When my parents were alive，they were not very rich．Yet they helped their two older     time after time．When Daddy passed away，his notebook showed debts      from several of his children．I was not among them．I      borrowed money and when I did，I set a repayment plan and     to it．It was a matter of       with me．I couldn’t stand owing my parents-or anyone else-mmoney because I watched them     to help out my older sisters when they were in financial difficulties themselves．

These days，after the death of my parents，I am one of those people who can be      to for help when they need it．Just as I can’t stand     other people money，I can’t stand saying no to whoever needs help．I don’t     helping others，but I would be more than glad if they would make a(n)     to handle things themselves，perhaps by doing some     planning-like planning not to speend money they don’t have!

Being ready to help others is a     ，but sometimes the result will be     to what you expect．I     remember as a child what my father always said， “If at first you don’t succeed，try，try again!” Helping my children too often has     them from learning to keep trying．Use your    ：who among my children will     to walk if I supply the money to buy a car? Helped often，my children lost gradually the ability to     problems themselves．

    In most       ，when people find you can      help，they will ask you more and more．That's human，you know．

1.A．sons       B．daughters      C．brothers      D．sisters

2.A．absent     B．apart       C．due     D．different

3.A．always     B．seldom     C．often    D．never

4.A．stuck      B．attached    C．agreed   D．belonged

5.A．pleasure    B．courage    C．pride    D．sorrow

6.A．struggle    B．happen     C．intend   D．move

7.A．referred    B．turned      C．seen    D．attended

8.A．cheating    B．donating    C．1ending D．owing

9.A．enjoy      B．mind       C．1ike    D．miss

10.A．comment   B．mess       C．excuse   D．effort

11.A．financial   B．flexible     C．typical   D．particular

12.A．deed      B．deal        C．virtue    D．task

13.A．contrary   B．essential    C．potential  D．necessary

14.A．can       B．may       C．shall      D．must

15.A．banned    B．protected   C．prevented  D．freed

16.A．aHn      B．leg        C．body      D．head

17.A．wait      B．urge       C．threat     D．choose

18.A．solve     B．assess     C．seek       D．analyse

19.A．affairs    B．choices    C．cases      D．events

20.A．obtain    B．attain     C．provide     D．prefer

My six-year-old granddaughter, Caitlyn, and I stopped at a Tim Horton’s shop for a blueberry cake. As we were going out of the door, a young teenage boy was coming in.

This young man had no hair on sides of his head with a set of blue spiked（竖起的）hair on top of it. One of his nostrils(鼻孔) was pierced （扎、穿）, and a ring ran through the hole and a chain went across his face and was attached to a ring he was wearing in his ear. He held a skateboard under one arm and a basketball under the other.

Caitlyn, who was walking ahead of me, stopped at once when she saw the teenager, I thought he’d scared her and she’d frozen on the spot.

 I was wrong.

 My granddaughter backed up against the door and opened it as wide as it would go. Now I was face to face with the young man. I stepped aside and let him pass. His response was a polite “Thank you very much”.

On our way to the car, I praised Caitlyn for her manners in holding open the door for the young man. She didn’t seem to be troubled by his appearance, but I wanted to make sure. If a grandmother’s talk about freedom of self-expression and allowing people their differences was in order, I wanted to be ready.

 As it turned out, the person who needed the talk was me.

 The only thing Caitlyn noticed about the teenager was the fact that his arms were full. “He would have a hard time to open the door. ”

I saw the partially shaved head, the set of spiked hair, the piercing and the chain. She saw a person carrying something under each arm and heading toward a closed door.

In the future, I hope to get down on her level and raise my sights.

1.What did the author think of the young man?

A. Polite.    B. Uncommon.   C. Frightening. D. Funny.

2. Caitlyn helped the young man because______ .

A. she was scared         B. she didn’t notice his look

C. she wanted to avoid him  D. it would be difficult for him to open the door

3. The underlined sentence suggests that_______ .

A. the author was ashamed of herself

B. the author didn’t know how to give a talk on freedom

C. a talk on freedom was useless for the granddaughter

D. people should have more freedom to express themselves

4. The author intends to tell us that_______ .

A. we shouldn’t judge a person by his look

B. we should allow people more freedom to dress differently

C. we should be more helpful and tolerant(宽容的)to people

D. we shouldn’t be too particular about people in life

When I was young I loved taking part in high school musicals．I loved to   36   in front of hundreds of people．In one production, I auditioned（试音）like  37   else. My music teacher was   38  that I would get a particular part in the music drama. The part I thought I had was a   39 lead who sang some of the most beautiful love songs.

But one day the show director pulled me aside. I was   40 to be offered the leading role. To my disappointment, he said, “Bob, I found a boy with an excellent voice. I need to give the   41 to him.”

