The Price of a Dream

I grew up poor, living with my wonderful mother. We had little money but plenty of love and attention.  I was   36   and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still   37   a dream.

My dream was to be a sportsman.   38   I was sixteen, I had started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and hit anything that moved on the football field.  I was also   39  . My high-school coach was Ollie Jarvis, who not only believed in me, but taught me  40  to believe in myself. He   41  me the difference between having a dream and realizing the dream. One particular   42   with Coach Jarvis changed my life forever.

It was the summer between my junior and senior years, and a friend recommended (推荐) me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket—money for a new bike and new clothes, and the   43   of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to   44   summer baseball to deal with the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing. 

When I told Coach Jarvis, he was as   45   as I expected him to be.  “You have your whole life to work,” he said.  “Your playing days are limited. You can’t   46   to waste them.” I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the   47   that would explain   48   him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his   49   in me.

“How much are you going to make at this job, son?” he asked. “Three twenty-five an hour,” I replied.

“Well,” he asked, “is $3.25 an hour the   50   of a dream?”

That simple question made it   51   to me the difference between   52   something right now and following a dream. I   53   myself to sports that summer, and within the year I was   54   by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was   55   a $20,000 contract. In 2000, I bought my mother the house of my dream!

1.A. happy              B. polite      C. shy          D. honest

2.A. lose               B. have        C. make         D. need

3.A. By the time        B. The time    C. At one time  D. At a time

4.A. right              B. popular     C. lucky        D. confident

5.A. how                B. why         C. when         D. whether

6.A. gave               B. taught      C. brought      D. asked

7.A. accident           B. matter      C. problem      D. experience

8.A. aim                B. idea        C. start        D. purpose

9.A. keep up            B. put up      C. give up      D. pick up

10.A. mad               B. happy       C. frightened   D. shameful

11.A. adopt             B. afford      C. affect       D. effect

12.A. answers           B. excuses     C. words        D. ways

13.A. for               B. to          C. on           D. in

14.A. sadness           B. regret      C. hopelessness D. disappointment

15.A. source            B. prize       C. price        D. allowance

16.A. direct            B. clear       C. clean        D. straight

17.A. wanting           B. changing    C. dreaming     D. choosing

18.A. provided          B. devoted     C. headed       D. imagined

19.A. worked            B. mentioned   C. fired        D. hired

20.A. paid              B. got         C. offered      D. signed

How old was I? I can’t recall. Maybe I was only 10, about to turn 11, making it the first Christmas after my father left, and left me to fill that sad, shattered place in my mother’s heart. Whenever it was, it was the Christmas the magic changed: the year I stopped being a wide-eyed child and tried eagerly to play Father Christmas myself. It was the Christmas of the coat.

Mom first saw the coat at Tobias, one of the nicer women’s stores in our town’s little mall. It was a deep forest green. A long, heavy, wool dress coat with side pockets. Mom pulled it out from the rack（架） and held it up. “Long enough,”she murmured and slipped it on.

“I need a new coat,” Mom smiled before the three-way mirror. She made any clothing look good, and this coat hugged her just right. She glanced at the price tag, then hung the coat back on the rack, pausing once more to feel the smooth brush of wool.

Eighty-seven dollars. But I didn’t think twice. As we moved on through the mall, I found some excuse to come back and ask one of the Tobias ladies to hold the coat.

At last I had the coat. The store ladies wrapped it in their biggest box with bright blue paper and a thick silver ribbon. I don’t remember how I got it home, but I can still feel the bursting excitement and pride that filled me each time I glimpsed at the beautifully wrapped gift hiding under my sweater. I would occasionally dig it out just to hold the box, to imagine the big space it would take up under our tree. Here it was ─ joy, peace, and love ─ all wrapped up, waiting for Mom’s loving gratitude.

36. That the writer’s mother felt the coat before they left the store showed that ____.

A. the coat was of good quality                 B. the coat was too expensive

C. she liked the coat very much                D. she’d get it in the end

37. The writer tried to act as Father Christmas in order to ____.

A. show he grew up                                               B. show he missed his father

C. bring his mother a surprise                            D. enjoy himself

38. The writer hid the coat under his sweater in order to ____.

A. imagine the space taken up under the Christmas tree

B. feel the strong feeling to his mother on Christmas

C. give his mother a big surprise on Christmas Day

D. keep the new coat tidy and orderly in the box

39. What can be the best title of this passage?

A. A Merry Christmas                                  B. Christmas of the Coat

C. A Deep Green Coat                                 D. Mother’s Merry Christmas

请阅读下列的广告：

A．       Guangzhou Sports Ground

Open next week from 6:20 to 8:30 pm.

Admission: $2, under 45 or over 60 -- $7.

Welcome to join us to keep you fit.

Tel: 23455884

B.         CCTV-1

The programs are as follow: 18:30 Sports, 19:00 World News, 19:30 Introduction of Museum of Modern Art, 21:30 Movie – DANCE IN THE RAIN

C.         Dongfeng Photo Shop

Photos for all purposes are taken with half of the price for new husband and wife.

Mon --- Frid.: 8:30 am --- 8:30 pm, Sat. & Sun.: 9:00 am --- 10:00 pm

D.         STAMPS ON SHOW

Time: 8:30am --- 5:00 pm. on October 23—24

Add: No. 1 Yuejin Road, Guangzhou

E.         PART-TIME JOB OFFERED

Do you want to have a chance to communicate with those who do shopping? If so, you may contact with Sunny Bookshop, for two shop assistants are needed here.

Tel: 020-23100013

F.         HELP FROM MUSIC TEACHER

Violin lessons to be given at 8:00 on Monday evening. Those attending prepare violins by themselves.

Admission: 100 yuan (half price for students)

Tel: 020-28338381

请阅读以下人员的相关信息，然后匹配和他/她感兴趣的广告。

1.Meimei is interested in playing the violin, but she can’t play very well because she has no music teacher to teach her face to face. She really wants to get one.

2.Peter begins to have his summer holiday today. He is too tired to go out for any activity. Instead, he would like to stay home in the evening.

3.Tom’s family is not rich. He wants to find a part-time job at weekends to earn some money for his study.

4.Jany is too fat. This is not good to her health. She knows it well and want to take more exercise after study.

5.Liu Hua is going to marry next month. Before that, she is going to take photos with her new husband.

I don’t _________ the price, as long as the house is in good condition.

—What happened over there?

—They argued________the waiter________the price of the meal.