阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A, B, C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of . Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some to the area.
Last summer, I found a tiny little in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either. We decided to let it growing until we could find out what it was.
Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to the weeds around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something . The sunflower had not where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big and grown under and around it to reach the .
That’s when I that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we to go and get what we need for growth.
We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the to achieve our goals. Like the , it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be of who and what we are, then the environment will begin to us. We will find a way to go under or any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.
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The birthrate in Europe has been in a steady decrease since the 1960s. European countries, realizing crisis is at hand, are providing great encouragement for parents to create more babies in the 21st century.
Affairs Ministry concluded last year that, ___65___ cash encouragement, some women just don’t want to be ___66___ holding the baby. “What we know is that it’s good for the ___67___ if men and women share the burden of having children, says Soren Kindlund, family policy adviser at the Swedish ministry. ___68___ Swedish parents can take their paid leave as they wish, men use a mere 12% of it; 60% of fathers do not take even a(n)___69___ day off work.
Experts fear that the tendency for women to use most of the parental leave could make employers___70___ to give young women the permanent jobs they need to qualify for paid maternity leave(产假). In January, Sweden decided to allow new fathers two months paid leave, with a warning: use it or___71___ it.
Kindlund admits that men are under ___72___ to stay at work, even though parental pay comes out of the public purse. “It’s not popular among bosses and perhaps with other men in the workplace,. “But it’s good for the father and for the child if they can ___73___ a relationship. ”
In Norway, a(n)___74___ policy has worked wonders. 70% of dads in Norway now take parental leave, and the birthrate of 1. 85 children per woman is one of the highest in Europe.
65. A. in spite of B. at the cost of C. in addition to D. due to
66. A. sent B. left C. caught D. seen
67. A. birthrate B. income C. health D. spirit
68. A. Just as B. Only if C. Even though D. Now that
69. A. one B. mere C. only D. single
70. A. willing B. reluctant C. likely D. unable
71. A. reserve B. misuse C. ignore D. lose
72. A. discussion B. attack C. control D. pressure
73. A. make out B. add up C. build up D. set aside
74. A. impersonal B. similar C. severe D. global
Adults are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practised in the meantime. A man who has not had an opportunity to go swimming for years can ___55___ swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after several decades and still ___56___ away. A mother who has not ___57___ the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or recite the story of Cinderella or Snow White.
One explanation is the law of over learning, which can be stated as following: ___58___ we have learned something, additional learning increases the ___59___ of time we will remember it.
In childhood, we usually continue to practise such skills as swimming, bicycle riding long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and ___60___ ourselves of poems such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star. We not only learn but ___61___.
The law of over learning explains why cramming(突击学习) for an examination, ___62___ it may result in a passing grade, is not a ___63___way to learn a school course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little over learning; ___64___, is usually a good investment toward the future.
55. A. only B. hardly C. still D. even
56. A. move B. drive C. travel D. ride
57. A. thought about B. cared for C. showed up D. brought up
58. A. Before B. Once C. Until D. Unless
59. A. accuracy B. unit C. limit D. length
60. A. remind B. inform C. warn D. recall
61. A. recite B. overlearn C. research D. improve
62. A. though B. so C. if D. after
63. A. convenient B. demanding C. satisfactory D. swift
64. A. at most B. by the way C. on the other hand D. in the end
Don’t Take the Fun Out of Youth Sports
When I joined a private football league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me. My coach(教练) said that I had lots of potential(潜力), and I became captain of my ___36___. That was before all the fun was taken out of ___37___.
At first, everyone on the team got ___38___ playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the ___39___ started. Some parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have ___40___one-on-one training, got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our ___41___. The coach was replaced.
The new coach, however, took all the fun out of the game. All we did during practice was ___42___. I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the ___43___. Of course, all teams run drills; they are ___44___. But we ran so much that, afterwards, we had trouble ___45___. Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercises ___46___ for 18-year-olds.
I was very thin ___47___ I started football, but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much, because I was afraid of being too ___48___ to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual ___49___.
Is all this pressure necessary? I ___50___ up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s ___51___, because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they ___52___ from the coach or their parents.
I continued playing football at school and ___53___ my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing ___54___ him, he told me I needed to relax because I looked nervous. After I ___55___ down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it’s a lot easier to do it well.
