My family suffered a lot three years ago when my father died in a car accident. It my mother, two younger brothers and me alone.
At that time, I was in a senior high school. As the eldest son, I had no choice but to of school and work in a factory. Life went on without any wonder. I dared not ask for more and just thought about my two brothers. However, it wasn’t easy, for I couldn’t their tuition (学费) even if I worked from day to nigh t without rest. I also had to look after my sick mother. I wanted to go back to school, but it seemed to be an impractical idea, since I needed to work to support my family.
A thread of appeared during those gloomy (阴暗的)days. It was a rainy dusk when I went outside into the rain and walked in the street. Suddenly the rain stopped! I raised my head, and found that “the sky” was in fact a dark blue umbrella. Then I heard a deep voice say, “Why not without an umbrella?” It was a one-legged man, “If you run, you won’t get so wet.” His words me deeply. Without my father’s protection, was I only a slave to fate﹙命运﹚?
While walking with him in the rain, I knew that his dream was once by an accident. He was glad that he didn’t lose and still “ran” on the road of life. Facing this guy, I had no pity, but admiration.
Inspired by his , I went to a city in the south and became an insurance representative. After two years’ “running”, I got somewhere and my family situation became better . I went back to school and eventually succeeded in being admitted to a university.
Everything is so simple: to run without an umbrella! When you run out of the season of your life, there will be a bright sky ahead of you.
A．left B．carried C．had D．forced
A．take out B．drop out C．make out D．jump out
A．bringing in B．taking away C．bringing up D．taking over
A．receive B．realize C．manage D．afford
A．chance B．need C．hope D．money
A．drive B．walk C．travel D．run
A．shocked B．puzzled C．discouraged D．hurt
A．burnt B．accepted C．ruined D．discovered
A．face B．heart C．sight D．control
A．images B．achievements C．signs D．remarks
A．simply B．gradually C．normally D．immediately
A．rainy B．cloudy C．sunny D．windy
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is 36 for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the sane 37 night after night. One would
38 them to know their parts by heart and 39 have cause to falter（结巴）.Yet 40 is not always the case.
A famous actor in a 41 successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat 42 had been imprisoned in Bastille for twenty years. In the last act，a gaoler（监狱长，看守）would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. 43 the noble was expected to read the letter at each 44 ,he always insisted that it should be written out in full.
One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke 45 his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the 46 of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed（使显露）the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then，the gaoler 47 with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the 48 and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in
49 as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly, 50 to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then，squinting（眯着眼看）his eves，he said,“The light is 51 .Read the letter to me.”And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler. 52 that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied，“The light is indeed dim，sir. I must get my 53 ”With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat’s 54 ，the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the 55 copy of the letter which he proceeded（继续进行）to read to the prisoner.
| 36．A. fortunate |
B. unfortunate |
C. happy |
D. unhappy |
| 37．A. lines |
B. words |
C. plays |
D. roles |
| 38．A. want |
B. ask |
C. expect |
D. wish |
| 39．A. always |
B. never |
C. sometimes |
D. often |
| 40．A. such |
B. the thing |
C. one |
D. this |
| 41．A. highly |
B. high |
C. poorly |
D. poor |
| 42．A. where |
B. what |
C. which |
D. who |
| 43．A. Because |
B. Even though |
C. When |
D. Though |
| 44．A. play |
B. performance |
C. role |
D. case |
| 45．A. with |
B. in |
C. on |
D. to |
| 46．A. pages |
B. joke |
C. lines |
D. contents |
| 47．A. appeared |
B. disappeared |
C. came out |
D. came in |
| 48．A. room |
B. cell |
C. stage |
D. office |
| 49．A. English |
B. French |
C. order |
D. full |
| 50．A. worded |
B. surprised |
C. anxious |
D. afraid |
| 51．A. bright |
B. dim |
C. dark |
D. out |
| 52．A. To see |
B. To find |
C. Seeing |
D. Finding |
| 53．A. glasses |
B. lines |
C. light |
D. letters |
| 54．A. surprise |
B. satisfaction |
C. anger |
D. amusement |
| 55．A. usual |
B. old |
C. unusual |
D. new |
We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book. Mum __36__ at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to __37__ down. While I watched __38__ open in surprise, Mum __39__ her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked __40__ to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop. She __41__ the mop past the desk and __42__ the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very __43__ floors.”
