The old couple who lived in a cottage on the edge of the village were envied for the happiness of their marriage． They never quarreled and were always affectionate to one another． Sadly, after thirty-four years of this happiness, the husband became ill and died．

The wife was overcome with grief． Her children tried to comfort her, but to no avail． Her neighbors tried to comfort her, but with similar lack of success． Weeks and months went by, and still the woman was grieving; tears fell down her cheeks from morning till night．

Then a holy man came to the village． People told him about the woman, and asked him to try to help her． The holy man went to the woman’s house． Dressed in his rough woolen robe, he sat down with the grieving widow and listened, carefully, to her story． When she had spilled out all her sorrow, he reached into one of the deep pockets in his robe, and drew out a tiny, little mustard（芥末） seed． “I think I may have a cure for your grief,” he said． “I want you to go round the people in this region, and look for a family that has no sorrows． When you find this family, give them this little mustard seed, and then come back to me．

The woman set off in search of such a family． She visited every home in the district, and talked to the people． She listened to their stories, just as the holy man had listened to hers． In time, she almost forgot about the mustard seed, because every single family she met was carrying some kind of sorrow．

One day, she happened to meet the holy man again, and he stopped to ask how she was feeling． She was surprised at first, at his question, and then she suddenly remembered the mustard seed, still safely in her purse． “I’m sorry, I haven’t found a family without sorrows yet,” she told him． “But you yourself are cured of your grief,” he smiled． “The mustard seed is a great healer!”

What does the underlined word “grieving” mean?

   A． amused     B． sad         C． angry       D． astonished

What did the holy man ask her to do to end her sorrow?

   A． to go to church for help．

   B． to live with the family that has no sorrows with the mustard seed．

   C． to help others so that she can feel the happiness from the bottom of her heart．

   D． to find a family that is always happy and give them the mustard seed before returning to him．

How did the woman treat the families she visited?

   A． She was a good listener．

   B． She helped them to solve the problems they met．

    C． She gave every family a mustard seed．．

   D． She told them her unfortunate story．

Who on the earth heals the woman’s grief?

   A． The mustard seed                B． Her children   

    C． The families in the district        D． She herself

请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It was in my high school science class. I was doing a task in front of the classroom with my favorite shirt on.

    A   41   came, “Nice shirt,” I smiled from ear to ear. Then another voice said, “That shirt belonged to my dad. Greg’s mother works for my family. We were going to   42   that shirt away, but gave it to her   43  .” I was speechless. I wanted to hide.

    I   44   the shirt in the back of the closet and told my mum what had happened. She then dialed her   45  , “I will no longer work for your family,” she told him. That night, Mom told my dad that she couldn’t clean anymore; she knew her life’s   46   was something greater.

    The next morning she   47   with the personnel manager at the Board of Education. He told her that without a proper education she could not teach. So Mom decided to   48   a university.

    After the first year in college, she went back to the personnel manager. He said, “You are   49  , aren’t you? I think I have a   50   for you as a teacher’s assistant. This opportunity deals with children who are mentally challenged with little or no chance of   51  .” Mom accepted the opportunity very   52  .

    For almost five years, as a teacher’s assistant, she saw teacher after teacher give up on the children and quit, feeling   53  . Then one day, the personnel manager and the principal   54   in her classroom. The principal said, “We have watched how you   55   the children and how they communicate with you and admire your hard-working   56   over the last five years. We are all in agreement that you   57   be the teacher of this class.”

    My mom spent more than 20 years there.   58   her career, she was voted Teacher of the Year. All of this came about because of the   59   comment made in the classroom that day. Mom showed me how to handle   60   situations and never give up.