36. A. class B. club C. team D. board
37. A. playing B. living C. learning D. working
38. A. great B. equal C. right D. extra
39. A. business B. struggle C. attempt D. pressure
40. A. free B. private C. good D. basic
41. A. matches B. courses C. lessons D. programs
42. A. jump B. play C. run D. shoot
43. A. duty B. meeting C. operation D. training
44. A. necessary B. boring C. scientific D. practical
45. A. speaking B. moving C. sleeping D. breathing
46. A. used B. intended C. made D. described
47. A. till B. since C. before D. because
48. A. full B. tired C. lazy D. big
49. A. size B. share C. space D. state
50. A. gave B. kept C. ended D. picked
51. A. sad B. shameful C. silly D. serious
52. A. received B. suffered C. brought D. felt
53. A. reconsidered B. rediscovered C. reformed D. replaced
54. A. at B. by C. for D. around
55. A. fell B. stepped C. slowed D. calmed
Perhaps the most interesting person I have ever met is an Italian professor of philosophy who teaches at the University of Pisa. ___36___ I last met this man eight years ago, I have not forgotten his ___37___qualities. First of all, I respected his ___38___ to teaching. Because his lectures were always well-prepared and clearly delivered, students crowded into his classroom. His followers liked the fact that he ___39___ what he taught. Further more, he could be counted on to explain his ideas in an ___40___ way, introducing such aids(辅助) to ___41___ as oil paintings, music, and guest lectures. Once he ___42___ sang a song in class in order to make a point clear. ___43___, I admired the fact that he would talk to students outside the classroom or talk with them ___44___ the telephone. Drinking coffee in the cafe, he would easily make friends with students. Sometimes he would ___45___ a student to a game of chess(国际象棋). ___46___, he would join students groups to discuss a variety of ___47___: agriculture, diving and mathematics. Many young people visited him in his office for ___48___ on their studies; others came to his home for social evenings. Finally, I was ___49___ by his lively sense of humor(幽默). He believed that no lesson is a success ___50___, during it the students and the professor ___51___ at least one loud ___52___. Through his sense of humor, he made learning more ___53___ and more lasting. If it is ___54___ that life makes a wise man smile and a foolish man cry, ___55___ my friend is indeed a wise man.
36. A. Although B. When C. Even if D. Now that
37. A. basic B. special C. common D. particular
38. A. attention B. introduction C. relation D. devotion
39. A. insisted on B. talked about C. believed in D. agreed with
40. A. imaginative B. ordinary C. opposite D. open
41. A. listening B. understanding C. information D. discovery
42. A. also B. nearly C. even D. only
43. A. Later B. Secondly C. However D. Therefore
44. A. with B. by C. from D. on
45. A. invite B. lead C. prefer D. show
46. A. As a matter of fact B. Later on
C. Other times D. In general
47. A. questions B. subjects C. matters D. contents
48. A. support B. explanation C. experience D. advice
49. A. disturbed B. moved C. attracted D. defeated
50. A. for B. until C. since D. unless
51. A. hear B. suggest C. share D. demand
52. A. laugh B. cry C. shout D. question
53. A. helpful B. enjoyable C. practical D. useful
54. A. natural B. normal C. hopeful D. true
55. A. so B. for C. then D. yet
“My name’s Jim Shelley and I’m an addict(有瘾的人). . . ”
With these words I began to ___36___ the problem, the problem of my telephone addiction. I used to call people ___37___, from the moment I woke up to the time I went to sleep. I ___38___ to be phoned, I wanted to phone. Just one more call.
It started socially . It seemed ___39___, just a quick chat. Gradually though, the ___40___ got worse. Soon it was ___41___ use, until, finally, addiction.
And it began to affect(影响) my ___42___. During the day I would disappear for ___43___ call. If I couldn’t make a call, I spent the whole time waiting for the phone to ring. Getting more and more ___44___, in the end, I would ring someone, then someone else, ___45___ myself just one more call.
I was phoning people and ___46___ messages to make sure ___47___ calls would see me through the day. I used to arrive at friends
homes and before the door was closed, go straight for the phone with the ___48___ “Is it OK if I just use the phone. . . ?” At work, I became ___49___ when my fellow workers tried to ___50___ me from using the phone. And one day I hit my boss(with the phone). Finally, the police caught me ___51___ a phone box that had taken my last one pound coin, and I was ___52___ to see a psychiatrist(心理医生).
I haven’t ___53___ a phone in the house for three weeks now, and it’s several days ___54___ I used a phone box. I try not to watch TV because there are ___55___ people on it making phone calls. My name is Jim Shelley and I am an addict.
36. A. face B. find C. accept D. notice
37. A. now and then B. all the time C. at home D. at work
38. A. tried B. asked C. waited D. invited
39. A. polite B. important C. fine D. special
40. A. condition B. situation C. result D. effect
41. A. frequent B. regular C. unusual D. particular
42. A. friends B. study C. family D. work
43. A. a quick B. a secret C. an expected D. an extra
44. A. hopeful B. delighted C. frightened D. anxious
45. A. forcing B. telling C. giving D. limiting
46. A. leaving B. taking C. passing D. recording
47. A. long B. immediate C. enough D. surprising
48. A. saying B. demands C. wish D. words
49. A. careful B. mad C. determined D. helpless
50. A. save B. reduce C. protect D. stop
51. A. destroying B. using C. stealing D. emptying
52. A. offered B. guided C. ordered D. reminded
53. A. missed B. had C. received D. fixed
54. A. as B. when C. if D. since
55. A. always B. just C. more D. different