 10 get it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.
A．excited B．surprised C．relaxed D．frightened
A．her B．herself C．himself D．him
A．when B．which C．what D．how
A．accept B．receive C．refuse D．disagree
A．hardly B．really C．rarely D．badly
A．kind B．modest C．shy D．confident
A．think B．say C．ask D．mean
A．different from B．as well as C．instead of D．the same as
A．Unless B．Until C．Whether D．If
A．expect to B．fail to C．succeed in D．believe in
完形填空 (共15小题，计15分)
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that thankfulness is indeed a virtue (美德).
—William Bennett
Thanksgiving Day was coming. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment (作业) — to draw a picture of 1 for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered poor, but still many would 2 the holiday with turkey and other traditional food of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subject of most of her students’ art. And they were.
But Douglas made a 3 kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of weak and unhappy. As other children played at 4 , Douglas used to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain that Douglas felt behind those sad 5 .
Yes, his picture was different. When he was asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a 6 . Nothing else. Just an empty hand.
His abstract (抽象的) picture caught the 7 of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers 8 turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and 9 people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went on — until the teacher almost forgot the young artist 10 .
When the children had gone on to other assignments, she stopped at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and 11 him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s yours, teacher.”
She recalled the 12 when she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there, as she had the other students. How 13 she had said, “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.” Or, “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” Or, “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was very 14 for his teacher’s hand. Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.
The story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship, and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks, but they’ll remember the hand that 15 out.
A．anything B．something C．nothing D．everything
A．congratulate B．spend C．celebrate D．consider
A．good B．interesting C．exciting D．different
A．break B．rest C．desk D．first
A．noses B．hands C．faces D．eyes
A．gift B．person C．hand D．turkey
A．thought B．description C．respect D．imagination
A．raise B．need C．buy D．show
A．look at B．care for C．take away D．drive off
A．himself B．itself C．herself D．themselves
A．said B．asked C．talked D．spoke
A．chances B．forms C．ways D．times
A．much B．many C．often D．long
A．thankful B．helpful C．careful D．beautiful
A．moves B．holds C．reaches D．puts
完型填空（共15小题，计15分）
Benjamin was 1 . He didn't know why. He was having a fever and tired and didn’t feel like eating. His stomach hurt from time to time. At first he paid very little 2 to it, thinking he would be all right in 3. But he didn't. After three weeks, he had to go to Dr. Barkley.
The doctor did a few 4 . Then he asked Benjamin if he had gone 5 and drunk dirty water. Benjamin said he hadn't been camping since he was a soldier in the army.
He asked if Benjamin had eaten at any fast food restaurants in the past month, or eaten from one of the 6 lunch trucks in the Los Angeles area. Benjamin said that he ate fast food or lunch truck food every day at noon.
“That’s probably the 7 of your illness. You have hepatitis(肝炎) A, and you most likely got it from a food worker who didn't wash his hands thoroughly after using the 8. It happens a lot.” “God! I'm not going to die, am I?”
The doctor told him not to 9 . A viral infection（病毒感染） that 10 the liver（肝脏）, hepatitis A kills only about 100 people every year in the US. He told Benjamin to see him every two weeks, and to be 11 to take three months 12 from work so that he could rest, rest, rest. There is no 13 to hepatitis A. You survive(存活), or you don’t.
“But there is one good thing about hepatitis A,” Dr. Barkley said. “ 14 you get it, you’re immune（免疫） to it for the 15 of your life.”
A．energetic B．sleepy C．sick D．tired
A．money B．dollars C．attention D．focus
A．a week B．a month C．two months D．a year
A．chores B．tests C．seconds D．movements
A．fishing B．camping C．hiking D．sightseeing
A．a lot B．a little C．many D．much
A．resource B．cause C．research D．search
A．knief B．cookers C．restroom D．microwave oven
A．think B．eat C．worry D．cry
A．hurts B．breaks C．kills D．removes
A．OK B．ready C．necessary D．relaxing
A．away B．to C．off D．getting
A．solution B．answer C．hope D．need
A．Unless B．Until C．Once D．Twice
A．other B．rest C．whole D．part
When I was in my ninth grade, I was on a stage-design team for a play and Mrs. Reagan was my director. Almost immediately I loved her. She had an unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking, __1__ she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.
Mrs. Reagan would ask me for my __2__. She wanted to know how I thought we should deal with things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew __3__ about stage design! But I slowly tried to answer her __4__. It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to make them and I completed them perfectly. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.
Mrs. Reagan 's motto that year was, "Try it. We can achieve it __5__!" I began to take the chances. I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing. I learned to create something __6__.
The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was __7__ in the program as "Student Art Assistant" because of the time and effort I'd put in. It was that year that I __8__ I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing stage design.
Being on that stage-design team with Mrs. Reagan changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more experienced than I had thought, but I also __9_ a strong interest and a world I hadn't known. She taught me not to __10__ what people think I should do. She taught me to take chances and not be __11_. Mrs. Reagan was the person who gave me confidence when I was upset. Her trust in me has encouraged me to do things that I never imagined __12__.
A．and B．so C．yet D．for
A．impression B．opinion C．information D．advice
A．anything B．something C．everything D．nothing
A．questions B．words C．explanations D．ideas
A．again B．more C．instead D．later
A．easily B．carefully C．confidently D．proudly
A．introduced B．recognized C．placed D．considered
A．proved B．decided C．accepted D．realized
A．discovered B．developed C．took D．encouraged
A．accept B．decide C．care D．wonder
A．afraid B．lazy C．sad D．bored
A．successful B．possible C．enjoyable D．agreeable