Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One time I arrived in the middle of the night for a pickup at a building that was except for a single light in a ground floor window. I walked to the door and knocked.
A small woman in her 80’s opened the door. I took her suitcase to the cab then returned to her into the cab. She thanked me for my kindness. When we got in the taxi, she gave me a(n) , then asked, “Could you drive through downtown ?”
“It’s not the way,” I answered.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice (临终关怀医院).”
I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening.
“The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and the meter (计程器). “What would you like me to take?” I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived. Sometimes she’d ask me to in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the sun was , she suddenly said: “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in to the address she had given me. There were people waiting for her and they put her in a wheelchair.
“How much do I have to pay you?” she asked, reaching into her purse.
“Nothing,” I said.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
“You gave an old woman a little moment of ,” she said.
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut.
I didn’t any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. We tend to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often 47 us unconsciously.
A．ancient B．dark C．dirty D．remote
A．invite B．watch C．help D．receive
A．address B．letter C．speech D．present
A．wrong B．funniest C．safest D．shortest
A．cut out B．showed off C．switched off D．turned on
A．direction B．order C．role D．route
A．break down B．get off C．speed up D．slow down
A．changing B．moving C．rising D．Setting
A．darkness B．noise C．silence D．sadness
A．joy B．interest C．trouble D．surprise
A．talk with B．call up C．pick up D．take away
A．catch B．drive C．improve D．puzzle
Personally I think trains are exciting and romantic. I must that trains are not important means of transportation in the US, but I do have some with them.
When I was a child, growing up in a small town with very little , we used to go to the station to watch the passenger trains coming in. There was something about the steaming, roaring string of cars coming into view around the mountains, slowly growing larger and and finally crowds of strangers onto the platform.
I took my train trip when I was ten years old. I went with my elder sister to visit our cousins six hundred miles away. The train--so loud and violent on the outside--was and rocking inside. We were very excited, and as that was also our first time away from our parents, we felt somewhat frightened too. However, because I had so much, I was a little disappointed when I was finally one of the passengers I had for so long.
As a college student, I ride overnight train to my roommate’s hometown. We could never afford a , so we played cards, sang, ate, read and talked we finally fell uncomfortably asleep in the straight-backed seats.
My idea that trains are may come from the fact that my husband and I took the train on our honeymoon, spending extra money to eat in the dining car, and the window as the desert scenery slid past.
Now, when I make a trip, I always fly or drive, and are not a very important part of my life. , every time I hear the train whistle faraway on a quiet night, I can always feel the in my heart to pack my bags and jump on board, entering a world of motions, sounds, sights, and experience which just aren’t in the dull environment of an airplane.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
完形填空
“It’s no use, Mum,” said Johnny. “I’m just no good at dancing.”
“You’ve got to keep trying. Tonight will be , dear. Try a turn with that pretty Lisette.”
Johnny . Every Saturday night used to be the best of the week. He and his parents went to the at the Club, where his hero, Alcide, played the accordion（手风琴）with the band. But lately everything had changed. Now that Johnny was older, he was to dance with a girl!
Johnny and his parents arrived at the Club, music had already started. Johnny got up his________to approach Lisette. “May I have this dance?” Johnny asked. “That’s all right,” said Lisette. Johnny struggled to keep up with Lisette’s steps, but he was always one beat behind her. Then Johnny heard his friend Pierre say, “Look! Johnny has two left feet!” .burst from the crowd. Johnny and ran outside, determined never to go to another dance.
The next Saturday, Alcide to Johnny’s house for some potatoes. He happened to hear Johnny playing the accordion. Alcide’s eyes . “Bring that accordion and play some songs tonight,” Alcide said. Then he drove off, leaving Johnny staring open- mouthed him.
At the Club, Johnny scanned the crowd for Lisette and her. The band played for a long time before Alcide said, “Dear friends, I got a for you tonight. Young Johnny is going to join us!” , Johnny stepped up on the platform, his eyes on the floor. He began to play, and the band behind him. When the song ended, he heard cheers. Johnny kept playing until the dance was . “You did a fine job tonight. Play with us again next Saturday night,” Alcide said. “Yes, sir!” said Johnny. he went outside, Johnny saw Lisette and her friends near the door. Lisette stepped , smiling. “You played really good tonight!” she said.
“Thank you,” Johnny blushed （脸红）. As he walked on, Pierre moved out of the way for him to pass.
