1 . A Game of Light and Shade

It was a sunny day. I had gone up and down the tower when, outside the door at the foot, a blind man came toward me. In a moment, he disappeared up the stairs. I looked at the sign that said “To the Tower”, and decided to _______ him.

I caught up with him in the ticket office. There I was _______ to see the attendant (工作人员) selling him a ticket as if he were any other visitor. Then, with the ticket in one hand and _______ the wall with the fingers of the other, the blind man reached the stairs _________ to the hallway.

“That man is blind. What would a blind man climb up the tower for?” I said to the attendant, expecting him to show some _______, but he didn’t answer.

“Not the _______ certainly,” I said. “Perhaps he wants to _______.”

I bought a ticket and _______ up the stairs. The man hadn’t gone as far as I _______. A third of the way up the tower, I heard his ________. I slowed down and followed him at a little ________. He stopped from time to time. When he got to the balcony, I was a dozen steps ________. As I reached it, I saw him at the corner of the tower.

At last, after ten minutes, I ________ him. “Excuse me,” I said as politely as I could, “but I am curious to know ________ you came up.”

He smiled. “Coming up the stairs, you will notice how not just light but sun ________ into the tower through the narrow windows here and there, so that you can feel the ________ —the cool stairs suddenly become quite warm—and how up here behind the wall there is ________, but as soon as going opposite a window you can find the sun. There is no ________ so good as this for feeling the difference between light and shade. It is not the first time I’ve come up.”

The blind man seemed quite ________ just like a child who was enjoying his favorite games. He told me the truth that blind men can also find the beauty in life ________ they cannot enjoy the sights of the world.

1.

A．accept

B．follow

C．control

D．visit

2.

A．frightened

B．disappointed

C．surprised

D．embarrassed

3.

A．touching

B．climbing

C．hitting

D．covering

4.

A．pointing

B．attaching

C．contributing

D．leading

5.

A．respect

B．doubt

C．concern

D．sympathy

6.

A．view

B．test

C．prize

D．trick

7.

A．kick

B．jump

C．relax

D．escape

8.

A．struggled

B．explored

C．wandered

D．hurried

9.

A．promised

B．examined

C．imagined

D．confirmed

10.

A．steps

B．words

C．secrets

D．cheers

11.

A．standard

B．distance

C．expense

D．intention

12.

A．ahead

B．around

C．outside

D．behind

13.

A．recognized

B．surrounded

C．approached

D．witnessed

14.

A．why

B．how

C．when

D．whether

15.

A．knocks

B．pours

C．slides

D．bursts

16.

A．trend

B．reaction

C．change

D．honor

17.

A．light

B．space

C．mess

D．shade

18.

A．place

B．signal

C．object

D．period

19.

A．nervous

B．content

C．curious

D．patient

20.

A．unless

B．because

C．once

D．although

2 . “Are you going to the audition (试镜)?” Someone asked Connie, as we came out of ballet class.

“What audition?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing,” said Connie. “It’s for The Ed Sullivan Show. You wouldn’t be _______.”

The Ed Sullivan Show was a famous one-hour show on CBS. They constantly needed performers for their new shows. This time they were looking for six dancers to support the star performer Jimmy Durante.

“Why not? I’d love to go!” I _______.

Connie smiled at me and said, “I don’t think you are _______ yet, Eva.”

Later that night, I couldn’t fall asleep. It _______ me. Who said I shouldn’t go to the audition? Only because I was a young novice (新手)? How would I know if I didn’t try?

The next morning, I _______ I was going to the audition. I packed my dancing shoes, and put on bright red lipstick. As I looked at my _______ in the mirror, I saw one thing missing. I put on a smile.

I took the subway to the Eighth Avenue and walked to the rehearsal studio. I _______ and took my place nervously.

Connie and five of my other friends were there. “What are you doing here?” one asked.

I said simply, “Well, I have nothing to lose by _______.”

The look I got said, “Okay. _______.”

The audition began. All the other dancers had confident but expressions. I had a smile. ________

More and more dancers were knocked out. I was still there with my friends. Then we were asked to do a jeté en l’air ________: stand on one leg, kick the other one up and out as close to a split as possible, and then do a turn in the air. Hopefully, you’d land on both feet.

