(2014·蚌埠市高三第三次教学质量检查考试)
Some years ago when I was in my second year in university，I heard Salome Bey sing for the first time.The moment was exciting.Salome’s ____filled the room and brought the theater to life.I was so____that I decided to write an article about her.
I____Salome Bey，telling her I was from Essence magazine，and that I wanted to meet her to talk about her career.She____and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday.When I hung up，I was scared out of my mind.I___I was lying.I was not a writer at all and hadn’t even written a grocery list.
I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday.I sat there____，taking notes and asking questions that all began with，“Can you tell me...” I soon realized that____Salome Bey was one thing，but writing a story for a national magazine was just impossible.The____was almost unbearable (不可容忍的)．I struggled for days ____draft after draft.Finally I put my manuscript (手稿) into a large envelope and dropped it into a mailbox.
It didn’t take long.My manuscript____.How stupid of me！I thought.How could I____in a world of professional writers？Knowing I couldn’t ____the rejection letter，I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.
Five years later，I was moving to California.While____my apartment，I came across the unopened envelope.This time I opened it and   ____the editor’s letter in disbelief：
Dear Ms Profit，
Your story on Salome Bey is fantastic.Yet we need some ___  materials.Please add those and return the article immediately.We would like to____your story soon.
Shocked，it took me a long time to____.Fear of rejection cost me dearly.I lost at least five hundred dollars and having my article appear in a major magazine.More importantly，I lost years of____writing.Today，I have become a full­time writer.Looking back on this____，I learned a very important lesson：You can’t____to doubt yourself.

小题1:	A．joy　 B．voice C．speech　 D．smile

小题2:	A．moved　 B．active C．satisfied　 D．proud

小题3:	A．visited　 B．emailed C．interviewed D．phoned

小题4:	A．agreed　 B．refused C．hesitated D．paused

小题5:	A．replied 　 B．discovered C．explained D．knew

小题6:	A．seriously　 B．nervously C．patiently D．quietly

小题7:	A．blaming　 B．fooling C．inviting 　 D．urging

小题8:	A．hardship　 B．failure C．comment　 D．pressure

小题9:	A．on　 B．by C．with D．in

小题10:

A．returned B．disappeared C．spread　 D．improved

小题11:

A．compare B．compete C．survive 　 D．struggle

小题12:

A．ignore　 B．deliver C．face D．receive

小题13:

A．cleaning B．repairing C．decorating 　 D．leaving

小题14:

A．saw 　 B．read C．found　 D．noticed

小题15:

A．memorial　 B．relevant C．private 　 D．reliable

小题16:

A．broadcast　　 B．create C．publish　 D．assess

小题17:

A．prepare B．recover C．escape　 D．concentrate

小题18:

A．energetic　 B．enjoyable C．typical　 D．endless

小题19:

A．experience B．success C．benefit　　 D．accident

小题20:

A．attempt 　 B．pretend C．expect　　 D．afford

A culture’s values can be mirrored by its humor. Humor has been evaluated by many great minds such as Thomas Hobbes, who, in “On Nature”, disliked humor, “Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden thought of feeling far better than others.” He thought humor to be a negative quality of human narrow-mindedness.
However, Mordechai Gordon, Ph. D of Education, insists, “Humor allows us to view the world from an angle that is amusing rather than serious.” I agree with Gordon. Learning to look at the world through humor is important.
In the United States, every four years an election occurs. Without humor as a way to express their feelings, how else would Americans keep from clawing their eyes out and going the way of lemming? Television shows like “The Daily Show” have become important parts of American culture. They are mothering the masses by metaphorically(隐喻地) airplane-ing politics into our mouths. They make politics fun.
Of course, politics is only one type of humor. Social humor helps people through the twists and turns of the human condition. American pop culture promotes an unhealthy self- image. On the topic of self-image, Hari Kondabolu stands out. He has a joke about the popular musical group “The Pussycat Dolls”, describing their hit song “Don't Cha” as a negative representation of women. He points out an obvious offence in American culture.
A study from Loyola University of Maryland has shown that humor is one determining factor for selecting a mating partner. Amongst other things, mates look for an outstanding funny bone in a potential partner.
Of course, humor is not always used for good purposes. Humor can be linked to vulgarity (粗俗)and racism, but, like everything else, it has potential to unite human beings by allowing us to laugh at ourselves, our failures and our connection with one another.
Though 1ife may seem tough and depressing at times, all I have to do is look in the mirror at my increased wrinkles(皱纹) to know that there is a comedy out there that even Chaplin wasn’t aware of.
With that in mind, remember to laugh with humanity and sometimes at humanity.
小题1:Hobbes believes that humor__________.

