As a disabled person, I often feel I have two jobs．There's my normal job working as a radio producer and there’s my role managing a team of carers （otherwise called personal assistants）．Of the two jobs, being a radio producer is considerably easier．One of the hardest aspects of being a PA employer and needing 24-hour care is that you never feel “off duty”．At any time a PA could present me with an issue or concern that needs handling．

There was an occasion when a previous PA came into my bedroom one morning to get me up and began complaining straight away that I had paid her the wrong amount that week．Another former PA once called me on a Saturday evening to ask if she could book some annual leave．

Once the booking is confirmed, the worry about not having a carer at all is replaced by concern over who the carer is．My agency tries very hard to send me carers who’ve helped me before, but obviously if you book agency care at short notice you just have to accept whoever is available．When an agency sends me a carer who is new to me, I have to explain my needs from scratch．

Of course, no organisation is never wrong and care agencies are no exception．When an agency makes a mistake and a carer fails to turn up, the impact on my life can be frustrating and distressing．It might mean I’m unable to get up in the morning and am stuck in bed for hours staring at the ceiling, waiting for a carer to arrive．It might mean I’m late for work or have to miss an appointment．Fortunately, over the last decade I’ve seen a considerable improvement in the quality of service care agencies provide．Most of the time, I’m pleased to say, the agencies I use are caring, organised and reliable．

When a home PA is off sick, life can be stressful but when a work PA is ill, the consequences can be more serious．At home it doesn’t matter if tasks don’t get done or take longer because the agency carer is less experienced at helping me than my permanent PAs．The only person affected is myself．However, at work I have to meet deadlines and if I don’t do my job properly, then not only will it create extra problems for my colleagues but it could also affect the quality of the programme I'm working on．

Luckily, I employ two full-time permanent PAs so when one is absent I usually still have the other one with me．On a normal day the work PAs share out the hours equally between them．

Covering a PA’s sickness not only creates practical problems, it can also be a financial headache．Agency care is expensive．For this reason, a PA who doesn’t need much sick leave is worth her weight in gold．

1．The passage is mainly about __________________．

      A．social relation                        B．housework and work

      C．social care                         D．sickness and treatment

2．Being a PA employer, the author feels she is always “on duty” because__________________．

      A．she takes up two jobs---- working as radio producer and managing a team of carers．

      B．some employees are either less experienced or considerably lazy．

      C．she has to get up early in the morning and go to bed late at night．

      D．a personal assistant may bring much trouble to her anytime．

3．What does the author think of the service of the care agencies?

      A．The quality of service care agencies offer has improved a lot．

      B．Her care agencies never make any mistakes．

      C．Her care agencies take good care of her．

      D．The service her care agencies provide needs considerable improvement．

4．Why can the consequences be more serious when a work PA is ill?

      A．Because a work PA is less efficient than a home PA

      B．Because the author’s poor work has an effect on her colleagues with no care．

      C．Because on a normal day a work PA has much important work to do．

      D．Because the absence of a PA can cause financial problems．

______ unemployment and crime are high, it can be assumed that the latter is due to the former.

1. A.
   Before
2. B.
   Where
3. C.
   Unless
4. D.
   Until

When I come across a good article in reading newspapers, I often want to cut and keep it. But just as I am about to do so, I find the article on the   26    side is much interesting. It may be a discussion of the way to   27    in good health, or   28    about how to behave and conduct oneself in society. If I cut the front article, the opposite one is likely to   29    damage, leaving out half of it or keeping the text   30   the title. Therefore, the scissors would   31   before they start,   32    halfway done when I find out the   33    result.

Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time, both worth your   34   . You can only take up one of them; the other has to wait or be   35    up. But you know the future is unpredictable-the changed situation may not allow you to do what is left   36   . Thus you are   37    in a difficult position and feel sad. How   38    that nice chances and brilliant ideas should gather around all at once? It may happen that your life   39    greatly on your preference of one choice to the other.

In fact that is what   40    is like: we are often   41    with the two opposite sides of the thing which are both desirable like a newspaper cutting. It often occurs that our attention is drawn to one thing only   42    we get into another. The   43    may be more important than the latter and give rise to a divided mind. I   44    remember a philosopher’s remarks: “When one door shuts, another opens in life.” So a casual   45    may not be a had one.

26.  A. front           B. same         C. either           D. opposite

27.  A. get         B. keep         C. lead         D. bring

28.  A. advice      B. news         C. a theory     D. a report

29.  A. suffer          B. reduce           C. prevent      D. cause

30.  A. on          B. for          C. without      D. off

31.  A. use         B. handle           C. prepare      D. stay

32.  A. or          B. but          C. so           D. for

33.  A. satisfying      B. regretful        C. surprising       D. impossible

34.  A. courage     B. strength     C. attention        D. patience

35.  A. given           B. held         C. made         D. picked

36.  A. near            B. alone            C. about            D. behind

37.  A. filled          B. attracted        C. caught           D. struck[来源:学

38.  A. dares           B. comes            C. does         D. dare

39.  A. improves        B. changes      C. progresses       D. goes

40.  A. study           B. society          C. nature           D. life

41.  A. faced           B. supplied     C. connected        D. fixed

42.  A. before      B. after            C. until            D. as

43.  A. following       B. next         C. above            D. former

A. still            B. also         C. once         D. almost

45.  A. treatment       B. action           C. choice           D. remark

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

       I was loading my truck to go to the flea market when a hook（钩子） on one of the bungees bent and broke back into my left eye．The ____36___ was like a hot sword had been struck through my head．I fell down on my hands and knees, and ___37___ I saw blood dripping onto the ground, I knew it was ___38___．

