Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely mad and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.?

Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason.?

I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers(窃笑) about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.?

When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse was judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.?

One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.?

The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted.?

All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.?

My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line.?

As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!?

I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.?

The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 4) most probably means "     __________".?

A. told how to enter the arena?

B. shown how to make the horse beautiful?

C. removed from the competition early?

D. told to enter the timed-speed events?

Why was the writer not confident of victory??

A. He was an inexperienced rider.?    

B. He had not practiced enough.?

C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.?

D. He thought his horse wasn’t as good as the others. ?

When the final race finished, nobody cheered because____________.?

A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy?    B. people envied the writer?

C. the win was unexpected?           D. the writer had run out of time

What did the writer learn from his experience??

A. Life can sometimes be unfair.?

B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.?

C. A positive attitude will bring success.?

D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.

The best title for the story is ___________.         .?

A. A Race to Remember              B.A Horse’s Tale?

C. Neck and Neck                    D.A Difficult Age ?

On Sundays my father always wore that gray apron(围裙)—the one with the race cars all over it. The ritual (老规矩) began.       breakfast when Dad always announced, “Go ahead everyone. I’ll       the dishes!” For the next hour Dad did the dishes, singing ballads (歌谣) like “I Had a Hat When I Came in.” and “Who Put the Chow in Mrs. Marphy’s Chowder?”www.zxxk.com

I suppose it was        for a boy’s father to wear an apron—even one with race cars—        I never thought much of it until the day that Dad broke with tradition. It was the last Sunday in August. As we        home slowly from church together, my father seemed very       . “Tommy,” he said letting my name roll off his       . “There comes a time in every boy’s        when he must take on responsibilities. It’s time you        a greater role in the family. From now on, I want you to        the dishes on Sunday morning, so your mother and I can work the crossword puzzle (纵横字谜) together.”

“The dishes!?” I        in surprise.

“Anything wrong with taking over the dishes, son?” father said.

I started to say something about a man’s        or woman’s work, but I knew immediately that my protests (抗议) would be        .

I didn’t taste a bit of       that morning. Dad seemed joyful as he described an American game.[www.zxxk.com]

At the end of the meal, my father        , “Let’s go to read the paper, honey.” “Aren’t you doing the dishes?” my 51 asked surprisedly. Father smiled and said, “your oldest son has        to fill the position.”

“I want you to have this apron on, Tommy. It’ll keep your clothes from getting        .” And before I could go against it, he had put the thing on me. “Thanks, Son. Your mother and I        this.”

With that he disappeared into the Sunday paper. I looked        at the dishes. I could see my dad reaching for the dishes. He was always happy to help the family. My anger soon flew off and I began to sing.

1.A. Until                     B. During              C. Before           D. After

2.A. keep up                   B. take care of               C. look for               D. turn over

3.A. important                B. natural                        C. strange                D. exciting

4.A. but                           B. so                       C. because              D. when

5.A. rushed                     B. hurried             C. walked                D. danced

6.A. happy                            B. angry                         C. sad                       D. mad

7.A. eyes                         B. tongue                        C. ears                     D.hands

8.A. death                            B. school             C. work           D. life

9.A. made                   B. played                       C. did                       D. carried

10.A. do                          B. buy                              C. break                   D. set

11.A. smiled                   B. laughed             C. whispered D. screamed

12.A. game                     B. joy                      C. job                       D. feeling

13.A. turned down        B. turned to                  C. turned up           D. turned off

14.A. breakfast          B. lunch                         C. supper                D. juice

15.A. ordered                B. announced                C. demanded          D. chatted

16.A. brother                 B. sister                           C. mother                D. friend

17.A. started                  B. gone                           C. managed             D. offered

18.A. cold                   B. warm                         C. dry                       D. wet

19.A. hate                            B. scold                          C. appreciate          D. require

20.A. up                          B. down                          C. out                       D. on

 

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