My Teacher in the School of Life

I spent the opening day of school this year at DeMatha Catholic High School in much the same way I spent the first day of classes ___1___ 30 years ago; I sat in Dr Charles E. Offutt's British literature class, listening to him __2___ what his seniors would learn and get them excited about the journey they would __3__.I'm the principal(校长) of the school now, but for a few minutes I was back in 1975, __4__ what the future held.

I have been learning from Dr Offutt for 30 of the 51 years he has been teaching at DeMatha.He not only taught me to think, he __5__ me, as much by example as___6__， that it was my moral duty to do so and to serve __7__.

Neither of us could know how our __8__ would develop over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English, I worked for Dr Offutt, then the department chair. After several years, I was __9__ department chair, and our relationship changed __10__. I thought that it might be __11__chairing the department, since all of my former English teachers were still there, but Dr Offutt __12__ me throughout. He knew when to give me __13__ about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me design my own course.

In 1997, I needed his advice about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school. If he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have. __14__， he encouraged me to seize the new __15__.

Five years ago, I became the __16__ of DeMatha.Once again, Dr Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could__17__ on him as I tried to fill such big shoes, I've learned from him that great teachers have a(n) __18__ wealth of lessons to teach. __19__ his students don't know it yet, I know how __20__ they are; I'm still one of them.

1．A.mostly　　　B．exactly　　　C．only　　　D．simply

2．A.explain     B．predict       C．speak     D．teach

3．A.keep       B．achieve       C．choose   D．take

4．A.preparing   B．discovering   C．wondering  D．realizing

5．A.assisted    B．reminded      C．advised   D．convinced

6．A.words     B．action        C．explanation  D．models

7．A.the others  B．everyone       C．others   D．anyone

8．A.relationship  B．position      C．situation  D．condition

9．A.pointed    B．named         C．given    D．taken

10．A.already      B．yet       C．still  D．again

11．A.foolish      B．surprising  C．uncertain  D．challenging

12．A.promoted    B．accepted  C．supported  D．welcomed

13．A.advice      B．information  C．notice   D．thought

14．A.Otherwise  B．Therefore  C．Furthermore  D．Instead

15．A.choice     B．opportunity  C．occupation  D．possibility

16．A.teacher     B．principal  C．officer      D．clerk

17．A.live       B．look     C．depend       D．take

18．A.rich      B．little     C．valuable       D．endless

19．A.Once     B．Even if  C．Unless       D．Until

20．A.fortunate  B．curious  C．innocent      D．satisfied

完形填空 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41—55各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Never Save Something Beautiful for That Special Day

　　Years ago I was talking with a classmate in Sydney. At the time his wife had just passed away not too long ago. He told me while going through her things, he found a silk scarf _1  in a designer store when they had traveled to New York City. The scarf was beautiful, with elegant _2 , and a high price tag still hanging. His wife begrudged wearing it; she was _3  it for a special day.

　　He _4  at that moment; I didn't say anything either. After a long pause he said: “Never save something beautiful for that special day. Each _5  day is a special day.”

　　Whenever I _6  what he had said, I would put down the things I was doing to grab a novel, turn on the music and lie down on the couch to _7  some time for myself. I would appreciate the glorious scenery of the Tanshui River through a French window, _8  the dust gathered on the glass. I would take my wife out to _9 , not thinking what to do with the meal already cooked. Life should be the experience we truly cherish, not days we just have to endure.

　　One time I shared the above conversation with a lady. When I saw her again, she told me that she no longer _10  the beautiful china in a cabinet. She had thought to save them for a special day, only to discover that it never _11  came. “Future”, “someday” are not contained in her _12  any more. If there are things that are pleasant or make her complacent, she wants to hear or see them now.

　　We often hope to gather with old friends, but always say, “let's find a(n) _13 .” We often want to hug our grown children, but always wait for the appropriate moment. We often want to write to our spouses to express our strong affection or to show our deep admiration, but always tell ourselves that there is no need to _14 . In fact, each morning when we open our eyes, we should tell ourselves that this is a special day. Each day, each minute is so incredibly _15 .