A few weeks ago, our dog, which we had kept for more than ten years, had to be put down. First, a tumor on her stomach got worse, and she was very   36 . Then, the pain in her back got so bad that sometimes she   37  lie down in the middle of a walk and couldn't take another   38 .

When I first found out, l was very sad and cried a lot. She was more like a sister to me than a   39 .But I was also angry at my stepfather,Steve,who told us the  40  a week after it happened. He   41  because he didn' t want to worry us, and he didn't want me to get depressed(抑郁的) and fail my exams. I just thought she was   42  at the animals' hospital.

I think you know all the   43  that went through my head: She was my dog！Why didn't he tell us earlier? I didn't even get to say goodbye.

People in my family have a   44  of keeping things from me to protect me, such as only telling me that my aunt had cancer   45  she had already improved health. All I could think was: Not again !

I   46  to my mum, and she said， “I know. I'm   47  , too.” I opened my mouth to shout. And then she added, “I'm so angry with Steve that he had to   48  through all this on his own.”Hearing my mum's words, I shut up my mouth. I had been so   49  on myself. I hadn't thought about   50  Steve was going through. That dog was his baby. He'd had her for longer than he'd had us—and he had to make the decision to   51  her life, and then kept in silence for an entire   52 . All my anger melted away, and all I felt was   53 .

It makes me realize that we focus so much on ourselves that we   54  the pain of others. At that moment, my mum's words were an incredible   55  that I'll never forget.

1.                A．lazy            B．lonely          C．painful   D．shameful

2.                A．would          B．should          C．might D．could

3.                A．walk           B．step            C．foot D．breath

4.                A．tool           B．toy            C．baby     D．pet

5.                A．plan           B．accident        C．anecdote D．truth

6.                A．lied            B．waited          C．reflected D．hesitated

7.                A．still            B．once           C．even     D．never

8.                A．facts           B．opinions        C．thoughts D．doubts

9.                A．story           B．secret          C．habit D．hobby

10.               A．until           B．before         C．while D．after

11.               A．adjusted        B．turned         C．contributed    D．related

12.               A．angry          B．shocked        C．guilty D．abused

13.               A．break          B．go             C．look D．push

14.               A．focused        B．hooked         C．dependent D．hard

15.               A．that           B．where          C．what D．which

16.               A．save           B．expand         C．make D．end

17.               A．year           B．month          C．week D．day

18.               A．regret          B．blame          C．sorrow    D．sympathy

19.               A．shared         B．ignored        C．reminded D．rid

20.               A．comfort        B．compromise     C．gift   D．suggestion

A few weeks ago, our dog, which we had kept for more than ten years, had to be put down. First, a tumor on her stomach got worse, and she was very   36 . Then, the pain in her back got so bad that sometimes she   37  lie down in the middle of a walk and couldn't take another   38 .
When I first found out, l was very sad and cried a lot. She was more like a sister to me than a   39 .But I was also angry at my stepfather,Steve,who told us the  40  a week after it happened. He   41  because he didn' t want to worry us, and he didn't want me to get depressed(抑郁的) and fail my exams. I just thought she was   42  at the animals' hospital.
I think you know all the   43  that went through my head: She was my dog！Why didn't he tell us earlier? I didn't even get to say goodbye.
People in my family have a   44  of keeping things from me to protect me, such as only telling me that my aunt had cancer   45  she had already improved health. All I could think was: Not again !
I   46  to my mum, and she said， “I know. I'm   47  , too.” I opened my mouth to shout. And then she added, “I'm so angry with Steve that he had to   48  through all this on his own.”Hearing my mum's words, I shut up my mouth. I had been so   49  on myself. I hadn't thought about   50  Steve was going through. That dog was his baby. He'd had her for longer than he'd had us—and he had to make the decision to   51  her life, and then kept in silence for an entire   52 . All my anger melted away, and all I felt was   53 .
It makes me realize that we focus so much on ourselves that we   54  the pain of others. At that moment, my mum's words were an incredible   55  that I'll never forget.

