Years ago, in a small fishing village in Holland, a young boy taught the world about the rewards of unselfish service．
Because the entire village lived on fishing, a volunteer rescue team was needed in case of emergency．One night, the winds 1 , the clouds burst and a strong storm overturned a fishing boat at sea．The crew in trouble 2 the SOS．The captain of the rescue rowboat team 3 the alarm and the villagers 4 in the town square overlooking the sea．When the team started their rowboat fought their way through the wild waves, the villagers waited 5 on the beach, holding lamps to 6 the way back．
An hour later, the rescue boat reappeared through the fog and the 7 villagers ran to greet them．Falling 8 on the sand, the volunteers reported that the rescue boat could not hold any more 9 and they had to leave one man behind．Even one more passenger would have surely 10 the rescue boat and all would have been lost．
11 , the captain called for another volunteer team to 12 the survivor．Sixteen-year-old Hans stepped forward．His mother grabbed his arm, crying,“please don't go．Your father 13 in a shipwreck(船只失事)10 years ago and your elder brother, Paul, has been lost 14 for three weeks．Hans, you are all I have left．”
Hans replied,“Mother, I have to go． 15 everyone said I can't go, let someone else do it?Mother, this time I have to do my duty．When the call for service 16 we all need to take our turn and do our part．Hans kissed his mother, joined the team and 17 into the night．”
Another hour passed, which seemed to Hans' mother like a century． 18 the rescue boat dashed through the fog with Hans standing up in the bow． 19 his hands, the captain called,“did you find the lost man?” 20 able to control himself, Hans excitedly cried back,“Yes, we found him．Tell my mother it's my elder brother, Paul!”
We’ve heard it before－we’ve heard it on the news, from teachers, from parents－children and teenagers today are growing up too fast．There are not too many people that will 1 with that statement．Teenagers are faced with serious problems and decisions at an early 2 ．In fact most teenagers’ daily schedules are as 3 as those of an adult’s．
I have been working since I was thirteen, and always in 4 in which I was working with adults．I have had to learn to think and 5 like an adult to be taken seriously．So, I count myself as one who has grown up too fast．I just graduated from high school, and have recently spent some time reflecting(反思)on the 6 eighteen years-thinking about myself, what I have gained, and what 7 I have yet to achieve．
We are expected to work hard, get excellent 8 , be in a good relationship, and know what we want to do 9 ．The list goes on and on．But the 10 is clear：We live in a society today that is 11 our childhood．We no longer have many years to be careless and fancy-free．We are expected to 12 the strict school rules and to excel(擅长)in everything we do．I’ve known these things for a long time, and knew that they 13 me．But, I never really admitted it until last night, when I learned a 14 lesson, taught to me by my boss where I work．We had finished a job at a remote site．It was about 11∶30 at nig-ht, and we had 15 to his house．We were talking about the 16 he had been making to his home．One of the things he said was “I 17 my basketball hoop(篮圈)．” Then he threw a basketball to me．
I hadn’t 18 a basketball in five years．
We proceeded to shoot hoops for about 40 minutes．Both of us were terribly bad at it, but we spent the whole time 19 away like children．Then I realized something：I am still a child．Oh, the law says I’m an adult．But, we are still really and truly children．We all need to have 20 once in a while．
(1)
[ ]
A．
argue
B．
disagree
C．
satisfy
D．
discuss
(2)
[ ]
A．
age
B．
stage
C．
year
D．
grade
(3)
[ ]
A．
certain
B．
busy
C．
careful
D．
perfect
(4)
[ ]
A．
companies
B．
places
C．
positions
D．
offices
(5)
[ ]
A．
study
B．
speak
C．
work
D．
act
(6)
[ ]
A．
last
B．
other
C．
rest
D．
coming
(7)
[ ]
A．
purposes
B．
success
C．
goals
D．
jobs
(8)
[ ]
A．
textbooks
B．
grades
C．
teachers
D．
schools
(9)
[ ]
A．
in life
B．
in time
C．
for ages
D．
for ever
(10)
[ ]
A．
information
B．
message
C．
notice
D．
idea
(11)
[ ]
A．
ruining
B．
correcting
C．
envying
D．
shortening
(12)
[ ]
A．
respect
B．
accept
C．
learn
D．
follow
(13)
[ ]
A．
inspired
B．
disappointed
C．
affected
D．
frightened
(14)
[ ]
A．
valuable
B．
serious
C．
important
D．
useful
(15)
[ ]
A．
walked
B．
flown back
C．
gone back
D．
driven
(16)
[ ]
A．
furniture
B．
improvements
C．
equipment
D．
arrangements
(17)
[ ]
A．
moved
B．
fixed
C．
sold
D．
broke
(18)
[ ]
A．
played
B．
caught
C．
touched
D．
held
(19)
[ ]
A．
laughing
B．
shouting
C．
running
D．
shooting
(20)
[ ]
A．
a rest
B．
a talk
C．
fun
D．
sports
完形填空：
I was 15 when I walked into McCauley’s Bookstore in Ashland．As I was looking at titles(标题)on the shelves, the man behind the counter(柜台)， 1 , asked if I’d like 2 ．I needed to start 3 for college, so I said yes．I 4 after school and during summers for the lowest wages(薪金)，and the job helped 5 my freshman(or first)year of college．I would work many other jobs：I made coffee in the Students’ Union during college, I was a hotel maid(or waitress)and 6 made maps for the U．S．Forest Service．But selling books was one of the most satisfying(令人满意的)．
One day a woman asked me for books on cancer．She seemed fearful(or much afraid)．I showed her almost 7 we had at that time in store and found other books we could order(定货)．She left the store less 8 ．I’ve always remembered the 9 I felt in having helped her．
Years later, as a 10 in Los Angeles, I heard about an immigrant(移民) child who was born 11 his fingers connected(or joined together), web-like．His family could not afford(or pay for)a corrective(矫正；整形)operation, and the boy lived in 12 , hiding his hand in his pocket．
I 13 my boss to let me do the story．After my story was broadcast, a doctor and a nurse called, offering to perform the 14 for free．
I visited the boy in the recovery(康复)room soon after the operation．The first thing he did was to hold up his 15 hand and say, “Thank you．” I felt a sense(感觉)of 16 ．
In the past, while I was 17 , I always sensed(or felt)I was working for the customers(顾客)，not the store．Today it’s the 18 ．NBC News pays my salary(工资)， 19 I feel as if I work for the 20 , helping them make sense of(or find the meaning of)the world．
