Some years ago I was offered a writing assignment that would require three months of travel through Europe. I had been __36__ a couple of times, but I could hardly __37__ to know my ways around the continent. __38__, my knowledge of foreign languages was __39__ to a little college French.

I __40__. How would I, unable to speak the language, __41__ familiar with local geography or transportation systems, conduct interviews and do __42__? It seemed impossible, and with considerable __43__ I sat down to write a letter rejecting the __44__. Halfway through, a __45__ ran through my mind: you can’t learn if you don't try. So I __46__ the assignment.

There were some bad __47__. But by the time I had finished the trip, I was an experienced traveler. And ever since, I have never hesitated to head for even the most __48__ places, without guides or __49__ advanced bookings, confident that somehow I will __50__.

The point is that the new, the different, is almost by definition __51__. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning __52__, the world opens to you.

I've learned to ski at 40, and flown up the Rhine River in a (n) __53__. And I know I'll go on doing such things. It's not because I'm braver or more daring than others. I'm not. But I'll accept worry as another name for __54 __ and I believe I can __55__ wonders.

English was always my favorite subject. In my freshman year of high school, I could write a killer composition. In my junior year, my   1  allowed me to give spelling tests to the class. I had wonderful   2  of this year. Mrs. Alexander   3  me to sit at her desk and take over the class when she had to leave the room. Only my senior English class was   4 , as we had a teacher right out of college who expected college-level work. Every student received a “C” or “D” grade the first quarter.   5  English was still my subject.

I graduated from high school,  6  early and had children.   7  about my English, I often helped my kids with their English homework. And I   8  long articles and beautiful poetry for a newspaper. Fifteen years later, I went to college, and because I had been an “A” student, I   9  an “A” student. I lived up to my own expectations.

Yesterday, I   10  my high school report cards when I was reading old papers. That bundle (捆) of report cards   11  back the old days. I remembered sitting in my advisor’s office, explaining that I had always been excellent at English and complaining that I did not   12  a “D” from that inexperienced teacher of my senior year. The advisor was   13  but unable to change a grade.

My old   14  cards showed something else too. I wanted to tear them up or   15  them. I was not an “A” student in high school English! Somehow, I had convinced myself of this, when the grades clearly reflected an   16  student with an occasional “A” or “B”, but mostly “C”s.

Had I lived up to those   17  and define (定义) myself according to those letters, I would have never confidently   18  my writing career. Had I believed in my early grades instead of myself, I would have allowed my fear of   19  to defeat my enthusiasm and damage my creativity.   20 , I regarded my younger self as an “A” English student, except for that undeserved “D”.

1.                A．teacher         B．headmaster      C．classmate D．monitor

2.                A．memories       B．thoughts        C．expectations   D． impressions

3.                A．forced         B．appointed       C．permitted D．begged

4.                A．active          B．creative        C．interesting D． disappointing

5.                A．So             B．But            C．And D．Or

6.                A．worked         B．married         C．succeeded    D． progressed

7.                A．Confident       B．Happy          C．Sorry D． Anxious

8.                A．wrote          B．edited          C．read D． copied

9.                A．met           B．lost            C．admired  D．remained

10.               A． counted       B．remembered    C．discovered D．approached

11.               A． turned        B．brought        C．held  D． put

12.               A． deserve       B． make         C．receive   D． learn

13.               A． sympathetic    B． energetic      C．angry D． sad

14.               A． birthday       B． post          C．invitation  D． report

15.               A． keep          B． correct        C．hide  D． send

16.               A． silent         B． bright         C．average   D． outstanding

17.               A． figures        B． grades        C．papers    D． words

18.               A． changed       B． ended         C．damaged  D．sought

19.               A． change        B． risk           C． stress    D． failure

20.               A． Otherwise     B． Besides        C．Instead    D． Still

You are supposed to write a composition on the topic Making Friends Selectively or Extensively? You should write about 120 words and base your writing on the outline given below:

1. 有些人认为应该有选择地交朋友

2. 另一些人认为应该广泛地交朋友

3. 你的看法

Making Friends Selectively or Extensively?

