Not long before, my daughter's shoes were scratched with a knife．She burst into   36 ．I took them to the shoemaker to get them   37 ．

       The young apprentice （学徒） glanced at the opening and said, " 38   I can do except replace the upper．" His master looked at them and said to me, "If you   39   me, I will add more scratches on both of the shoes．" _O%

       I was   40   and asked why．

       He explained, "As if the openings were made   41   for the sake of special style and reuse．"

       Two days later I found there were indeed more scratches on   42   shoe, but all the openings were patched （打补丁） by soft red leather with edges sewed by thick thread,   43  more unique and interesting than ever．I couldn't help but   44   the master's skill．

       Another time, my wife's sister's white blouse had been torn, leaving a large opening on the back．My wife   45   the blouse carefully, and then said, "Let me take it   46 _ and mend it．"

       Seeing the blouse again, I was shocked: all the torn parts had been sewed up by thin and   47   thread and they   48   a look of ice crystal （冰晶 ） hanging from a winter's branch． 49   , she had attached a snowman and a cabin made of flowery cotton rags onto the shirt．I 50   with praise, "It's just as beautiful as a piece of   51   !"

       "I was inspired by that craftsman．Patches are supposed to be   52 , but a skillful craftsman can make it take on a kind of perfection," replied my wife．

       Her words inspired me even more: Perfection is   53   to achieve in everything; Patches are unavoidable, so is human's life．Since you can't   54   the existence of wound, you should not expect people's   55   by exposing the wound, which reveals nothing meaningful．

A．laughter       B．cheers       C．tears            D．speech

A．made         B．repaired    C．decorated      D．preserved

A．Anything      B．SomethingC．Everything       D．Nothing

A．trust          B．inform      C．appoint         D．convince

A．annoyed       B．confused   C．disappointed     D．discouraged

A．on purpose    B．by accidentC．in vain          D．beyond control

A．neither        B．any         C．every           D．each

A．remaining     B．growing    C．looking         D．feeling

A．appreciate     B．witness     C．praise           D．describe

A．delivered       B．checked    C．washed          D．ironed

A．outside       B．downtown C．home         D．abroad

A．red         B．white     C．pink            D．purple

A．took on        B．put on      C．decided on       D．focused on

A．Therefore      B．Otherwise C．Anyway        D．Besides

A．sighed         B．signed      C．greeted          D．paused

A．cake          B．art         C．furniture       D．jewellery

A．pretty        B．attractive  C．tough               D．ugly

A．easy           B．improper  C．likely               D．impossible

A．change        B．imagine    C．stand           D．prove

A．respect        B．friendship C．sympathy      D．apology

Not long before, my daughter's shoes were scratched with a knife．She burst into   36 ．I took them to the shoemaker to get them   37 ．

The young apprentice （学徒） glanced at the opening and said, " 38  I can do except replace the upper．" His master looked at them and said to me, "If you   39  me, I will add more scratches on both of the shoes．" _K^S*5U.C#O%

I was   40  and asked why．

He explained, "As if the openings were made   41  for the sake of special style and reuse．"

Two days later I found there were indeed more scratches on   42  shoe, but all the openings were patched （打补丁） by soft red leather with edges sewed by thick thread,   43 more unique and interesting than ever．I couldn't help but   44  the master's skill．

Another time, my wife's sister's white blouse had been torn, leaving a large opening on the back．My wife   45  the blouse carefully, and then said, "Let me take it   46 _ and mend it．"

Seeing the blouse again, I was shocked: all the torn parts had been sewed up by thin and   47  thread and they   48  a look of ice crystal （冰晶） hanging from a winter's branch． 49  , she had attached a snowman and a cabin made of flowery cotton rags onto the shirt．I 50  with praise, "It's just as beautiful as a piece of   51  !"

