I grew up in a small town. My father raised chickens and ran a construction company. I was barely 10 years old when my dad gave me the responsibility (责任) of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable. He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace, I washed dishes and cooked from 4: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a woman executive (懂事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I released my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my best filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known singer.

Why was the writer once known as the singing cook?

A. Because he was a cook at a country-music club.

B. Because he sang for guests while he worked as a cook.

C. Because he often sang while cooking.

D. Because he liked singing better than cooking.

Who first recognized his talents and helped make his career successful?

A. Wamer Brothers.                    B. His manager.    

C. His father.                              D. A businesswoman.

What made the writer proud of himself?

A. His ability to live independently.

B. His sense of responsibility in whatever he did.

C. His courage in the face of rejections.

D. His hard work in his early days.

I was 15. She looked like she was over 70. But on that day. I think she understood me more than anyone else.

Walking into the church that Sunday was hard. I had never let anyone see me cry. But I knew I would cry that day .My grandfather was suddenly ill .The doctors said he might not live much longer. Everyone in my family was crying .Grandpa was the sweetest man in the world .Why was he leaving us?

There weren't many people at church that day. One of them was an old lady sitting at the end of my row. She was smiling. I closed my eyes and prayed （祷告）for my grandfather to get better. Soon, my eyes were full of tears. I opened my eyes and saw a hand in front of me. It was giving me a tissue(纸巾)。

The old lady was sitting next to me, smiling. She didn't say a word. She just gave me a tissue and a smile. I tried to thank her, but only tears came out. Then she took my hand. I looked into her eyes. They were clear and blue, and they make me feel peaceful. Her smile said to me :I am with you. Everything will be OK. I closed my eyes again. When I opened them, she wasn't there. I left the church but still couldn't find her. I never saw her again.

My grandfather died the next week. We all cried a lot. But when I thought of that old lady's warm smile, I felt a little better.

How did she know how I was feeling ? I wish I could see her again, to say thank you.

1.The author went to church to _____.

A．pray for grandfather.

B．ask the old lady for help.

C．avoid being seen crying.

D．thank the old lady.

2.Whose hand does the underlined word "It" in Paragraph 3 refer to

A．Grandfather's      B．The old lady's.      C．The author's.       D．Father's.

3.What do we know about the old lady ?

A．She knows the author.                    B．She can't speak.

C．She needs understanding.                 D．She is very kind.

4.What made the author feel better after Grandfather died ?

A．The old lady's words.                     B．The old lady's smile.

C．The old lady's eyes.                      D．The old lady's hand.

阅读下列各小题，根据句后的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子。

1.Next time you come to the country for another trip, you’ll find________________to learn some customs here ahead of time.  (benefit)

下一次你再来这个国家旅游就会发现提前了解一些这里的风俗习惯是大有裨益的。

2.Little________________how to get used to the job in the company as soon as possible, though he is still new to his duties.  (concern)

尽管他对自己的职责还不熟悉，但他很少担心如何尽快地习惯公司的工作。

3.He is the only one of the students _______________ from the whole school to take part in the competition which is to be held in Wuhan next month.  (pick) 

他是整个学校唯一一个被挑选出来参加下个月武汉举行竞赛的学生。

4.It seems that we have to accept the result and make a good preparation to have another try. __________________earlier, I could have done something to avoid this accident.  (inform)

看来我们必须接受这个结果并做好再次尝试的准备了。要是我早点得知的话，就可以做些什么来避免这场事故了。

5.We are told from the director’s office that___________________we know the result of the final examination.  (long)

我们从主任办公室获悉，过不了多久，我们就可以知道期终考试的结果。

6.I wonder_____________that caused the accident during the launch, which I have to write into my report. (what)

我想知道在发射过程中究竟是什么导致的这次事故。我必须把这写进报告里。

7.__________________the issue, he failed to obtain those specialists’ authorization, as you said just now.  (prepare)

正如你刚才说的，对那个话题没有作好充分的准备，他没有赢得那些专家们的认可。

8.______________________on the phone just now is whether he has decided to make every effort to run the hotel.  (sense)

是否决定要倾尽全力去经营饭店，他刚才在电话里没说清楚。

9.What made my father very disappointed was that he found the cellphone______________two days before went wrong again.  (have)

让我父亲很失望的是，他发现两天前请人修过的手机又坏了。

10.Many a high-standard house_______________________for the survivors of the earthquake--stricken area, which is really inspiring for the public. (report)

有报道说，灾区已经为地震中的幸存者们兴建一大批高标新房。这消息真是大慰人心。

What made Joan Ryan decide to be a sports writer?“Ten years ago, I was ?　36　? news stories at the Orlando Sentinel in Florida—my first job ?　37　? college. I didn't know any female sports writers. But I wanted to be ?　38　?.?　39　?,the best writing in the paper was sports.”