“Yes, I’m __44__ they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered. She looked at Mum __45__ and said, “But aren’t you working late?”
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe of the mop __46__ her farther and farther down the hall. I watched __47__ she was out of sight and the nurse had __48__ to writing in the big book.
After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were __49__. She quickly put the mop back and took my __50__. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “__51__.”
Outside, Mum told me: “Dogmas is __52__. No fever.”
“You saw her, Mum?”
“Of course. I told her about the hospital __53__, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop __54__ as well. It’s a fine hospital. But such __55__! A mop is no good. You need a brush.”
36. A. stared B. pointed C. came D. aimed
37. A. sit B. lie C. fall D. bend
38. A. eyes B. hands C. mouth D. arms
39. A. put on B. took off C. hung over D. threw away
40. A. bravely B. proudly C. poorly D. quietly
41. A. dragged B. pulled C. pushed D. rushed
42. A. as B. because C. after D. as soon as
43. A. pretty B. good C. cheap D. dirty
44. A. delighted B. surprised C. anxious D. disappointed
45. A. respectfully B. pitifully C. carefully D. strangely
46. A. taking B. fetching C. forcing D. advancing
47. A. whenB. while C. after D. until
48. A. turned back B. turned roundC. turned down D. turned into
49. A. nervous B. sad C. crying D. shining
50. A. clothes B. hat C. hand D. mop
51. A. Excuse me B. I’m sorry C. Good luck D. Thank you
52. A. ill B. betterC. well D. wrong
53. A. rules B. rights C. advice D. limits
54. A. visiting B. worrying C. smoking D. working
55. A. a hospital B. beds C. floors D. nurses
I am my mother’s third child. When I was born, her doctor gently explained to my mother that my left arm was 41, below the elbow (肘部). Then he gave her some 42. “Don’t treat her any 43from the other girls. Demand more.” And she 44.
My mother had to work to support our family. There were five girls in our family and we all had to 45. Once when I was about seven, I came out of the 46, “Mom, I can’t peel (削皮) potatoes. I only have one hand.”
“You get back to peel those potatoes, and don’t ever use that as a(n) 47for anything again!”
Of course I could peel potatoes with my good hand while holding them down with my other arm. There was always a 48, and Mom knew it. “If you try hard 49,” she’d say, “You can do anything.”
Once in the second grade, our teacher had each of us race across the monkey bars (高低杠). When it was my turn, I 50my head. Some kids 51. I went home crying.
After work the next afternoon, Mom took me to the school play-ground.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I practiced, and she 52me when I made progress.
I’ll never forget the 53time I was crossing the bars. The kids were standing there with their mouths open.
It was the way with everything. When I 54I can’t handle (处理) things, I see Mom’s smile again. She had the heart to 55anything. And she taught me I could, too.
41. A. missing B. broken C. diseased D. short
42. A. warning B. medicine C. help D. advice
43. A. badly B. differently C. well D. normally
44. A. did B. refused C. cried D. was
45. A. find out B. work out C. carry out D. help out
46. A. kitchen B. bedroom C. house D. school
47. A. idea B. change C. excuse D. tool
48. A. chance B. way C. time D. success
49. A. enough B. too C. again D. often
50. A. hurt B. nodded C. shook D. turned
51. A. cheered B. whispered C. joked D. laughed
52. A. helped B. raised C. praised D. protected
53. A. first B. last C. wondered D. next
54. A. admit B. fear C. find D. realize
55. A. face B. teach C. learn D. solve
Recently, one of my best friends, whom I've shared just about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the week end with me. Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we've both always ___1___ the few times a year when we can see each other.
.Over the ___2___, we spent hours and hours, staying up late into the night, talking about the people she was ___3__ around with. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he experimented with ___4___ and was into other ___5___ behavior. I was blown away! She told me how she had been ___6___ to her parents about where she was going and even sneaking out to see this guy because they didn't want her ___7___ him. No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she ___8__ better, she didn't believe me. Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared.
