My name is Ben Mansury. I’m fifteen years old and study in a middle school. In school, I never join in any group discussion or stage (舞台) program. So, I never knew what stage nervousness was.
Our community (社区) has a weekly “Students Ideas” program. About two years ago, I received a(n)   1   from the chairman of our community. He invited me to the “Students Ideas” talk the next morning to speak to the group.
The time between his call to the next morning was like several weeks for me. The whole night, I could not sleep. Many   2   were coming. One of them was to call the chairman, with regret, and tell him that I could not come. But finally, I thought, if I missed this   3  , the community would never invite me again to any of their programs. So, I decided to go.
I reached the hall in time. When my turn came and I started, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to   4   the words on the paper properly. I had no idea where I was standing and what I was talking. That was the day when I   5   my biggest weakness: public speaking.
After I finished, I met with the chairman and   6   what happened to me. He said that this happens to everyone. It is very   7  . He suggested that I should come again the next week.
I   8   a talk carefully. This time when I gave the talk, I was somewhat comfortable but not confident (自信的). Afterwards, I met with the chairman again and told him about the improvement I   9   I had made. He was kind enough to invite me again.
For around one month, I practiced a lot for my talk. This time I was feeling comfortable and both the chairman and my neighbors thought I did a good job.    
I learned that everything is   10   if we take the first step, as the saying goes: A journey of thousand miles begins with first step.

请先阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入相应空白处的最佳选项，并将其填到答题卷的相应位置。（每小题1分）

Time is very important in our life. However, I had never realized it until I received a beautiful gold watch from my father one day when I was 19 years old. This       always tells me the importance of time in my life.

It was a cold rainy day. My father asked me to go to the        to pick up my uncle and take him home. I should have arrived there        4:30 p.m. We had a basketball match at school that afternoon        the match was too exciting. When the match was nearly over. I suddenly remembered my uncle and        to the airport. It was too late. He had left the airport and taken a taxi to our house.

I was very worried that my father would be        with me. As soon as I entered the living room, I saw my uncle in the sofa looking very tired. I dared not(不敢)        my uncle and my father. I said hello to them in a very low voice. My father didn’t say       . Instead, he asked me to sit next to him. “Peter, did you have a good time today?” He        very disappointed, but his voice was still calm. I felt so sorry and answered in an ever        voice. “Yes, Dad, but I’m really sorry about not        my uncle. This will        happen again. I promise.” My father handed me a box with a beautiful gold watch inside. It was a gift my uncle bought for him. He gave it to        and said. “I hope you have learned something important today, and this watch will help you remember the importance of time.”

The watch has been with me for twelve years. I wear it not because of its price, but because of        I learned from it. It tells me to respect        and never be late to do what I have promised to.

1.A. watch                            B. clock                        C. bell                                    D. time

2.A. hotel                        B. station                      C. bus stop                           D. airport

3.A. before                          B. from                        C. after                                  D. to

4.A. though                          B. because                  C. and                                    D. so

5.A. moved                          B. turned                     C. hurried                   D. flew

6.A. happy                            B. angry                       C. sorry                                 D. lucky

7.A. look up                         B. look for                   C. look at                         D. look after

8.A. anything                  B. something                C. nothing                   D. everything

9.A. is                                    B. was                          C. does                                  D. did

10.A. funnier                       B. louder                     C. happier                            D. lower

11.A. waking up                  B. giving up                 C. picking up                   D. putting up

12.A. always                         B. never                      C. often                      D. usually

13.A. you                    B. him                          C. them                            D. me

14.A. what                            B. that                          C. which                          D. who

15.A. culture                       B. friendship               C. time                                  D. family

  I was in my third year of teaching writing at Ralph High School in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before:

    "Dear Mr. McCort, Mikey's grandmother, who is eighty years of age, fell down the stairs from too much coffee and I kept Mikey at home to take care of her and his baby sister so I could go to my job. Please excuse Mikey and he'll do his best in the future. P.S. His grandmother is OK."

    I had seen Mikey writing the note at his desk. l said nothing. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually boring: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off."

    The students always said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they produced excuse notes, they were excellent. So I decided to give the first class to study the art of the excuse note.

    “Today I'd like you to write 'An Excuse Note from Adam to God' or 'An Excuse Note from Eve to God'. "Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. They had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.[来源:学|科|网Z

    The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. But suddenly I saw the headmaster at the door. He entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said. "I'd like you to see me in my office." My heart sank,

    When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, "I just want to tell you that lesson, that task, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you."

1.What did the writer do when he found the students dishonest?

A. He reported them to the headmaster.

B. He lectured them hard on honesty.

C. He had them take notes-n class.

D. He helped improve their writing skills.

2.We can learn that when Mikey was absent from the class, he was____.

A. somewhere enjoying himself

B. taking care of his baby sister

C. looking after his grandmother

D. studying the art of the excuse note

3.How did the writer usually find out his students' parental excuse notes were dishonest?

A. They were written in boring words.

B. He called their parents and found out the truth.

C. They were more like stories than facts.

D. The handwriting clearly looked like children's.

4.Which of the following is true?

A. The writer has many years of teaching experience.

B. The students are good at writing excuse notes.

C. The headmaster was angry with the writer.

D. Most of the excuse notes were written by the parents.

5.Which of the following best describes the writer as a teacher?

A. Honest.               B. Strict.                   C. Hardworking.    D. Wise.