I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people        I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a        person.

I think my        started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my       and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever         to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really        . It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a (n)        . I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I        to help. That was really a big        for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of        are still my best friends today. 

A bigger cause of my new        , however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my         . Every time I came into her room, she was so        because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never        her, so I took her place. She let me        that making others feel good make me feel good, too, when she died, I was        , but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much        person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not        these experiences. They have         me to care about other people more than about myself. I        who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

1.A. since          B. before          C. or         D. unless

2.A. famous       B. simple   C. different       D. skilled

3.A. education          B. career  C. tour     D. change

4.A. balance      B. homework    C. degree D. interest

5.A. talked        B. wrote   C. lied       D. reported

6.A. careful       B. lonely   C. curious D. guilty

7.A. argument B. game    C. experiment   D. defense

8.A. dared        B. offered C. hesitated      D. happened

9.A. dream       B. problem        C. duty      D. step

10.A. us    B. which   C. them    D. whom

11.A. attitude   B. hobby   C. hope    D. luck

12.A. friend       B. partner C. guide   D. guest

13.A. polite       B. happy C. strange         D. confident

14.A. bothered         B. answered     C. visited D. trusted

15.A. explain     B. guess    C. declare D. see

16.A. homeless B. heartbroken C. bad-tempered      D. hopeless

17.A. quieter    B. busier C. better D. richer

18.A. forget      B. face       C. improve        D. analyze

19.A. forced      B. preferred      C. ordered        D. taught

20.A. miss B. like       C. wonder         D. expect

Whenever my kids have a party at school, I am the mom who always signs up to bring the juice boxes. It’s not because I’m   26  or that I don’t care if my kids have a good party. I am just not good at making homemade bread into holiday-themed shapes like other mothers.   27 , I’m happy to try, even though it’ll   28  me a long time to do it.

People say that housewives should have the   29  to make delicious meals, keep their houses clean, and   30  every minute of their child’s life. Their words used to   31  me a lot. I felt that I should also be able to do those things as a housewife. So   32  I couldn’t make the turkey-shaped cookies, I   33  feeling like a failure as a mom.

After many   34  attempts at baking, and many afternoons spent crying over my inabilities as a mother, I finally accepted the   35  that my lot(命运) in life is to be the juice box mom. I worked hard to be the   36  one in the elementary school. And after one of my daughter’s class parties, it   37 . Her teacher stopped me as I was leaving and said,＂Thank you so much for always bringing   38  drinks. Sometimes parents forget that other children will also   39  class parties, and they end up being left out because we don’t have enough   40  for everyone.＂

I just accepted her appreciation, rather than telling her that I brought extra drinks because I could   41  remember how many kids were in the class. But her   42  taught me an important lesson: I’m not a failure as a mom.

Not everyone is cut out to be a(n)   43  mom. I believe it’s okay to be the juice box mom. I may not bake cookies and decorate them beautifully, but I   44  something to drink. And I think that’s just as   45 .

1.                A．smart          B．lazy            C．tired D．desperate

2.                A．However        B．Therefore       C．Otherwise D．Besides

3.                A．cost           B．give            C．introduce D．take

4.                A．dream         B．ability          C．experience    D．tool

5.                A．compare        B．save           C．treasure  D．teach

6.                A．reflect         B．puzzle          C．upset D．amuse

7.                A．unless          B．because        C．though   D．when

8.                A．ended up       B．went on        C．insisted on D．set about

9.                A．failed          B．careless        C．successful D．useful

10.               A．goal           B．opinion         C．fact  D．impression

11.               A．slowest         B．best           C．worst D．quickest

12.               A．stood out       B．got out         C．came back D．paid off

13.               A．cold           B．soft            C．extra D．fresh

14.               A．attend         B．hold           C．enjoy D．leave

15.               A．cookies        B．drinks          C．books D．cups

16.               A．already         B．always         C．ever  D．never

17.               A．contribution     B．appreciation     C．Congratulation  D．comprehension

18.               A．loyal           B．clever          C．able  D．rich

19.               A．provide        B．make          C．buy  D．retell

20.               A．believable      B．ridiculous       C．interesting D．important

Just recently I had been wondering if there was much point in doing little acts of kindness. So often they get   36 , and occasionally they come back to bite you!
Then, just last week, after a long travel, I found myself   37   at a bus station. The bus was four hours late! So, I guess I wasn’t in a good   38 .
That’s when a woman asked me if I had any spare   39   to help her get a bus ticket.
“Oh, sure,” I said sarcastically (挖苦地). “How much would you like?”
As I spoke, I mentally kicked myself for my  40   and reached into my bag for some money. As I handed her five dollars, I heard low sounds from her stomach because of real    41 .
I reached back into my bag and brought out a   42   I had bought earlier. I handed it to her with a(n)   43   that I hoped would make up for my earlier tone of voice. Getting a   44   look at her now, I realized she was extremely tired, like she had had several months of   45   days!
As she took the food, a look of   46   washed over her. In return, she tried to give me a Milwaukee bus ticket! I don’t live in Milwaukee and the ticket will probably   47   be used, but I took it.
A few minutes later she came back over, apologized, and told me she was still  48   of five dollars. I took some singles out of my bag and slipped a twenty in there as well.   49 , the voice in my head told me I was being a fool.
Five minutes later she came back again and tried to   50   my twenty. When I said it was for her so she could get something else to   51 , and that I was completely serious and I wasn’t taking it   52  , she started crying and hugged me.
From now on, when I wonder if it is   53   trying to help someone, I will remember that woman. Maybe I am really making a   54   for someone. So, sure, sometimes my efforts might not be noticed, and sometimes they might come back to bite me, but they might actually   55   another human being!