All the other candidates did the jeté beautifully. It was my turn. I took the preparatory step, and with that never-ending smile, I leaped up into the air, turned in mid-air and ________ flat on my back. But even then, the smile never ________ my face.

When everything settled down, my friends were instructed to go to the right. When I was told to go to the left, their faces told they felt ________ for me.

I picked up my belongings and prepared to leave when the choreographer called out to me, “Where are you going? You’ve got the ________if you want it.”

Did I want it? I certainly did. I thought I had been ________!

There were no jetés in the ________. I made my first appearance on national TV. I never stopped ________, and I always landed on my feet.

Had I not believed I could do it, and had I not tried, I would have ________ out on a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

It proved once again that a smile will get one ________ than a frown ever will.

1.

A．qualified

B．interested

C．available

D．suitable

2.

A．declared

B．complained

C．requested

D．suggested

3.

A．stable

B．flexible

C．ready

D．mature

4.

A．inspired

B．bothered

C．discouraged

D．shocked

5.

A．admitted

B．promised

C．confirmed

D．decided

6.

A．costume

B．shadow

C．reflection

D．reaction

7.

A．called in

B．signed in

C．logged in

D．joined in

8.

A．consulting

B．fighting

C．training

D．trying

9.

A．Whoever

B．Whatever

C．Wherever

D．Whenever

10.

A．delighted

B．proud

C．impatient

D．serious

11.

A．immediately

B．formally

C．gradually

D．individually

12.

A．landed

B．stayed

C．lay

D．hung

13.

A．approached

B．changed

C．left

D．covered

14.

A．puzzled

B．relieved

C．nervous

D．sorry

15.

A．job

B．gift

C．dance

D．reward

16.

A．dismissed

B．cheated

C．rejected

D．ignored

17.

A．show

B．contest

C．interview

D．play

18.

A．smiling

B．acting

C．laughing

D．leaping

19.

A．stood

B．taken

C．missed

D．come

20.

A．freer

B．further

C．faster

D．fitter

3 . A young businessman was traveling down a narrow street, driving a bit too fast in his new Benz. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and ___________when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, one child appeared, and a brick smashed into the Benz’s side door. He slammed on the brakes and ___________ the Benz back to the spot from ___________the brick had been thrown.

He jumped out of the car, ___________ some kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting “What was that all about and who are you? Just what on earth are you doing?” ___________ a head of steam, he went on “That’s a new car and that brick you threw is gonna cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?” “Please, mister, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do!” pleaded the youngster.

“It’s my brother,” he said. “He rolled ___________ the stairs and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t ___________ him up.”

_______, the boy asked the businessman, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the ___________ swelling lump in his ____________. He lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the ____________, checking to see that ____________ was going to be okay.

“Thank you, sir. And God bless you,” the ____________ child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother to the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to his Benz...a long, ____________ walk. He never did ____________ the side door. He kept the damage to remind him not to ____________ life so fast that someone has to ____________ a brick at you to get your attention.

Life whispers in your soul and ____________ to your heart. Sometimes, when you don’t have the time to listen...Life throws a brick at your head.

It’s your choice: Listen to the whispers of your soul ____________ wait for the brick!

Do you sometimes ignore loved ones because your life is too fast and busy ____________ them to wonder whether you really love them?

1.

A．sped up

B．went out

C．slowed down

D．pulled back

2.

A．spun

B．drag

C．push

D．stretch

3.

A．where

B．which

C．that

D．there

4.

A．grasped

B．got

C．arrested

D．grabbed

5.

A．Rising up

B．Opening up

C．Building up

D．Giving up

6.

A．away

B．out

C．over

D．off

7.

A．catch

B．lift

C．seize

D．carry

8.

A．talking

B．shouting

C．sobbing

D．crying

9.

A．abruptly

B．roughly

C．absolutely

D．rapidly

10.

A．throat

B．heart

C．spirit

D．tongue

11.

A．blood and sweat

B．scrapes and cuts

C．black and white

D．neck and neck

12.

A．nothing

B．something

C．anything

D．everything

13.

A．graceful

B．grated

C．grateful

D．gratitude

14.

A．slipped

B．slow

C．steep

D．slim

15.