“Furthermore, I had the ?　40　?.I grew up in a(n) ?　41　? family: Three boys and three girls and a coach for a dad.”?

Soon after describing her ambition to a coworker, the ?　42　? of her paper reassigned Joan to the sports ?　43　?.She started out by editing other people's stories,?　44　? within a year, she was writing her own sports column.?

Today, Joan is the sports ?　45　? for the San Francisco Examiner in California. When she ?　46　? her job eight years ago, she was the ?　47　? woman sports writer on any major American newspaper.

Was it tough to ?　48　? as a female sports writer??　49　?!Take, for example, the first time Joan tried to get an interview in the men's locker room. “It was the U.S. Football League. I wanted to interview one of the players—Joe Cribbs, because he had just broken a finger. As soon as I ?　50　? into the locker room ?　51　? all sports writers interview athletes—the room went ?　52　?.Guys started yelling at me—closing in on me. It was really frightening. One guy was sitting on a bench in front of me, tapping up his ankle,?　53　? a long-handled razor for cutting the tape. Suddenly, I felt something move up my leg. It was the ?　54　? of the razor. I yelled at him and walked out.”

Joan ?　55　? interviewing Cribbs—outside the locker room.“In retrospect(回忆),I feel this was a defining moment for me as a journalist. I went back and wrote my story and made my deadline. Now I know that nothing can interfere with getting the story.”?

36. A. writing B. finding       C. editing       D. sending?

37. A. in B. out of C. into    D. before?

38. A. one      B. the one       C. it D. that?

39. A. However     B. Therefore   C. Above all   D. First of all?

40. A. knowledge   B. experience  C. Background       D. interest?

41. A. big       B. athletic       C. athrete       D. warm?

42. A. editor   B. Manager     C. Director     D. workmate?

43. A. column B. field   C. department D. paper?

44. A. and      B. So      C. however     D. but?

45. A. columnist    B. writer C. journalist    D. female?

46. A. did       B. left     C. landed D. wanted?

47. A. abed     B. only    C. brave  D. wisest?

48. A. work    B. writer C. interview    D. pioneer?

49. A. You bet       B. You believe       C. Unbelievable     D. You guess?

50. A. stepped B. entered       C. rushed D. moved?

51. A. that      B. which C. where D. when?

52. A. warm   B. crazy  C. down  D. full?

53. A. held     B. playing      C. used    D. using?

54. A. cap      B. cover  C. handle D. movement?

55. A. started  B. ended up C. Made     D. wrote??

Florence Nightingale（南丁格尔） was born in a rich family. When she was young she took lessons in music and drawing, and read great books. She also traveled a great deal with her mother and father. 

As a child she felt that visiting sick people was both a duty and a pleasure. She enjoyed helping them. 

At last mind was made up. “I’m going to be a nurse,” she decided. 

“Nursing isn’t the right work for a lady,” her father told her. 

“Then I will make it so, “she smiled. And she went to learn nursing in Germany and France. When she returned to England, Florence started a nursing home for home. During the Crimean War in 1854 she went with a group of thirty eight nurses to the front hospitals. What they saw there was terrible. Dirt and death were everywhere to be seen — and smelled. The officer there did not want any woman to tell him how to run a hospital, either. But the brave nurse went to work. 

Florence used her own money and some from friends to buy clothes, beds, medicine and food for the men. Her only pay was in smiles from the lips of dying soldiers. But they were more than enough for this kind woman. 

After she returned to England, she was honored for her services by Queen Victoria. But Florence said that her work had just begun. She raised money to build the Nightingale Home for Nurses in London. She also wrote a book on public health, which was printed in several countries. 

Florence Nightingale died at the age of ninety, still trying to serve others through her work as a nurse. Indeed, it is because of her that we honor nurses today. 

1.When she was a child, Florence ____ .

A．loved to travel very much

B．knew what her duty in life was

C．loved to help the sick people

D．was most interested in music and drawing

2.What made Florence make up her mind to become a nurse？

A．Her father’s support.

B．Her desire to help the sick.

C．Her education in Germany and France.

D．Her knowledge from reading great books.

3.During the Crimean War in 1854, Florence served in the front hospital where ____ .

A．she earned a little money

B．work was very difficult

C．few soldiers died because of her work

D．she didn’t have enough food or clothes

4.Why was Florence honored by Queen Victoria？

A．She built the Nightingale Home for Nurses.

B．She wrote a book on public health.

C．She worked as a nurse all her life.

D．She did a great deal of work during the Crimean War.

5.The passage can best be described as ____ . 

A．the life story of a famous woman            B．a description of the nursing work

C．an example of successful education         D．the history of nursing in England