At the edge of a forest, stood a big tree. Its branches spread out majestically (庄严地) and so did its roots. It people from the sun under its shady leaves, and provided to countless birds and other small creatures in its branches. It was very excited with activity all the time.
At the foot of the tree grew a little plant. The plant was tall, thin, graceful and easily , and tended to fall over at the of the slightest wind.
One day, the two neighbours were having a little chat.
“ Well, little one, ” said the tree to the plant, “ Why do you not plant your feet deeply in the ground, and raise your head in the air as I do?”
“ I see no need to do so,” the plant with a smile. “ , I think I may be safer this way.”
“ Safer!” sneered (讥讽) the tree. “ Are you that you’re safer than I am? Do you know how deep my roots are , how thick and strong my trunk is? two men hold hands they would not be able to surround my trunk. Who could possibly pull me out by the roots or my head to the ground?”
And the tree turned away from the plant in .
But the tree was to its words very soon. One evening a great hurricane in the region. It threw the trees off their roots and almost completely destroyed the forest. It uprooted the tree and it away with great force.
When the storm had passed, the villagers living nearby the damage. Strong trees that had once almost touched the sky, were now reduced to stumps (残根）or . The dead animals were found everywhere in the .
But there was one . The little plant. The plant had been moved from side to side under the hurricane, and bent completely. But when the hurricane ended, it sighed and stood upright again.
No trace remained of its powerful neighbour .
A．hide B．protect C．prevent D．defend
A．shade B．food C．shelter D．space
A．broken B．destroyed C．grown D．planted
A．reach B．blow C．touch D．knock
A．bravely B．straightly C．gratefully D．delightedly
A．explained B．shouted C．said D．whispered
A．Gradually B．Actually C．Generally D．Finally
A．concluding B．finding C．guessing D．suggesting
A．placed B．hidden C．buried D．planted
A．Even if B．Although C．Because D．When
A．put B．bow C．lead D．get
A．anger B．surprise C．belief D．relief
A．keep B．regret C．break D．follow
A．blew B．arrived C．arose D．appeared
A．turned B．pushed C．threw D．blew
A．counted B．saw C．observed D．surveyed
A．worse B．more C．less D．better
A．tree B．forest C．plant D．plain
A．plant B．example C．exception D．tree
A．then B．finally C．gradually D．Though
“Daily Star, sir” called Jason, carrying some newspapers under his arm. The little boy had been running up and down the street, but there were still twenty ___left. His voice was almost gone and his heart was ___. The shops would soon close, and all the people would go home. He would have to go home too, carrying the papers ___ money. He had hoped to sell more papers tonight to make more money to buy a ___ for his mother and some seeds for his bird. That was why he had bought the papers with all his money. He ___ as he thought of his failure to sell all his papers.
“You don’t know the ___ of selling papers. You must shout, “Hot news! Bomb bursting!” another newsboy Chad told Jason. “___ it’s not in the paper at all,” replied Jason. “Just run away quickly ____ they have time to see, and you’ll ___ out and get your money,” Chad said.
It was a new ___to Jason. He thought of his bird with no ___ and the cake he wanted to buy for his mother, but was ___ that he would not tell a lie. Though he was ___ a poor newsboy, he had been ___ some good things.
The next afternoon Jason went to the office for his papers ___. Several boys were crowding around Chad, who declared with a ___ smile that he sold six dozen the day before. He added that Jason___money because he would not tell a lie. The boy ___ at Jason. “You wouldn’t tell a lie yesterday, my boy?” A gentleman at the office came up and patted Jason’s shoulder___.”You’re just the boy I am looking for.” A week later Jason started his new ___. He lost sale of twenty papers because he would not tell a lie, but got a well-paid job because he told the truth.
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A Welcome Gift
Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud filled the room and made them feel very happy.
The next morning, , their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a under their door during the night. One of their neighbor had written to complain(抱怨) about the sound of the piano. Dario’s mother asked the building superintendent(管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all people and he couldn’t imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their and apologize for their playing.
“Maybe we could go and everyone in person.” his mother said.
“What if we invited them to come here for a instead? Dario asked.
They both loved the . Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers(彩带) and party lights.
Finally, the day of the party . Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to . One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, Dario’s mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.
“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don’t think I disliked the playing.”
