1 . Have you ever had an embarrassing experience? Last week we asked readers to tell us about embarrassing experiences. We received thousands of letters! Here is a selection.
Tony: My most embarrassing experience happened when I had just left university. I had just started teaching in a Liverpool middle school. One morning my alarm clock didn’t ring. I woke up at half past eight and school began at nine. I quickly washed, dressed, jumped into my car and rushed to school. When I arrived, the students had already gone into class. I didn’t go to the office, but went straight into class. After two or three minutes the students began laughing, and I couldn’t understand why! Suddenly I looked down and understood. I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe!
Henry: The most embarrassing experience I’ve ever had happened two years ago. After seeing a film, my wife and I had lunch in our favorite restaurant in town. Then we decided to take a walk along the street. The street was very busy and we started holding hands. Suddenly my wife saw a dress that she liked in a shop window, and stopped. I started looking at some watches in the next window. After a minute or two I reached for my wife’s hand. There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped my face. I hadn’t taken my wife’s hand. I’d taken the hand of a complete stranger (陌生人)!
1. Tony arrived at school late that morning because ________.| A．he couldn’t find hid shoes | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．he washed and dressed slowly | D．his car went wrong on the way |
| A．wearing a wrong shoe | B．his alarm clock didn’t ring |
| C．looking down suddenly | D．rushing into the classroom |
| A．at the cinema | B．in the shop |
| C．at the restaurant | D．along the street |
| A．尖叫声 | B．笑声 | C．哭声 | D．呼救声 |
| A．slapped the woman in the face | B．took the hand of a complete stranger |
| C．heard his wife screaming in the street | D．knocked over some watches in the shops |
2 . I was blind, but I was ashamed of it if it was known. I refused to use a white stick and hated asking for help. After all, I was a teenage girl, and I could not bear people to look at me and think I was not like them. I must have been a terrible danger on the roads. Coming across me wandering through the traffic, motorists probably would have to stop rapidly on their brakes. Apart from that, there were all sorts of disasters that used to occur on the way to and from work.
One evening, I got off the bus about halfway home where I had to change buses, and as usual I ran into something. “I’m awfully sorry,” I said and stepped forward only to run into it again. When it happened a third time, I realized I had been apologizing to a lamppost (街灯柱). This was just one of the stupid things that constantly happened to me. So I carried on and found the bus stop, which was a request stop, where the bus wouldn’t stop unless passengers wanted to get on or off. No one else was there and I had to guess if the bus had arrived.
Generally in this situation, because I hated showing I was blind by asking for help, I tried to guess at the sound. Sometimes I would stop a big lorry and stand there feeling stupid as it drew away. In the end, I usually managed to swallow (吞下) my pride and ask someone at the stop for help.
But at this particular evening no one joined me at the stop; it seemed that everyone had suddenly decided not to travel by bus. Of course I heard plenty of buses pass, or I thought I did. But because I had given up stopping them for fear of making a fool of myself, I let them all go by. I stood there alone for half an hour without stopping one. Then I gave up. I decided to walk on to the next stop.
1. The girl refused to ask for help because she thought ________.| A．she might be recognized | B．asking for help looked silly |
| C．being found blind was embarrassing | D．she was normal and independent |
| A．began to run | B．hit a lamppost by accident |
| C．hit a person as usual | D．was caught by something |
| A．to find more buses there | B．to find people there |
| C．to find the bus by herself there | D．to find people more helpful there |
3 . Several years ago, I was teaching students when Charley entered into the classroom. What
One afternoon, we had a game, and Charley made a perfect start. Next was Bruce’s turn. Bruce was the least
By the semester’s end, we had all admired Charley for his
That afternoon before winter vacation, Charley walked to my desk and bent close to my ear, “My
As I grasped the
It was a dry leaf, the most valuable
| A．encouraged | B．impressed | C．touched | D．pleased |
| A．naturally | B．gradually | C．worriedly | D．curiously |
| A．teach | B．comfort | C．introduce | D．adjust |
| A．active | B．rude | C．important | D．educated |
| A．lucky | B．discouraged | C．reliable | D．fashionable |
| A．stretch | B．ignore | C．remember | D．make |
| A．knowledge | B．housework | C．fortune | D．information |
| A．give up | B．work out | C．subscribe to | D．hand in |
| A．limit | B．keep | C．distinguish | D．protect |
| A．shopping | B．drawing | C．measuring | D．packing |
| A．news | B．chance | C．gesture | D．direction |
| A．replaced | B．resisted | C．regained | D．repaired |
| A．precious | B．awkward | C．foolish | D．academic |
| A．intelligent | B．professional | C．experienced | D．outstanding |
| A．gift | B．lesson | C．moment | D．suggestion |
When Marco was a boy, he tried everything to get his father’s love and attention. He worked hard to earn exceptional marks and always tried to behave well. But he was so sensitive and shy that he always hid behind his hair, which he wore long around his face. To make it worse, Marco was naturally shorter than the other kids. This added to his already low self-confidence.
