Joy Mangano was 33 and divorced（离婚）, had three kids under age 7, and was hardly keeping up payments on her small two-bedroom home by working extra weekend hours as a waitress.

　　“Sometimes I would lie in bed and think. I don’t know how I’m going to pay the bills,” Mangano said.

　　But she had a gift for seeing the obvious. She knew how hard it was to mop the floor. “I was tired of bending down, putting my hands in dirty water and wringing（拧）out a mop.” Mangano says. “So, I thought: There’s going to be a better way.”

　　How about a “self wringing” mop? She designed a special tool that could be twisted（转动）in two directions while not making hands wet and dirty. She set out to sell it, first only a few at flea markets（跳蚤市场）.

　　Then Mangano met with the media. But would couch potatoes（泡在电视机前的人）buy a mop? The experts on shopping TV were less than certain. They gave it a try, and it failed. Mangano was sure it would sell if they’d let her do the on-camera demonstration.

　　QVC took a chance on her. “I got onstage and the phones went crazy. We sold every mop in minutes.”

　　Today she’s the president of Ingenious Designs, a multimillion-dollar company, and one of the stars of the Home Shopping Network. Talking about her household inventions is “as natural for me as it is for parents to talk about their children”.

　　Today one of her favorite products is Huggable Hangers. The thin, space-saving inventions are the most successful gadget（器具）ever sold on HSN, with 100 million hanging out there in closets across the country. Of course, you couldn’t possibly sell hangers on TV.

(1)What would be the best title for the passage?

[　　]

A．There is going to be a better way

B．A woman invented the self-wringing mop

C．An ordinary woman sells her invention on TV

D．Women can all achieve remarkable success

(2)What does the underlined sentence “the phones went crazy” (in Paragraph 6) mean?

[　　]

A．Many people made calls to say they were mad.

B．There were lots of calls to order the new mop.

C．Many people were mad to see me on TV.

D．The telephone broke down at my home.

(3)Which is the correct order of the following events?

a．Mangano invented the most popular Huggable Hangers.

b．Mangano was tired of mopping the floor.

c．Mangano designed a self-wringing mop.

d．Mangano was ever worried about how to pay the bills.

e．Mangano did an on-camera demonstration to sell her mops.

[　　]

(4)What conclusion can be made from the story?

[　　]

A．Women can invent household tools because they often do housework.

B．Mangano treated her household inventions as she treated her children.

C．Mangano used to lie in bed and think of how to invent household tools.

D．One can make life better through work though it is sometimes hard.

The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment （预担的义务）, self - improvement.

Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.  

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .

A. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .

A. a moral duty               B. a thankless job

C. a rewarding task            D. a source of inevitable pain

From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .

A. hatred　　B. misunderstanding　 C. prejudice　　　　　D. ignorance

To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .

A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

B. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

C. put up with pain under all circumstances

D. be able to distinguish happiness from fun

What is the author trying to tell us?

A. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain．

B. One must know how to attain happiness.

C. It is important to make commitments.

D. It is pain that leads to happiness.

A house in Clarktown caught fire on Christmas Eve,1982. The    1    who lived in the house was already in    2   .Being in poor health, she had trouble in    3    even when things were fine.    4    her house burning down around her, she was not able to go    5   .The smoke    6   her choke(窒息) .The fire was very hot. Without quick help she would have   7   .

Fire fighters    8    the house. They started to put the fire out. They did not know the old woman was still    9   .The people    10   her crying for help. The fire was still very hot    11    there was lots of smoke.

A man    12    like Santa Claus(圣诞老人) was passing by. He was on his way to give gifts to poor families.   13    had he heard the old woman’s cry when he ran into the    14    

house. After a while he rushed out with the old woman on his back and came to her safety. Then, as

   15    as he had done that, the man left. No one knew the real name of the hero who had saved the old woman’s life.

The man went on and took the gifts to the poor children. He did not return home    16   it was dark. He told his   17    what had happened. She decided that she did not    18    to keep the story a secret. She told people that Santa Claus was    19    David Rodriguez, her husband. Mr. Rodriguez is a music teacher    20    he is not playing Santa Claus.

