It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.
A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a waiter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.
By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.
I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.
I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.
Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, “Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”
“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”
“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”
861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.
“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.
【小题1】The narrator （故事的叙述者）got to Nashville probably _______.

A．was worn by a military officer	B．was a new gray coat
C．was an old yellow raincoat	D．had only one button left

II. 完形填空（共15题，每小题2分，共30分）
My best friend is Cocoa, and I live in a senior-citizen apartment. Cocoa is a ten-year-old dog and I am a sixty-nine-year-old lady, so you can see we both qualify as   11  citizens.
He is a   12  companion. He does many amusing things that make me  13  , and when that happens, he is so delighted  14  he just keeps it up.
But one afternoon, Cocoa started acting strangely. I was sitting on the floor playing with him,  15  he started pawing and smelling at the right side of my  16  . He had never done anything like this ever before, and I told him, “No.” To Cocoa, one “no” is usually  17 , but not that day. He stopped briefly, and then  18   ran toward me, throwing his entire weight at the right side of my chest. He crashed into me and I cried in   19  , falling down to the floor. Soon after this, I felt a lump (肿块). I went to my doctors, and after X-rays  20   and lab work were done, they told me I had cancer.
When cancer starts, a  21   of calcium (钙) builds. Then the lump or cancer attaches itself to this wall. When Cocoa jumped on me, the force of the impact broke the lump away from the wall. This made it possible for me to  22   the lump.
I had a complete mastectomy (乳房切除术) and the cancer has not   23  to any other part of my body. The doctors told me if the cancer had gone undetected even six more months, it would have been too  24  .
Was Cocoa  25   of just what he was doing? I’ll never really know. What I do know is that Cocoa not only shares his life with me, he has also made sure that I will be around to share my life with him!
11    A.    good       B.    standard  C.    senior      D.    great
12    A.    wonderful       B.    tiring      C.    hungry    D.    bad
13    A.    leave       B.    cry   C.    laugh      D.    jump
14    A.    as    B.    when      C.    and  D.    that
15    A.    when       B.    then C.    though    D.    as
16    A.    chest       B.    body       C.    shoulder  D.    arm
17    A.    right       B.    good       C.    enough    D.    unexpected
18    A.    hurriedly B.    rudely     C.    slowly     D.    suddenly
19    A.    pain B.    surprise   C.    trouble    D.    danger
20    A.    experiments    B.    researches       C.    tests       D.    papers
21    A.    wall B.    cancer     C.    body       D.    number
22    A.    watch      B.    have C.    get   D.    notice
23    A.    ran   B.    kept C.    entered    D.    spread
24    A.    common  B.    late  C.    much      D.    early
25    A.    ashamed  B.    aware      C.    afraid      D.    tired

I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves, most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact, I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (观点) by creating worlds we could step into, take part in, and live in.
With this unshakable belief, I, at fourteen, decided to become a writer. Here too, reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say, but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with, or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read, because only through reading other people’s writing can one discover what works, what doesn’t and, in the end, together with lots of practice, what voice he has.
Now I am in college, and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文学作品)．As a law student, my reading is in fact limited to subject matter—the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction(小说) reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road, all from the comfort of my own armchair, to experience, though secondhand, exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.
【小题1】What does the underlined word in paragraph 1 mostly probably mean?

Ever since I was little I loved doing things for other people. As I got older I began doing random ( 随意的 ) things for people. For example, during holidays, such as Christmas, I would make an extra   21  along with the ones for my relatives. Then I would go and find someone in the grocery store and just hand it to them and walk away. It was so much fun. I admit,   22 , the first time I did it I was so   23 . I didn’t know who to give the card to. So I said a little prayer and knew that the   24  person would just appear. About that time an elderly man ran   25  me with his shopping cart. It was an accident, and he   26  a million times. We smiled and he walked away, and I knew that he was the one.  Later I found him in a different isle(过道), handed him the card, and smiled. I said Happy Holidays, and then walked away. It was so great, and the   27  I had afterwards was unexplainable.
Then one day I came across your website (the coolest website ever) and   28  some Smile Cards. When they came in, I started a new project. When I go into a store, I locate a person who I think needs a   29 . Then, I buy a flower, a carnation, to be exact, and   30  it in the most beautiful paper they have. I tie lots of ribbons on it to make it   31 , and then slip the smile card into an envelope and   32  it to the flower. After that, I pay for it and explain to the cashier   33  it is to go to (I live in a pretty small town so it’s easy to get the help of the cashiers). They then give it to that person when they come through.. Once in a while I’ll buy the flower and then just leave it for the cashier. That gets smiles.
My favorite time was when I picked out this elderly woman who was walking around the   34  somewhat confused. I had come across her numerous times and she only smiled slightly once. When she came to the check out (I was watching from outside) her face   35  and the smile was the biggest I had ever seen. Later that week the cashier whom I had had   36  me told me that the lady had been so surprised and while she was walking out with the grocery bag to her car, she was planning what she was going to do for someone else. It was awesome.
I absolutely love the random acts of kindness cards. I   37  at least two in my purse and others in my car, locker and everywhere I go. As I mentioned, my club, STARS, is doing a Random Acts of Kindness Project with the smile cards so they also are using them. I look forward to hearing about their success. It’s really great. I   38  used them in school. I bought my entire math class cans of pop after lunch one day. They came in from lunch and a can of pop and a smile card were setting   39  that day. It totally lightened the mood in the class that day   40  we were studying for a test. Thank you for all of the help that you provide. The smile cards are a great program that brings smiles into the lives of many!

My best friend, Tom, and I live in a senior-citizen apartment in a lovely small town. Tom is a ten-year-old dog and I am a sixty-nine-year-old lady .
Years ago, I __36__  when I retired I would get a dog to __37__  my golden years. From the very beginning, Tom has always been __38_ and I never have to tell him anything more than once. He is extremely __39___ and always puts back the toys where they were after __40__.He is a wonderful companion. We sometimes play a ___41___together. He does many amusing things that make me laugh. As a result, I enjoy his__42___.
One afternoon, Tom started acting ___43__. I was sitting on the floor playing with him, __44___he started sniffing at the right side of my chest. He had never done anything like this before, suddenly he threw his entire__45__at the right side of my chest, and I cried in___46___.
Soon after this, I felt a lump(肿块). After X-rays and tests, doctors told me I __47__cancer. When cancer started, for an unknown __48___, a wall of calcium(钙化壁) built. Then the lump or cancer _49__ itself to the wall. When Tom __50__on me, the force broke the lump away from the calcium wall, which made me ___ 51__the lump. Before that, I couldn’t see or feel it, so there was no way for me to know it was there.
I had a complete __ 52___ and the cancer did not spread. The doctors told me if the cancer had gone unfound even six more months, it would have been too late.
Was Tom ___53__ of just what he was doing? I’ll never really know. What I do
know is that I’ m glad I made a promise to_ 54 __my golden years with this wonderful creature---- for Tom not only shares his life with me; he has made sure that I will be ___55___to share my life with him.