Angels

My friend Heather mentioned that she had never seen an Angel. Then I remembered the  36   I had with my sister Sandra earlier this week.

This will be Sandra’s first Christmas without her husband. This summer he died in her arms. On Thursday, she was in the store 　37　 for an ideal card for her two sons and daughter. Time passed by quickly as she 　38   the many choices. She wanted a card that sent something special to each of them, 　39  she knew they would have a(n) 　40  place in their heart this holiday season.

Finally! She found the one that expressed the 　41  feeling. The words expressed the feelings that she wished to share. However, a sharp pain pierced(穿透) her heart when she realized that the card was 　42  “mom and dad.” She stood there, 　43  it close for a long time, unable to move from the 　44  . Tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Is there something I can do for you?” a 　45  voice asked. She 　46  to face a stranger, a woman, who was looking at her with 　47  and concern. “Uh…oh...OH!” Sandra responded, “I can’t give this card to my children because…because my husband died and this is the 　48  card.”

Hearing this, the stranger’s face softened with sympathy(同情) and love. She reached out and 　49  my sister into her arms, giving her unspoken permission to cry in the protection of her embrace(拥抱). She 　50  held my sister until her calmness 　51  . “Thank you for listening to me cry on,” was what my sister said when all was better. “You are welcome, and I am so sorry for your 　52  ,” the stranger answered and said goodbye to her.

During her telling of this event I was feeling 　53  that I hadn’t been there. My sister needed me and a stranger had to do my 　54  .  “You know,” she went on, “a friend suggested that it was like meeting with an Angel.” My 　55  disappeared in an instant. My sister required an Angel, and I think that is exactly what she got.

Angels

My friend Heather mentioned that she had never seen an Angel. Then I remembered the 36  I had with my sister Sandra earlier this week.

This will be Sandra’s first Christmas without her husband. This summer he died in her arms. On Thursday, she was in the store 　37　 for an ideal card for her two sons and daughter. Time passed by quickly as she 　38  the many choices. She wanted a card that sent something special to each of them, 　39  she knew they would have a(n) 　40  place in their heart this holiday season.

Finally! She found the one that expressed the 　41 feeling. The words expressed the feelings that she wished to share. However, a sharp pain pierced(穿透) her heart when she realized that the card was 　42 “mom and dad.” She stood there, 　43  it close for a long time, unable to move from the 　44  . Tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Is there something I can do for you?” a 　45  voice asked. She 　46  to face a stranger, a woman, who was looking at her with 　47  and concern. “Uh…oh...OH!” Sandra responded, “I can’t give this card to my children because…because my husband died and this is the 　48  card.”

Hearing this, the stranger’s face softened with sympathy(同情) and love. She reached out and　49  my sister into her arms, giving her unspoken permission to cry in the protection of her embrace(拥抱). She 　50  held my sister until her calmness　51  . “Thank you for listening to me cry on,” was what my sister said when all was better. “You are welcome, and I am so sorry for your 　52 ,” the stranger answered and said goodbye to her.

During her telling of this event I was feeling 　53  that I hadn’t been there. My sister needed me and a stranger had to do my 　54  .  “You know,” she went on, “a friend suggested that it was like meeting with an Angel.” My 　55  disappeared in an instant. My sister required an Angel, and I think that is exactly what she got.

Never before had I imagined I should have the opportunity to live with so many girls．Would  they 　36　such a single “Hi” from me? I was about to greet my new roommates，　37　they did  not seem to have the same 　38　attention that I had．They just dealt with their own 　39　， sorting out their clothes，and making arrangements for their university life．Thus tranquility（宁静）
became the 　40　atmosphere in the dormitory．
To my surprise，　41　such a situation，I did not feel a sense of 　42　．With time going on，we got to know each other deeper．I was　43　to find that in deep soul we all had great dreams and belonged to the same　44　．
However，not long before the 　45 　was disturbed by my own upset of mind for study pressure．What I was　46　about seemed to have 　47　to do with them and what they were doing and talking about seemed so far away from me．However，one incident changed my 　48　and made me treasure this kind of 　49　better and more confident in our friendship．
One day，when I was leaving the teachers’ office，it was in complete silence and frightening 　50　．At my dormitory gate，I was startled （使惊奇）to find there still 　51 　a little light glimmering in the darkness，so faint but yet so clear．Just under the 　52　of the light，I went to the room without any difficulty．They were in sound sleep，leaving the 　53　light on in the calm world．Tears rolled down my cheeks．
I know 　54　that we all like tranquility，both in environment and in our mind．It is the care that 　55　all the misunderstandings and unpleasantness．

填空题

　　Music is not air or water. But for many Senior High students, music is an important and enjoyable part of life. This conclusion can be made following 21st Century Teens' summer survey on readers' attitudes to music.

