Between the two buildings _____ a monument.

 A．stand  B．stands  C．standing  D．is standing

If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees. One would certainly think otherwise; selecting and putting up our trees have always been filled with risk. For example, one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain, a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house. Once we did, my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it. Another December, perhaps the very next one, we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before. We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable. We easily placed it in a stand, decorated it from top to bottom, and then self-satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light. Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden; we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off. There was nothing to do but undecorate it, take it down, and begin tree shopping again. Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task. When we brought it home, once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors. To complicate matters, we had bought a new stand, one whose nuts （螺帽） and bolts （闩子） worked more mysteriously than those of our old stands. I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand. Unfortunately, no one noticed the mud on our helpers' shoes, so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments （装饰）were stored. Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these. I don't care to hear them, as my family's experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion:" Let's forget the tree next Christmas. Let's simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall. "
【小题1】The darkest moments in the writer's family were with the fact that _____.

Tom sat under a tree and seeing his friend, __ up in no time.

A. to stand    B. standing    C. stood    D. would stand

（2）When I was six, I went to a local grade school．In grade school, I was __36__ the other kids because of my speech and reading __37__．All the kids would shout, “You are a dummy, you are a dummy,” and so on．I thought they were __38__ because all my grades showed it．I had no self-confidence．
Through the first five years of grade school, I was small and very clumsy．I would __39__ cups and trays in the cafe, and sometimes __40__ myself and fall onto the floor when I walked．In sixth grade, I became interested in __41__．The class had its annual field day．Each class would have its own teams __42__ against each other．I went out for all of the __43__．I was not the best __44__ I was not bad．The thing that I could do was run and run fast．This __45__ the other kids because I was so clumsy, and then __46__ a lot more name-calling from the kids．When somebody else won a race, the kids told how __47__ he was．When I won, they called me __48__; I did not know why they were doing this．I think that it was unfair, and it __49__ me．
Between seventh and eighth grade, I started to __50__．In three months, I grew seven inches．At the start of eighth grade, I began to play football．I was much bigger than everybody else; I was __51__than most of the backs we played against．The other team would not __52__ the ball towards me, so I just ran them __53__．It was the first time in my life that I was really good at something and __54__ it．It was a new feeling of __55__．
36．A．above       B．before      C．behind      D．among
37．A．materials  B．questions  C．skills     D．problems
38．A．right     B．wrong      C．rude     D．foolish
39．A．clean     B．drop     C．keep     D．serve
40．A．trip      B．help     C．enjoy     D．hurt
41．A．studies      B．sports       C．programs  D．matches
42．A．stand     B．fight     C．quarrel     D．compete
43．A．teams       B．subjects    C．tests     D．grades
44．A．because    B．if         C．but       D．and
45．A．interested  B．shocked    C．delighted  D．disappointed
46．A．happened  B．continued  C．made     D．came
47．A．famous     B．good     C．happy       D．strange
48．A．names      B．numbers   C．classmates D．leaders
49．A．frightened B．ashamed   C．hurt      D．worried
50．A．progress   B．change      C．grow     D．play
51．A．faster          B．firmer      C．cleverer    D．harder
52．A．push     B．run       C．hand     D．catch 
53．A．back     B．down     C．off       D．away
54．A．judged      B．recognizedC．decided     D．knew
55．A．courage    B．sadness     C．pride     D．regret