Up in Smoke
It’s two in the morning, and we’re all running and fighting the smoke.
The smoke is so ______ that I can’t see more than three feet in front of me. I’m sweating and ______, and if my lungs weren’t black and cloudy, I would be screaming. Flashes, light, flames here and there, and for a second I think I am ______.
We run back and forth, side to side looking for a ______ out with our painful blind eyes. Things are blowing up in the next room. I can’t think about anything. I can’t ______ my brothers. My mother’s crazy screams can’t get to me. I’m ______ focused on myself: my life, to get out, to survive, me, me, me. I can’t ______.
Glass pieces, from the fist of a brave man. He seizes me first and ______ me out the broken window. My bare feet hit the ground and glass from the window ______ into them. Air races into my lungs.
I’m sitting on a sofa letting someone wash the black from my face. My family is crying. Why can’t I ______? I hear my mom say she thinks I’m still ______. For the first time I make eye contact with her and try to squeeze out a tear. It doesn’t ______.
I go to school, come home, go to my room, and by 5 a. m. I have ______ myself to sleep. I hate this new town and this huge house. The only thing that keeps me ______ is my sister and a Saosin CD. Because it never stops playing, I ______ start sleeping with it on. I don’t know if it’s the comfort of Anthony Green’s voice, or time, but sleep becomes ______.
I wonder if my sister hears me crying in the next room. I wonder if she is as ______ as I am. I wonder if to her this brick house replaces our old green house. In my heart it doesn’t ______.
I’ve shared with you the darkest of my life. I am much better now. I can convince you,______, that I’ve not perfectly recovered. I am still homesick. I sleep with a nightlight and often an old Saosin CD. The fire ______ me. It scarred me.
A．thick B．serious C．thorough D．swift
A．rushing B．crying C．hurrying D．speaking
A．conflicting B．escaping C．fighting D．dying
A．passage B．solution C．way D．door
A．worry about B．depend on C．hear from D．come across
A．rarely B．approximately C．naturally D．completely
A．describe B．breathe C．survive D．continue
A．pushes B．divides C．pulls D．drags
A．slips B．digs C．slides D．drops
A．see B．cry C．laugh D．shout
A．in shock B．in trouble C．in vain D．in danger
A．come B．do C．work D．pause
A．allowed B．informed C．expected D．cried
A．awake B．acute C．alive D．active
A．severely B．eventually C．slightly D．explicitly
A．harder B．shorter C．easier D．longer
A．homegrown B．home-like C．home-made D．homesick
A．compare B．pass C．imagine D．decide
A．then B．besides C．though D．meanwhile
A．inspired B．changed C．motivated D．polished
Though giant pandas may appear perfectly happy chewing bamboos, scientists recently discovered that they would rather have something sweeter. Scientists chose because the animals are herbivores (食草动物), which would mean that they would love sweets. However, the plant they choose, the bamboos, has a very sugar content and is therefore not considered sweet. Could this mean that pandas have their hobby for sweet things?
The pandas were given six kinds of sweet liquids that are found in fruits and vegetables. They were also given at the same time. In each of the taste tests, the animals the natural sweeter liquids and ignored the water . They ate up all the sweet liquids and the water was left untouched.
What was even more interesting is that when the scientists the water with five different man-made sweeteners, ones that humans find delicious, the pandas were not as . In these tests, they picked the water instead. The scientists believe that it could be either because pandas found them to be too or not sweet enough and that the mixture could not the pandas.
The scientists were not too by the results, since pandas in zoos have always shown a preference for treats like apples, sweet potatoes and even mooncakes. Scientists believe that the pandas may have once sweeter foods that were available in the lowland areas that they used to live in. But when human settlement in the lowland areas them to the bamboo forests in the mountains, they had no but to settle for the almost sugarless plants.