Johnny patted his accordion. Come to think of it, in his whole life, he had never once seen Alcide out on the dance floor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
完形填空。阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
As a teacher, I think all students were dear to me, especially Mark.
Mark was very talkative, I had to him repeatedly that talking without was not acceptable. Every time I had to correct him for misbehaving. “ Thank you for correcting me, Sister!” I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
Once my was running out when Mark talked again, I two pieces of tape(胶带) and made a big X with them over his mouth. When I the tape, he still thanked me for correcting him.
One Friday, I asked the students to the names of the other students on two pieces, leaving a between each name, and then write down the thing they should say about others.
Then I all the lists and gave each student his or her list. Soon the entire class was smiling. “ I never knew that anything to anyone!” “ I didn’t know liked me so much!” Mark said, “Thank you for keeping me , Sister.”
Later Mark joined the army and was in Vietnam. After the funeral(葬礼), his father showed me something on Mark. It was pieces of notebook paper that had been taped and folded many times, on which were the good things that Mark’s classmates had said about him. His mother said that he behaved better and better my list.
Mark’s classmates told me that they kept their own lists in ways. Hearing this , I finally cried.
Sometimes the things could mean the most to others. We forget when life will end. So the people you love and care about, before it is too late.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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。
Evelyn Glennie was the first lady of solo percussion in Scotland. In an interview, she recalled how she became a percussion soloist (打击乐器独奏演员) in spite of her disability.
“Early on I decided not to allow the of others to stop me from becoming a musician. I grew up on a farm in northeast Scotland and began piano lessons when I was eight. The older I got, the more my passion for music grew. But I also began to gradually lose my . Doctors concluded that the nerve damage was the and by age twelve, I was completely deaf. But my love for music never me.
“My was to become a percussion soloist, even though there were none at that time. To perform, I to hear music differently from others. I play in my stocking feet and can the pitch of a note (音调高低) by the vibrations (振动). I feel through my body and through my. My entire sound world exists by making use of almost every that I have.
“I was to be assessed as a musician, not as a deaf musician, and I applied to the famous Royal Academy of Music in London. No other deaf student had this before and some teachers my admission. Based on my performance, I was admitted and went to with the academy’s highest honors.
“After that, I established myself as the first full-time solo percussionist. I and arranged a lot of musical compositions since had been written specially for solo percussionists.
“I have been a soloist for over ten years. the doctor thought I was totally deaf, it didn’t that my passion couldn’t be realized. I would encourage people not to allow themselves to be by others. Follow your passion; follow your heart, they will lead you to the place you want to go.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
完型填空
Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces. Each of us must choose which we want to ______ our future and our expectations. We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or ______. It’s our decision: from which perspective do we want to view life? Will we look up in ______ or down in desperation?
I believe in the upward look. I choose to ______ the positive and skip right over the negative.
An optimistic attitude is not a luxury(奢侈品); it’s a(n) ______. The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how well you will get along with other people. ______, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations ______ themselves; they become a self-fulfilling prophecy (预言). Pessimism creates a dark place where no one wants to live.
Years ago, I drove into a service station to get some gas. It was a beautiful day, and I was feeling great. As I walked into the station to pay for the gas, the attendant said to me, “How do you feel?” That seemed like a(n) ______ question, but I felt fine and told him so. “You don’t look well,” he replied. This ______ me completely by surprise. A little ______ confidently, I told him that I had ______ felt better. Without hesitation, he continued to tell me how bad I looked and that my skin appeared yellow.
By the time I left the service station, I was feeling a little ______. About a block away, I ______ over to the side of the road to look at my face in the mirror. How did I feel? Was I affected with jaundice(黄疸)? Was everything all right? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a little nauseous(恶心). Did I have a bad liver? Had I ______ some rare disease?
On another beautiful day, when I went into that gas station, feeling _____ again, I figured out what had happened. The place had recently been painted a bright, distasteful ______, and the light reflecting ______ the walls made everyone inside look as though they had hepatitis(肝炎)! I wondered how many other folks had ______ the way I did. I had let one short conversation with a total ______ change my attitude for an entire day. He told me I looked sick, and before long, I was actually feeling sick. That single ______ observation had a great effect on the way I felt and acted.
The only thing more powerful than negativism is a word of optimism and hope. When a whole culture adopts an upward look, incredible things can be accomplished.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|