【小题9】

A．quick B．gentle C．good D．cold

I am a journalist in America.When reporting a story，I sometimes need to find a ____ kind of person—someone who has recently switched banks，or who is ____ cancer，or who owns both a Chevy pickup and Toyota sedan.

At such moments，I ____ my brother Keith，a telecommunication worker in eastern Kansas.Usually he says，“I know just the guy.”

His contacts are so diverse in large part ____ he is offline.At age 52，he’s ____ sent an e?mail，surfed the Web or bought anything online.Without any mobile e?mail system to ____ his attention when he is shopping，he is ____ to make a friend or two before ____.Without Web pages to instruct him on his latest project—how to build a cow fence or how to fix a wood?burning stove—he seeks out the help of neighbours who have done it and follows their ____，and during beer?drinking time afterwards he listens carefully to their ____ of health problems，banking habits and new?car ____.

“I like talking to people，” he says.“I do not ____ nowadays people send each other e?mails instead of talking while they’re in the ___ room.”

My older brother ____ considers himself as an old?fashioned man and the Internet ____ are making him more so，too.As a(n) ____ to the Web，my brother belongs to one of the nation’s fastest?decreasing ____.

During the first half decade of the 21st century，the proportion of Internet users ____ slowly，to 59% of adult Americans from just over 50%，according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.____ in the second half of the decade，that growth skyrocketed(猛升) and now nearly 80% of adult Americans use the Internet.At that pace，the offline Americans will no longer ____ in the coming decade.

1.A.rich? B．friendly

C．brave D．particular

2.A.battling B．avoiding

C．curing? D．developing

3.A.appoint? B．call

C．miss? D．search

4.A.when? B．until

C．unless? D．because

5.A.ever? B．frequently

C．never? D．seldom

6.A.divide? B．receive

C．pay D．gain

7.A.willing? B．likely

C．anxious? D．clever

8.A.settling down? B．using up

C．setting off? D．checking out

9.A.advice? B．plan

C．example? D．gesture

10.A.lesson? B．speech

C．talk? D．lecture

11.A.displays? B．purchases

C．exchanges? D．repairs

12.A.imagine? B．predict

C．understand? D．recommend

13.A.big? B．new

C．same? D．special

14.A.sometimes? B．recently

C．once? D．always

15.A.values? B．trends

C．techniques? D．benefits

16.A.stranger B．user

C．owner? D．beginner

17.A.workers? B．races

C．minorities? D．teams

18.A.increased B．developed

C．varied? D．moved

19.A.And? B．So

C．Or? D．But

20.A.change? B．exist

C．last? D．work

I am my mother’s third child. When I was born, her doctor gently explained to my mother that my left arm was    41    , below the elbow (肘部). Then he gave her some    42   . “Don’t treat her any    43    from the other girls. Demand more.” And she    44   .

My mother had to work to support our family. There were five girls in our family and we all had to    45   . Once when I was about seven, I came out of the    46   , “Mom, I can’t peel (削皮) potatoes. I only have one hand.”

“You get back to peel those potatoes, and don’t ever use that as a(n)    47    for anything again!”

Of course I could peel potatoes with my good hand while holding them down with my other arm. There was always a    48   , and Mom knew it. “If you try hard  49   ,” she’d say, “You can do anything.”

Once in the second grade, our teacher had each of us race across the monkey bars (高低杠). When it was my turn, I    50    my head. Some kids    51   . I went home crying.

After work the next afternoon, Mom took me to the school play-ground.

“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I practiced, and she    52     me when I made progress.

I’ll never forget the    53    time I was crossing the bars. The kids were standing there with their mouths open.

It was the way with everything. When I    54    I can’t handle (处理) things, I see Mom’s smile again. She had the heart to    55    anything. And she taught me I could, too.   

41. A. missing               B. broken                  C. diseased            D. short

42. A. warning                 B. medicine             C. help                  D. advice

43. A. badly                  B. differently         C. well                  D. normally

44. A. did                        B. refused           C. cried                D. was

45. A. find out                 B. work out             C. carry out           D. help out

46. A. kitchen              B. bedroom         C. house               D. school

47. A. idea                    B. change                 C. excuse                D. tool

48. A. chance                B. way                  C. time                 D. success

49. A. enough               B. too                   C. again                D. often

50. A. hurt                    B. nodded              C. shook                D. turned

51. A. cheered               B. whispered          C. joked                D. laughed

52. A. helped                B. raised                C. praised              D. protected

53. A. first                    B. last                   C. wondered          D. next

54. A. admit                 B. fear                  C. find                  D. realize

55. A. face                    B. teach                 C. learn                 D. solve