I had once helped a friend of mine run a watermelon stall. I noticed something interesting. Almost every buyer would lift the melon up to their ear，smartly tap it, apparently trying to listen to something. I wondered what they expected to hear.

Finally I could no longer hold back my curiosity and made bold to ask a customer—an elderly gentleman—about this. Hearing my question，he roared with laughter. Then he replied in a self­mocking(自嘲)tone.“Young lady，I have been doing this for more than fifty years. All I know is that everybody would stare at you as if you were a fool if you just pick up the melon and leave！”

Not long after that，my watermelon stall friend unexpectedly sent me an invitation for her wedding，which really surprised me. I asked her, “How come you are seized by a sudden desire to get married? I don't remember ever hearing you mention that yon've got a boyfriend.” She answered while counting money，“Everyone has to get married anyway，so it is better to get married sooner than later.”

I could think of no word to refute(反驳)her. It seems that everybody is living for everybody else and has forgotten the need of their own heart. It may be safe and save a lot of worries by following others' suit in doing things. The use of We or Us will give one a steady and sure sense of pride. But using the pronoun “I” would often give one a guilty conscience.

I find all these things somewhat funny. We have got used to taking cue from(模仿) others and follow their suit. In turn，we also take it for granted that we should judge the right and wrong of others by our own standard. As a matter of fact，this massive practice is still wrong though we all follow others' suit like this, but we feel at ease and, justified simply because this is the way of us, and so we can have an easy conscience because this has been practiced by so many people.

1.The writer probably feels that it is ________.

A．necessary for the buyer to tap the watermelon

B．foolish of the buyers to buy watermelon without tapping it

C．funny that the buyers will tap the watermelons when buying them

D．wise of the elderly gentleman to tap watermelons before buy them

2.The writer uses the example of her friend's decision of getting married to show that ________.

A．her friend took no account of others's feeling

B．her friend decided to marry just to follow the crowd

C．her friend was a person who has strong personality

D．everybody in the world should marry for  others

3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．It may be safe to follow others' suit in doing things.

B．I was surprised to receive my friend's invitation for her wedding.

C．My experience of helping my friend run a watermelon stall was interesting.

D．The use of We or I will give speakers themselves quite different senses.

4.Which word can replace the underlined word“justified”in the last paragraph?

A．Reasonable.       B．Embarrassed.     C．Ashamed.        D．Nervous.

5.In which section of a magazine can you read the passage?

A．Art and Life          B．Sport and Health

C．Culture and Society    D．Science and Technology

Rising above the names

　　 I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.

　 “Mom，come here！There's this lady here my size！”

　　 The mother rushed to her son；then she turned to me to apologize.

　　 I smiled and told her，“It's okay.”Then I talked to the boy，“Hi，I'm Darryl Kramer.How are you？”

　　 He studied me from head to toe，and asked，“Are you a little mommy？”

　 “Yes，I have a son，”I answered.

　 “Why are you so little？”he asked.

　 “It's the way I was born，”I said.“Some people are little.Some are tall.I'm just not going to grow any bigger.”After I answered his other questions，I shook the boy's hand and left.

　　 My life as a little person is filled with stories like that.I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.

　　 It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness.I stand three feet nine inches tall.I was born an achondroplasia dwarf(侏儒)．Despite this，I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.

　　 I didn't realize how short I was until I started school.Some kids picked on me，calling me names.Then I knew.I began to hate the first day of school each year.New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.

　　 But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life.I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage.What I lacked in height，I made up for in personality.

　　 I'm 47 now，and the stares have not diminished as I've grown older.People are amazed when they see me driving.I try to keep a good attitude.When people are rude，I remind myself，“Look what else I have－a great family，nice friends.”

　　 It's the children's questions that make my life special.I enjoy answering their questions.My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers(a person of the same age，class，position，etc.)，whatever size and shape they come in，and treat them with respect.

1．Why did the mother apologize to the author?

A．Because the boy ran into the author.

B．Because the boy laughed at the author.

C．Because the boy said the author was fatter than him.

D．Because the mother thought the boy's words had hurt the author.

2．When did the author realize that she was too short?

A．When she grew up.

B．When she was 47 years old.

C．When she began to go to school.

D．When she met the boy in the supermarket.

3．Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word“diminished”？

A．Dismissed. 　　　　 B．Increased.

C．Decreased. 　　　　 D．Discriminated.

4．How does the author feel about people's stares?

A．Angry. 　　　　　　 B．Calm.

C．Painful. 　　　　　 D．Discouraged.

Tomorrow evening I will be interviewed on stage by a museum official. I will be an interpreter, talking from experience as a disability rights lawyer and activist.
In “special” schools and camps for children with physical and mental disabilities, I grew up knowing we were a category of person that the world did not want. Most of us had a story of some doctor advising our parents to put up away or to let us die. We owed our survival to parents who had irrationally(不理性地) bonded with us. We knew we were lucky and hoped our luck would hold. To increase the chance of surviving, we tended to be charming. We developed thick skins.
By the time I roll onto the stage the next night, I’ve thought a lot about there and here, then and now. When the first question comes, I tell them about my fascination with the wheelchair, and somehow it sounds funny, and laughter fills the room. We talk from the horror of Nazis killing (Nazis once killed the disabled patients as useless) to a funny confession that I, too, tend to stare at disabled people on the street.
What has come over me? In this room, people with disabilities in thrilling variety make me feel at home. Here people, disabled and not, are gathered by choice.
I haven’t forgotten that 2 million people remain in US disability institutions, that some disabled children still cannot attend mainstream schools, that too many of us live in poverty. But I can’t hold onto anger and sorrow for I feel a shared sense of possibility, a drive for a world that will embrace both the fit and the unfit and hold them so dear that the division dies.
【小题1】What’s the author according to the passage?