A．was for people to view the world from another angle

B．resulted in narrow-mindedness of human beings

C．had the power to mirror personal glory and national values

D．was only a way to laugh at others to make oneself feel better

小题2:The fourth paragraph is developed mainly__________.

A．by comparison

B．by process

C．by example

D．by classification

小题3:What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A．The author is determined to face life with a sense of humor.

B．The author feels helpless and sad about getting older.

C．Never be the one who laughs at other people.

D．Chaplin wasn’t aware of being laughed at.

Tail Spin

Two dolphins race around in a big pool in the Ocean Park. The smaller dolphin, Grace, shows off a few of her tricks, turning around and waving hello to the crowd. The most amazing thing about her, however, is that she's even swimming at all. She doesn't have a tail.
Grace lost her tail as a baby when she got caught up in a fish trap. When the dolphin arrived at the Ocean Park in December 2005, she was fighting for her life. “ Is she going to make it？” Her trainer, Abbey Stone, feared the worst. Grace did make it—but her tail didn't. She ended up losing her flukes and the lower part of her peduncle.
Over the past six years, she has learned to swim without her tail. Dolphins swim by moving their flukes and peduncle up and down. Grace taught herself to move another way—like a fish! She pushes herself forward through the water by moving her peduncle from side to side.
The movements put harmful pressure on Grace's backbone. So a company offered to create a man­made tail for her. The tail had to be strong enough to stay on Grace as she swam but soft enough that it wouldn't hurt her.
The first time Grace wore the artificial tail, she soon shook it off and let it sink to the bottom of the pool. Now, she is still learning to use the tail. Some days she wears it for an hour at a time, others not at all. “The new tail isn't necessary for her to feel comfortable，” says Stone, “but it helps to keep that range of motion (动作) and build muscles (肌肉)．”
Now, the dolphin is about to get an even happier ending. This month, Grace will star in Dolphin Tale, a film that focuses on her rescue and recovery. Her progress has inspired more than just a new movie. Many people travel from near and far to meet her. Seeing Grace swim with her man­made tail gives people so much courage.
小题1:When Grace first arrived at the Ocean Park, her trainer worried about her ________.

A．physical build

B．potential ability

C．chance of survival

D．adaptation to the surroundings

小题2:A man­made tail is created for Grace to ________.

A．let her recover faster

B．make her comfortable

C．adjust her way of swimming

D．help her perform better tricks

小题3:The story of Grace inspires people to ________.

A．stick to their dreams

B．treat animals friendly

C．treasure what they have

D．face difficulties bravely

Many Tuesday mornings, I have coffee with my father. Although my father is a man of few words, I really   ____  the time along with him.
One recent Tuesday, I found it a bit  ___  when I rang the doorbell, no one seemed to be home. I climbed in through the window, noticing the lights that shone from the kitchen, and  ____  that my dad must be there, but he wasn't. I  ____  through his home, checking every room. I tried not to   ____.Yet, upstairs, downstairs, no Dad anywhere.
I was worried. ____， my father was seventy­one years old. Anything could have happened to him. Then, I got in my car and drove to my mother's aerobics(有氧运动)class.
On the drive, I thought a lot about my father and our ____  together. Suddenly, I was three years old and he was  ____  me up to the living room window to see the Christmas lights. In his  ____， I was safe and secure. At age ten, he used to wake me up with warm breakfast in bed. Then I was twelve and my dad was   ____  all the kids at my birthday party with his magic tricks. I was so   ____  of my father for being so  ____  and talented. He'd made my party a   ____.
As I entered my mother's class. I was nervous. My mom looked at me in   ____.
“Mom, where's Dad？” I asked, “He's working in the  ____  on the side of the house！” she answered.
And I hurried to my car and   ____  back to the yard.“Hey, Dad！” I yelled out and told him about my fears of the last half hour. My dad  ____  laughing his typical laugh that was always  ___. I was so thankful that I still had my daddy. And so, as I  ___  the door to my father's house, we went inside for our usual cup of coffee.
Thanks, Daddy, for all the   ____  and more importantly, for all your love.

