My heart beat with that feeling, like blood to my body as my fingers flew across the piano keys. As the piece neared the end, I up to take my final bow. For a second, the room was . Yet, even in that one second, I had enough time to whether I had done perfectly. Then, , the applause (掌声) came.
“Thank you… so much,” I said, to the person standing on my other side. Olga, my piano teacher for six years, smiled back at me. “You’ve been an student all these years,” she said, “I hope that whatever you do, you never stop .”
I leaned forward, I would keep playing because I loved piano, and hugged her.
As it , the promises weren’t as meaningful as I’d hoped. Right after the , I kept up my strict practicing schedule every day. , it began slipping away from me. The reason I had stopped taking was because of my busy schedule with homework. Not long after, I stopped practicing altogether. It was not to have to stress about piano anymore. But something was inside of me. I was empty inside.
One day I met Michelle, who had also taken piano lessons from Olga.
“Are you taking lessons from Olga?” she asked.
“Actually I just quit a while ago,” I replied.
“That’s a ,” she responded, “I remember your performance a year ago; it was .”
Two days after talking to Michelle, I was at a what to do. I moved slowly into the living room unconsciously, but in fact I knew what I was doing.
As the music , a familiar feeling rose inside me.
A．showed B．sat C．stood D．looked
A．light B．quiet C．colorful D．nervous
A．expect B．remind C．know D．doubt
A．immediately B．successfully C．hopefully D．suddenly
A．turning B．waving C．running D．pointing
A．easy-going B．imaginative C．amazing D．honest
A．practising B．learning C．competing D．gaining
A．telling B．promising C．admitting D．speaking
A．carried on B．brought up C．turned out D．taken in
A．performance B．final C．presentation D．play
A．Soon B．Besides C．Thus D．Instead
A．lectures B．parts C．lessons D．pieces
A．disappointing B．pleasing C．inspiring D．puzzling
A．beating B．rising C．changing D．shining
A．still B．even C．much D．yet
A．shame B．relief C．pleasure D．deal
A．challenging B．breathtaking C．demanding D．embarrassing
A．time B．heart C．dream D．loss
A．normally B．exactly C．unclearly D．badly
A．ended B．hit C．covered D．spread
One year ago, I traveled 15,000 kilometers from Australia to the US. I am from a beachside town in the ____ of Sydney, and thought there would be almost no ____ differences between my home country and my ____. I was surprised at how wrong I was, and at ____ different the two countries could be.
The United States is ____ in almost every aspect. The buildings are gigantic (巨大的) and so are the people who ____ and work in them. At mealtimes, the portions (份额) often ____ to me to be big enough for three or four people. I once ____ a baked potato which turned out to be bigger than my head! This was a big ____ for me.
The longer I spent in the US, the more I started to ____ smaller differences like the culture of ____ in restaurants. In Australia we don't tend to give a tip ____ the service has been really excellent. In the US you tip for ___ everything, even at the hairdresser. Waiters and shop assistants ____ to be given 15 percent of the bill, although in places ____ New York or Washington DC, a tip can be as much as 20 percent.
___， I also became more wary (谨慎的) of believing the stereotypes (成见) I had heard at home as I traveled. Not all Americans are ignorant of geography, for example.Despite this, certain stereotypes about places did seem to ____ true for me. There is an immense (强烈的) sense of speed in New York. Everyone ___ to and fro, and very seldom takes time to ____ the moment. This is very different from the Australian lifestyle. Australians are laid back. Even in a major city like Sydney, we “Aussies” take time to “stop and smell the roses”—very different from our American counterparts.
Navigating (驾驭) the culture divide between Australia and the US was challenging at times. But I took up that ____ and learned a lot from it. It was an adventure.
A．heart B．city C．center D．suburbs
A．cultural B．commercial C．economic D．scientific
A．home town B．departure C．location D．destination
A．how B．why C．however D．where
A．big B．modern C．small D．fashionable
A．travel B．survive C．live D．serve
A．happened B．seemed C．proved D．managed
A．brought B．ordered C．designed D．fetched
A．laughter B．pleasure C．shock D．embarrassment
A．prefer B．notice C．tell D．appreciate
A．serving B．tipping C．donating D．toasting
A．unless B．if C．when D．since
A．rarely B．mostly C．almost D．hardly
A．try B．wait C．think D．expect
A．like B．along C．for D．in
A．So B．Therefore C．However D．But
A．come B．become C．turn D．get
A．walks B．drives C．wanders D．rushes
A．depend on B．reflect on C．spy on D．watch on
A．experience B．job C．challenge D．business
I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage(按揭)，credit cards, success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us ____ chasing the same thing.
