Christmas is a time when everyone is expected to be joyful. Most pe
ople try to put on their best smiles to give the impression that they are really happy, when they have little children who believe in the magic of Christmas. They believe that Santa will come down the chimney with gifts for them.
But Christmas or not, life goes on. Good things happen not-so-good ones. It on Christmas of 2009. I woke up early and gathered my children and husband to sit down by the Christmas tree to open the gifts. The kids were .
After the ceremony, I decided to my emails to see if I had mail from my overseas. The only email I had was from my sister, but I was not for the news I was about to receive. She said that she had been diagnosed with a terminal and that she had little time to live. I tried to speak, but 
failed me. I was terribly.
My husband realized something was wrong. After to find the right words, I said to him: “How do you deal with grief on Christmas morning?” The in my heart was so great, and the memory of that Christmas morning remains in my mind. And five months later she .
After that, every Christmas morning me of her death. In the following years I didn’t want to Christmas because it reminded me that I couldn’t call her to her a merry Christmas. Now, I hav
e tried to turn Christmas morning into a memorial of the good we had together, and every Christmas morning I set aside a moment to honor her.
A．especially B．frequently C．fortunately D．finally
A．familiar B．funny C．generous D．boring
A．as well as B．other than C．instead of D．except for
A．applied B．meant C．continued D．happened
A．disappointed B．excited C．angry D．frightened
A．check B．change C．receive D．cover
A．class B．community C．school D．family
A．grateful B．prepared C．celebrated D．eager
A．trouble B．fear C．burden D．disease
A．words B．messages C．expressions D．ideas
A．falling B．shaking C．standing D．striking
A．whispering B．struggling C．battling D．requiring
A．confidently B．honestly C．politely D．softly
A．pain B．shame C．emotion D．doubt
A．cautious B．limited C．vivid D．cruel
A．passed away B．gave away C．turned away D．carried away
A．informed B．convinced C．reminded D．accused
A．report B．celebrate C．describe D．imagine
A．bother B．demand C．wish D．declare
A．lessons B．discussions C．manners D．times
There is a story about a school teacher named Mrs. Thompson. Standing in front of her 36grade class on the first day of school, she told the children a lie. She said she 37them all. But that was 38, because there was a little boy called Teddy, whom she didn’t like at all.
Mrs. Thompson was 39 that he didn’t play well with other children, that his clothes were40and that he always needed a bath. 41 , when she received his records, she got a real 42 .
Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a smart child with ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners.”
His second grade 43 wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a deadly illness and life at home44 be a struggle.”
His third teacher wrote, “ His mother’s death has been 45to him.”
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was 46 herself. She felt even worse when students47 her beautiful C
hristmas presents, except for Teddy’s ---- a 48that was one quarter full perfume（香水）.
After the children left she 49for at least an hour.
Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the 50 children in the class. Six years went by when she got a letter from Teddy,51that he had finished high school.
There followed another letter years later. Teddy52 Mrs. Thompson to attend his wedding and asked53she could sit in the place usually kept for the54of the groom.
Teddy 55in Mrs. Thompson’s ear, “Thank you for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important”
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back saying “Teddy, you are wrong. In fact, I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”
.
A．5th B．1st C．3rd D．2nd
A．praised B．loved C．punished D．treated
A．ridiculous B．unimportant C．disappointed D．impossible
A．known B．scolded C．told D．asked
A．clean B．funny C．dirty D．strange
A．However B．Therefore C．Besides D．Otherwise
A．fear B．problem C．surprise D．puzzle
A．classmate B．teacher C．friend D．leader
A．must B．might C．need D．have to
A．easy B．necessary C．fair D．hard
A．crazy about B．ashamed of C．worried about D．tired of
A．brought B．sold C．received D．afforded
A．box B．bag C．bottle D．pack
A．laughed B．sat C．cried D．walked
A．smartest B．tallest C．laziest D．worst
A．permitting B．telling C．praising D．regretting
A．encouraged B．invited C．frightened D．begged
A．when B．where C．why D．if
A．father B．aunt C．uncle D．mother
A．shouted B．acted C．waved D．whispered
Every morning a woman made some bread for members of her family and an extra piece for whoever needed it. She would always 36.the extra piece on the windowsill(窗台).
