It was Mother's Day. John was so busy with his work that he had ___1___time to return home. When he passed by a flower shop in the evening, he got an idea. "I'll send Mum some roses ."
___2___John was picking his flowers, another young man went inside. "How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?" he asked. The assistant Nancy was trying to tell him roses were as ___3___as forty dollars a dozen . Maybe he would only buy some carnations.
"No, I have to have red roses. " He said, "My mum was badly ill last year and I didn't spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses ___4___rose is her favorite. "
After hearing it, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. When the young man took the roses, he almost jumped into the air and ran out of the shop. John was quite excited to see that. Then John took out his money and___5___his roses and asked the assistant to send them to his mother.
As he walked out, he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a___6___. But soon he found it was not a park but a cemetery. Crying, the young man___7___put down the roses," Mum, oh, Mum, why didn't I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help ___8___find my mum and tell her I love her..."
___9___thinking anything, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the __10____home himself.

Each day I took the same route to work and passed by a security guard (保安）.  1  greeted everyone walking by and made small talk with many of the passers-by and wishing them well. His simple “hello” made people feel   2 . His cheerful smile became a part of my day. When he was absent, many people noticed it, and I felt a little bit empty.

The first few times, I didn’t say hello back to him when he greeted me. I was   3  in my own world. On Monday the security guard asked me:“How was your weekend?” I told him about my visit to California, to see my mother, who had colon cancer. I  4 how I visited her each month. “The time with my mother is so precious(珍贵的),   5  I know that each time may be the last.”

He listened like a close friend I’d known for years. He felt my   6 and my love. He shared how he had lost his father to cancer two years before. He said, “I understand what you are going through. My father passed away while I was serving in Germany. Because of some reasons I was unable to fly back in time. I was unable to say goodbye to him. I wish I could have been with him, given him a hug, and told him I loved him. You are really lucky to have the gift of   7 .”

As I walked away, I realized I did not even know his name. The following day, on my way to work, I said: “After we spent all that time   8 yesterday, I still don’t know your name.” He answered, “Gary.” I responded back, “I’m Deborah.”

After that, we talked and shared stories about our weekends, dreams and families.

Later, Gary got   9  a new job and moved away. It’s been several years since I last spoke to him, yet the memory feels like yesterday. Gary reached out to me,   10  me and made my morning the best part of the day. I experienced the beauty of friendship and love.

In the business of life, we often forget to wish a stranger hello although how easy it is, and how great and lasting a   11  it can make. When you say hello to a stranger you become like a pebble(鹅卵石) thrown into a pond. With each ripple (波纹）you create, you spread love that continues to   12 . Make a point of saying hello to a stranger today. You will give the gift that keeps on giving.

1.                A．She            B．They           C．He  D．I

2.                A．nervous        B．funny          C．special   D．surprised

3.                A．lost            B．left            C．missed   D．dropped

4.                A．wondered      B．shared         C．realized  D．found

5.                A．because        B．so             C．and  D．but

6.                A．weakness       B．illness          C．sorriness  D．sadness

7.                A．god            B．time           C．nature   D．friendship

8.                A．thinking        B．calling          C．crying    D．talking

9.                A．offered         B．afforded        C．invited   D．chosen

10.               A．moved         B．touched        C．told  D． helped

11.               A．progress        B．sense          C．trouble    D．difference

12.               A．receive        B．send           C．give  D．create

 Many famous people had dreams when they were young. They often worked hard to make their dreams come true.

When I was only 13 years old, I first thought about what I should do in the future. I used to dream about being a basketball player, a soccer player, or a baseball player. However, I gave up these dreams because I was too short. Then I thought about going into music, so I bought a guitar. But I couldn’t play it very well. Then I had to give up my dream again. After that I thought about being a reporter and I worked really hard at it. At the age of 25, my dream came true and I became a reporter.

Finally, I learned the truth about making dreams come true. I should never give up and I must work hard.

Answer the questions according to the passage.

1.How old was the writer when he first had a dream?

2.Why did he give up being a basketball player?

3.How many dreams did he give up?

4.Did his dream come true at last?

5.What can you learn from this passage?

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.
My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very   36  life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would   37  my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never   38  again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I didn’t want to be bad enough. She   39  that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school-walking on my own!
When the Great Depression（大萧条）  40 , my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support（支撑） both of us. At that moment, I decided never to be   41  again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real   42  point happened on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1916. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels for families and was angry that they charged（收费）an extra $2 for each child. That was too   43  for most American families. I told my wife that I was going to open a hotel for families that would never charge extra for   44 . There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not   45 , mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of hard time. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my heart, I   46  doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world­ - Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situations. But if you can find a   47  in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

My father had a small business, employing（雇用）fifteen people at any given time. We sold all kinds of milk products. I had worked for my father since I was young,      did all seven kids in my family.

One day, we had a new employee, Debbie, who wanted to work in the store for the summer. She had     done this type of work before, but planned to give it her all.

On her first day, Debbie made just about every mistake in the    . She charged the wrong prices for items, she gave the wrong bag of food to the wrong customer, and she    and broke a half gallon of milk. The torture（折磨）of watching her fighting her way was too much for me. I went into my father’s office and said, “Please go out there and put her out of her misery（苦恼）.” I      him to walk right into the store and let her go away from our store.

Since my father’s office was situated within view of the sales counter, he had surely      what I was talking about. He sat,     , for a moment. Then he got up from his desk and walked over to Debbie, who was standing behind the counter.

“Debbie,” he said, as he put his hand      on her shoulder. “I have been watching you all day, and I saw how you     Mrs. Forbush.”

Debbie’s face turned red and tears began to     in her eyes as she tried hard to remember Mrs. Forbush from the many women she had given the wrong change to or drop off her milk onto the floor.

My father continued, “I’ve never seen Mrs. Forbush be so      to any one of my employees before. You really knew how to deal with her. I am sure that she is going to want you to    her every time she comes in. Keep up the good work.”

In return for being a wise and kind employer, my father got a trusty and hardworking employee for fifteen years … and a friend for life.

1.A. unless                      B. neither                    C. as                  D. nor

2.A. already               B. yet                         C. never                   D. ever

3.A. vision                  B. book              C. spirit             D. position

4.A. dropped         B. lost                    C. touched        D. missed

5.A. encouraged                 B. forced                    C. expected              D. influenced

6.A. followed                B. seen                            C. guessed      D. heard

7.A. careful                  B. upset                       C. angry                     D. thoughtful

8.A. gently                      B. seriously                      C. lightly              D. directly

9.A. accepted           B. agreed                           C. treated                 D. considered

10.A. run               B. well                              C. appear                      D. rise

11.A. funny                 B. hopeless                         C. rude                        D. polite

12.A. wait on              B. look after                        C. stand for                 D. depend on