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell ____. I found myself homeless and alone. I had my truck and $56. I ____ the countryside for some place I could rent for the ___ possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road ____ the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was ____， full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and ____ a corner to camp in.
The locals knew nothing about me, ____ slowly, they started teaching me the ____ of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began ____ around to chat. They started to teach me a belief in a ____ American Dream—not the one of individual achievement but of ____.
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were ____ for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place. ____ on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my ____ with my neighbors.
Four years later, I moved back into ____. I saw many people were having a really hard time, ____ their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to ___ a handful of people. There are four of us now in the house，but over time I've had nine people come in and move on to other places. We'd all be in ____ if we hadn't banded together.
The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about ____ we can all get by together.
A．separately B．equally C．violently D．naturally
A．off B．apart C．over D．out
A．crossed B．left C．toured D．searched
A．fullest B．largest C．fairest D．cheapest
A．at B．through C．over D．round
A．occupied B．abandoned C．emptied D．robbed
A．turned B．approached C．cleared D．cut
A．but B．although C．otherwise D．for
A．benefit B．lesson C．nature D．art
A．sticking B．looking C．swinging D．turning
A．wild B．real C．different D．remote
A．neighborliness B．happiness C．friendliness D．kindness
A．unique B．expensive C．rare D．necessary
A．Up B．Down C．Deep D．Along
A．cooperation B．relationships C．satisfaction D．appointments
A．reality B．society C．town D．life
A．creating B．losing C．quitting D．offering
A．put in B．turn in C．take in D．get in
A．yards B．shelters C．camps D．cottages
A．when B．what C．whether D．how
I went to a group activity, “Sensitivity Sunday”， which was to make us more ___ the problems faced by disabled people. We were asked to “ ____ a disability” for several hours one Sunday. Some members，____ chose to use wheelchairs. Others wore soundblocking earplugs(耳塞)or blindfolds(眼罩)．
Just sitting in the wheelchair was a ___ experience. I had never considered before how ____ it would be to use one. As soon as I sat down, my ____ made the chair begin to roll. Its wheels were not ____. Then I wondered where to put my ____. It took me quite a while to get the metal footrest into ____. I took my first uneasy look at what was to be my only means of ____ for several hours. For disabled people, “adopting a wheelchair” is not a temporary(临时的) ____.
I tried to find a ____ position and thought it might be restful, ____ kind of nice, to be ____ around for a while. Looking around, I ____ I would have to handle the thing myself! My hands started to ache as I ___ the heavy metal wheels. I came to know that controlling the ____ of the wheelchair as not going to be a(n)____ task.
My wheelchair experiment was soon ___. It made a deep impression on me. A few hours of “disability” gave me only a taste of the ____， both physical and mental, that disabled people must overcome.
A．curious about B．interested in C．aware of D．careful with
A．cure B．prevent C．adopt D．analyze
A．instead B．strangely C．as usual D．like me
A．learning B．working C．satisfying D．relaxing
A．convenient B．awkward C．boring D．exciting
A．height B．force C．skill D．weight
A．locked B．repaired C．powered D．grasped
A．hands B．feet C．keys D．handles
A．place B．action C．play D．effect
A．operation B．communication C．transportation D．production
A．exploration B．education C．experiment D．entertainment
A．flexible B．safe C．starting D．comfortable
A．yet B．just C．still D．even
A．shown B．pushed C．driven D．guided
A．realized B．suggested C．agreed D．admitted
A．lifted B．turned C．pressed D．seized
A．path B．position C．direction D．way
A．easy B．heavy C．major D．extra
A．forgotten B．repeated C．conducted D．finished
A．weaknesses B．challenges C．anxieties D．illnesses
It was January 25th, 2008: Nisha and Akshaye's ____ anniversary. But things had changed since their marriage. The couple ____ about small things. Yet they still loved each other.
