1 . “I’m gonna play basketball, Daddy.” Lauren flew into my arms when I came in from work. “That’s ______ , honey.” I replied naturally. I thought she meant outside the house — on the driveway. Into the kitchen, my wife Helen’s silence indicated I had ______ something. After a while, she spoke slowly, “Lauren is joining the girls’ high-school basketball team.”

I ______ my girl’s sportsmanlike courage, but ______ was still in my stomach. Lauren was only just five feet one inch tall. ______ legs and a heavy body were surely a(n) ______ for her in playing basketball.

The game day arrived. Lauren and her teammates moved out. Their serious game-faces seemed ______ to win. At first, though not playing, Lauren followed the movement on the court and ______ every play. I could even _____ her shout “No way!” when a referee made an unfair call ______ a teammate. Sitting on the sidelines, Lauren still enjoyed the game very much.

Suddenly, the announcer’s voice boomed, “Number thirty-three, Lauren Wray, in.” My heart ______ wildly. What if she got injured or other girls on the team made fun of her? But what I saw was that Lauren made every effort to keep pace with the others. Just before the end of the game, they passed Lauren the ball. She caught it. She shot. ______ , she scored!

The audience began clapping and ______ . Lauren’s brown eyes shone as she wiped her sweaty forehead. Lauren’s uplifting spirits and impressive performance, wrapped with in a small ______ , struck everyone greatly. I felt enormously ______ to have Lauren as my daughter.

1.

A．hard

B．enough

C．nice

D．true

2.

A．missed

B．displayed

C．pictured

D．reminded

3.

A．admired

B．ignored

C．criticized

D．resisted

4.

A．excitement

B．worry

C．interest

D．curiosity

5.

A．Strong

B．Short

C．Injured

D．Light

6.

A．power

B．advantage

C．challenge

D．basis

7.

A．easy

B．impossible

C．shocked

D．determined

8.

A．adapted to

B．picked up

C．reacted to

D．tried out

9.

A．avoided

B．recognised

C．gave

D．impressed

10.

A．from

B．for

C．against

D．with

11.

A．crashed

B．dropped

C．ached

D．beat

12.

A．Hopefully

B．Differently

C．Sadly

D．Amazingly

13.

A．cheering

B．leaving

C．arguing

D．complaining

14.

A．body

B．life

C．heart

D．school

15.

A．anxious

B．proud

C．stressed

D．patient

2 . Every year, hundreds of hopeful students arrive in Washington, D. C., in order to compete in the National Spelling Bee, which has been held every year since 1925.

In the competition, students under 16 take turns trying to properly spell words. The champion is the only remaining student who does not make a mistake. American students are familiar with the competition because it is practiced in many schools throughout the country. The National Spelling Bee, however, is a much bigger setting and showcases only the best spellers from all parts of the nation. Winning the competition nowadays requires the ability to perform under much pressure against so many talented students in front of a large audience. A student who wins the event in the twenty-first century will experience a much different challenge than the first winner, Frank Neuhauser, did in 1925 when he defeated only nine other competitors.

Clearly, the 90 years of the National Spelling Bee’s existence proves the importance of spelling in the English language. However, struggles with spelling English words go back much more than 90 years. The charming thing about spelling correctly in English is that it is in many ways without rules. English language can absorb new words from other languages and in doing so make them “English” words. Because of this, the number of words in English is much higher than any other languages. Thus, spelling in many other languages has fewer words and fewer strange exceptions to rules. It turns out that a spelling bee in most other languages would be a waste of time. Why is that? Well, without so many exceptions to common vocabulary, there would be very few words that everyone didn’t already know.

1. How is today’s competition different from the first National Spelling Bee?

A．It produces more winners.	B．It draws more talented audience.
C．It attracts more competitors.	D．It tests more strange words.

2. Why does the author mention “other languages” in Paragraph 3?

A．To introduce the new rules of the competition.	B．To gather students from other countries.
C．To explain the difficulty in English spelling.	D．To show the strict rules of written English.

3. What’s the author’s attitude toward holding spelling competitions in most other languages?

A．Unfavorable.

B．Supportive.

C．Responsible.

D．Doubtful.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Ways to win a Spelling Bee.	B．The most difficult language.
C．The best spellers.	D．A competition about spelling.