I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but we had a   36   over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always   37  . Not knowing we were poor, my kids(孩子们) just thought I was   38  . I’ve always been glad about that.

       It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t   39   for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big   40   for the kids was the fun of Christmas   41  .

They planned weeks ahead of time, asking   42   what they wanted for Christmas. Fortunately, I had saved $120 for   43   to share by all five of us.

The big   44   arrived. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and   45   them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered(散开). We had two hours to shop; then we would   46   back at the “Santa’s Workshop”.

Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits,   47   my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually   48  . She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies　― fifty-cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything   49   we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door,  50   to be angry again. This is what she told me.

       “I was looking   51   thinking of what to buy, and I   52   to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees.’ One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she   53   for Christmas was a doll(玩具娃娃). So I took the card off the tree and   54   the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”

       I never felt so   55   as I did that day.

36. A. roof                           B. hat                           C. sky                   D. star

37. A. little                           B. less                          C. enough              D. more

38. A. busy                          B. serious                     C. strict                 D. kind

39. A. effort                         B. room                        C. time                  D. money

40. A. improvement              B. problem                    C. surprise             D. excitement

41. A. shopping                    B. travelling                  C. parties               D. greetings

42. A. the other                    B. each other                C. one by one          D. every other one

43. A. toys                           B. clothes                     C. presents             D. bills

44. A. day                            B. chance                     C. cheque              D. tree

45. A. forced                       B. reminded                   C. invited               D. begged

46. A. draw                         B. stay                         C. move                  D. meet

47. A. including                    B. besides                     C. except                D. regarding

48. A. quiet                          B. excited                     C. happy                D. ashamed

49. A. since                         B. after                         C. while                  D. until

50. A. waiting                      B. ready                         C. hoping               D. afraid

51. A. out                            B. over                           C. forward            D. around

52. A. forgot                        B. stopped                      C. failed                D. hated

53. A. wanted                      B. did                             C. got                   D. played

54. A. made                         B. searched                   C. bought               D. fetched

55. A. angry                         B. rich                          C. patient               D. bitter

Recently, one of my best friends, whom I’d shared just about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the weekend with me. Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we’d both always looked forward to the few times a year when we could see each other.
Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, staying up late into the night, talking about the people she was hanging around with. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how she experimented with drugs and was into other bad habits. I was blown away! She told me how she had been lying to her parents because they didn’t want her around him.
I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble. But she didn’t believe me. Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared. I just couldn’t believe that she really thought it was acceptable to hang out with such a loser.
By the time she left, I was really worried about her. It had been so discouraging, and I had come close to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to continue our friendship—but I didn’t. I put the power of friendship to the ultimate(最终的)test. We’d been friends for far too long. I had to hope that she valued me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself. I wanted to believe that our friendship could conquer (克服)anything.
A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our conversation，and then she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend．I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the truly rewarding moments in my life.
Never had I been so proud of a friend.
【小题1】From the beginning of the text，we can learn that the author     .

One girl decided to study judo（柔道）although she had lost her left arm in a car accident.
The girl began lessons with an old Japanese judo instructor. The girl was doing well. So she couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the instructor had taught her only one move.
“Instructor,” the girl finally said, “Shuldn’t I be learning more moves?”
“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the instructor replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in her teacher, the girl kept training.
Several months later, the instructor took the girl to her first tournament. Surprising herself, the girl easily won her first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, her opponent became impatient and charged. The girl skillfully used her one move to win the match. Still amazed by her success, the girl was now in the finals.
This time, her opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the girl appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the girl might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. She was about to stop the match when the instructor intervened（干预）.
“No,” the instructor insisted, “Let her continue.”
Soon after the match restarted, her opponent made a serious mistake; she dropped her guard. Instantly, the girl used her move to pin her opponent. The girl had won the match and the tournament. She was the champion.
One the way home, the girl and her teacher reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the girl gathered the courage to ask what was really on her mind.
“Instructor, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”
“You won for two reasons,” the teacher answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your Left arm.”
The girl’s biggest weakness had become her biggest strength.
【小题1】What can we learn about the girl?

I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always not enough, but we had a   36  over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always   37 . Not knowing we were poor, my kids (孩子们) just thought I was   38 . I’ve always been glad about that.
It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t enough   39  for a lot of gifts, we planned to hold a family party. And the big   40  for the kids was the fun of Christmas   41 .
They planned weeks ahead of time, asking   42  what they wanted for Christmas. Luckily, I had saved $120 for them to buy   43 .
The big   44  arrived. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and   45  them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered(散开). We had two hours to shop; then we would   46  again at the “Santa’s Workshop”.
Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits,   47  my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually   48 . She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies　— fifty-cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything   49  we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door, ready to be   50  again. This is what she told me.
“I was looking   51 , thinking of what to buy, and I   52  to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees.’ One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she   53  for Christmas was a doll(玩具娃娃). So I took the card off the tree and   54  the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”
I never felt so   55  as I did that day.

One girl decided to study judo(柔道) although she had lost her left arm in a car accident.

The girl began lessons with an old Japanese judo instructor. The girl was doing well. So she couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the instructor had taught her only one move.

“Instructor,” the girl finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the instructor replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in her teacher, the girl kept training.

Several months later, the instructor took the girl to her first tournament. Surprising herself, the girl easily won her first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, her opponent became impatient and charged. The girl skillfully used her one move to win the match. Still amazed by her success, the girl was now in the finals.

This time, her opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the girl appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the girl might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. She was about to stop the match when the instructor intervened(干预).

“No,” the instructor insisted, “Let her continue.”

Soon after the match restarted, her opponent made a serious mistake: she dropped her guard. Instantly, the girl used her move to pin her opponent. The girl had won the match and the tournament. She was the champion.

On the way home, the girl and her teacher reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the girl gathered the courage to ask what was really on her mind.

“Instructor, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the teacher answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The girl’s biggest weakness had become her biggest strength.

1.What can we learn about the girl?

A．She was disabled in an accident.            B．She disliked judo training.

C．She learnt several moves.                 D．She won the first two matches hard.

2.The underlined word “overmatched” probably means       .

A．impatient         B．depressed         C．defeated          D．trapped

3.The girl won the championship because of       .

A．her bravery        B．her skills          C．her tricks          D．her strength

4.Which of the following is probably the best title of the story?

A．The Story of a Girl.                      B．A Disabled Girl.

C．Defense Matters.                       D．Weakness Becomes Strength.