I was a publishing director and was looking forward to embracing a new day of work, as always，that morning．

I would always turn to the crossword, but that day it didn't  31  I'd been doing it for 30 odd years, but trying to read this one was like treading through syrup（糖浆）: 32  slow and hard． I thought I must be tired． I said to my assistant． The 33  colleague contacted my wife, Beth, and she drove me straight to hospital． There, confirmation came that I'd had a stroke in the part of my brain that 34 communication． I was now in a condition that means it's difficult or 35 to receive and produce language． It was the only time I 36 ．

I was back at home a week later, and my goal was to get better and  37  Work in a couple of months． The way to  38  my language ability was rough． I'd look at simple pictures and try to describe them as my mind  39  round and round in the darkness, looking for words．

As the months passed it became  40  that I wasn't going to be able to go back to my old job． For 25 years, I had  41  myself as a publisher． I was used to a busy day of meetings． I enjoyed colleagues and the 42 I'd had． I didn’t feel ready to say goodbye to my old self． There were times when I felt incredibly  43 ．

In the darkest months, I devoted myself to  44 ． I couldn't manage novels or newspapers,  45  I tried reading poetry, and found the shorter lines less overwhelming． My speech came back, and I learned how to read again, though much more slowly． I also learned the  46  to keep up． I allowed myself to slow down, and started to enjoy it．

47  , I rid of my old skin． I grieved the past, its passing and its absence, and started to 48  it． Now,  10 years  later,  I look after my grandson a day a week, and my relationship with my family is deeper than ever． If you'd asked me 15 years ago to  49  the importance of the things in my life I might have said work, but now I'm no longer a high-achieving publisher． I'm a  50         man． 