A．require

B．request

C．repair

D．recommend

16.

A．go after

B．go about

C．go over

D．go through

17.

A．kick

B．throw

C．strike

D．beat

18.

A．tells

B．speaks

C．conveys

D．says

19.

A．or

B．but

C．and

D．for

20.

A．ensuring

B．letting

C．making

D．leaving

4 . My job is to provide at-home services for the elderly and those who are disabled. My client (客户) was an 86-year-old woman who had been _______ cancer for the past four years. The last few months of her life took all her _______ but none of her joy in life.

Each day I appeared at her _______, she would ask, “Have you heard any good _______ lately?” I’m not good at remembering jokes and _______ had a funny story to tell her, besides it always seemed that the only joke that would come to my mind sound _______ to her.

Then, I got the bright idea to copy Grace’s Kid Stories that I _______ on my bookshelf at home. Every day I would have one more _______ thing to tell my wonderful friend. She would _______ quietly to herself, and my heart was________.

Today, her daughter told me she had ________ on Sunday. One of the things the daughter told me was that one of her mother’s last ________ was “Have you heard any good jokes lately?”

The daughter told her mother that she couldn’t ________ anything funny. Her mother replied that I always ________ with a joke and that she had ________ wailing for me to arrive with each new “joke”.

We ________ for a few minutes together, then I got on with my ________, but I couldn’t seem to down to work. Finally, I ________ the daughter and asked, “Would you like to hear today’s joke?”

I am grateful (感激的) to the stories for ________ me to make an old woman’s last days a little more ________. Goodbye, my old friend, I hope you continue to get a joke every day in heaven!

1.

A．fighting

B．studying

C．treating

D．facing

2.

A．stress

B．glory

C．confidence

D．energy

3.

A．office

B．door

C．mind

D．eyes

4.

A．jokes

B．stories

C．news

D．messages

5.

A．nearly

B．simply

C．hardly

D．easily

6.

A．formal

B．unique

C．impressive

D．terrible

7.

A．edited

B．found

C．borrowed

D．kept

8.

A．amazing

B．funny

C．lively

D．adventurous

9.

A．think

B．speak

C．smile

D．sing

10.

A．warm

B．broken

C．awkward

D．confused

11.

A．died away

B．passed away

C．turned away

D．got away

12.

A．words

B．questions

C．presents

D．requests

13.

A．think of

B．make up

C．find out

D．concentrate on

14.

A．forwarded

B．commented

C．survived

D．arrived

15.

A．avoided

B．suggested

C．enjoyed

D．allowed

16.

A．dieted

B．cried

C．walked

D．packed

17.

A．path

B．challenge

C．business

D．competition

18.

A．looked up at

B．got along with

C．took control of

D．looked forward to

19.

A．preventing

B．encouraging

C．attracting

D．helping

20.

A．organized

B．civilized

C．pleasant

D．comfortable

5 . Nineteen-year-old Alexis Easter works at a fast food chain in Mechanicsville. The Virginia Burger King employee is going popular for her ________. She was photographed accompanying an elderly ________ to his car. The man, known to Easter as Mr. John, is a regular at the restaurant.

“When he is done, I see him out to the car because he has a ________ back. When we get to his car, we talk and I ________ he's safe,” the employee told WTVR.

Easter's simple ________ caught the attention of a passer-by, who ________ a photo of the young woman and her customer, which she ________ on social media. “We all should learn from the cashier at the Mechanicsville Burger King, who makes this world a little ________ ,” Elizabeth Chandler wrote on Facebook. Chandler said she was so ________ by what Easter was doing for the man. “Seeing her ________ this gentleman was so heart-warming. It's so ________ to see people going out of their way for others and expecting ________ in return. Since posting this I learned that Easter is ________ 19 and does this on a regular basis for any customer in need,” Chandler told Yahoo.

Easter always tries to do what she can to ________ the best service for customers. “________ go out of your way to aid others,” she told WTVR.

Chandler, who also frequently ________ this Burger King, said Easter isn't the only employee who goes above and ________ their job range. “That's the ________ of that Burger King. Another employee named Monica hands out plaques (纪念匾) to those ________ hard times, including my grandmother when she was receiving ________ for cancer,” she told WTVR.

