There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckers. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled (溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, “See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”
And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I’m not very useful, but I can only do my best. I’m happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind or conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare (光秃秃的)earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean?

There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care．To water his flowers，he used two buckets．One was a shiny and new bucket．The other was a very old and dilapidated one，which had seen many years of service，but was now past its best．
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets．Then he would carry them along the path，one on each side，to the flowerbeds．The new bucket was very proud of itself．It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled(溢出)．The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes：before it reached the flowerbeds，much water had leaked along the path．
Sometimes the new bucket would say，“See how capable I am ! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day ! I don’t know why he still bothers with you．What a waste of space you are !”
And all that the old bucket could say was，“I know I’m not very useful，but I can only do my best．I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me，at least. ”
One day，the gardener heard that kind of conversation．After watering the flowers as usual，he said，“You both have done your work very well．Now I am going to carry you back．I want you to look carefully along the path．”
Then the two buckets did so．All along the path，they noticed，on the side where the new bucket was carried，there was just bare(光秃秃的)earth；on the other side where the old bucket was carried，there was a joyous row of wild flowers，leading all the way to the garden．
【小题1】What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean ?

There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckers. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled . The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, “See how capable I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”
And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I’m not very useful, but I can only do my best. I’m happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind or conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean?

There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care．To water his flowers，he used two buckets．One was a shiny and new bucket．The other was a very old and dilapidated one，which had seen many years of service，but was now past its best．

   Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets．Then he would carry them along the path，one on each side，to the flowerbeds．The new bucket was very proud of itself．It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled(溢出)．The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes：before it reached the flowerbeds，much water had leaked along the path．

   Sometimes the new bucket would say，“See how capable I am ! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day ! I don’t know why he still bothers with you．What a waste of space you are !”

   And all that the old bucket could say was，“I know I’m not very useful，but I can only do my best．I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me，at least. ”

   One day，the gardener heard that kind of conversation．After watering the flowers as usual，he said，“You both have done your work very well．Now I am going to carry you back．I want you to look carefully along the path．”

   Then the two buckets did so．All along the path，they noticed，on the side where the new bucket was carried，there was just bare(光秃秃的)earth；on the other side where the old bucket was carried，there was a joyous row of wild flowers，leading all the way to the garden．

1.What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean ?

     A．dirty．    B．dark．   C．worn-out．  D．plain-looking．   

2.What was the old bucket ashamed of ?   

    A．His past．    B．His aging．     C．His manner．   D．His leaking．   

3.The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to _______.

    A．laugh at the old one           B．take pity on the old one

    C．show off its beautiful looks     D．praise the gardener’s kindness

4.Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?

A．Because it was used to keep a balance．  

B．Because it stayed in its best condition．

C．Because it was taken as a treasure．      

D．Because it had its own function．

I hadn’t really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. I knew in   36   that this trip was going to be unpleasant.

I’m talking about my annual Guilt Trip. I got tickers to fly there on WISH – I – HAD’ airlines. I   37   my baggage all the way, which was weighted down with a thousand   38   of ‘what might have been’. No one greeted me at the ‘Regret City’ International Airport.

As I   39   into the Last Resort Hotel, I noticed to miss that great   41   occasion.

Many leading citizens went there. First, there was the ‘Should – Have - Done’ family.   42   came the ‘I – Wish’ family. Of course, the ‘Opportunities’ family, ‘Missed and Lost’, surely made an   43  . They each had a dad story to share. ‘It’s – Their - Fault’ treated us with stories about   44  things had failed in his life, and each story was applauded by ‘Don’t – Blame - Me’ and ‘I – Couldn’t – Help – It.’

To make a long   45   short, I became very depressed at the party   46  .

But as I though about all the stories of failures   47  from the past, it occurred to me that all of this trip and ‘pity party’ could have been cancelled by ME!

I truly realized that I didn’t have to be there to be   48  . One thing kept going through my mind – I can’t change yesterday, but I   49   have the power to make today a wonderful day. Knowing this, I left ‘Regret City’ immediately. Am I sorry for   50  I’ve made in the past? YES! But there is no physical way to undo them.

So, if you’re planning a trip to ‘Regret City’, please cancel all your reservations now.   51  , take a trip to a placed called ‘Starting Again’, which I like so much that I’ve made it my   52   residence. My neighbors, the ‘I – Forgive - Myselfs’ and the ‘New - Starts’ are so very helpful.

By the way, you don’t have to carry   53   heavy baggage, because the load is lifted from your shoulders   54   arrival. Surely you’ll find this great town – it’s in your own heart. Look me up if you’re ready for a (n)   55   changer in your life. I live on ‘I – CAN – DO – IT ’ Street.

36．A．person      B．time  C．advance    D．secret

37．A．grasped    B．held  C．lifted D．dragged

38．A．inspirations      B．prescriptions    C．memories  D．souvenirs

39．A．checked    B．prepared   C．reserved    D．accessed

40．A．creating    B．hosting     C．introducing      D．participating

41．A．political    B．social       C．historical  D．cultural

42．A．There       B．Thus  C．Finally     D．Then

43．A．achievement     B．appearance       C．appointment     D．announcement

44．A．where       B．whether    C．how  D．which

45．A．story B．event C．comedy    D．tragedy

46．A．after all    B．in public   C．ever since D．as usual

47．A．brought back    B．taken down      C．kept up     D．carried on

48．A．motivated B．depressed  C．refreshed  D．impressed

49．A．could       B．might       C．did    D．do

50．A．attempts   B．preparations     C．mistakes   D．efforts

51．A．Instead     B．Nevertheless     C．Therefore  D．However

52．A．independent     B．mature      C．permanent D．dynamic

53．A．away B．through    C．out    D．around

54．A．beyond     B．upon C．under       D．above

55．A．total  B．abrupt      C．punctual   D．severe