While I was in my 4th month of pregnancy (妊娠期) with my second child, we were preparing for a trip to Louisiana, where Marshall’s family live, to celebrate Jane’s 2nd birthday. Two days before we were to leave, we got the shocking news that I was going to lose the baby. Not knowing when this would happen, we decided to continue with our trip.
Since Marshall’s family lives on a 600-acre cattle farm, you often find that you have a lot of time to yourself to think when you are there. That is precisely what I did not want to do at this time. I told Marshall that I needed to get a good book to get lost in while I was there. I told him I heard the Harry Potter books were good, so he went out and got the first one for me.
During that trip, I totally got lost in the book, which was of great help during a time when I needed a distraction to forget about the sadness. In the book, I noticed the name “Seamus”. I vaguely remembered it was pronounced “Shamus” and I liked the sound of that. I mentioned it to Marshall and he liked it too. Toward the end of the trip, I had just 5 chapters left and I knew I was about to finish the first book, which I was pretty excited about.
Soon after we put Jane down to bed, I had started labor (分娩), so I was unable to read. The labor lasted 5 and 1/2 hours, but Marshall stayed there with me, sitting beside me and reading aloud the last 5 chapters of Harry Potter. I can never fully explain how much that helped me through the experience. And ever since then, Marshall and I both have been fans of the Harry Potter books. We remember how they helped us get through that time of our lives.
We were sad to have lost the baby, but the name Seamus started our journey toward adoption. And we gave this name to our adopted son. Though our Seamus doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood in him, the name fits him perfectly.
【小题1】Why did the writer want a good book during the trip?

Five years ago, I was sent to a better middle school. For me, everything there was new and strange. After I had been there for two months, there was an important test in the middle of the term. It covered all my courses. In that test, I didn’t get a good grade, but most of my classmates got an A or A’.
It made me upset for a long time. I felt everything in the world was changing. I thought my classmates were all better than me. During those days I was very unhappy.
One day, my aunt, after talking with my teachers, talked to me. She told me to think about what I had done in the past and what I should do in the future. I was shocked by her words. I thought about what I had done during the past months, and I found I had done nothing to improve my grades. I thought I should work harder.
After that, I paid more attention to the teachers’ talking in the classes, and I asked my teachers or my classmates when I didn’t understand something. I studied very late at night when I met with difficult problems. Most of all, I came to understand the importance of taking notes in class. As a result, I did better in some tests.
About three months later, the most important test came at the end of the term. This time, I stood out not only in my class but also in the grade. From then on, I have tried to do my best when I do something because I know if I want something, I should work hard for it.
【小题1】Why did the writer fall behind in the new middle school?

第二节完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
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。
第二节完形填空（20小题；每小题1.5分, 满分30分）
阅读下面短文, 从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中, 选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My 14-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat at the same time. It was hanging at a （an）  21  clothing store. The coat had a black velvet collar, delightful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label （标签） and a （an） 22  price of $ 28.
We looked at  23  , saying nothing,  24 John’s eyes shone. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular just then with  25, but could  26 several hundred dollars new.
John 27the coat. He turned from side to side, eyeing himself in the mirror with a serious, studied  28that soon changed into a smile. The 29 was perfect. John wore the coat to school the next day and came home wearing a big smile. “How did the kids like your coat?” I asked. “They love it.” He said, carefully  30  it over the chair and smoothing it flat.
Over the next few weeks, the 31came over John. Quiet, reasoned discussion was  32 argument. He became more thoughtful and eager to  33. “Good dinner, Mum,” he would say every evening. One day when I suggested that he might start on homework before dinner, John said, “You are right, and I guess I will.”
When I  34 this to one of his teachers and remarked that I didn’t know  35  caused the changes, she said with laughter, “It must be his coat!” At the library, we 36  to meet a friend who had not seen our children for a long time. “  37  this be John?” He asked, looking up to John’s new height and coat, and extending his hand, one gentleman to another.
John and I both knew we should never  38  a person’s clothes for the real person within them. But there is something to be said for  39 a standard of excellence for the world to see, for practicing standard of excellence in thought, speech and behavior, and for  40 what is on the inside with what is on the outside.
21．A．second-hand     B．expensive     C．big       D．cheap
22．A．reasonable          B．unbelievable     C．special      D．average
23．A．each other     B．one another      C．the other   D．others
24．A．therefore     B．however      C．but       D．thus
25．A．adults          B．people         C．parents     D．teenagers
26．A．spend          B．cost          C．pay      D．take
27．A．touched       B．buttoned      C．held     D．obtained
28．A．gesture        B．expression     C．attitude     D．feeling
29．A．color         B．price         C．fit        D．style
30．A．pressing       B．taking          C．hanging    D．folding
31．A．happiness     B．satisfaction       C．change      D．generosity
32．A．because of          B．instead of     C．aware of   D．full of
33．A．please          B．understand       C．complain  D．apologize
34．A．mentioned          B．wrote              C．reported    D．explained
35．A．when         B．how         C．what     D．that
36．A．happened     B．came         C．intended   D．decided

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road.
“Millions of animals die each year on U.S. roads,” the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today. The main reason? Roadkill.
“Eco-passages” may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. “These eco-passages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents,” said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the eco-passages?  The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an eco-passage that went under a highway.  This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of eco-passages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders（火蜥蜴）and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around.  You might see an animal overpass!
【小题1】 The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that __________.

I still clearly remember that day. I was on the side of the road for close to four hours with my big Jeep. I put signs in the windows that said, “NEED A JACK（千斤顶）”.
Right as I was about to give up, a truck stopped and a man got off. He sized up the situation and went back to take a jack. After about two hours, we finished the job with sweats. We were both dirty. His wife produced a large water jug for us to wash our hands in.
I tried to put $20 in the man’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it, so instead I went up and gave it to his wife as quietly as I could. I thanked them up one side and down the other. I asked the little girl, their daughter, where they lived, thinking maybe I’d send them a gift. She said they lived in Mexico. They were in Oregon now so Mommy and Daddy could pick cherries for the next few weeks. After that, they were going to pick peaches, and then go back home.
After I said my goodbyes and started walking back to the Jeep, the girl called out and asked if I’d had lunch. When I told her no, she ran up and handed me a tamale（玉米粽子）. I thanked them again and walked back to my car. When I opened the tamale, what did I find inside? My $20 bill! I ran to the van and the guy rolled down his window. He saw the $20 in my hand, started shaking his head smiling, and with what looked like great concentration said in English: “Today you, tomorrow me.” Then he rolled up his window and drove away, with his daughter waving to me from the back.
This family, working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took a couple of hours to help a stranger while others passed by quietly.
Since then I’ve helped many people like the Mexican family. I didn’t accept money. But every time I was able to help, I felt as if I was putting something in the bank.
【小题1】From the passage we know that __________.