1.

A．opinion

B．kindness

C．honesty

D．arrangement

2.

A．boss

B．patient

C．waiter

D．customer

3.

A．strong

B．terrible

C．strange

D．broad

4.

A．pray

B．expect

C．ensure

D．insist

5.

A．act

B．word

C．task

D．choice

6.

A．took

B．copied

C．picked

D．printed

7.

A．sold

B．exchanged

C．shared

D．found

8.

A．wider

B．brighter

C．cleaner

D．simpler

9.

A．shocked

B．puzzled

C．confused

D．impressed

10.

A．greet

B．protect

C．help

D．save

11.

A．usual

B．natural

C．common

D．rare

12.

A．everything

B．anything

C．nothing

D．something

13.

A．exactly

B．only

C．then

D．already

14.

A．perform

B．provide

C．buy

D．plan

15.

A．Never

B．Always

C．Often

D．Almost

16.

A．visited

B．advertised

C．reported

D．supported

17.

A．beyond

B．over

C．below

D．inside

18.

A．rule

B．duty

C．order

D．culture

19.

A．turning over

B．looking for

C．relying on

D．going through

20.

A．service

B．concern

C．treatment

D．appointment

6 . The sound woke Damian Languell at 8:15 in the morning. It was so loud that he _________ it came from inside his house in Wade, Maine. As he _________ to investigate, he heard another sound, this one coming most _________ from outside. Watching out of his bedroom window, he saw a tree _________ in smoke about 500 yards away. A car was wrapped around the tree’s base, its engine _________.

“I _________ buckets of water,” said Languell. Then he ran to the crash _________. The car looked worse up close. It was nearly _________ into two, and the tree was where the driver’s seat ought to have been, as if planted there. No one should have _________ this crash, and yet there was 16-year-old Quintin Thompson, his __________ face pressed against the driver’s side window, in visible __________. Languell, 35, tried pouring the fire with his buckets of water with no success. “When the __________ got into the front seats, I realized I had to get him out of there,” he said.

Completely __________ his own safety, Languell opened the car’s back door and __________ in. He cut through Thompson’s seat belt using a __________ he’d had the foresight to bring with him. Now that Thompson was free of the __________, Languell pulled him out of the vehicle, and then __________ the teen to safety just before the entire car was surrounded in flames.

Although Thompson suffered several breakings to his legs, spine, and face, a social media post __________ him as “looking great, smiling, and joking”. Languell thinks about that day often. Displaying the sort of sympathy that __________ him to help, he explained, “My heart goes out to Thompson. When you are that close to that level of hurt, you feel it so __________.”

1.

A．remembered

B．assumed

C．insisted

D．realized

2.

A．turned up

B．looked up

C．got up

D．speeded up

3.

A．simply

B．fortunately

C．strangely

D．definitely

4.

A．swallowed

B．preserved

C．melted

D．settled

5.

A．beyond reach

B．under control

C．on fire

D．in shape

6.

A．poured

B．grabbed

C．spotted

D．located

7.

A．levels

B．surroundings

C．direction

D．site

8.

A．developed

B．arranged

C．shot

D．divided

9.

A．explained

B．planned

C．survived

D．prevented

10.

A．terrified

B．relaxed

C．moved

D．confused

11.

A．eagerness

B．doubt

C．pain

D．devotion

12.

A．flames

B．water

C．branches

D．fuel

13.

A．denying

B．ignoring

C．respecting

D．guaranteeing

14.

A．climbed

B．slipped

C．ran

D．called

15.

A．hammer

B．mask

C．pocketknife

D．bandage

16.

A．dilemma

B．trap

C．destination

D．embarrassment

17.

A．forced

B．showed

C．dragged

D．accompanied

18.

A．thanked

B．employed

C．served

D．described

19.

A．ordered

B．drove

C．begged

D．trained

20.

A．directly

B．hopelessly

C．calmly

D．effectively

7 . My mother has a dining table which sits right in the middle of her dining room. It was once buried beneath piles of papers—magazines, articles, copies of schedules for vacations she took back in the 1990s, and baby pictures of grand children who are now paying off their college loans.

