根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don’t do a very good job.   71  .

So, you have to give a speech ─ and you are terrified. You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble (结结巴巴) over words, you talk too long, and you bore your audience. Later you think, “Thank Goodness, it’s over. I’m just not good at public speaking. I hope I never have to do that again.”

Cheer up!   72  . Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making. Ask yourself the purpose of your speech. What is the occasion? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject. Spend plenty of your time doing your research. Then spend plenty of your time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow. Use as many example as possible, and use pictures, charts, and graphs if they help you make your points more clearly.   73  . Don’t talk over their heads, and don't talk down to them. Treat your audience with respect. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Just remember: Be prepared. Know your subject, your audience, and the occasion. Be brief,   74  . And be yourself. Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your audience.

If you follow these simple steps, you will see that you don’t have to be afraid of public speaking. In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You’re not convinced yet?   75  .

A．It doesn’t have to be that bad.

B．Take several deep breaths before your speech.

C．This article gives some advice on how to give a good speech.

D．Say what you have to say and then stop.

E．Don’t say what you aren’t familiar with.

F．Never forget your audience.

G．Give it a try and see what happens.

The First of May is a Bank Holiday—the first public holiday of the year in England. Most people consider it a special day, the beginning of summer, a day when the light lasts long into the evening, and when we can look for warm weather. We don't always get it. We feel disappointed, but not surprised if there are cold winds and frosts at night in May. Winter should be over. Most people know that in the past, when farming occupied almost everyone, the changing seasons were of great importance. In that older time there was every reason to celebrate May Day. Customs of those celebrations remain.?

Of these customs, the best known is the choosing of a May Queen and the dancing round Maypole. Even these customs are little more than memories now—but in the last century it was quite common in villages and small towns, and even in schools and colleges, for a pretty and popular girl to be chosen Queen of the May. It was a great honour to be chosen. For a day she wore a light and flowery dress, carried garlands（花环）, and was ceremonially crowned with flowers. She presided over a procession, as a rule with a number of attendants, and over the Maypole dancing and all kinds of entertainment. The Maypole was slender（苗条的w.w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#o） tree trunk, cut off its branches, with beautiful ribbons fastened to the top. The dancing was designed in such a way that the dancer's movements move the ribbons into a pattern. This, as you can imagine, required skill from the dancer, and was not achieved without practice.

It's the Celtic people who celebrated the First of May as a spring festival. Their celebration seems to have had little to do with taking pleasure in early, beautiful flowers and in warmer weather! They called it Beltane—the fire of the god Bel. They lit fires, in the expectation that their blaze would help the sun in its struggle to regain its strength. They drove their cattle between banks of flame in the expectation that the terrified beasts would be purified and protected from disease. A tree, which must have been blackened with smoke, stood in the middle of the fires, and is thought to have been the origin of the Maypole. Their priests（牧师） made sacrifices to the goods in the hope of good harvests and sufficient store of food for the winter. There was dancing certainly, but it was noisy and cheerful, since its purpose was not to weave a pattern of colored ribbons, but to drive out evil spirits from the earth and to arouse those kind spirits.?

57. The main purpose of the passage is to show ________.?

A. the reason why they celebrate May Day

B. the start and customs of May Day

C. the way they celebrate May Day

D. the choosing of a May Queen during May Day

58. According to the passage, which sentence is NOT true??

A. In the old days they celebrated May Day for the changing of the seasons.?

B. In England summer begins at the first of May.?

C. The custom of the choosing of a May Queen still exists in the present May Day celebration.?D. The Celtic people celebrated the first of May as a spring festival.??

59. From the surrounding words and sentences we know that the word “presided” means ____.

A. 管理    B. 越过   C. 指挥   D. 主持?

60. The best title for this passage is ________.

A. The First of May     B. The Beginning of Summer

C. May Queen        D. The Holiday of the Year?

We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don't do a very good job. This article gives some suggestions on how to give an effective speech.

