“What is the most important thing you’ve done in your life?”The question was put to me during a presentation I gave to a group of lawyers.
The answer came to me in an instant. It’s not the one I gave, because the situation was not right. As a lawyer in the entertainment industry, I knew the audience wanted to hear some amusing stories about my work with well-known people. but here’s the true answer:
The most important thing I’ve ever done occurred on October 8,1990. I began the day playing tennis with an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while. Between points we talked about what had been happening in each other’s lives. He and his wife had just had a baby boy, who was keeping them up at night.
While we were playing, a car came screaming up the road toward the courts. It was my friend’s father, who shouted to my friend that his baby had stopped breathing and was being rushed to the hospital. In a flash my friend was in the car and gone, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
For a moment I just stood there, paralyzed(呆若木鸡). Then I tried to figure out what I should do. Follow my friend to the hospital? There was nothing I could accomplish there, I convinced myself. My friend’s son was in the care of doctors and nurses, and nothing I could do or say would affect the outcome. Be there for moral support? Well, maybe. But my friend and his wife both had large families, and I knew they’d be surrounded by relatives who would provide more than enough comfort and support, whatever happened. All I could do at the hospital, I decided, was to get in the way. Also, I had planned a full day with my family, who were waiting for me to get home. So I decided to head back to my house and check in my friend later.
As I started my car, I realized that my friend had left his truck and keys at the courts. I now faced another problem. I couldn’t leave the keys in the truck. So I decided to go to the hospital and give him the keys.
When I arrived, I was directed to a room where my friend and his wife were waiting. As I had thought, the room was filled with family members silently watching my friend comfort his wife. I went in and stood by the door, trying to decide what to do next. Soon a doctor appeared. He approached my friend and his wife, and in a quiet voice told them that their son had died.
For a long time the two held each other and cried, unaware of the rest of us standing around in pained silence. After they had calmed themselves, the doctor suggested they spend a few moments with their son.
My friend and his wife stood up and walked past their families. When they reached the door, my friend saw me standing in the corner. He came over and hugged me and started to cry. My friend’s wife hugged me, too, and said , “Thanks for being here.”
For the rest of that morning, I sat in the emergency room of that hospital and watched my friend and his wife hold the body of their infant son, and say goodbye.
It’s the most important thing I have ever done.
The experience taught me two lessons.
First: The most important thing I’ve ever done happened when I was completely helpless. None of the things I had learned in university, in three years of law school or in six years of legal practice were of any use in that situation. Something terrible was happening to people I cared about, and I was powerless to change the outcome. All I could do was standing by and watching it happen. And yet it was critical that I do just that--- just be there when someone needed me.
Second: The most important thing I’ve done almost didn’t happen because of things I had learned in classroom and professional life. Law school taught me how to take a set of facts, break them down and organized them. These skills are critical for lawyers. When people come to us for help, they’re often stressed out and depend on a lawyer to think logically. But while learning to think, I almost forget how to feel. Today I have no doubt that I should have leapt into my car without hesitation and followed my friend to the hospital.
From that one experience I learned that the most important thing in life isn’t the money you make, the status you attain or the honors you achieve. The most important thing in life is the kids’ team you coach or the poem you write----or the time when you’re just somebody’s friend.
【小题1】When he was asked about the most important thing he had done in life at a presentation, the author __________.
A felt it was not an interesting question           
B. thought for a while and spoke his mind
C. gave an answer from a lawyer’s point of view   
D. didn’t give the real answer
【小题2】When he saw his friend rush to the hospital, the author could not decide whether to follow mainly because he thought _________.

 “What is the most important thing you’ve done in your life?” The question was put to me during a presentation I gave to a group of lawyers.

The answer came to me in an instant. It’s not the one I gave, because the situation was not right. As a lawyer in the entertainment industry, I knew the audience wanted to hear some amusing stories about my work with well-known people. But here’s the true answer:

The most important thing I’ve ever done occurred on October 8, 1990. I began the day playing tennis with an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while. Between points we talked about what had been happening in each other’s lives. He and his wife had just had a baby boy, who was keeping them up at night.

While we were playing, a car came screaming up the road toward the courts. It was my friend’s father, who shouted to my friend that his baby had stopped breathing and was being rushed to the hospital. In a flash my friend was in the car and gone, disappearing in a cloud of dust.

