A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was  1  . She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery ball. She could hear nothing but the waves and the  2  flying up in the sky.

The   3  relaxed her. After all she had been through, this is what she needed.

She wondered how her parents would  4  , when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking,  5  herself to bungalow 163, where she spent every summer holiday. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been  6  in her house.

It was really getting dark now, the sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting  7  too. She imagined having her favorite  8  on; it kept her really warm. This thought  9  when she finally saw her front door.  10  had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was  11  ; her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now… It all seemed  12  . She couldn’t understand what was  13  on.

She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a（n）  14  written by her father. Reading “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready, I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents  15  . She went in. Then she

saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, sleeping. Her face looked so tired,   16  she hadn’t slept for days. Jenny would have wanted to wake her up, but she didn’t  17  her tired mother. So Jenny just fell asleep  18  her. When Jennifer woke up something was different…she wasn’t in her mother’s room. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas.

    It   19  so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very  20  .”

1．A．rising                    B．setting                 C．shining                D．landing

2．A．seagulls                 B．angels                 C．parrots                D．rainbows

3．A．condition               B．style                    C．atmosphere          D．weather

4．A．resist                    B．reflect                 C．reject                  D．react

5．A．directing               B．assisting              C．allowing              D．commanding

6．A．tired                     B．thrilled                 C．safe                    D．anxious

7．A．hot                       B．warm                  C．cloudy                D．cold

8．A．cap                       B．sweater               C．slippers               D．jewelry

9．A．aroused                 B．ripened                C．disappeared         D．formed

10．A．Nobody               B．Somebody           C．Everybody           D．Anybody

11．A．  terrified              B．shocked              C．excited                D．disturbed

12．A．declined              B．destroyed            C．designed              D．deserted

13．A．going                  B．marching             C．coming               D．taking

14．A．e-mail                 B．composition         C．letter                   D．note

15．A．study                  B．bed                     C．room                  D．balcony

16．A．in that                 B．as if                    C．now that             D．even if

17．A．force                  B．comfort               C．interrupt              D．blame

18．A．around                B．beneath               C．beside                 D．over

19．A．sounded              B．looked                 C．seemed               D．felt

20．A．annoyed              B．scared                 C．confused             D．embarrassed

--Do you mind if you give Jack a hand?

--Yes, I do. I'll be glad to help _______ Jack.

[　　]

--Do you mind if you give Jack a hand?

--Yes, I do. I'll be glad to help _______ Jack.

[　　]

There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many 36  , but because he was a good piano player, some people 37  came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老主顾) told him he didn’t want to hear him play but to sing a song.

The man said, “I have never 38  that before in public. I think I’m 39  at playing the piano.”

But the customer 40 . He told the waiter, “I’m 41  listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing.”

The waiter 42  across the room, “Hey, buddy! If you want to get 43  , sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!”

  44  in order to bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And 45  had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before  46   that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the 47  himself!

He had talent he was 48  on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but because he had to sing, he 49  to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and 50  . You may not feel as if your “talent” is particularly 51  , but it may be better than you think! And with persistence (坚持), most skills can be 52  . Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you 53 ! The 54  is not “What ability do I have that is useful?” It is 55 “How will I use whatever ability I have?”.

Just think a minute…

1.                A．waiters         B．customers       C．singers   D．players

2.                A．never          B．still            C．ever     D．only

3.                A．practiced       B．shown          C．dreamed  D．done

4.                A．better          B．richer          C．easier    D．sooner

5.                A．agreed         B．confused        C．insisted   D．charged

6.                A．familiar with     B．fond of         C．used to   D．tired of

7.                A．served         B．explained       C．shouted  D．complained

8.                A．changed        B．broadcast       C．paid D．drunk

9.                A．So             B．And            C．Because  D．But

10.               A．nobody        B．anybody        C．somebody D．everybody

11.               A．until           B．after           C．since D．when

12.               A．waiter          B．singer          C．patron    D．owner

13.               A．sitting          B．waiting         C．depending     D．playing

14.               A．went up        B．went on        C．went off   D．went away

15.               A．advantages      B．character       C．principle  D．abilities

16.               A．unique         B．surprising       C．famous    D．great

17.               A．recognized      B．wasted         C．improved D．impressed

18.               A．imagine        B．possess         C．expect    D．develop

19.               A．decision        B．answer         C．question   D．solution

20.               A．even           B．rather          C．pretty D．fairly

Terry was a middle—aged businessman．He was  1  in career and often complained（抱怨）that he had been fooled by others．One day he told his wife he was  2  disappointed with the city that he had to  3  ．

So his family moved to another city．it was Saturday  4  ．When Terry and his wife were busily putting their things in their new home，the lights suddenly  5  and they were forced to stop work．Terry was sorry to have 6  to bring along some candles．Just then he heard light  7 on his door．

“Who is it?”he wondered．Terry knew  8  else in the new city，and this was the moment he especially hated to be  9  ．He opened the door impatiently（不耐烦地）．At the door was a little  10  shyly asking，“Sir，do you have  11  I’m your neighbor．”“No，”answered Terry angrily．He shut the door  12  ．

After a while the door was knocked again．He opened it and  13  the same little girt outside．But this time she was  14  two candles radiating red light．She said，“My grandma told me the  15  neighbor downstairs might need candles．She sent me here to  16  you these.”

At that moment Terry shuddery realized what  17 his failure in life．It was his indifference（冷漠）and  18  to other people．The person who had fooled him in life was actually nobody else  19  himself，for his eyes had been covered by his  20  mind．What’s your attitude in the daily life?     

（    ）1．A．experienced       B．unsuccessful          C．interested        D．unlucky

（    ）2．A．very               B．so                       C．such               D．rather

（    ）3．A．leave              B．travel                   C．stay                D．choose

（    ）4．A．morning         B．afternoon             C．noon               D．evening

（    ）5．A．went down       B．went out              C．went by          D．went on

（    ）6．A．wanted           B．decided                C．forgotten         D．remembered

（    ）7．A．knocks           B．calls                    C．strikes            D．sounds

（    ）8．A．everybody        B．anybody               C．Somebody       D．nobody

（    ）9．A．troubled          B．followed                C．liked               D．learned

（    ）10．A．boy              B．girl                      C．postman          D．shopper

（    ）11．A．candies         B．toys                     C．tights              D．candles

（    ）12．A．easily    B．worriedly             C．happily            D．heavily

（    ）13．A．found           B．met                     C．touched        D．knew

（    ）14．A．bringing        B．seeing                  C．holding           D．drawing

（    ）15．A．poor             B．kind                     C．new             D．young

（    ）16．A．buy              B．give                     C．borrow         D．sell

（    ）17．A．changed        B．caused                 C．developed    D．stopped

（    ）18．A．laziness         B．sadness                C．unkindness    D．unhappiness

（    ）19．A．besides         B．except                 C．but               D．than

（    ）20．A．open             B．right                    C．warm                  D．cold