       They ___39___ me to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, where there's a special eye center．The ____40___ there operated on me several times but couldn't save my eye．When they told me the news, I wanted to ___ 41___．

       Even after I got my prosthetic eye （义眼）, I couldn't ____42___ off the depression．To make matters worse, I lost my job as a transportation officer for the Tennessee Department of Children's Services because of ___43___ about my driving ability．But one morning, I woke up and the TV was ___44___, and there was a 16-year-old girl．She had been ___45___ burned on her face, hands, and legs and was learning to walk again．She ___46___ a big smile and seemed to look right at me and said, "You can't ever give up．" At that moment, I thought, this is just a （n） ___47___．Get over it．And I ____48___．

       It's been almost 12 years since my ____49___, and there isn't anything I can't do now that I used to do．Although I didn't get my ___50___ job back, I could do something else to ___51___ a happy life．

       I read a ___52___ once where a man was feeling bad because he had no ___53___, until he met a man who had no feet． No matter how destroying your problem is, ___54___ there's always someone somewhere who's worse off．____55___ having just one eye, I see things a lot more clearly now．

A．fight             B．pain            C．injury         D．wound

A．before             B．though        C．because         D．when

A．bad               B．good        C．strange         D．lucky

A．forced            B．passed       C．took         D．gave

A．doctors            B．workers      C．teachers        D．soldiers

A．rise               B．stay            C．leave         D．die

A．set                B．shake         C．turn           D．leave

A．possibilities        B．decisions     C．chances      D．concerns

A．off              B．up             C．on             D．down

A．badly              B．carefully      C．finally       D．hardly

A．developed         B．covered        C．enjoyed      D．wore

A．ear                B．eye            C．arm            D．nose

A．worked          B．stopped        C．did             D．helped

A．accident           B．experiment   C．argument            D．quarrel

A．new               B．hard            C．easy          D．former

A．build              B．lead            C．search       D．avoid

A．humor             B．joke          C．poem         D．story

A．clothes            B．jackets        C．shoes          D．trousers

A．remember         B．forget         C．promise      D．prove

A．Through          B．Despite      C．Without       D．Beyond

I was brought up by my grandparents for the first years of my life. We   36   in a very small community and all of my aunts and uncles lived   37_  . Everyone had a hand in taking care of my safety. Of course in those days   38   everyone in the community spoke the beautiful language of my childhood. When my grandfather spoke I would _ 39_  him carefully.

Then at age six my father   40   from the army. I was forbidden to speak that 41   ever again. My grandfather was   42   . He couldn’t speak English, so my grandmother would   43   for him whenever he spoke to me. With my mother and father we   44 from that small community. I was about to enter public school so I had to learn English. My grandfather   45   when I was eight and we returned to that small community for his funeral. He was   46   in the living room, as was the tradition. I went and stood by him and   47   no one was around I spoke to him in a whisper   48   that beautiful language of my childhood. That was the   49   time I spoke those words.

Almost fifty years later, _ 50 _ I had forgotten the beautiful language of my childhood, I had the opportunity to   51   a newly written paper of it. On my first look at it I recognized   52   . I must have looked it over several times in the following weeks. Then one day I read out loud a word from my past. I almost cried. I was   53 reading over other words. Words came   54   back to me after all these years. When receiving something from someone, you don’t take it from their hand, rather you let them lay it in your hand. For me it was   55   ---The beautiful language of my childhood was Michif. It was not only a language but also a way of life.

A. lived             B. reached            C. made                D. put

A. far                B. nearby              C. inside               D. outside

A. never             B. already             C. seldom             D. almost

A. give              B. believe in         C. listen to            D. like

A. returned         B. went                C. rushed              D. swept

A. language        B. community       C. hand                D. safety

A. happy            B. joyful               C. heartbroken      D. warm-blooded

A. look              B. translate           C. wait                 D. speak

A. moved into    B. move back        C. move away       D. moved on

A. worked          B. traveled            C. visited              D. died

A. carried out    B. laid out            C. held out          D. pick out

A. when             B. if                     C. even if             D. although

A. for                B. upon                C. at                     D. in

A. first               B. latter                C. last                  D. former

A. long before    B. long ago           C. before long       D. long after

A. beat               B. see                   C. ask                   D. touch

A. nothing          B. something         C. anything           D. everything

A. sadly             B. hardly              C. faithfully          D. anxiously

A. drawing        B. frying              C. flooding           D. steaming

A. simple           B. merciful           C. perfect             D. bitter