For a moment I just stood there, paralyzed(呆若木鸡). Then I tried to figure out what I should do. Follow my friend to the hospital? There was nothing I could accomplish there, I convinced myself. My friend’s son was in the care of doctors and nurses, and nothing I could do or say would affect the outcome. Be there for moral support? Well, maybe. But my friend and his wife both had large families, and I knew they’d be surrounded by relatives who would provide more than enough comfort and support, whatever happened. All I could do at the hospital, I decided, was to get in the way. Also, I had planned a full day with my family, who were waiting for me to get home. So I decided to head back to my house and check in my friend later.

As I started my car, I realized that my friend had left his truck and keys at the courts. I now faced another problem. I couldn’t leave the keys in the truck. So I decided to go to the hospital and give him the keys.

When I arrived, I was directed to a room where my friend and his wife were waiting. As I had thought, the room was filled with family members silently watching my friend comfort his wife. I went in and stood by the door, trying to decide what to do next. Soon a doctor appeared. He approached my friend and his wife, and in a quiet voice told them that their son had died.

For a long time the two held each other and cried, unaware of the rest of us standing around in pained silence. After they had calmed themselves, the doctor suggested they spend a few moments with their son.

My friend and his wife stood up and walked past their families. When they reached the door, my friend saw me standing in the corner. He came over and hugged me and started to cry. My friend’s wife hugged me, too, and said, “Thanks for being here.”

For the rest of that morning, I sat in the emergency room of that hospital and watched my friend and his wife hold the body of their infant son, and say goodbye.

It’s the most important thing I have ever done.

The experience taught me two lessons.

First: The most important thing I’ve ever done happened when I was completely helpless. None of the things I had learned in university, in three years of law school or in six years of legal practice were of any use in that situation. Something terrible was happening to people Icared about, and I was powerless to change the outcome. All I could do was standing by and watching it happen. And yet it was critical that I do just that—just be there when someone needed me.

Second: The most important thing I’ve done almost didn’t happen because of things I had learned in classroom and professional life. Law school taught me how to take a set of facts, break them down and organized them. These skills are critical for lawyers. When people come to us for help, they’re often stressed out and depend on a lawyer to think logically. But while learning to think, I almost forget how to feel. Today I have no doubt that I should have leapt into my car without hesitation and followed my friend to the hospital.

From that one experience I learned that the most important thing in life isn’t the money you make, the status you attain or the honors you achieve. The most important thing in life is the kids’ team you coach or the poem you write—or the time when you’re just somebody’s friend.

1.When he was asked about the most important thing he had done in life at a presentation, the author __________.

A felt it was not an interesting question           

B. thought for a while and spoke his mind

C. gave an answer from a lawyer’s point of view   

D. didn’t give the real answer

2.When he saw his friend rush to the hospital, the author could not decide whether to follow mainly because he thought _________.

A. he had to stay with his family             B. his friend did not need his help

C. he would not be of much help         D. the baby would be in the doctor’s care

3.The purpose of the author’s description of the scene at the hospital is to inform us that ______.

A. he found out that he was in the way            

B. he would have felt guilty if he had not been there

C. he regretted that he went too later

D. his friend would have felt better if he had not been there

4.Which of the following is conveyed in this story?

A. Family and relatives can not take the place of friends.

B. More people are a great comfort when one is in trouble.

C. It is best to be here when someone needs you.

D. You can certainly help a friend if you want to.

5.The author learned from his own experience that_______.

A. what is taught in school is usually of no use

B. a lawyer cannot learn much in classrooms

C. a lawyer should know people’s feeling first

D. he needs to be able to feel as well as think logically

It was a cold winter’s night when I stopped for gas on my way home from work. I was tired and had a slight   36 .
I worked in a   37  doctor’s office and this was one of those days when the unexpected happened, making the schedule run   38  than usual. It seemed I was going to be late   39  home and my husband, being the   40  person, would be ready to pronounce me late once again. Maybe   41  I hurried, I could still make it home.
I was heading inside to   42  for my gas when I noticed an older couple at the counter. I heard them asking for   43  to the local hospital. It was the same hospital that I had just   44  a few minutes ago.
The young man at the counter was trying to be   45  in explaining how to get there, with two other people making   46 . One of them was   47  trying to give them a whole different route back. It was then that I walked over to the couple and said, “Would you like to follow me to the   48 ?”
A look of   49  crossed the woman’s face.
“I’m going right by there,” I said, which wasn’t a(an)   50  since I had just made up my mind to do   51  that.
I got in my car and began the journey back. I was trying to watch to be sure they were right   52  me. It took only fifteen minutes to get there as rush hour traffic was beginning to   53 . I felt better than I had all day and my headache was nearly gone.
Later, as I arrived home, my husband   54 , “So you aren’t ever late any more.”
I said, “Sometimes it’s   55  to be late.”

