When my son unexpectedly volunteered for the Marines（美国海军陆战队）, I was busy writing my novels and giving little thought to the men and women in the army .
My son John Schaeffer, recently came home from the Middle East. He slowly appeared from a broken car. John all night from a base near Washington, he had landed the day before. He did not want me to him there. “I need time to myself,” my son said calling from Kuwait on the way home.
I gave my wife a head start. Mother son. “I was so worried,” Genie said. She pulled away to look up again and again to he was really there.
My wife gave me a great gift: alone with my boy. John was tired and lay on his bed. I lay down next to him and was grasping his hand the whole time. I just wanted to be certain that the nightmares I’d had about John being killed were .
I kept holding my son, the way I when he was two and came into our bed after a dream. I asked John if he’d rather sleep than talk, and he said there would be time for later.
With the over, under and around me came incredible tiredness. I slept with his voice dying away. It was the first good I’d had in months. I woke and John was asleep next to me. Sitting by his bed watching him breathe, I found myself praying and for all the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives of those who were not coming home. For the first time in my life, I was weeping for .
Before my son went to war I would never have shed tears for them. My son me. He taught me that our men and women in uniform are not the “ ”. They are our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. Sometimes shedding tears for strangers is a holy . Sometimes it’s all we can do.
A．angry B．alive C．frightened D．excited
A．drove B．was driving C．had driven D．would have driven
A．when B．where C．which D．who
A．meet B．congratulate C．permit D．accept
A．once B．when C．unless D．since
A．abandoned B．patted C．concluded D．embraced
A．make sure B．set down C．get across D．make sense
A．period B．chance C．time D．moment
A．expanded B．stretched C．extending D．spreading
A．facts B．truth C．proofs D．lies
A．used to B．ought to C．should D．must
A．happy B．cheerful C．scary D．dull
A．advice B．discussion C．talk D．sleep
A．chat B．worries C．meeting D．curiosity
A．conversation B．observation C．sleep D．difficulty
A．crying B．cursing C．screaming D．regretting
A．friends B．neighbors C．strangers D．soldiers
A．persuaded B．changed C．frightened D．accused
A．another B．other C．others D．one
A．function B．adventure C．duty D．shame
What kind of person becomes an addict? Someone 21 , with a lot of friends; or someone who is 22 from the rest, with only a few friends, or none at all? The 23 I am trying to make is that anyone can become an addict.
The only way that I 24 this out was by becoming an addict myself. I used to be a guy who was 25 in the popular crowd. Right before high school began, I started being 26 by most of my friends. I had never lived with the 27 that I had no friends, so I did almost anything to 28 the two good friends I still had. One of the things I did was 29 drugs for the first time. This was a big 30 from the way I lived when I was younger. I was a(n) 31 , and the last thing I thought I would get into was drugs. Drugs 32 me from being the best sports player I could be.
I 33 to smoke drugs after I entered high school because that was what my new "cool" friends were 34 . The next three years were filled with many 35 , I was arrested twice, and lost my license for two years. This made me sad and 36 .
I realized I could not live this way; I must stop the 37 of using drugs.
Since then, my 38 and actions have changed and so has my direction in life. I do see a future in water skiing. 39, I haven’t killed my chance in 40 . I know that I must keep a clear head first. Keep Coming Back. It works if you work it.
A．interesting B．anxious C．popular D．eager
A．free B．safe C．absent D．different
A．point B．sense C．subject D．promise
A．brought B．figured C．held D．kept
A．always B．seldom C．almost D．already
A．known B．attracted C．preferred D．rejected
A．doubt B．hope C．fear D．danger
A．meet B．keep C．leave D．move
A．collect B．buy C．try
A．chance B．change C．decision D．advance
A．doctor B．teenager C．amateur D．athlete
A．prevented B．protected C．discouraged D．sheltered
A．decided B．intended C．continued D．pretended
A．highs and lows B．pros and cons C．causes and effects D．days and nights
A．lonely B．afraid C．confused D．depressed
A．manner B．habit C．spread D．approach
A．position B．heart C．attitude D．speech
A．Virtually B．Hopefully C．Similarly D．Luckily
A． athletics B．acting C．academics D．promotion
It is interesting how NASA(美国航天航空局) chose their astronauts for landing them on the moon. They chose men 36 the ages of twenty and thirty-five. There were about fifty of them. Some were 37 air pilots, and 38 were scientists with two or three degrees. NASA telephoned each man they were going to choose, told him the plans and the 39 they might get into. They then asked him if he was willing to be trained as an astronaut, “How could any man 40 such an exciting job?” One of them said, “Dangerous? Of course. It’s dangerous 41 most exciting.”
The health and physical condition of the people was, 42 , very necessary. Only those in very good health and physical condition were 43 .
While being trained to be astronauts, they went through many 44 . They studied the star and the moon, and they also studied geology, the science of rocks. This was necessary 45 astronauts would have to look for rocks on the moon. They would try to find rocks which might help to tell the 46 of the moon. They were all 47 to fly in helicopters. There helicopters landed straight down to give them some 48 of the way the spaceship would actually land on the 49 . They were also taught the known facts about the 50 in space. They learnt about all the scientists and engineers who 51 spaceships. They visited the 52 where spaceships were repaired. They learnt how every 53 of a spaceship and its instruments work. They also learnt every detail of ground-control 54 .
In a word, to be chosen as astronaut, one must be in good 55 , well-informed in science and good at piloting.