My brother Ross and I recently flew to New York to visit my mother. “Mom, why don’t we go through all that stuff?” Ross said. “No. Don’t touch it!” My mother said. The next afternoon, when she couldn’t find a bill she needed, Ross suggested it might be put somewhere in the dining room and that we find it together. “Besides,” he said, “all those papers are clearly stressing you out.” However, my mother just said, “Are you boys hungry?” And then she seemed to have lost herself in deep thought.

On our last night there, my mother walked up to us with a small pile of unopened mails, which she had collected at the western edge of the dining table, and said, “Help me go through these.” “Sure,” I said. When we had succeeded in separating wheat from chaff (谷壳), I asked, “Would you want to deal with another little pile of papers?”

My mother led the way, walking into the dining room the way an animal manager might be while entering a cage with tigers in it. Ross and I came in behind her and suddenly he reached for a pile of the papers on one side of the table. “No!” my mother said sharply. “Let’s start at the other end. That’s where the older stuff is.” Finally, we threw 95 percent of the stuff into paper shopping bags. Then I asked what she wanted us to do with them, she surprised us all by saying, “Put them in the incinerator (垃圾焚化炉).”

When I returned home, inspired by the visit to my mother, I sorted out my own accumulated(累积的) piles of papers, sold or gave away half of my possessions, and moved into a smaller house. It seems that my life has been cheaper and easier since then. And it proves that a small change does make a big difference.

1. What did the mother ask her children to do with these unopened mails?

A．To burn them.

B．To read them for her.

C．To collect them together.

D．To pick out the important ones among them.

2. When the mother walked into the dining room, she was________.

A．angry	B．afraid
C．impatient	D．careful

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards his mother’s cleaning up the dining table?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Uncertain.	D．Unknown.

4. What might be the best title of the passage?

A．The precious mail	B．A visit to my mother
C．A happy family reunion	D．The lesson of the dining table

8 . Hiking today, we came across a large group of boy scouts (童子军) and their families headed down as well. Left behind were a _______ boy and his mother who seemed unsure and _______ on the way. We _______ our speed a bit to talk with them before finally _______ them.

They caught up again when my friend Jane _______ to tie her shoelaces. The boy, just at that moment, slipped and _______ over. Jane tried to _______ him as he rolled down the path. He was _______, crying in his mother’s arms. He complained (抱怨) that his _______ hurt and I found his mother got ________. I asked if I could help them, with Jane ________ that I was a nurse. And after a quick ________, I could tell he was scared. He did not have any wounds. Within a few minutes of examining his knee, he said it was all ________. But he didn’t stand up, wrapped (包裹) in his mom’s ________. Asking if they needed anything before we ________ our hike, I turned to go, leaving the ________ sitting on a rock. I took a few steps forward and turned back, wondering ________ there was more I could do for them. I ________ to Jane for slowing us down, then turned and asked the boy and his mother if they wanted us to wait and hike with them when they were ________. This time I saw relief on the mother’s face as she said “Yes” and ________ the young boy stood up and went on hiking.

1.

A．young

B．smart

C．tall

D．strong

2.

A．surprised

B．concerned

C．excited

D．interested

3.

A．broke down

B．set down

C．put down

D．slowed down

4.

A．teaching

B．replacing

C．standing

D．passing

5.

A．refused

B．pretended

C．stopped

D．forgot

6.

A．jumped

B．fell

C．walked

D．burst

7.

A．follow

B．remove

C．watch

D．catch

8.

A．shy

B．nervous

C．foolish

D．selfish

9.

A．head

B．waist

C．knee

D．neck

10.

A．crazy

B．fluent

C．threatened

D．calm

11.

A．explaining

B．determining

C．doubting

D．requesting

12.

A．turn

B．expression

C．rest

D．examination

13.

A．worse

B．better

C．smaller

D．larger

14.

A．clothes

B．shadow

C．arms

D．sight

15.

A．went on

B．worked out

C．took on

D．turned to

16.

A．pair

B．series

C．team

D．friends

17.

A．that

B．why

C．if

D．when

18.

A．shouted

B．signaled

C．waved

D．apologized

19.

A．upset

B．ready

C．familiar

D．tired

20.

A．immediately

B．hardly

C．frequently

D．gradually