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.

1.A. quiet          B. boring               C. hard          D. strange

2.A. accept         B. change               C. disturb           D. check

3. A. study         B. speak                C. listen            D. walk

4.A. drove              B. expected        C. explained        D. covered

5.A. did            B. hit             C. cut           D. fit

6.A. excited       B. brave                C. patient           D. poor

7.A. leading            B. breaking         C. turning      D. celebrating

8. A. expensive     B. fantastic            C. different        D. special

9.A. husband        B. parents          C. children          D. wife

10.A. successfully     B. surprisingly          C. interestingly     D. importantly  

11.A. always           B. sometimes            C. almost       D. never

12.A. task              B. hotel               C. company      D. wor

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. Mom and I lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she spoke the words that would change 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 walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that I could walk again if I wanted strongly enough. She drove 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) hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support  both of us. At that moment, I decided never to be poor again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point happened on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I wasn’t satisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they asked me an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for many American families. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽车旅馆) for families that would never ask extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Of course mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. But with my mother’s support and encouragement, I never 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 (收入) of $ 1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.
【小题1】According to the writer, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?

Look carefully at the back of a California state quarter. A man with a walking stick is pictured there. A bird called a California condor(大秃鹫)is flying overhead. Who is this man, and why is he so important that he is featured(处于显著地位)on the back of a coin?

The man on this quarter is John Muir. Even as a child, Muir loved watching nature. As a young man, he spent much of his life exploring the beauty of the wilderness. He walked more than a thousand miles across the country, through fields and woods. John Muir liked writing about the places he visited, describing their beauty.

Muir also wrote about problems. In order to create more farmland for sheep and cattle, many trees were being cut down. This made Muir unhappy and worried, because he knew that trees were important to forests and to the animals that lived in them．Muir believed that nature should be conserved(保护)instead of being changed by human beings. He wrote articles in magazines and newspapers to spread the word about conserving forests. Soon, others began to listen.

Muir wrote letters to important people, such as President Theodore Roosevelt. The president admired Muir’s love for nature. When Roosevelt came to visit Muir in California. Muir convinced(说服)the president to go camping with him for three nights under the trees so they could talk about conservation. Later, President Roosevelt set aside 148 million acres of land for national forests and established(建立)five national parks. National parks are large areas of land that are protected from development. This means that people cannot build homes or businesses there. One of these parks is Yosemite National Park, the area that is featured on the back of the California quarter.

Though it has been almost one hundred years since John Muir died, people continue his work today. His work as a conservationist helped us to see the beauty of our natural world. John Muir made us understand the importance of protecting our earth and our resources---then, now, and for the future.

1.Why did President Theodore Roosevelt visit John Muir?

A．Because Roosevelt loved watching nature.

B．Because Roosevelt received letters from John Muir.

C．Because Roosevelt admired John Muir’s love for nature.

D．Because Roosevelt was sad about the problems with farmland.

2.Why is John Muir featured on the back of a California state quarter?

A．Because he walked over a thousand miles across the country.

B．Because he helped people understand the importance of protecting the natural world.

C．Because he wrote articles to spread the word about conserving forests.

D．Because he once wrote several letters to President Theodore Roosevelt.

3.What is the writer’s purpose of writing this article?

A．To advise readers to become active conservationists.

B．To make us interested in the story about a great man.

C．To tell us something about an important person in history.

D．To give information about how to conserve the environment.

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.