Eleven months ago, an act of good sportsmanship（体育精神）changed a girls’ running race into something bigger.

  Jenna Huff received a national sportsmanship award from the US Olympic Committee for what she did for Deb Guthmann.

    In the race, Jenna was behind Deb until the final few meters of the 5-kilometer race.

  Then something awful happened. Deb’s right hip（髋部）broke. She screamed in pain and stopped.

    Jenna had never met Deb and had been taught to pass every runner she could to win.

    Instead, Jenna stopped with no hesitation.

    “Come on.” Jenna told Deb. “We’re going to run.”

    Jenna took Deb’s left elbow with her right hand. She helped her jog the last few meters. At the finishing line, she pushed Deb in front of her, reasoning Deb would have beaten her anyway if not for the injury. That act helped Deb’s team win the regional race and advance to the state meet.

    Both girls are now 17.

    Jenna is still an athlete for her school.

    She and her parents went to Colorado to accept an award for the national sportsmanship award. Jenna had to give a five-minute speech to the crowd, a crowd which included a number of former Olympians. “I’m pretty scared about my speech,” Jenna said the other night when we talked on the phone. “You want to hear part of it?” She read me one part including the words from Albert Einstein: “Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine（神圣的）purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know：That we are here for the sake of（为了）others.”

  Deb is also still running. She received a full scholarship to Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia. The award was because of her excellent academic record and great sports potential.

    But she recently got hurt again and was unable to run for weeks.

    Even so, I am confident Deb will write a happier ending for herself one day. Both of these young women make you feel confident about the future. They are strong, compassionate（富于同情心的）and smart.

  As Einstein said-and as Jenna showed 11 months ago— “we are here for the sake of others”.

1.The story is intended to __________.

  A. tell us an unexpected story in the girls’ running race

  B. introduce a famous sportswoman

  C. show the beauty of good sportsmanship

  D. remind athletes to pay attention to their safety during the race

2.The reason why Jenna pushed Deb in front of her at the finishing line is that __________.

  A. she wanted to get the prize

  B. she thought she didn’t match Deb in reality

  C. she helped Deb’s team to win the regional race

  D. Deb had been injured   

3.Deb received a full scholarship to Emmanuel College because __________.

  A. she is still running

  B. she was good at her academy and sports

  C. she showed the good sportsmanship in the race

  D. she never gave up even though she had been injured

4.What can we know from the passage?

  A. Jenna was the last one to reach the finishing line.

  B. Deb went to Colorado to accept the prize with her parents.

  C. The author had a face-to-face interview with Jenna the other night.

  D. Helping each other can make a big difference to people’s lives.

第一节                                                                                                          

In elementary school, Guadalupe Quintanilla was often referred to as a “slow learner” by her teachers. But she really wasn’t slow at all. She just didn’t understand the language used in the classroom. Her problem was that she didn’t speak English. So she left school after the fourth grade.

When Guadalupe grew up, married, and had children of her own, she knew that her children were clever. But some of their teachers didn’t think so. The children were having trouble in school because they didn’t speak English. Mrs Quintanilla was angry. She didn’t want people to think that her children were slow learners. So she decided to learn English herself as a way of helping them. She practiced English. She looked up words in the dictionary. She asked the school headmaster to let her sit in on classes. It wasn’t easy, but she passed all her exams. She said that many of the other students helped her.

Mrs Quintanilla has helped her children with their lessons. Her two sons have won success. One is a teacher, and the other is a doctor. Her youngest child, a daughter, is studying in a university.

1. Guadalupe was called as low learner             .

A. to make her study harder            B. because she wasn’t clever

   C. because she stayed at home          D. because she didn’t speak English

2. According to the story, children who don’t speak English             .

   A. may have more trouble in school     B. have trouble playing football

   C. often write a diary                 D. grow up to be teachers

3. Which happened first?

   A. Guadalupe passed all her exams.

   B. Guadalupe left school after the fourth grade.

   C. Guadalupe had three children.

   D. Her two sons won success.

4. The story is mainly about             .

   A. learning to sing and dance          B. the problem of slow learning

   C. going to a university               D. Mrs Quintanilla’s success