Once my mother told me a story that in Africa, when an antelope (羚羊) wakes up every morning, the first thing it thinks about is, “I must be 36 to run faster than the fastest lion, or I will be killed.” 37 , a lion wakes from his dream. The first thing the lion thinks about is, “I must be able to catch the 38 antelope, or I will starve to 39 .” So almost simultaneously(同时地), the antelope and the lion get up and start running toward the 40 sun.
This is 41 : full of chances and challenges. Whether you are an antelope or a lion, you must go 42 when the sun rises. For students, it is just the same. If we don’t study hard, sooner or later, we will 43 the other students. At first I didn’t know what the word “exam” 44 . Later, I knew an exam was a kind of 45 . In competitions, there are always winners and 46 . As I grew up, I got to know competition well. In one’s life, there must be competitions, so people can 47 .
Each time I saw children playing games and heard their 48 , I wished I were that age again.  49 , I remembered my parents’ words: You must work very hard for a good future. So I 50 my pen and began to study hard again.
I was still not sure what competition 51 meant. One day, I was 52_in an English-speaking competition. When I went to the stage, I saw other students looking at me kindly. Suddenly I 53 what competition was. It is not as cruel as my teacher and parents told me. In fact, competition is the 54 : it is kind and necessary.
I learned a lot from realizing this 55 . Now I understand better about the world. Competition is important for us all.

People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer a chance to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child-care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one stands for a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services(宗教仪式) to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit their graves. On these days, families get together at home and in restaurants. They often have outdoor BBQs for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephones companies and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.
【小题1】Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?

Long time ago, there was a farmer who lived with his daughter. A young man fell in love with the farmer’s beautiful daughter and wished to   36   her. One day, he went to the farmer to   37   his permission. The farmer looked at him and said, “ Guy, stand out in that  38   . I’m going to release (释放)  39  bulls, one at a time. If you can   40   the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter.”
41  , the young man got out and stood in the field,   42    the first bull. The barn（牛棚） door   43     and out came the biggest bull that he had ever seen. He   44     that one of the next bulls had to be a better   45     than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull   46    .
A few   47     later, the barn door opened again. Unbelievable! The young man had never seen any bull so   48     and fierce as this one in his life. It stood there, pawing（扒） the   49   and eyeing the young man. “ What the next   50    was like ? It had to be a better choice than this one,” he thought. He let the bull pass through again.
The door opened a third time. A   51     came across the young man’s face. This was the weakest bull that he had ever seen. “ This one was my bull,” he   52     to himself. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and   53     at just the exact moment. He threw his hands to catch ...... But to his   54    , the bull had no tail.
Life is full of opportunities.   55    catch the first one.

How do people pass on messages? When you write a letter or make a telephone call, your words _ 1___ a message. People communicate with words. Do you think you can communicate _2__ words?  A smile __3_ your face shows you are happy and friendly. Tears in your eyes tell__4__ that you are sad. When you __5_ your hand in class, the teacher knows you want to say something __6___ ask questions. You shake your head, and people know you are saying no. You nod and people know you are saying ____ .7
Other things can also give some information. For example,  a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus __8___. A sign on the wall of your school helps you to find the library. Signs on doors tell you __ 9___ to go in or out. __10___ you ever noticed that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages __11__ them all the time? People can communicate __12___ many other ways. A (An) 13__  can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains,  about the blue sea and many other things. Books __14___ to tell you about all wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas. Books,  magazines,  TV and radio and films all help us to communicate with other people. They all help us to know __15__ is going on in the world.

The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light，I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day.  “When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer，in fact, I dared not.
The clock struck twelve. “ Oh，dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的）now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed，“Oh，God，please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards，Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later，with my head on the desk，I fell asleep.
【小题1】 When the author was going over his lessons，all the others in the house were  ________ .