A strong wind was blowing hard, thunder was rumbling (雷声隆隆地响), and lightning flashed across the dark sky. Rain was   1   down; it looked as if heaven had been broken open.

Gleams of light appeared from windows of faraway houses, ___2___ like jewels in all the dark.

A   3   woman dressed in rags and trembling with cold was   4   on a lonely road, while the merciless rain was   5   her without pause.

She knocked at a door, and a  6  answered it. She begged him to let her stay a while   7  . The boy then let her into the sitting room and   8   her sitting by the fire.

The woman  9  old and tired under the bright electric light,   10  she was only in her early thirties. She sat   11  for a moment, and then her eyes began to look about the   12  . When her wandering eyes rested on the picture of a young man, she   13   up, looking thunderstruck.

Just then, the boy came with his  14. The man at once recognized the woman as his   15  . They had   16   touch with each other during the war, and he thought he had lost her forever.

17   words needed to be spoken. They ran into each other’s arms  18   the boy stared at them, puzzled.

The storm was over and the sky cleared. Feeling very   19  , the couple stood face to face with their child between them, watching the rain as it gradually   20  .

1．A. pouring      B. falling        C. dropping         D. flooding

2．A.blowing     B.breaking         C.shining           D. flying

3．A. rich         B. beautiful           C. poor         D. ugly

4．A. crying  B. wandering        C. struggling               D. wondering

5．A. striking  B. hitting         C. flowing                    D. beating

6．A. girl       B. woman                    C. man              D. boy   

7．A. out             B. near               C. inside            D. outside

8．A. left           B. made            C. asked                   D. told

9．A. became         B. appeared           C. showed            D. sounded

10．A. so           B. though              C. however               D. and

11．A. still         B. thirsty            C. hungry           D. straight

12．A. house            B. picture           C. room               D. fire

13．A. picked        B. came              C. stood               D. looked

14．A. brother       B. mother           C. friend               D. father

15．A. sister                B. wife          C. mother       D. girlfriend

16．A. kept         B. got                 C. made                 D. lost

17．A. Much         B. Many               C. No                     D. Not

18．A. as           B. while               C. when                D. since

19．A. disappointed          B. sorry          C. happy        D. sad

20．A. began             B. stopped             C. ended           D. went

A few days ago, I was having a meeting in my company. After walking out, I 36  for my car keys in my pocket, only to discover they were not there. 37 , I gave myself a quick personal pat   38  my clothes, but they were not in 39  of my pockets. So, I went back to the meeting room and looked for them in every place where I had been. Suddenly it 40  to me that I must have left them in the car. Worried and frightened, I quickly 41  for the parking lot.
My wife, Diane, has 42  me many times for leaving the keys in the ignition（点火处）. My theory is the ignition is the 43  place so that I won’t lose them. Her theory is that the car will be   44 . As I rushed out of my company, I came to a terrifying 45 . Her theory was right. The parking lot was 46 .
Without hesitation, I called the 47 . I gave them my location（位置）and  48  that I had left my keys in the car, and that it had been stolen. Then I made the most 49  call of all.
“Honey,” I said in a low voice. I always call her “honey” in times like these. “I 50  my keys in the car, and it has been stolen.”
There was a period of 51 . I thought the call had been dropped, but then I heard Diane’s  52 .
“Ken,” she shouted, “I dropped you off!”
Now it was my time to be silent. 53 , I said, “In that case, would you please come and  54  
your dear husband?”
Diane answered, “I will... just as soon as I can have this policeman  55  I didn’t steal your car.”

A gentle wind blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was  36  . She was on the beach， looking up at the ball. She was amazed by its   37  ， deep red in the middle，  38  fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the  39  and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere  40  her. After all she had been through， this is what she   41  . “It’s getting late，”she thought，“I must go home， my parents will be    42  where I am.”She wondered how her parents would react， when she got home after the three days she was  43  .
The sun had set by now and it was getting  44 . She tried to imagine having her favorite  45 on until she saw her front door. It seemed different.   46  had taken care of the outside garden for days. She was   47  : her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy， and  now… It all seemed    48  . She couldn’t understand what was going on.She entered the   49 . First，she went into the kitchen where she saw a（n）  50  written by her father. It said：“Dear Ellen，there is some coffee ready，I went   51  .” Ellen was her mother but-where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her    52   room. She went in. Then she saw her mother，lying on the bed sleeping. Her
 53  looked so tired，as if she hadn’t   54   for days. She was really pale. Jenny just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up she found something  55  . She was in her cozy bed in her nightclothes.
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice.“Are you feeling better now， dear? You know you got us very， very scared.”

