It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  1  any November day. His   2  , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   3  . One morning, I walked slowly   4   and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  5  those good people would not see me. I was   6  . My first thought was, how would I ever  7  them? I didn’t have the  8  to brush my hair,   9  clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   10  asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  11  . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   12  myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   13  from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   14  for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   15  words from the people who supported me during those  16  days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  17  may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   18  was, but in many ways I have changed for the   19  . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  20  one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

1.A．on            B．in          C．like                     D．for

2.A．body                 B．soul               C．shoe                   D．footprint

3.A．sweep up              B．drop off            C．fall down             D．pile up

4.A．upstairs        B．downstairs   C．indoors                 D．outdoors

5.A．so            B．yet                 C．and                           D．for

6.A．delighted     B．disappointed         C．annoyed               D．ashamed

7.A．pay          B．award        C．reward                   D．treat

8.A．courage       B．strength            C．spirit                       D．power

9.A．stand alone      B．leave alone C．sit alone                D．let alone

10.A．frequently          B．gradually          C．hardly           D．uncertainly

11.A．intelligence    B．independence    C．excellence           D．qualification

12.A．achieve     B．praise      C．respect                  D．promote

13.A．supply        B．support             C．contribution          D．similar

14.A．burden      B．job                C．business                  D．sorrow

15.A．sensitive             B．same               C．considerate         D．similar

16.A．blue               B．rainy              C．bright             D．snowy

17.A．despair      B．difficulty           C．pain                        D．regret

18.A．still                 B．once              C．even                        D．never

19.A．worse        B．less               C．more                        D．better

20.A．facing         B．noticing            C．managing               D．expressing

It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  31 any November day. His   32 , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   33 . One morning, I walked slowly   34  and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  35 those good people would not see me. I was   36 . My first thought was, how would I ever  37 them? I didn’t have the  38 to brush my hair,   39 clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   40 asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  41 . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   42 myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   43 from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   44 for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   45 words from the people who supported me during those  46 days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  47 may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   48 was, but in many ways I have changed for the   49 . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  50 one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  31 any November day. His   32 , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   33 . One morning, I walked slowly   34  and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  35 those good people would not see me. I was   36 . My first thought was, how would I ever  37 them? I didn’t have the  38 to brush my hair,   39 clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   40 asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  41 . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   42 myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   43 from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   44 for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   45 words from the people who supported me during those  46 days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  47 may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   48 was, but in many ways I have changed for the   49 . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  50 one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

Directions: For each blank in the passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Many years ago I was on a bicycle trip through some exceedingly picturesque (如画的) countryside. Suddenly, dark clouds piled up overhead and rain began to fall, but strange to ___50___, several hundred yards ahead of me the sun shone brilliantly. Riding, however, as rapidly as I could, I found it ___51___ to get into the clear. The clouds with their rain kept advancing faster than I could race forward. I continued this unequal contest for an exhausting half hour, ___52___ realizing that I could not win my way to the bright area ahead of me.

Then it dawned upon me that I was wasting my strength in unimportant hurry, while paying no attention whatsoever to the landscape ___53___ which I was making the trip. The storm could not last forever and the discomfort was not unendurable. Indeed, there was much to look at which might ___54___ have escaped me. As I gazed about with sharpened ___55___, I saw colours and lines and shapes that would have appeared differently under brilliant light. The rain mists (薄雾) which now ___56___ the wooded hills and the fresh clearness of the different greens were entrancing (迷人的). My annoyance at the rain was gone and my eagerness to ___57___ it disappeared. It had provided me with a new view and helped me understand that the ___58___ of beauty and satisfaction may be found close at hand within the ___59___ of one’s own sensibilities.

It made me think, then and later, about other matters to which this incident was related. It helped me realize that there is no sense in my ___60___ ever to flee from circumstances and conditions which cannot be avoided but which I might bravely ___61___ and frequently mend and often turn to good account. I know that half the battle is won if I can face trouble with courage, __62__ with spirit, and triumph with humility. It has become ever clearer to me that danger is far from disaster, that defeat may be the forerunner of final ___63___, and that, in the last analysis, all achievement is dangerously weak ___64___ based on enduring principles of moral conduct.

1.                A．ask            B．relate          C．understand    D．call

2.                A．easy           B．likely           C．impossible D．comfortable

3.                A．before         B．after           C．as   D．while

4.                                  A．in front of B．on account of

C．for the sake of                     D．atthe convenience of

5.                A．therefore       B．consequently    C．accordingly    D．otherwise

6.                A．puzzle          B．appreciation     C．wisdom   D．shock

7.                A．crowned        B．covered        C．swept    D．floated

8.                A．enjoy          B．embrace        C．surround D．escape

9.                A．resources       B．sources         C．causes   D．courses

10.               A．distance        B．help           C．range     D．comprehension

11.               A．requesting      B．waiting         C．attempting D．expecting

12.               A．meet          B．avoid          C．decline    D．change

13.               A．happiness       B．joy            C．disappointment D．surprise

14.               A．failure         B．victory         C．relief D．decision

15.               A．if             B．though         C．until  D．unless