I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my calsses. (I have not used his real name for personal reasons. As he requested.) But here is his real story as he told it before one of our adult – education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-old daughter, a child he adored. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said:“Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”

This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip. He tried both, but neither helped. He said:“My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤)——if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪)by sorrow, you know what he meant.

But thank God, I had one child left ——a four —year— old son. He gave me the solution to my problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked; ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent little fellow! I had to give in.

 Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.

The following night, I went from room to room in the house, making a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired: bookcase, stair steps, storm windows, window-shades, locks, leaky taps. Amazing as it seems, in the course of two weeks I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention.

“During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry.”

No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said :“I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”

The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to          .

A.having lost a loved one                                         B.having lost a valuable article

C.having lost a profit-making business                D.having lost a well-paid job

Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because             .

A.he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family

B.he was suffering from sleeplessness disease

C.he couldn’t get out of mental pressure

D.he felt tired of adult-education classes

Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because           .

A.he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them

B.he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them

C.the items had actually been broken and needed attention

D.repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind

At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to         .

A.prove that he followed Churchill’s example

B.support his student’s solution to his problem

C.show that he was successful in his career

D.clarify how his conclusion was reached

完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36-55题所给的A.B.C.D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

    Two brothers lived on the 80th floor. On coming home one day, they were depressed to realize that the lifts broke 36 . Although they carried a big pack of luggage, it seemed to have no other choice, so they decided to climb the 37 up together!

    When they arrived at the 20th floor, the elder brother 38 putting the luggage there and coming back for it the next day. Feeling much more relaxed, they 39 to climb up. When they 40 to the 40th,the younger started to complain and 41 of them quarreled till the 60th floor. Arriving there, they were so tired that they didn't have any 42 to quarrel. The younger said,“Don't quarrel, let's 43 climbing the stairs.”And they went on climbing 44,finally reaching the 80th!They felt 45 arriving at the door of their home. But soon they found their 46 were kept on the 20th.

    This story is a reflection on our lives. Many of us live under the 47 of our parents, teachers and friends when young. We seldom get to do the things we love.

    By the age of twenty,with so much pressure, we get 48 and then decide to throw down this load.49 from this load, we work energetically with ambitious dreams.

    But at the age of forty,we discover the youth has already died, so much 50 is produced unavoidably, and begin to feel sorry for that. When you 51 the age of sixty ,we discover life hasn't remained too much, so we tell ourselves not to complain and 52 the remaining days! Upon that we walk silently over our own 53 years of life. Arriving at the 54 of the life, we think there is nothing left to disappoint us, only the 55 that we can't rest in peace. Follow your dream , so you will not live with regrets.

A.out          B.through        C.up               D.down

A. lift         B. mountain         C. tower          D. steps

A. insisted     B. suggested      C. decided          D. demanded

A. continued    B. started          C. set                 D. prepared

A. arrived  B. hurried          C. struggled      D. fought

A. all         B. both           C. neither           D. each

A. strength     B. courage       C. opportunity       D. ability

A. begin       B. stop           C. give up            D. finish

A. happily     B. silently       C. hurriedly        D. angrily

A. afraid          B. sad                  C. excited       D. fortunate

A. keys           B. luggage           C. money         D. bags

A. suspicions          B. inspections      C. expectations      D. obligation

A. calmed         B. tired                C. relaxed       D. confused

A. Freed          B. Suffering            C. Recovering        D. Keeping

A. sadness         B. excuse               C. regret          D. forgive

A. get               B. arrive               C. grow          D. reach

A. value          B. forget               C. ignore            D. pass

A. lost            B. rest             C. spending      D. missing

A. end            B. beginning            C. middle         D. rest

A. achievement     B. decision         C. realization      D. promise

Every week I would walk into this specific Chevrolet dealer's used car lot to see what the used cars needed in the way of repairs. The general manager's wife Cindy was always very __1__,  treating me like I was below her or that she was __2__ than me. I was always positive and kind, but that never seemed to __3__ with her.

One day she accused me of __4__ her to dye the carpet in a mini-bus that had a stain in the __5__. She had driven the bus for the weekend and said the __6__ was not there. Just trying to __7__ be aggressive(粗俗的), without cause, she __8__ me in front of all her peers that day.

However, instead of being __9__ at being looked upon as someone that was not honest, I went to a florist(种花人) and __10__ almost $100.00 in red roses and had them put in this nice basket. I __11__ a card, and stated that I was sorry for the __12__ and that I did not ever have the __13__ of making her angry.

The following week, I walked into her office like I did every __14__ with my list of used cars that needed some __15__ before they were sold and said, “Hi Cindy,” with my usual __16__ attitude. She gave me a big smile and said, “You bought me __17__.”  Every week thereafter she would __18__ make a point to say, “Hey Mike, Nice to see you, how are you?”

This woman began to change, perhaps because of this small act of __19__. It was actually so nice to see Cindy's whole way of being-__20__ with me. She was always very kind, and would always have a big smile when I walked into her office.

I guess people can change with a little bit of kindness!

1. A. active      B. kind       C. rude                D. polite

2. A. better      B. taller     C. richer              D. happier

3. A. agree       B. work       C. appear             D. stay

4. A. forcing     B. asking     C. charging            D. inviting

5. A. carpet      B. middle     C. bottom              D. bus

6. A. key          B. money       C. tool                D. stain

7. A. naturally    B. quickly     C. continually         D. anxiously

8. A. challenged   B. accused     C. punished            D. criticized

9. A. surprised    B. excited     C. angry               D. sad

10. A. bought      B. planted     C. sold                D. borrowed

11. A. made out          B. picked out 

C. looked through     D. took off

12. A. mistake           B. words      

C. misunderstanding   D. action

13. A. intention   B. mind        C. idea                D. courage

14. A. day         B. hour        C. week                D. month

15. A. change      B. repairs     C. papers              D. attention

16. A. cold        B. happy       C. serious             D. changeable

17. A. flowers     B. cards       C. food                D. carpet

18. A. seldom      B. hardly      C. always              D. sometimes

19. A. kindness          B. present

C. thoughtfulness      D. consideration

20. A. smiles      B. change      C. use                 D. act

第二节 语法填空(共10题;每小题1.5分,满分15分)

阅读下面短文,按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求,在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空,并将答案填写在答题纸标号为31-40的相应位置上。

I know a man called John Smith who is a very unusual millionaire. ___31___ makes him unusual is that he has no money. He says the average millionaire never uses money and always gets other people to pay for taxis or drinks. This is because he is ___32___ used to thinking in millions that small amounts of money are not worth thinking about. But this does not mean he has no worries. On the contrary, the average millionaire worries constantly about his business. His great wealth also makes ___33___ difficult for him to be happy and comfortable with other people. Are they friendly because they like him? ___34___ do they pretend to like him because they want his money? John Smith says he feels very sorry for millionaires, __35__, instead of being masters of their wealth, are slaves of their money. In one way, ___36__, John Smith always behaves exactly like a millionaire. I mean he never has any money and ___37___ (general) manages to persuade someone else to pay for his drinks. But ___38___ other very rich men, he gives back good value for money. He is full of jokes and fun. An evening ___39___ (spend) with him is not cheap, because he is unusually very thirsty, but he always makes people happy. He does not give much thought for tomorrow. He is the happiest man I have ever met. Whenever I meet him, he tells me,” In money I am not rich, but in peace of mind I am a millionaire,” And then the world’s richest, ___40___ (penny) man usually adds, with a smile,” Do you have time for another drink? “How can I refuse?”

 

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