A word or an act of encouragement has the ability to lift our hearts and our spirits． 1  is like a lifeline on days when we feel we are sinking．Learning the Art of Encouraging others builds within us a reservoir（储藏处）of hope，which helps 2  us when we need a  3  in our own heart．The  4  of Encouragement has three main methods．

Giving Support．Look for ways to come alongside（来到某人身边） those in your life and affirm them in   5  they are doing．Become a cheerleader（啦啦队队员） for those you love

  6  they move through life stretching to（try to） meet new opportunities．A phone call or card can say you notice the hard work they are  7  in．Actively look for ways to  8  up the creativity and efforts of those in your circle as they seek to grow．

Showing Honor．Take note of character qualities 9  people．Watch for courage，strength， wisdom，patience，cheerfulness，honesty，compassion，kindness and gentleness．When you find  yourself noticing a（n）  10  quality in another human being 11  the time to acknowledge it．Be  12  ready to polish up these values in those nearest and dearest to you．It will make a  13  in your relationship．

Bringing Hope．The third level in the Art of Encouragement is that of giving hope．When hard times come，and  14  settles over the soul，a word of hope can keep one  15  on．

Hope coupled with faith in God is a 16  power in our lives．Hope in ourselves alone just isn’t enough when the journey of life gets 17  ．Hope in God and in his power and strength to  18  our needs is true encouragement for the soul．Hope in God is the anchor（依靠） that holds us in the storms of  19  ．

In God’s guidebook for life，the Bible，He says，” encourage one another daily”．He knows how much we 20  it．Ask him to help you develop the ART OF ENCOURAGEMENT and in turn be encouraged yourself．

1．A．Support                B．Goal                    C．Encouragement    D．Hope

2．A．hold                      B．last                     C．contribute            D．possess

3．A．raise                     B．lift                      C．rest                     D．help

4．A．Concept                B．Opinion               C．Favour                D．Art

5．A．that                      B．what                   C．which                 D．where

6．A．if                          B．as                       C．while                  D．since

7．A．putting                  B．spending              C．taking                 D．doing

8．A．polish                   B．build                   C．open                   D．clear

9．A．of                         B．from                   C．in                       D．on

10．A．reasonable           B．miserable             C．reliable                D．admirable

11．A．kill                      B．take                    C．spend                  D．have

12．A．specially              B．usually                C．regularly              D．especially

13．A．sense                  B．decision               C．difference            D．conclusion

14．A．dissatisfaction      B．disagreement        C．discouragement    D．disbelief

15．A．passing               B．relying                 C．living                  D．going

16．A．weak                  B．strong                 C．useless                D．small

17．A．easy                    B．complicated         C．simple                 D．hard

18．A．get                      B．gain                    C．meet                   D．separate

19．A．life                      B．work                   C．journey               D．study

20．A．return                 B．answer                C．refuse                 D．need

A student and his teacher were walking through the forest．The student was1  by the fact that his mind was in constant（不断的） unrest．

He asked his teacher 2 , “Why most people’s minds are restless , and only a few possess a 3  mind? What can one do to4   the mind?”

The teacher looked at the student, smiled and said, “I will tell you a story．An elephant was 5  and picking leaves from a tree．A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his 6  ．The elephant waved it away with his big ears, Then the fly came again, and the elephant 7  it away once more．

This was 8  several times．Then the elephant asked the fly, “Why are you so restless and 9 ？Why can’t you stay for a while in one place? ”

The fly answered, “I am10 to whatever I see, hear or smell．My five senses pull me constantly in all 11  and I cannot resist them．What is your 12 ? How can you stay so calm and still?”

The elephant stopped 13  and said, “My five senses do not rule my attention．Now that I am 14  immersed（沉浸） in eating ．In this way I can enjoy my 15  and chew it better．I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around．”

Upon 16  these words, the student’s eyes opened wide and a 17  smile appeared on his face．He looked at his teacher and said, “I understand! If my five senses are in control of my 18 , then my mind will be in constant unrest．If I 19  my five senses and attention, then my mind will become calm．”

“Yes, that’s right,” answered the teacher,” If the mind is 20  , it will go wherever the attention is．Control your attention, and you control your mind．”

1．A．challenged           B．scared         C．troubled                    D．threatened

2．A．nervous             B．politely         C．wise                D．coldly

3．A．open                B．broad         C．wise                D．calm

4．A．still                 B．comfort       C．change                     D．keep

5．A．lying                B．standing        C．running              D．wandering

6．A．leg                  B．nose          C．ear                  D．back

7．A．threw               B．took          C．sent                 D．waved

8．A．repeated             B．practiced       C．performed           D．said

9．A．busy                B．noisy           C．patient               D．peaceful

10．A．introduced         B．led             C．attracted             D．connected

11．A．purposes           B．people          C．animals              D．directions

12．A．secret             B．advice          C．opinion               D．faith

13．A．running             B．eating          C．sleeping              D．hunting

14．A．gradually           B．hardly         C．completely            D．easily

15．A．play               B．sleep          C．work                D．food

16．A．reading               B．hearing        C．memorizing           D．understanding

17．A．big                B．friendly         C．warm                      D．kind

18．A．attention            B．body          C．emotion             D．interest

19．A．lose                B．control         C．develop             D．recover

20．A．clear               B． positive       C．restless             D．calm