From that moment on I began hating music class. I  42 that I didn’t like what we were singing. My music teacher didn’t know why. She   43 me in front of the class and told me I had changed. She didn’t know what I had been told. But when they  44 the finalists, I was given a   45 role. For some time my pride was  46 with having to do something I didn’t think I should be doing. But I did it. The minor role I had   47 to be much more fun than I had expected. My performance even   48 my brother who was also in the audience.

Life is really like a   49 and although we do not audition for the role, each of us is   50 by the director to play a certain part in it. The  51 is that we sometimes don’t like the part we are given. Like me in high school I became   52  -–if I couldn’t be the lead, I wouldn’t show up for rehearsal（彩排）.

Then we wonder why we feel so   53 . Sometimes we don’t even feel like we are a part of the “Big Show. ” Everyone does indeed have a role. Some are in front of the curtain, some are behind, but all are  54 for the show to go on. All   55 to success no matter how minor the part is.

1.                A．debate         B．broadcast       C．sing  D．show

2.                A．someone       B．everyone       C．anyone   D．no one

3.                A．prejudiced      B．concerned      C．unexpected   D．convinced

4.                A．romantic        B．ridiculous       C．mysterious    D．sensitive

5.                A．attempting      B．expecting       C．volunteering   D．pretending

6.                A．part           B．deal           C．favor D．item

7.                A．assessed        B．advocated       C．concluded D．complained

8.                A．warned         B．scolded         C．informed D．suspected

9.                A．presented      B．identified       C．announced    D．delivered

10.               A．specific        B．super          C．slight D．small

11.               A．struggling       B．competing      C．swinging   D．changing

12.               A．happened      B．proved         C．expanded  D．switched

13.               A．terrified:       B．disappointed    C．surprised  D．embarrassed

14.               A．joke           B．journey        C．stage D．play

15.               A．appointed      B．attached        C．employed  D．instructed

16.               A．reason         B．problem        C．balance   D．focus

17.               A．curious         B．helpless        C．angry D．positive

18.               A．exhausted      B．lost            C．delighted  D．thrilled

19.               A．necessary       B．dependent      C．natural    D．perfect

20.               A．react          B．adjust          C．refer D．contribute

C
In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and started austerity （紧缩） programs to reduce their imports．The result was a sharp drop in farm prices．This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient．They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods．The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell．These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1939s．
In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized．It established the principle of direct interference （干预） with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers．
President Hoover's successor attached even more importance to this problem．One of the first measures proposed by President FranklinD．Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was later passed by Congress．This law gave the Secretary of Agriculture the power to reduce production through voluntary agreements with farmers who were paid to take their land out of use．A deliberate shortage of farm products was planned in an effort to raise prices．This law was declared unconstitutional （违背宪法的） by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people．However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation．The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation’s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens．Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid （杂交） grain, and fertilizers．
53．What caused the problem in the demand for American farm products?
A．The effect of the Great Depression．
B．The shrinking of overseas markets．
C．The destruction caused by the First World War．
D．The increased exports of European countries．
54．The word “successor” refers to ______．
A．President Hoover           B．US Secretary of State
C．President Franklin          D．US Secretary of Agriculture
55．The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to ______．
A．reduce their scale of production        B．make full use of their land
C．adjust the prices of their farm products  D．be self-sufficient in agricultural production
56．The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act ______．
A．might cause greater shortage of farm products
B．didn't give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power
C．would benefit neither the government nor the farmers
D．benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others

I prefer the stories about the swimmers at the Beijing Olympics，one of which is about Zakia Nassar. She's a 21-year-old Palestinian __21__ Bethlehem studying dentistry in Jenin. Having had neither a __22__ nor a chance to an Olympic-sized pool in the past year, she had no choice but to __23__ on her own at a 12m public pool.

There is a 50-meter __24__ in nearby Nazareth, but the Israeli government did not __25__ her to use it.

Nassar was __26__ to training only when she returned to her parents' home in Bethlehem, __27__ she did so only about every two months for two days or so. __28__ the pool is only 12 meters long.

“My parents and friends always __29__ me, reminding me that I had to keep training if I __30  wanted to go to the Olympics,” she said.

It was only when Nassar __31__ China a month ago that she finally got the opportunity to swim in a 50m pool and enjoyed the __32__ of having a coach.

When she at last took part in the Games, she swam the 50m in 31.97 seconds, a(n) __33__ of seven seconds on her personal __34__. Nassar said it was the most beautiful moment of her life.

She will not __35__ on the cover of Time magazine or __36__ millions of dollars in endorsements（捐款）, but she can always say she won a race at the Olympics. For her, it wasn’t about __37__ the other swimmers or winning a prize, but about __38__ her own goal, __39__ difficult. When I think things are too difficult or I get those “I-just-can’t-do-it,” I think of her. Then I realize how __40__ the task before me really is.