She 37.an old man came every day and took the extra piece without expressing his 38. . This went on day after day. The woman felt very 39.. In order to punish him, she decided to add 40.to the bread she 41.for him! As she was about to place it on the windowsill, she 42.and gave up eventually. Immediately, she prepared another one and put it on the sill. 43., the man came that day, picked up the bread and left, totally 44.of the anger in the heart of the woman.
That evening, there was a 45.on the door. As she opened it, she was 46. to find her son standing in the doorway. He had gone to a distant place to 47. his fortune. For many months she had heard no news of him.
Looking at his mother he said 48., “ Mom, it is truly 49.I’m here. My business50.so I had to beg for food on my way home. I would have died this morning, but just then an old man passed by. He was 51.enough to give me a piece of bread, and said, ‘ this is what I eat every day. Today, I shall give it to you, for your 52.is greater than mine!’ ”
As the mother 53. those words, her face turned pale. She54.the 
poisoned bread that she had made that morning. Had she not thrown it away, it would have been eaten by her own son and he would have 55.his life!
..
A．cut B．taste C．place D．sell
A．doubted B．noticed C．hoped D．worried
A．appreciation B．concern C．regret D．sympathy
A．strange B．sad C．satisfied D．angry
A．sugar B．salt C．poison D．milk
A．cared B．applied C．prepared D．begged
A．agreed B．hesitated C．accepted D．understood
A．As usual B．On the way C．As a result D．On the other hand
A．message B．key C．knife D．knock
A．curious B．surprised C．nervous D．disappointed
A．assess B．spend C．seek D．bring
A．cheerfully B．carefully C．proudly D．weakly
A．normal B．amazing C．terrible D．necessary
A．failed B．succeeded C．grew D．continued
A．unique B．smart C．kind D．mean
A．strength B．job C．help D．need
A．said B．wrote C．read D．heard
A．threw B．remembered C．kept D．discovered
A．lost B．saved C．started D．built
完形填空 (共15小题；每小题1分，共15分)
On a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the lake behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out of the 36 door, leaving behind his shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.
He 37 into the water, not realizing that as he swam to the middle of the lake, a(n) 38 was swimming toward the 39 . His mother in the house saw the two. Full of 40 , she ran toward the water, screaming at her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became 41 and made a U-turn to swim hurriedly to his mother. But it was too late. Just as he reached her, the crocodile 42 him. The mother grabbed her little boy by the 43 just as the crocodile seized his legs.
The crocodile was 44 stronger than the mother; but the mother was much too 45 to pull her son back. A farmer heard the 46 , raced from his truck, took aim and shot the crocodile.
Remarkably, a few weeks later, the little boy 47 . His legs were extremely scarred by the attack of the animal. 48 , on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh(肉体) in her 49 to hang on to the son she loved.
The newspaper reporter, who 50 the boy after the accident, asked if he would show him his scars（疤痕）: The boy, with obvious 51 , said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom would not let go.”
You and I can 52 with that little boy. We have scars, too. Not from a crocodile, but the scars of a painful 53 . some of those scars are ugly and have 54 us deep regret. But , some wounds, my friend, are because our relatives have 55 to let go. In the course of your struggle, they have been there holding on to you.
A．back B．front C．open D．closed
A．swam B．flew C．went D．drived
A．child B．fish C．animal D．crocodile
A．shore B．centre C．middle D．lake
A．shock B．surprise C．fear D．joy
A．realized B．alarmed C．cleared D．pleased
A．hold B．arrived C．closed D．reached
A．body B．head C．arms D．hands
A．less B．much C．little D．few
A．hurried B．worried D．anxious
A．screams B．shouts C．voices D．sound
A．lived B．saved C．rescued D．survived
A．And B．Therefore C．But D．However
A．force B．power C．effort D．strength
A．asked B．interviewed C．questioned D．reported
A．regret B．pride C．joy D．worry
A．agree B．disagree C．admire D．respect
A．past B．future C．memory D．reminder
A．kept B．made C．left D．led
A．accepted B．delayed C．denied D．refused
A snake handler who cheated death after being badly bitten by a snake is now teaching Australians how to 36in the case．Neville-Burns has been bitten twelve times during his long work with snakes, and uses all his 37to give lectures to people at risk of meeting a snake 38.
