Birthdays are strange things. The more you have, the more you try and pretend they don’t matter, and the more     1.  . I’m not really sure why they think so. It’s true that you are getting older, but as     2.  , “Who isn’t getting older every day?” The problem may be that a birthday reminds people of all the things     

3.  , but have not. I certainly understand that feeling, though I think    4.    that I most want to do — a kind of personal re-ordering (重新排序) of the to-do list. What makes you depressed(郁闷) on your birthday is that you realize your re-ordered to-do list is exactly the same as it was last year. That makes you feel     5.  , and not been anywhere. I have not had that experience this year. I look back at where I was last year and find things have changed since then.

Jennifer was sitting on the beach. After all she had been through, it was just what she needed. It’s getting __31 ,” she thought. “I should go home.”
She wanted to know how her __32  would react（反应）, when she __33  home after the three days she was missing（失踪）.
It was really dark when she finally reached her front door. It seemed different to her. _34_ had taken care of the outside garden for __35  days. She was surprised as her father usually worked hard to keep everything __36  and tidy（整洁的）. She couldn’t understand what was going on.
She entered the _37 _. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written __38  her father. __39 said, “Dear Ellen, here is some coffee. I am out searching(搜寻).” Ellen was her mother, but where was she?
She went to her parents’ room. She found her there. Her __40  was lying on the bed, fast sleep. Her face looked so _ 41 , as if she hadn’t slept for days. Jennifer wanted to wake her up __42  she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her.
When Jennifer _43_, something was different: she wasn’t in her mother’s room any more and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away _ 44 . She was on her own bed.
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice ask, “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you __45  us all very, very worried.”

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Today, I want to write something about my mother. When I had something difficult to do, I often asked my mother for   1   . But she always said, “Do it yourself, dear.” I was not happy about this at all. I thought she was the    2    mother in the world.
For example, one day, I decided to   3 some friends to my home. My bedroom was not in order(整齐的). Books were    4  , and I didn’t make the bed. I asked my mother to help me clean it,   5   she still said, “Do it yourself, girl.”
Because of my “lazy mother”, I had to   6  my clothes and clean my room. I have to help my parents do   7  .  I even had to go to the dentist by myself. It was really hard for me to do everything well, but I have    8   a lot. 
As time goes by, I understand my mother. She made me clever and diligent (勤奋的) .      9 a great mother!  A    10 mother is worth（等值于）one hundred teachers! Don’t you think so?

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阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
Are you nervous when you stand in front of the public? Are you afraid to make a speech?
Li Jun, a middle school boy, felt shy when he was making a speech the other day. Li had thought it would be quite easy to speak in front of   1  classmates.
"I was wrong. It was very different and much  2  than talking to my classmates during playtime," Li said. "I tried, but it was really difficult to speak. I felt like a mute (哑巴) and wanted to leave the classroom   3  "
Li is not ___4____. Many middle school students now have the same   5  : they can talk about their ideas freely   6  their best friends after class, but can't speak in public. According to Zhou Hong, a teacher from a university, the main reason is that schools in China pay more attention to writing instead of 7  .
Zhou hopes schools can give students more chances to open their  8  , such as speech competitions, English corners and class discussions. Students can join in any one they want to.   9 he also gives some advice to students. "During your free time you should 10  more. When you're speaking in public, take it ___11___. Just imagine you're talking to nobody and speak up your ideas clearly," Zhou said. "That  12 a fine public speech and you'll feel confident. "