I was tired and hungry after a long day of work. When I walked into the living-room, my 12-year-old son looked   36   at me and said, “I love you.” I didn't know what to say.   37   several seconds all I could do was to stand there and    38    down at him . My first thought was that he must need   39 with his homework or he was trying to   40  me for some news.
Finally I asked, “What was that all about?” “Nothing,” he said. “My teacher said we should   41 our parents that we love them and sees what they say. It’s   42 .
The next day I called his teacher to find out more about this “experiment” and how the other parents had   43 .
“Basically, most of the fathers had the   44   reaction as you did,” the teacher said. “When I first   45  we try this, I asked the children what they thought their parents would say. Some of them thought their parents would have heart trouble.
“The   46  is,” the teacher explained, “feeling loved is an important part of  47  . It is something all people   48 . What I'm trying to tell the children is that it's too   49  we don't all express those feeling. A boy   50   tell his dad he loves him.”
The teacher, a middle-aged man, understands how   51  it is for some of us to say the things that would be good for us to say.
When my son came to me that evening, I held on to him for a (n)  52  moment. And just   53  he pulled away , I said in my deepest , most manly voice , “Hey , I love you , too . ”
I don't know if saying that made either of us healthier, but it did feel pretty good. Maybe next time one of my children says “I love you”, it would not take me a whole   54   to think of the right        55  .

Early this morning, I got up to make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats for my neighbor across the hall. She barely greets me when we see each other, and her sweet little boy, who's now four,  has picked up her mother's manner and will not talk to me, either．
Last Monday, she had called the firefighters when a pan I'd forgotten on the stove caused my flat to fog up while I was out taking a walk. When I came home, the street in front of our apartment house was blocked by a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance! The instant I saw them, I remembered the pan! Luckily, nothing serious had happened, and all my neighbors agreed with the firefighter who said, "It could have happened to anyone．" When I thanked the neighbor who had called the firefighters-let's call her Ivy-and apologized for causing the trouble, she just asked if my cats were all right．When I said they were fine, she said, "Well, that's ok then," and turned into her flat．l felt strangely safe, knowing that even though we don't get along, she'd done the right thing and didn't blame me．So, the Rice Krispie Treats．
Last Christmas, my neighbor carelessly let it out that she was holding a grudge （怨恨） towards me because of an incident we'd had four years ago．I had particularly apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to improve our relationship. She would not accept my apology．
It had taken me a lot of courage to apologize and ask that question instead of insisting that we both shared responsibility for what had happened．Her flat-out refusal to make amends（补偿） really shocked and saddened me．After that, I decided I'd just leave her be-a relationship takes two to work．So, you see, I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again, leaving me standing on her doorstep, facing the closed door and holding my plate of treats． I know some people have a hard time understanding how the possibility of rejection can make an adult so afraid, but that's just the way I felt．
Then, I reminded myself of how loving and good I had felt yesterday when I'd done some random acts of kindness （thanks to helpothers．org）, after telling myself: Feet the fear,  and do it anyway! So I put the squares of Rice Krispie Treats on a beautiful plate, opened my apartment  door-and there she was, standing in the hallway．I smiled and said, "Hi," but when she saw me, she turned on her heels and went back inside, even though she seemed to have just stepped out．I went after her, regardless, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, I've got something for you ! I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you were paying attention on Monday．" When she heard me speaking, she turned around． As I held the plate towards her, explaining these were very sweet American treats, and that she could just try and see whether she and her family would like them, her eyebrows winged up-and she took the plate．l was so happy and excited．We then talked a bit about how she'd become aware of the smoke in my flat, and parted ways．
Back in my place, I did a "happy dance", because I had dared to be kind even though I hadn't been sure at all my kindness would be welcome．I do hope that our relationship will slowly get better; I know I was and still am biased（存有偏见）towards her at times, but even if we don't make amends, I want to be able to be kind without depending on other people's behaviors and reactions

1. 1.

   The neighbor held a grudge towards the writer most probably because_____．

   1. A.
      the writer's cats disturb her neighbor frequently
   2. B.
      the writer didn't thank her for calling the firefighters
   3. C.
      the writer never apologized to her for her misbehaviors
   4. D.
      the writer had an unpleasant experience with the neighbor long ago
2. 2.

   From Paragraph 4, we can learn that the author_____

   1. A.
      was afraid of being rejected again by her neighbor
   2. B.
      didn't know how to get along with her neighbor
   3. C.
      didn't admit it was her fault in the last incident
   4. D.
      refused to forgive her neighbor's rude behavior
3. 3.

   After the writer said "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!", she decided to_____

   1. A.
      do an act of kindness
   2. B.
      leave her neighbor be
   3. C.
      apologize to her neighbor once more
   4. D.
      do something to let her neighbor down
4. 4.

   What can we learn about the writer?

   1. A.
      She was a professional dancer．
   2. B.
      She often had quarrels with her neighbor．
   3. C.
      She had a bias against her neighbor sometimes．
   4. D.
      She had an unpleasant experience at Christmas this year．
5. 5.

   What does the author try to tell us?