　　Nearly 10,000 readers responded(回答) to the survey in our summer special issue.

　　Over half, 52 percent, said that they listen to music whenever they are free. Just 0.5 percent of students said they never listen to music. Most listen to both English and Chinese songs in equal amounts.

　　But, the survey showed that students have very different tastes and enjoy a wide variety of styles. “Our generation is diverse(多样化), and that's reflected in our tastes,” said Liu Yujia, a Senior 3 from High School attached to Xi'an Jiaotong University. Liu is a pop fan but also likes the R&B of Jay Chow(周杰伦), a big favourite among students in the survey.

　　About 32 percent of students listen to pop music. Behind pop came R&B(28 percent), Country(14 percent), Rock(9 percent)and others.

　　Only about 10 percent are diehard rock ‘n’ roll fans. An Qi, from Rizhao No. 1 High School, Shandong Province is one. A．Senior 1 girl said that the exciting rhythm has the power that takes her mind off school work and exams.

　　It is the melody(旋律) rather than the words or fame of singers that students like. Over 60 percent said they choose a song mainly because they like the music.

　　“Good music makes me believe that it was written just for me－even if it is the first time I listen to it. I think that is why music is so important to young people－more than movies, more than TV,” An Qi said.

　　TV and movies are the main ways that students hear new songs or music. Forty－six percent of students said they are affected by music played on TV or in films. Friends (21 percent) and radio(19 percent) also play an important role in introducing music to teenagers.

　　Parents have the least effect on students' taste and do not enjoy the same music. Just 3 percent listen to music that their parents introduce them to. More than half the teens surveyed, 54 percent, see nothing wrong with downloading music from the Internet.

Ban the Band（乐队）?

    Every year, our school has a dance for all the students. It’s a little funny seeing friends in clean shoes and trousers or colorful　　36　　, instead of the usual school uniform.

     Most of us think the dance is great　　37　　－even the teachers enjoy being there. 　　38　　, two weeks ago someone said that there would be no　　39　　band this year only CDs.

     “I don’t　　40　　it!” Amy cried out during the lunch break.

     “Someone said the school couldn’t　　41　　a band, and they think it’s too noisy anyway,” added Daniel.

     “Well, I don’t think it’s　　42　　enough without a band!” declared Angela, “and I’m going to see what can be done.”

      Angela was as good as her　　43　　. In the afternoon she went to see the school headmaster who agreed to give the　　44　　some more thought. And he suggested that one　　45　　for having a band was to increase the price of each ticket from $5 to $10. Angela had to　　46　　out whether the students would like to do that.

     “I need all of you to help me,” she　　47　　to our group before school the next day. “Mr. Berry gave me a list of all the names, and suggested we ask each one their 　　48　　about the band and the extra cost.”

      　　49　　the day we asked around as Angela suggested, and wrote down people’s feelings about the band and the cost. We were amazed how much　　50　　there was for the band and everyone agreed to pay the extra $5.

      “I’m surprised,” smiled Mr. Berry, when we gave him the　　51　　. “I really thought that only a few people　　52　　their band and that the cost would be too high. OK, Angela, your next　　53　　is to find a good band and line them up for the dance.”

Angela was all smiles and　　54　　the news to Amy and Daniel. “You’re　　55　　,” smiled Daniel to Angela as he thought how close they came to having a less than perfect dance.

36.A. shapes                B. dresses                    C. flowers                    D. pictures

37.A. fun                    B. work                       C. effort                      D. progress

38.A. Besides              B. Otherwise                C. However                 D. Therefore

39.A. new                    B. live                         C. foreign                    D. marching

40.A. mean                 B. need                        C. accept                     D. believe

41.A. lead                    B. serve                       C. afford                     D. form

42.A. good                  B. clear                       C. useful                      D. easy

43. A.look                   B. behavior                  C. mind                      D. word

44.A. schedule             B. situation                  C. view                       D. action

45.A. possibility           B. concern                   C. decision                  D. chance

46.A. call                    B. find                        C. carry                      D. point

47.A. admitted             B. replied                    C. apologized              D. announced

48.A. knowledge   B. instruction              C. opinion                   D. information

49.A. On                    B. For                         C. By                          D. During

50.A. trust                   B. money                     C. support                    D. care

51.A. results                B. notices              C. questions                 D. examples

52.A. welcomed          B. wanted                    C. defended                 D. invited

53.A. task                    B. business                   C. exercise                  D. duty

54.A. showed               B. wrote                      C. broke                      D. read

55.A. amusing       B. interesting          C. exciting                D. amazing