When I was eight years old, I had a big accident. I get scared even now when I think about that time. There were many people skating near my house, and seeing them skate so wonderfully, I couldn’t wait to have a try, just a piece of cake, I thought .

I went with a friend who was very skillful. He spent a long time teaching me how to skate , but I still didn’t learn much , which made him very angry. Finally , he left me and skated all around. I skated alone and soon got bored because I kept falling down so I took off my skates and just walked around on the ice in my shoes. It was cold and my feet were frozen.

Suddenly, I stepped on something that was not hard. What was it ? It was a weak place in the ice . When I stepped there, I sank under the ice. I thought that I was going to die, but I did my best to grab something to get out from under the ice. I would have climbed out myself by grabbing the edge of the ice, but at that time I was only a child of eight . I cried out.

Fortunately, someone helped me. He grabbed my arms and pulled me up. Those several minutes seemed a year to me. I thanked him. At that time, my friend came back. I was annoyed at him because he was supposed to take care of me, but he didn’t. He was embarrassed. When I took a taxi home, the taxi driver was surprised and asked what had happened. I didn’t want to say anything because I was tired and scared. Since then, I have never touched skating.

1.At first the writer thought that skating _________________.

A．was hard to learn

B．was only suitable to watch

C．was easy to learn

D．can only be done with support

2. Why did the writer’s friend leave and skate alone? ___________

A．He wanted to show off his skating skill before the writer.

B．He was disappointed at the writer’s performance.

C．He was too tired to go on teaching the writer.

D．He found he had no gift for teaching others to skate.

3. According to the writer, if an adult sank under the ice, he would _____________.

A．grab the edge of the ice and get out.

B．have courage to call for help

C．wait until people came to help

D．not like to accept others’ help

4.What effect did the accident have on the writer?

A．He broke away from his irresponsible friend.

B．He didn’t dare to skate any longer

C．He fell ill because of staying under ice too longer.

D．He lost interest in all kinds of sports.

When I was eight years old, I had a big accident. I get scared even now when I think about that time. There were many people skating near my house, and seeing them skate so wonderfully, I couldn’t wait to have a try, just a piece of cake, I thought .
I went with a friend who was very skillful. He spent a long time teaching me how to skate , but I still didn’t learn much , which made him very angry. Finally , he left me and skated all around. I skated alone and soon got bored because I kept falling down so I took off my skates and just walked around on the ice in my shoes. It was cold and my feet were frozen.
Suddenly, I stepped on something that was not hard. What was it ? It was a weak place in the ice . When I stepped there, I sank under the ice. I thought that I was going to die, but I did my best to grab something to get out from under the ice. I would have climbed out myself by grabbing the edge of the ice, but at that time I was only a child of eight . I cried out.
Fortunately, someone helped me. He grabbed my arms and pulled me up. Those several minutes seemed a year to me. I thanked him. At that time, my friend came back. I was annoyed at him because he was supposed to take care of me, but he didn’t. He was embarrassed. When I took a taxi home, the taxi driver was surprised and asked what had happened. I didn’t want to say anything because I was tired and scared. Since then, I have never touched skating.
【小题1】At first the writer thought that skating _________________.

完形填空 （共20小题；每小题l分，满分20分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My husband and I went into a shop that sold handcrafted items in hopes of finding a few last-minute Christmas gifts.
There was a lot  36  . Every shelf and   37 was loaded with different crafters' handiwork. As I walked through the store, I noticed a wooden plaque(瓷花金属板) hanging on a wall. I turned to take  38  look and remember shaking my head "yes" at   39  printed on the plaque.
"Life isn't about waiting for the   40 to pass," the plaque proclaimed（宣布）. "It's about learning to dance in the rain."
As I pulled my husband over and directed his attention to the plaque, I could see that he too   41 the simple lesson the plaque shared. How often in our daily lives had we put conditions on our   42 ? When we get the house paid off, then we can be happy. When things settle down with the kids, then we'll be able to do more together. There is so little joy for the here and now in the uncertainties of the   43 and thens.
Looking at the plaque, I found myself  44  to a hot and muggy day the summer before, when I unknowingly   45 the plaque's message. Light rain continued to fall as I walked out to get my mail. Water was still running   46  through the gutters（屋顶檐槽）. I don't know what came over me,  47 I suddenly felt forced to do something a little crazy   48 my fifty-plus years.
I   49 my shoes and stockings and began walking barefoot through the water. It was deliciously   50 , heated by the pavement that had been   51 by the summer heat.
I'm sure my neighbors thought that I had   52 my last vestige of sanity（神智健全）, but I didn't care. For in that moment, I was alive. I wasn't worried about bills, the future or any other day-to-day cares. I was   53 a gift — a pure and simple moment of joy!
The plaque now hangs in my living room, a Christmas gift from my husband. I walk past it multiple times each day and  54  pause to ask myself, "So, am I   55 in the rain?"
I think I am. I know I try to. One step at a time, I am learning to dance in the rain!