小题1:	A．dislike B．share C．get D．enjoy

小题2:	A．dangerous B．unusual C．joyful D．relaxing

小题3:	A．decided B．hoped C．expected D．wondered

小题4:	A．lived B．pulled C．hurried D．came

小题5:	A．cry B．panic C．believe D．confirm

小题6:	A．Above all B．In all C．After all D．For all

小题7:	A．journey B．family C．interest D．history

小题8:	A．holding B．picking C．calling D．bringing

小题9:	A．heart B．chest C．eyes D．arms

小题10:

A．amazing B．cheating C．inviting D．providing

小题11:

A．sure B．aware C．proud D．afraid

小题12:

A．honest B．special C．lucky D．practical

小题13:

A．feast B．prize C．secret D．success

小题14:

A．anger B．worry C．sorrow D．surprise

小题15:

A．yard B．kitchen C．room D．home

小题16:

A．fought B．raced C．looked D．fled

小题17:

A．kept B．remembered C．began D．stopped

小题18:

A．bitter B．simple C．familiar D．tight

小题19:．

A．closed	B．unlocked
C．kicked	D．knocked

小题20:

A．memories B．chances C．assistance D．advice

A shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness. The boy wandered through the wilds for many days. He   ____   reached a beautiful castle, where a wise man lived.
Entering the   ____， the boy saw the wise man talking with some people listening   ____. It was two hours before it was his    ____.     The boy explained why he had come. The wise man suggested that the boy   ____   and return in two hours.
“Meanwhile, I want you to do something”， said the wise man, handing the boy a spoon that held two drops of    ____. “As you walk around, carry this spoon without allowing the oil to spill (溢出)．”
The boy began   ___   up and down many stairs, keeping his eyes fixed on the   ____. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.
The wise man asked, “Did you see the Persian tapestries (壁毯)    ____    in my dining hall? Did you see the    ____   that took a master gardener ten years to build？”
The boy was   ___， and admitted that he had observed nothing. His only   ____   was not to spill the oil he was given.
“Go back and observe the marvels of my world”， said the wise man.  “You cannot    ____    a man if you know nothing about his house.”
Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and   ____   his exploration again. This time he observed all the   ____   of art on the ceilings and the walls. Upon returning, he related   ____   everything he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil I had given to you？” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he   ____， the boy saw that the oil was   ____.
“Well, there is only one piece of    ____    I can give you”， said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to    ____   all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

小题1:	A．suddenly B．happily C．finally D．accidentally

小题2:	A．castle B．palace C．cottage D．kitchen

小题3:	A．eagerly B．attentively C．seriously D．quietly

小题4:	A．conversation B．report C．chance D．turn

小题5:	A．look around B．look back C．set down D．set out

小题6:	A．milk B．water C．oil D．coffee

小题7:	A．sweeping B．climbing C．running D．jumping

小题8:	A．man B．castle C．way D．spoon

小题9:	A．hanging B．knitting C．storing D．flying

小题10:

A．house B．farm C．garden D．lake

小题11:

A．disappointed B．embarrassed C．surprised D．confused

小题12:

A．worry B．plan C．energy D．concern

小题13:

A．trust B．suggest C．accept D．thank

小题14:

A．sought B．continued C．began D．stopped

小题15:

A．treasures B．works C．designs D．exhibits

小题16:

A．in detail B．in common C．in general D．in particular

小题17:

A．contained B．needed C．bought D．held

小题18:

A．stolen B．gone C．dry D．ready

小题19:

A．discover B．keep C．own D．see

小题20:

A．information B．clothing C．advice D．equipment

Perhaps you think you could easily add to your happiness with more money. Strange as it may seem, if you're unsatisfied, the issue is not a lack of means to meet your desires but a lack of desires—not that you cannot satisfy your tastes but that you don't have enough tastes.
Real riches consist of well-developed and hearty capacities (能力)  to enjoy life.  Most people are already swamped(淹没) with things. They eat, wear, go and talk too much. They live in too big a house with too many rooms, yet their house of life is a hut.
Your house of life ought to be a mansion (豪宅) , a royal palace.  Every new taste, every additional interest, every fresh enthusiasm adds a room.  Here are several rooms your house of life should have.
Art should be a desire for you to develop simply because the world is full of beautiful things. If you only understood how to enjoy them and feed your spirit on them, they would make you as happy as to find plenty of ham and eggs when you're hungry.
Literature, classic literature, is a beautiful, richly furnished room where you might find many an hour of rest and refreshment. To gain that love would go toward making you a rich person, for a rich person is not someone who has a library but who likes a library.
Music like Mozart's and Bach's shouldn't be absent. Real riches are of the spirit. And when you've brought that spirit up to where classical music feeds it and makes you a little drunk, you have increased your thrills and bettered them. And life is a matter of thrills.
Sports, without which you remain poor, mean a lot in life. No matter who you are, you would be more human, and your house of life would be better supported against the had days, if you could, and did, play a bit.
Whatever rooms you might add to your house of life, the secret of enjoying life is to keep adding.
小题1:The author intends to tell us that____________.