A．at B．between C．of D．on
A．experienced B．old C．handsome D．retired
A．none B．few C．others D．both
A．dangers B．sadness C．reality D．protection
A．share B．treat C．offer D．refuse
A．but B．if C．though D．when
A．in all B．of course C．so far D．at last
A．noticed B．chosen C．praised D．examined
A．jobs B．places C．courses D．ways
A．so B．because C．as if D．even though
A．size B．scene C．age D．name
A．shown B．trained C．told D．allowed
A．advice B．experience C．surprise D．thought
A．water B．rock C．moon D．earth
A．secrets B．traditions C．theories D．conditions
A．drew B．developed C．designed D．discovered
A．offices B．shops C．colleges D．factories
A．part B．movement C．step D．body
A．method B．difficulty C．system D．trick
A．shape B．position C．order D．health
The Voice of America began during the World WarⅡ, when Germany was broadcasting a radio program to get international 36 . American officials believed they should 37 the German broadcast with words that they thought were the facts of world events. The first VOA news report began with words in 38 . “The 39 may be good or bad, but we shall tell you the truth.” Within a week, other VOA 40 were broadcasting in Italian, French and English.
After the World War Ⅱended in 1945, some Americans felt VOA’s 41 had to be changed, 42 the Soviet Union（苏联）became enemy of America. They wanted to 43 Soviet listeners. Then VOA began broadcasting in Russian.
In the early days VOA began adding something new to its Broadcast that was 44 “Music USA”. Another new idea came along in 1959. VOA knew that many listeners did not know _ 45 English to completely understand its 46 English broadcast. So VOA 47a simpler kind of English, 48 uses about 1,500 words and is spoken 49 . Of course, it is special English.
In the 50 of most VOA listeners, the most 51 program is the news report. News from around the world 52 into the VOA news room in Washington 24 hours a day. It comes from VOA reporters in 53 cities and also from other 54 like BBC. VOA writers and editors use these materials to 55 news reports, which are being broadcast in 43 languages.
A．business B．culture C．support D．information
A．reply B．answer C．join D．interrupt
A．time B．short C．English D．German
A．news B．problems C．effects D．opinions
A．programs B．news C．announcers D．officials
A．home B．position C．purpose D．result
A．if B．considering C．supposing D．in order that
A．reach B．satisfy C．attack D．support
A．known B．reported C．called D．printed
A．poor B．excellent C．standard D．enough
A．normal B．fast C．good D．exact
A．stopped B．discovered C．taught D．invited
A．it B．which C．who D．that
A．slowly B．rapidly C．normally D．loudly
A．please B．course C．opinion D．advice
A．difficult B．important C．various D．common
A．past B．send C．deliver D．fly
A．all B．major C．American D．news
A．broadcasts B．forms C．newspaper D．countries
A．broadcast B．announce C．translate D．prepare
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be 1 Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d 2 ?” Just when I started to 3 that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 4 at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of 5 that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn’t 6 . Somebody had thought enough of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 7 Christmas there special and memorable, I 8 remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 9 for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I 10a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 11 with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were special. Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 12 them that they couldn’t open their presents until every child had come forward. Finally the 13 they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 14 up the room. The 15 in the room was obvious, and it wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew from that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
A．sending B．receiving C．making D．exchanging
A．found B．prepared C．got D．expected
A．doubt B．hope C．suggest D．accept
A．broke in B．settled down C．turned up D．showed off
A．relief B．loss C．achievement D．justice
A．blamed B．loved C．forgotten D．affected
A．present B．first C．recent D．previous
A．hardly B．instantly C．regularly D．occasionally
A．strength B．independence C．importance D．safety
A．kept up with B．caught up with C．came up with D．put up with
A．none B．few C．some D．each
A．reminded B．guaranteed C．convinced D．promised
A．chance B．gift C．moment D．reward
A．lit B．took C．burned D．cheered
A．atmosphere B．sympathy C．calmness D．joy
One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods door to door found that he only had one dime left. He was hungry so he decided to 36a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve （勇气）when a lovely young woman opened the door. 37a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I 38 you?”
“You don’t owe me 39 ,” she replied. “My mother has taught me never to accept money for 40 of kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” As Howard Kelly left that house, he felt stronger 41 , but it also increased his faith in the human race.
Years later the young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled (被难住). They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists were called in to study her 42 disease. Dr Howard Kelly, now famous was 43 for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he immediately 44 from the chair and went down 45 the hospital hall towards her room.
46 his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room 47 to do his best to save her life. From that day on, he gave special attention to her case.After a long struggle, the 48 was won. Dr Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval . He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The 49 was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it because she was 50 that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the 51 of the bill 52 her attention. She read these words.Fix pay.“Paid 53 with a glass of milk.”Dr Howard Kelly Tears of joy ___54___ her eyes as she saw it. She was grateful 55 love could spread abroad through human hearts and hands.
A．pay for B．intend for C．seek for D．beg for
A．on top of B．instead of C．in addition to D．in spite of
A．own B．owe C．cost D．spend
A．nothing B．something C．everything D．anything
A．acts B．behavior C．sake D．benefit
A．mentally B．physically C．thoroughly D．intellectually
A．rare B．different C．infected D．casual
A．taken in B．come in C．called in D．sent in
A．raised B．rose C．stood D．aroused
A．cross B．over C．through D．beneath
A．With B．Wore C．Having on D．Dressed in
A．decided B．concluded C．determined . D．tried
A．battle B．game C．disease D．treatment
A．doctor B．bill C．approval D．patient
A．positive B．uncertain C．negative D．unsure
A．back B．front C．side D．page
A．paid B．fixed C．caught D．made
A．in turn B．in return C．in full D．in vain
A．flooded B．floated C．blew D．flew
A．what B．that C．which D．whose