We were on the way from Hutchinson to Chicago for a short spring break. For many years I had wanted to take my family on the train. We all had been to Chicago four years ago, and the kids loved it. Chicago is one of my favorite cities, too, so the thought struck me again last fall to ride the train to Chicago. Of course, flying would have been faster. But I don’t think flying is easier, especially these days, with all the security and waiting in lines at airports.

Though we were tired in the middle of the night, the kids got on the train with the exhilaration of this adventure. “We’re moving,” my son William shouted happily with big eyes as the train began to pull away from the Hutchinson station.

I removed my shoes and lay down to try to finish my night’s sleep. The sleeper car would have better enabled that, but the ordinary train seats were not too bad. An airline flight is a more miserable experience for me: not enough room, two hours of pain with my knees almost touching my chin, the hard seatback in front cracking my kneecaps (膝盖) with every move of the body planted in front of me. On the train I could almost outstretch all of my 6-foot-2-plus body in the generous legroom.

The journey didn’t feel at all as long as it was. We all found the train ride a joy. The car ride would have felt every minute of 13 hours. But on the train you are free to walk around, sit in the observation carriage for a while and enjoy the scenery out the windows, have a nice meal in the dining car, read a book, or play a board game.

In short, the train is all about enjoying the trip, which isn’t something I do so much when traveling by airline or by car, when the trip seems more of a mission (任务) to get there than an experience to enjoy along the way.

Chicago offers much to do for a family. This time, getting there was half the fun.

1.We can learn from the first paragraph that _____.

A．the kids love the train journey

B．Chicago is one of the kid’s favorite cities

C．the author didn’t enjoy the long train journey

D．it was the first time that the kids were taken on the train

2.What does the underlined word “exhilaration” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Excitement.        B．Relaxation.         C．Tiredness.         D．Worry.

3.In the third paragraph, an airline flight experience is mentioned to show _____.

A．an airline flight is easier                  B．a train ride is too long

C．an airline flight is miserable                D．a train ride is more comfortable

4.Which of the following words best describes the whole family’s feeling about the train journey?

A．Moved.           B．Delighted.         C．Disappointed.      D．Nervous.

One evening I was resting in a cafe. I  36  a pair of newly bought white leather shoes, which were rather expensive. Then a boy came to me.
He was in a(n) 37  shirt, looking pale and about eleven. No sooner had I begun to speak than he opened the  38  in his hand and took out the tools of shoe-polishing. He  39  down, took off my leather shoes, and began to shine them.
He was busy doing his work  40  heavy rain began to pour down. People rushed to the café for  41  from the rain. More and more people crowded  42  and gradually separated the boy from me.
Hours passed, and it turned  43  . I had no shoes on my feet and  44  where the boy had been. I thought he would not  45  my shoes, and I would have to go home on my bare feet.
When it was near midnight the  46  ended, and there were fewer and fewer people in the café. The café was to be  47  . I had to move to the door, head  48  . just as I went to the gate, I 49  found that a boy of about eleven, looking very familiar, was sleeping at the 50  with his head leaning against a box and his upper body being  51  . he held a package made of his shirt tightly in his arms..
I shook him slightly and woke him up. He  52  up and rubbed his eyes for a while before he recognized me. Then he opened the package  53  , gave me my leather shoes, and apologized to me shyly. I  54  him and wrapped him with his unfit shirt, which had wrapped my leather shoes. On my way home, the  55  of the boy stayed in my mind.