I used to be really afraid to let people know that I’m smart. I got picked on just because I worked hard and got good grades. Sometimes kids even 31  _____me bad names, so I decided to try to hide my brains. I just  32 _____ trying so hard When I didn't try hard, my teacher let me know she was 33 _____ at me. That was embarrassing ！

Near the end of the term ，we had a really big test. When I finished the test, I knew I hadn't done my best. I 34 _____ have been happy. But somehow I didn’t feel 35  _____about it at all. When I got my test scores back，I felt so ashamed The worst part was the 36 _____ my mom kept looking at me. It was like I wasn't even her daughter anymore. I couldn’t 37 _____ it. I knew I had to make it up to my mom, so I started trying harder. Things got better, too. My test scores 38 _____ and other kids actually started coming to me for help. Some kids still 39 me a little ，but I also knew that some of my classmates 40 _____ me ，so I didn’t mind so much.

Everything was good 41 _____ I won another competition. I was so happy I won! At first everything was perfect. People were 42  _____me and being really nice. But after a few days， a friend started a 43 _____ that I’d cheated in the competition and people believed it 44 _____ They whispered together at lunch, glaring at me ，then whispered some more. All this upset me so much that I went back to my 45 _____ ways, hiding my test scores or just not trying to do well. The teasing still didn’t stop, though. Finally I 46  _____and told my mom every­thing. Together, we went to the principal to tell him what was going on.

Talking things out with my mom, I started to understand that the people who were so 47 _____ to me were really just jealous, and that they wished they had some of the 48  _____I got for things like good test scores and winning the competition.

I still get teased sometimes, but now I've just 49  _____to be proud of what I can do. No matter what a few mean people say ，I’ve realized that being smart will help me 50 _____ my dreams and be successful in life. That^’s much more important to me. I’m glad I’m smart and I'm not about to hide it anymore！

My father used to like drinking. Every time when he got    1   , he would shout loudly and beat my     2   , who left my father and me when I was seven.

   I went to a boarding （寄宿的） school when I was thirteen, and I finally  3  see my father drunk every day. However, I didn’t talk to anybody and     4   all my spare time alone in school because of the pain in my heart. When other boys   5   on the playground, I would sit there alone. This lasted for several weeks until a new   6   who was about forty came to our class. She, of course,   7   I was different. She asked me to answer her question in her first class. I  8   and answered her question in a very   9   voice, with my head down. That noon, after lunch, she found me and had a talk with me. She asked me   10   I need any   11  . Nobody had ever    12  me like that. I finally told her   13   about my family.

   “Things won’t get   14  ,” she said.

   From that day on, every time when she saw me, she would give me a smile. She often asked me to answer her questions in class, and she helped me with my studies after class.   15   time went by, I didn’t feel so  16   as before.

   The day I left that school, I asked her   17  she did all that for me.

   “My mother   18   when I was ten. I know how hard it is   19   a mother,” she said.

   I will never   20   her ----- my dearest teacher.

1．A．hurt                      B．drunk                C．stressful               D．bored

2．A．brother                 B．grandma             C．mother                 D．aunt

3．A．couldn’t                B．shouldn’t            C．didn’t                   D．didn’t have to

4．A．wasted                  B．saved                 C．got                 D．spent

5．A．played                   B．would play          C．were playing         D．had played

6．A．student                 B．worker               C．teacher           D．friend

7．A．knew             B．noticed              C．smelt                    D．saw

8．A．stood up               B．woke up             C．went through    D．calmed down

9．A．angry             B．low                   C．sad              D．urgent

10．A．if               B．why                  C．when                    D．that

11．A．power                 B．relationship         C．help                      D．pressure

12．A．worried about       B．cared about        C．got on with           D．thought of

13．A．anything              B．anybody             C．everything             D．everybody

14．A．better                  B．worse                C．smaller                 D．higher

15．A．Although             B．Because              C．As                        D．When

16．A．lonely                  B．dangerous           C．hard                     D．happy

17．A．how                    B．when                 C．what                 D．why

18．A．married          B．died                  C．fell                       D．appeared

19．A．with                   B．as                      C．without                 D．for

20．A．forget                B．believe          C．upset             D．cheat

Proverbs are quite common in spoken English. We do not normally put them in a composition or letter. Sometimes it is helpful if you know what common proverbs mean. Here are a few examples:

1) "Once bitten, twice shy." If a dog bites me, I shall be twice as careful in future when I see it. This proverb is also used to apply(应用) to many things and not only to dogs. If you have been cheated at a shop, you will not go to the same shop again.

