the look of the sky, it is going to rain soon.

A. Judged from                                                     B. Judge by

C. Judged by                                                        D. Judging from

A Charlotte, NC, lawyer bought a box of very rare and expensive cigars, and then insured them against fire among other things．Having smoked his entire great cigars within a month, the lawyer filed claim （索赔） against the insurance company．

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires"．Of course the insurance company refused to pay, giving the obvious reason that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal way．

The lawyer brought the case to the court and out of everybody's expectation, he actually won! At the end of the trial the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was crazy．But the judge said that the lawyer held a policy （保险单） from the company in which it had promised that the cigars were insured and that it would insure them against fire．Because the company didn't say what is considered to be unacceptable fire, it had to pay the claim．

Rather than put up with long and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the punishment and paid $ 15 ,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires．"

After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested and accused him of arson （纵火罪）．With his own insurance claim from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was charged with burning his insured possessions on purpose and was sentenced to 24 months in prison and a $ 24,000 fine．

1.The lawyer had smoked all the cigars ___．

2.The proper order of the lawyer's activities is ___．

a．having the company paying his claim

b．having himself put in prison and fined

c．having smoked all the cigars

d．bringing the company to the court

e．insuring the box of cigars

3.The underlined word "it" in the third paragraph refers to ___．

4.Which of the following sayings is the best suitable for the lawyer?

In the fall of 1985. I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.

  My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college an the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.

  Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.

  You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 81. Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant talking as few as one class each semester.

  The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, But I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.

In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！

I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember；little steps add up to big dreams.

1. When the author went to Howard University, her dream was tobe    

A. a writer

B. a teacher

C. a judge

D. a doctor

2. Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?

A. She wanted to study by herself.

B. She fell in love and got married.

C. She suffered from a serious illness.

D. She decided to look after her grandma. 

3. What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A. She was buy yet happy with her family life.

B. She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.

C. She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.

D. She was too confused to make a correct choice.

4.What dose the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A. Failure is the mother of success.

B. Little by little ,one goes far.

C. Every coin has two sides.

D. Well begun ,half done.

5.Which of the following can best describe the author ?

A. Caring and determine.

B. Honest and responsible.

C. Ambitious and sensitive .

D. Innocent and single-minded.

Personal Growth

　　There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process.

　　People have generally viewed personal growth as an external (外部的，表面的) result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language — all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.

　　By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they gain new experiences and face unexpected difficulties. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.

　　In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to confront (正视) the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow. Do we see ourselves as quick and curious? If so, then we tend to take more chances and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we’re shy and indecisive (优柔寡断)? Then we may hesitate, move slowly, and not take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think we’re slow to adapt to change or that we’re not smart enough to deal successfully with a new challenge? Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.

　　These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary for us to change and grow. If we do not confront and overcome these internal (内部的) fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease (停止) to grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would _______.

       A. succeed in climbing up the social ladder

       B. judge his ability to grow from his own achievements

       C. face difficulties and take up challenges

       D. aim high and reach his goal each time

When the author says “a new way of being”, he is referring to ________.

       A. a new approach to experiencing the world      B. a new way of taking risks

       C. a new method of understanding ourselves　    D. a new system of adapting to change

For personal growth, the author supports all of the following EXCEPT _______.

       A. curiosity about more chances    B. promptness (迅速) in self-adaptation

       C. open-mindedness to new experiences       D. avoidance of internal fears and doubts

The best title for this passage should be _________.

       A. Growth — Product or Process  B. Facing New Challenges

       C. Two Basic Ways of Growth          D. Overcoming Internal Fears

完形填空

It was a cold winter day that Sunday．The parking lot to the _16_ was filling up quickly．I noticed, as I got out of my car, fellow church members were __17_ among themselves as they walked in the church．As I got _18__, I saw a man leaning up against the wall outside the church．He was almost lying down _19__ he was asleep．His hat was _20_ down so you could not see his face．He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too _21_ for his feet, with holes all over them and his toes _22_ out．I guessed this man was _23_ and asleep, so I walked on _24_ through the doors of the church．We all talked for a few minutes, and someone  25_ the man lying outside．People whispered but no one took _26_ to ask him to come in, 27_ me．A few moments later church began．We were all waiting for the Preacher （牧师） to take his _28_ and to give us the Word, __29_ the doors to the church opened．In _30_ the man walking down the church with his head down．People gasped（喘息）and whispered and made _31_ ．He made his way down the church and up onto the pulpit （讲坛） where he took off his hat and coat．My heart _32_ ．

There stood our preacher… he was the “homeless man”．The preacher took his Bible （圣经） and  33_ it on his stand．

“_34_ , I don't think I have to tell you what I am preaching about today．If you _35_ people by their appearance, you have no time to love them．”

16．A．school                       B．lecture                     C．park                          D．church

17．A．arguing                    B．whispering              C．stating                     D．speaking

18．A．closer                       B．clearer                     C．lower                        D．farther

19．A．even though           B．so that                     C．as if                           D．even if

20．A．dragged                   B．pulled                       C．dropped                   D．pushed

21．A．big                             B．bad                            C．ugly                           D．small

22．A．reached                   B．went                         C．stuck                         D．ran

23．A．homeless                 B．helpless                   C．hopeless                  D．careless

24．A．out                            B．by                              C．across                      D．from

25．A．invited                      B．mentioned              C．took                          D．called

26．A．pleasure                  B．measure                  C．courage                   D．trouble

27．A．except                      B．besides                    C．without                    D．including

28．A．turn                           B．place．                    C．time                          D．seat

29．A．when                        B．before                      C．as                              D．after

30．A．rushed                      B．hurried                     C．came                        D．entered

31．A．decision                   B．choices                     C．faces                         D．jokes

32．A．sank                          B．fell                             C．broke                        D．failed

33．A．threw                       B．set                             C．laid                            D．folded

34．A．Brothers                  B．Folks                         C．Supporters              D．Members

35．A．judge                        B．hate                          C．treat                         D．test