When I walked into the house after school, the first thing I noticed was a box with items I recognized from my dad’s office.
“What are you doing at home?” I asked casually.
“Andrew, I was    31    today,” he answered quietly.
I was sure he was joking. “No, you weren’t. Why are you    32    at home?”
Then I noticed his    33    and realized he was telling me the truth. My father has always been a hard worker and prided himself on his career.    34    our family has been his joy, and I guess I have    35    his work for granted.
My father’s unemployment    36   many changes in our lives. For starters, he was at home all the time, which meant my bed had to be    37  , my room cleaned up, and my     38    done right after school. I would come home every day to find him at the computer     39    jobs. I began to notice how    40    he seemed, and how losing his job affected his self-esteem, though he tried to be    41   . For the first time, I    42   my dad as vulnerable (易受伤的). He asked my brother and me to    43    less. I gave up my pocket money,    44    it wasn’t much. I felt I was doing the right. I also found a part-time job.
After several difficult months of searching, my dad    45    to go in a totally different direction. He    46    that he never wanted to be laid off again, so he was going to start his own business. Day by day, I watched him    47    it, and I admired how much time and     48    he expended. I    49   knew he was a hard worker, but watching him in action really affected me.
Although this was one of the    50    experiences for our family, it taught me a lot about dealing with adversity (逆境), and will be my foundations for success.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选取出适合填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
There was a boy in India who was sent by his parents to a boarding school．Before being sent away this boy was the ___26___ student in his class．He was at the top in every ___27___．He was a champion．
But the boy ___28___ after leaving home and attending the boarding school．His ___29___ started dropping．He hated being in a group．He was ___30___ all the time．And there were especially dark times when he felt like ___31___ himself．All of this because he felt ___32___ and that no one loved him．
His ___33___ started worrying about the boy．But ___34___ they did not know what was wrong with him．___35___ his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and talk with him．
They sat ___36___ the bank of the lake near the school．The father started asking him ___37___ questions about his classes, teachers and ___38___．After some time his dad said, “Do you know, son,___39___ I am here today?”
The boy ___40___, “to check my grades?”
“No, no” his dad replied, “I am here to tell you that you are the most important person for me．I want to see you happy．I don’t care about grades．I care about ___41___．I care about your happiness．YOU ARE MY ___42___．”
These words caused the boy’s eyes to fill with tears．He ___43___ his dad．They didn’t say anything to each other for a long time．
Now the boy had everything he wanted．He knew there was someone on this ___44___ who cared for him deeply．He ___45___ the world to someone．And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him sad!
26．A．richest                B．prettiest               C．laziest                 D．brightest
27．A．game                  B．school                 C．competition         D．group
28．A．changed              B．died                    C．arrived                D．regretted[来源:学科网ZXXK]
29．A．hair                    B．tears                   C．love                    D．grades
30．A．worried               B．careless               C．lonely                 D．busy
31．A．teaching              B．killing                 C．helping               D．enjoying
32．A．cold                    B．worthless             C．well                    D．sick
33．A．parents                B．classmates           C．teachers               D．companions
34．A．even            B．now           C．yet             D．then
35．A．And                   B．But                    C．Or                      D．So
36．A．toward                B．along                  C．opposite              D．on
37．A．serious                B．casual                 C．personal              D．difficult
38．A．work                  B．study                  C．sports                  D．education
39．A．when                  B．where                 C．how                    D．why
40．A．turned away        B．answered back     C．whispered softly D．cried out     
41．A．it              B．you            C．myself          D．us
42．A．LIFE                  B．ANXIETY          C．CARE                 D．NEED
43．A．forgave               B．hit                      C．hugged                D．begged
44．A．side                    B．earth                   C．trip                     D．day
45．A．meant                 B．owed                  C．moved                D．left

When I walked into the house after school, the first thing I noticed was a box with items I recognized from my dad’s office.

“What are you doing at home?” I asked casually.

“Andrew, I was       today,” he answered quietly.

I was sure he was joking. “No, you weren't. Why are you      at home?”

Then I noticed his      and realized he was telling me the truth. My father has always been a hard worker and prided himself on his career.     our family has been his joy, and I guess I have     his work for granted.

My father’s unemployment      many changes in our lives. For starters, he was at home all the time, which meant my bed had to be     , my room cleaned up, and my      done right after school. I would come home every day to find him at the computer      jobs. I began to notice how     he seemed, and how losing his job affected his self-esteem, though he tried to be     . For the first time, I     my dad as vulnerable (易受伤的). He asked my brother and me to     less. I gave up my pocket money,      it wasn’t much. I felt I was doing the right. I also found a part-time job.

After several difficult months of searching, my dad     to go in a totally different direction. He     that he never wanted to be laid off again, so he was going to start his own business. Day by day, I watched him      it, and I admired how much time and    he expended. I      knew he was a hard worker, but watching him in action really affected me.

Although this was one of the    experiences for our family, it taught me a lot about dealing with adversity (逆境), and will be my foundations for success.

1.A. taken off    B. put off  C. laid off  D. called off

2.A. finally         B. really    C. frequently     D. especially

3.A. happiness  B. kindness        C. loneliness        D. seriousness

4.A. Supporting          B. Providing       C. Offering         D. Shooting

5.A. regarded   B. taken    C. viewed D. looked

6.A. came out   B. brought about       C. gave off         D. let out

7.A. made B. sold       C. banned D. applied

8.A. job     B. homework    C. fun              D. time

9.A. falling into B. putting up     C. keeping on       D. searching for

10.A. depressed        B. patient  C. smart            D. honest

11.A. disappointed    B. optimistic      C. anxious          D. appropriate

12.A. considered       B. remembered         C. refused          D. predicted

13.A. earn         B. enjoy    C. spend   D. find

14.A. even so    B. if only   C. even though D. as if

15.A. hoped      B. decided         C. dreamed       D. expected

16.A. advised    B. informed       C. explained      D. insisted

17.A. form         B. open     C. set         D. build

18.A. strength   B. power   C. force     D. energy

19.A. never       B. seldom C. always   D. hardly

20.A. worst        B. best       C. most      D. least

36. —Was the guest’s speech interesting?

—Not at all. He was at a ______ and didn’t know what to say when others asked him questions.

I try not to be biased（偏见）but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social worker assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee. He was short, a little fat, with the smooth facial features and thick-togued speech of Down’s Syndrome（唐氏综合症）. I thought most of my customers would be uncomfortable around Stevie, so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.
I shouldn’t have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my regular trucker customers had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished.
Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.
That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a heart surgery. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often had heart problems at an early age and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.
A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, my head waitress, did a little dance when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at her and asked, “Okay, Frannie, what was that all about?”
"We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."
"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?"
Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is."
Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.
After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand.
"What's up?" I asked.
“I cleared off that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting after they left, and I found this. This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup."
She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie".
That was three months ago. Today is New Year’s day , the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he had been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. I took him and his mother by their arms. “To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me.”
I led them toward a large corner booth. I could feel and hear truck customers and the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups and dinner plates, all sitting slightly on dozens of folded paper napkins.
"First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said.
Stevie looked at me, and then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed on it.
I turned to his mother. “There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. Happy Thanksgiving!”
While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.
【小题1】Why did the author have doubts about hiring Stevie?