When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write my own books. Half the students smiled       , and even worse, the rest nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. “Don’t be        . Only geniuses can become writers.” the English teacher said, “And you are getting a D this term.” I was so       that I burst into tears. That night I wrote a short          poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the newspaper. To my      , they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer. I showed my teacher and fellow students. They laughed, “Just plain dumb luck,” the teacher said. I tasted       ; I’d sold the first thing I’d ever written. That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck, that was fine with me.

During the next two years, I sold dozens of poems and letters. By the time I graduated from high school, I had scrapbooks (剪贴簿)       with my published works. I never       my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again  because they were dream        .

 I had four children at the time. While the children slept, I typed on my ancient typewriter. I wrote what I felt. It took nine months. I chose a       and mailed it. A month later I received a contract, an advance on payments, and a request to start       another book. Crying Wind, which became a best seller, was translated into fifteen languages and sold worldwide. My first book also became required        in native American schools in Canada.

      In the       year I ever had as a writer I earned two dollars. In my best year I earned 36,000 dollars. People ask what college I       , what degrees I have and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is: “None.” I just write. I’m not a genius. I use an electric typewriter that I paid a hundred and twenty nine dollars for six years ago. I do all the housework and fit my writing in a few minutes here and there. I’ve written eight books. To all those who dream of writing, I’m shouting at you: “Yes, you can. Don’t listen to them.” I don’t write right but I’ve succeeded. Writing is        ; it’s fun and anyone can do it. Of course, a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.

1.A. unkindly     B. happily C. willingly         D. crazily

2.A. curious       B. depressed     C. excited D. silly 

3.A. unlucky      B. ashamed        C. moved  D. unconfident

4.A. sad     B. innocent        C. disappointing         D. puzzling

5.A. puzzlement         B. expectation  C. astonishment         D. disappointment

6.A. coldness    B. failure   C. success D. prejudice

7.A. furnished   B. linked   C. combined      D. filled

8.A. remembered     B. concluded     C. described      D. mentioned

9.A. killers         B. makers C. designers      D. creators

10.A. writer       B. reporter        C. publisher       D. manager

11.A. working on       B. going on        C. turning on     D. putting on

12.A. writing     B. reading C. selling   D. buying

13.A. busiest     B. unluckiest     C. worst    D. highest

14.A. worked    B. attended       C. admitted        D. participated

15.A. easy          B. hard      C. convenient   D. practical

With the rise of modern communication tools, handwritten letters ______ by emails. 

A．will replace        B．have replaced      C．are replaced       D．are being replaced

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）选出可以填入空白的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write my own books. Half the students smiled unkindly,   36   nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. “Don’t be   37  , only geniuses can become writers,” the English teacher said, “And you are getting a D this term.” I was so ashamed I burst into   38   . That night I wrote a short sad poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the newspaper. To my   39   , they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer. I showed my teacher and fellow students. They laughed, “Just plain dumb luck,” the teacher said. I  40  success. I’d sold the first thing I’d   41  written. That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck that was fine with me.

     During the next two years I sold dozens of poems and letters. By the time I graduated from high school, I had scrapbooks (剪贴簿)  42   my published works. I never   43   my writing to my teachers, friends or my family   44   because they were dream killers.

I had four children at the time.  45   the children slept, I typed on my ancient typewriter. I wrote what I felt. It took nine months. I chose a   46   and mailed it. A month later I received a contract, an advance on payments, and a request to start   47  another book. Crying Wind, became a best seller, was translated into fifteen languages and sold worldwide. My first book also became  48  reading in native American schools in Canada.

     The   49  year I ever had as a writer I earned two dollars. In my best year I earned 36,000 dollars. People ask what college I   50   , what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is: “None.” I just write. I’m not a genius. I use an electric typewriter that I paid a hundred and twenty nine dollars  51  six years ago. I do all the housework and  52   my writing in a few minutes here and there. I’ve written eight books. To all those who dream of writing, I’m shouting at you: “Yes, you can. Don’t listen to them.” I don’t write right   53   I’ve succeeded. Writing is   54   , it’s fun and anyone can do it.   55   , a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.

