Growing up is not always easy．When facing difficulties, courage and a spirit of independence can be more useful than crying for 1 !That’s what Hong Zhanhui’s story of 2 from boy to man with family hardships tells us．
Hong was born in 1982 in a poor family in Xihua County, Henan Province．When he was 3 11, his father became mentally ill and one day came back with an abandoned baby girl．A year later, Hong’s mother and younger brother both 4 home because of poverty and pressure from his sick father．
Their burdens fell onto the 12-year-old’s shoulders：to treat his father’s illness, to 5 the adopted sister Chenchen, and to go on to study．
Hong didn’t 6 ．Since a young age, he has worked in part-time jobs to feed his family．At the same time, he has studied at college．To take care of Chenchen, he worked hard to 7 a room near his campus for her, and send her to school．
After Hong’s story went public, people were 8 to tears by his unselfishness．Hard 9 his life was, Hong didn’t abandon his father and the adopted 10 , because they needed his help．With his hard-won money, he even aided other students 11 against misfortunes．
Today when many tend to worry more about their own happiness, Hong’s deeds 12 us of what we usually neglect：Love and care for others．Without these, 13 of us could survive．
Hong 14 donations from others．He said that he felt encouraged by kind offers, but he could 15 his own work．Short of money to buy food, the boy climbed tall trees to get birds’ eggs for his baby sister．He walked two hours at weekends to buy different things to 16 around his school to earn money．Through his hard life, the boy developed 17 against misfortune that made him a hero in people’s eyes．
Hong’s story shows that with love and willpower , no hardship can 18 a person but himself．So when facing difficulties, don’t 19 about bad luck．Consider what more you could do for your family and society 20 you’ll find the world smiling back．
Growing up, I had a scar on my face-a perfect arrow in the center of my cheek, pointing at my left eye．I 1 it when I was three, long before I knew that scars were a 2 thing, especially for a girl．I only knew that my scar brought me 3 and tenderness and candy．As I got older, I began to take 4 in my scar, in part to stop people laughing at me, but mainly as a reaction to the thought that I should feel uncomfortable．It's true．I was 5 the first couple of times someone pointed at my 6 and asked,“What's that?”or called me“Scarface．”But the more I heard how 7 my scar was, the more I found myself liking it．
When I turned fifteen, my parents- 8 the advice of a doctor--decided it was time to 9 on what was now a thick, shiny red scar．
“But I don't mind the scar, really,”I told my father as he 10 that I would have the operation during my summer vacation．And my friends, along with my boyfriend at the time, 11 as I did, that my scar was 12 and almost pretty in its own way．After so many years, it was a 13 of me．But my father said it was a deformity(畸形), I don't know what 14 me more that day：hearing my father call my scar a deformity, or 15 that it didn't 16 to him how I felt about it．
I did have the operation that summer．
In my late twenties, I took a long look at my scar, something I hadn't done in years． 17 , it could 18 mirror, I felt a sudden 19 ．
There was something powerful about my scar and the proud person I 20 because of it．I have never been quite so strong since they cut it out．
Growing up across the street from each other in Twin Falls, Idaho, Lisa Fry and Paula Turner never doubted their friendship would last forever．But after Fry married, moved to New York City and had a baby, her letters to Turner suddenly went unanswered．”Do you think I’ve somehow offended her?”Fry asked her husband．
Turner, meanwhile, had convinced herself she was no longer important to Fry．“She’s got a family now,”she told herself．”We’re just too different to be close like before．”
Finally, Fry picked up the courage to call her old friend．At first, the conversation was awkward, yet soon they both admitted that they missed each other．A month later, they got together and quickly fell into their old habit of laughing and sharing confidences．
”Thank goodness I finally took action,”Fry says．”We both realized we were as important to each other as ever．”
There are good reasons to cherish(珍惜) our friendships．Some years ago a public－opinion research firm, Roper Starch Worldwide, asked 2007 people to identify one or two things that said the most about themselves．Friends far outranked homes, jobs, clothes and cars．
“A well－established friendship carries a long history of experience and interaction that defines who we are and keep us connected,”says Donald Pannen, executive officer of the Western Psychological Association．”It is a heritage(传统) we should protect．”
Ironically, says Brant R．Burleson, professor of communication at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind．”the better friends you are, the more likely you’ll face conflicts．”And the outcome can be precisely what you don’t want－an end to the friendship．
The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended．
(1)
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
[ ]
A．
A Broken Friendship
B．
Cherish Friendship
C．
What Is Good Friendship?
