_____, I have never seen anyone who’s as capable as John.

A. As long as I have       B. Now that I have traveled so much

   C. Much as I have traveled  D. As I have traveled so much

第三节完形填空（共20小题，计分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21￣40各题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。
At the end of my senior year of high school, I got a job working at a local coffee shop. I thought the job would be easy and stress-free. I   21   myself pouring the best coffees, making delicious doughnut (炸面包圈), and becoming friends with   22   customers.
But I wasn't   23    the people with enormous orders, the women who   24  that the coffee was much too creamy (全乳脂的), or the men who wanted their iced coffees   25  again and again until they reached perfection. I couldn't seem to   26 anyone.
One rainy day, one of my regular customers came in looking  27  . He said he felt like getting in bed, pulling the   28  up over his head, and staying there for a few years. I knew exactly how he felt.
29   he left, I handed him a bag along with his iced coffee. He was   30  , since he hadn’t ordered anything but coffee, I had given him his favorite type of doughnut.
“It’s   31  me,” I told him. “have a nice day.”
He smiled and thanked me before heading back out into the  32  .
The next day, it was still raining. I   33  my afternoon hanging out the window, handing people their  34   . I was completely wet and freezing cold.   35  , no one was tipping that day. Every time I looked into our   36   tip jar, I grew more depressed.
In the evening, the customer from the day before drove up to the window. He handed me a pink rose and a  37 ．He said that not many people took time to  38  others and he was glad there were still people like me in the world．With a friendly wave, he drove away．I ran to the back of the shop and read the note．It read:
Christine,
Thanks for being so sweet, kind and thoughtful yesterday．It's so nice to meet someone who’s genuinely （真诚地） nice．Please don ' t change your   39  ! Have a great day !——Hank
After that, whenever I felt depressed or sick of coffee, I thought of Hank and his kindness．Then I would smile, hold my head up high,   40   my throat and ask politely, "How can I help you?"
21．A．believed             B．supposed       C．pictured    D．hoped
22．A．particular           B．regular         C．special    D．common
23．A．thinking     B．expecting         C．guessing      D．considering
24．A．complained     B．praised              C．doubted       D．explained
25．A．repeated            B．remade            C．recovered          D．returned
26．A．fit                B．please         C．suit             D．meet
27．A．satisfied             B．anxious         C．upset     D．happy
28．A．hat                B．sheet            C．coat             D．pillow
29．A．Before         B．While        C．Until             D．After
30．A．embarrassed    B．angry              C．surprised       D．glad
31．A．on                  B．after              C．for            D．in
32．A．crowd            B．street          C．shop         D．rain
33．A．spent            B．wasted             C．cost          D．took
34．A．doughnuts       B．coffees      C．orders          D．bags
35．A．Better              B．Later          C．Further       D．Worse
36．A．old             B．full            C．broken              D．empty
37．A．letter          B．gift             C．note              D．bill
38．A．talk about      B．care about            C．hear about     D．know about
39．A．way            B．product          C．mind              D．job
40．A．cut                  B．force             C．raise             D．clear

任务型阅读（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入恰当的单词。

注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

Everyone needs a break, and vacations are not meant for serious study. Instead, they’re a great way to take a break and enjoy a good book. The Spring Festival is coming up so this is the perfect time to discuss some great English language literature to take on a long train journey or while you’re hanging out with the family.

Before getting into the recommendations, we need to determine your English reading comprehension level so you don’t pick a book which is so challenging that it’s stressful or so simple that it’s boring.

If you’re at the beginner level, there are two options: reading a children’s book or reading a book that you’ve read in Chinese translation. This will help you get over any unfamiliar words or phrases, since you’re already familiar with the story. If you’re at the intermediate level, popular books like pop fiction, mysteries and thrillers are good options, as they’ll be guaranteed page turners and that will increase the possibility of your getting all the way through the book. For advanced readers, science fiction, classic works of literature or contemporary prize winners （Booker, Nobel, Pulitzer） are good options.

The most important thing is to pick a book that you’re really interested in. When I pick up a new book in Chinese, the first few chapters are always really hard to get through, as I have to get accustomed to the way the individual author uses the language. But after the first few chapters, things get a lot easier, especially if I get involved in the story. Some of my favorite Chinese-language eye candy are books that are series like Brothers by Yu Hua or The Dancer by Hai Yan. I like them because there’s always a lot of action and story development to keep me involved, which helps me make it through those first few chapters.

Another great way to keep yourself motivated over the holiday is to find a friend who’s interested in reading the same book. You can make goals that you both want to achieve and discuss plot lines or vocabulary issues with each other by SMS or e-mail. I’m currently doing that with my friend Laura. We’ve been doing this since we were classmates in Chinese at college.

Some quick recommendations: Harry Potter, start with the first book and go on from there; the Narnia series; anything by US writer Michael Crichton or British writer Agatha Christie; and if you like horror, US writer Stephen King is always unusual and fun. But really you should just find a topic or author that you’re interested in, and the rest will go from there. Happy reading!

－from 21st Century （January 21, 2009）

 Everyone was on time for the meeting______Chris, who’s usually ten minutes late for everything.

A. but       B. only  C. even      D. yet

In seventh grade, Brittany Blythe dreamed of being a cheerleader. Her school’s coaches were less than enthusiastic. “They said, ‘I don’t know how you’ll be able to do it,’ she recalls. “‘You won’t be able to do it. ’”
But Brittany, now a junior at Strath Haven High School near Philadelphia, persisted(坚持). And when the junior team cheerleaders won a tournament last year, she was right there, dancing and cheering with the rest of the team.
Not bad for someone whose legs were cut off below the knee when she was two years old.
Brittany, 18, was born without shinbones(胫骨)--“just blood and muscle tissue”, as she puts it. When she tried to walk, her legs twisted.
After the operation, she adapted quickly. “From day one, I basically jumped up and wanted to do everything,” she says. Prosthetic legs(假腿) allowed her to move around upright, but too slowly to keep up with her friends. Brittany’s solution: take the legs off and walk on her knees---sometimes she still does when safety and comfort permit.
She’s rarely daunted. Other children laughed at her through the years, especially in junior high school, but she says the challenge only made her stronger. Now she’s trying to convince her coaches to let her remove the prostheses and be a flyer, the cheerleader who’s thrown in the air and caught by her teammates.
Brittany doesn’t think her problems are more difficult than the next person’s. “My disability was the first thing I had to get through, and that’s going to prepare me for the future,” she says. “It’s all just a test: If someone throws you a curve ball(给你出难题), what are you going to do?”
【小题1】What was the school’s coaches’ attitude towards Brittany’s idea of being a cheerleader?