1.A. other              B. others           C. the other        D. the rest

2.  A. silly                B. curious      C. excited      D. depressed

3.  A. laughter         B. tears            C. song         D. cheers

4.  A. puzzlement           B. disappointment   C. expectation      D. astonishment

5.  A. tasted               B. met          C. accepted     D. considered

6.  A. yet              B. never            C. even         D. ever

7.  A. crowded with     B. filled with      C. combined with    D. linked with

8.  A. remembered       B. concluded        C. mentioned   D. described

9.  A. again                B. instead          C. still            D. merely

10. A. Though           B. Before       C. Until            D. While

11.A. writer                B. reporter     C. publisher        D. manager

12.A. working on        B. going on     C. turning on       D. putting on

13. A. requested            B. required     C. demanded     D. reminded

14.A. busiest           B. worse            C. worst           D. highest

15.A. attended          B. took         C. admitted     D. participated

16. A. out              B. to               C. by           D. for

17.A. keep              B. fit          C. save         D. hold

18. A. or               B. so           C. and          D. but

19.A. easy              B. hard         C. convenient       D. practical

20.A. On the contrary   B. Of course    C. As a result     D. In this way

When should a child start learning to read and write? This is one of the questions I am most frequently (屡次地) asked. There is no hard and fast rule, for no two are alike (同样的), and it would be wrong to set a time when all should start being taught the intricacies (错综复杂的事物) of reading letters to form words.

If a three-year-old child wants to read (or even a two-year-old child for that matter), the child has the right (权利) to be given every encouragement (鼓励). The fact that he might later be “bored” when joining a class of non-readers (非读者) at child school is the teacher’s affair (事情). It is up to the teacher to see that such a child is given more advanced (高级的) reading material.

Similarly, the child who still cannot read by the time he goes to junior school at the age of seven should be given every help by teachers and parents alike. They should make certain that he is not dyslexic (having difficulty in reading 诵读困难的).

Although parents should be careful not to force youngsters (儿童) aged two to five to learn to read (if badly done it could put them off reading for life), there is no harm in preparing them for simple recognition (识别) of letters by labeling (标识) various items in the their rooms. For instance (比如), tie a nice piece of cardboard to their bed with BED written in neat (整齐的), big letters.

Should the young child ask his parents to teach him to read, and if the parents are capable (足以胜任的) of doing so, such an attraction (吸引) should not be ignored (对……不予理会). But the task should never be made to look like a hard job and the child should never be forced to continue, or his interest should start to flag (变弱).

1 This passage is mainly about ____ .

         A. what qualities people teaching children reading should have

         B. difference age groupings of children to be taught reading

         C. when and how children should be taught reading

         D. various problems of children who start learning to reading

2 In the writer’s opinion, children start learning to read ____ .

         A. early and fast       B. at different time C. by a certain rule  D. from word games

3 A three-year-old child who wants to read should ____ .

         A. be encouraged    B. go to an infant school

         C. start from fun stories D. join a class of non-readers

4The purpose of labeling items in the room is to ____ .

         A. make it more colorful

         B. teach children to write neatly

         C. help children recognize simple letters

         D. force children to develop the habit of

5 The writer suggest that ____ .

         A. children should ask their parents to teach them to read

         B. children should not feel bored if given advanced reading material

         C. children starting to read should ask specialists for help

         D. children should be taught with patience , care and a sense of humor

When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write my own books. Half the students smiled unkindly,  36  nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. “Don’t be  37 , only geniuses can become writers,” the English teacher said, “And you are getting a D this term.” I was so ashamed I burst into  38 . That night I wrote a short sad poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the newspaper. To my  39 , they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer. I showed my teacher and fellow students. They laughed, “Just plain dumb luck,” the teacher said. I  40  success. I’d sold the first thing I’d  41  written. That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck that was fine with me.

     During the next two years I sold dozens of poems and letters. By the time I graduated from high school, I had scrapbooks (剪贴簿)  42  my published works. I never  43  my writing to my teachers, friends or my family  44  because they were dream killers.

I had four children at the time.  45  the children slept, I typed on my ancient typewriter. I wrote what I felt. It took nine months. I chose a  46  and mailed it. A month later I received a contract, an advance on payments, and a request to start  47  another book. Crying Wind, became a best seller, was translated into fifteen languages and sold worldwide. My first book also became  48  reading in native American schools in Canada.

     The  49  year I ever had as a writer I earned two dollars. In my best year I earned 36,000 dollars. People ask what college I  50 , what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is: “None.” I just write. I’m not a genius. I use an electric typewriter that I paid a hundred and twenty nine dollars  51  six years ago. I do all the housework and  52  my writing in a few minutes here and there. I’ve written eight books. To all those who dream of writing, I’m shouting at you: “Yes, you can. Don’t listen to them.” I don’t write right  53  I’ve succeeded. Writing is  54 , it’s fun and anyone can do it.  55 , a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.