Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.

Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.

When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.?

One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons.  Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.

The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.

My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!

I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.

63. 1.The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 3) most probably means ______.

A. told how to enter the arena

B. shown how to make the horse beautiful

C. removed from the competition early

D. told to enter the timed-speed events

64. 2. When the final race finished, nobody cheered because        .

A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy             B. people envied the writer

C. the win was unexpected?            D. the writer bad run out of time

65. 3.Why was the writer not confident of victory?

A. He was an inexperienced rider.

B. He had not practiced enough.

C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.

D. He thought his horse wasn’t so good as the others.

66. 4.What did the writer learn from his experience?

A. Life can sometimes be unfair.

B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.

C. A positive attitude will bring success.

D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.

It was my birthday last Thursday. I decided to  36  by inviting a few friends out to supper. I chose a restaurant in a  37  part of town. It is one of my favorite restaurants because the food is good and the waiters are friendly. It is  38  ever crowded, because not many people know about it, so it is not usually  39  to book(预定) a table. In any case, Thursday is not a busy evening  40 .
When we entered the restaurant, we were surprised to find it completely  41 . I looked around but no  42  was free. One of the waiters recognized me. He came across and explained the situation. “A party of tourists(旅游团) came in about half an hour ago,” he said. “It was like an invasion (侵略).  43  the place was full! We can hardly manage (对付，应付).”
The waiter then pointed to a table in the corner. “The people there are about to  44 ,” he said. “Just hold on and you’ll  45  a place there.” He was right. Fifteen minutes later, the people  46  the corner table paid their  47 , got up and left. I led my friends across and we all sat down.
 48 , our table was almost out of sight. We tried to call the attention of the waiter who sent us there,   49  he, like all the other waiters, was  50  with the party of tourists. They ordered lots of food. At last, an hour later, the tourists were finishing their meal and looking very  51  with life. The waiter, now very tired, appeared at our table. I advised my friends about the best dishes and finally the waiter went off with our  52 .
A few moments later he returned to our table. We could tell from his face that he had  53  news for us.  54  a little sorry he told us that there was no meat or fish. “All we can  55  you,” he said, “is an omelet (煎蛋卷) !”

II. 完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选中，选出最佳选项。

 Sussie and I have been friends since primary school, for more than twenty years. Our friendship has   36   constant（不变的）. We have seen each other through all the times when we really need a friend. In   37   of our friendship, Sussie and I took our first   38   trip together.

The first day of our trip ended in New Jersey.   39   with the long drive, we decided to go to the restaurant for dinner. We sat down and   40   our meal. As we talked, I noticed a(n)   41   couple sitting a short distance away from us. The look of   adoration on the woman’s face  42    me. She stared into the face of the man as he talked,   43   me of a teenager in love!

I called Sussie’s  44  to the couple. As we watched, the man reached   45  to place a gentle kiss on the woman’s cheek. She   46  . “Now that’s what I call real love! I imagine they’ve been married for a long time.” I said. “  47   maybe,” remarked Sussie, “They haven’t been together long.” “Well, whatever the case, it’s   48  they care much for each other,” I said.

Sussie and I watched and listened  49  to their conversation. She smiled and  50   whatever he said. We were touched by the warm scene we were witnessing. Then the  51   changed. The woman’s wrinkled but beautiful face was suddenly covered with a   52   look. She asked the man in a sweet voice, “Do I know you? What is this place?” “You know me. I’m Ralph, your husband. We’re in New Jersey, ” the man said. “Oh, I   53   to have forgotten. I’m not sure,” she said. “That’s okay, sweetheart. You’ll be all right,” he   54   her, kissing her cheek again. Tears coursed down our cheeks as Sussie and I looked at each other. “We were right,” she said   55  . “It is the real thing. That is love.”

36. A. become                    B. grown                              C. remained                        D. developed

37. A. congratulation              B. terms                              C. favor                     D. celebration

38. A. air                                   B. car                              C. boat                                 D. train

39. A. Bored                             B. Suffered                          C. Tired                          D. Excited

40. A. cooked                           B. ordered                           C. prepared                        D. finished

41. A. young                             B. elderly                             C. friendly                            D. rich

42. A. scared                            B. astonished                     C. attracted                        D. bothered

43. A. showing                             B. reminding                       C. telling                        D. introducing

44. A. attention                       B. intention                         C. time                                 D. idea

45. A. away                              B. off                                     C. around                                D. over

46. A. smiled                            B. disagreed                       C. angered                          D. moved

47. A. Or                                   B. Though                            C. Therefore                       D. Otherwise

48. A. natural                           B. obvious                           C. important                       D. moving

49. A. madly                             B. silently                       C. unashamedly                 D. carefully

50. A. picked up                       B. stuck to                           C. agreed with                       D. questioned on