I tried to ___9___ her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble. I felt like I was getting ___10___. I just couldn't believe that she really thought it was ___11__ to hang with a bunch of losers, especially her boyfriend.
By the time she left, I was really worried about her and ___12___ by the experience. It had been so frustrating, I had come ___13___ to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to ___14___ our friendship - but I didn't. I put the power of ___15___ to the ultimate test. We'd been friends for far too long. The chance was that she ___16___ me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself. I wanted to believe that our friendship could ___17___ anything.
A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our ___18___, and then she told me that she had ___19___ with her boyfriend. I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the truly ___20___ moments in my life. Never had I been so proud of a friend.
1. A. worried about B. looked forward to C. paid attention to D. think of
2. A. weekend B. months C. years D. days
3. A. working B. falling in love C. hanging D. keeping in touch
4. A. books B. girls C. friends D. drugs
5. A. self-destructive B. self-respecting
C. self-confident D. self-defensive
6. A. explaining B. reasoning C. declaring D. lying
7. A. on B. beside C. around D. to
8. A. did B. deserved C. had D. got
9. A. told B. convince C. force D. warn
10. A. somewhere B. everywhere C. nowhere D. anywhere
11. A. acceptable B. believableC. reliable D. admirable
12. A. exhausted B. surprised C. satisfied D. terrified
13. A. almost B. nearly C. close D. over
14. A. stop B. continueC. start D. make
15. A. love B. friendship C. truth D. justice
16. A. thought B. remembered C. valued D. hated
17. A. mean B. conquer C. tell D. prove
18. A. friendship B. relationship C. quarrel D. conversation
19. A. broken away B. broken down C. broken up D. broken out
20. A. demanding B. challenging C. frustrating D. rewarding
I am serving in a company in Cheyenne. The work has been challenging, but the36are big, and I have been given a rise. The weather has been cold lately. 37 walking has been excellent exercise, I have realized that I need another form of 38for the winter.
My boyfriend Mike knew of this 39 and he researched some local sites for cheap cars. The minute he 40me the information about a 1978 Ford Fairmont, I 41this car was meant to be! I began communicating with the 42, a man named Dale Meyer. I found out that the car was bought by his grandfather and was still in good 43. He and his two brothers had44 learned to drive using this car.
We45 a price of $400, and fixed a time for a test drive. The day before the test drive, I received a phone call from Dale. He 46 a little nervous, but also excited. He asked simply, “You really 47this car, don’t you?”
“Of course. I couldn’t love it more,” I gave an enthusiastic 48. He then said to me, “How about me giving it to you for a dollar?” His offer left me49. At that time words50me.
I picked up my new Fairmont last night. Dale walked me around the car, 51 its bumps and nicks (磕磕碰碰). As he was telling me the 52of the car, it seemed that he was losing an old friend. As I was pulling 53 the driveway, he stopped me and said, “Don’t forget to pass this 54on.”
It was truly a 55end. Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.
36. A. presentsB. awardsC. honors D. rewards
37. A. BecauseB. AlthoughC. If D. When
38. A. entertainment B. pleasure C. transportationD. training
39. A. habitB. purpose C. goalD. desire
40. A. found B. sent C. asked D. taught
41. A. knewB. wondered C. doubted D. promised
42. A. producer B. ownerC. customerD. stranger
43. A. situation B. stateC. operationD. condition
44. A. slowly B. actually C. naturallyD. hardly
45. A. thought ofB. referred to C. settled on D. talked about
46. A. looked B. sounded C. feltD. behaved
47. A. like B. repairC. driveD. use
48. A. refusal B. description C. reply D. attitude
49. A. carelessB. lifelessC. motionlessD. speechless
50. A. leftB. failed C. forgotD. beat
51. A. searching B. checkingC. explaining D. touching
52. A. sufferings B. storiesC. materialsD. troubles
53. A. away fromB. intoC. by D. out of
54. A. carB. customC. kindness D. experience
55. A. sudden B. perfectC. foolish D. forced