At 14, he and his younger sister Sandra moved in with their dad and his new wife. His father was busy and their communication was nonexistent. The only time his dad ever spoke to him was to be demanding or critical. He began to fear coming home from school every day, feeling desperately alone and isolated.
One day his father, tripped over Marco’s bike in the garage. The angry reaction left Marco in despair, thus crying out, “That’s it! I’m going to kill myself.”
“You don’t even have the guts!” replied his father.
For two days, all Marco could think of was wanting to die, but he didn’t want to prove his father was right. Angry and sad, Marco was stuck.
Two days later, his aunt called him. This seemed like a miracle. Aunt Ginette usually only called on his birthday. She said she had just seen some young teenagers participate in a public speaking contest and she thought about him. She told him she firmly believed he could perform on stage like those kids, since she had seen him do skits (幽默短剧) for the family at Christmas.
Marco was shocked. Him? In a public speaking contest, which was contrary to his shy personality? But Aunt Ginette was sure it was something he could do. Feeling her strong belief, Marco agreed.
All that winter, twice a week after dinner, he took three different buses in each direction for the three-hour round-trip to practice in the place where the competition would take place. Marco was taken by a feeling he never felt before. The hours and the obstacles no longer counted. The criticism from his father around his absence for after-dinner chores didn’t matter.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右：
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Four months later, the big night arrived.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With the championship, Marco’s new life started.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paul’s old clock was supposed to wake him up at six in the morning of August tenth, but, unfortunately, the hour hand stopped in the early hours again. Instead, Paul was awoken by the noisy breakfast-table talk of the Stephen brothers next door.
“Now. I’ve won the National Poetry Creative Award!” the older brother shouted loudly.
“You have to do the housework for the coming whole week!”
“Okay,” the younger responded unwillingly.
Paul rushed down the stairs of his apartment to the news kiosk (报刊亭) by the street in his pajamas. Among the crowd of the seven o’clock Los Angeles, he was unique, in a funny manner, like a clown escaped from a circus group. Despite that, he caught the eyes of nobody. He threw a few coins into the glass jar and then grabbed the newspaper from the old kiosk owner. His behavior didn’t frighten the old woman-he was the most loyal customer of her store for the past few years.
Paul liked to invent something, and he was fond of literature and had been dreaming of becoming an editor. He skimmed through the annual nomination (提名) on the front page of the newspaper, the brightness in his eyes turned less bright as he moved down the list of names, which eventually faded when he reached the end. He lifted his sight from the newspaper and started staring at the kiosk owner dully (无精打采地), an expression similar to that when he arrived. The old woman sighed-she was so accustomed to this lifeless look on his face but had prayed to see something new every August.
“Bad luck”, with this, Paul slid away rapidly. When approaching the corner of the street, he narrowly knocked down an old gentleman, the kiosk owner’s husband, Arthur, who once was a chief editor of a local famous magazine and now he was retired.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
After hearing what his wife said about Paul, Arthur decided to give him a hand.
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One morning of next year’s August, with the magazine he had edited in hand, Paul stood beside the news kiosk nervously to sell it.
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1. Why did the waiter refuse to serve the man any drink?
| A．The man was a taxi driver. |
| B．The man had had plenty of drink. |
| C．The man had never paid of the drink. |
| A．Unexpected. | B．Angry. | C．Afraid. |
| A．The front door. | B．The side door. | C．The back door. |
| A．The waiter called a policeman in the end. |
| B．The man asked the waiter to call a taxi for him. |
| C．The man thought he went to three different bars. |
7 . When my son, Mark, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy Christmas presents. The third Saturday in December Mark said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.
I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Mark picked up a basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. It took Mark over 45 minutes to choose his presents. Finally he came to the checkout counter and reached into his pocket for his money. It was not there! There was a hole in his pocket, but no money. Mark stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.
Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Mark and took him in her arms. “You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you,” said the woman. “It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask that one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, 1 know you will feel as good about it as I do now.”
Mark took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Mark enjoyed giving them to us.
I would like to say “thank you” to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Mark went house to house collecting blankets and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Mark will never forget to keep passing it on.
