As far as I know, he is seldom, ______, absent from school.

If your father never says to you “I love you” when you are a child, it   36  to be more and more difficult for him to say the words as he grows    37 
I do not   38  hearing the words from my father when I was growing up.   39 , I could not recall(回忆) when I had   40 said those words to him either.
One day, I decided to _41_ the ice and make the first   42_ . So in our next phone conversation I gathered all my _ 43 and let out the words in a low voice, “Dad… I love you!”
There was a   44  at the other end and he awkwardly  45 _, “Well, same back at you!”
I was unexpectedly   46  and my voice was raised, “Dad, I know you love me, and I know when you are ready, you will say what you want to say.”
Fifteen minutes later my mother called and   47  asked, “Paul, is everything okay?”
A few weeks later, Dad   48  our phone conversation with the words, “Paul, I love you.” I was so moved that tears were rolling down my cheeks as I finally “__49 ” the love. As I sat there in tears I realized that this   50  moment had taken our father-and-son relationship to a new   51 .Shortly afterwards, my father narrowly   52  death following heart surgery（外科手术）. Many times   __53 , I have   54  if I had not taken the first step and Dad not   55  the surgery, I would have never “heard” the love.

I stood outside New York’s Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.

From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knees, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.

Life was tough. I couldn’t stand, much less walk. I rarely left the farmhouse-and then only in someone’s arms. Mom bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.

“The world will see him when he can walk, ” she told Dad. “And he will walk. ”

Mom devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.

A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (假肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.

“There’s nothing anyone can do but you can’t, ” Mom said. “You and I are going to walk through town. ”

The next day Mom dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mom took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan. ” she said.

We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I’d walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mom’s eyes shining with a mother’s pride.

That night, back on our farm, I lay exhaustedly on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I’d done on my walk.

Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mom’s words came back to me-Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do-and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.

I’ve sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world’s finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mom’s words chiming in my ears, the same place where Mom’s promise lived. Then I began singing. I couldn’t feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my ears.

61. What was the problem with the author as a baby?

A. He was expected unable to walk.

B. He was born outward in character.

C. He had a problem with listening.

D. He was shorter than a normal baby.

62. The underlined word “deformity” in the second paragraph most probably means________ .

A. shortcoming                                                B. disadvantage

C. disability                                                      D. delay

63. Why did Mom dress him and herself?

A. To hide their depressed feeling.

B. To indicate it an unusual day.

C. To show off their clothes.

D. To celebrate his successful operation.

64. From the story we may conclude that his mother was________ .

A. determined                                                  B. stubborn

C. generous                                                     D. distinguished

65. According to the writer, what mattered most in his success? 

A. His consistent effort.

B. His talent for music.

C. His countless failures.

D. His mother’s promise.

If you won’t do as I told you, you____ not go to the party.

第二节：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，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
Home, sweet home
It was December 22. The cold wind swept the countless snowflakes(雪花） across my front yard. My dad was there sweeping the  36  . His nose was __37___as a cherry. With every breath he took, a white puff(水气) ran into the air.
Inside, my mother was  38  the last of the boxes. As I entered the front door, the  39  that after today I wouldn’t enter through that door ever again  40  a hole in my stomach. I picked up my dog and sat Indian style with him in my arms on the  41  , wooden floor. I had no  42  but to sit on the floor, for there was no longer any furniture existing in my house. I sat there in a daze（恍惚）, just  43  . There was no reason for my parents to make me, a once  44  12-year-old kid,  45  . I had two best friends right across the street; I did well in school and I always kept my room clean.  46  , this was “my house”. By no means did I want a couple of  47  living here. These recurring（重复）thoughts  48  around in my mind and I couldn’t find an answer.
Out of the front window I could see the orange top of a truck pulling in the cleaned driveway and I knew it was the other U-Haul. Instantly three men came  49  in the back door like World War III was starting.
I watched  50  as the men, my mother and my dad carried our belongings to the truck. My dog even winced（畏缩）as he stared out of the window. I wondered if he was  51  , too, or if he just wished to play outside in the snow.
My mum came in, looking solemn（凝重）. She turned   52  the overhead light, put the  53  in my arm and took me out of the back door. A totally  54  feeling filled my heart. For the first time in my life ,I wondered what  55  would be to me tomorrow.
36. A. stairs       B. garden          C. sidewalk     D. driveway
37. A. red              B. black     C. white     D. blown
38. A. piling      B. packing      C. collecting   D. locking
39. A. wish        B. dream     C. thought      D. worry
40. A. cut              B. burned          C. shot       D. made
41. A. cold        B. wet        C. broken          D . messy
42. A. choice     B. way       C. solution      D. means
43. A. dreaming     B. thinking     C. staring          D. crying
44. A. hardworking       B. clever     C. happy     D. honest
45. A. remain     B. cry        C. suffer     D. move
46. A. However      B. Besides      C. Therefore   D. Yet
47. A. neighbours   B. strangers    C. visitors       D. elders
48. A. occurred      B. traveled      C. danced          D. flowed
49. A. running          B. laughing     C. talking          D. wispering
50. A. curiously     B. strangely    C. carefully    D. helplessly
51. A. afraid      B. angry     C. sad        D. lonely
52. A. down      B. off         C. on         D. up
53. A. box         B. dog        C. bag        D. hand
54. A. excited     B. eager     C. empty     D. angry
55. A. place       B. school    C. home    D. world