My sister and I have been a headache for my mother, because my father was in the army, he was not around too often. __21__, my mother brought us up almost single-handedly and it must have __22__ real strength of mind to bring up such naughty and stubborn children who got out from one trouble only to get into another.

Bonus and I weren’t scholars either. __23__, we hated studying from the very beginning. We were __24__ to spend time with our schoolbooks---out of the fear of Mum’s scolding. I almost did not make it to 10th grade. That entire summer Mum __25__ that I read my schoolbooks from the very first chapter till the last.

I left __26__ college at 18. In my second year of college, while I was studying for my final exams, I got a phone call from Mum __27__ my sister had failed her 9th grade exams. Mum was heartbroken. My mother was an English teacher in a famous school in the city and it was a(n) __28__ for her.

Then started another __29__ for my Mum. There always seemed to be people who would come and talk about how well their children were doing __30__ my mother would be having a tough time making sure we stayed on the right path. Mum was __31__ that we would do well for ourselves. She never let my sister and me __32__ that we had lost out on something and always told us: “Let this be a lesson. We are going to work really really hard...__33__ will change.”

Things did change, but very slowly and __34__, one little step at a time. Last year I finished with law school and started working. My mother’s belief in me __35__. And just a few days ago I got a phone from Bonus. She had __36__ the exam with honors and was __37__ to the best university in the country. I was in tears. Later that night I __38__ Mum: “Mum, your two little failures didn’t do as badly as everybody thought.” Mum __39__ and said: “You are my daughters and I knew you the best. I always knew that you would succeed. It was just a __40__ of time.”

1.                A．However       B．Thus           C．Otherwise D．Besides

2.                A．devoted        B．spent          C．taken D．wasted

3.                A．In that case      B．In this way       C．On the other hand  D．On the contrary

4.                A．pleased        B．annoyed        C．forced   D．advised

5.                A．demanded      B．concluded       C．promised D．mentioned

6.                A．at             B．for            C．from D．after

7.                A．announcing     B．reading         C．knowing  D．saying

8.                A．shame         B．challenge       C．pride D．honor

9.                A．experiment     B．research        C．conflict   D．trial

10.               A．though         B．while          C．as    D．unless

11.               A．determined     B．astonished      C．satisfied   D．concerned

12.               A．predict         B．imagine        C．guess D．feel

13.               A．Environment    B．Society         C．Circumstances  D．Impressions

14.               A．quickly         B．extremely       C．smoothly  D．gradually

15.               A．made up        B．paid off         C．took on   D．burst out

16.               A．attended       B．received        C．passed    D．failed

17.               A．accepted       B．allowed        C．admitted  D．permitted

18.               A．questioned      B．convinced      C．persuaded D．called

19.               A．nodded        B．laughed        C．shouted   D．joked

20.               A．matter         B．period         C．waste D．length

Knowing how much her own children loved presents at Christmas, Ann Sutton, a social worker, always tried to seek help for one or two poor families. This year, Kinzie, Ann’s seven-year-old daughter, was  31  that Santa Claus would make a special visit to a young mother named Ashley who worked in a factory and was  32  her 12-month-old son, Evan, and her 12-year-old brother, Kenny, by herself.

At a  33  dinner, the phone rang. A representative from a local charity was calling to say that the  34  Ann had requested for Ashley had been cancelled. No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing. Ann saw the cheer fade away from her children's faces at the news. Without a word, she  35  down from her chair and ran from the room. Now, it didn't feel much  36  Christmas anymore. Kinzie returned, her face set with determination. She had opened up her piggy  37 , and now she counted out the coins and broken dollar  38  , one by one, onto the dining table: $3.30. Everything she had.

“Mom,” she told Ann, “I know it's not much.  39  maybe this will buy a present for the baby.”

Then  40  everyone was reaching into pockets and purses. Adding to Kinzie's gift became a game, with everyone  41  for loose change. By the time the search ended, there was a small mountain of bills and a neat pile of coins. The  42 : $130, plenty for a Christmas for three. “God multiplied your gift,” Ann said to Kinzie.

