I HEAR America beeping(嘟嘟响)．

Beep，says my cellophane when it gets a text message．

Beep，says my microwave oven when my sandwich is warmed up．

Sometimes I long for a natural sound：a bird singing，dog barking，children laughing， anything to drown out the maddening beeps that have become the soundtrack(配乐)to modern life．

My cellophane? It isn’t enough that its ring tone offerings seem to stretch from “annoymg” toextremely “annoying”． It also has to beep whenever someone texts messages me．

The microwave? A bell rings when it's finished heating my food．But is that enough? No．If I don’t rush to it right away, it starts beeping，like an impatient child tugging(用力拉) at my sleeve(袖子)．

The smoke detector(探测器) is the worst offender．When its batteries are in need of replacement，it 1ets out a series of chirps．The things that don’t beep buzz(嗡嗡响)．And for some reason，beeping and buzzing is beneath them，they clear their throats and perform a symphony． Like my TV, each time I turn it on, it performs an aria(咏叹调)：La di da di dum．Salutions! Here I am! Same thing when I turn it off: La di da di dum．Good bye, kind sir! Until the next time

But at 1east I know where each of these sounds is coming from．That isn’t always the case．For weeks, my wife and I were awoken in the night by a beeping．There，in the stillness， we went through the possible suspects．Could we have a text message? Could it be any of the devices(装置)able to make a sound? Curling iron, rice cooker, smoke detector, TV set，clock radio．．．

The only way to tell was to chase the sound down ，but no sooner would we pull on our bathrobes than the beeping would stop. We didn’t hear it every night but often enough that we would climb into bed wondering whether our sleep would be interrupted by that maddening sound，that beep．

Finally,early one morning，my wife found it：in the study,under a desk，a big plastic cube that was plugged into the wall．It was an uninterruptible power supply that we’d inherited(继承)from my wife’s mother．We’d never known it was capable of speech．

I think it just wanted someone to talk to.

14．What does the writer truly mean by saying“I hear America beeping”?

A．American people like devices that beep．

B．Americans are crazy about sending text messages．

C．In modern society people are dependant on technology．

D．The soundtrack to modern life is no longer natural．

15．Why couldn’t the author and his wife find the source of the noise in their house in the beginning?

A．There were too many devices for them to check．

B．They were unwilling to get up at midnight．

C．They had never known that thing could beep too．

D．The noise didn’t come every day．

16．After reading this passage，we can probably tell the author ．

A．enjoys being surrounded by beeps B．has a touch of humor in his writing

C．tries to avoid using anything that beeps

D．understands the beeping is designed to be user-friendly

When I was fourteen I was hit by a car and I felt almost senseless from the waist down．I spent the next four years   36  a back support．I began running seven days a week to   37 my muscles （肌肉）．It was exhausting but I   38  before I graduated from high school．
When I was thirty-one, I was in   39  car accident in which my legs were seriously injured．The  40  told me that their goal was to get me to walk "__41  " but that I would never run again．Stubborn and _42_ , however, I set out to rebuild my leg muscles to support my knees through my own personalized 43  program． The fact was that it took me two years to learn how to walk and nine and a half years to run again．
While on one of my runs, a   44  thought entered my mind: what   45  I could run the LA Marathon? I wanted to know what it felt like to _46  the prized finish line, even if it 47  I had to crawl（爬） across it．I had only four months to get ready．I spent almost all my time training as if my very 48  depended on it——actually, it did．I   49  that if I didn’t train to my fullest, my body would   50  and the doctors’ diagnosis （诊断） would win．I wasn’t about to let that happen．I had a dream: I would run the LA Marathon to achieve one of my life’s greatest   51  ．I trained eight times a week, seven days a week —twice on Wednesdays．
Finally, my hard efforts   52  ．I crossed the finish line of the LA Marathon, strong and solid．
I’m often asked why I run, to which I always   53  ,"I run because I can．" I   54 myself that the aches and pains I experience while training and racing are 55  , compared to the suffering those whom I admire must bear．This is why I run．
【小题1】A, dressing           B．wearing             C．designing       D．decorating

【小题9】A．suitable B．reasonable C silly D．crazy

When I was fourteen I was hit by a car and I felt almost senseless from the waist down．I spent the next four years 36 a back support．I began running seven days a week to 37 my muscles （肌肉）．It was exhausting but I 38 before I graduated from high school．

When I was thirty-one, I was in 39 car accident in which my legs were seriously injured．The 40 told me that their goal was to get me to walk "__41 " but that I would never run again．Stubborn and _42_ , however, I set out to rebuild my leg muscles to support my knees through my own personalized 43 program． The fact was that it took me two years to learn how to walk and nine and a half years to run again．

While on one of my runs, a 44 thought entered my mind: what 45 I could run the LA Marathon? I wanted to know what it felt like to _46 the prized finish line, even if it 47 I had to crawl（爬） across it．I had only four months to get ready．I spent almost all my time training as if my very 48 depended on it——actually, it did．I 49 that if I didn't train to my fullest, my body would 50 and the doctors' diagnosis （诊断） would win．I wasn't about to let that happen．I had a dream: I would run the LA Marathon to achieve one of my life's greatest 51 ．I trained eight times a week, seven days a week —twice on Wednesdays．

Finally, my hard efforts 52 ．I crossed the finish line of the LA Marathon, strong and solid．

I'm often asked why I run, to which I always 53 ,"I run because I can．" I 54 myself that the aches and pains I experience while training and racing are 55 , compared to the suffering those whom I admire must bear．This is why I run．

1.A, dressing B．wearing C．designing D．decorating

2.A．relax B．comfort C．protect D．strengthen

3.A．recovered B．cured C．quitted D．shook

4.A．other B．one C．another D．some

5.A．doctors B．patients C．coaches D．pioneers

6.A．frequently B．normally C．attractively D．carefully

7.A．determined B．excited C．unsatisfied D．disappointed

8.A．working B．sharing C．training D．walking

9.A．suitable B．reasonable C silly D．crazy

10.A．if B．whether C．unless D．once

11.A．skip B．slip C．complete D．cross

12.A．meant B．proved C．agreed D．explained