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从下列各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It was a cold winter’s night when I stopped for gas on my way home from work. I was tired and had a slight   36  .

I worked in a   37   doctor’s office and this was one of those days when the unexpected happened, making the schedule run   38   than usual. It seemed I was going to be late   39   home and my husband, being the   40   person, would be ready to pronounce me late once again. Maybe   41   I hurried, I could still make it home.

I was heading inside to   42   for my gas when I noticed an older couple at the counter. I heard them asking for   43   to the local hospital. It was the same hospital that I had just   44   a few minutes ago.

The young man at the counter was trying to be   45   in explaining how to get there, with two other people making   46  . One of them was   47   trying to give them a whole different route back. It was then that I walked over to the couple and said, “Would you like to follow me to the   48  ?”

A look of   49   crossed the woman’s face.

“I’m going right by there,” I said, which wasn’t a(an)   50   since I had just made up my mind to do   51   that.

I got in my car and began the journey back. I was trying to watch to be sure they were right   52   me. It took only fifteen minutes to get there as rush hour traffic was beginning to   53  . I felt better than I had all day and my headache was nearly gone.

Later, as I arrived home, my husband   54  , “So you aren’t ever late any more.”

I said, “Sometimes it’s   55   to be late.”

1. A. break         B. fever                C. cold             D. headache

2.A. foreign            B. common           C. busy             D. noisy

3. A. earlier           B. later                C. easier               D. simpler

4. A. getting           B. cooking          C. calling              D. working

5. A. tough         B. punctual         C. generous         D. careful

6. A. as                B. since                C. while                D. if 

7. A. pay           B. change               C. wait             D. search

8. A. opinions      B. trouble              C. directions           D. money

9. A. reached           B. visited              C. called               D. left

10. A. skilled          B. helpful              C. experienced          D. active     

11.A. comments      B. promises         C. jokes                D. offers

12. A. only         B. still                C. even             D. ever

13. A. station          B. office               C. hospital         D. hotel

14. A. panic            B. relief               C. sadness          D. peace

15. A. duty         B. fact             C. reason               D. lie 

16. A. partly           B. properly         C. exactly          D. perfectly

17.A. across            B. before               C. beside               D. behind

18. A. go up            B. die down         C. speed up         D. turn down

19. A. teased           B. shouted          C. burst                D. laughed

20. A. possible         B. special              C. good             D. safe

Whitney Houston, who died on February 11, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California, is being remembered across the globe as a trailblazer（开拓者）. Among all of Houston’s outstanding achievements, including a total of more than 400 career a wards , her most significant achievement was her record-setting string of seven Number One singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart . It broke the previous record of six set by The Bee Gees and The Beatles. The string began on October 26 , 1985 with her Grammy-winning hit “Saving All My Love For You,” and ended on April 23, 1988 with her R＆B ballad “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.” It was the fourth single from her album“Whitney”to go to Number One, also a record for a female artist. She sold more than 170 million albums worldwide and co-produced and recorded songs for one of the best-selling soundtracks（声带）of all time, The Bodyguard.
Whitney Houston was born the daughter of famed gospel（福音）singer Cissy Houston in Newak , New Jersey. Dionne Warwick was her cousin and Aretha Franklin her godmother. She began as a gospel singer and pianist in her mother’s church and sometimes performed alongside her in nightclubs. At age 15 , Whitney sang backup on Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” a tune she later performed on The Bodyguard soundtrack.
Whitney signed with Arista in 1983 and released her self-titied debut album two years later. The New York Times called her first effort, “an impressive, musically conservative showcase（展示）for an exceptional vocal talent（声乐天才）.” She continued to achieve similar praise for subsequent albums, while her fast-growing fan base put her into the world-class entertainer. In 1998, she released her most musically-diverse album to date, “My Love Is Your Love.” The title track became her third best-selling single ever.
The past 10 years were filled with highs and lows. While Whitney’s contract at Arista Records was renewed for ＄100 million, album sales began to slide. Her 14-year marriage to singer Bobby Brown ended in 2007 , she canceled concerts and interviews , and accusation arose of drug abuse. Her final album “I Look To you,” sold more than two million copies and reached the Number One spot in 2009.
【小题1】What’s Whitney Houston’s most outstanding achievements?