I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of   36  .

I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking   37  I might do and found I didn’t have much to  38  . I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career. I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too bad at first, but the  39 began when I agreed to   40 , so that I would be there if my 41 had to go out for business in the evening. We  42  that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me off the next. But  43  , it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely   44and fed up, because I had too many 45  nights and early mornings with the children.

  46   Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my  47  . She suggested that I should take a (n)   48  and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I did not think I would be   49 because I didn’t take many exams in school. She    50 me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience 51  for a lot and I got a part-time course. I had to   52  my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten. Now I’ve got a full-time job there, I shall always be   53 to Megan. I wish I had known   54  that you could have a career,   55  you aren’t top of the class at school.

1 

   I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself. And   36    assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always   37  to sit at the back of the classroom.

All this   38  after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy  39   because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the  40   to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “  41  for it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give a try.

   Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the   42   of it! When I first started  43    the practice sessions（练习赛）, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much   44  what I was doing. Sometimes I’d get    45   and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid.   46   , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to   47   on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t    48  “just yet”. 

I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the   49  and the “moves”. Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive   50  in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the   51   — friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!

With my   52   self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from   “53” in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself,   54   raising my hand— even when I sometimes wasn’t and not 100 percent   55  I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

1.A. as            B. until             C. though              D. unless

2.A. hoped         B. agreed           C. chose               D. meant

3.A. continued      B. changed          C. settled              D. started

4.. A. idea           B. plan             C. belief               D. saying

5.. A. right          B. chance           C. patience             D. ability

6. A. going          B. looking          C. cheering             D. applying

7.. A. point          B. half             C. rest                 D. basis

8. A. enjoying       B. preparing        C. attending             D. watching

9.. A. further         B. later            C. worse               D. less

10.. A. confused       B. motivated       C. embarrassed           D. committed

11.. A. Interestingly    B. Fortunately      C. Obviously            D. hopefully

12. A. try            B. act             C. focus                D. rely

13.A. want          B. do             C. support               D. know

14. A. rules          B. orders          C. steps                D. games

15.. A. roles          B. part           C. mind                D. value

16.. A. movement      B. operation       C. process              D. situation

17.. A. expressed      B. improved       C. preserved             D. recognized

18.A. dreaming       B. playing         C. relaxing           D. hiding

19.. A. to            B. for            C. with               D. by

20.A. lucky         B. happy          C. sure               D. satisfied

I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself. And   36   otherwise assignen（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always    37  to sit at the back of the classroom.
All this    38   after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy   39   because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the   40  to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “   41  for  it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give a try.
Getting up t he courage to go to the tryouts was only the    42  of it! When I first started  43   
the practice sessions, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much    44 what I was doing. Sometimes I’d get     45   and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid.   46   , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to    47    on learning the game, do my best at each prctice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t    48  “just yet”.
I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the   49  and the “moves”. Being part of a team was fun and moticating. Very soon the competitive   50  in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the   51    — friends who respect my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!
With my    52   self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from   “53”  in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself,   54  
raising my hand — even when I sometimes wasn’t and not 100 percent   55  I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.
【小题1】  

I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought that I would never have that sort of career.
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too hard at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I have got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career even if you aren’t top of the class at school.
47. What is the author’s present job?
A. Working part-time in a college.                     B. Taking care of children in a family.
C. Helping children with their schoolwork.  D. Looking after children at a kindergarten.
48. When staying with the two girls’ family, the author _______.
A. was paid for extra work                      B. often worked long hours
C. got much help from her boss             D. took a day off every other week
49. What has the author learned from her own experiences?
A. Less successful students can still have a career.
B. Qualifications are necessary for a career.
C. Hard work makes an excellent student.
D. One must chose the job she likes.
50. What does the underlined sentence probably mean?
A. The boss didn’t go out to work very often.
B. The boss often failed to keep his agreement with the writer.
C. The writer couldn’t go out to find another job.
D. The writer seldom had any chance to work outside.

I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn’t like attention drawn to myself. And   36   assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always   37  to sit at the back of the classroom.
All this   38 after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy  39   because I didn’t have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the  40  to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my “  41  for it”, I wouldn’t have decided to give a try.
Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the   42  of it! When I first started  43   the practice sessions（练习赛）, I didn’t even know the rules of the game, much   44 what I was doing. Sometimes I’d get    45  and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid.   46  , I wasn’t the only one “new” at the game, so I decided to   47  on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn’t    48  “just yet”. 
I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the   49  and the “moves”. Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive   50  in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the   51   — friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!
With my   52  self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from   “53” in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself,   54  raising my hand— even when I sometimes wasn’t and not 100 percent   55 I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.