请阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将选项的标号涂黑。
After winning a big game，athletes are often asked how they feel．Usually athletes say how  36  it is to win this big game．On the contrary，the fact is that losing a big game，or in my case，all the games，can be even harder．
From the spectators’ point of view，last year’s basketball  37  for my high school team was nothing  38  of an embarrassment．And  39  0 and 20 is certainly nothing to be proud of，that season had a bigger impact on me than any other．As a team captain，I knew it probably wouldn’t be the  40  year，but did I ever think we would lose every game？Of course not．Since six of our top players had graduated，it was clear that we were a (n)  41  team who would struggle．The struggle began earlier than expected，  42 ，as our team center was suspended (禁赛) for the season，and two key members decided to  43  for some reason．At this point，dropping out probably passed through every player’s mind，but in the end，we all stuck it out，  44  to work still harder．
Then there came a time when even our    45     had given up on us．Personally，I felt like it was  46  worthwhile giving my all．I thought，if even the coach doesn’t believe in us，why should I？But just as my hope began to  47 ，a teammate called a meeting．He said，“Nobody thinks we are going to win，but，as teammates and friends，we  48  it to each other to go all out every game．”
It was that moment that  49  me how to be a leader．It hit me that I certainly didn’t  50  the role．As a leader you can never quit  51  the team who looks up to you．It is one  52  to be named captain，feel great and go through the motions，but it is quite another to be a real captain and make sure everyone realizes their full  53  all the time．
I am sure it is great to go through without losing and bringing home awards．But in all honesty，I  54  the fact that my team lost every game last year．It may not help me to become a better basketball player，but it already has made me a better leader，and  55 ．
36．A．exciting                  B．pleasant                  C．tough              D．significant
37．A．game                  B．event                  C．league             D．season
38．A．short                  B．full                        C．lacking            D．sufficient
39．A．as                          B．while                  C．since               D．now that
40．A．most interesting       B．dullest                    C．most difficult   D．easiest
41．A．unique                   B．adventurous            C．young              D．untrained
42．A．meanwhile              B．though                    C．instead             D．somehow
43．A．quit                        B．stay                        C．resign              D．rest
44．A．hoping                   B．swearing                 C．claiming          D．wishing
45．A．fans                       B．classmates           C．sponsor            D．coach
46．A．only too                 B．more than           C．not a little     D．no longer
47．A．fade                       B．gain                       C．destroy            D．grow
48．A．owe                       B．think                  C．demand           D．recommend
49．A．reminded                B．told                        C．taught              D．guided
50．A．act                         B．deserve                   C．play                D．take
51．A．with                       B．alongside                C．on                   D．for
52．A．matter                    B．aspect                     C．issue                D．thing
53．A．potential                 B．goal                       C．enthusiasm       D．confidence
54．A．hate                       B．treasure                  C．admit              D．recognize
55．A．character                B．captain                   C．person             D．figure

One day, Miss Ellis gave her pupils a new kind of homework: homework on happiness. Her pupils would be “happiness   1  ”, and were to see what would happen when they tried to bring happiness to those around them. As part of their homework, all the students did really    2  , wonderful things, but what Carla Chalmers did left everyone    3  . Several days after the homework had been handed out, Carla turned up carrying a big bag.
“Here in this bag I have all the happiness I’ve collected so far,” she said    4  . On seeing this, everyone was filled with    5  , but Carla didn’t want to show anyone what was in the bag. Instead, she pulled out a small box and gave it to her teacher. When Miss Ellis had taken the box, Carla took a(n)    6   camera out of her own pocket and stood with it at the ready.
“Open it, Miss Ellis.”
The teacher slowly opened the box and looked inside. A big smile    7   on her face, and at that moment Carla took a photo, Carla’s photo came out of the camera immediately, and she    8    
it to Miss Ellis along with a sheet of paper. The teacher read the paper in silence, and when she, had finished, she gestured at the    9  .
“Oh, so it’s…”
“Yes!”   10   Carla, opening the bag. “It’s a great big pile of smiles!”
She opened the bag and photos of different    11   fell out.
The rest of the class tried to    12   how Carla had managed to create such a great big chain of happiness. All there in the box was a photo of a big smile. But everyone who had seen it felt happiness being transmitted（传送）to them, and in return, without    13  , every person    14   with a  smile of their own.
She managed to    15   understanding of the smile truth that every time you smile you are sending a gift to the world.