1. A. hero　　　　 　　 B. woman　　　　　　　　　　 C. child　　   　　　　    D. man

2. A. the eighty　　   B. eighties 　　　　　　　　   C. her eightieth　　    D. her eighties

3. A. walking　　　　 B. speaking 　　　　　　　　 C. thinking　　　　     D. laughing

4. A. Because　　　　 B. For　　　　　　　　　　　　  C. With　　　　  　　   D. During

5. A. everywhere　　  　　   B. nowhere 　　　　　　　　 C. anywhere　　　　 D. somewhere

6. A. suffered　　      B. broke 　　　　　　　　　　　　    C. forced　　    　　    D. made

7. A. lived　　　　 　　 B. died　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. left　　　　  　　　　 D. stayed

8. A. looked for　　   B. searched through 　　 C. got to　　　　 　　　　　　  D. set up

9. A. out of doors　　 B. in the open air　　　　   C. outside　　　　 　　 D. inside

10. A. heard　　　　  　　   B. stopped 　　　　　　　　  C. felt　　　　  　　　　 D. kept

11. A. but　　　　 　　  B. and　　　　　　　　　　　　  C. or　　　　 　　　　    D. though

12. A. dressed  　　   B. chosen 　　　　　　　　  C. looked　　　　      D. acted

13. A. Only　　    　　 B. Hardly 　　　　　　　　    C. Never　　　　  　　 D. Badly

14. A. empty　　　　  B. crowded 　　　　　　    C. burnt　　　　  　　  D. burning

15. A. bravely　　　　 B. carefully　　　　　　　　  C. quickly　　　　 　　 D. proudly

16. A. until　　    　　  B. unless　　　　　　　　　　  C. while　　    　　　　 D. or

17. A. friend　　       B. son 　　　　　　　　　　    C. daughter　　　　  D. wife

18. A. want　　    　　 B. like　　　　　　　　　　　　  C. refuse　　　　  　　 D. need

19. A. nearly　　　　 B. really 　　　　　　　　　　  C. impossibly　　　　 D. probably

20. A. so that  　　　　B. even if 　　　　　　　　  C. when　　　　  　　  D. since

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，共30分）

      阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入空白出的最佳选项。

?After 42-year-old guy Tom had quitted his job, he began to make up his mind to become a freelance (self-employed) writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a(n)  21  typewriter and settled down to work．

    After a year or so, however, Tom began to  22  himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by  23  what he wrote．But Tom determined to put his dream to the test —  24  it meant living with uncertainty and fear of  25 ．This is the shadowland of hope, and  26  with a dream must learn to live there．

    One day Tom got a call, “We need a(n)  27 , and we’re paying $6,000 a year．” $6,000 was  28  money in 1960．It would enable Tom to get a nice apartment, a used car and more． 29 , he could write on the side． 30  the dollars were dancing in Tom’s head, something  31  his senses．He had dreamed of being a  32  — full time．“Thanks, but no,” Tom said  33 ．“I’m going to stick it out and write．”

    After Tom got off the phone, he  34  everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Tom put the cans and cents into a  35  bag, saying to himself, “There’s everything you’ve made of yourself so far．”

　　Finally his work was  36  in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that  37  writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into limelight．

　　Then one day, Tom  38  a box filled with things he had owned years before． 39  was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he  40 himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Tom, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．

A．excellent   B．used C．expensive    D．priceless

A．regret  B．hate C．doubt    D．trust

A．selling B．buying   C．reading  D．appreciating

A．Now that    B．What if  C．As if    D．Even though

A．success B．failure  C．perspiration     D．loss

A．someone B．none C．nobody   D．anyone

A．boss    B．assistant    C．manager  D．writer

A．false   B．little   C．real D．high

A．However B．Still    C．Besides  D．Therefore

A．As  B．But  C．If   D．Because

A．hurt    B．destroyed    C．cleared    D．struck

A．driver  B．assistant    C．writer   D．dancer

A．hesitantly  B．firmly   C．slowly   D．hurriedly

A．pulled out  B．pulled apart C．pulled back  D．pulled down

A．cloth   B．metal    C．plastic  D．paper

A．written B．published    C．completed    D．punished

A．few B．great    C．famous   D．poor

A．sought  B．searched C．found    D．picked

A．Above   B．Below    C．Outside  D．Inside

A．called  B．pictured C．described    D．reminded