D．
How to Make Friendship Last Long
(2)
The underlined word”awkward”in Paragraph 3 probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
embarrassing
B．
casual
C．
convenient
D．
relaxed
(3)
According to the passage which of the following statements is TRUE?
[ ]
A．
Lisa Fry and Paula Turner believed their friendship wouldn’t last forever．
B．
Turner didn’t reply to Fry’s letters because she was too busy．
C．
People all think friends are far more important than homes, jobs, clothes and cars．
D．
Lisa Fry and Paula Turner misunderstood each other at first．
(4)
What do you think the author will talk about next?
[ ]
A．
Suggestions on how to mend the troubled friendships．
Growing up on a remote Michigan farm, Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, knew little of farming．Like most pioneer farmers, his father, William, hoped that his eldest son would join him on the farm, enable it to expand, and eventually take it 1 ．But Henry proved a 2 ．He hated farm work and did everything he could to 3 it．It was not that he was lazy． 4 from it!Give him a mechanical job to do, from mending the hinges(铰链) of a gate to sharpening tools, and he would set to work eagerly．It was the daily life of the farm, with its repetitive tasks, 5 frustrated him．
Henry was excited by the development in technology that could free farmers like his father from wasteful and boring labor．But these developments, in Henry’s boyhood, had touched farming 6 at all and farmers went on doing things in the way they had always done．So Henry 7 his attention elsewhere．When he was twelve, he became almost obsessively interested in clocks and watches．Soon he was repairing them for friends, working at a bench he built in his bedroom．
In 1876, Henry suffered a serious 8 ．His mother died in childbirth．There was no reason for him to stay on the farm, and he resolved to get away as soon as he could．Three years later, he took a job as a mechanic in Detroit． 9 this time steam engines had joined clocks and watches as objects of Henry’s fascination．Making and installing them was the business of the Detroit workshop that he joined at the age of sixteen．
A chance meeting with an old co-worker led to a job for Henry as an engineer at the Edison Detroit Electricity Company． 10 he quickly learned the ropes of his new job, his interest in fuel engines had come to dominate(占主要地位) his life．
Henry learned 11 a slow, painstaking business it was to build an engine by hand from scratch．Every piece of every component had to be fashioned individually, checked and rechecked, and tested． 12 the burden, he joined forces with another mechanic, Jim Bishop．Even so, it was two years before they succeeded in building a working car．Henry called it“Quadricycle．”(四轮驱动脚踏车)
Growing up on a farm in Tennessee, Larry Young was determined to do something else with his life．His father wanted him to follow in his 1 and refused to help Young go to college． 2 , with ＄ 10 in his pocket, Young set off for Tennessee State University, 3 to register． “I walked up to the bursar's(财务主管)office and threw my two ＄ 5 4 up there on the counter,” Young says． “I plan to make 5 out of myself．” Young told the school official．He saw this country boy and said, “But you can't go to school with ＄ 10．” Young said, “But I 6 ．” Young was taken to see the school dean, who asked if he could drive a truck．Young had never driven before, but said yes 7 ．He got a job carrying trash． “I didn't know what I was doing, but 8 the grace of God, I did it．That 9 my tuition, but they didn 't know I didn't have a place to stay．”
“One morning, the matron(女舍监)of the dormitory 10 up and saw me－between two mattresses in the dormitory, and it scared her．She broke 11 and cried when I told her my 12 ．And afterwards, she gave me everything 13 I needed．”
Young is 14 to say he was the first African American to be the director of food sanitation for the Detroit Health Department．
Young remembers a female high school student． “She was 15 ．She came from a family of seven－some of them were on drugs－and she had 16 right to be mad．So I sit her down and I talk to her．”
“I said, Do you see these 17 －way back in the South, in the sticks, I picked cotton．But you see 18 I am today．” Young ended up 19 her． “It's been over 19 years ago．She's an executive secretary today．”
“That is the greatest thing I've 20 done in my life．If you just put your arms around people, they will go forward in life．” said Young．