--Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

--________．

1. A.
   Have a good trip
2. B.
   The same to you
3. C.
   Do give her my regards
4. D.
   Thank you just the same

第二节：完型填空（20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

Many people say their most painful moments are saying goodbye to those they love. After watching Cheryl, my daughter-in-law, through the six long months her mother suffered towards death, I think the most painful 36 can be in the waiting to say goodbye.

Cheryl made the two-hour trip over and over to be with her mother. They spent the long afternoons praying, comforting, and retelling their 37 memories.

As her mother was getting 38, Cheryl always sat for hours 39 watching her mother sleeping. Each time she kissed her mother before leaving, her mother would say in 40, “I’m sorry you drove so far and sat for so long and I didn’t even 41 up to talk with you.”

Cheryl would tell her it didn’t matter, still her mother felt 42 and apologized at each goodbye 43 the day Cheryl found a way to give her mother the same reassurance(安慰) her 44 had given to her so many times.

“Mom, do you 45 when I made the high school basketball team?” Cheryl’s mother nodded. “For every game you’d 46 so far and sit for so long and I never even left the bench to play. Each time I felt 47 and apologized to you for wasting your time.” Cheryl 48 took her mother’s hand.

“Do you remember what you would say to me?”

“I would say I didn’t come to see you 49, I came to see you.”

“And you 50 those words, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I really did.”

“Well, now I say the 51 words to you. I didn’t come to see you 52. I came to see you.”

Her mother understood and smiled as she floated back into sleep.

Their 53 together passed quietly into days, weeks, and months. To the last day they cared each other in the 54, love given and received just by seeing each other.

A love so strong that, 55 in this deepened silence that followed their last goodbye, Cheryl can still hear her mother’s love.

36. A. moments         B. business        C. consequences        D. failures

37. A. lost             B. buried          C. shared              D. frozen

38. A. thinner          B. stronger         C. better               D. worse

39. A. silently         B. excitedly        C. impatiently           D. desperately

40. A. laughter         B. tears            C. despair              D. happiness

41. A. catch           B. keep            C. wake                D. sit

42. A. grateful          B. sorry          C. optimistic            D. nervous

43. A. until            B. since            C. after                 D. while

44. A father            B. mother           C. mother-in-law         D husband

45. A. know            B. forget           C. remember           D. doubt

46. A. walk            B. run              C. ride                 D. drive

47. A. guilty           B. excited           C. silly                 D. sensitive

48. A. quickly          B. eagerly           C. curiously             D. gently

49. A. study           B. play              C. explain              D. cry

50. A. said             B. appreciated        C. meant              D. weighed

51. A. useful           B. final              C. different            D. same

52. A. talk            B. sleep             C. complain            D. weep

53. A. mornings         B. afternoons        C. evenings             D. nights

54. A. carefulness       B. sadness           C. kindness             D. stillness

55. A. thus             B. only             C. even                D. ever

The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. It you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.

 This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would hive her some idea of a fascinating circle who might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’s be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.

 Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, he delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious. Automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance form the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.

 The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine; the latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.

The passage mainly deals with________.

A. the function of I.Q. in cultivating a writer

B. the relationship between genius and success

C. the decisive factor in making a genius

D. the way of gaining some sense of distinction

By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could________.

A. come to understand the inner structure of writing

B. join a fascinating circle of writers someday

C. share with a novelist her likes and dislikes

D. learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security

In the girl’s long painstaking training process, ________.

 A. her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success.

 B. her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance

 C. she acquires the magic of some great achievement

 D. she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write

What can be concluded from the passage?

 A. A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success

 B. A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.

 C. As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. Doesn’t matter, but just his|her effort.

 D. What really matters is what you do rather then who you are.

Our cat has a sweet nature, and she can let us know what she wants. When we fail to meet her needs, she gently leads us in the proper direction. When I forget to fill her water bowl early in the morning, she runs after my legs, and then pushes me in the direction of her bowl. She doesn’t get irritated (生气的); instead, she expresses her wishes in the best way. And I always understand what she is telling me.

One day I found myself envying her simple expression. How many times had I expected my husband or my children to know my wants without my ever giving voice to them? How many times had I been disappointed that they couldn’t understand when I needed a hug, a compliment or a chocolate bar?

After a pleasant afternoon with my husband, I wanted to stop somewhere nice and have dinner, but he didn’t understand my hints (暗示). “Couldn’t you see that I wanted to go out to dinner?” I complained when he pulled into our driveway.

“Why didn’t you say so? I can’t read your mind,” he answered in impatience. His words gave me pause. Had I expected him to read my mind? Why hadn’t I expressed my desire more clearly? I realized I had fallen into the female trap of “If you love me, you can read my mind.”

Now, I state my needs clearly and directly. I look at my cat and know she agrees.

1. Why was the author disappointed in her husband or her children?

A. Her husband didn’t give her a hug.       B. Her children didn’t give her a chocolate bar.

C. They didn’t give her a compliment.       D. They didn’t understand her mind.

2. What will the author do if she wants something from her husband now?

A. She will give him her hints.            B. She lets him guess what she wants.

C. She tells him her needs directly.        D. She buys what she wants herself.

3. What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph?

A. I realized what I did was wrong.      B. My husband stopped me from saying something.

C. I stopped and didn’t go with my husband.  D. My husband prevented me from going on.

4. What would be the best title of the text?

A. How does a cat ask for something?  B. Learn how to read your cat’s mind

C. A lesson from a cat               D. Guess what others think