   1. A.
      Don't punish yourself because of other's mistakes．
   2. B.
      We should be kind to others, regardless of their behavior．
   3. C.
      We must keep a good relationship with our neighbors．
   4. D.
      When we make a mistake, we should have the courage to admit it．

　 Tom was taken to the police station and put in a room with another thief, an older man.

　 The man looked at Tom and said, “Why have they brought you here, boy?” “I stole a small radio one day after lessons,” Tom said. The man laughed rudely at him, “you should steal something which is worth a lot if you want to be a thief. You ought to steal something really expensive, so that your name is put in the newspaper. Go and steal a lot of money from a bank next time!”

Tom thought for a few seconds and then said, “I can’t do that!” “Why can’t you?” said the older man. “Are you afraid?” “No,” said Tom, “I’m not afraid at all, but the banks are all closed at three o’clock, and my lessons don’t finish until four.”

1. Tom was taken to the police station ________.

A . by mistake　 B. to see another thief　 C. as a thief　 D. on business

2. Why did the older thief laugh rudely at Tom ?

A.     Because Tom lied to him　　　　

B.     Because Tom was only a student.

C.     Because he didn’t think a small radio was worth stealing

　　 D. Because he thought Tom was too young to be a thief.

3. From what Tom said, we can draw the conclusion(得出结论) that _________.

A.     He would go on stealing after he was set free.　　

B.     He must have been taught while stealing

C.     He wasn’t planning to steal from a bank

D.     He would never be out of prison again

4. Having heard what the older man said, Tom thought carefully about_______.

A. his lessons　　　　　　　　 B. how to be a famous man

C. stealing something worth a lot　 D. the plan to steal from a bank

5. Tom couldn’t steal from a bank because ______

A. he was afraid of being put into prison

B. he wouldn’t have time to do that though he dared to

C. he wanted to be a good student

D. he did not believe in the older man

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36～55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项。

I was working on my usual Sunday afternoon shift at the bakery. The flow of 　36 rushed to finish weekend shopping in order to return home 　37 to prepare supper or watch the football game. I 　38 on my job of stamping hundreds of bags for the coming holiday　　 weekend 　39 I heard a weak voice, “Excuse me, miss.” I 　40　 up to see an elderly man standing before me. He 41　 asked if he could have a tart (果陷饼). I went to fetch the tart and placed it in a box.

　 “Three dollars, please.” I told him. The man looked 　42 and began shaking his head. This is one of the most awkward 　43　 , because you want to give the dessert away, but cannot. He apologized, saying he would not 　44　 more than expected on a tart.

　45___ I felt upset, I waited on (照顾) the customer behind him, a woman who asked for various breads and desserts 　46 a dinner party she was hosting. After finishing her 47 , she asked if I would 　48 adding a tart to her bill and placing it in a 49 box. My curiosity grew as I handed it to her. She paid, 50 me and walked away.

　 I 　51 to stamping bags, but I couldn’t concentrate. I could not stop thinking about the little old man who could not, or 52　 not, spend three dollars on a dessert. Just then, I saw the woman giving the man 　53 _ much-desired tart. His face 　54 , brilliant and appreciative. 55 her kindness, he reached into his pocket and gave her the only thing he had: a piece of candy.

36．A．workers　 　　 B．women　　 　　　　 C．housewives　　 D. customers

37．A．whether　　 　 B．either　　　 　　　　 C．as　　　　　　 　 D. while

38．A．made　　 　　　 B．depended　 　　　　 C．focused　　　　 D. put

39．A．then　　　 　 B．that　　　　 　　　　 C．which 　　　　　 D. when

40．A．came　　　 　 B．got　　　　 　　　 C．looked　　　　 　 D. covered

41．A．politely　　 　　 B．loudly　　　 　　　 C．proudly　　　 　　 D. rudely

42．A．angry　　　 　 B．disappointed 　　　　 C．happy　　　　 　　 D. poor

43．A．moments　 　 B．persons　　　 　　 C．manners　　　 　　 D. ways

44．A．pay　　　　 　 B．use　　　　 　　　 C．spend　　　　 　 D. waste

45．A．Because　　 　 B．Since　　　　 　　 C．Before　　　　 　 D. Although

46．A．for　　　　 B．in　　　　　 　　　 C．from　　　　　 　 D. to

47．A．question　　 　 B．order　　　 　　　 C．shopping　　　 　 D. need

48．A．mind　　　 　 B．like　　　　 　　　 C．try　　　　　 　 D. consider

49．A．similar　　 　 B．usual　　　 　　　 C．divided　　　　 　 D. separate

50．A．greeted　　 　 B．excused　　 　　　 C．thanked　　　 　 D. left

51．A．ran　　　　 　 B．turned　　　 　　　 C．returned　　　 　 D. walked

52．A．dared　　　 　 B．would　　　 　　　 C．should　　　　 　 D. must

53．A．her　　　　 　 B．his　　　　　 　　 C．my　　　　　 　 D. their

54．A．showed up　 　 B．turned up　　 　　　 C．lit up　　　　 　　 D. lifted up

55．A．In honor of 　 B．In addition to 　　　 C．In place of　　 　 D. In return for