2) "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." If I am a hunter, trying to catch birds, it is better to catch one bird than to see two birds in a bush but not be able to catch them. Thus this means that what you have already got is better than the chance of being able to get something bigger in future.

3) "Too many cooks spoil the broth." When too many people do something, they get in each other's way.

4) "To pour oil on troubled waters."is to try to calm things down. Oil is lighter than water. If a ship is in trouble at sea, another ship may come to help it. The second ship can send small boats to rescue people. However, it may first pour oil on the sea to make the sea less rough.

5) "Don't be a dog in the manger(马槽)" means "Don't be selfish." In a stable(马房), the manger is the place where the horse's food is put. Sometimes a dog will sleep in the manger and bark when a horse comes to get its food. The dog does not want to eat the hay in the manger but it will not let the horse eat it.

6)"You can't get blood out of a stone." means that you cannot get, something from a person who has not got any of the things you want. For example, you cannot get a million dollars from a poor man.

60. Peter had a bicycle which was much too small for him but he did not want to let his younger brother ride on it. His mother was angry and said to him,"________."

A. You can't get blood out of a stone

B. Don't be a dog in the manger

C. The early bird gets the worm

D. Once bitten, twice shy

61. Mr and Mrs Smith had a quarrel. Their friend, Mr Brown, went to talk to them. When he came back, he told his wife that he had been trying to help the Smiths by ________.

A. pouring oil on troubled waters

B. getting blood out of a stone

C. being a dog in the manger

D. saying the early bird gets the worm

62. Mrs Chen wanted to buy a new dress. Her husband suggested that she buy it from a shop near their home. Mrs Chen disagreed because she had been cheated by that shop. Then she said, " ________."

A. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

B. I don't want to be a dog in the manger

C. Once bitten, twice shy

D. Too many cooks spoil the broth

63. Mr Brown had quite a good job in Hong Kong but he thought that if he went to Singapore he might get a much better job with more money and a large house. His wife did not want him to leave his job in Hong Kong and she reminded him that ________.

A. a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush

B. too many cooks spoiled the broth

C. he couldn't get blood out of a stone

D. he shouldn't pour oil on troubled waters

       I’m from the South Bronx．At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe．It was a small town to me．Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are that your mom knew about it before you got home．I felt watched over and safe．

       But just before I turned 8, things began to change．I watched two buildings on my block burn down．I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out．Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them．

       That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx．He was shot above the left eye and died instantly．

       People who could moved out of the neighborhood , and all I wanted to do was get out, too．I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from．To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person．It felt like a stain （污点）．

       After college, I didn’t want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to．I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents’ home．It felt like a defeat, and I hated it．

       At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care -- including many of us who lived here．They were like, “Well, it’s a poor community; what’s the difference?”

       After that, I realized it’s just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something．So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump – and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one．And it’s a glory．It was the seed from which many new plants for our community have grown．

       Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it’s a symbol of honor for me．I believe that where I’m from helps me to really see the world．Today, when I say I’m from the South Bronx, I stand up straight．This is home, and it always will be．

1.From Paragraph 2 and 3 we can learn that ______．

       A．the author felt watched over and safe

       B．the author’s brother was a bad man

       C．the author’s neighbor Pito was braver than a fireman

       D．the author felt his hometown was not a safe place to live in

2.The author went back to the South Bronx after college because ______．

       A．he couldn’t afford to live without his parents’ help

       B．he loved his hometown and wanted to work there

       C．he was defeated in studies at college

       D．he almost reached the age of 30

3.The underlined sentences （Paragraph 2） imply that ______．

       A．the author wondered where the firemen and the truck were

       B．the author wanted someone to call the firemen

       C．the firemen didn’t come to help although called

       D．the firemen didn’t find a place to park the truck

4.What does the author want to convey in the passage?

       A．You can make a difference to your hometown if you act．

       B．The South Bronx is a beautiful place to live in．

       C．Great changes have taken place in the South Bronx recently．

       D．Everyone should love his hometown all his life．