"I was inspired by that craftsman．Patches are supposed to be   52 , but a skillful craftsman can make it take on a kind of perfection," replied my wife．

Her words inspired me even more: Perfection is   53  to achieve in everything; Patches are unavoidable, so is human's life．Since you can't   54  the existence of wound, you should not expect people's   55  by exposing the wound, which reveals nothing meaningful．

　 Not long before, my daughter's shoes were scratched with a knife.She burst into 26 ．I took them to the shoemaker to get them 27 ．

　　　 The young apprentice （学徒） glanced at the opening and said, " 28　 I can do except replace the upper．" His master looked at them and said to me, "If you 29　 me, I will add more scratches on both of the shoes．"

　　　 I was 30　 and asked why．

　　　 He explained, "As if the openings were made　 31　 for the sake of special style and reuse．"

　　　 Two days later I found there were indeed more scratches on 32　 shoe, but all the openings were patched （打补丁） by soft red leather with edges sewed by thick thread, 33 more unique and interesting than ever．I couldn't help but 34 the master's skill．

　　　 Another time, my wife's sister's white blouse had been torn, leaving a large opening on the back．My wife　 35 the blouse carefully, and then said, "Let me take it 36 and mend it．"

　　　 Seeing the blouse again, I was shocked: all the torn parts had been sewed up by thin and 37 thread and they 38 a look of ice crystal （冰晶 ） hanging from a winter's branch． 39 , she had attached a snowman and a cabin made of flowery cotton rags onto the shirt．I 40　 with praise, "It's just as beautiful as a piece of　 41 !"

　　　 "I was inspired by that craftsman．Patches are supposed to be 42, but a skillful craftsman can make it take on a kind of perfection," replied my wife．

　　　 Her words inspired me even more: Perfection is　 43　 to achieve in everything; Patches are unavoidable, so is human's life．Since you can't　 44　 the existence o f wound, you should not expect people's　 45　 by exposing the wound, which reveals nothing meaningful．

26．A．laughter　 B．cheers　　 C．tears D．speech

27．A．made B．repaired　 C．decorated D．preserved

28．A．Anything　 B．Something C．Everything　　　 D．Nothing

29．A．trust B．inform　　 C．appoint　　 D．convince

30．A．annoyed　 B．confused　 C．disappointed　　 D．discouraged

31．A．on purpose　　　 B．by accident　　 C．in vain　　 D．beyond control

32．A．neither　　 B．any　 C．every D．each

33．A．remaining B．growing　 C．looking　　 D．feeling

34．A．appreciate B．witness　　 C．praise　　　 D．describe

35．A．delivered　 B．checked　 C．washed　　 D．ironed

36．A．outside　　 B．downtown　　　 C．home D．abroad

37．A．red　 B．white C．pink D．purple

38．A．took on　　 B．put on　　　 C．decided on　　　 D．focused on

39．A．Therefore B．Otherwise C．Anyway　 D．Besides

40．A．sighed　　 B．signed　　　 C．greeted　　 D．paused

41．A．cake B．art　　 C．furniture　 D．jewellery

42．A．pretty　　　 B．attractive　 C．tough　　　 D．ugly

43．A．easy B．improper　 C．likely D．impossible

44．A．change　　 B．imagine　　 C．stand D．prove

45．A．respect　　 B．friendship C．sympathy D．apology

Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have trouble in understanding speeches by native speakers. The following ways might help improve their listening ability.

First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a suitable course and start with the first book. Go on to the second book only after you are sure you understand the first one.

Secondly, stick to one course of study. Don’t change books often. Never let your attention be attracted by another course just because it seems to be more “fashionable”. 

Thirdly, listen to the English news program over the radio from time to time.  Better go through the news stories in the Chinese-language newspaper first. That will make it easy for you to understand the English news on the radio.

Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in “Special English from the V.O.A. or other listening materials of the same level as that of your textbook”.

1.This is a piece of advice to learners of English on how to ________.

A．improve their listening ability

B．read fast

C．write better English and read faster

D．speak correctly

2.If you want to understand the English news program on the radio, you should ________.

A．read the Chinese-language newspaper step by step

B．read again and again the Chinese-language newspaper

C．go through the Chinese-language newspaper first

D．be able to recite the Chinese-language newspaper

3.The author advised that once you have taken up a course, you ________.

A．should stick to it

B．should begin with the last book

C．should take up other courses if they are more fashionable

D．shouldn’t do anything else

4.In this passage, V.O.A. stands for ________.

A.  a book         B. a magazine       C. a text-book      D. a radio station