Last year, I lost my best friend in high school. It seemed that everyone else’s life could just continue on in its  36 way, but mine couldn’t. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to face  37 and their gossip at school. I was forced to   38 my routine on Monday morning as usual. In the evening I returned home from school  39 completely defeated. All I wanted to do was  40 into bed and wallow（沉迷于）in my own self-pity. I pulled back the covers on my bed and  41 a pile of cards left by my dad. Each card included a（n）  42 that it was to be opened on a  43 night that week.
I made it through that week   44 my father. Each card 45 to say just what I needed to hear. Tuesday’s card said, “The past is painful to think about and the  46 is impossible to imagine. Don’t try. Just take it one minute at a time.” On Wednesday my mood  47 when I read, “What you are feeling now is   48 and normal. It still feels very bad, but it is part of the healing  49 .” Friday’s card contained a poem he wrote. The last lines made me smile through my tears. “Whatever special  50 you face along life’s way, may you  51 that you will find the best in every day.” I was instructed to open the last card  52 the party I went to on Saturday night. In it he wisely reminded me to  53 . “The world isn’t so bad after a good laugh. The more you laugh, the more you heal.” Each card was signed, “Love, Dad.”
My world once collapsed but I  54 the difficult breakup eventually. It owed to my dad , who made his  55 known when he couldn’t be present.

I was a publishing director and was looking forward to embracing a new day of work, as always，that morning．

I would always turn to the crossword, but that day it didn't  31  I'd been doing it for 30 odd years, but trying to read this one was like treading through syrup（糖浆）: 32  slow and hard． I thought I must be tired． I said to my assistant． The 33  colleague contacted my wife, Beth, and she drove me straight to hospital． There, confirmation came that I'd had a stroke in the part of my brain that 34 communication． I was now in a condition that means it's difficult or 35 to receive and produce language． It was the only time I 36 ．

I was back at home a week later, and my goal was to get better and  37  Work in a couple of months． The way to  38  my language ability was rough． I'd look at simple pictures and try to describe them as my mind  39  round and round in the darkness, looking for words．

As the months passed it became  40  that I wasn't going to be able to go back to my old job． For 25 years, I had  41  myself as a publisher． I was used to a busy day of meetings． I enjoyed colleagues and the 42 I'd had． I didn’t feel ready to say goodbye to my old self． There were times when I felt incredibly  43 ．

In the darkest months, I devoted myself to  44 ． I couldn't manage novels or newspapers,  45  I tried reading poetry, and found the shorter lines less overwhelming． My speech came back, and I learned how to read again, though much more slowly． I also learned the  46  to keep up． I allowed myself to slow down, and started to enjoy it．

47  , I rid of my old skin． I grieved the past, its passing and its absence, and started to 48  it． Now,  10 years  later,  I look after my grandson a day a week, and my relationship with my family is deeper than ever． If you'd asked me 15 years ago to  49  the importance of the things in my life I might have said work, but now I'm no longer a high-achieving publisher． I'm a  50         man． 

1.                A．wear off        B．make any sense   C．count up  D．pay off

2.                A．temporarily     B．scarcely        C．incredibly D．savagely

3.                A．curious         B．reserved        C．rigid D．concerned

4.                A．calls for        B．deals with       C．suffers from   D．responds to

5.                A．practical        B．absurd         C．impossible D．innocent

6.                A．prayed         B．cried           C．failed D．withdrew

7.                A．contribute to    B．agree to        C．return to  D．appeal to

8.                A．obtaining       B．rebuilding       C．revealing D．improving

9.                A．slipped         B．doubted        C．wandered D．reckoned

10.               A．messy          B．flexible         C．straightforward D．self-evident

11.               A．informed       B．estimated       C．reflected  D．defined

12.               A．extinction       B．reward         C．agenda    D．status

13.               A．angry          B．acute          C．prejudiced D．merciless

14.               A．speaking        B．trying          C．writing    D．managing

15.               A．since          B．until           C．SO   D．as

16.               A．favor          B．patience        C．coincidence    D．comfort

17.               A．Gradually       B．Hopefully       C．Narrowly D．Annually

18.               A．keep up with    B．come to terms with    C．get around to   D．live up to

19.               A．arrange        B．compare        C．rank  D．declare

20.               A．genius         B．community      C．dignity    D．family

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied．Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories．She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year．

As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them．I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip form the publishers. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories．What if she doesn't win the contest again? That's the strange thing about being a parent．So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface．

A revelation （启示） came last week when I asked her, "Don't you want to win again?" "No," she replied, "I just want to tell the story of an angel （天使） going to first grade.”

I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she naturally told them．Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts （冲突） and endings for her tales．The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly "guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson．I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it．

Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks．Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting （借用） my daughter's experience．

While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help when asked．All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices．

1..

