I stood outside New York's Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.

    From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knee, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.

    Life was tough. I couldn't stand, much less walk. I rarely, left the farmhouse---and then only in someone's arms. Mam bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.

    “The world will see him when he can walk,” she told Dad. “And he will walk.”

    Mam devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.

    A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.

    “There's nothing anyone can do but you can't,” Mam said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”

    The next day Mam dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mam took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan,” she said.

    We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I'd walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mam's eyes shining with a mother's pride.

    That night, back on our farm, I lay exhausted on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I'd done on my walk.

    Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mam's words came back to me—Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do—and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.

    I've sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world's finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mam's words chiming in my ears. Then I began singing. I couldn't feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my heart, the same place where Mam's promise lived.

1.What was the problem with the author as a baby?

   A. He was expected unable to walk.              

B. He was born outward in character.

   C. He had a problem with listening.             

D. He was shorter than a normal baby.

2.The underlined word “deformity” in the second paragraph most probably means _______.

   A. shortcoming        B. disadvantage        C. disability           D. delay

3.Why did Mam dress him and herself in finest clothes?

   A. To hide their depressed feeling.             

B. To indicate it an unusual day.

   C. To show off their clothes.                   

D. To celebrate his successful operation.

4.From the story we may conclude that his mother was _______.

   A. determined         B. stubborn       C. generous          D. distinguished

5.According to the writer, what mattered most in his success?

   A. His consistent effort.                    B. His talent for music.

   C. His countless failures.                       D. His mother's promise.

My uncle has a very beautiful umbrella. He has had it  36  and as he is very  37  it, it still looks as good as new.?

“That umbrella must have   38  you a great deal of money, Uncle.” I said to him one day.

“No,” he replied, “ 39 ”

“Was it a present?” I asked again.

“No,” said he.

“Then how did you get it?” I asked.

“Well,” he answered, “it is a strange true story. About ten years ago, I was walking along a quiet London street one evening   40   it suddenly rained. I had no raincoat and no umbrella. No buses ran through that street and there were no   41   in sight. As I was on my way to a party, I didn't want to get  42  . So I stood at a doorway and waited for the rain to stop. By and by it grew quite  43  .There wasn't a person around, and  44   it rained and rained.  45   a young man came to the place where I was standing,  46    a large umbrella over his head.  47  I hoped he would   48   me to walk to the next corner with him in order that I could get a taxi, I stepped   49   the dark doorway where I had been standing, and said: “  50  , where are you going with that umbrella?”

 51   by my sudden appearance, the young man  52   the umbrella, which, I'm afraid, he had just stolen, ran away, and  53  into the darkness. I picked up the umbrella and continued my walk. I knew it would be  54  in this big city to try and discover the owner and so I've kept it   55  .”

1. A. for months           B. for years?          C. since childhood          D. for a few days?

2.A. satisfied with     B. afraid of    ?      C. proud of             D. careful with?

3. A. given             B. cost             C. saved                    D. made?

4. A. very little           B. I don't know     C. not a penny              D. quite a lot?

5. A. when              B. though               C. because              D. after?

6. A. bicycles              B. policemen?      C. friends                  D. taxis?

7. A. tired             B. back             C. wet                  D. away?

8.A. dark               B. fine             C. dirty                    D. dangerous?

9. A. naturally         B. suddenly?           C. always                   D. still?

10.A. At once               B. At last              C. As usual             D. As well

11.A. selling               B. carrying?           C. moving               D. showing?

12. A. As                   B. Although         C. While                    D. If

13. A. order                B. persuade         C. allow                    D. promise?

14. A. into             B. out of               C. towards              D. along?

15.A. By the way            B. Help             C. Excuse me                D. Stop?

16. A. Punished         B. Discouraged?        C. Warned               D. Frightened?

17. A. raised               B. took             C. dropped              D. forgot?

18. A. disappeared          B. lost             C. pulled                   D. turned?

19. A. endless              B. interesting          C. exciting             D. hopeless?

20. A. ever since           B. for a while?        C. for you              D. forever?

My uncle has a very beautiful umbrella. He has had it  36  and as he is very  37  it, it still looks as good as new.?

