阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从16~35各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

My friends and I had just finished lunch at a hotel when it started to pour heavily. When it became lighter. I decided to  16  the rain to get my car. which was parked at my office three streets away.

My friends  17  that I shouldn't go,  18  I was seven months pregnant (怀孕的) then. I told them that I'd be very  19 . One of them wanted to come with me but I  20  that she should stay with another friend who needed  21  with her baby.

I walked out of the hotel and started making my  22  to the car. At the traffic junction (交叉路口), a car  23  and the passenger got off with an umbrella.  24  I knew what was happening, he walked right beside me and told me he'd accompany me to my  25 . I was very embarrassed and  26 , but he was very persistent (坚持的).

During our walk, he kept telling me to walk  27 , as the ground was wet. When we got to the car park. I thanked him and we  28 . I did not get his name and may not even  29  him now. Did he purposely stop for me? I'll never know.

So how did I pay it  30 ? I was at home when I  31  two Indian construction workers walking in the heavy rain. They were probably on their way to the construction site near my home, which was a long walk. I went out and  32  them an umbrella. The two men were wet through. They were  33   by my gesture, and I told them they should take the umbrella and keep it. They were very  34  and like me, probably wondered why a stranger was  35  such kindness.

A. carry B. keep     C. brave       D. collect

A. guessed                B. argued     C. complained    D. promised

A. because   B. though C. unless     D. if

A. cheerful   B. hopeful      C. careful          D. regretful

A. learned   B. insisted      C. begged          D. worried

A. help   B. advice  C. food            D. shelter

A. call     B. change C. way             D. choice

A. disappeared B. left  C. started          D. stopped

A. Before     B. Since    C. When     D. For

A. home     B. station C. hotel            D. destination

A. agreed    B. declined     C. smiled           D. cried

A. slowly   B. quickly C. heavily          D. gracefully

A. waited   B. ran C. parted           D. rested

A. like B. spot     C. thank     D. recognize

A. up    B. off  C. forward        D. out

A. noticed B. imagined    C. invited          D. heard

A. made     B. passed C. bought          D. sold

A. disturbed    B. impressed  C. encouraged     D. surprised

A. scared    B. grateful      C. sad              D. anxious

A. appreciating     B. repaying    C. accepting     D. offering

Some years ago when I was in my first year in college, I heard Salome Bey sing for the first time. The moment was exciting. Salome’s   21 filled the room and brought the theater to life. I was so   22  that I decided to write an article about her.
I   23  Salome Bey, telling her I was from Essence magazine, and that I wanted to meet her to talk about her career. She   24  and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday. When I hung up, I was scared out of my mind. I   25  I was lying. I was not a writer at all and hadn’t even written a grocery list.
I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday. I sat there   26 , taking notes and asking questions that all began with, “Can you tell me…” I soon realized that   27  Salome Bey was one thing, but writing a story for a national magazine was just impossible. The   28  was almost unbearable. I struggled for days   29  draft after draft. Finally I put my manuscript (手稿) into a large envelope and dropped it into a mailbox.
It didn’t take long. My manuscript   30 . How stupid of me! I thought. How could I   31  in a world of professional writers? Knowing I couldn’t   32  the rejection letter, I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.
Five years later, I was moving to California. While   33  my apartment, I came across the unopened envelope. This time I opened it and read the editor’s letter in   34  :
Ms Profit,
Your story on Salome Bey is fantastic. Yet we need some   35  materials. Please add those and return the article immediately. We would like to   36  your story soon.
Shocked, it took me a long time to   37 . Fear of rejection cost me ly. I lost at least five hundred dollars and having my article appear in a major magazine. More importantly, I lost years of   38  writing. Today, I have become a full – time writer. Looking back on this   39 , I learned a very important lesson: You can’t   40  to doubt yourself.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

During the years when I was a teacher, I learned a lot of things. Perhaps the most important one was the life-changing  16 of encouraging words.  

I 17 what Leo Buscaglia had done with his students in University of Southern California. In one class Leo Buscaglia and his students had made two lists of 18 , one positive and one negative. Then they  19 the negative words in the trash and tried to use only the  20 words for one month. They were  21 at how much better their lives became just by using words full of  22  .

I decided to try this as well by  23 something good to write on each paper my students  24 . No matter how many mistakes a student’s paper  25 , there was always a  26 sentence, beautiful thought, or a great idea that I could  27 on. I remember glancing over my desk and  28  some of the students reading those encouraging words  29  . It was a joy seeing their eyes shine a little brighter, their  30  sit up a little straighter, and their learning climb a lot  31 .

