23. A. box　　　 B. wind　　　　 C. room　　　　　 D. hand

22. A. gave out　 B. gave up　　 　 C. came with　　　 D. came from

21. A. remembered B. knew　　　 　　 C. asked　　　　　 D. wondered

20. A. pain　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. joy　　　　 　　 C. excitement　　　 　　　 D. kindness

19. A. Suddenly 　 B. Luckily　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. Normally　　　 　　　 D. Generally

18. A. stopped　 　 B. tried　　　　 C. refused　　　　 　 D. began

17. A. excuse　　 　 B. idea　 　　　　 C. preparation　　 D. reason

16. A. happy　　 B. proud　　　 C. simple　　　 　　 D. beautiful

15. — I’m going to Venice to spend the holiday next week.

　　 — ______. I’ll have to look after my sister at home.

　　　 A. Take it easy　　　　　　 　　 B. You’re lucky

　　　 C. No problem　　　　　　 　　 D. It’s no big deal

Section B (18 marks)　

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of whom were much larger and much more beautiful than her. Some were splendid and some were rather 　16　 , like herself. The little candle had no 　17　 　why she was there, and the other candles made her feel rather small and unimportant.　　

When the sun went down and the room 　18　 　to get dark, she noticed a large man walking toward her with a ball of fire on a stick. 　19　 , she realized that the man was going to set her on fire. “No, no!” she cried, “Don’t burn me, please!” But she knew that she could not be heard and prepared for the 　20　 　that would surely follow.　　

To her surprise, the room filled with light. She 　21　 　where it came from since the man had put out his fire stick. To her delight, she realized that the light 　22　 　herself.　

Then the man struck another fire stick and lit the other candles in the 　23　 　one by one. Each one gave out the same light as she did.　　

Slowly, she 　24　 　that her wax (蜡) began to flow. She knew that she would 　25　 　die. With this realization came a sense of why she had been created. “Perhaps my 　26　 　on earth is to give out light until I die,” she thought. And that’s exactly what she did.　　

God created you and me to produce light in a 　27　 　world. Like that little candle, we all can produce the same amount of light, no matter how small we are or what color we might be.

14. Considering the challenge of an aging society, many approve ______ a second child if either parent is an only child.

　　 A. couples to have　　 　　　　　　　　 B. couples of having

　　 C. of couples to have　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. of couples having