Everyone wants to win a first-place blue ribbon, to be the best in something. Even kids in Kindergarten want that blue ribbon. In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race, I was always  36 . In baseball I was likely to be  37  on the head or drop the ball. During the spring of my kindergarten year, our class had a field trip to a park in a town about twenty miles away. Making that drive now is no big  38  but when you’re six and you’ve lived in a town of 300 people all your life, going to a big town of a couple of thousand people is really something.

I don’t remember too much about it. But there was one that I will never forget —the __39__ race. The parents tied our feet together. One little boy got me for a  40  . He was the second most   41 boy in our class so he usually won at everything and I knew that with me tied to him he didn’t have a chance. And I’m sure he knew he was in trouble. The gun sounded and we were off. Some couples were falling and stumbling all around us,  42   we stayed on our feet and made it to the other side.  43  , when we turned around and headed back for home, we were in the lead! Only one couple had a chance to win, and they were a good several yards behind us.

A few feet from the finish line, disaster struck: I tripped and fell. We were   44  enough that my partner could have easily dragged me across the finish line and won. But he didn’t. Instead he stopped,   45   down and helped me up — just at the other couple crossed the finish line. As a result, we received a small red ribbon for coming in second.

I still remember that moment when the young boy decided that helping a friend get on her feet was more important than winning a blue ribbon. And 13 years later, I still have that little ribbon because it’s a   46   that a friend like this boy is one who really   47  .  

1.                A．last            B．first            C．quick D．successful

2.                A．touched        B．felt            C．hit   D．beaten

3.                A．question        B．event          C．one  D．deal

4.                A．one-legged      B．two-legged      C．three-legged   D．four-legged

5.                A．partner         B．helper          C．supporter D．competitor

6.                A．tallest          B．youngest        C．athletic   D．handsome

7.                A．but            B．therefore       C．however  D．and

8.                A．Obviously       B．Unbelievably     C．Secretly  D．Undoubtedly

9.                A．strong          B．brave          C．clever    D．close

10.               A．lay            B．slowed         C．moved    D．reached

11.               A．warning        B．reminder       C．gift   D．notice

12.               A．depends        B．counts         C．supports   D．worthy

Everyone wants to win a first-place blue ribbon, to be the best in something. Even kids in kindergarten want that blue ribbon.

In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race, I was always   36  . In baseball I was likely to be   37   on the head or drop the ball. During the spring of my kindergarten year, our class had a field trip to a park in a town about twenty miles away. Making that drive now is no big   38   but when you're six and you've lived in a town of 300 people all your life, going to a big town of a couple of thousand people is really something.

I don't remember too much about it. But there was one that I will never forget -- the   39   race. The parents tied our feet together. One little boy got me for a   40   . He was the second most   41   boy in our class so he usually won at everything and I knew that with me tied to him he didn't have a chance. And I was sure he knew he was in trouble. The gun sounded and we were off. Some couples were falling and stumbling all around us,   42   we stayed on our feet and made it to the other side.   43  , when we turned around and headed back for home, we were in the lead! Only one couple had a chance to win, and they were a good several yards behind us.

A few feet from the finish line, disaster struck: I tripped and fell. We were   44   enough that my partner could have easily dragged me across the finish line and won. But he didn't. Instead, he stopped,   45   down helped me up -- just as the other couple crossed the finish line. As a result, we received a small red ribbon for coming in a second.

I still remember that moment when the young boy decided that helping a friend get on her feet was more important than winning a blue ribbon. And 13 years later, I still have that little ribbon because it's a  46   that a friend like this boy is one who really  47  .

36. A. last                          B. first                        C. quick                      D. successful

37. A. touched                          B. felt                         C. hit                          D. beaten

38. A. question                  B. event                      C. one                         D. deal

39. A. one-legged                     B. two-legged                    C. three-legged           D. four-legged

40. A. partner                           B. helper                            C. supporter               D. competitor

41. A. tallest                      B. youngest                C. athletic                   D. handsome

42. A. but                                 B. therefore                C. however                 D. and

43. A. Obviously                 B. Unbelievably           C. Secretly                  D. Undoubtedly

44. A. strong                      B. brave                      C. clever                            D. close

45. A. lay                                   B. slowed                    C. moved                           D. reached

46. A. warning                          B. reminder                 C. gift                         D. notice

47. A. depends                         B. counts                           C. supports                 D. obeys

A lecturer was giving a lecture on stress management．He raised a glass of water and asked the audience，“   36    heavy do you think this glass of water is?” The audience’s answers  3  7  from 20g to 500g．

