题目内容
I thought things would get better, but , ______, they are getting worse.
A. as they are B. as it is C. as it was D. as they were
Some years ago when I was in my first year in college, I heard Salome Bey sing for the first time. The moment was exciting. Salome’s 21 filled the room and brought the theater to life. I was so 22 that I decided to write an article about her.
I 23 Salome Bey, telling her I was from Essence magazine, and that I wanted to meet her to talk about her career. She 24 and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday. When I hung up, I was scared out of my mind. I 25 I was lying. I was not a writer at all and hadn’t even written a grocery list.
I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday. I sat there 26 , taking notes and asking questions that all began with, “Can you tell me…” I soon realized that 27 Salome Bey was one thing, but writing a story for a national magazine was just impossible. The 28 was almost unbearable. I struggled for days 29 draft after draft. Finally I put my manuscript (手稿) into a large envelope and dropped it into a mailbox.
It didn’t take long. My manuscript 30 . How stupid of me! I thought. How could I 31 in a world of professional writers? Knowing I couldn’t 32 the rejection letter, I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.
Five years later, I was moving to California. While 33 my apartment, I came across the unopened envelope. This time I opened it and read the editor’s letter in 34 :
Ms Profit,
Your story on Salome Bey is fantastic. Yet we need some 35 materials. Please add those and return the article immediately. We would like to 36 your story soon.
Shocked, it took me a long time to 37 . Fear of rejection cost me ly. I lost at least five hundred dollars and having my article appear in a major magazine. More importantly, I lost years of 38 writing. Today, I have become a full – time writer. Looking back on this 39 , I learned a very important lesson: You can’t 40 to doubt yourself.
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By my third day in the hospital, I realized Tom didn’t visit. I couldn’t understand 36 my best friend wouldn’t come to see me. Struggling against the 37 , I phoned his __38 . His mother answered, and when I asked for Tom, she got 39 . “He’s not here right now,” she said. I thought it was 40 that she didn’t tell me where he was or 41 to have him call me. But I was so weak, I just let it 42 . I found out later that Tom’s mother called my parents right after we rang 43 . My phone call really made her 44 , and she 45 they talk to me. Later that night, my mom 46 . Did I remember drinking? Did I remember in a car?I had 47 what she was talking about, so she finally told me the news: I’d hit a tree. Tom, in the 48 seat, was thrown from the car and killed instantly. The only reason I’d lived was because of my 49 .
My first 50 was of shock. I’d been drink-driving? Hit a tree? Killed Tom? I felt like the 51 person in the world. Even after I was able to 52 several weeks later, I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to talk. I just 53 at the wall in my 54 and cried. The only person I wanted to see was Tom. I didn’t feel like 55 with any of my old friends.
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I made a pledge (发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical (圣经) passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”
“Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “do you know something I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… that checkup I had several weeks ago… our doctor… did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me… am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”
【小题1】In the first paragraph, “No ifs, ands or buts” probably mean ________.
A.unnecessarily | B.unconditionally | C.impossibly | D.unintentionally |
A.alone | B.with his family | C.with Evelyn | D.with his children |
A.she looked lovely in her new clothes |
B.she was seriously ill |
C.he was determined to be a good husband |
D.he had made a lot of money in Wall Street |
A.he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before |
B.he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change |
C.he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life |
D.he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband |
It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and Maggie and I were returning from our walk through the woods.We were only a couple of blocks from home when I spotted a cell phone and a credit card sitting on the road.We took them home.We always find amazing things on the street and she looks upon them as a movable feast-a chicken wing here or a barbecue rib (肋骨)there.
I found another cell phone a few years back, too, and called a number in its phone book.I explained the situation to the guy who answered.He said it was his sister’s and that he’d come to pick it up, which he did.
And that was that.No verbal thank-you, no written thank-you, no “here’s a box of chocolates” thank-you.
I didn’t have time to call anyone on my latest found cell phone.I was pouring myself coffee when it started to shake and dance across the kitchen counter.
“Who’s this?” someone asked when I picked up.
“Who’s this?” I countered(反问).“Sarah?”
She was surprised at my knowing her name until she realized her name was on the credit card.“Could you send them to me?” she asked.
She lives in Arlington, which is 2 miles from my house.
“Hmm, no, ”I replied, adding that I thought she could come to get them, and that if I wasn’t at home, they would be in my mailbox.
A day later, when I was out for a run, someone got them back.There wasn’t even a piece of paper put in the mailbox with “Thanks” on it.In this age of e-mail and cell phone, there’s really no excuse.Years ago, I found something more precious than a $100 bill on the street:a driver’s license.I saw that its owner lived a couple of blocks from me, so I called him up.He asked whether I could slip the license through his front door.
“I guess I could, ”I replied.
And that was that.
【小题1】What is the relationship between Maggie and the writer?
A.Wife and husband | B.Daughter and father |
C.Teacher and student | D.Master and pet dog |
A.3 | B.4 | C.5 | D.6 |
A.From her telephone’s phone book | B.From her credit card |
C.From her e-mail | D.From her driver’s license |
A.we should return the things we picked to the losers |
B.people don’t know how to appreciate others in the age of e-mail and cell phone |
C.people would learn to appreciate persons who provide help for you |
D.the advance of society makes people lose some virtues |