I recently saw one of my  32  students and we talked for a while. He has got married, and has two children now. As I was saying goodbye, he said, “You know I  33  have a few of those old papers. I look at them from time to time. I just  34  my kids have a good teacher like you.” I was amazed at the  35  those few positive words had on his life.

May your own life be forever full of encouraging words in your ears, from your lips and in your heart.

1.                A．method        B．ability          C．power    D．approach

2.                A．improved       B．learned         C．wondered D．used

3.                A．books          B．words          C．ideas D．tasks

4.                A．threw          B．collected        C．stored    D．wrote

5.                A．familiar         B．standard        C．common  D．positive

6.                A．curious         B．disappointed     C．amazed   D．confused

7.                A．astonishment    B．encouragement  C．friendship D．advantage

8.                A．buying         B．finding         C．asking    D．wishing

9.                A．took down      B．put away        C．looked through D．handed in

10.               A．contained       B．created        C．avoided   D．reduced

11.               A．complete       B．strange         C．simple D．meaningful

12.               A．agree          B．comment       C．bring D．depend

13.               A．keeping        B．having         C．seeing D．1eaving

14.               A．again and again   B．now and then    C．little by little    D．step by step

15.               A．1egs           B．waists          C．backs D．shoulders

16.               A．further         B．higher         C．deeper    D．wider

17.               A．present        B．clever          C．careful    D．former

18.               A．ever           B．never          C．still   D．merely

19.               A．hope          B．admit          C．complain  D．remember

20.               A．result          B．strength        C．effect D．importance

In every country there are times to celebrate, weddings, birthdays, religious festivals. Although the U.S.A is a multi-cultural society, where different groups celebrate their own traditional   21  , Christmas is the most popular holiday in the U.S.A. Some of the   22   of Christmas time are old and others are newer.
Already in the late 18^th and the 19^th centuries, people felt sentimental (眷恋的) about Christmases of the past. The American   23  , Washington Irving, wrote in 1819 about the old-fashioned Christmas he experienced in England. He was taken in a stagecoach (驿站马车) full of happy people, food and presents, to an old house in the   24  . There, he found a crowd of happy farmers, lots of food and drinks, snow, games and ghosts.
The first Christmas card, which was printed in England, showed people eating and drinking   25  . It was sent in 1846, but Christmas cards did not become really   26   until the 1860s, when color printing became possible.
By this time, stagecoaches had   27   running, replaced by the railroad. More and more families   28   the country and were living in towns and cities, but the dream of the   29   Christmas remained. The loaded stagecoach driving along the country road through the snow still   30   on many Christmas cards today.

Laughter Yoga (瑜伽) is a unique technique invented by Dr Kataria, a doctor from India, by which you can learn to “Laugh for No Reason”. You don’t even need a sense of humor, no funny jokes or comedy programs — just a willingness to laugh — and in the present climate everyone needs to laugh more.

Laughter Yoga is a combination of Laughter Exercises and Yogic Breathing, so that you increase the amount of oxygen in your body while being playful, resulting in you feeling healthier, energetic and alive. This actually changes the physical conditions of your body so that you start to feel happier.

Laughter Yoga is generally done in groups although it can be practiced alone. When you make eye contact with someone and you’re both willing to laugh, the laughter is increased. However, we do say that you can “Fake (假装) it, fake it till you make it” because the body doesn’t know the difference between fake and true laughter; as long as you’re willing to laugh you’ll experience the same health benefits.

Laughter Yoga started in a park in Mumbai in 1995 with just 5 participants, and now there’re over 6,000 laughter clubs in 60 different countries — showing the willingness of the world to laugh together.

In the UK, Julie was one of the first people to train as a Laughter Leader with Dr Kataria in June 2002. In 2006 she was awarded Laughter Ambassador for her selfless service to promote Laughter Yoga.

“Yoga has been part of my life for 30 years but 7 years ago my life changed when I discovered Laughter Yoga. I believe laughter and yoga are both good for your health,” says Julie.

1.Why do people practicing Laughter Yoga laugh a lot?

A. They have a sense of humor.    B. They are amused by jokes.

C. They are willing to laugh. D. They can’t help laughing a lot.

2. What do we know about Julie from the passage?

A. She took up Laughter Yoga 30 years ago.

B. She helped make Laughter Yoga more popular.

C. She used to suffer from serious physical problems.

D. She was the first person to practise Laughter Yoga.

3.The purpose of the passage is to _____.

A. persuade people to take up Laughter Yoga

B. tell people how to practise Laughter Yoga

C. describe the good effects of Laughter Yoga

D. introduce Laughter Yoga as a new event