Elizabeth lived on the other side of a valley. One winter there was a very big flood, and a lot of houses down below Elizabeth’s were washed away. Elizabeth’s house was  21  enough to escape the flood, so when the water  22  and the other houses were standing there with no  23  and no walls and all covered with  24 ,her house was still quite all right.

    Her house was quite small, her husband was  25  and she had six children to support. Ten dollars a week, which was the total of their income, didn’t leave much for  26  . Expenses were always greater than Elizabeth had  27   , but she didn’t hesitate to help one of the families that lost everything in the flood and she  28  her house with them until it was  29  for them to move into their own houses.

Elizabeth’s friend was very  30  when she saw Elizabeth do this. She couldn’t understand why Elizabeth wanted to give  31  so much work and trouble to help others.

“Well,” Elizabeth  32  to her friend, “at the end of the First World War, a woman in the town where I then lived found herself  33 , because her husband had been killed in the war in Germany and she had a lot of  34 , as I have now.”

“The day before Christmas, this woman said to her children, ‘We won’t be able to have  35  presents for all of us. I’ll go and get it.’ She came back with a little girl who was in  36  clothes and crying in deep sorrow. The girl was an orphan(孤儿). ‘Here’s our  37  . She said to the children.

 “The children were very  38  to have such a present. They   39  the little girl, and she grew up as their sister. I was that  40  present.”

1.A. low            B. tall         C. high             D. strong

2. A. raised          B. risen        C. disappeared       D. appeared

3. A. windows       B. doors        C. roofs            D. floor

4. A. mud           B. plastics      C. trees            D. water

5. A. living          B. dead         C. angry          D. pleased

6. A. sharing        B. saving        C. remaining       D. sparing

7. A. gave         B. thought       C. hoped         D. completed

8.  A. divided      B. separated     C. shared         D. spared

9.  A. possible     B. satisfying     C. necessary      D. important

10. A. happy         B. interested    C. puzzled        D. sad

11.A. her           B. herself       C. her children    D. her friend

12. A. talked        B. apologized    C. explained      D. described

13.A. living        B. wounded      C. rich           D. poor

14. A. friends       B. children      C. neighbours      D. relatives

15. A. many        B. enough       C. beautiful       D. expensive

16.A. suitable      B. nice          C. old            D. new

17.A. home        B. flood         C. present        D. daughter

18.A. excited       B. worried       C. disturbed      D. disappointed

19.A. comforted     B. welcomed     C. taught        D. educated

20.A. Christmas     B. New Year     C. birthday       D. Thanksgiving

A Love Note To My Mom
When I was a little girl, I would often accompany you as you modeled for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modelling  36 in your life. Little did I know you were  37 every penny you earned to go to  38  school.
I cannot thank you enough for  39 you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I went into the dining room where you were buried  40  piles of law books. I was  41  .Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for  42  ? When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn’t know. Moms could be lawyers too. You smiled and said, “In life, you can do anything you want to do.”
As young as I was, that statement kept  43 in my ears. I watched as you faced the  44 of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a  45 and a Mom with five kids. I was exhausted just watching you in action. With your words of wisdom in my youthful mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world  46 . I set out to live my life filled with        47  , seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.
Your words became my motto. I constantly found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary) or one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said , “Yes, I’ll try that.”
Encouraged by your  48 , I have forged ahead (毅然前行) with my life’s journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and  49 meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I’m  50 it. So, get to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.

Christmas Eve was tomorrow. I hoped one of the packages that held a camera had already been placed under the Christmas tree. It was the only thing I wanted. I had been dropping hints to my parents. I love taking photos. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to capture (捕捉) those perfect moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.
I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor — a big pink cat. I felt so disappointed.
Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Stacy, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said.
The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.
“Mom, may I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.
And so it came — how upset I was that I was getting a cat.
“Stacy, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.
“Then what am I getting?” I asked.
She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find ...
My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.
Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera — my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile — and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.
【小题1】The underlined phrase “dropping hints” in Para-graph 1 means _____.

A Love Note to My Mom

When I was a little girl, I would often accompany you as you modeled (T台展示) for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modeling   36   in your life. Little did I know you were   37   every penny you earned to go to   38   school.

I cannot thank you enough for   39   you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I wandered into the dining room where you were buried   40   piles of law books. I was   41  . Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for   42   ? When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn’t know Moms   43   be lawyers too. You smiled and said, “In life, you can do anything you want to do.”

As young as I was, that statement kept   44   in my ears. I watched as you faced the   45   of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a   46   and a Mom of five kids. I was exhausted just watching you       47  . With your words of wisdom in my   48   mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world  49  . I set out to live my life filled with  50  , seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.

Your words became my motto. I   51   found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary)   52   one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said, “Yes, I’ll try that.”

Encouraged by your   53  , I have forged ahead(毅然前行) with my life’s journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and   54   meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I’m   55   it. Sorry, got to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.

1.A. found           B. played         C. kept         D. provided

2.A. saving           B. making          C. donating     D. receiving

3.A. business        B. fashion        C. law          D. medical

4.A. what            B. that            C. which         D. where

5.A. at               B. to              C. upon          D. under

6.A. amused          B. worried        C. puzzled       D. disappointed

7.A. roles            B. tests          C. positions    D. shows

8.A. must            B. ought to        C. need         D. could

9.A. ringing         B. blowing         C. falling       D. beating

10.A. choices        B. chances        C. challenges   D. changes

11.A. professor      B. doctor          C. reporter      D. model

12.A. in danger       B. in action      C. in trouble   D. in charge

13.A. weak           B. powerful        C. youthful     D. empty

14.A. came back      B. closed down    C. went by      D. opened up

15.A. hope            B. hardship       C. harmony       D. sadness

16.A. constantly      B. shortly         C. hardly        D. nearly

17.A. and             B. but            C. or           D. for

18.A. description     B. statement       C. praise       D. introduction

19.A. secretly       B. curiously      C. carelessly   D. eagerly

20.A. doing           B. considering    C. correcting    D. reading