I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be

late for this date.

   We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile -warm and reassuring - and I retuned her gift by smiling back.

    “Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers.” she said.

    “Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out . “It‘s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s ‘the one’ .”Jokingly, I added, “The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”

    “Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said. “My husband used to bring me flowers every week-even when tines were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and-of course- I miss him since he’s passed away.”

   I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed her the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.

   It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. “You have a wonderful evening,” I said. I left her with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.

   I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her-that was the night than I won her heart .

1．Why was the writer in a hurry that day?

A. He was to meet his girlfriend.                  B. He had to go back to school soon.

C. He was delayed by an elderly lady.              D. He had to pick up some groceries.

2．What does the underlined phrase “her gift” （Paragraph 2 ）refer to?

A. Her words.              B. Her smile.              C. Her flowers.          D. Her politeness.

3．Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?

A. She told him a nice story.                         B. She allowed him to pay first.

C. She gave him encouragement.                     D. She liked flowers very much.

4．What is the message conveyed in the story?

A. Flowers are important for a date.               B. Small talk is helpful.

C. Love and kindness are rewarding.              D. Elderly people deserve respecting.

完形填空

　　My sisters and I had had fine dreams of a home in the city, but when the Alcott family found itself in a 1 house at the South End with not a 2 in sight, only a back yard to play in, and 3 money to buy any of the good things before us, we children all rebelled and 4 the country again.

　　Anna soon found little pupils and walked 5 away each morning to her job, 6 the corner to wave her hand to me in 7 to my salute with the duster. My father 8 his classes at his room downtown, mother to her all－absorbing poor, the little girls to school, and I, Louisa, was 9 to keep house, 10 like a caged seagull as I washed dishes and cooked in the kitchen.

　　My only 11 was the evening reunion, when all 12 with such different reports of the day' s adventures, we could not 13 to find both amusement and instruction.

　　 14 brought news from the upper world. Mother, 15 in old and poor clothing because she would give away her clothes, brought 16 tales of suffering and sin(犯罪) from the darker side of life. Gentle Anna would modestly talk about her 17 as a teacher, for even at seventeen her sweet nature 18 all who knew her.

　　 19 reports were usually a mixture of the tragic(悲剧) and the comic, and the children 20 their small joys and sorrows into the family where comfort and sympathy(同情) were always to be found.

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 It was a cold winter's night when I stopped for gas on my way home from work．I was tired and had a slight   21  ．

I worked in a   22   doctor's office and this was one of those days when the unexpected happened, making the schedule run   23   than usual．It seemed I was going to be late   24   home and my husband, being the   25   person, would be ready to pronounce me late once again． Maybe  26   I hurried, I could still make it home．

I was heading inside to   27   for my gas when I noticed an older couple at the counter, I heard them asking for   28   to the local hospital．It was the same hospital that I had just   29   a few minutes ago．

The young man at the counter was trying to be   30   in explaining how to get there, with two other people making   31  ．One of them was   32   trying to give them a whole different route back．It was then that I walked over to the couple and said, "Would you like to follow me to the  33   ?"

A look of  34   crossed the woman's face．

"I'm going right by there," I said, which wasn't a（ an）   35   since I had just made up my mind to do  36   that．

I got in my car and began the journey back．I was trying to watch to be sure they were right  37   me．I took only fifteen minutes to get there as rush hour traffic was beginning to   38  ．I felt better than I had all day and my headache was   39   gone．

Later, as I arrived home, my husband teased, "So you aren't ever late any more．"

"Sometimes it's  40   to be late," I said, happy inside my heart．

1.A．cold               B．fever            C．stomachache      D．headache

2.A．foreign            B．regular          C．busy             D．noisy

3.A．earlier            B．later            C．easier           D．simpler

4.A．getting            B．cooking          C．calling          D．working

5.A．lazy               B．punctual                             C．generous         D．careful

6.A．as                 B．since            C．while            D．it

7.A．pay                B．change           C．wait             D．search

8.A．opinions           B．trouble          C．directions       D．money

9.A．reached            B．visited          C．called           D．left

10.A．skilled           B．helpful         C．experienced      D．active

11.A．comments          B．promises         C．surveys          D．offers

12.A．only              B．still                                C．even             D．ever

13.A．station           B．office           C．hospital         D．hotel

14.A．panic             B．relief           C．sadness         D．peace

15.A．duty              B．fact             C．reason          D．lie

16.A．partly            B．properly         C．exactly          D．perfectly

17.A．across            B．before           C．beside           D．behind

18.A．go up             B．die down         C．speed up                       D．turn down

19.A．nearly            B．hardly           C．possibly         D．luckily

20.A．possible      B．special          C．good             D．safe

      I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date.

     We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile-warm and reassunring-and I retuned her gift by smiling back.

     “Must be a special lady,” whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.

     “Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. “It‘s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s‘the one ，’”jokingly, I added, “The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”

     “Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said .”My husband used to bring me flowers every week-even when tines were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; be was very romantic and-of course- I miss him since he’s passed away.”

      I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.

      It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. “You have a wonderful evening,”I said. I left het with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.

      I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her-that was the night than I won her heart .

 41．Why was the writer in a hurry that day?

A. He was to meet his girlfriend.        B. He had to go back to school soon.

C. He was delayed by an elderly lady.    D. He had to pick up some groceries.

42．What does the underlined phrase “her gift” (Paragraph 2 ) refer to?

A. Her words.   B. Her smile.    C. Her flowers.    D. Her politeness.

43．Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?

A. She told him a nice story.       B. She allowed him to pay first.

C. She gave him encouragement.   D. She liked flowers very much.

44．What is the message conveyed in the story?

A. Flowers are important for a date.      B. Small talk is helpful.

C. Love and kindness are rewarding.     D. Elderly people deserve respecting.

I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries.  Being a PhD student without a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date
We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversations between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile—warm and reassuring(令人宽慰的)-and I returned her gift by smiling back.
“Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.
“Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. “It’s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s ‘the one,’” jokingly, I added, “The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”
“Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said .”My husband used to bring me flowers every week—even when times were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and—of course— I miss him since he’s passed away.”
I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.
It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. “May you have a wonderful evening ,”I said. I left het with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.
I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her—that was the night that I won her heart .
41．Why was the writer in a hurry that day?
A. He was to meet his girlfriend.         B. He had to go back to school soon.
C. He was delayed by an elderly lady.      D. He had to pick up some groceries.
42．What does the underlined phrase “her gift” (Paragraph 2 ) refer to?
A. Her words.            B. Her smile.     C. Her flowers.         D. Her politeness.
43．Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?
A. She told him a nice story.                B. She allowed him to pay first.
C. She gave him encouragement.             D. She liked flowers very much.
44．What is the message conveyed in the story?
A. Flowers are important for a date.      B. Small talk is helpful.
C. Love and kindness are rewarding.       D. Elderly people deserve respecting.