It does not depend on its  38  .It depends on  39  you hold it．If I hold it for a minute，It is OK, If I hold it for an hour，I will have a(n)  40  in my right arm．If I hold it fot  41,  you will have to call an ambulance．It is the exact same weight，  42  the longer I hold it，the  43 it becomes．

If we carry our burdens  all the time，  44  ，we will not be able to catty on，the burden becoming  45  heavier．  46  you have to do is to put the glass down，rest for a while  47  holding it up again．

We have to  48  the burden from time to time．so that we can be refreshed and are    49  to carry on．So before you return home from  50  tonight，put the burden of work down．Don’t  51  it back home．You can   52  tomorrow.   53  burdens you are having now on your  54  ，let it down for a moment if you can．

    Life is short，  55   it !

Always Changing

Mark is leaving, and I’m feeling kind of sad.
You probably don’t know Mark, but you might be lucky enough  36 someone just like him. He’s been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of years combining  37 professional skills with a sweet and gentle nature.
And now he’s moving on to an exciting new professional  38 . It sounds like it could be the chance of a lifetime, and we’re  39 for him. But that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to him.
Life has a way of throwing these curve(曲线)balls  40 us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person, a place or a situation, something comes along to   41 the recipe.
Our ability to cope with change  42 to a great degree, our peace, happiness and contentment in life.
But how do we do that? A friend of mine is fond of reminding us that“survivability depends upon  43 .”And then there’s Chris the California surf-rat, who once told me that the answer to life’s problems can be  44 in four words:“Go with the flow.”
I’m not exactly sure , but I think Chris was saying that life is a series of   45 —both good and bad . No matter how excellent your skill , there will always be life-influencing factors over which you have no  46 . The truly successful person expects the unexpected, and is prepared to    47 adjustments should the need arise-as it almost  48 does.
That doesn't mean you don't keep trying to make all your  49 come true．It just means that when things come up that aren't  50 in your plan，you work around them—and then you move on。
“Change，indeed，is painful，  51 ever needful，”said philosopher Thomas Carlyle．“And if memory has its force and worth，so also has  52 .”
we're going to miss Mark. But rather than stay on the  53 of our parting，we'll focus on our hopes for a brighter future－for him，and for us．And then we'll go out and   54  
everything we can to make that future happen．  55 our plans change--again.

 (广西柳州铁一中2009届高三第二次模拟考试)

A lecturer was giving a lecture on stress management．He raised a glass of water and asked the audience，“   36    heavy do you think this glass of water is?” The audience’s answers  3  7  from 20g to 500g．

It does not depend on its  38  .It depends on  39  you hold it．If I hold it for a minute，It is OK, If I hold it for an hour，I will have a(n)  40  in my right arm．If I hold it fot  41,  you will have to call an ambulance．It is the exact same weight，  42  the longer I hold it，the  43 it becomes．

If we carry our burdens  all the time，  44  ，we will not be able to catty on，the burden becoming  45  heavier．  46  you have to do is to put the glass down，rest for a while  47  holding it up again．

 We have to  48  the burden from time to time．so that we can be refreshed and are    49  to carry on．So before you return home from  50  tonight，put the burden of work down．Don’t 

51  it back home．You can   52  tomorrow.   53  burdens you are having now on your  54  ，let it down for a moment if you can．

    Life is short，  55   it !

    36．A．What                B．Where                   C．When             D．How

    37．A．ranged            B．changed                C．came                     D．turned

    38．A．height                     B．length                    C．weight            D．width

    39．A．how far            B．how long               C．how soon              D．how much

    40．A．wound                     B．injury                     C．cut                 D．ache 

    41．A．a year                     B．a month                 C．a day                    D．a second

    42．A．or                     B．therefore               C．but                 D．so

    43．A．bigger                     B．1arger                   C．heavier          D．1ignter

    44．A．in no time         B．sooner or later             C，on time           D．first  of all

    45．A．briefly              B．interestingly           C．increasingly   D．decreasingly

    46．A．That                 B．What                            C．How                D．It

    47．A．since                B．after                      C．before            D．because

    48．A．put down          B．write down             C．note down          D．push  down

    49．A ．kind                B．able                       C．strong            D．eager

    50．A．school                     B．hospital                 C．work               D．walk

    51．A．hold                 B．sell                        C．carry                     D．return

    52．A．pick it up          B．get rid of it             C．carry it up             D．put it out

    53．A．However          B，Whichever             C．Whoever        D．Whatever

    54．A．heart                B．shoulders                     C．bodies            D．heads

    55．A．have                B．eat                        C．enjoy                     D．hate