“That umbrella must have   38  you a great deal of money, Uncle.” I said to him one day.

“No,” he replied, “ 39 ”

“Was it a present?” I asked again.

“No,” said he.

“Then how did you get it?” I asked.

“Well,” he answered, “it is a strange true story. About ten years ago, I was walking along a quiet London street one evening   40   it suddenly rained. I had no raincoat and no umbrella. No buses ran through that street and there were no   41   in sight. As I was on my way to a party, I didn't want to get  42  . So I stood at a doorway and waited for the rain to stop. By and by it grew quite  43  .There wasn't a person around, and  44   it rained and rained.  45   a young man came to the place where I was standing,  46    a large umbrella over his head.  47  I hoped he would   48   me to walk to the next corner with him in order that I could get a taxi, I stepped   49   the dark doorway where I had been standing, and said: “  50  , where are you going with that umbrella?”

 51   by my sudden appearance, the young man  52   the umbrella, which, I'm afraid, he had just stolen, ran away, and  53  into the darkness. I picked up the umbrella and continued my walk. I knew it would be  54  in this big city to try and discover the owner and so I've kept it   55  .”

A. for months                B. for years?           C. since childhood                D. for a few days?

A. satisfied with         B. afraid of     ?           C. proud of                          D. careful with?

A. given                          B. cost                         C. saved                              D. made?

A. very little                    B. I don't know             C. not a penny                            D. quite a lot?

A. when                          B. though                            C. because                           D. after?

A. bicycles                      B. policemen?             C. friends                                   D. taxis?

A. tired                           B. back                        C. wet                                 D. away?

A. dark                      B. fine                         C. dirty                               D. dangerous?

A. naturally                     B. suddenly?               C. always                                   D. still?

A. At once                        B. At last                      C. As usual                          D. As well

A. selling                          B. carrying?                C. moving                           D. showing?

A. As                              B. Although                  C. While                             D. If

A. order                          B. persuade                   C. allow                                    D. promise?

A. into                            B. out of                      C. towards                           D. along?

A. By the way                   B. Help                        C. Excuse me                       D. Stop?

A. Punished                     B. Discouraged?          C. Warned                           D. Frightened?

A. raised                         B. took                         C. dropped                          D. forgot?

A. disappeared                 B. lost                          C. pulled                             D. turned?

A. endless                       B. interesting               C. exciting                           D. hopeless?

A. ever since                   B. for a while?            C. for you                           D. forever?

My uncle has a very beautiful umbrella. He has had it  36  and as he is very  37  it, it still looks as good as new.?
“That umbrella must have   38  you a great deal of money, Uncle.” I said to him one day.
“No,” he replied, “ 39 ”
“Was it a present?” I asked again.
“No,” said he.
“Then how did you get it?” I asked.
“Well,” he answered, “it is a strange true story. About ten years ago, I was walking along a quiet London street one evening   40  it suddenly rained. I had no raincoat and no umbrella. No buses ran through that street and there were no   41  in sight. As I was on my way to a party, I didn't want to get  42 . So I stood at a doorway and waited for the rain to stop. By and by it grew quite  43 .There wasn't a person around, and  44  it rained and rained.  45  a young man came to the place where I was standing,  46   a large umbrella over his head.  47  I hoped he would   48  me to walk to the next corner with him in order that I could get a taxi, I stepped   49  the dark doorway where I had been standing, and said: “ 50 , where are you going with that umbrella?”
 51  by my sudden appearance, the young man  52   the umbrella, which, I'm afraid, he had just stolen, ran away, and  53  into the darkness. I picked up the umbrella and continued my walk. I knew it would be  54  in this big city to try and discover the owner and so I've kept it   55 .”

【小题1】

A．for months B． for years? C．since childhood D．for a few days?

I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday. The announcement in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theatre box office in Richland Hills any day between 10:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Since I work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45-minute lunch break. Unluckily, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for 15 minutes waiting for a bus. By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip. So I gave up and went back to the office.
The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly 20 minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the box office. I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and went back across the town. By Friday, I realized that my only hope was to make the trip by taxi. It was expensive, but I felt it would be worth to hear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold out all the tickets.
【小题1】The writer could go and buy the ticket __________.