When I was thirteen, my family moved from Boston to Tucson, Arizona. ___36___ the move, my father ___37___ us in the living-room on a freezing January night. My sisters and I sat around the fire, not ___38___ that the universe would suddenly change its course. “In May, we’re ___39___ to Arizona.”

The words, so small, didn’t seem ___40___ enough to hold my new life. But the world changed and I awoke on a tram moving across the country. I watched the ___41___ change from green trees to flat dusty plains to high mountains as I saw strange new plants that ___42___ mysteries(奥秘) yet to come. Finally, we arrived and ___43___ into own new home.

___44___ my older sisters were sad at the loss of friends, I ___45___ explored(探索) our new surroundings.

One afternoon, I was out exploring ___46___ and saw a new kind of cactus(仙人掌). I crouched (蹲) down for a closer look. “You’d better not ___47___ that.”

I turned around to see an old woman.

“Are you new lo this neighborhood?” I explained that I was, ___48___, new to the entire state.

“My name is Ina Thorne. Have you got used to life in the ___49___? It must be quite a ___50___ after living in Boston.”

How could I explain how I ___51___ the desert? I couldn’t seem to find the right words.

“It’s vastness,” she offered. “That vastness ___52___ you stand on the mountains overlooking the desert — you can ___53___ how little you are in comparison with the world. ___54___, you feel that the possibilities are limitless.”

That was it. That was the feeling I’d bad ever since I’d first seen the mountains of my new home. Again, my ___55___ would change with just a few simple words.

“Would you like to come to my home tomorrow? Someone should teach you which plant you should and shouldn’t touch.”

36. A. During B. Until   C. Upon  D. Before

37. A. gathered      B. warned       C. organized   D. comforted

38. A. hoping B. admitting   C. realizing     D. believing   

39. A. going   B. moving      C. driving       D. flying

40. A. good    B. simple C. big     D. proper      

41. A. picture  B. ground       C. sense   D. area

42. A. suggested     B. solved C. discovered  D. explained

43. A. settled  B. walked       C. hurried       D. stepped

44. A. If  B. After   C. once   D. While

45. A. bitterly B. easily  C. proudly      D. eagerly

46. A as well   B. as usual      C. fight away  D. on time

47. A. move   B. dig     C. pull    D. touch

48. A. of course     B. in fact C. after all      D. at least

49. A. desert   B. city     C. state    D. country

50. A. luck     B. doubt  C. shock  D. danger

51. A. found   B. examined   C. watched     D. reached

52. A. why     B. when  C. how    D. where

53. A. prove   B. guess  C. sense   D. expect

54. A. However     B. Otherwise   C. Therefore   D. Meanwhile

55. A. idea     B. life     C. home  D. family 

Maureen stood by the lake. Suddenly the children came running through the trees with sharp cries of ___36___. They rushed up to the ___37___, leaning over the clear water, watching the crowds of tiny fish. Some children demanded loudly to go to the boats, but ___38___ those who had been left behind at the ice-cream stall(小摊) came running up to make some announcement or other, and they all ___39___ the water and dashed back the ___40___ they had come. With growing excitement, Maureen ___41___ them.

When she ___42___ what had been running for, she stopped running. They were ___43___ things again. The toy stall was ___44___ and they were crowded around it. Behind the ___45___ a calm middle-aged woman was selling a great variety of small rubbish. She took ___46___ from the forest of small hands in exchanging for little boats, plastic dolls, yellow pencils, anything. Maureen leaned against a ___47___, looking on. The idea of ___48___ washed against her face like a strong current(流), trying to draw her in.

Nona Parker www..compushed out to the edge of the group and ___49___ what she had bought on the ground so that she could see what money she had left in her white purse. Under Maureen’s ___50___ lay a boat, a mouth organ(口琴) and a brown load of bread. Maureen was so full of the ___51___ for the things like that she couldn’t bear to look at it. She turned her ___52___ sharply. Her face was against the tree. She shut her eyes and ___53___ eagerly for some money, for the price of a set toy plates. In a moment, she opened her eyes, ___54___ she didn’t turn back to the stall. It was too ___55___ to see the others buying whatever they wanted. She rubbed almost round the tree, her eyes on the ground.

36. A. fright         B. surprise       C. shout         D. excitement

37. A. space          B. hill           C. lake          D. river

38. A. what’s worse         B. all at once      C. all the time      D. more or less

39. A. left                 B. polluted       C. painted         D. entered

40. A. street          B. way          C. boat          D. restaurant

41. A. ran after            B. searched for   C. glared at      D. got rid of

42. A. blamed       B. saw          C. praised         D. helped

43. A. destroying        B. stealing       C. buying         D. eating

44. A. closed         B. tall           C. dull          D. open

45. A. toy                 B. stall          C. building       D. mirror

46. A. fish            B. advice         C. money              D. food

47. A. tree            B. wall                C. stall         D. car

48. A. leaving       B. running       C. sleeping        D. spending

49. A. laid            B. let            C. drew          D. tasted

50. A. feet            B. eyes                C. shoulder       D. hands

51. A. edge           B. tiredness      C. wish          D. relation

52. A. friend         B. suggestion      C. way           D. head

53. A. went           B. stood           C. prayed        D. searched

54. A. even if        B. if             C. so             D. but

55. A. painful       B. nervous       C. enjoyable       D. near-sighted

My dream ended when I was born. Although I never knew it then, I just held on to something that would never come to pass. Dreams really do exist. But in the morning when you wake up, they are remembered just as a dream. That is what happened to me.

I always had the dream to dance like a beautiful ballerina(芭蕾舞女演员)turning around and around and hearing people applaud for me. When I was young, I would turn around and around in the fields of wildflowers that grew in my backyard. 

Reality woke me up when I heard someone saying, "I don't know why you bother trying to dance. Ballerinas are pretty and slender(苗条) www..comgirls. Besides, you don't have the talent to even be a ballerina." I remember how those words hurt every feeling in my body. I fell to the ground and wept for hours. 

I enjoyed hanging out by the water. I would sit there for hours and stare at my reflection(倒影). There I was, looking nothing like a pretty ballerina dancer. Reflections don't lie. Once the waves would come, my reflection was washed away just like my dream to dance.

As I grew older, I began to realize that the reason my dream was even born was because it was something that was inside of me. The dream I had was never nurtured(培育) and cared for, so it slowly died. It's not that I wanted it to die, but I allowed it to die the day I started listening to the words, "You can't do it." When I finally woke up from many years of dreaming, I realized that you can't only settle for dancing in the wildflowers, you have to move on to the platform.

Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?

A. Care for your dream

B. Dream and reality

C. Nothing is impossible

D. Efforts to be a ballerina will pay  

The author didn’t realize her dream of being a ballerina mainly because_______.

A. she was bored of dancing and performing  

B. she had lack of self-respect  

C. her health conditions allowed her dream to die

D. she was deeply affected by others easily

From the passage, it can be inferred that _________.

A. the author was once a pretty and slender girl with wonderful dream.

B. we should dare to give up our dream facing much pressure and difficulty

C. if you stick to your dream and never say die, you will enjoy a bright life

D. You should necer give up.

What is the main purpose of writing the passage?

A. to complain    B. to praise     C. to warn    D. to criticize

The underlined expression “settle for” in the last paragraph means_________.

A. turn down     B. take up    C. give up   D. settle down   

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