Australia is home to most of the world's most deadly snakes．So Neville 39the people how to deal with such close unexpected meetings．．He sets up an enclosed area, and one by one, brings out four snakes so people can know the 40of each snake．First out of the bag is a Red Black Snake．He 41 put his finger on it．That's 42 the entire forefinger on his right hand was 43after he was bitten．But that wasn't his 44experience．-When he was 18? a Brown Snake he had been holding by the tail 45and bit him in the face．He was rushed to46 and he was saved from death．
He says a Cobra Snake is perhaps very 47 but not the most venomous（有毒的）． A black Manba Snake, one of the most 48 , is the longest venomous snake in the world．A Brown Snake is the final49 at Neville's show．It is one of the most common snakes in Australia, and is the second most venomous in the world．Several times during the 50it bits the bag; which Neville 51in front of it．
Neville's advice is to stay 52if a snake is nearby, as most will only 53if they feel threatened．He tells people to be 54but not to pick one 'up by the tail．He then does exactly that as part of his show．He also says he 55believes in the old saying "once bitten, twice shy"．
.．
A．survive B．move C．train D．meet
A．money B．condition C．experience D．time
A．luckily B．unexpectedly C．attentively D．finally
A．asks B．persuades C．teaches D．permits
A．skills B．characteristics C．weight D．length
A．needn't B．shouldn't C．daren't D．wouldn't
A．how B．whether C．when D．because
A．cut off B．got down C．put away D．handed out
A．best B．greatest C．worst D．happiest
A．turned B．smelt C．woke D．fled
A．office B．hospital C．school D．house
A．safe B．puzzled C．gentle D．dangerous
A．deadly B．friendly C．careful D．ashamed
A．visitor B．guest C．listener D．cook
A．report B．show C．conversation D．week
A．owns B．carries C．waves D．needs
A．noisy B．excited C．warm D．still
A．disappear B．attack C．flee D．play
A．brave B．kind C．distant D．good
A．usually B．always C．never D．sometimes
Dad taught me a lot about life, especially its hard times. I remembered one of his ___21___ one night when I was ready to ___22___ a political campaign I was losing, and wrote about it in my diary.
Tired, feeling the months of ___23___ in vain, I went up to my study to make some notes. I was looking for a pencil in the back of my desk drawer ___24___ I turned up one of Dad’s old business cards that he was proud of: Andrea Cuomo Italian-American Groceries --- Fine Imported Products. Then I thought about how he ___25___ with difficult situations. A lot of pictures ___26___ into my mind, but one scene came sharply into ___27___.
We had just moved to Holliswood, New York. We had our own house for the first time; it had some land around it, even trees. One, ___28___, was a great blue spruce (云杉) that must have been 40 feet tall.
Less than a week after we moved in, there was a terrible storm. We came home from the store that night to find the spruce pulled almost ___29___ from the ground and thrown onto the street. When my brother Frankie and I saw the spruce, our hearts ___30___. But not Dad’s.
The rain was falling. Then he ___31___ , “Ok, we’re going to push him up!” “ What are you talking about, Dad? The ___32___ are out of the ground!” “ Shut up, we’re going to push him up, he’s going to grow again.” We couldn’t say ___33___ to him. So we ___34___ him into the house and got what rope ___35___ was and tied it around the top of the tree that lay on the street, and then he stood up by the house, ___36___ 
me pulling on the rope, and Frankie in the street in the rain, ___37___ to push up the great blue spruce. In no ___38___ at all, we had him standing up straight again! Dad ___39___ the stakes (桩) in the ground, tied the rope from the trunk to the stakes, and said, “ Don’t worry. He’s going to grow again…”
I looked at the card and wanted to cry. I ___40 ___ wait to get back into the campaign.
.
.
A．ideas B．lessons C．talks D．conversations
A．bury B．attempt C．trap D．quit
A．struggle B．operation C．performance D．application
A．as B．before C．while D．when
A．did B．occupied C．settled D．dealt
A．appeared B．bumped C．leapt D．burst
A．spot B．view C．scene D．site
A．in relief B．in need C．in particular D．in all
A．absolutely B．accidentally C．totally D．automatically
A．suffered B．carved C．sank D．infected
A．announced B．challenged C．barked D．distributed
A．trunks B．roots C．branches D．leaves
A．anything B．no C．nothing D．something
A．accompanied B．hiked C．joined D．followed
A．it B．that C．there D．this
A．along B．via C．by D．with
A．to help B．helped C．helping D．help
A．problem B．time C．way D．means
A．drove B．removed C．delivered D．dragged
A．needn’t B．wouldn’t C．shouldn’t D．couldn’t