That evening, Kinzie went with her mother and sister to  43  the money.

On Christmas Eve, Ann  44  through the pouring rain to the small cottage where the family lived. When Ashley opened the door, Ann stood under her umbrella and  45  the astonished woman a merry Christmas. Then she began to  46  the gifts from the car, handing them to Ashley one by one. Ashley laughed in disbelief, and still the presents came. Ann abandoned the umbrella, and the young woman joined her in the rain, passing gifts  47  to Kenny. “Please, can I open up just one tonight?” he begged. Soon both women were  48  to the skin, and surprise had turned to something  49  , the kind of joy that brought them close to tears.

Reflecting on a little girl's generosity, Ashley says she hopes she'll one day be able to do something similar for someone else in  50  . “Kinzie could have used that money for herself, but she gave it away,” Ashley says. “She's the type of kid I'd like my son to grow up to be.”

1.A. disappointed          B. pleased                     C. surprised                  D. puzzled

2.A. raising                  B. teaching                   C. helping                    D. protecting

3.A. sorrowful                  B. joyful                      C. pitiful                      D. grateful

4.A. reward                  B. job                          C. aid                           D. prize

5.A. knelt                         B. fell                          C. rolled                       D. slipped

6.A. like                    B. at                                   C. over                         D. for

7.A. pocket                   B. case                         C. basket                      D. bank

8.A. checks                   B. bills                         C. receipts                    D. signs

9.A. So                        B. And                         C. But                          D. or

10.A. hopefully                 B. luckily                            C. obviously                 D. suddenly

11.A. hunting                B. struggling                 C. rushing                    D. trading

12.A. goal                        B. budget                            C. total                         D. maximum

13.A. spend                  B. save                         C. distribute                  D. collect

14.A. looked                 B. drove                       C. wandered                 D. walked

15.A. owed                   B. offered                     C. brought                    D. wished

16.A. unload                 B. separate                    C. divide                      D. choose

17.A. out                      B. inside                       C. down                       D. up

18.A. wet                         B. excited                     C. close                        D. familiar

19.A. sadder                 B. heavier                     C. wilder                      D. deeper

20.A. vain                        B. store                        C. need                        D. touch

I was riding my special motorbike this past weekend and stopped at a store. As I was getting my wheelchair off the back, a man watched me from his car and I noticed a wheelchair in his back seat. We spoke for a moment and I asked him about the wheelchair. He answered that it was for his daughter. “Well, do you think she would like to go for a ride on my motorbike with me?” I asked. He seemed shocked that a total stranger would ask him this. He thought about it for a second and said, “OK, as long as I can follow you.”

He introduced me to Amy and he sat her on my back seat. Her father followed me for a few miles and she talked non-stop about what she wanted for Christmas.

As we came back to the store she said, “This ride is the best Christmas present I could ever receive. I have been in a wheelchair my whole life and didn’t know I could do this.”Then she turned to him and said, “Oh Daddy, I’m going to be OK. Mr. Bryant does all kinds of things —and I will, too.” Her father hugged me and said, “I was sitting here praying for a gift for Amy that would encourage her. She often felt that her life was dull compared to other children. God answered my prayer(祷告) just now. Now I pray that God will bless you for your gift to Amy today.” Being kind and thoughtful to others, we can be an answer to prayer.

1.How did the father feel at first when the author invited his daughter for a ride?

A. Anxious.                 B. Embarrassed.           C. Surprised.           D. Moved.

2.What can we know about the author?

A. He was a disabled man.             B. He usually drove too fast.

C. He worked in a store.               D. He often helped people in trouble.

3.According to the passage, the girl _____.

A. was not allowed to do some sports

B. used to be a completely healthy person

C. was unwillingly to communicate with a stranger

D. usually felt sad about life because of her disability

4.What did the author’s gift refer to according to the girl’s father?

A. The motorbike.   B. The wheelchair.   C. The ride.   D. The prayer.