I had spent over five exhausting（令人疲乏不堪的） years on my essay for my Ph. D（哲学学士）. and was anxiously preparing for my oral boards which were to be held in California, and I had  36  a flight through Minneapolis, where I was to change  37 . My flight was very late, and I was soon in an all—out run to  38  my flight. I had to stop to catch my  39 on a moving sidewalk when I  40 a woman in her fifties   41 with a carry-on bag.
I don’t know   42  , but I looked at her face and blurted out, “Are you going on flight 567 to California?”
She responded, “Yes.”
“So am I ,” I responded．“Give me your bag. I’ll run   43 and tell them to wait for you.” I took her bag and started running again. I   44 onto the plane and told a flight attendant that one more passenger was behind me and to please   45 the plane for her. I   46 myself with her bag, and a few moments later she arrived and was the last person on the plane   47 they closed the doors and   48  . After the plane leveled off, I   49 the bag to her, and she smiled at me and thanked me.
I didn’t sleep a wink in the hotel and arrived at the   50 at seven o’clock in the morning. The  51 kept me waiting for an hour in a room. I walked into the boardroom and was initially frightened by all the   52 in their robes. As I slowly   53 at the faces of all the board members, I noticed the bright face of a woman. She gave me a smile   54 a young schoolgirl. It was the same woman whose bag I had carried ahead the night before.   55 , whenever I made a mistake on any questions, she did a great job of relaxing me.

When my oldest son was in high school, he planned to attend a Christian contemporary concert with the youth group from our church. To my    36  , Aaron invited me to go along.  I    37   accepted; however, by the time the date of the concert arrived, my youngest son had been ill, and I was    38  about him. My husband    39   me to attend the concert, promising he would take care of our youngest. I hesitated.
Finally, it    40   me. Aaron was sixteen years old. How many    41   would I have to do something fun with him    42   he went away to college? And how many youth actually    43    their mothers to attend a concert with them that was clearly for  teens?  The    44   was made. I would not miss this opportunity.
At the concert, I sat with Aaron in the third row, stuffing (填塞) cotton in my ears to block out the    45  , ear-splitting music of the first performer. I stood when the kids stood, clapped when they clapped, and never let anyone know how    46   I was to feel  the  floor  vibrate (震动) beneath my feet. Aaron and his friends were    47   at my enthusiasm.
By the time we left the concert, my ears were ringing, but it quickly passed.    48   did my son's teenage years.    49   he was in college and away from home. I missed him more than I could say. On days when I was especially    50   for his ready smile and his teasing manner, I would think back to the concert we attended and be thankful once again  that  I  didn't    51   an opportunity to spend time with my son.
Aaron is now grown and has a family of his own, but we are still very    52  . Some days he calls just to    53   and tell me about his day. I drop everything and    54  the moment, knowing these times too shall    55  .

My friend Karen and I were always together. Karen was only a few months older than I. I always thought she was so beautiful, with long hair and blue eyes. I loved Karen so much because she liked me for being the way I was. I could be myself and share my secrets with her and I never felt like I was being judged.

We had so much fun and were really quite silly. One time I asked my mom to make us the same dresses so we could pretend we were twins.

We continued as best friends throughout grade school. One day, Karen was going to another friend’s place and asked me to come along, but I couldn’t go because I had a babysitting job that afternoon. We walked together to the Becker’s home where I was to babysit and then she continued on her way without me. We had agreed that I would meet her at the corner when she returned and I finished my job.

At four o’clock I rushed to the corner so I wouldn’t be late for meeting Karen. Just as I arrived at the corner, I saw Karen crossing the street. In a second it happened. I saw Karen’s body fly up in the sky. A car had hit her！

Karen was on life support for a week before it was decided that they would allow her to go in peace. Karen’s parents wanted to donate her organs(器官)to the hospital, but there was nothing left healthy enough to be used because she was hit so hard.

I have never got so close to another person since Karen died. I do miss her! Do you cherish(珍惜)your friends? If you don’t, please do, as you may lose them one day.

1.What’s the best title for the passage?

2.When Karen was hit by a car, she was            .

3.Why were Karen’s organs unable to be donated?

4.What does the writer suggest we do?

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
    With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was supper time, I walked back home.
“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God, Russell!”
    Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
    Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
    One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
   My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
56、 Why did the boy start his job young?

57、From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

 58、What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

59、 What does the underlined phrase “this battle” refer to?

60、 What is the text mainly about?

Long ago, near the village of Hedley, there lived a strange and playful trickster(骗子), known as the Hedley Kow.  Sometimes it looked like an ordinary object.  Sometimes it looked like a donkey or a goat.

One evening, as an old woman went along the path, she saw an old iron pot lying in the ditch. “Fancy that,” she said.  “Nobody seems to want this old pot. I will take it home and plant pretty flowers in it.”

When she tried to lift it, she saw that it was full of gold pieces. “Well, now, if that doesn’t beat all,” she said. “I’m rich! I can buy a fine house and fancy clothes.”

The pot was heavy, so she tied her shawl around it and began to drag it home.  After a while, she stopped to rest. When she looked in the pot, she was amazed to see that it was full of silver pieces!

“Oh, my god!” she said.  “Aren’t I the lucky one ! If it were gold, thieves would have been after me.  My friends might have been jealous.  But I can hide these silver pieces, take out a few at a time, and live like a queen.”

On she went, pulling the pot after her. She was nearing home now. At her gate, she looked into the pot. What a surprise! The silver had changed into a lump(块) of iron. “Iron,” she said.  “Well, now! No one will be jealous or want to steal this from me.  I can use this iron to prop my door open and let in fresh air and sunlight. Lucky  me!”

As soon as she said that, the pot began to grow and later it became a goat. Then it jumped up and ran off down the road laughing.

“Fancy that!” said the old woman.  “I believe I have seen the Hedley Kow! Not many folks can say that, and that’s a fact. I’ll just sit up by my fire tonight thinking about how lucky I was to see it for myself. I truly must be the luckiest person in the world!”

Which of the following sayings can best describe this story?

A. All good things come to an end.                    B. The early bird catches the worm.

C. Content is better than riches.                       D. All bad luck goes away.

What does “the Hedley Kow” stand for in the eyes of the old woman?

A. Glory         B. Honor           C. Misfortune     D. Luck

From this passage we can know the old woman is _________.

A. optimistic     B. pessimistic        C. strange       D. mindless

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. The woman   B. The Hedley Kow    C. The pot       D. The Effort