A Leap（跳跃）to Honor

Leaping on a narrow balance beam（平衡木） is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13-year-old gymnast, is an expert at it.

To perfect her skills, Lola   36   for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished seventh out of 16 girls.

That’s especially impressive.   37   she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift constantly. She often sees double and can’t   38   how far away things are.

When she was little, her mom   39   that even though she couldn’t see   40   , she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the   41   right away and gymnastics became her favorite.

Though learning gymnastics has been more   42   for her than for some of her tournaments, she has never quit. She doesn’t let her   43   stop her from doing anything that she wants to.

She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest   44   is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees to beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her during her routine. Sometimes she even closes her eyes. “You have to   45   your mind that it’ll take you where you want to go.” says Lola.

To be a top-level gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most   46   for anyone because it’s four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn’t fall   47   the beam. In fact, she got an 8.1 out of 10---- her highest score yet.

Lola doesn’t want to be   48   differently from the other girls on her team. At the competitions, the judges don’t know about her vision   49   . She doesn’t tell them, because she doesn’t think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her   50   attitude.

Lola never thinks about   51   . She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her   52   is to reach level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she’s learned to other kids   53   she grew up.

Lola is   54   of all her hard work and success. She says it’s helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics, too. Her   55   for others is “just believe yourself”.

36. A. runs            B. teaches              C. trains                D. dances

37. A. since           B. unless                C. after                  D. though

38. A. tell               B. guess                 C. assume              D. predict

39. A. suspected     B remembered        C. imagined            D. noticed

40. A. deeply          B. well                   C. ahead                D. closely

41. A. task             B. sport                 C. event                 D. show

42. A. boring          B. enjoyable            C. different            D. unsatisfactory

43. A. talent           B. quality               C. nature               D. condition

44. A. doubt           B. advantage           C. challenge           D. program

45. A. examine       B. express              C. open                 D. trust

46. A. fearful         B. harmful              C. unfair                D. inconvenient

47. A. to                B. on                     C. off                    D. against

48. A. greeted        B. treated               C. served               D. paid

49. A. pains           B. stresses             C. injuries              D. problems

50. A. positive        B. friendly              C. flexible              D. caution

51. A. defending     B. quitting              C. winning             D. bargaining

52. A. standard       B. range                 C. view                 D. goal

53. A. until             B. as                      C. when                D. before

54. A. proud          B. tired                  C. ashamed            D. confident

55. A. plan             B. advice                C. reward              D. responsibility

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.
His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became annoyed and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.
After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent （天真无邪的）word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
【小题1】Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.　　
His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.　　
After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.　　
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
【小题1】Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A Leap (跳跃) to Honor

Leaping on a narrow balance beam (平衡木) is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13-year-old gymnast, is an expert at it.

To perfect her skills, Lola ______ for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished seventh out of 16 girls.

That’s especially impressive, ______ she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift constantly. She often sees double and can’t ______ how far away things are.

When she was little, her mom ______ that even though she couldn’t see ______, she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the ______ right away and gymnastics became her favorite.

Though learning gymnastics has been more ______ for her than for some of her teammates, she has never quit (放弃). She doesn’t let her ______ stop her from doing anything that she wants to.

She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest ______ is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees two beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her during her routine. Sometimes she even closes her eyes. “You have to ______ your mind that it’ll take you where you want to go.” says Lola.

To be a top-level gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most ______ for anyone because it’s four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn’t fall ______ the beam. In fact, she got an 8. 1 out of 10 –– her highest score yet.

Lola doesn’t want to be ______ differently from the other girls on her team. At the competitions, the judges don’t know about her vision ______. She doesn’t tell them, because she doesn’t think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her ______ attitude.

Lola never thinks about ______. She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her ______ is to reach level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she’s learned to other kids ______ she grew up.

Lola is ______ of all her hard work and success. She says it has helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics, too. Her ______ for others is “just believe yourself”.

1.A. runs            B. teaches                   C. trains                       D. dances

2.A. as                B. unless            C. after                                  D. though

3.A. tell              B. guess              C. assume                    D. predict

4.A. suspected  B. remembered         C. imagined                          D. noticed

5.A. deeply                 B. well                          C. ahead                      D. closely

6.A. task             B. sport              C. event                       D. show

7.A. boring                  B. enjoyable               C. difficult          D. unsatisfactory

8.A. talent                   B. quality            C. nature            D. condition

9.A. doubt                   B. advantage               C. challenge                D. program

10.A. examine  B. express                   C. open              D. trust

11.A. fearful               B. harmful                   C. unfair             D. inconvenient

12.A. to              B. on                            C. off                            D. against

13.A. greeted             B. treated          C. served                     D. paid

14.A. pains                  B. stresses                   C. injuries          D. problems

15.A. positive             B. friendly                   C. flexible                    D. caution

16.A. defending         B. quitting          C. winning                   D. bargaining

17.A. standard  B. range             C. view                         D. goal

18.A. until                   B. as                    C. when                       D. before

19.A. proud                B. tired                        C. ashamed                 D. confident

20.A. plan          B. advice            C. reward           D. responsibility

A daughter thought life was unpromising to her and complained to her father about it. She did not know how she was going to   21   and wanted to give up. She was   22   of fighting and struggling. It seemed as if one problem was just solved before a new one   23  .

Her father, a cook, took her to the   24  . He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high   25  . Soon the pots came to a   26  . In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and   27   waited, asking repeatedly what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the   28  . He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he spooned the coffee out and placed it in another. Turning to her he asked, “Darling, what do you see?”

         “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to   29   the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the   30  , she observed the hard-boiled egg! Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. She smiled   31   she tasted its rich flavor. She humbly asked, “What does it mean, Father?”

He explained that each of them had faced the same   32  , boiling water, but each   33    differently. The carrot went in   34   and hard. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it   35   and became weak. The egg had been   36  . Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting   37   the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique,   38  . After they were in the boiling water, they had   39   the water.

“Which are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door,   40   do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

1.A. make out   B. make it C. make up        D. make through

2.A. typical        B. conscious      C. tired      D. warned

3.A. raised         B. arose    C. disappeared D. faded

4.A. room B. market  C. kitchen D. grocery

5.A. shelf  B. temperature C. fire        D. table

6.A. boil    B. cool       C. hot        D. smoke

7.A. happily       B. calmly   C. casually          D. impatiently

8.A. lights B. burners         C. tap         D. water

9.A. see    B. carry     C. feel       D. fetch

10.A. shell         B. pack      C. bag        D. cover

11.A. since        B. as C. before  D. if

12.A. occasion  B. point     C. variety  D. adversity

13.A. reflected B. answered      C. abandoned   D. reacted

14.A. stable       B. weak     C. strong   D. sensitive

15.A. softened  B. widened        C. shortened     D. sharpened

16.A. half-done          B. easily-broken        C. easily-got       D. hard-boiled

17.A. over         B. for         C. through         D. on

18.A. however  B. otherwise      C. besides D. moreover

19.A. melted     B. absorbed       C. polluted         D. changed

20.A. what         B. how       C. when    D. why