It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  31 any November day. His   32 , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   33 . One morning, I walked slowly   34  and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  35 those good people would not see me. I was   36 . My first thought was, how would I ever  37 them? I didn’t have the  38 to brush my hair,   39 clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   40 asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  41 . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   42 myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   43 from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   44 for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   45 words from the people who supported me during those  46 days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  47 may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   48 was, but in many ways I have changed for the   49 . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  50 one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

 — Can Li Ping help me with my English?

— I regret to tell you her English is ____ yours.

A. as good as       B. no better than        C. no more than         D. as much as

对话填空（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

W: Good evening, sir. I was told that you were robbed.

M: I certainly was.

W: When did that happen?

M: About two hours ago.

W: Why didn’t you1. r______ it then?

M: I couldn’t. I was tied to a chair and my mouth was2.f______ with something.

W: Please tell me exactly what happened.

M: I was sitting in this room watching TV when someone 3.)k         at the door.

Without thinking, I opened it.

W: That wasn’t very wise, sir.

M: I know. I was 4. e_____ my wife, you see, and I 5. t______ it was her.

W: You should never open a door without going to see who it is.

M: Yes, I regret that now.

W: What happened?

M: Two men pushed inside and then 6. t______ me with a knife.

W: Did you take a good look at them?

M: I’m afraid not, They were both 7.w      stockings over their faces.

W: What did they take?

M: My wallet with $200 in it, my watch, and some of my wife’s8. j______ from my bedroom.

W: They don’t seem to have done much damage to the flat.

M: No. They had just begun to search when the dogs next9. d______ began to bark. They ran off. It was some time 10.b        my wife returned and set me free. I phoned the police at once.

W: My men began searching the area as soon as we received your call. I can’t promise you that we’ll recover your property, but we’ll certainly do our best.

Do you remember the name of your kindergarten teacher? I do. Her name is Mrs. White.

I don’t remember much about what we learned in her   36  , but my mother once told me we used to   37   a lot. And I would   38   what I wrote and she would look at it and see there were so many   39  , but no red corrections. And always a star. Sometimes even a “Good”! That made my heart filled with   40  , but worried my mother. So one day when she met Mrs. White. She asked her why she never   41   my mistakes; why she never red-penciled in the wrong   42   of words or pointed out grammatical errors.

My mother said Mrs. White said “The children are just   43   to get excited about using words, about   44   sentences. I don’t want to dampen that   45   with red ink. Spelling and grammar can   46  . The wonder of words won’t …” And maybe she didn’t   47   it exactly like that because it was a long time ago and   48   my mother told me was just what she could remember.

Thanks to Mrs. White, I   49   up learning to use words with loving   50  . I had no qualms （顾虑）about writing what I meant   51   I couldn’t quite spell it out. A thought comes into my mind that if Mrs. White had used her red pen precisely, I   52   wouldn’t be telling you about this now. I look   53   now and think she must have been a rather   54   teacher ——to exercise such red-pen-restraint （不纠错）——to   55   the joy, wonder and excitement of expression.

1.A. expression         B. school       C. class            D. home

2.A. sing           B. write            C. draw             D. speak

3.A. bring back         B. hand out         C. hand in      D. make up

4.A. signatures         B. mistakes         C. words        D. stars

5.A. regret             B. sadness      C. happiness        D. worry

6.A. saw            B. found        C. changed      D. corrected

7.A. meanings       B. spellings        C. use              D. place

8.A. beginning      B. leading      C. happening        D. choosing

9.A. reading        B. discovering C. forming      D. hearing

10.A. thought       B. patience         C. courage      D. excitement

11.A. wait          B. advance      C. disappear        D. return

12.A. accept            B. prove            C. agree            D. say

13.A. that          B. what             C. which        D. how

14.A. grew          B. stood            C. added        D. gave

15.A. doubt             B. ability      C. confidence   D. opinion

16.A. as if             B. now that         C. if only      D. even if

17.A. hardly            B. usually      C. probably         D. actually

18.A. back          B. round        C. up           D. out

19.A. beautiful         B. interesting      C. unusual      D. strict

20.A. show          B. let          C. enjoy            D. allow