Dario’s mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we you an apology.” she said. “I didn’t __ how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.
“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such __ music.”
“These songs are beautiful music.” Dario’s mother said. “We will be __ to play them in the evening.”
“And we won’t play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to __ the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother’s face. It gave him a feeling of __ and made him feel that they were home at last.
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Since finishing my studies at Harvard and Oxford. I’ve watched one friend after another land high-ranking, high-paying Wall Street jobs. As executives(高级管理人员) with banks, consulting firms, established law firms, and major corporations, many are now on their way to impressive careers. By society’s , they seem to have it made.
On the surface, these people seem to be very lucky in life. As they left student life behind, many had a drink at their cheap but friendly local bar, shook hands with Longtime roommates, and out of small apartments into high buildings. They made reservations at restaurants where the cost of a bottle of wine a college year’s monthly rent. They replaced their beloved old car with expensive new sports cars.
The thing is, a number of them have that despite their success, they aren’t happy. Some of unfriendly coworkers and feel sad for eight-hour workweeks devoted to tasks they . Some do not respect the companies they work for and talk of feeling tired and __ . However, instead of devoting themselves to their work, they find themselves working to support the __ to which they have so quickly become ____ .
People often speak of trying a more satisfying path, and the end the idea of leaving, their jobs to work for something they or finding a position that would give them more time with their families almost always leads them to the same conclusion; it’ s . They have loans, bills, a mortgage（抵押贷款）to , retirement to save for. They recognize there’s something ___ in their lives, but it’s __ to step off the track.
In a society that tends to __ everything in terms of dollars and cents, we learn form a young age to consider the costs of our __ in financial terms. But what about the personal and social costs __ in pursuing money over meaning? These are exactly the kinds of us tend to ignore — and the very ones we need to consider most.
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I was required to read one of Bernie Siegel’s books in college and was hooked on his positivity from that moment on. The stories of his unconventional _____ and the exceptional patients he wrote about were so _____to me and had such a big _____ on how I saw life from then on. Who knew that so many years later I would look to Dr. Bernie and his CDs again to _____ my own cancer experience?
I’m an ambitious _____, and when I started going through chemo (化疗) , even though I’m a very _____ person, I lost my drive to write. I was just too tired and not in the _____ . One day, while waiting to go in for ____, I had one of Dr. Bernie’s books in my hand. Another patient _____what I was reading and struck up a conversation with me ____ he had one of his books with him as well. It ____that among other things, he was an eighty-year-old writer. He was____ a published author, and he was currently ____ on a new book.
We would see each other at various times and ____ friends. Sometimes he wore a duck hat, and I would tell myself, he was definitely a(n) ____of Dr. Bernie. He really put a ___on my face. He unfortunately ____ last year due to his cancer, ___he left a deep impression on me and gave me the ___to pick up my pen again. I ___ to myself, “If he can do it, then so can I.”
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完形填空(共20小题;每小题1分，满分20分)
War started in our house in late July with a month to go before my first day of college. It was a battle of wills over what college I was to attend. Mom wanted me to attend a famous school, and I wanted to go to a small writing college. Every night for two weeks, we argued, shouted and gave treatments until both sides went to bed with regrets.
It was mostly my . Since my junior year of high school, I had at being a nurse. I took all the science courses, and even worked as a in my town’s local hospital. My was to help the sick and be superwoman to the world.
Yet, graduation and college neared, it all changed. Treating the sick was , but not what I was meant to do for the of my life. I could picture myself in hospitals, making rounds, and taking , but I couldn’t picture myself happy. It wasn’t the I wanted.
Then, I realized I had been creating and writing stories for as long as I could . I loved it, and writing was what I had been doing as a . It was going to be my career. And it had to be.
On August 1st, Mom and I sat down at the dinner table and I told her that she had every to choose where to spend her money, just like I had every right to decide where I wanted to go to school. If it was her choice not to any of my college education, then I would take a year off to work and earn money so I could go to the college I wanted.
Standing by my decision to be a writer had my firm belief to my mom. Finally we were at , and she decided to support me, which the world to me.
Before that time, I had never stood up my parents on any major decision. Choosing which college to attend me to become a separate and complete adult. I am now finished with my first semester as a Professional Writing major and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
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