I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my calsses. (I have not used his real name for personal reasons. As he requested.) But here is his real story as he told it before one of our adult – education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-old daughter, a child he adored. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said:“Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”

This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip. He tried both, but neither helped. He said:“My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤)——if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪)by sorrow, you know what he meant.

But thank God, I had one child left ——a four —year— old son. He gave me the solution to my problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked; ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent little fellow! I had to give in.

 Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.

The following night, I went from room to room in the house, making a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired: bookcase, stair steps, storm windows, window-shades, locks, leaky taps. Amazing as it seems, in the course of two weeks I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention.

“During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry.”

No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said :“I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”

The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to          .

A.having lost a loved one                                         B.having lost a valuable article

C.having lost a profit-making business                D.having lost a well-paid job

Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because             .

A.he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family

B.he was suffering from sleeplessness disease

C.he couldn’t get out of mental pressure

D.he felt tired of adult-education classes

Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because           .

A.he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them

B.he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them

C.the items had actually been broken and needed attention

D.repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind

At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to         .

A.prove that he followed Churchill’s example

B.support his student’s solution to his problem

C.show that he was successful in his career

D.clarify how his conclusion was reached

I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my calsses. (I have not used his real name for personal reasons. As he requested.) But here is his real story as he told it before one of our adult – education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-old daughter, a child he adored. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said:“Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”

This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip. He tried both, but neither helped. He said:“My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤)——if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪)by sorrow, you know what he meant.

But thank God, I had one child left ——a four —year— old son. He gave me the solution to my problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked; ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent little fellow! I had to give in.

 Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.

The following night, I went from room to room in the house, making a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired: bookcase, stair steps, storm windows, window-shades, locks, leaky taps. Amazing as it seems, in the course of two weeks I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention.

“During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am busy now that I have no time for worry.”

No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said :“I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”

55.The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to          .

A.having lost a loved one                                         B.having lost a valuable article

C.having lost a profit-making business                D.having lost a well-paid job

56.Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because             .

A.he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family

B.he was suffering from sleeplessness disease

C.he couldn’t get out of mental pressure

D.he felt tired of adult-education classes

57.Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because           .

A.he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them

B.he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them

C.the items had actually been broken and needed attention

D.repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind

58.At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to         .

A.prove that he followed Churchill’s example

B.support his student’s solution to his problem

C.show that he was successful in his career

D.clarify how his conclusion was reached

　　Cloze

　　A man once had a dream about the Black Forest in Germany. In the dream he was walking in the forest when two men ran out and tried to 1 him to the ground. He 2 off as fast as he could, but the two men followed. He reached a place where he saw two separate 3 in front of him, one to the right and the other to the left. Which road ought he to 4 ? He heard the two men behind him, getting 5 , and at the same time he suddenly heard a 6 in his ear. It told him to go to the right, and he did so. He ran on and soon came to a 7 . He was received there kindly and given a room, and so he was saved from the two men. That was the 8 .

　　Twenty years later he was 9 in the Black Forest, and as 10 in the dream long before, two men ran out and tried to catch him. He was off, and came to a place 11 two roads, as in the dream. He 12 the dream and took the road to the 13 .He soon reached a small hotel, was 14 in, and so was safe. His dream of twenty years before had 15 his life.

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　　Cloze

　　A man once had a dream about the Black Forest in Germany. In the dream he was walking in the forest when two men ran out and tried to 1 him to the ground. He 2 off as fast as he could, but the two men followed. He reached a place where he saw two separate 3 in front of him, one to the right and the other to the left. Which road ought he to 4 ? He heard the two men behind him, getting 5 , and at the same time he suddenly heard a 6 in his ear. It told him to go to the right, and he did so. He ran on and soon came to a 7 . He was received there kindly and given a room, and so he was saved from the two men. That was the 8 .

　　Twenty years later he was 9 in the Black Forest, and as 10 in the dream long before, two men ran out and tried to catch him. He was off, and came to a place 11 two roads, as in the dream. He 12 the dream and took the road to the 13 .He soon reached a small hotel, was 14 in, and so was safe. His dream of twenty years before had 15 his life.

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Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a   1   part of the learning process. But all too often as parents and teachers we   2   this same right to our children.

When I see a child   3   from this kind of pressure, I think of Donnie.

Donnie was my youngest third-grader. His   4   of failure kept him from classroom games that other children enjoyed. He   5   answered questions — he was afraid he might be wrong. I tried my best to build his   6  . But nothing changed until midterm, when Mary Anne, a student teacher, was assigned to our classroom. She was young and pretty, and she loved children. My pupils, Donnie included, all   7   her very much.

One morning, we were working on math problems at the chalkboard. Donnie had   8   the problems with pains-taking tidiness. Pleased with his progress, I   9   the children with Mary Anne and went for art materials. When I returned, Donnie was in   10  . He’d missed the third problem.

My student teacher looked at me in despair.  Suddenly her face   11  . From the desk we shared, she got a container filled with pencils.

“Look, Donnie,” she said, kneeling beside him and gently   12   the tear-stained (弄脏的) face from his arms. “I’ve got something to   13   you.” She removed the pencils, one at a time, and placed them on his desk.

“See these   14  , Donnie,” she continued. “They belong to Mrs. Lindstrom and me. See how the erasers are  15  ? That’s because we make mistakes too. But we erase the mistakes and try again. That’s what you   16   learn to do, too.”

She kissed him and stood up. “Here,” she said, “I’ll leave one of these pencils on   17   desk so you’ll remember that everybody makes mistakes,  18   teachers.” Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and a smile.

The   19   became Donnie’s prized possession. That, together with Mary Anne’s frequent encouragement, gradually   20   him that it’s all right to make mistakes — as long as you erase them and try again.

1．A．small                 B．basic               C．necessary    D．large

2．A．give                  B．disallow           C．offer               D．permit

3．A．come                B．take                 C．fall                  D．suffer

4．A．fear                   B．lesson              C．chance            D．sense

5．A．always                     B．often               C．never               D．seldom

6．A．self-protection    B．self-improvement    

C．self-confidence    D．self-learning

7．A．respected           B．disliked                   C．avoided                   D．minded

8．A．worked out        B．written down           C．gone over           D．learned

9．A．left                    B．offered                   C．missed                    D．parted

10．A．surprise           B．astonishment           C．anger                 D．tears

11．A．darkened          B．brightened           C．pulled                  D．loosened

12．A．lifting              B．picking                   C．holding                   D．pushing

13．A．help                 B．show                      C．reward                   D．promise

14．A．pencils             B．mistakes                 C．marks                     D．containers

15．A．used                B．built                    C．worn                        D．damaged

16．A．may                B．must                       C．ought                        D．can

17．A．my                  B．someone’s           C．the teacher’s         D．your

18．A．still                  B．also                        C．even                       D．not

19．A．pencil              B．words                     C．mistake                   D．desk

20．A．warned            B．informed                 C．persuaded            D．reminded