I was born in New York, but I grew up in San Francisco. I began to live in London 25 years ago. If I am asked now where I want to live forever, I would say London. But I will always be American.

San Francisco, like London, has many parks. Every day my sisters and I were taken to play in the parks as children. I didn't go to school. I only had three hours of formal education when I was five. I was sent to school in the morning but came home at noon on the first day. I said I didn't enjoy it and hadn't learned anything. My parents thought that school was unsuitable for me. They agreed with me, so I never went back to school.

Then my mother taught me and my two sisters at home, in the way of an English lady who had good education. We learned languages and reading more than sciences and maths. Sometimes she taught us herself, but we also had other teachers. They asked us to take lessons every day. About once a week we walked to Golden Gate Park. While we were walking, my mother taught me to read music. One day I noticed a little toy train in the window of a shop and I remember now how I'd like to have it. I couldn't say "r" when I was small. My mother said if I could say an "r" well, I would have the toy train. I practiced and practiced. Then one morning I woke everybody up with my "r"s. I got the toy train. I usually get the things I want in life — but I work hard for them.

The writer ___ .

A. was born in San Francisco      B. likes living in London

C. is living in New York now      D. doesn't like America

The writer didn't go to school in America because ___ .

A. his mother wanted him to go to school in English

B. his parents didn't think formal education was right for him

C. his mother wanted him to play outdoors in the parks

D. he couldn't get on well with the other children

Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The writer was taught by his mother and other teachers.

B. The writer had no education at all.

C. The writer didn't have lessons every day.

D. The writer walked to the park to learn languages once a week.

The writer got the little toy train at last because ___ .

A. his mother gave him the money

B. he tried his best to read music

C. he wanted it very much

D. his mother was pleased with his progress

I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We   36   in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived   37_  . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days   38   everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_  him carefully.

Then at age six my father   40   from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41   ever again. My grandfather was   42   . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would   43   for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we   44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather   45   when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was   46   in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and   47   no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper   48   that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the   49   time I spoke those words.

Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to   51   a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized   52   . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was   53 reading over other words. Words came   54   back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was   55   ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.

A. lived             B. reached            C. made                D. put

A. far                B. nearby              C. inside               D. outside

A. never             B. already             C. seldom             D. almost

A. give              B. believe in         C. listen to            D. like

A. returned         B. went                C. rushed              D. swept

A. language        B. community       C. hand                D. safety

A. happy            B. joyful               C. heartbroken      D. warm-blooded

A. look              B. translate           C. wait                 D. speak

A. moved into    B. move back        C. move away       D. moved on

A. worked          B. traveled            C. visited              D. died

A. carried out    B. laid out            C. held out          D. pick out

A. when             B. if                     C. even if             D. although

A. for                B. upon                C. at                     D. in

A. first               B. latter                C. last                  D. former

A. long before    B. long ago           C. before long       D. long after

A. beat               B. see                   C. ask                   D. touch

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

A. sadly             B. hardly              C. faithfully          D. anxiously

A. drawing        B. frying              C. flooding           D. steaming

A. simple           B. merciful           C. perfect             D. bitter

I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We   36  in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived   37_ . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days   38  everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_ him carefully.
Then at age six my father   40  from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41  ever again. My grandfather was   42  . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would   43  for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we   44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather   45  when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was   46  in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and   47  no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper   48  that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the   49  time I spoke those words.
Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to   51  a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized   52  . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was   53 reading over other words. Words came   54  back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was   55  ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.

I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We   36   in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived   37_  . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days   38   everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_  him carefully.

Then at age six my father   40   from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41   ever again. My grandfather was   42   . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would   43   for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we   44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather   45   when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was   46   in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and   47   no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper   48   that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the   49   time I spoke those words.

Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to   51   a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized   52   . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was   53 reading over other words. Words came   54   back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was   55   ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.

1.A. lived                   B. reached                C. made                    D. put

2.A. far                      B. nearby                  C. inside                    D. outside

3.A. never                 B. already                 C. seldom                 D. almost

4.A. give                    B. believe in             C. listen to                D. like

5.A. returned                    B. went                     C. rushed                  D. swept

6.A. language          B. community          C. hand                      D. safety

7.A. happy                B. joyful            C. heartbroken      D. warm-blooded

8.A. look                    B. translate              C. wait                       D. speak

9.A. moved into      B. move back C. move away          D. moved on

10.A. worked           B. traveled               C. visited                   D. died

11.A. carried out  B. laid out                 C. held out               D. pick out

12.A. when               B. if                             C. even if                   D. although

13.A. for                             B. upon                      C. at                           D. in

14.A. first                 B. latter                    C. last                        D. former

15.A. long before    B. long ago               C. before long          D. long after

16.A. beat                B. see                        C. ask                         D. touch

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

18.A. sadly               B. hardly                   C. faithfully               D. anxiously

19.A. drawing         B. frying           C. flooding                D. steaming

20.A. simple             B. merciful                C. perfect                 D. bitter

I was born an albino．No one in my family had ever known what an albino was，what it meant to be an albino，and what had to be done differently because I was an albino．

My parents treated me just like they treated everybody else．That was just about the best thing they could have done．It helped me trust myself，so when the annoyances came along，I could deal with them．

True，my photo always looked like a snowball with two pieces of coal for eyes．Kids would tease me，asking if I was joining the circus and calling me “Whitey”．Like most albinos，I had terrible eyesight，and my grades suffered until eventually I overcame my feeling ashamed of myself and realized it was okay to ask to sit in the front of the classroom so I could see the blackboard better．People stared at me when I held reading material right at the tip of my nose so I could see it well enough to read．Even when I was eight or nine．movie-theater clerks started asking me to pay adult prices because I “looked older”．

The worst part for me was that because my eyesight was so bad，I couldn’t play sports very well．I didn’t give up trying，though．And I studied harder．

Eventually，I got better at school and loved it．By the time I got to college 1 was double majoring，going to summer school and devoting myself to every kind of extracurricular activity I could find．I had learned to be proud of being an albino．I did my best to make “albino” a positive word．And I decided to make my living with my eyes．

I couldn’t see well enough to play spots，but with a solid education and the drive to do it．I could make a living involved in the field I loved．I’ve done it now for more than thirty years in print and in video，and now in cyberspace．People make jokes about how I’m the only “blind editor” they know，but most of the time the jokes are signs of respect．And I make jokes about being an albino．

I was just a proud albino kid from the coal country of Pennsylvania．I now realize that being born an albino helped me to overcome difficulties，gain confidence，and be proud of my personal achievement and humble about my professional accomplishments．

41．What is an albino according to the passage?

A．Someone with bad eyesight．                        B．Someone with some kind of disease．

C．Someone who looks older than his age．        D．Someone who joins the circus．

42．What does the underlined word “It’’ in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The fact that the author was born an albino．       

B．What had to be done differently to the author．

C．The way that the author’s parents treated him．

D．The fact that the author had no idea what an albino was．

43．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The author’s study was affected by his eyesight at first．

B．The author had to pay adult prices for movies when he was still young

C．Despite his bad eyesight，the author played sport well．

D．”Albino” has already become a positive word now．

44．Why are people’s jokes about the author mostly signs of respect?

A．Because he is an albino．            

B．Because he has a solid education．

C．Because they think he is a great “blind editor”．

D．Because they think he is proud of his achievement．

45．Through the passage，the author tells us __________________．

A．that albino helped him achieve success           B．how an albino studied well

C．what it is like to be an albino                         D．how people should treat an albino