What made Joan Ryan decide to be a sports writer?“Ten years ago, I was ?　36　? news stories at the Orlando Sentinel in Florida—my first job ?　37　? college. I didn't know any female sports writers. But I wanted to be ?　38　?.?　39　?,the best writing in the paper was sports.”

“Furthermore, I had the ?　40　?.I grew up in a(n) ?　41　? family: Three boys and three girls and a coach for a dad.”?

Soon after describing her ambition to a coworker, the ?　42　? of her paper reassigned Joan to the sports ?　43　?.She started out by editing other people's stories,?　44　? within a year, she was writing her own sports column.?

Today, Joan is the sports ?　45　? for the San Francisco Examiner in California. When she ?　46　? her job eight years ago, she was the ?　47　? woman sports writer on any major American newspaper.

Was it tough to ?　48　? as a female sports writer??　49　?!Take, for example, the first time Joan tried to get an interview in the men's locker room. “It was the U.S. Football League. I wanted to interview one of the players—Joe Cribbs, because he had just broken a finger. As soon as I ?　50　? into the locker room ?　51　? all sports writers interview athletes—the room went ?　52　?.Guys started yelling at me—closing in on me. It was really frightening. One guy was sitting on a bench in front of me, tapping up his ankle,?　53　? a long-handled razor for cutting the tape. Suddenly, I felt something move up my leg. It was the ?　54　? of the razor. I yelled at him and walked out.”

Joan ?　55　? interviewing Cribbs—outside the locker room.“In retrospect(回忆),I feel this was a defining moment for me as a journalist. I went back and wrote my story and made my deadline. Now I know that nothing can interfere with getting the story.”?

36. A. writing B. finding       C. editing       D. sending?

37. A. in B. out of C. into    D. before?

38. A. one      B. the one       C. it D. that?

39. A. However     B. Therefore   C. Above all   D. First of all?

40. A. knowledge   B. experience  C. Background       D. interest?

41. A. big       B. athletic       C. athrete       D. warm?

42. A. editor   B. Manager     C. Director     D. workmate?

43. A. column B. field   C. department D. paper?

44. A. and      B. So      C. however     D. but?

45. A. columnist    B. writer C. journalist    D. female?

46. A. did       B. left     C. landed D. wanted?

47. A. abed     B. only    C. brave  D. wisest?

48. A. work    B. writer C. interview    D. pioneer?

49. A. You bet       B. You believe       C. Unbelievable     D. You guess?

50. A. stepped B. entered       C. rushed D. moved?

51. A. that      B. which C. where D. when?

52. A. warm   B. crazy  C. down  D. full?

53. A. held     B. playing      C. used    D. using?

54. A. cap      B. cover  C. handle D. movement?

55. A. started  B. ended up C. Made     D. wrote??

What made Joan Ryan decide to be a sports writer?“Ten years ago, I was ?　36　? news stories at the Orlando Sentinel in Florida—my first job ?　37　? college. I didn't know any female sports writers. But I wanted to be ?　38　?.?　39　?,the best writing in the paper was sports.”

“Furthermore, I had the ?　40　?.I grew up in a(n) ?　41　? family: Three boys and three girls and a coach for a dad.”?

Soon after describing her ambition to a coworker, the ?　42　? of her paper reassigned Joan to the sports ?　43　?.She started out by editing other people's stories,?　44　? within a year, she was writing her own sports column.?

Today, Joan is the sports ?　45　? for the San Francisco Examiner in California. When she ?　46　? her job eight years ago, she was the ?　47　? woman sports writer on any major American newspaper.

Was it tough to ?　48　? as a female sports writer??　49　?!Take, for example, the first time Joan tried to get an interview in the men's locker room. “It was the U.S. Football League. I wanted to interview one of the players—Joe Cribbs, because he had just broken a finger. As soon as I ?　50　? into the locker room ?　51　? all sports writers interview athletes—the room went ?　52　?.Guys started yelling at me—closing in on me. It was really frightening. One guy was sitting on a bench in front of me, tapping up his ankle,?　53　? a long-handled razor for cutting the tape. Suddenly, I felt something move up my leg. It was the ?　54　? of the razor. I yelled at him and walked out.”

Joan ?　55　? interviewing Cribbs—outside the locker room.“In retrospect(回忆),I feel this was a defining moment for me as a journalist. I went back and wrote my story and made my deadline. Now I know that nothing can interfere with getting the story.”?

36. A. writing B. finding       C. editing       D. sending?

37. A. in B. out of C. into    D. before?

38. A. one      B. the one       C. it D. that?

39. A. However     B. Therefore   C. Above all   D. First of all?

40. A. knowledge   B. experience  C. Background       D. interest?

41. A. big       B. athletic       C. athrete       D. warm?

42. A. editor   B. Manager     C. Director     D. workmate?

43. A. column B. field   C. department D. paper?

44. A. and      B. So      C. however     D. but?

45. A. columnist    B. writer C. journalist    D. female?

46. A. did       B. left     C. landed D. wanted?

47. A. abed     B. only    C. brave  D. wisest?

48. A. work    B. writer C. interview    D. pioneer?

49. A. You bet       B. You believe       C. Unbelievable     D. You guess?

50. A. stepped B. entered       C. rushed D. moved?

51. A. that      B. which C. where D. when?

52. A. warm   B. crazy  C. down  D. full?

53. A. held     B. playing      C. used    D. using?

54. A. cap      B. cover  C. handle D. movement?

55. A. started  B. ended up C. Made     D. wrote??

For 52 years my father got up every morning at 5:30 am, except Sunday, and went to work. He returned home at 5:30 pm, for dinner at 6:00 pm. I never remember my father having a night out with his children. All he asked from me as a daughter was to hold his hammer while he repaired something, just so we could have some time to talk to each other.

For 22 years, after I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday. Nine years ago, my father, 67 years old, spent three days painting my house. He asked me to hold the paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy and I could not take the time to hold the paint brush, or talk to my father.

Five years ago, my father spent five hours making a swing（秋千）for my daughter. Again, all he asked me to do was to give him a glass of tea, and talk to him. But again, I had some clothes to wash, and the house to clean.

On January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister’s home in Florida. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 pm. That day, my father was in hospital in Florida. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way, I made up my mind that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him.

I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.

1.

When the author was young, her father ______.

A. was busy with his work               B. disliked his children 

C. often talked to his children         D. never cared about his children

2.

 How old was the author’s father when he made a swing for his granddaughter?

A. 45.   　　　　　　B. 67.   　　　C. 71.    　　　　　　　D. 76.

3.

When painting the house, the father asked the author to hold a paint brush because ______.

A. he wanted to make his work easy        

B. he was too old to work all by himself

C. he just wanted his daughter to help him

D. he wanted to have a talk with his daughter

4.

The underlined phrase “passed away” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.

A. arrived   　　　　B. lost    　　　C. left    　　　　D. died