I grew up poor---living in the housing projects (住房) with six brothers, three sisters, a varying assortment (各式各样东西的混合) of foster kids (养子), my father, and a wonderful mother, Scarlette Hunley. We had little money and few worldly goods, but plenty of love and attention. I was  36  and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still  37  a dream.

My dream was  38 . By the time I was sixteen, I could crush a baseball, and hit anything that moved on the baseball field. I was also  39 : My high school coach Jarvis, who not only believed in me, but taught me how to believe in myself. He  40  me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction (信念). One particular incident with Coach Jarvis changed my life forever.

It was the summer between my junior and senior years, and a friend  41  me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket—cash for dates with girls, certainly, money for a new bike and new clothes, and the  42  of savings for a house for my mother. The prospect of a summer job was attractive and interesting, and I wanted to jump at the opportunity. Then I realized I would have to  43  summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing.

When I told Coach Jarvis, he was  44  as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work，” he said. “Your  45  days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them.”

I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the words that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his  46  to me.

“How much are you going to make at this job, son?” He demanded.

“3.5 dollars an hour.” I replied.

“Well,” he asked, “Is $3.5 an hour the price of a dream?”

That question, the plainness of it, laid bare for me the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal. I delicated myself to sports that summer and with the year I was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was  47  a $20,000 contract. I signed with the Denver Broncos in 1998 for $1.7 million, and bought my mother the house of my dreams.

.A. happy          B. polite               C. shy              D. honest

A. live           B. afford               C. make             D. need

A.athletics           B. music                C. business         D. money

A. right          B. popular          C. lucky                D. confident

A. persuaded      B. taught               C. brought          D. asked

A. sent           B. advised          C. gave             D. recommended

A. aim            B. idea             C. start                D. purpose

A. give in         B. give up          C. give away            D. give off

A. disappointed       B. mad              C. frightened           D. shameful

A. living         B. playing          C. working          D. learning

A.sadness         B. regret               C. hopelessness     D. disappointment

A.paid            B. got              C. offered          D. presented

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I grew up poor－living with my wonderful mother. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I was   21   and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still   22   a dream.

   My dream was   23  . By the time I was sixteen, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and   24   anything that moved on the football field. I was also   25  : My high school coach was John, who not only believed in me, but also taught me   26   to believe in myself. He   27   me the difference between having a dream and remaining true to that dream. One particular   28   with Coach John changed my life forever.

   A friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket－money for a new bike, new clothes and the   29   of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to   30   up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.

   When I told John, he was   31   as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work, ”He said. “Your   32   days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them. ”I stood before him with my head   33  , trying to think of the   34   that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his   35   in me.

   “How much are you going to make at this job, son? ”He asked. “3.5 dollars an hour, ”I replied.

   “Well, ”he asked, “is $3.5 an hour the price of a dream? ”

   That simple question made   36   for me the difference between   37   something right now and having a   38  . I decided myself to play sports that summer and the next year I was   39   by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was   40   a $20,000 contract（agreement）. In 1999, I bought my mother the house of my dream!

A. happy             B. polite                C. shy              D. honest

A. live              B. afford               C. make              D. need

A. athletics         B. music            C. business          D. money

A. kick              B. play             C. pass              D. hit

A. right              B. popular          C. lucky             D. confident

A. how               B. why              C. when              D. whether

A. gave              B. taught               C. brought           D. asked

A. accident           B. matter               C. problem           D. experience

A. keep               B. end              C. give              D. pick

A. mad               B. mournful         C. frightened            D. shameful

A. living            B. playing          C. working           D. learning

A. moving        B. nodding          C. shaking           D. hanging

A. answers           B. excuses          C. words             D. ways

A. sadness           B. regret               C. hopelessness      D. disappointment

A. direct            B. clear            C. straight          D. bare

A. wanting           B. changing         C. dreaming          D. enjoying

A. wish              B. goal             C. score             D. desire

A. fired              B. accompanied      C. avoided           D. hired

A. paid              B. got              C. offered           D. presented

Dutch treat is a late-nineteenth-century term, and it originally refers to a dinner where everyone is expected to pay for his own share of the food and drink. If people go “Dutch treat”, or simply “go Dutch”, it means that they will share the expenses of a social engagement.

   There are many other “Dutch” expressions in English, many of which were invented in Britain in the seventeenth century, when the Dutch and the English were commercial and military rivals. The British used “Dutch” to refer to something bad, cheap and shameful. A “Dutch bargain” at that time was an uneven, one-sided deal; “Dutch reckoning” was an unitemized(未逐条记载的) account; and “Dutch widow” was slang for prostitute. Later centuries brought in “Dutch courage”, for bravery caused by drink; “Dutch concert”, for noisy music; “Dutch nightingale”, meaning a frog; and “double Dutch”, for incomprehensible language or talk.