51. A. place                             B. scene                               C. topic                                D. sense

52. A. discouraged                 B. surprised                        C. disappointed                D. confused

53. A. need                               B. feel                                   C. seem                               D. use

54. A. told                                 B. answered                       C. comforted                      D. encouraged

55. A. quickly                            B. eagerly                            C. cheerfully                       D. thoughtfully

To whom it may concern,

This letter describes the worst travel experience I have ever had．The problems we had were the result of poor management and thoughtless employees．Your airline should be ashamed of treating its  customers so poorly．

On January 5, we arrived in Denver from Houston and checked in for our next flight．It wasn't long before the agent announced that our flight would be delayed because of a mechanical problem． The equipment was in Aspen, and they expected it to be repaired soon．

Soon shortly turned to much later, and during the delay, weather temporarily closed the Aspen airport．The weather cleared in Aspen and the plane took off very late for Denver．While it was in the air, the agent announced that the plane would be used for the next flight and that our flight was being cancelled．

This cancellation struck me as being unfair．There was a mad scramble （争先恐后） as the 50 or so passengers scheduled for our flight fought for seats on later flights．When the dust settled, we were wait-listed on the 9'-00 flight the next morning．We had to spend the night in the airport．

Coming home was no better．Because of a mechanical problem, it looked like we would miss our connection in Denver．The agent assured us they would hold the Newark flight for us．Needless to say, the flight to Houston taxied out as we pulled into the gate．Arrangements were made for us to take the next flight, so we sat in the airport for 5 hours．When we finally arrived in Houston, our skis were missing．As of this writing, the skis have not been found．

Nothing you can do will make us feel better about our flights．If you are a responsible business, however, you will do what you can to see that passengers in the future are treated better．

With great displeasure,

Phyllis Dooley

1.When Phyllis wrote her letter, she felt ______．

    A．tired          B．fooled         C．annoyed        D．ashamed

2.What was Phyllis' destination when she left home on January 5?

    A．Denver．       B．Houston．     C．Aspen．        D．Not mentioned

3.What happened to Phyllis on her day coming home?

    A．She took a taxi to Houston airport．

    B．Her flight to Houston was cancelled．

    C．Her flight was delayed for five hours．

    D．She missed her connection in Denver．

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

One day last month after I received my salary, I went shopping with my little son. __41_in the crowded store, I had my money __42_ and my whole salary was gone with it. I was so angry that I almost lost __43_ of myself. What could I do? We were not very __44_. The money was really not a small sum for my family. It would __45_ our life greatly. How could I tell my wife?

I felt very sad and even _46_for losing the money when I got home. To make up for my __47__ mistake, I gathered all my strength to give our house a thorough cleaning and then __48__ a wonderful meal and cooked a special dish my wife loved to ___49__ her.

When she came home, I __50__ a smile to greet her. She was __51__ to see the neat house and the __52__ meal. We sat at the table and began to eat. I told my story __53__. She did not respond. It was as if she had not heard my words.

“ I’ve __54__ my salary,” I murmured to her again.

“ I see,” she did not shout at me as I had __55__. She didn’t lose her __56__. So I was afraid she was trying hard to __57__ her anger.

A moment later, my wife was still __58__ and seemed to be enjoying her favorite dish. At last I could not help asking, “ I’ve lost my money. Why not shout at me?” she __59__ her eyes, looking at me and said, “ Oh, on the contrary, I am thinking about how to comfort you. It’s the __60__ who is to blame.”

1.A. Luckily      B. Unfortunately     C. Surprisingly     D. Secretly

2.A. robbed       B. stolen            C. caught         D. gone

3.A. control       B. heart             C. interest        D. habit

4.A. happy        B. poor             C. healthy        D. wealthy

5.A. enrich        B. improve          C. affect          D. please

6.A. guilty        B. ashamed          C. frightened      D. worried

7.A. careless      B. unforgivable       C. unforgettable    D. unbelievable

8.A. prepared     B. served             C. provided       D. chose

9.A. comfort      B. meet              C. surprise        D. please

10.A. gave                 B. pretended          C. forced         D. made

11.A. satisfied     B. surprised           C. pleased         D. interested

12.A. delicious     B. excellent           C. cool           D. attractive

13.A. gladly        B. calmly             C. excitedly      D. nervously

14.A. spent         B. wasted           C. donated         D. lost

15.A. hoped        B. desired           C. expected        D. wished

16.A. way          B. temper           C. interest         D. control

17.A. hide          B. express          C. maintain        D. show

18.A. unhappy      B. silent             C. worried        D. surprised

19.A. moved       B. shut              C. raised          D. opened

20.A. store         B. policeman         C. society         D. thief