As we drove along, my spirits went up again, and I turned, with pleasure, to the thought of the new life which I was entering. But though it was not far past the middle of September, the heavy clouds and strong north-easterly wind combined to make the day extremely cold; and the journey seemed a very long one, so that it was nearly one o’clock before we reached the place of our destination. Yet when we entered the gateway, my heart failed me, and I wished it were a mile or two farther off. For the first time in my life I must stand alone: there was no retreating now. I must enter that house, and introduce myself among its strange people. But how was it to be done? True, I was near nineteen; but, thanks to the protecting care of my mother and sister, I well knew that many a girl of fifteen, or under, was gifted with a more womanly address, and greater ease and self-possession, than I was. Yet, anyway. I would do very well, after all; and the children, of course, I should soon be at ease with them.
"Be calm, be calm, whatever happens," I said within myself; and truly I was so fully occupied in steadying my nerves and keeping down the rebellious beat of my heart that when I was admitted into the hall and into the presence of Mrs. Bloomfield, I almost forgot to answer her polite greeting; and it afterwards struck me that the little I did say was spoken in the tone of one half-dead or half-asleep.
With due politeness, however, she showed me my bedroom, and left me there to take a little refreshment for a little while and led me into the dining-room. Some beefsteaks and potatoes were set before me; and while I dined upon these, she sat opposite, watching me (as I thought) and trying to keep something like a conversation— consisting chiefly of commonplace remarks. In fact, my attention was almost wholly absorbed in my dinner: not from appetite, but from the toughness of the beefsteaks, and the numbness of my hands.
“I have had so little time to attend to their education myself, but I think they are clever children, and very willing to learn, especially the little boy; he is, I think, the flower of the flock— a generous, noble-spirited boy, one to be led, but not driven, and remarkable for always speaking the truth.” “His sister Mary Ann will require watching,” continued she, “but she is a very good girl on the whole, though I wish her to be kept out of the nursery as much as possible, as she is now almost six years old, and might acquire bad habits from the nurses. I have ordered her bed to be placed in your room, and if you will be so kind as to look after her washing and dressing, and take charge of her clothes, she needs to have nothing further to do with the nursery maid.”
I replied I was quite willing to do so; and at that moment the children entered the room. Tom Bloomfield was a well-grown boy of seven. Mary was a tall girl, for her age of six, somewhat dark like her mother. The second sister was Fanny, a very pretty little girl, looking little younger than Mary. The remaining one was Harriet, a little broad, fat, merry, playful thing of scarcely two, whom I had more desire for than all the rest — but with her I had nothing to do.
【小题1】Which of the following statements best describes how the writer felt when she entered Mrs. Bloomfield's home?

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby. They found out that it was going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael 21._____ to his sister in Mommy’s tummy.
The pregnancy progressed 22._____for Karen. Then the labor pains came. Every five minutes ... every minute. But complications   23.__  during delivery. Finally, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in serious 24._____. With siren （警报）howling in the night, the ambulance 25.____ the infant to the Intensive Care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee.
26.______ inch by. The little girl got worse. The doctors told the parents, "There is very little hope. " Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery (墓地) about a burial plot. They had 27.______ a special room in their home for the new baby — now they planned a funeral.
Week two in Intensive Care. It looked as if a funeral would come 28 _____the week was over. Michael, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he said. Kids were never 29______in Intensive Care. But Karen made up her mind. She would take Michael 30._______they liked it or not.
She 31.______ him in an oversized scrub suit and 32.____ him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse33. _____him as a child, "Get that kid out of here now! " The usually 34._____ lady glared into the head nurse’s face, her lips a 35.____ line. "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny baby 36.____ the battle to live. And he began to sing 37._____ the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang:
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray"
38. ______ the baby girl responded. The pulse rate became 39._____ and steady.
Keep on singing, Michael. "You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away — " The breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr.
Keep on singing, Michael. "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping,… " Michael’s little sister relaxed as rest.
Funeral plans were 40______. The next day — the very next day — the little girl was well enough to go home!
The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love!
【小题1】A. talked      B sang          C. played        D whispered
【小题2】 A. quietly      B peacefully     C hopefully      D normally
【小题3】 A. arose        B. raised       C rose           D aroused
【小题4】 A situation      B condition     C place          D position
【小题5】A took         B sent          C carried         D rushed
【小题6】A The years     B The months    C The weeks     D The days
【小题7】A fixed up      B made up       C built up        D set up
【小题8】 A until         B before         C after          D when
【小题9】A asked        B allowed        C admitted       D acquired
【小题10】 A no matter      B even if        C whether       D as if
【小题11】A put          B dressed         C wore           D fit
【小题12】 A marched        B forced         C hid           D followed
【小题13】A required        B replied         C recognized      D regarded
【小题14】 A   warm-hearted                B well-managed
C   mild-mannered               D cold-blooded
【小题15】 A firm           B strong       C hard           D tough
【小题16】 A losing         B lost          C to lose         D having lost
【小题17】A in            B on           C at             D with
【小题18】A Finally        B Instantly       C Patiently       D Interestingly
【小题19】A calm          B quiet          C slow          D fast
【小题20】 A put off        B put away       C put up         D put down

