Angels

My friend Heather mentioned that she had never seen an Angel. Then I remembered the 36  I had with my sister Sandra earlier this week.

This will be Sandra’s first Christmas without her husband. This summer he died in her arms. On Thursday, she was in the store 　37　 for an ideal card for her two sons and daughter. Time passed by quickly as she 　38  the many choices. She wanted a card that sent something special to each of them, 　39  she knew they would have a(n) 　40  place in their heart this holiday season.

Finally! She found the one that expressed the 　41 feeling. The words expressed the feelings that she wished to share. However, a sharp pain pierced(穿透) her heart when she realized that the card was 　42 “mom and dad.” She stood there, 　43  it close for a long time, unable to move from the 　44  . Tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Is there something I can do for you?” a 　45  voice asked. She 　46  to face a stranger, a woman, who was looking at her with 　47  and concern. “Uh…oh...OH!” Sandra responded, “I can’t give this card to my children because…because my husband died and this is the 　48  card.”

Hearing this, the stranger’s face softened with sympathy(同情) and love. She reached out and　49  my sister into her arms, giving her unspoken permission to cry in the protection of her embrace(拥抱). She 　50  held my sister until her calmness　51  . “Thank you for listening to me cry on,” was what my sister said when all was better. “You are welcome, and I am so sorry for your 　52 ,” the stranger answered and said goodbye to her.

During her telling of this event I was feeling 　53  that I hadn’t been there. My sister needed me and a stranger had to do my 　54  .  “You know,” she went on, “a friend suggested that it was like meeting with an Angel.” My 　55  disappeared in an instant. My sister required an Angel, and I think that is exactly what she got.

完形填空

阅读下面短文后所给各题的四个选项中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。

　　September 4 was my first day at Phillips Academy, my new school. It was also my 18th birthday.

　　I received a warm 1 from my host family--the Steins. Gena was my host mum, and her daughter Lily would also be a new 2 at Phillips. They took me to the school and 3 me around the campus.

　　On our way to my dorm (学生宿舍), we saw a huge truck delivering a student's 4 to her room. Many students at the school were very rich, and they would fill their dorms with decorations (装饰物). But I was 5 not to because I thought it was a 6 of time and money.

　　I had a single room, which was about the 7 of a Chinese college dorm--the ones which normally hold six people.

　　 8 she helped carry my bags, Lily asked me,“What's your favourite 9 , Teresa?”

　　I thought for a moment before answering,“Orange.”

　　I didn't know why she had asked the question.

　　We 10 an introduction meeting after dinner. 11 of the students were native English speakers, so I felt a little 12 .

　　I returned to my room after the 13 , tired and wanting to go to bed after a(n) 14 day.

　　When I opened my door, I found a big 15 . The bed was perfectly made with blankets and an orange sunflower pillow. On the 16 was a sunflower-pattern mat (垫子) while a colorful lamp 17 beside the bed.

　　I opened my mouth, 18 . How beautiful!

　　There was also a 19 card. I touched the little pillow on the bed as I read the card. A warm current (暖流) rushed through my 20 .

1．

[　　]

A．heart　　　　　　　B．card

C．service　　　　　　D．welcome

2．

[　　]

A．student　　　　　　B．teacher

C．citizen　　　　　　D．visitor

3．

[　　]

A．walked　　　　　　B．introduced

C．showed　　　　　　D．invited

4．

[　　]

A．belongings　　　　　　B．newspaper

C．letters　　　　　　　　D．furniture

5．

[　　]

A．warned　　　　　　B．forced

C．determined　　　　 D．supposed

6．

[　　]

A．matter　　　　　　B．waste

C．show　　　　　　D．use

7．

[　　]

A．design　　　　　　B．size

C．pattern　　　　　　D．example

8．

[　　]

A．As　　　　　　　　B．Though

C．Because　　　　　　D．While

9．

[　　]

A．fruit　　　　　　B．weather

C．food　　　　　　D．colour

10．

[　　]

A．organized　　　　　　B．planned

C．attended　　　　　　 D．opened

11．

[　　]

A．All　　　　　　B．Most

C．Some　　　　　D．Few

12．

[　　]

A．pleased　　　　　　B．nervous

C．angry　　　　　　　D．afraid

13．

[　　]

A．dinner　　　　　　B．class

C．meeting　　　　　 D．teaching

14．

[　　]

A．exciting　　　　　　B．ordinary

C．tiring　　　　　　　D．interesting

15．

[　　]

A．secret　　　　　　B．joke

C．warmth　　　　　 D．surprise

16．

[　　]

A．wall　　　　　　B．desk

C．floor　　　　　　D．ground

17．

[　　]

A．stood　　　　　　 B．lay

C．appeared　　　　　D．hung

18．

[　　]

A．frightened　　　　　　B．moved

C．satisfied　　　　　　 D．understood

19．

[　　]

A．post　　　　　　　B．birthday

C．greeting　　　　　D．festival

20．

[　　]

A．mind　　　　　　B．head

C．face　　　　　　D．body

What made Joan Ryan decide to be a sports writer?“Ten years ago, I was ?　36　? news stories at the Orlando Sentinel in Florida—my first job ?　37　? college. I didn't know any female sports writers. But I wanted to be ?　38　?.?　39　?,the best writing in the paper was sports.”