1. When did the story probably happen?| A．On Christmas Day. | B．Before Christmas Day, |
| C．On New Year’s Day. | D．After New Year’s Day. |
| A．His gifts were stolen. | B．He broke his basket. |
| C．He lost his money. | D．He lost his way. |
| A．Because she bought Mark a nice present. |
| B．Because she always paid money for others. |
| C．Because she collected clothes for the homeless. |
| D．Because she taught Mark to help people in need. |
| A．A big supermarket | B．A kind woman |
| C．A happy family | D．A wonderful gift |
Anniversary (纪念日) trips were a tradition nearly as old as our marriage. Each year, we took turns planning a secret trip. After our daughter Aurora was born, she came on our adventures too. We’d stayed in a historic train car in Livingston, the Ghost Rails Inn in Montana, and Chena Hot Springs in Alaska. But this anniversary required someplace special. Somewhere completely unexpected. Could we still get a surprise during our anniversary trip?
The pressure was on—and I found the perfect spot: The Shire of Montana. It was a J.R. R. Tolkien -inspired guest home, a “hobbit house (霍比特小屋)” built into a hillside near the small town of Trout Creek, a 7-hour drive from our place in Roundup. Jim and I had often talked about how fun it would be to build a hobbit house, so I knew Aurora would be excited. And she would love it, too.
Magical structures dotted the grounds—a troll mine, a wishing well, houses for dwarves (矮人) and fairies. What child wouldn’t be attracted to a village made for childsize hobbits? This was going to be the best trip yet. She might love The Shire even more than we did.
I was about to book our reservation when I saw a note on the Shire’s website: No kids allowed. That ruined everything! We couldn’t leave Aurora alone at home, and I had no Plan B. A year without an anniversary adventure was unthinkable. Could it be the big surprise for this anni-versary trip? Shall we find another destination? Were there any other places like the village made for childsize hobbits? No, No, No…All answers were the same.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
To my amazement, there was an email address on the site.
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The day finally arrived when my application was approved.
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9 . For as long as she can remember, 13-year-old Lila Hoffa has struggled to express herself in writing. Her handwriting is sometimes
“Mrs. Holmgren realized that there was something more going on than just the
“This was a/an
If Holmgren were standing in front of Lila today, this is what Lila would say, “Thank you for noticing my
| A．messy | B．pretty | C．wonderful | D．complete |
| A．rose | B．spoon | C．pen | D．candle |
| A．tell | B．remember | C．support | D．notice |
| A．changed | B．disappeared | C．arose | D．spotted |
| A．official | B．typical | C．effective | D．natural |
| A．stare at | B．set down | C．quarrel about | D．figure out |
| A．recalled | B．proved | C．doubted | D．hesitated |
| A．notebook | B．calculator | C．computer | D．handbag |
| A．gradually | B．instantly | C．absolutely | D．definitely |
| A．annoying | B．frightening | C．amusing | D．overwhelming |
| A．confused | B．pointed | C．repaired | D．stuck |
| A．paper | B．desk | C．floor | D．stage |
| A．offered | B．bought | C．wrote | D．hidden |
| A．hit | B．secret | C．joke | D．magic |
| A．secret | B．shame | C．history | D．potential |
10 . Orla Walsh was not exactly an example of good health. Back in 2014, the 25-year-old then was fully occupied with her work and graduate study in Dublin, mostly eating on the go. “I was feeding on quick, easy food like sandwiches,” she said. “I stayed up a lot and the gym was a foreign concept for me for I did not work out at all.”
That changed the following year when Walsh needed a convenient, reliable and budget-friendly way to get to and from class. “Driving was expensive, and public transportation in the Irish capital left much to be desired,” she said. She turned instead to cycling.
At first, Walsh was doubtful. “I didn’t want to wear the same suits like other riders because it looked strange for me,” she joked. But as soon as she gave it a go, she was spellbound. The six miles she had to cover on her commute (上下班往返) each way didn’t seem like so much. “I can’t believe how quick and easy that was,” Walsh said. “The more I cycled, the easier it got, and I started getting faster. I think what I enjoyed the most was the freedom the bike gave me.”
In early 2016, she took the next step and joined a local cycling club, where she took part in long group rides. But something incredible was happening at the same time. As her weekly mileage (里程数) increased, her unhealthy habits fell by the wayside. She cleaned up her diet and cut back on burning the midnight oil. “I gradually got rid of that bad habit after joining in training,” she said.
Then, thanks to the encouragement of other club members, she tried open road racing. At first, she was overwhelmed by the competition, getting dropped by other members on every climb. Yet she kept pushing and viewing the failures as learning experience. “I was enjoying the challenges and was more confident,” she said.
1. Which of the following can best describe Walsh’s lifestyle in 2014?| A．Simple. | B．Decent. | C．Fashionable. | D．Unhealthy. |
| A．Poor means of transportation. | B．Her wish to break bad habits. |
| C．Her curiosity about cycling. | D．Club members’ encouragement. |
| A．Threatened. | B．Bored. | C．Fascinated. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．By inspiring her to realize her dream. |
| B．By teaching her to brave challenges. |
| C．By encouraging her to be competitive. |
| D．By pushing her to connect with others. |
