I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.
“Mom, come here! There’s this lady here my size!”
The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize.
I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then I talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darryl Kramer. How are you?”
He studied me from head to toe, and asked, “Are you a little mommy?”
“Yes, I have a son,” I answered.
“Why are you so little?” he asked.
“It’s the way I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand, and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an achondroplasia dwarf. Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I’ve grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have — a great family, nice friends.”
It’s the children’s questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, position, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.
【小题1】.. Why did the mother apologize to the author?

A．Because the boy ran into the author.

B．Because the boy laughed at the author.

C．Because the boy said the author was fatter than him.

D．Because she thought the boy’s words had hurt the author.

It was just getting dark. There was a touch of fog and I was on a lonely stretch of road.   36

I was going along cheerfully, thinking about the dinner I would eat when I got to Salistury.

I was going along   37  at about thirty-five miles an hour when suddenly I heard a scream, a  38  scream--- “ Help! ” I looked round, but the only   39  of life was a large, black, rather suspicious-looking car just   40   a bend in the road about a hundred yards away. That was where the cry had come from. I   41   speed and went after it. I think the driver saw what I was doing, for he did the same and began to draw   42   me. As I drew near, the girl’s voice came again, a lovely voice but trembling with   43   .

“Let me go, you coward; you’re hurting me. Oh ! Oh ! ”

I felt my   44   boil. The fog was coming down   45   now, and the countryside was lonelier. I had no  46  that the murderous guy in the car noticed this. Again came a cry.

“Drop that knife, you fool. Oh ! ” Then a cry and a groan（呻吟）.

 If I was to save her, it was now or   47  . Perhaps even now I was too late. But if I couldn’t save the girl, I would at least try to bring the murderer to   48  . The car was only a couple of yards away now. I drove the bike right across its   49  , and its brakes screamed as the driver tried to pull it over and   50   into the ditch（沟）at the side of the road. The door of the car was pushed open angrily and a dark, evil-looking fellow stepped out .

“You fool!” he shouted as he came towards me with his fist raised to hit me. But I was   51   than he. I put all I could into   52   that would have knocked out Joe Louis. It   53   him right on the point of the chin; his   54   slowly bent under him, and he dropped to the ground without a sound. I rushed to the car,   55   open the door and looked inside. There was no girl there. Suddenly from the back of the car came a voice.

“You have been listening to a radio play, Murder in Hollywood, with Mae Garbo and Clark Taylor. The news will follow immediately . ”

1.A. And                B. Though           C. Therefore            D. But

2.A. quietly            B. quickly          C. carefully            D. nervously

3.A. boy’s             B. man’s               C. woman’s         D. driver’s

4.A. person         B. sign             C. sound                D. form

5.A. turning            B. crossing         C. going                D. driving

6.A. slowed down        B. put on               C. added to         D. took up

7.A. right behind       B. close to         C. away from            D. near by

8.A. joy                B. sorrow               C. fear             D. anger

9.A. tears              B. heart                C. face             D. blood

10.A. slighter          B. thicker              C. lower                D. harder

11.A. need              B. effort               C. trouble              D. doubt

12.A. never             B. late             C. ever             D. then

13.A. justice           B. court                C. lawyer               D. sentence

14.A. direction         B. path             C. front                D. nose

15.A. drove             B. ran              C. crashed          D. sped

16.A. slower            B. quicker          C. taller               D. heavier

17.A. an anger          B. a fist               C. a beat               D. a blow

18.A. caught            B. struck               C. knocked          D. beat

19.A. chin              B. fists                C. knees                D. body

20.A. hit               B. brought          C. pushed           D. pulled

A number of times Rosemary edged closer to Gordon , meaning to take his arm, but he edged away from her. She thought that she had offended him deeply, and that he was disappointed because she had pushed him away. She would have apologized if he had given her half a chance. But as a matter of fact, he was scarcely thinking of this any longer. It was the money business that was troubling him now. And the fact was that he would soon have to confess it. What nonsense it made of all he had said! Presently she stopped him, and swung him round to face her. “Gordon, why won’t you speak to me?” she said. “Are you still angry with me for what happened just now?”

“No, I was never angry with you. You’re not to blame. Something else has been worrying me all the way along, I’ve only eight pence left. I had just enough money for today when we started out, but that dinner bill upset everything. Can you lend me some money?’

Rosemary was amazed. “What does it matter if you’ve only eight pence left? How can you let yourself be worried by a thing like that? As though I objected to lending you money, aren’t I always telling you that I want to pay for myself when we go out together?’

“Yes, and you know how I hate you paying.”

“Oh, how silly you are.” She said. “Do you think there’s anything to be ashamed of in having no money?”

Gordon’s face went bright pink. “Of course there is ! It’s the only thing in the world there is to be ashamed of. I can’t be a complete human being—I don’t feel a human being –unless I’ve got money in my pocket.”

1.What gave Rosemary the idea that she had hurt Gordon’s feelings deeply?

2.Rosemary made him look at her because ______.

3.Gordon felt that if he asked rosemary to lend him some money _____.

4.It is clear that Gordon had not intended to _____.

Washington, November 1, 2012  (CNN) -- After years of planning and months of campaigning（竞选）, the most expensive presidential race in history comes down to a final five-day whirlwind of speeches and television ads in the eight states still up for grabs.

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney plan to hold virtually nonstop events between now and the Tuesday election considered too close to call.

The focus is on battleground states worth 95 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Both sides are trying to close the deal with a decreasing number of uncommitted(未表态的) voters, while making sure supporters actually cast ballots.

That means a game of campaign chess that started Thursday, with appearances by the candidates (候选人)and their assistants as well as advertising dollars allocated to the places considered most vital to success.

Concluding a race expected to cost more than $6 billion overall, Obama and Romney and their running mates will hit all the battleground states -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin. The campaigns also are unloading a blast of television ads and mailings that threaten to overwhelm voters already saturated with politicking. Perhaps no one said it better than 4-year-old Abigael Evans of Fort Collins, Colorado, who -- according to NPR -- cried after listening to more election coverage on the radio and told her mother, ‘I'm tired of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.’

1.The underlined phrase “too close to call” probably means               .

A．a game that one side is clearly winning.

B．a tie in which neither side seems likely to win

C．so close that you need not use a telephone

D．a visit close to one’s home state

2.What is the focus of the last-5 -day campaigns for both presidential candidates?

A．To make sure that their supporters understand their policies.

B．To collect enough money for campaign ads.

C．To paint their rival as black as possible.

D．To win over the voters who have not decide which candidate to vote for.

3.The public generally feel ________ about these last-days election efforts.

A．excited           B．disappointed       C．annoyed          D．relieved

I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice. “Mom, come here! There’s this lady near my size!” The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize. I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darry Kramer. How are you?” He studied me from head to toe, and asked, “Are you a little mommy?” “Yes, I have a son,” I answered. “Why are you so little?” he asked. “It’s the way I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an achondroplasia dwarf (侏儒). Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids joked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I’ve grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have – a great family, nice friends.”
It’s the children’s questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, position, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.
【小题1】
Why did the mother apologize to the author?