My mother was a household servant. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and write book reports. She would mark them up with check marks. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse. My mother had only received a third-grade education. Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.

When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went form being an A- student to a B- student to a C-student, but I didn’t care.

One night my mother came home and I complained about not having enough shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week cleaning floors and bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the shirts you want.”

I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating(分配) money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.

I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual(理智的) preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. I dreamed of becoming a doctor when I was just a kid. And now I have achieved my dream.

Over the years my mother’s changeless faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I found myself faced with my own medical illness. A few years ago I discovered I had a very serious cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine(脊柱). My mother believed in God very much. She never worried. She said that God would never throw me away forever; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in spine turned out to be not bad; I was able to have surgery and am cured.

My story is really my mother’s story -a woman little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of her children.

The underlined word “ruse” in the first paragraph probably means           .

A. discovery  B. success  C. trick   D. pleasure

When the author asked his mother to buy him shirts, she           .

A. advised him to earn money by himself

B. asked him to try to manage their money

C. persuaded him not to buy them patiently

D. agreed to buy them for him immediately

What do we learn about the author?

A. He now works as a doctor.

B. He disliked watching TV as a kid.

C. He received little formal education.

D. He often did housework when young.

The underlined word “this” in the last but one paragraph refers to        .

A. God’s throwing me away

B. my own medical illness

C. the operation on my spine

D. my mother’s changeless faith in God

In writing the passage, the author mainly shows us         .

A. the happy relationships in his family

B. the benefits of reading for young children

C. the importance of formal education for adults

D. his mother’s great influence on his development

完型填空(共20小题;每小题1分,满分20分)

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。

"Hey, Tahlia! How's the model?"

    I had just taken a bite of my hot dog __21__ I heard a familiar voice yelling at me from across the crowded school yard. I saw a group of popular girls who were all __22__.

"What kind of __23_ are you going to do? An ad for a Frankenstein movie?" More laughter. My stomach twisted into a tight knot. How could they humiliate (羞辱) me like this, __24__ the entire school? As I walked into the cafeteria, I __25__ the dark scars on my right hand.

At 9 months old, I knocked over a tea pot and dumped boiling water allover my hands and stomach. My parents __26__ me to the hospital, but I had to have skin graft (移植) operation. I was in so much pain! But what __27__ me most were the cruel things people said about how I looked, __28__ that day at lunch.

The girls were being supermean to me because they'd heard I was considering doing some modeling. A close friend had suggested that I shouldn't let my scars limit me and that I might __29__ a good model.

But after that __30__ at school, I was sure I'd made a huge mistake. Upon arriving home, I covered the mirror with a blanket, fell on my bed and sobbed.

    The next day, I __31__ myself to go to school. At lunch my best friend Jesse tried to encourage me: "You can't __32_ forever, Tahlia. So what if you have a few scars? Just go outside and show them that you're just as good as they are." Although I knew he was right, I couldn’t __33__ standing up for myself like that.

However, that night as I sat on the bed, my friend's words replayed in my mind. I'm __34__ hiding from myself, I thought. How stupid! Slowly, I stood up, walked over to the __35__, and tossed the blanket aside. There, in the mirror I saw a slim, dark-haired, blue-eyed girl, looking just fine, __36__ with a few scars.

The next day I wore a comfortable T-shirt to school. What's more, I had lunch outside the cafeteria, __37__ beside those mean girls. They were shocked that I should dare to walk into their territory. I felt __38_ too—free and happy.

Sometimes people still look at me strangely. They __39_ and stare, but I don't let it get to me. I have applied to several modeling companies, and at least one company is considering me for jobs. Maybe I'll never __40_ posing on the runway, but I do know one thing: I'm done.

A. as             B. when             C. while            D. before

A. applauding      B. cheering         C. laughing         D. quarreling

A. modeling       B. writing     C. drilling         D. acting

A. in spite of        B. in view of       C. in terms of      D. in front of

A. looked into         B. searched for     C. wondered about   D. glanced at

A. presented       B. sent             C. rushed           D. handed

A. hurt          B. beat             C. disappointed     D. puzzled

A. for            B. like             C. on           D. after

A. impress         B. make             C. consult      D. defeat

A. effect          B. phenomenon   C. challenge      D. scene

A. forced             B. expected         C. reminded         D. preferred

A. apologize      B. beg          C. hide             D. complain

A. consider        B. imagine      C. appreciate       D. resist

A. hardly             B. ever             C. even             D. gradually

A. blanket        B. bed          C. chair            D. mirror

A. while          B. though       C. but          D. because

A. right          B. still            C. therefore        D. anyhow

A. sensitive       B. uncomfortable    C. different        D. tense

A. compare         B. associate        C. wave             D. whisper

A. give up         B. end up       C. put up       D. set up

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