   Some of the expressions are still in use today, but some are not. In fact, in American English, some “Dutch” expressions have nothing to do with the Dutch, but something with the German. It was probably because of the similar spelling and pronunciation that people made a mistake in distinguishing between “Dutch” and “Deutsch” (the German word for German), when German immigrants came to America in the 1700s. For instance, “the Pennsylvania Dutch” refers to the German descendants, instead of the Dutch descendants, living in Pennsylvania.

1.Many of the “Dutch” expressions were invented with negative sense, because ___________.

A. The Dutch were underdeveloped people.

B. Britain and Holland were competitors at that time.

C. The Dutch had many bad habits.

D. The British were superior to the Dutch.

2. With the information you get from Paragraph 2, make a guess at the meaning of the sentence “You are in Dutch”. It probably means ____________ .

A.You are in Holland.                                              B. You are welcome.

C. You are in trouble.                                              D. You are lucky.

3.According to the passage, some native American “Dutch” expressions were related to the German instead of the Dutch, simply because ______________.

A. People hated the German as much as the Dutch.

B. People made a mistake at the beginning.

C. People made a joke about the German.

D. The German immigrants proclaimed that they were Dutch.

 

   Dutch treat is a late-nineteenth-century term, and it originally refers to a dinner where everyone is expected to pay for his own share of the food and drink. If people go “Dutch treat”, or simply “go Dutch”, it means that they will share the expenses of a social engagement.

   There are many other “Dutch” expressions in English, many of which were invented in Britain in the seventeenth century, when the Dutch and the English were commercial and military rivals. The British used “Dutch” to refer to something bad, cheap and shameful. A “Dutch bargain” at that time was an uneven, one-sided deal; “Dutch reckoning” was an unitemized(未逐条记载的) account; and “Dutch widow” was slang for prostitute. Later centuries brought in “Dutch courage”, for bravery caused by drink; “Dutch concert”, for noisy music; “Dutch nightingale”, meaning a frog; and “double Dutch”, for incomprehensible language or talk.

   Some of the expressions are still in use today, but some are not. In fact, in American English, some “Dutch” expressions have nothing to do with the Dutch, but something with the German. It was probably because of the similar spelling and pronunciation that people made a mistake in distinguishing between “Dutch” and “Deutsch” (the German word for German), when German immigrants came to America in the 1700s. For instance, “the Pennsylvania Dutch” refers to the German descendants, instead of the Dutch descendants, living in Pennsylvania.

65. Many of the “Dutch” expressions were invented with negative sense, because ___________.

       A. The Dutch were underdeveloped people.

       B. Britain and Holland were competitors at that time.

       C. The Dutch had many bad habits.

       D. The British were superior to the Dutch.

66. With the information you get from Paragraph 2, make a guess at the meaning of the sentence    “You are in Dutch”. It probably means ____________ .

       A.You are in Holland.                                B. You are welcome.

       C. You are in trouble.                                D. You are lucky.

67. According to the passage, some native American “Dutch” expressions were related to the    German instead of the Dutch, simply because ______________.

       A. People hated the German as much as the Dutch.

       B. People made a mistake at the beginning.

       C. People made a joke about the German.

       D. The German immigrants proclaimed that they were Dutch.

   Dutch treat is a late-nineteenth-century term, and it originally refers to a dinner where everyone is expected to pay for his own share of the food and drink. If people go “Dutch treat”, or simply “go Dutch”, it means that they will share the expenses of a social engagement.

   There are many other “Dutch” expressions in English, many of which were invented in Britain in the seventeenth century, when the Dutch and the English were commercial and military rivals. The British used “Dutch” to refer to something bad, cheap and shameful. A “Dutch bargain” at that time was an uneven, one-sided deal; “Dutch reckoning” was an unitemized(未逐条记载的) account; and “Dutch widow” was slang for prostitute. Later centuries brought in “Dutch courage”, for bravery caused by drink; “Dutch concert”, for noisy music; “Dutch nightingale”, meaning a frog; and “double Dutch”, for incomprehensible language or talk.

   Some of the expressions are still in use today, but some are not. In fact, in American English, some “Dutch” expressions have nothing to do with the Dutch, but something with the German. It was probably because of the similar spelling and pronunciation that people made a mistake in distinguishing between “Dutch” and “Deutsch” (the German word for German), when German immigrants came to America in the 1700s. For instance, “the Pennsylvania Dutch” refers to the German descendants, instead of the Dutch descendants, living in Pennsylvania.

65. Many of the “Dutch” expressions were invented with negative sense, because ___________.

       A. The Dutch were underdeveloped people.

       B. Britain and Holland were competitors at that time.

       C. The Dutch had many bad habits.   

       D. The British were superior to the Dutch.

66. With the information you get from Paragraph 2, make a guess at the meaning of the sentence    “You are in Dutch”. It probably means ____________ .

       A.You are in Holland.                                    B. You are welcome.

       C. You are in trouble.                                    D. You are lucky.

67. According to the passage, some native American “Dutch” expressions were related to the  German instead of the Dutch, simply because ______________.

       A. People hated the German as much as the Dutch.

       B. People made a mistake at the beginning.

       C. People made a joke about the German.

       D. The German immigrants proclaimed that they were Dutch.