Introduction to Letters to Sam
Dear Reader,
Please allow me to tell you something before you read this book. When my _ , Sam, was born, my heart was filled with joy. I had been sitting in a wheelchair for 20 years before then, and I have been _ ill many times. So I wondered if I would have the_____to tell Sam what I had _ ___.
For years I have been hosting a program on the___and writing articles for a magazine. Being to move freely, I have learned to sit still and keep my heart , exchanging thoughts with thousands of listeners and ___. So when Sam was born, I____to tell him about school and friendship, romance and work, love and everything else. That’s how I started to write these____. I hope that Sam would____them sooner or later.
However, that expectation___when Sam showed signs of autism (自闭症) at the age of two. He had actually stopped talking before the discovery of the signs. He ____to communicate with others, even the family members. That was____for me but didn’t stop me writing on. I realized that I had even_____now to tell him. I wanted him to____what it means to be “different” from others, and learn how to fight against the misfortune he’ll____as I myself, his grandfather, did. I just____if I could write all that I wanted to say in the rest of my life.
Now, _____the book has been published, I have been given the chance. Every chapter in the book is a letter to Sam: some about my life, and all about what it means to be a____.
Daniel Bottlings
A．son B．nephew C．brother D．grandson
A．seriously B．mentally C．slightly D．quietly
A．ability B．time C．courage D．responsibility
A．written B．suffered C．observed D．lost
A．radio B．television C．stage D．bed
A．ready B．unable C．anxious D．eager
A．warm B．broken C．closed D．open
A．hosts B．visitors C．readers D．reporters
A．began B．stopped C．forgot D．decided
A．letters B．emails C．books D．diaries
A．find B．read C．collect D．keep
A．developed B．disappeared C．changed D．arrived
A．tried B．refused C．regretted D．hoped
A．exciting B．acceptable C．strange D．heartbreaking
A．less B．everything C．more D．nothing
A．understand B．explain C．believe D．question
A．fear B．face C．know D．cause
A．felt B．guessed C．saw D．doubted
A．as B．once C．though D．if
A．teacher B．child C．man D．writer
完形填空，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。
Competitive swimming was a big part of my life as a teenager. So I was very excited when my sons decided to take up the sport. Daily, I’d arrive a few minutes early before their ________ ended so I could watch their progress, assess their ________ for later discussions and give them a few tips on how to swim faster ________, one afternoon at the pool, someone else caught my ________ .
The teen girl was not a typical swimmer. Her ________ , out-of-date swimsuit was two sizes too big. She struggled to reach the end of the pool. Always ________ and always being passed by the better-trained girls. The other girls would ________ their friends to climb out of the pool, giggle（咯咯笑）and run back to the starting areas. ________nobody waited for her. She always walked back to the starting areas ________. However, day after day, she’d show up ________ practice and do it all over again in her old, worn swimsuit.
The first swim meeting ________ arrived, and I smiled as I watched my sons________ straight with their team members around the swimming pool. I was a(n) 53 mother, but then, I saw the girl who had________ day after day to swim to the end of the pool. She wasn’t wearing the old, worn swimsuit She was wearing a (n) ________ , new swimsuit with a matching swimming cap and goggles（护目镜）. I ________ again and believed someone bought these new things for her so she could feel and look like a _________ regardless of how fast she could swim. She never did find out who bought the ________for her because the person remained anonymous（匿名）。
I admire the unknown person who ________ the pool girl. Do you ever wonder how you can help a teen? Take time to notice your surroundings. There is a teen in your life that________encouragement or help. Be the one who makes a difference in her life.
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完形填空
阅读下面短文, 从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白的最佳选项。
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. -- Jonathan Swift
I walked into a wild third-grade classroom. Music was playing ________ , children were under tables applying make-up, kids were throwing a football indoors, and students were________ wherever they could find ________ . I was a mid-year ________ . The previous ________ said he could no longer manage these children and ________ without notice during the holiday break.
As soon as I walked in the room, I realized why he ________ . I sat down ________ in my chair and began reading their ________ softly. After each name, I ________ asking God to help me understand that child. I then nailed a ________ to the wall next to the chalkboard and began ________ my name and a reading assignment on the board. I then asked each child to come to me, and tell me their names and what they wanted to learn. It was a ________ task, because only two children there wanted to learn something! Rules were ________ , boundaries established, parents contacted. But the mirror saved the day -- no, the year! Unbeknownst(不知的) to the children, the mirror allowed me to see their every ________ while I was writing on the board. They soon became ________ as to how I knew who was misbehaving while I was writing on the board. When one student finally asked me, I told him I had a special teacher’s eye in the back of my head that my hair ________ . At first they did not believe me. ________ they did begin to exhibit better behavior, especially while I wrote on the board, thinking I had magical ________ . I never told them differently. Why ________ a good thing?