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分） 
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（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 was shopping in the supermarket when I heard the young voice. 
"Mom, come here! There's this lady here my ___31___!" 
The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to ___32___.
I smiled and told her: "It's okay." Then I talked to the boy, "Hi, I'm Darryl Kramer. How are you?"
He ___33___ me from head to toe, and asked: "Are you a little ___34___? 
"Yes, I have a son," I answered. 
"Why are you so little?" he asked. 
"It's the way I was ___35___," I said. "Some people are little. Some are tall. I'm just not going to grow any bigger." After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy's hand, and left. 
My life as a little person is filled with ___36___ like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents. 
It takes only one glance to see my ___37___. I stand 114 cm tall. I was born a dwarf（侏儒）. ___38___ this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn't ___39___ how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names（辱骂我）. Then I knew. I began to ___40___ the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I ___41___ to climb the school bus stairs.  
But I learned to smile and ___42___ the fact that I was going to be ___43___ my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I ___44___ in personality. 
I'm 47 now, and the stares have not ___45___ as I've grown older. People are ___46___ when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are ___47___, I remind myself: "Look what else I have -a great family, nice friends." 
It's the children's questions that make my life ___48___. I enjoy answering their questions. My ___49___ is that, I will encourage them to accept their peers（同龄人）, whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with ___50___.  
31. A. weight                       B. size                   C. shape                       D. personality 
32. A. scold                         B. explain              C. apologize                 D. Respond
33. A. studied                      B. identified          C. inspected                  D. Checked
34. A. lady                          B. mommy            C. person                      D. kid 
35. A. raised                        B. viewed              C. treated                            D. born 
36. A. stories                       B. pains                 C. stares                       D. Excuses
37. A. shortcomings                 B. strangeness        C. uniqueness                D. Shyness
38. A. Besides                      B. Despite             C. Except                            D. Beyond 
39. A. admit                        B. care                  C. realize                      D. fear 
40. A. hate                           B. tolerate             C. forget                      D. ignore 
41. A. determined                 B. struggled           C. managed                  D. learned 
42. A. refuse                        B. enjoy                C. accept                      D. consider 
43. A. exposed                            B. pitied                C. noticed                     D. Avoided
44. A. made up for               B. ended up with    C. kept track of             D. made use of 
45. A. increased                   B. decreased          C. accumulated             D. changed 
46. A. scared                        B. satisfied            C. amazed                    D. puzzled 
47. A. rude                          B. curious              C. regretful                   D. cruel 
48. A. fantastic                        B. meaningful        C. embarrassing            D. special 
49. A. promise                            B. intention           C. hope                        D. advantage 
50. A. respect                       B. frankness           C. sympathy                 D. emotion 

The power of encouragement is great. You may draw some inspiration from the following story.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a famous 19th­century poet and artist, was once  26  by an elderly man. The old man had some sketches (素描) and drawings that he  27  　Rossetti to look at them and tell him if they were any good, or  28  they at least showed potential(潜在的)talent.

Rossetti looked them  29  carefully. After the first few, he knew that they were worthless, showing not the least sign of artistic talent. But Rossetti was a  30  man, and he told the elderly  31  as gently as possible that the pictures were of little value and showed little talent. He was sorry,  32  he could not　33  to the man.

The visitor was  34  , but seemed to expect Rossetti’s  35   .He then apologized for  36  Rossetti’s time, but would he just  37  a few more drawings—these done by a(n)  38  art student？Rossetti looked over the  39  batch (一批) of sketches and immediately became  40  over the talent they revealed(显示；透露) .“These,” he said,“Oh, these are good. This young student has great talent. He should be  41  every help and encouragement in his career as an artist. He has a hopeful future if he will work and stick to it.”

Rossetti could see that the old man was  42  moved.“Who is this fine young   artist？” he asked.“Your son？” “No,” said the old man sadly.“It was I  43  painted the pictures forty years ago.  44  I had heard your praise then！For you see, I got discouraged and 45  drawing—too soon.”

1.                A．expected       B．wished         C．visited    D．requested

2.                A．wanted         B．made          C．had  D．hoped

3.                A．why           B．which          C．that  D．whether

4.                A．up            B．over           C．on   D．down

5.                A．rude           B．talented        C．kind D．creative

6.                A．woman         B．man           C．artist D．poet

7.                A．but            B．and            C．or   D．otherwise

8.                A．speak          B．apologize       C．lie   D．listen

9.                A．annoyed        B．disappointed     C．delighted D．puzzled

10.               A．achievement    B．adjustment      C．judgment  D．statement

11.               A．turning up      B．making up       C．taking up  D．looking up

12.               A．look at         B．glare at         C．aim at D．stare at

13.               A．pretty          B．famouse        C．young D．talented

14.               A．first           B．second         C．third  D．last

15.               A．enthusiastic     B．sad            C．angry D．bad

16.               A．made          B．learnt          C．taught D．given

17.               A．slightly         B．deeply         C．barely D．smoothly

18.               A．what           B．which          C．whom D．who

19.               A．Only if         B．If only          C．If so  D．If any

20.               A．insisted on      B．led to          C．headed to D．gave up