My mom is a teacher．She finds a lesson in everything．I was watching Sesame Street by my second birthday so I’d   1  my ABCs and 123s．Our weekly family trips to the library began when I was three．And my mom had me spotting （认出） the historical markers with childlike   2  on family vacations by the time I was six．For her, life was all about learning．But the biggest lesson she   3  me was never to let my   4  define who I am, and never forget what is   5  in life．
I was born with Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome, an extremely   6  genetic bone and muscular disorder．There are only about 100 reported   7．At birth, my knees were bent more than 90 degrees, and I had my first surgery to   8  them when I was just six weeks old．This surgery was the first of many in my   9．I’d had 26 surgeries by the time I was 15．
Strange as it   10 , I have good memories of my medical days．One of my   11  is about my mom and me being in the hospital cafeteria（自助餐厅）．We sat down for an ice cream sandwich dessert．It was   12  fancy, but at that moment, I knew I was   13．
My parents pushed me to be as   14  as possible — even when I didn’t want to be．My mom taught me that I could do anything and that I should   15  let my disability stop me．In high school, I was a member of the National Honor Society, and in college, I was editor-in-chief of my school newspaper．I wouldn’t have had the   16  to push myself if my parents hadn’t been there,   17  me on and giving me a reality check when I got down on myself．
Every night before I go to bed, I   18  my mom for everything, for all the great help she’s given me．And   19  I get older, I know that “Thanks, Mom” is about so much more than the physical assistance．And that’s   20  matters the most．

1. 1.
   1. A.
      speak
   2. B.
      learn
   3. C.
      say
   4. D.
      copy
2. 2.
   1. A.
      stupidity
   2. B.
      anxiety
   3. C.
      enthusiasm
   4. D.
      curiosity
3. 3.
   1. A.
      gave
   2. B.
      taught
   3. C.
      had
   4. D.
      took
4. 4.
   1. A.
      knowledge
   2. B.
      view
   3. C.
      disappointment
   4. D.
      disability
5. 5.
   1. A.
      interesting
   2. B.
      amusing
   3. C.
      important
   4. D.
      worthwhile
6. 6.
   1. A.
      rare
   2. B.
      common
   3. C.
      regular
   4. D.
      dangerous
7. 7.
   1. A.
      cases
   2. B.
      examples
   3. C.
      affairs
   4. D.
      articles
8. 8.
   1. A.
      strengthen
   2. B.
      build
   3. C.
      enlarge
   4. D.
      correct
9. 9.
   1. A.
      adulthood
   2. B.
      career
   3. C.
      childhood
   4. D.
      school
10. 10.
    1. A.
       makes
    2. B.
       sounds
    3. C.
       looks
    4. D.
       is
11. 11.
    1. A.
       favorites
    2. B.
       charms
    3. C.
       regrets
    4. D.
       worries
12. 12.
    1. A.
       something
    2. B.
       nothing
    3. C.
       anything
    4. D.
       everything
13. 13.
    1. A.
       favored
    2. B.
       encouraged
    3. C.
       instructed
    4. D.
       loved
14. 14.
    1. A.
       normal
    2. B.
       independent
    3. C.
       comfortable
    4. D.
       brilliant
15. 15.
    1. A.
       never
    2. B.
       ever
    3. C.
       seldom
    4. D.
       hardly
16. 16.
    1. A.
       skill
    2. B.
       requirement
    3. C.
       confidence
    4. D.
       energy
17. 17.
    1. A.
       cheering
    2. B.
       curing
    3. C.
       keeping
    4. D.
       turning
18. 18.
    1. A.
       thank
    2. B.
       blame
    3. C.
       pray
    4. D.
       ask
19. 19.
    1. A.
       whenever
    2. B.
       since
    3. C.
       before
    4. D.
       as
20. 20.
    1. A.
       how
    2. B.
       when
    3. C.
       what
    4. D.
       where

More than half of all pupils failed to achieve five good GCSEs（General Certificate of Secondary Education）that included English and math this year，according to official figures published today．

The statistics suggest that record increases year-on-year in the overall pass rate mask continued potential failures in basic qualifications for most children．

Only 47.2% of all those who took GCSEs this summer—including children at private school —managed to get a C or above in math，English and three other subjects，an increase of just 0.7% on last year．

Girls continue to outshine boys，with 51.9% achieving five good GCSEs including English and math，compared to 42.8% of boys reaching that standard．

Educational inequality is highlighted（突出）by an analysis，which indicates a vast gulf in achievement between children from rich and poor areas．In the top 10% of highest achieving local authorities，61.3% of pupils get five good GCSEs on average．But in the bottom10% that figure falls to 34.8%．

Michael Gove，the Shadow Schools Secretary said：“Once again we see that children in the weakest areas are not getting the same opportunities as others．The gap between the fortunate and the forgotten remains stubbornly wide as the lucky ones pull away from the rest as they progress through school．Overall，fewer than half of children leave school aged 16 with the basic level of qualifications．The government has ploughed money into education，and rightly so，but they have not achieved the improvements to match”．

Concerning the problem，Jim Knight，the Schools Minister，said：“The bottom line is that more young people than ever before have now got a firm foundation for further education or the work-based training that they want to do．”

1．We can learn from the statistics that _________．

A．secondary education has suffered a great failure

B．the basic qualifications for most children have been improved

C．English and math are difficult for students to learn well

D．the number of the students achieving GCSEs is slightly increasing

2．According to the passage，compared with boys，_________．

A．girls have more advantages in learning English and math

B．girls perform much better in achieving good GCSEs

C．girls are more diligent when learning at school

D．girls live a more successful life at school

3．It can be inferred from the fifth paragraph that _________．

A．secondary education doesn’t achieve balanced development

B．wealth determines the success of secondary education

C．pupils in rich areas have more abilities to learn well

D．students from rich and poor areas haven’t communicated well

4．Which of the following statements might Michael Gove agree with?

A．The phenomenon of education inequality can be avoided entirely．

B．All the students are supposed to reach the level of qualifications．

C．The government is responsible for educational inequality．

D．The government shouldn't invest so much money in education．

5．What's Jim Knight's attitude towards secondary education?

A．Indifferent．        B．Supportive．        C．Negative．              D．Unknown．