I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice. “Mom, come here! There’s a lady here my size!”

The mother rushed to her son, then she turned to me to   21  .

I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then I   22   the boy, “Hi, I’m Darryl Kramer. How are you?”

He studied me   23  , and asked, “Are you a little mommy?”

“Yes, I have a son,” I answered.

“   24   are you so little?” he asked in curiosity.

“It’s   25   I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any   26  .” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand and left.

My life as a little person is   27   with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look   28   from their parents.

It takes only one glance to see my   29  . I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was a born dwarf (侏儒).   30   this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.

I didn’t realize how short I was   31   I started school.   32   kids picked on me, calling me names (嘲笑我). Then I knew, I began to   33   the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to   34   the school bus stairs.

But I learned to smile and accept the   35   that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness and advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I make up for in   36  .

It’s the children’s questions that make my life   37  . I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will   38   them to accept their peers （同龄人） whatever   39   and shape they come in, and treat them   40  .

Directions:  For each blank in the following passages there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

I teach biology at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my  1how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so  2. He had his wisdom teeth removed. Then he went on to ask me why I always seemed to be so  3.

    His question  4me of something I’d read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a  5about how you want to deal with life that day,” I said. “I choose to be cheerful.”

“Let me give you an example,”I continued,  6all sixty students in the class. “In  7to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at a  8in Henderson, 17 miles down the highway from where I live. One day a few weeks ago I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I  9the highway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car  10. I tried to start it again, but the 11wouldn’t work.  12I turned my flashers on, took my books, and  13down the road to the college.”

“As soon as I got there, I called and  14for a tow truck to meet me at my car after  15. The secretary there asked me what had happened. ‘This is my  16day.’ ” I replied, smiling.

She was 17. “What do you mean?”

“My car could have broken down anywhere along the highway. It didn’t.” I replied. “18, it broke down in the perfect place: off the highway,19walking distance of here.

I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn’t have been arranged in a more convenient 20.”

I ended my story. In spite of the early hour, no one in my class seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them.

1.A.schoolmates     B. children     C. teachers           D.students

2.A. had            B. good         C. sad              D.free

3.A. cheerful       B. grateful         C. hopeful          D. thankful

4.A. informed       B.told          C. reminded             D. warned

5.A. decision           B. choice      C. preference           D. judgment

6.A. showing        B. demanding    C. addressing           D. commanding

7.A. contribution   B. devotion         C. application          D. addition

8.A. school             B. college          C. university      D. institute

9.A. exited         B. found        C. crossed         D. entered

10.A. broke             B. died         C. ended            D. finished

11.A. instrument      B. wheel          C. light              D. engine

12.A. But               B. And          C. So              D. Or

13.A. marched        B. drove       C. rode             D. followed

14.A. prepared          B. looked      C. waited           D. arranged

15.A. class         B. work         C. study                D. lunch

16.A. usual         B. unusual     C. unlucky          D. lucky

17.A. astonished        B. excited          C. puzzled          D. pleased

18.A. Anyway        B. Instead          C. Also                 D. Still

19.A. within            B. beyond      C. without              D. along

20.A. order             B. need         C. way              D. situation

When my daughter Kelsey was a child, she loved to join me in the garden. To 36 chaos(混乱)in my own garden beds, I provided her with a space of her own, so Kelsey’s Corner was born. There she was 37 to dig and plant as she wished. Over time, that small piece of land grew into a favorite place in the 38.
As she approached high school, Kelsey took her 39 off the garden. I didn’t 40 to accept this change. It seemed acceptable that something as boring as working in the dirt gave way to the mystery of a(n) 41 social life, so I began to take care of the space. Even so, I knew it always would be Kelsey’s Corner.
Now my daughter is eighteen and is in the 42 weeks of her high school career. Our mailbox is filled with college admission materials, 43 me that the world has come for this young lady and that she will soon answer its 44. Kelsey is looking forward to her wonderful college life 45 her mother and I are anxious about the coming life 46 our daughter around.
Kelsey’s Corner seems extremely deserted in this early spring 47 Kelsey’s leaving. One morning, when I 48 past Kelsey’s Corner, I noticed some green seedlings had 49 at the foot of some dead stalks(秆).
It’s 50 that life is a cycle. Kelsey’s leaving is 51 one point on the cycle. Now the life wheel will roll with Kelsey as she 52 into her adult life.
Let her live as she will and let her 53 when she can, and whether she comes alone or in 54, she will be welcome home. I’ll take care of Kelsey’s Corner faithfully. It will also cycle annually, rolling on towards a 55 stage of our lives, one that promises a rich harvest.

Do Americans have morals? That’s a good question. Moral values in America are like those in any   1  .

One of the most 2 moral values for Americans is honesty. The well-known 3 about George Washington and the cherry tree teaches this value  4  .Little George cut down his father’s favorite cherry tree  5   trying out his new hatchet. When his father asked him about it, George said, “I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my hatchet.” Instead of  6  ,George received praise. Sometimes American honesty-being open and direct-can   7   people. But Americans still believe that “honesty is the best policy.”

Another   8   Americans respect is perseverance(毅力).Remember Aesop’s fable about the turtle and the rabbit that had a   9  ?The rabbit thought he could  10   easily, so he took a nap. But the turtle finally won because he did not   11  .

Compassion(同情) may be the queen of American virtues. The story of “The Good Samaritan” from the Bible   12  a man who showed compassion. On his way to a   13  city, a Samaritan man found a poor traveler lying on the road. The kind Samaritan,   14  just passing by, stopped to help this person in need. Compassion can even turn into a positive  15  .In autumn 1992, people in Iowa sent truckloads of water to help Floridians   16  by a hurricane. The next summer, during the Midwest flooding, Florida   17  the favor.

In no way can this brief description   18  all the moral values honored by Americans. Courage, responsibility,   19  , gratitude and many others could be discussed. But no matter how long or how short the list, moral values are   20  .

1. A. continent                  B. character              C. content                 D. culture

2. A. lovely                       B. basic                    C. particular              D. scientific

4. A. politely                     B. clearly                  C. easily                    D. slightly

5. A. while                       B. for                       C. whereas                D. as

6. A. agreement                B. punishment           C. achievement          D. argument

7. A. puzzle                      B. injure                    C. interrupt               D. offend

8. A. person                     B. action                   C. virtue                   D. system

9. A. quarrel                     B. race                      C. fight                     D. trip

10. A. win                        B. fail                       C. defeat                   D. beat

11. A. slow down              B. come up               C. give up                 D. fall off

12. A. describes                B. praises                  C. tells                      D. mentions

13. A. lonely                     B. alone                    C. certain                  D. deserted

14. A. in spite of               B. on account of        C. as a result of         D. instead of

15. A. row                       B. circle                    C. movement             D. action

16. A. hurt                       B. destroyed              C. ruined                   D. hit

17. A. offered                   B. returned                C. honored                D. reminded

18. A. cover                     B. respect                 C. shape                   D. reflect

19. A. strength                  B. silence                  C. loyalty                  D. reality

20. A. Invaluable                  B. Honorable          C. Unbelievable             D. invisible