“Furthermore, I had the ?　40　?.I grew up in a(n) ?　41　? family: Three boys and three girls and a coach for a dad.”?

Soon after describing her ambition to a coworker, the ?　42　? of her paper reassigned Joan to the sports ?　43　?.She started out by editing other people's stories,?　44　? within a year, she was writing her own sports column.?

Today, Joan is the sports ?　45　? for the San Francisco Examiner in California. When she ?　46　? her job eight years ago, she was the ?　47　? woman sports writer on any major American newspaper.

Was it tough to ?　48　? as a female sports writer??　49　?!Take, for example, the first time Joan tried to get an interview in the men's locker room. “It was the U.S. Football League. I wanted to interview one of the players—Joe Cribbs, because he had just broken a finger. As soon as I ?　50　? into the locker room ?　51　? all sports writers interview athletes—the room went ?　52　?.Guys started yelling at me—closing in on me. It was really frightening. One guy was sitting on a bench in front of me, tapping up his ankle,?　53　? a long-handled razor for cutting the tape. Suddenly, I felt something move up my leg. It was the ?　54　? of the razor. I yelled at him and walked out.”

Joan ?　55　? interviewing Cribbs—outside the locker room.“In retrospect(回忆),I feel this was a defining moment for me as a journalist. I went back and wrote my story and made my deadline. Now I know that nothing can interfere with getting the story.”?

36. A. writing B. finding       C. editing       D. sending?

37. A. in B. out of C. into    D. before?

38. A. one      B. the one       C. it D. that?

39. A. However     B. Therefore   C. Above all   D. First of all?

40. A. knowledge   B. experience  C. Background       D. interest?

41. A. big       B. athletic       C. athrete       D. warm?

42. A. editor   B. Manager     C. Director     D. workmate?

43. A. column B. field   C. department D. paper?

44. A. and      B. So      C. however     D. but?

45. A. columnist    B. writer C. journalist    D. female?

46. A. did       B. left     C. landed D. wanted?

47. A. abed     B. only    C. brave  D. wisest?

48. A. work    B. writer C. interview    D. pioneer?

49. A. You bet       B. You believe       C. Unbelievable     D. You guess?

50. A. stepped B. entered       C. rushed D. moved?

51. A. that      B. which C. where D. when?

52. A. warm   B. crazy  C. down  D. full?

53. A. held     B. playing      C. used    D. using?

54. A. cap      B. cover  C. handle D. movement?

55. A. started  B. ended up C. Made     D. wrote??

阅读理解

The Pentagon

五角大楼

    美国号称世界头号军事大国，其武力干涉几乎渗透到全球，有人开玩笑说：“只要五角大楼打个喷嚏，整个地球都会震动。”五角大楼是什么? 让我们揭开它神秘的面纱，好好地认识一下这座建筑的运作职能吧。

    The Pentagon，or the headquarters of the US Department of Defense，is one of the largest office buildings in the world，taking up a total land of 583 acres．The five-sided structure itself occupies an area of 29 acres．Each of its five outside wails is 921 feet long．It has three times the floor space as the Empire State Building or half again as much space as either of the New York's World Trade Center towers．

    Working inside this huge building are over 25 000 employees，one half of them being civilians and the other half members of the U．S． armed forces．During the last year of the Second World War there were 37 000 people，both military and civilian，working inside the Pentagon．In the Korean and Vietnam War periods，31 000．The employees are scattered among hundreds of offices that occupy a floor space of 3705793 square feet．

While inside the building they tell time by 4 200 clocks，drink from 685 water fountains，utilize 280 rest rooms，consume 30 000 cups of coffee，6 000 tins of milk and 5 000 bottles of soft drinks of various kinds every day，with a total staff of 600 persons preparing and serving food and drinks to the Pentagon employees，daily．

    Notes

    Pentagon n．五边形；五角大楼　　  civilian n．平民

    military n．军人　　　　　　　　  scatter v．分散

    utilize v．利用；应用　　　　　　 consume v．消耗

    Comprehension question

The building is called “the Pentagon ”because________．

A．it is the largest building in the world

B．it lies in the U．S．A．

C．it has five sides

  D．it is a secret place