A．horses B．bears C．monkeys D．pandas
A．high B．simple C．low D．different
A．lost B．followed C．started D．kept
A．specially B．hardly C．naturally D．rarely
A．fruits B．water C．bamboos D．oxygen
A．picked B．hid C．rejected D．shared
A．largely B．gradually C．occasionally D．completely
A．mixed B．covered C．exchanged D．replaced
A．funny B．picky C．perfect D．interested
A．salty B．sweet C．sour D．hot
A．harm B．save C．attract D．change
A．Delighted B．surprised C．disappointed D．concerned
A．Enjoyed B．disliked C．controlled D．ignored
A．Encouraged B．forced C．introduced D．guided
A．desire B．chance C．wonder D．choice
Inspiration
“Mama, when I grow up, I’m going to be one of those!” I said this after seeing the Capital Dancing Company perform when I was three. It was the first time that my ___ took on a vivid form and acted as something important to start my training. As I grew older and was ____ to more, my interests in the world of dance ____ varied but that little girl’s dream of someday becoming a ___ in the company never left me. In the summer of 2005 when I was 18, I received the phone call which made that dream a ____; I became a member of the company ____ back to 1925.
As I look back on that day now, it surely ____ any sense of reality. I believe I stayed in a state of pleasant disbelief ____ I was halfway through rehearsals (排练) on my first day. I never actually ___ to get the job. After being offered the position, I was completely ___. I remember shaking with excitement.
Though I was absolutely thrilled with the change, it did not come without its fair share of _ _. Through the strict rehearsal period of dancing six days a week, I found it vital to _ up the material fast with every last bit of concentration. It is that extreme ____ to detail and stress on practice that set us ____. To then follow those high-energy rehearsals __ a busy show schedule of up to five performances a day, I discovered a new ___ of the words “hard work.” What I thought were my physical ____ were pushed much further than I thought _ _. I learned to make each performance better than the last.
Today, when I look at the unbelievable company that I have the great ____ of being a part of, not only as a member, but as a dance captain, I see a ___ that has inspired not only generations of little girls but a splendid company that continues to develop and grow-and inspires people every day to follow their dreams.
A．hobby B．plan C．dream D．word
A．connected B．expanded C．exposed D．extended
A．rarely B．certainly C．probably D．consistently
A．director B．trainer C．leader D．dancer
A．symbol B．memory C．truth D．reality
A．bouncing B．dating C．turning D．tracking
A．lacks B．adds C．makes D．brings
A．while B．since C．until D．when
A．Cared B．Expected C．Asked D．Decided
A．motivated B．relaxed C．convinced D．astonished
A．challenges B．profits C．advantages D．adventures
A．put B．mix C．build D．pick
A．Attention B．association C．attraction D．adaptation
A．apart B．aside C．off D．back
A．over B．by C．with D．beyond
A．function B．meaning C．expression D．usage
A．boundaries B．problems C．barriers D．efforts
A．necessary B．perfect C．proper D．possible
A．talent B．honor C．potential D．responsibility
A．victory B．trend C．tradition D．desire
My daughter has been crazy about raising a pet for a long time. Last spring I bought two newly-hatched(孵化) chickens for her. She got and took good care of them. , a few days later, both chickens died. She burst into tears because of .I helped her the two birds under a tree behind our house. I thought it would be the of her ideas.
, I was wrong . Children are children . The failure hasn’t my daughter in any way. She still tried to keep a small animal or even a snail.
One day last winter, I noticed under the eaves(屋檐) of the house a family of sparrows(麻雀). My daughter and I could the sparrows as our “pets”, but we didn’t.
So I told her to the grains on the windowsill（窗台）. A few minutes later, the sparrows came to land on the windowsill and pecked(啄) at the rice. Suddenly my daughter asked me, Mum, can we catch and the sparrows, and let them live with us in the room？ How it is for them to live outside？
“Oh, my dear. I do not think it’s a good idea. You know,” I explained to her, “the sparrow is a bird who loves .No one can keep them in a cage. If they are caught, they will quickly. They are to living outside. Moreover, they have warm nest under the eaves.
From then on, we have set up a kind of with the sparrow family. We feed them frequently and them as pet birds. However, we do not need to them. We seeing these little birds flying and jumping among branches, leaves and flowers in the spring morning.