Things of Value
Our area was just a few miles from the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. We were on “evacuation alert (疏散警报)”. If we got the   1  to evacuate, we would have to leave immediately.
We   2  suitcases with some clothes and set them by the door. We didn’t  3 these things were valuable, but time was. We moved the computers, with which I wrote for newspapers and made a   4 . We took family pictures off the   5  and packed them in boxes. These were truly valuable and could not be replaced.
Then we took a hard look at all that   6 . There was a lamp that belonged to my great grandmother. It was a   7  to my family. And there was the piano my wife   8  to play when she was a little girl. Not of great   9  in itself, but another family connection. It was impractical to move everything from our home and store them for an indefinite (无限的) time. Some important items would have to stay behind.
The thought of   10  something passed down from our families saddened me deeply,   11  I’d never been much attached to things. It’s about what they   12  —family and love. They each had a(n)   13  to tell, and some of them spoke in the   14  of our parents and grandparents.
The fire   15  reached our home. We were lucky. And though I felt grateful that all was   16 , I also realized just how fortunate I had been   17 . I saw just how rich my life had been.
Someone  18 said, “There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.” And now I  19  I was indeed rich. I was rich in family, rich in memories, rich in everything that really  20 to me. I am wealthier than I ever believed possible.
It took a fire to teach me, I wonder if there is any other kind of wealth worth seeking.

第二节完形填空（共20小题，每小题1分，满分20分）
Nearly thirty years ago, I went rock climbing for the first time with a group in New Mexico. It sounded exciting and  31  ! Anyone who has ever climbed knows that you can easily  32  where there is no place to go, or so. It seems you’re stuck. But    33  is not an option. You cannot just stand there and feel  34  for yourself. You cannot go back down, so you are  35  to become solution minded.
I held on for dear life that day, on my first climb,   36  about three quarters of the way to the top. It seemed that there was no place to go, and  37  to put my hands or feet so that I could  38  upward. But after a few minutes had passed I realized that I had to do  39  . I began to look again for a(n)  40  . I then noticed a   41  sticking out, which I might be able to grab with my hands and  42  myself up to where I could have a small foothold. I called to the instructor at the top and asked him if that rock would hold my  43  if I pulled myself up. I can  44  remember his answer, “I don’t know. Why don’t you try it and see?”
In life we many times feel “stuck”. We wonder how we got into the  45  that we are presently in. It is in those times that we need to be careful about how we define(定义)it. Have we failed,   46  is it just a setback?
Setbacks, adversity(逆境), or being stuck is never an indication that you are a   47  unless you decide that those things define your life as a failure. For people looking for a(n)  48  to be a failure, there are always plenty to choose from. But if you want your life to be successful, setbacks, adversity and being stuck are   49  stepping-stones to your success. Success minded people  50  those kinds of things for what they really are. They know that for them, they are only temporary.
31. A. amusing              B. challenging               C. boring               D. surprising
32. A. put away             B. take up                     C. end up                     D. lead to
33. A. searching            B. regretting                 C. refusing            D. quitting
34. A. sorry                  B. free                         C. amazed             D. surprised
35. A. unlikely                 B. forced                      C. asked                D. bound
36. A. shocked                 B. stuck                        C. suffered            D. struck
37. A. nowhere             B. somewhere               C. anywhere          D. wherever
38. A. continue             B. improve                   C. promote            D. enjoy
39. A. everything          B. something                C. anything            D. nothing
40. A. attention             B. appreciation              C. solution             D. expectation
41. A. track                  B. sign                         C. tree                   D. rock
42. A. turn                    B. push                        C. pull                  D. build
43. A. quantity                 B. feet                          C. weight                     D. burden
44. A. still                    B. never                       C. hardly               D. ever
45. A. destination          B. situation                   C. location             D. occasion
46. A. however             B. otherwise                 C. or                     D. yet
47. A. learner                B. failure                      C. thinker                 D. winner
48. A. signal                 B. excuse                      C. comment           D. imagine
49. A. easily                 B. hardly                      C. simply                     D. nearly
50. A. develop                     B. deserve                    C. promise             D. accept

In the dining room of my grandfather’s house stood a massive grandfather clock. Meals in that dining room were a time for three    36  to become one. The table was always spread with    37   containing love as the main ingredient (成分). And that grandfather clock stood like an old family friend, watching over the    38   that was a part of our lives.
As a child, the old clock fascinated me. I    39  and listened to it during meals. Even more wonderful to me was my grandfather’s ritual (老习惯). He wound (上发条) that clock with a(n)    40   key carefully each day. I remember watching   41   my grandfather took the key from his pocket and opened the hidden door in the clock. He inserted the key and wound — not too much, nor too    42  . He never let that clock wind down and    43 . He showed us grandchildren how to open the door and let us each take    44    winding the key.
After my grandfather died, it was days after the funeral    45  I remembered the clock! The tears    46   freely when I entered the dining room. The clock stood there quiet.
Some time later, my grandmother gave me the key. The old house was   47 . No laughter over the dinner table, no ticking or chiming of the    48   — all was still. I took the key in my shaking hand and    49   the clock door. All of a sudden, I was a    50   again, watching my grandfather with his silver-white hair and blue eyes. He was there,    51   at me, at the secret of the clock's magic, at the key that held so much power.
I stood there,    52   in thought for a long time. Then slowly and    53   I inserted the key and wound the clock. It sprang to life. Tick-tock, tick-tock, life and chimes were breathed into the dining room, into the house and into my    54  . With the movement of the hands of the clock, my grandfather    55   again.