Embroidering (刺绣)

When I was a little boy living in New York, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the    36    and ask what she was doing. She    37   me that she was embroidering. I told her that it looked like a mess from where I was. As from the underside I watched her work within the    38   of the little round hoop（铁环）that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked    39    from where I sat.

    She would smile at me, look down and   40    say, "My son, you go about your    41    for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my    42    and let you see it from my side."

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the    43    ones and why they seemed so jumbled（混乱的）from my   44   . A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother's voice say, " Son, come and sit on my knee." This I did only to be  surprised and    45  to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not    46   it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

   Then mother would    47   to me, "My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a   48   plan on the top. It was a    49   . I was only following it. Now look at it from my side    50    you will see what I was doing."

   Many    51    through the years, I have    52    up to my Heavenly Father and said, “ Father, what are You doing? ” He    53   , “ I am embroidering your    54   . ” I say, " But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can't they all be bright ? " The Father seems to tell me, " My child, you go about your business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to    55    and put you on my knee and you will see the plan from My side. "

1.A. floor                   B. corner          C. ceiling                       D. step

2.A. demanded       B. blamed                 C. persuaded        D. informed

3.A. decorate              B. boundaries        C. picture           D. surface

4.A. messy                  B. dirty              C. shabby            D. tight

5.A. smartly                 B. cautiously       C. gently             D. precisely

6.A. complaining            B. playing                        C. embroidering              D. imagining

7.A. back           B. chair             C. knee             D. table

8.A. white          B. black                       C. bright            D. shining

9.A. eyes                   B. opinion           C. heart           D .view

10.A. hopeful      B. thrilled                       C. expecting           D. enthusiastic

11.A. believe         B. consider              C. see                   D. touch

12.A. talk            B. mention              C. say                           D. whisper

13.A. pre-drawn      B. previewed         C. preserved                   D. produced

14.A. direction        B. line                 C. diagram                      D. design

15.A. or             B. and                    C. until                         D. unless

16.A. times                  B. days              C. seasons                   D. chances

17.A. climbed               B. jumped                   C. shouted                      D. looked

18.A. required             B. answered          C. instructed               D. concluded

19.A. decision       B. fortune          C. life                      D. business

20.A. home                 B. mother                   C. America                     D. Heaven

She will tell us why she feels so strongly that each of us has a role _____ in making the earth a better place to live.

I found out one time that doing a __36____for someone could get you into a lot of trouble．I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test．During the test, the girl sitting next to me ___37____ something, but I didn’t understand．So I __38______ her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen．She showed me that hers was ____39_____ and would not write．I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and ____40_____ it on her desk．
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were____41_____．As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about ____42____ it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to____43____ your own two feet and be responsible for your own ____44____．For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized the fact ____45____ when people do something____46____, they are really cheating themselves．She made me ____47____ that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave．I walked out of the room ____48____ why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things．
____49____, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test．When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers ____50____ the girl’s test paper．I ___51____ to explain about the pen, but all she____52____ say was that it seemed very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me ____53____ after the test．____54____ I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I was sure she ____55____ to believe that I had cheated on the test．

【小题6】

A．punished B．dismissed C．praised D．parted

【小题18】

A．right　　　　 B．only　　　 C．slight　　　 D．once

A university graduate described as a “respectable and intelligent” woman is seeking professional help after being convicted of （证明有……罪）shoplifting for the second time in six months.
Ana Luz, recently studying for her PhD, has been told she could end up behind bars unless she can control the desire to steal from shops.
Luz ,who lives with her partner in Fitzwilliam Road, Cambridge, admitted stealing clothes worth ￡9.95 from John Lewis in Oxford Street, London, on March 9.
Phillip Lemoyne, prosecuting（起诉）,said Luz selected some clothes from a display and took them to the ladies’ toilet in the store .When she came out again she was wearing one of the skirts she had selected, having taken off the anti-theft security alarms（防盗警报装置）.
She was stopped and caught after leaving the store without paying, Mr. Lemoyne said.
He added that she was upset on her arrest and apologized for her actions.
Luz, 28, was said to have been convicted of shoplifting by Cambridge judges last October, but Morag Duff, defending, said she had never been in trouble with the police before that.
“She is ashamed and embarrassed but doesn’t really have any explanation why she did this,” Miss Duff said. “She didn’t intend to steal when she went into the store. She is at a loss to explain it. She is otherwise a very respectable and intelligent young lady. She went to her doctor and asked for advice because she wants to know if there is anything in particular that caused her to do this.”
Judge David Azan fined Luz ￡ 50,  and warned : “You’ve got a criminal record .If you carry on like this ,you will end up in prison ,which will ruin your bright future you may have.”
Luz achieved a degree in design at university in her native Spain, went on to a famous university in Berlin, Germany for her master’s degree and is now studying for a PhD at Cambridge University, UK.
【小题1】 What does the underlined sentence “She is at a loss to explain it” mean?

(2013·高考江西卷)Diane Ray was completely self?centred and very spoilt.Her parents gave her____she wanted，knowing that she would throw a temper tantrum(耍小孩脾气)if they did not.She would scream and kick and____on the floor drumming her heels.Her parents always____.

That was why she was alone on the____，wearing an expensive swimsuit.It had taken a massive tantrum to___her parents to buy it.They were back at the beach?house，____from the tantrum she had thrown when they told her that it was too dangerous to go diving____.“Dangerous ？”she had said.“You just don’t want me to have____.I’m going and if you try to stop me，I’ll scream.”

“What are you doing ？”a voice asked.Diane jumped.She did not know that the man was there____he spoke.

“I’m going diving，”she answered.

“You shouldn’t swim today，” the man____.“There is a storm coming up.”

“You should mind your own____！”Diane replied and walked into the gentle waves.

“If you go out there you’ll be____，”the man called after her.She did not bother to reply.

Diane slipped into the water and dived____until white caps began rolling in and it became harder to___against the current (水流)．Saltwater hit against her face，making it____to breathe.Oh，why had she not listened to advice?

Panicking，she began to____.Then，just as it seemed as if she would slip beneath the surface，she heard a____voice.“Hold on! I’m coming.”With____，she saw the old man rowing an ancient?looking boat towards her.“I hope you’ve learned a lesson.You put us both in____，”he shouted angrily，as he dragged her over the side of the____.Gratefully，Diane thanked him and ran towards the beach?house.

1.A.either? B．neither

C．nothing? D．everything

2.A.jump? B．lie

C．spin? D．sleep

3.A.set out? B．set in

C．gave in? D．gave out

4.A.beach? B．bed

C．floor? D．ship

5.A.allow? B．warn

C．get? D．prefer

6.A.changing? B．recovering

C．appearing? D．traveling

7.A.alone? B．away

C．again? D．aside

8.A.time? B．money

C．food? D．fun

9.A.when? B．until

C．after? D．once

10.A.decided? B．intended

C．advised? D．repeated

11.A.business? B．swimsuit

C．friends? D．parents

12.A.angry? B．sorry

C．confused? D．excited

13.A.nervously? B．sadly

C．shyly? D．happily

14.A.rise? B．swim

C．stop? D．row

15.A.difficult? B．easy

C．comfortable? D．suitable

16.A.speak? B．sing

C．sniff? D．scream

17.A.calm? B．frightening

C．beautiful? D．disgusting

18.A.regret? B．relief

C．interest? D．ease

19.A.power? B．safety

C．danger? D．thought

20.A.house? B．wave

C．beach? D．boat