A．true happiness lies in achieving wealth by fair means

B．big houses are people's most valued possessions

C．big houses can in a sense bring richness of life

D．true happiness comes from spiritual riches

小题2:The underlined sentence in the second paragraph probably implies that__________.

A．however materially rich, they never seem to be satisfied

B．however materially rich, they remain spiritually poor

C．though their house is big, they prefer a simple life

D．though their house is big, it seems to be a cage

小题3:It can be learned from the passage that __________.

A．more money brings more happiness

B．art is needed to make your house beautiful

C．literature can enrich your spiritual life

D．sports contribute mainly to your physical fitness

小题4:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．House of Life	B．Secret of Wealth
C．Rest and Refreshment	D．Interest and Enthusiasm

It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth (收费站). “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”
It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.
Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.
Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.
“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”
The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!
小题1:Why did Natalie Smith pay for the six cars behind her?

A．She knew the car drivers well.

B．She wanted to show kindness.

C．She hoped to please others.

D．She had seven tickets.

小题2:Judy Foreman copied down the phrase because she       .

A．thought it was beautifully written

B．wanted to know what it really meant

C．decided to write it on a warehouse wall

D．wanted her husband to put it up in the classroom

小题3:Who came up with the phrase according to the passage?

A．Judy Foreman.

B．Natalie Smith.

C．Alice Johnson.

D．Anne Herbert.

小题4:Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence above?

A．Kindness and violence can change the world.

B．Kindness and violence can affect one’s behavior.

C．Kindness and violence can reproduce themselves.

D．Kindness and violence can shape one’s character.

小题5:What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．People should practice random kindness to those in need.

B．People who receive kindness are likely to offer it to others.

C．People should practice random kindness to strangers they meet.

D．People who receive kindness are likely to pay it back to the giver.

The summer before I went off to college, Mom stood me in her usual spot behind the ironing board (烫衣板)and said, “Pay attention: I’m going to teach you to iron.”
Mom clearly explained her      for this lesson. I was going to be     and needed to learn this vital skill. Also, I would be meeting new people, and properly ironed clothes would help me make a good    .
“Learn to iron a shirt,” Mom said, “and you can iron anything.”
But ironing shirts was not      work. It didn’t make use of long muscles we used to throw a baseball，and it wasn’t a     operation like ice-skating. Ironing was like driving a car on a street that has a stop sign every 10 feet, Moreover, an iron produced steam and it carried an element of     .If you touched the wrong part of it, you’d get burnt. If you forgot to turn it off when you      ,you might bum down the house.
As for technique, Mom     me to begin with the flat spaces outward, always pushing the iron forward into wrinkled (有褶皱的）parts. Collars had to be done right. Mom said they were close to your face, where everyone would     them.
Over the years, I’ve learned to iron shirts skillfully, which gives me a sense of     Whatever failures I suffer in my life, an ironed shirt tells me I am good at something.       ,through ironing I’ve learned the method for solving even the most troublesome problems. “     wrinkles one at a time,” as Mom might have said, “and before long everything will get ironed out.”

小题1:	A．reasons B．rules C．emotions D．methods

小题2:	A．helpful B．confident C．powerful D．independent

小题3:	A．conclusion B．suggestion C．impression D．observation

小题4:	A．useful B．easy C．special D．suitable

小题5:	A．direct B．single C．smooth D．strange

小题6:	A．doubt B．pressure C．surprise D．danger

小题7:	A．went away B．fell down C．jumped off D．looked up

小题8:	A．taught B．chose C．forced D．sent

小题9:	A．touch B．design C．see D．admire

小题10:

A．honesty B．freedom C．justice D．pride

小题11:

A．Instead B．Besides C．Otherwise D．However

小题12:

A．Make up B．Deal with C．Ask for D．Rely on

However wealthy we may be, we can never find enough hours in the day to do everything we want. Economics deals with this problem through the concept of opportunity cost, which simply refers to whether someone’s time or money could be better spent on something else.
Every hour of our time has a value. For every hour we work at one job we could quite easily be doing another, or be sleeping or watching a film. Each of these options has a different opportunity cost—namely, what they cost us in missed opportunities.
Say you intend to watch a football match but the tickets are expensive and it will take you a couple of hours to get to and from the stadium. Why not, you might reason, watch the game from home and use the leftover money and time to have dinner with friends? This—the alternative use of your cash and time—is the opportunity cost.
For economists, every decision is made by knowledge of what one must forgo—in terms of money and enjoyment—in order to take it up. By knowing precisely what you are receiving and what you are missing out on, you ought to be able to make better-informed, more reasonable decisions. Consider that most famous economic rule of all: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Even if someone offers to take you out to lunch for free, the time you will spend in the restaurant still costs you something in terms of forgone opportunities.
Some people find the idea of opportunity cost extremely discouraging: imagine spending your entire life calculating whether your time would be better spent elsewhere doing something more profitable or enjoyable. Yet, in a sense it’s human nature to do precisely that—we assess the advantages and disadvantages of decisions all the time.
In the business world, a popular phrase is “value for money.” People want their cash to go as far as possible. However, another is fast obtaining an advantage: “value for time.” The biggest restriction on our resources is the number of hours we can devote to something, so we look to maximize the return we get on our investment of time. By reading this passage you are giving over a bit of your time which could be spent doing other activities, such as sleeping and eating. In return, however, this passage will help you to think like an economist, closely considering the opportunity cost of each of your decisions.
小题1:According to the passage, the concept of “opportunity cost” is applied to ________.

A．making more money

B．taking more opportunities

C．reducing missed opportunities

D．weighing the choice of opportunities

小题2:The “leftover ... time” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to the time ________.

A．spared for watching the match at home

B．taken to have dinner with friends

C．spent on the way to and from the match

D．saved from not going to watch the match

小题3:What are forgone opportunities?

A．Opportunities you forget in decision-making.

B．Opportunities you give up for better ones.

C．Opportunities you miss accidentally.

D．Opportunities you make up for.

It was already half past seven and I was running late again for the dinner appointment with my wife, Eleanor. We had       to meet at the restaurant at seven o'clock. I felt a little uneasy, but to my     ，I had a good excuse: A business meeting had        and I'd wasted no time getting to the dinner.
When I arrived at the      ，1 apologized and told Eleanor I didn't mean to be late. She screamed, "You never mean to." Well, I        tell she was angry. "I'm sorry but it was not      ," I said. Then I told her about the business meeting.        , my explanation seemed to make things worse, which started to drive               mad as well.
Several weeks later, when I        the situation to my friend Ken Hardy, he smiled, "You       a classic mistake. You're stuck        your own way of thinking. You didn't        to be late. But that's not the point. What is        in your communication is how your lateness affected Eleanor." He pointed out that I focused on the intention       Eleanor focused on the result. Thus,         of us felt misunderstood and crazy.
Thinking more about Ken's words, I         recognized the root cause of such disagreement. It's the result of the action that really       .I should have started the conversation by expressing         my actions affected Eleanor and         the discussions about my intention for later, much later and even never.
Later on, after talking to Eleanor and really        her experience of the results
of my lateness, I've managed to be on time a lot more frequently.

小题1:	A．Started B．Agreed C．Continued D．Managed

小题2:	A．Relief B．Surprise C．Regret D．Sorrow

小题3:	A．broken out B．closed down C．faded away D．run over

小题4:	A．House B．Room C．Restaurant D．Supermarket

小题5:	A．Could B．Must C．Will D．might

小题6:	A．Movable B．Comfortable C．Acceptable D．Avoidable

小题7:	A．However B．Therefore C．Moreover D．Otherwise

小题8:	A．Her B．Him C．me D．them

小题9:	A．spread B．wrote C．translated D．described

小题10:

A．knew B．made C．found D．took

小题11:

A．In B．beyond C．For D．against

小题12:

A．Need B．Prove C．Pretend D．Intend

小题13:

A．Funny B．Important C．Possible D．Simple

小题14:

A．While B．After C．Until D．unless

小题15:

A．All B．None C．Both D．Neither

小题16:

A．Usually B．Merely C．Hardly D．gradually

小题17:

A．Inspires B．Matters C．Improves D．challenges

小题18:

A．How B．Why C．When D．what

小题19:

A．Compared B．Reported C．Finished D．saved

小题20:

A．Showing B．Satisfying C．understanding D．destroying