阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying something. The sorrow of my husband of 37 years was still too painful. And this grocery store held so many sweet . Bob often came with me and almost every time he'd to go off and look for something special. I'd always see him walking down the walkway the three yellow roses in his hands. Bob knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart with pain, I came to the meat shelf, I searched for the small steak and remembered how Bob had loved his steak.
Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was in a soft green dress. I as she picked up a large pack of T-bones, them in her basket, hesitated, and then put them back. She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but , at these prices, I don't know."
"My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. "Buy him the steaks. And value every you have together."
She smiled and I saw the feeling in her as she placed the package in her basket and away. I turned and pushed my cart forward too. Several minutes later I saw first the green suit and then the pretty lady coming to me. In her arms she carried something. On her face was the smile I had ever seen.
As she came closer, I saw what she held and welled down. "These are for you, " she said and placed three beautiful yellow roses in my arms. She placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what the roses , but still unable to speak. I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my . I looked down at the beautiful roses and found it almost . How did she know?
Suddenly the seemed so clear. I wasn't alone. "Oh, Bob, you haven't me, have you?" I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.
A.losing B.leaving C.passing D.failing
A.flowers B.roses C.memories D.thoughts
A.decide B.happen C.refuse D.pretend
A.by B.with C.during D.between
A.full B.filled C.pleased D.crowded
A.very B.beautiful C.pretty D.perfect
A.watched B.saw C.found D.glared
A.fell B.carried C.dropped D.took
A.exactly B.generally C.usually D.honestly
A.moment B.dinner C.time D.year
A.hands B.eyes C.voice D.basket
A.left B.ran C.slipped D.wheeled
A.realized B.recognized C.received D.thought
A.saddest B.funniest C.brightest D.strangest
A.words B.tears C.feelings D.sweats
A.stood B.described C.meant D.designed
A.sight B.cart C.roses D.package
A.unknown B.uncommon C.unreal D.unlike
A.question B.answer C.case D.puzzle
A.missed B.disappointed C.hated D.forgotten
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
Elizabeth Clay decided to go home and spend the holiday with her parents. The next day she drove her old car home along the road. ___36___ she found she got a flat. The 22-year-old student ___37___to stop her car by the side of the road in the winter night and opened the trunk. no ___38___ tire.
At this time, a car ___39___. Paul and Diane told Clay to ___40___ them to a service station near their ___41___. They arrived to see that it had no suitable tires to ___42___ with her car. “Follow us home,” said Paul.
The couple called around to find a tire. No___43___. They decided to let her use their own car. “Here,” Paul said, handing Clay a ___44___ of keys, “Take our car. We ___45___ be using it over the holiday. ”
Clay was ___46. “But I’m going all the way to South Carolina, and I’ll be gone for two weeks,” she ___47___ them.
“We know,” Paul said. “We’ll be ___48___ when you get back. Here’s our number if you need to ___49___ us. ”
Unable to believe her eyes, Clay watched as the ___50___ put her luggage into their car and then ___51___ her off. Two weeks later she ___52___ to find her old car cleaned inside and out with three new tires and the radio ___53___.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “How much do I ___54___ you?” “Oh, no,” Paul said, we don’t want any money. It’s our ___55___. ” Clay realized that while it might have been their pleasure, it was now her duty to pass on their “do unto others” spirit.
36. A. Suddenly B. Finally C. Immediately D. Fortunately
37. A. afforded B. wanted C. allowed D. managed
38. A. spare B. free C. full D. empty
39. A. passed B. stopped C. paused D. started
40. A. help B. push C. take D. follow
41. A. garage B. house C. shop D. hotel
42. A. agree B. match C. go D. deal
43. A. way B. message C. success D. luck
44. A. set B. number C. pair D. chain
45. A. can’t B. shouldn’t C. mustn’t D. won’t
46. A. satisfied B. worried C. astonished D. disturbed
47. A. persuaded B. advised C. reminded D. promised
48. A. happy B. here C. away D. busy
49. A. get in touch with B. keep in touch with
C. be in touch with D. put in touch with
50. A. repairmen B. cleaners C. friends D. couple
51. A. sent B. shook C. watched D. drove
52. A. shocked B. happened C. returned D. came
53. A. loaded B. fixed C. tied D. rebuilt
54. A. owe B. lend C. give D. offer
55. A. wish B. job C. duty D. pleasure
The birthrate in Europe has been in a steady decrease since the 1960s. European countries, realizing crisis is at hand, are providing great encouragement for parents to create more babies in the 21st century.