So, you have to give a speech and you're terrified. You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble over words, you talk too long and you bore your audience. Later you think,   “Thank goodness, it's over. I'm just no good at public speaking. I hope I never have to do that again.”

Cheer up! It doesn't have to be that bad. Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making. Ask yourself the purpose of your speech. What is the occasion? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject. Spend plenty of time doing your research. Then spend plenty of time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow. Use as many examples as possible and use pictures, charts and graphs if they will help you make your points more clearly. Never forget your audience. Don't talk over their heads and don't talk down to them. Treat your audience with respect. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Just remember: Be prepared. Know your subject, your audience and the occasion. Be brief. Say what you have to say and then stop. And be yourself. Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your audience.

If you follow these simple steps, you'll see that you don't have to be afraid of public speaking. In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You're not convinced yet. Give it a try and see what happens.

We can conclude from Paragraph 2 that many people     .

A. talk too long in a speech

B. are happy to give a speech

C. are afraid of giving a speech

D. do not prepare for a speech

All of the following statements are true except that      .

A. a lecturer does not need to organize his speech

B. few people know how to make good speeches

C. research is important in preparing a speech

D. there are simple steps to improve your speaking

The underlined expression “talk over their heads” means “      ”.

A. speak too loudly                          B. look at the ceiling

C. look down upon them                      D. use difficult words and ideas

The main idea of the passage is that      

A. you can improve your speaking ability

B. a poor speaker can never change

C. it's easy to make a short speech

D. it is hard to make a speech

 I thought horseback riding would be the sport for me until I fell down from the horse back .As you can imagine ,I haven’t been invited back        .

   A. later                      B．since                   C. after                     D．ever

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

It happened when I was a little girl. I can remember neither the beginning nor the end, but whenever I   36   it, tears flow down my face.

When I was young, my family led a(n)  37  life in the country. As you can imagine, many country roads are difficult to walk on. One   38   we were visiting some relatives and the   39  was very bad. It began to   40   on our way back home. Dad carried me on his   41  . Mom gave her overcoat to my   42  . We walked together through the rain for more than an hour.

I was fat at that time and Dad must be   43   to hold me for such a long time. He almost   44   down many times. In hope of   45   my father’s burden, I tried to carry myself,   46   I achieved nothing since I was just a little kid.

When we arrived home, the inside of our house was   47   with rain water. The rain had come   48    our leaky（有裂缝的）roof and water was everywhere.

Mom put bowls all around the house to try to   49  the rain. Then she put me and my elder brother to   50  , carefully placing us on the remaining   51   place. I fell asleep soon. When I opened my eyes, I found Dad and Mom were   52   in chairs, both having caught bad colds.

    This is my very earliest   53  . Though the evening has long passed, and now we live a happy life, I won’t forget the rain we   54  together. The rain, that evening, and especially my parents’  55  , will stay in my mind forever.

1.A．deal with      B．think of       C．lead to        D．suffer from

2.A．hard           B．unhappy        C．interesting    D．rich

3.A．morning        B．noon           C．afternoon      D．evening

4.A．food           B．drink          C．traffic        D．weather

5.A．blow           B．thunder        C．rain           D．snow

6.A．arm            B．back           C．bike           D．car

7.A．brother        B．sister        C．friend          D．relative

8.A．worried        B．tired         C．angry           D．lazy

9.A．fell           B．looked        C．turned          D．ran

10.A．taking        B．moving        C．lifting         D．reducing

11.A．so            B．and           C．but             D．instead

12.A．buried        B．covered       C．mixed           D．crowded

13.A．under         B．over          C．in              D．through

14.A．catch         B．welcome       C．greet           D．expect

15.A．ground        B．floor         C．bed             D．ceiling

16.A．dry           B．clean         C．beautiful       D．warm

17.A．quarreling  B．sleeping        C．laughing        D．eating

18.A．visit         B．excitement    C．experience      D．memory

19.A．got back      B．got away      C．went through    D．went by

20.A．wishes    B．words    C．love D．education