What do we learn from the first paragraph?                 

A．Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities．

    B．Rebecca is much too busy to enjoy her leisure time．

    C．Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing．

    D．A lot of recreations compete for children's time nowadays．

2..

What did the author say about her own writing experience?

    A．She didn't quite live up to her reputation as a writer．

    B．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations．

    C．She was constantly under the pressures of writing more．

    D．Most her stories had been rejected by publishers．

3..

．The author took great efforts to correct her daughter's stories because ________．

    A．She believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance

    B．she didn't want to disappoint her daughter who needed her help so much

    C．she wanted to help her daughter realize her dream of becoming a writer

    D．she was afraid her daughter's imagination might run wild while writing

4..

What's the author's advice for parents?

    A．A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue．

    B．Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience．

    C．Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in．

    D．Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions

Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart. Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists.

Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon. The next day, this news appeared on page two of the town’s newspaper. The Beldon Post:

FIRE AT SEABREEZE

Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom. The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire. We say again to all our visitors： “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed.” This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years.

The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on page one：

ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE

Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel. An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire. The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels. When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp.” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield.

What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident. There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August: that is one fact. Do we know anything else? Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel.

Now what do you think of the rest of the “news” ?

Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?

A. Beldon and Canfield are both good places for tourists in summer.

B. A fire broke out night in Seabreeze Hotel last summer.

C. It was not easy to find out exact truth from newspapers.

D. Two newspapers gave reports on the same matter.

Which of the following are probably facts? 

a. The fire broke out in a bedroom at the hotel.

b. A cigarette started the fire.

c. An old lamp started the fire.

d. The fire broke out at night.

e. There has never been a fire in Canfield.

A. b and c      B. a and d       C. c and e                     D. a and c

The Canfield Times used the headline like this in order to make its readers think _______. 

A. hotels in Beldon often catch fire

B. hotels in Beldon don’t often catch fire

C. this was the second fire at the Seabreeze Hotel

D. Beldon was a good place except that hotels there are not quite safe

The Canfield newspaper gave a report just the opposite to the Beldon Post by saying that _______. 

A. the bedroom lamps were very old at the Seabreeze Hotel

B. the bedroom lights made funny noise when the fire took place

C. the firemen failed to save clothing, bedclothes and other things

D. such accidents never happened in Canfield for the past 5 years

When people hear that I’m the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, they all have the same question: How did a 22-year old woman row a 19-foot boat for 70 days through high winds and crashing waves? Well, the biggest difficulty for me wasn’t physical. By the time I decided to do the ocean row, I had already biked 3,300 miles cross-country, run across the Mojave Desert, and swum the 325-mile length of the Allegheny River. No, the tough part would be mental: How would I handle the loneliness, the boredom of the vast sea?

I set off on January 3, 2010. I set my sights on getting past the quarter-way mark, which would take about 20 days.

Day 20, January 22, was gray and cloudy. I could have done something to celebrate, such as treating myself to a chocolate bar. But I didn’t.

I was suffering from terrible loneliness. I hadn’t seen landing over two weeks. Every day was beginning to feel the same. Eating, rowing, sleeping, watch the sky, watch the ocean.

Then, around sunset, I saw something move on the horizon. They were dolphins! They circled my boat. Suddenly I felt so grateful. They had come to help me celebrate, just when I needed them. I rowed at full strength for the next 20 minutes with the dolphins around. By the time we went our separate ways, I was no longer lonely. Better yet, I knew I would be okay.

I did make it, all 2,817 miles. I hit the coast of Guyana, South America, on March 14, after 70 days and five hours at sea. My ocean row raised $70,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, which funds drinking water programs around the world. I know some athletes spend the entire journey imagining the end, and that helps them get through. But for me, the secret is to focus on the moment, where you experience the personal growth — those moments of awareness of being connected to the sun, the weather, and the waves. And, on the best day of my life, those dolphins, which freed myself from terrible loneliness.

1.Which is the step taken as part of preparation for the tough row?

A．swimming the 325-mile length of the river

B．answering the same question raised by people

C．running 3,300 miles cross-country

D．biking across the Mojave Desert

2.What does the underlined part mean?

A．I didn’t have any chocolate bar for energy.

B．I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate my first goal.

C．It’s a pity not to celebrate my passing the quarter of the way

D．It’s a pity not to treat myself to a chocolate bar on Day 20.

3.What can be implied from the last two paragraphs?

A．Imagination was an effective way to help me get through.

B．The Blue Planet Run Foundation helped me a lot.

C．The dolphins accompanied me to reach my destination

D．The unexpected dolphins swept away my loneliness

4.Which can be the best title of the passage?

A．The day I stopped being lonely

B．The only challenge for a 22-year old

C．How to overcome loneliness at sea.

D．How to row alone across the Atlantic