Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age.There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light.But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius.“ There is no such thing as genius,”Edison said.He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.

But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker..From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature.Nature, he often said,is full of secrets.He tried to understand them;then, he tried to learn what could usefully be done with them.

Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men enjoyment and pleasure.

Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life. “ Work,” he answered. “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.

1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

2.Edison thought __________.

3.Edison was __________.

4.In Edison’s opinion, _________.

5.The last sentence in the passage most probably implies _________.

完形填空（共15题，每题1分，计15分）

Five years ago, when it was time for my cousin to start college, my 75-year-old grandfather, Rex, decided to do the same. He went to    1 , taking classes twice a week until his death last summer.

As a student, my grandfather spent countless hours in his office   2    and completing assignments. Although he was twice as    3     as his professors, he loved going. He said,“You can never  4    too much, no matter how old you are.”He loved everything about school. Learning new things was truly his passion.

My grandfather’s will to learn was a great   5    for me to do my best in school. We were always     6    with each other, trying to bring home the better grade.

When he turned 80 and still had a full head of hair, my grandfather felt like he could take on the       7   . He felt like he could beat the unstoppable no matter what came in his way---whether it was his continuing with cancer     8  a tough professor.

Some people look to Superman or Batman as their   9   , but my grandfather will forever be my hero, the      10   who always came to my rescue. My grandfather was made the hall of fame(名人堂) at his high school as one of the school’s most successful football players. When I did some research I   11 that his nickname was Atlas. In Greek mythology(神话), Atlas held the heavens on his shoulders. For my grandfather’s football team, he was  12 Atlas, holding the team together. He was my Atlas too, as the foundation of our family.

In my times of need he was always there to    13     me and celebrate my accomplishments. I could count on him to help me out and stand by me. The strength he  14    with me will continue to hold me up as I forever keep his memory    15   in my heart and mind.

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane（杖，手杖） made her way carefully up the steps. She 36 the driver and, using her hands to feel the  37 of the seats, walked down and found the  38 which the driver had told her was empty. Then she settled in.

It had been a year since Mary, 34,  39 a medical misdiagnosis (误诊), was suddenly thrown into a world of  40 . Mark, her husband, was an Air Force officer and he loved Mary with all his heart. He  41  her how to rely on her other  42 , specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and  43 to adapt herself to the new environment. He helped her befriend（友好对待） the bus drivers who could  44 for her, and save her a seat.

 45 , Mary decided that she was ready to try the  46 on her own. Monday morning, she said good-bye and for the first time, they went their  47  ways.

On Friday morning, Mary took the bus to work as usual. As she was  48 the bus, the driver said, “Boy, I  49 envy you.” Mary had no  50  what the driver was talking about, and asked, “What do you  51  ?”

The driver answered, “You know, every morning for the  52 week, a fine-looking gentleman  53  a military uniform has been standing across the corner  54 you as you get off the bus. He  55  you cross the street safely and he watches until you enter your office building. You are one lucky lady.”          

Tears of gratitude poured down Mary’s cheeks.    

Born into a poor family，two of the Durers' children still had a dream for art，but they knew their father could not afford to send either of them to the academy(院校)．

After discussions，the two boys finally agreed to toss a coin．The loser would go to the nearby mines and support his brother while he attended the academy．Then，when the winner completed his studies，he would support the other brother，either with sales of his art work or，if necessary，by working in the mines．So they tossed a coin．Albrecht Durer won the toss and went to Nuremberg．Albert went to the dangerous mines and financed his brother，whose work at the academy was almost an immediate success，and by graduation，he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his works．

When the Durer family held a dinner to celebrate Albrecht's homecoming， Albrecht drank a toast to his brother，“Now，Albert，it is your turn to go to Nuremberg and follow your dream，and I will take care of you．”

Albert wiped the tears from his cheeks，glanced at the faces he loved，and said softly，“No，brother．It is too late for me．Look….look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been broken at least once，and lately I have been suffering from arthritis(关节炎)so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast，much 1ess make lines on canvas(画布)with a pen or a brush．No，brother …for me it is too 1ate．”

Therefore，Albrecht took pains to draw his brother’s injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward．The entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and named it “The Praying Hands”．

1.The passage is mainly about

2.According to the two brothers’ agreement，．

3.Albert refused his brother’s offer because．

4.The artist created the masterpiece “The Praying Hands”

We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. One evening I heard a loud crash in the street. Earlier that evening my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed like this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly practice her driving, so I sent her to the store in my truck.

At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my truck. I enjoyed having it, but I said: "Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won’t last forever. Never set your heart on anything that won’t last."

After hearing the loud noise, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted: "Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck."

My heart sank and my mind was flooded with conflicting thoughts. Was anyone hurt? Who else was involved? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my heart say: "Here is a chance to show Holly what you really love. She’ll never forget it."

The accident had occurred in my own driveway. Holly had crashed my truck into our other vehicle, the family van (搬运车). In her inexperience, she had confused the brakes and the gas pedal. Holly was unhurt physically, but when I reached her, she was crying and saying: "Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you love this truck." I held her in my arms as she cried.

Later that week a friend stopped by and asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the whole story. Her eyes moistened (湿润) and she said: "That happened to me when I was a girl. I borrowed my dad’s car and ran into a log that had fallen across the road. I ruined the car. When I got home my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me."

Over 40 years later, she still felt the pain of that night.

I remember how sad Holly was and how I comforted her. One day, when Holly thinks back on her life, I want her to know what really matters in my life.

1.How did the crash happen?

A．The van was parked in the wrong place that evening.

B．Holly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brakes.

C．The brakes of the truck didn’t work properly.

D．Holly was too careless and young to drive a truck.

2.Why didn’t the writer punish Holly?

A．He was so rich that he didn’t care about losing one truck.

B．He thought there was no point punishing her after the accident.

C．He believed the truck was made of metal and of poor quality.

D．He wanted Holly to know he loved her more than any possessions.

3.What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．She still suffered physical pain.

B．She felt guilty of damaging the car.

C．It left a deep wound on her soul.

D．She was not forgiven by her Dad.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．What really matters?

B．Better to forgive and forget

C．Who is to blame?

D．Accidents will happen