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完形填空
阅读下面的短文，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。
My father brought home a sailboat when I was ten, and almost each Sunday in summers we would go sailing. Dad was quite skilled in sailing, but not good at ________ . As for me, I ________ both well before twelve because of living close to Lake Ontario.
The last time Dad and I set sail together is really ________ . It was a perfect weekend after I graduated from university. I came home and ________ Dad to go sailing. Out we set soon on the ________ lake. Dad hadn’t sailed for years, but everything ________ well with the tiller（舵柄）in his hands.
When we were in the middle of the lake, a ________ wind came all of a sudden. The boat was ________ violently. Dad was always at his best in any ________, but at this moment he ________ .
“John! ________ !” he shouted in a trembling(颤抖的) voice, with the tiller still in his hands.
In my memory he could fix any ________ . He was the one I always ________ for strength and security. Before I could respond, a ________ of water got into the boat. I rushed to the tiller ________it was too late. Another huge wall of water ________ the boat in a minute. We were thrown into the water, and Dad was struggling aimlessly. At that moment, I felt fiercely ________ of him.
I swam to Dad ________ and assisted him in climbing onto the hull（船壳）of the boat. Upon sitting on the hull, Dad was still a little frightened. “It’s all right, Dad. We are ________ow.” I comforted him.
That was the first time Dad had counted on me in a moment of emergency(紧急情况). More importantly, I found it was my turn to start ________ of my father.
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完形填空
The most important lesson I learned in high school had nothing to do with maths or American history. It came at graduation, several minutes before I left Miramonte High School.
I was rather shy back then, content to ________ around with my few friends and to concentrate on my ________I was doing so well that by the end of senior year I had perfect scores and enough ________to go to college.
But my good record soon became a ________to my well-being. In early June of senior year, the headmaster called me into his office. He asked me to give a leave-taking speech at graduation. I looked at him, my heart ________ fast. This was the________ for my hard work? I said something, but not very clearly, and hurried away from the office.
I was ________ about the decision, finally agreeing to compromise. I wasn’t the only speaker — I would ________ the honor with five other students. Still, it was doubtful whether the task was ________me. How in the world would I give a speech to hundreds of people?
Graduation day soon arrived and, as ________, I was nervous. I’d been practicing my speech for days, and I had it________. But I had never been so ________ in my life. The first half hour of the ceremony passed, and then my ________ came. My name was announced. I managed to reach the platform without falling down. But within minutes, I finished my speech, ________ back to my seat and feeling unsatisfied with my performance.
Now I still have the ________of that speech. My voice trembled a little, but 56 it was clear and strong. I’m proud of that tape. I achieved something I’d never________ — I spoke in front of hundreds of people. ________ I didn’t realize it at the time, the successful completion of that speech gave me the ________to participate in class at college, to give oral reports, and to eventually break free of my ________ .
I never would have chosen to give a speech at graduation. But I am glad I did. I know it may well turn out to be one of my shining moments.
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完形填空
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。
A white-bearded ancient man was walking over the hills and valleys of the world. On his back he carried a bag which moved uneasily as if something was trying to escape from it, but he ________ it between his shoulders and walked on.
He was Father Time, travelling forever, and the bag he ________ was filled with Tomorrows, all struggling to get out.
Each ________ at twelve o’clock, he opened the bag and ________outa Tomorrow, just one, with its wings of________, and its shining feathers rose with hope. All the rest were kept ________ by Time’s strong hands and pushed________in the bag.
Down flew the Tomorrow ________ its lovely feathers, but as it touched the ________ , off fell its blue wings and it changed to a(n) ________ white bird which could not fly. It had become a Today. Everyone knows that Today isn’t as ________ as Tomorrow , for Today can be held in one’s________, accepted, unloved, but Tomorrow is full of mystery and beauty. It is ________ by all the world. Even those with ________ hope sigh, “Tomorrow may bring a(n) ________ . Tomorrow’s life will be different.”
Everybody tried to ________ the Tomorrow before it fell to the ground. They thought if they ________ beforehand what the Tomorrow carries, they could ________ for it. So they put great nets on the trees, seeking to catch one ________ it changed his feather. Yet although they tried every means, the birds ________ and flew to the ground as Todays.
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