A．exciting B．excited C．disappointed D．encouraged
A．Naturally B．Suddenly C．Unfortunately D．Finally
A．leaving B．their death C．the chickens D．them
A．Bury B．put C．dig D．set
A．end B．beginning C．wish D．reality
A．Thus B．Then C．However D．Therefore
A．at all B．in all C．after all D．for all
A．encourage B．upset C．help D．impress
A．look B．act C．feed D．catch
A．throw B．pour C．pile D．scatter
A．one after another B．one another C．every other D．each other
A．stay B．love C．cage D．watch
A．free B．happy C．cold D．warm
A．freedom B．spring C．flying D．trees
A．please B．starve C．suffer D．die
A．safe B．used C．proud D．happy
A．neighbor B．understanding C．friendship D．relationship
A．think B．treat C．dream D．appreciate
A．hurt B．possess C．belong to D．hatch
A．enjoy B．would like C．want D．consider
In the middle of the night, Peter's wife suddenly fell ill. She couldn't help crying, “Oh, my stomach! Get the!” Peter, awaking from a deep sleep, thought his wife was only having a dream. “Stop that noise,” he said to her. He turned over and tried to go to again, but his wife still cried out, “Oh, help!help! I'm sure I'mdying.”
Peter got out of bed and started but he could not find him any clothes.
“Where is my shirt?” he asked. His wife was ill to tell him, and she could only cry, “Oh, my stomach!”
As soon as he had put his clothes he said, “Now, my dear, are you quite certain that you need the doctor? Surely you can wait until morning, can’t you?”
“No, I can't. Go, go, go,” his wife shouted,
“ you will find me dead the morning.”
So Peter went out into the dark street. He had only gone a few meters he heard his wife calling him again.
“I’m again now, and I shall not want the doctor,” she said, softly.
Hearing this, he started running as as he could towards the doctor’s. When he arrived there, he knocked at the door loudly enough to wakeeveryone around.
The doctor put his sleepy head out of the bedroom window and said, “ Er? Who’s there?”
“Oh, Doctor.” Peter called up to him, “I’ve very news for you. My wife ill with a terrible stomachache. I was on my way to bring you to her, but she called me back to say the trouble had suddenly left her. So you need not come. Go back to now, and sleep well!”
A．driver B．nurse C．doctor D．child
A．terrible B．interesting C．surprising D．wonderful
A．bed B．sleep C．dream D．hospital
A．dressing B．wearing C．raising D．working
A．very B．so C．too D．quite
A．good B．bad C．wrong D．poor
A．down B．off C．on D．up
A．and B．but C．so D．or
A．after B．in C．before D．until
A．after B．when C．before D．while
A．good B．wrong C．all right D．right
A．fast B．slowly C．hurriedly D．happily
A．good B．bad C．necessary D．ill
A．fell B．stayed C．grew D．failed
A．your home B．your bedroom C．your dream D．bed
I’d been proud that I’d never lost my cell phone until my husband Jack got a call one evening.
We went to visit a friend in hospital one day last year. When Jack’s rang, it was my mother calling from my . She asked if I had my mobile. I checked my purse. It was !
I used Jack’s phone to call my number. Then a boy, whom I’ll call Phys, it. “I found your phone!” he said, excitedly. “I have been trying to find you, but it was getting late, I decided to leave.” He gave me the address of a near his home.
Later that evening, I went to him there. I didn’t dare to go , worrying this was some cheater. So Jack came along. After 30km, we got to the coffee shop which Rhys .
My were gone. Phys was just a young boy. “How did you my mum?” I asked. He that when he found my mobile by the roadside, he started calling people in my list of contacts. But all they was my mobile phone number—which didn’t . He’d called many names, starting with the letter A. Finally he got Adam, one of my friends, who my house.
I was to get my phone back with all the contacts, messages and photos I could have lost forever. I was so to Rhys and offered him some money, but he .
As we drove back, we praised Rhys for his honesty.
A．car B．radio C．mobile phone D．doorbell
A．home B．company C．school D．hospital
A．found B．lost C．fell D．bought
A．gone B．new C．busy D．broken
A．ignored B．returned C．answered D．got
A．because B．that C．whether D．if
A．post office B．coffee shop C．hotel D．supermarket
A．follow B．catch C．meet D．punish
A．alone B．back C．slowly D．finally
A．running B．driving C．walking D．going
A．knew about B．looked at C．heard of D．talked about
A．difficulties B．illnesses C．fears D．hopes
A．remember B．tell C．forget D．understand
A．found B．heard C．said D．felt
A．had B．noticed C．expected D．finished
A．happen B．matter C．help D．fit
A．sold B．bought C．shared D．called
A．sorry B．sad C．glad D．proud
A．useful B．grateful C．strange D．polite
A．missed B．recognized C．agreed D．refused