A. noise                     B. voice                       C. sound                       D. tune

A. get                        B. take                      C. carry                        D. throw

A. otherwise               B. anyhow                    C. instead                            D. actually

A. settled                   B. pushed                     C. stored                      D. stuck

A. teacher                B. employer                  C. director                 D. adviser

A. purpose                 B. encouragement      C. achievement            D. victory

A. went                            B. met                  C. worked                    D. stayed

A. visit                      B. continue                   C. attend                      D. prepare

A. serious                  B. fortunate                  C. careful                      D. responsible

A. career                  B. duty                         C. position                 D. part

A. learning               B. judging                   C. obeying                    D. imagining

A. patiently                     B. eagerly                     C. successfully              D. skillfully

A. upset                   B. frightened                C. guilty                       D. ashamed

A. looked up            B went up                     C. took up                    D. showed up

A. believe                B. protect                      C. treat                         D. receive

A. spirit                   B. intention                  C. action                      D. attempt

A. must                  B. would                      C. might                       D. should

A. At                       B. During                     C. On                           D. With

A. worthless         B. thoughtless         C. hopeless                   D. helpless

A. challenging          B. different                   C. dangerous                 D. strange

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握大意，然后从41－60各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
At a young age, her doctor told Patti Wilson she was an epileptic（羊癫疯患者）. Her father was a morning jogger. One day she   31   and said, “Daddy, what I’d really love to do is run with you every day, but I’m afraid I can’t do it.” Her father   32    her to start running.
That’s just what they did every   33  . It was a   34   experience for them. After a few weeks, Patti said, still smiling, “Daddy, what I’d really love to do is break the world’s long-distance running record for  35   .”
Her father   36    The Guinness Book of World Records and found that the farthest distance any woman had run was 80 miles. As a freshman（新生） in high school, Patti    37   , “I’m going to run from Orange County up to San Francisco(about 400 miles).” “As a sophomore（二年级学生）,” she went   38   , “I’m going to run to Portland, Oregon(about 1,500 miles). As a junior I’ll run to St. Louis(about 2,000 miles). As a senior I’ll run to the White House (about 3,000 miles).”
In   39   of her disease, Patti was as ambitious（有野心的） as she was enthusiastic. She looked at being an epileptic as simply “an   40  ”. She focused not on what she had   41   , but on what she had left.
That year, together with her father, she completed her   42   to San Francisco wearing a T-shirt that   43  , “I love Epileptics.”
In her sophomore year, Patti’s classmates got behind her. They made a huge poster that read, “Run, Patti, Run!” This has since   44   her motto and the title of a book she has written. During this marathon, she broke a bone in her foot. A doctor told her that she had to   45     her run. But Patti said she wasn’t running for herself; she was   46   to break the chains on the brains that limited so many others. She asked the doctor   47    or not there was a way she could keep running. He said he could wrap it in adhesive（粘合剂）  48   putting it in a cast（石膏）, but he   49   her that it would be extremely painful. She told the doctor to wrap it up.
Later, after four months of running from the West Coast to the East Coast, Patti arrived in Washington and shook the hand of the President of the United States. She told him, “I wanted people to know that epileptics are normal human beings with   50   lives.”
31. A. smiled  B. cried   C. laughed      D. wept
32. A. agreed  B. suggested   C. encouraged D. promised
33. A. afternoon     B. morning     C. night   D. evening
34. A. terrible B. fortunate    C. dangerous       D. wonderful
35. A. women B. men    C. students      D. patients
36. A. questioned   B. checked      C. inspected    D. interviewed
37.A. broadcasted   B. told    C. informed        D. announced
38. A. up B. forward      C. on      D. upon
39. A. honor B. view       C. favor  D. charge
40. A. accident       B. coincidence       C. influence    D. inconvenience
41. A. lost      B. dropped     C. improved   D. received
42. A. distance       B. task    C. run     D. study
43. A. showed B. said    C. wrote  D. read
44. A. come    B. become      C. gone       D. went
45. A. continue      B. stop    C. keep      D. struggle
46. A. working       B. jogging      C. walking   D. running
47. A. whether       B. when  C. if D. where
48. A. in addition to      B. in spite of   C. instead of   D. regardless of
49. A. asked    B. warned       C. advised      D. comforted
50. A. common      B. unique       C. special       D. normal

I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date.

We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile –warm and reassuring—and I returned her gift by smiling back.

“Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.

 “Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out.

“It’s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s ‘the one’. Jokingly, I added, “The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”

“Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said.” “My husband used to bring me flowers every week –even when times were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and – of course – I miss him since he’s passed away.”

I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said, “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed her the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.

It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. “You have a wonderful evening,” I said. I left her with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.

I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her –that was the night that I won her heart.

Why was the writer in a hurry that day?

A．He was to meet his girlfriend.          B．He had to go back to school soon.

C．He was delayed by an elderly lady.      D．He had to pick up some groceries.

What does the underlined phrase “her gift”(Paragraph 2) refer to?

A．Her words.       B．Her smile.      C．Her flowers.      D．her politeness.

Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?

A．She told him a nice story.              B．She allowed him to pay first.

C．She gave him encouragement.           D．She liked flowers very much.

What is the message conveyed in the story?

A．Flowers are important for a date.        B．Small talk is helpful.

C．Love and kindness are rewarding.       D．Elderly people deserve respecting.

I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries.  Being a PhD student without a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date
We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversations between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile—warm and reassuring(令人宽慰的)-and I returned her gift by smiling back.
“Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.
“Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. “It’s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s ‘the one,’” jokingly, I added, “The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”
“Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said .”My husband used to bring me flowers every week—even when times were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and—of course— I miss him since he’s passed away.”
I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.
It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. “May you have a wonderful evening ,”I said. I left het with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.
I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her—that was the night that I won her heart .
41．Why was the writer in a hurry that day?
A. He was to meet his girlfriend.         B. He had to go back to school soon.
C. He was delayed by an elderly lady.      D. He had to pick up some groceries.
42．What does the underlined phrase “her gift” (Paragraph 2 ) refer to?
A. Her words.            B. Her smile.     C. Her flowers.         D. Her politeness.
43．Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?
A. She told him a nice story.                B. She allowed him to pay first.
C. She gave him encouragement.             D. She liked flowers very much.
44．What is the message conveyed in the story?
A. Flowers are important for a date.      B. Small talk is helpful.
C. Love and kindness are rewarding.       D. Elderly people deserve respecting.