阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后人36-55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column．She had been a school teacher before she retired（退休），but she needed to keep  1   ．She was even willing to work without pay．She then offered her  2  with a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people．Every day she  3   other old folks like her．By talking with them，she  4   two things．Old people had abilities that were not  5   ． But old people also had some   6   ．She found a new purpose for herself then．

Through the years，she used to write stories about people for national magazines．There was now a new  7   ： Old people like herself．She began to write a newspaper column called“ Sixty Plus”，which was about   8   old．She writes about the problems of old people，especially their problems with being  9   ．

Anna Douglas uses her   10   ability to see the truth behind a problem．She understands why problems begin．For example，one of her readers said that his grandchildren  11   the houses as soon as he came to visit．Mrs Douglas  12   some ways for him to understand his grandchildren．

“It's important to know something about your grandchildren's world，”says Mrs Douglas．“That means questioning and listening，and   13   is not what old people do best．Say good things to them and about them，”she continues．“Never try to   14   your grandchildren or other young people．Never   15   your opinion．Don't tell them what they should do．Commonly ，they have been taught they should have respect for old people．The old should respect them as well．”

A．free         B．rich          C．powerful         D．busy

A．service      B．money        C．students          D．books

A．observed     B．met          C．comforted        D．answered

A．recognized   B．followed      C．enjoyed           D．demanded

A．studied      B．agreed        C．gave             D．used

A．mistakes     B．problems      C．questions         D．characters

A．subject      B．life           C．way             D．plan

A．getting      B．respecting     C．employing        D．supporting

A．unknown    B．refused        C．misunderstood     D．discouraged

A．thinking    B．working       C．writing           D．leading

A．got        B．entered        C．left              D．passed

A．invented    B．chose         C．suggested         D．imagined

A．listening    B．speaking      C．pleasing           D．advising

A．praise      B．scold         C．trouble            D．encourage

A．speak out   B．give up        C．get back          D．stick to

When I was young, I really doubted whether there was love between my parents．Every day they were busy earning money so that they could   36 the high tuition my brother and I needed．They didn’t   37 in the romantic ways that I read in books or saw on TV．
One day, Mom was sewing a quilt（被子）．I  38 sat down beside her．“Mom, I have a　39 here,” I said after a while．“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very 　40 voice．
Mom stopped her work and raised her head with   41 in her eyes．She didn’t answer immediately．She bent her head and continued to sew the quilt．I was   42 if I had hurt her．I was in great embarrassment and I was at a loss what to do．But at last she said, very   43  , “Susan, look at this   44 ．Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt．The thread really makes the quilt strong and lasting．If   45 is a quilt, then love should be a thread．It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there． 46 is inside．”
I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until years later．
One day, Dad accidentally got  47 while on duty．Ever since then he could no longer  48
properly．Every morning and dusk Mom would help Dad walk slowly on the country road．Along the country road, there were beautiful flowers, green grass and trees．The leaves were gently glistening   49 the sun shining upon them．All of these made up the most beautiful   50 in the world．
“Dad, how are you feeling now?”” I asked him one day． “Susan, don’t worry shout me,” he said gently． “I just like walking with your mom．I like this kind of life．” Looking into his eyes, I  51 　　what they meant．
The doctor had said Dad would   52  in two months．But that day never came．He   53 away in peace．
54   I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses．But from this   55 , I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, which makes life strong and warm…

The pupils of the remote Beau-Roc primary school in Haiti are chanting (singing the same words again and again)．One of them plays a guitar made from an empty oil tin．Their headmistress, Emile Jean-Noel, is one of the few women school headteachers in the country．

Today, over 70% of Haitian population live without proper food, water, schools, or housing． To reduce the hunger that prevents learning and to encourage parents to send their children to school, meals are provided by the World Food Programme．

"We are so cut off that we have many difficulties," comments Emile, adding that finding chalk, school books and other materials is practically impossible．Emile tries to encourage people around her to make use of available resources．Her efforts are bearing fruit．One of her successes was convincing local women to contribute to their children' s schooling and increase their income by selling embroidery（刺绣） and other handicrafts．

Recent political instability（不稳定）has meant that the country has not invested （投资） in education for ten years．Only 44% of children go to school and less than half of them finish primary school. Less than a third of these children go on to secondary school．In rural areas it is not rare to find 17 and 18 year olds in primary school- Beau-Roc has only 4 teachers for 260 pupils．Emile works constantly to improve her pupils' environment．Under her direction, a local worker is now constructing a store house for the food delivered regularly by the WFP．

Not only is Emile' s salary small, but she receives it irregularly．For her, transport is a real headache．She lives five kilometers away and has to take the tap tap, a privately-owned bus, costing more than she can afford．

"The decision to be a rural teacher in Haiti should not be taken lightly" , Emile comments． "With all the sacrifices and risks it requires, only those who are really cut out for teaching should do it．" However, Emile loves her job．"I always feel at home with the children and, because the parents understand what I'm doing, I try to give my best．"

1.Which of the following is extremely difficult for Beau-Roc primary school?

2.In the last paragraph, "those who are really cut out for teaching" refer to people who are _____．

3.What topic is presented in this passage?

三、完型填空（共30分）
Jenna, a popular girl from Westood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new   36  in high school.
37  , high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts(选拔赛) for cheerleaders(拉拉队队员). She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be  38   for her to be selected. Two hours later, the  39  read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart  40   as the list ended without her name. Feeling  41  , she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.
Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was   42  . She moved on to English and history, and was  43  to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to  44  math for the time being.
The next day Jenna went to see Mrs Biden about being on the school  45  . Mrs Biden wasn’t as  46   as Jenna. “ I’m sorry, but we have enough  47   for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll take then.” Jenna smiled  48   and left. “Why is high school so     49    ?” she sighed.
Later in  50  class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much  51   . By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to   52   at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to  53   . High school was just as her mom had said: “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond  54   a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the  55   fish you can be.”
36. A. processes         B. decisions          C. challenges          D. exercises
37. A. Therefore         B. However          C. Otherwise          D. Besides
38. A. difficult          B. easy              C. boring             D. interesting
39. A. editor           B. boss              C. candidate           D. judge
40. A. jumped           B. sank              C. stopped            D. raced
41. A. strange           B. happy             C. awful              D. lonely
42. A. struggling         B. improving        C. working            D. complaining
43. A. ashamed          B. disappointed        C. shocked           D. relieved
44. A. put up            B. prepare for         C. worry about         D. give up
45. A. committee        B. newspaper          C. radio              D. team
46. A. enthusiastic       B. artistic             C. sympathetic         D. realistic
47. A. speakers          B. readers             C. cheerleaders        D. writers
48. A. widely           B. weakly             C. excitedly          D. brightly
49. A. similar           B. ordinary            C. different            D. familiar
50. A. physics           B. history             C. English            D. math
51. A. pleasure          B. hope               C. trouble             D. sorrow
52. A. fit in             B. look out            C. stay up             D. get around
53. A. swim            B. try                 C. ask                D. escape
54. A. in return for       B. in case of            C. in terms of         D. instead of
55. A. slimmest         B. smallest              C. best              D. gentlest