Nisha thought her husband might have ___ about their anniversary. When door bell rang, Nisha was ____ happy that Akshaye had finally remembered. She ran to open the door. Indeed, Akshaye was standing outside and ____ a bunch of flowers. They started to have a(n) ____ night. But then the phone started ringing. Nisha went to ____ it up. There was a man on the other ____ of the phone. “Hello, madam. I am calling from the ____ station. Is this Mr. Akshaye Malhotra's number？”
“Yes, it is.”
“There was an ___ , and a man died. We got your number from the man's ____. We need you to come here and ____ the body.”
Nisha's heart ____. “Whhhaat? B．..but my husband is here with me.”
“Sorry, madam, the accident took place at 3：00 pm.”
She had heard that the soul of the dead person would come to meet you before it ____. She ran to the sitting room. Akshaye was not there. Had something bad really happened? If she had been given ____ chance, she would have mended all her ____. She was about to lose her senses. ____ Akshaye came out of the bathroom, saying, “Dear, my wallet was ____ while I was ____ my way home this afternoon.”
Life might not give you a ____ chance. So never waste a moment when you have the chance to make up for your deeds.
A．marriage B．engagement C．divorce D．birth
A．talked B．argued C．quarreled D．agreed
A．remembered B．memorized C．reminded D．forgotten
A．friendly B．luckily C．surprisingly D．fortunately
A．giving B．holding C．carrying D．delivering
A．gentle B．romantic C．extraordinary D．normal
A．pick B．put C．get D．give
A．beginning B．end C．line D．call
A．post B．bus C．police D．railway
A．incident B．affair C．event D．accident
A．ID card B．passport C．license D．wallet
A．realize B．know C．achieve D．identify
A．sank B．drowned C．shocked D．beat
A．departed B．arrived C．appeared D．recovered
A．the other B．other C．another D．one
A．mistakes B．failure C．faults D．disadvantages
A．Suddenly B．Luckily C．Unfortunately D．Sadly
A．thrown B．stolen C．dropped D．attached
A．in B．on C．above D．over
A．nice B．third C．satisfied D．second
Run Away, Don't Delay
One night, my son was watching his big screen TV alone, and I decided to join him. He was watching a show____there were college students going to a gettogether in Washington DC, and____the thousands who gathered there to celebrate something. When they got there, they started becoming____in drinking, and doing drugs. I didn't want to watch it any more, so got up and went to bed.
About 330 a．m. I awoke, and lay there thinking about____， and a poem began forming in my mind, which began as, “____sin(something wrong)comes calling, or knocking at your door, run away, don't delay，____sin is like a magnet, and it will pull you down, run away, do not____.” As I lay there, there was music which____it, and I knew that there was no way I would remember it by____， so I got up and sat at the table, trying to____both the words and the music which came to me at the time.____the pattern was set, and I had the notes written down in my notebook, the____of the poem came to me as well.
When it got____I decided to sit down at the piano and began trying to play it. My family came into the sitting room and I told them about the song, and wanted to____it with them. They all liked it, and____several times that day, I sang it again, and played it again, trying to fix it in my____.
Later, I wanted to put the song on paper____just the little dots in my notebook indicating how high and how____to go. Not knowing how to do that, I____the song, and then sent it to my sister, Jennie, who had written many songs using her own poetry and music, and soon, here came the music and words all done up____. I was so glad.
A．that B．which C．in which D．for which
A．joining B．watching C．reporting D．encouraging
A．satisfied B．involved C．excited D．embarrassed
A．the tragedy B．the accident C．the mistake D．the program
A．Whenever B．However C．Wherever D．Whoever
A．for B．with C．thus D．otherwise
A．see B．stay C．care D．take
A．caught up with B．got on well with C．took part in D．came along with
A．now B．heart C．night D．morning
A．turn off B．write to C．put down D．look back
A．Since B．Once C．Before D．Because
A．style B．other C．rest D．part
A．light B．sunny C．well D．perfect
A．learn B．check C．share D．write
A．so B．such C．very D．too
A．dream B．heart C．life D．family
A．but for B．instead of C．other than D．as if
A．big B．far C．low D．sweet
A．recorded B．sang C．played D．printed
A．kindly B．carefully C．friendly D．nicely