第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

In 1988 , Mary Andersen was at the Miami airport checking in for a flight to Norway to be with her husband when she was told she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a $ 100 surcharge （超载）．                

Mary had no money as her new husband had left for Norway and she had no one else to call．

"I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without．" says Mary．          

As tears ran down her face, a voice behind her said, "That's okay, I'll pay for her．"

Rather surprised, Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before．He had a gentle and kind voice mat was firm and decisive．                     

Although this happened twenty years ago, Mary still remembers the authority that radiated （发出）from the man, Mary was pleased to bring her luggage to Norway and told the stranger she would give his money back．The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper he gave to Mary．She thanked him repeatedly When she finally walked off towards the boarding gate, he waved goodbye to her．

That man turned out to be Barack Obama．      

Mary paid the money back to Obama the day she joined her husband．At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker in Chicago, and had started his law studies at Harvard University.     

In the spring of 2006 Mary’s parents heard Obama was considering a run for president. They wrote a letter saying that they would support him. At the same time, they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier.

And Obama replied, “ I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport. I’m happy I could help her then, and I’m delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway. Please send her my best wishes. Sincerely, Barack Obama, United States Senator.”

1．Why did Mary feel completely desperate?    

A．She had missed the only flight to Norway．

B．Her new husband abandoned her suddenly．

C．She didn't have the money to buy a ticket．

D．She had no money to pay for the surcharge．

2．How did Mary feel when someone offered to help her"?

A ．Amazed．         B．Puzzled．    C．Delighted．        D．Annoyed．

3．Mary asked the stranger to leave his name and address____,

A．in order to contact him later                B．so that she could repay him

C．because impressed her deeply          D．because she fell in love with him

4．What’s the passage mainly about?                         

A．A letter from Barack Obama．                         

B．Mary's parents support Obama．                       

C．Obama helped a stranger about 20 years ago．

D．Mary was lucky to get help at the airport．

One day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. The woman _36__ a little boy in a red coat and said: “That is my son __37__ is moving smoothly down the slide (滑板)”. “What a lovely boy!” the man replied. Then he went __38__ saying, “That is my daughter on the bike. She is __39__ a white dress”.
After a while, the man looked at his __40__ and called to the girl in white, “Shall we go home, Mary?” “Only five __41__ minutes, Dad, please?” little Mary cried. The man __42__ and Mary went on riding her bike happily. Five minutes passed soon. The father __43__ and called again to his daughter: “It’s time __44__ now, Mary?” Again, Mary pleaded (恳求), “Give me more minutes, Dad. __45__ five more minutes, OK?” The man smiled and said: “OK.”
The __46__ responded, “You are surely a patient father.” __47__ in thought, the man said nothing. However, after a __48__, he smiled and then said: “Her elder brother Tom was killed by a __49__ driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never __50__ much time with Tom and now I would give anything for just five more minutes with him. I wouldn’t make the same __51__ with Mary. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The __52__ is that I get five more minutes to watch her play. Life sometimes __53__ too suddenly. ”
Yes, life is all about making priorities (优先考虑的事), and what are your priorities? Don’t always __ 54__ excuses for your not being able to accompany your family members or your friends. Give someone you are __55__ five more minutes of your time today!