Affairs Ministry concluded last year that, ___65___ cash encouragement, some women just don’t want to be ___66___ holding the baby. “What we know is that it’s good for the ___67___ if men and women share the burden of having children, says Soren Kindlund, family policy adviser at the Swedish ministry. ___68___ Swedish parents can take their paid leave as they wish, men use a mere 12% of it; 60% of fathers do not take even a(n)___69___ day off work.
Experts fear that the tendency for women to use most of the parental leave could make employers___70___ to give young women the permanent jobs they need to qualify for paid maternity leave(产假). In January, Sweden decided to allow new fathers two months paid leave, with a warning: use it or___71___ it.
Kindlund admits that men are under ___72___ to stay at work, even though parental pay comes out of the public purse. “It’s not popular among bosses and perhaps with other men in the workplace,. “But it’s good for the father and for the child if they can ___73___ a relationship. ”
In Norway, a(n)___74___ policy has worked wonders. 70% of dads in Norway now take parental leave, and the birthrate of 1. 85 children per woman is one of the highest in Europe.
65. A. in spite of B. at the cost of C. in addition to D. due to
66. A. sent B. left C. caught D. seen
67. A. birthrate B. income C. health D. spirit
68. A. Just as B. Only if C. Even though D. Now that
69. A. one B. mere C. only D. single
70. A. willing B. reluctant C. likely D. unable
71. A. reserve B. misuse C. ignore D. lose
72. A. discussion B. attack C. control D. pressure
73. A. make out B. add up C. build up D. set aside
74. A. impersonal B. similar C. severe D. global
Adults are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practised in the meantime. A man who has not had an opportunity to go swimming for years can ___55___ swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after several decades and still ___56___ away. A mother who has not ___57___ the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or recite the story of Cinderella or Snow White.
One explanation is the law of over learning, which can be stated as following: ___58___ we have learned something, additional learning increases the ___59___ of time we will remember it.
In childhood, we usually continue to practise such skills as swimming, bicycle riding long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and ___60___ ourselves of poems such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star. We not only learn but ___61___.
The law of over learning explains why cramming(突击学习) for an examination, ___62___ it may result in a passing grade, is not a ___63___way to learn a school course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little over learning; ___64___, is usually a good investment toward the future.
55. A. only B. hardly C. still D. even
56. A. move B. drive C. travel D. ride
57. A. thought about B. cared for C. showed up D. brought up
58. A. Before B. Once C. Until D. Unless
59. A. accuracy B. unit C. limit D. length
60. A. remind B. inform C. warn D. recall
61. A. recite B. overlearn C. research D. improve
62. A. though B. so C. if D. after
63. A. convenient B. demanding C. satisfactory D. swift
64. A. at most B. by the way C. on the other hand D. in the end
Don’t Take the Fun Out of Youth Sports
When I joined a private football league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me. My coach(教练) said that I had lots of potential(潜力), and I became captain of my ___36___. That was before all the fun was taken out of ___37___.
At first, everyone on the team got ___38___ playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the ___39___ started. Some parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have ___40___one-on-one training, got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our ___41___. The coach was replaced.
The new coach, however, took all the fun out of the game. All we did during practice was ___42___. I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the ___43___. Of course, all teams run drills; they are ___44___. But we ran so much that, afterwards, we had trouble ___45___. Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercises ___46___ for 18-year-olds.
I was very thin ___47___ I started football, but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much, because I was afraid of being too ___48___ to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual ___49___.
Is all this pressure necessary? I ___50___ up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s ___51___, because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they ___52___ from the coach or their parents.
I continued playing football at school and ___53___ my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing ___54___ him, he told me I needed to relax because I looked nervous. After I ___55___ down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it’s a lot easier to do it well.
36. A. class B. club C. team D. board
37. A. playing B. living C. learning D. working
38. A. great B. equal C. right D. extra
39. A. business B. struggle C. attempt D. pressure
40. A. free B. private C. good D. basic
41. A. matches B. courses C. lessons D. programs
42. A. jump B. play C. run D. shoot
43. A. duty B. meeting C. operation D. training
44. A. necessary B. boring C. scientific D. practical
45. A. speaking B. moving C. sleeping D. breathing
46. A. used B. intended C. made D. described
47. A. till B. since C. before D. because
48. A. full B. tired C. lazy D. big
49. A. size B. share C. space D. state
50. A. gave B. kept C. ended D. picked
51. A. sad B. shameful C. silly D. serious
52. A. received B. suffered C. brought D. felt
53. A. reconsidered B. rediscovered C. reformed D. replaced
54. A. at B. by C. for D. around
55. A. fell B. stepped C. slowed D. calmed