1.                A．wear off        B．make any sense   C．count up  D．pay off

2.                A．temporarily     B．scarcely        C．incredibly D．savagely

3.                A．curious         B．reserved        C．rigid D．concerned

4.                A．calls for        B．deals with       C．suffers from   D．responds to

5.                A．practical        B．absurd         C．impossible D．innocent

6.                A．prayed         B．cried           C．failed D．withdrew

7.                A．contribute to    B．agree to        C．return to  D．appeal to

8.                A．obtaining       B．rebuilding       C．revealing D．improving

9.                A．slipped         B．doubted        C．wandered D．reckoned

10.               A．messy          B．flexible         C．straightforward D．self-evident

11.               A．informed       B．estimated       C．reflected  D．defined

12.               A．extinction       B．reward         C．agenda    D．status

13.               A．angry          B．acute          C．prejudiced D．merciless

14.               A．speaking        B．trying          C．writing    D．managing

15.               A．since          B．until           C．SO   D．as

16.               A．favor          B．patience        C．coincidence    D．comfort

17.               A．Gradually       B．Hopefully       C．Narrowly D．Annually

18.               A．keep up with    B．come to terms with    C．get around to   D．live up to

19.               A．arrange        B．compare        C．rank  D．declare

20.               A．genius         B．community      C．dignity    D．family

D
Eight-year-old Bethany and seven-year-old Eliza are having a great time jumping around in the orchard of their home in a village near Penrith. They can play any time they like because they don't go to school. Instead, they are educated at home by their parents, Paul and Veronika Robinson. But they don't have lessons, have never used a timetable and learn only what and when they want to learn.
"I want my kids to have freedom in their childhood, not spend it in an institution," says 37-year-old Veronika, "School is all about control and following the rules." Veronika and her 56-year-old husband Paul have never experienced the daily rush to get dressed and out of the door that is common in most households with school-aged children. "We get up at our leisure - usually around 8:30," says Veronika. "We might visit a friend, or go to the library, and on Tuesdays we shop at the market. In summer, we spend most of our time outside and the girls entertain themselves a lot."
New research due to be published this spring reveals a very different picture of Britain's home educators. "Out of 297 families, 184 said that they never use a timetable," says Mike Fortune-Wood of Home Education UK. "Ninety per cent never or rarely use textbooks, and nearly all said that happiness, contentment and self-fulfillment were more important than academic achievement. Only 15% felt that planning what to learn was crucial."
So far, so good. But what, you might ask, are the children actually learning?
"It wasn't important to me that the girls could read by a certain age, but they both picked it up for themselves at around seven," says Robinson. "Weighing cooking ingredients uses maths, and making a shopping list teaches them to write. Observing five hens has taught the girls about survival of the fittest. "
But what about when the children grow up? Can they go to university? The home educators' answer is they can if they want to. There are a variety of routes into higher education, but probably the most common is to join a local college. This is what Gus Harris-Reid has done. "I was educated at home all my life. I'd never had a lesson or been inside a classroom until I started GCSEs," says the 18-year-old. "I'm now studying for 4 A-levels at Exeter College. I've had no problem with the work or with fitting in." When asked to reflect on his experience of home education, his considered response is, "Like a permanent holiday, really!" Not a bad start for someone who plans to take a mechanical engineering degree next year.
66. What is the topic of this article?
A. New ways of learning to read and write           B. Problems with UK schools
C. Home education in the UK                      D. Wild, undisciplined children
67. Why do the Robinsons not send their children to school?
A. They think schools control children too much.
B. They do not like the courses taught in schools.
C. They want to teach their children farming skills.
D. They live in a remote area where there are no schools.
68. According to the article, in homes with school-going children, ______.
A. mornings are rushed and stressful.   
B. the children hardly ever go outside.
C. the family wakes up around 8:30am.
D. the children must ask permission to go to the toilet.
69. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Most home educators believe that happiness is more important than good grades.
B. Most home educators believe that planning is important.
C. Most home educators do not follow a timetable or use textbooks.
D. Most home educators are not worried about when their children learn to read and write.
70. What does the article say about home-educated children getting into university?
A. They learn so many useful skills at home that universities are happy to accept them.
B. They can get into university if they have 4 A-levels.
C. They can go to school later and get the qualifications they need in order to enter university.
D. Home education is so relaxed that they are likely to experience problems when faced with the pressures of a degree course.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

It happened when I was a little girl. I can remember neither the beginning nor the end, but whenever I   36   it, tears flow down my face.

When I was young, my family led a(n)  37  life in the country. As you can imagine, many country roads are difficult to walk on. One   38   we were visiting some relatives and the   39  was very bad. It began to   40   on our way back home. Dad carried me on his   41  . Mom gave her overcoat to my   42  . We walked together through the rain for more than an hour.

I was fat at that time and Dad must be   43   to hold me for such a long time. He almost   44   down many times. In hope of   45   my father’s burden, I tried to carry myself,   46   I achieved nothing since I was just a little kid.

When we arrived home, the inside of our house was   47   with rain water. The rain had come   48    our leaky（有裂缝的）roof and water was everywhere.

Mom put bowls all around the house to try to   49  the rain. Then she put me and my elder brother to   50  , carefully placing us on the remaining   51   place. I fell asleep soon. When I opened my eyes, I found Dad and Mom were   52   in chairs, both having caught bad colds.

    This is my very earliest   53  . Though the evening has long passed, and now we live a happy life, I won’t forget the rain we   54  together. The rain, that evening, and especially my parents’  55  , will stay in my mind forever.

A．deal with   B．think of       C．lead to    D．suffer from

A．hard    B．unhappy  C．interesting  D．rich

A．morning B．noon C．afternoon    D．evening

A．food    B．drink    C．traffic  D．weather

A．blow    B．thunder  C．rain D．snow

A．arm B．back C．bike D．car

A．brother B．sister   C．friend   D．relative

A．worried B．tired    C．angry    D．lazy

A．fell    B．looked   C．turned   D．ran

A．taking  B．moving   C．lifting  D．reducing

A．so  B．and  C．but  D．instead

A．buried  B．covered  C．mixed    D．crowded

A．under   B．over C．in   D．through

A．catch   B．welcome  C．greet    D．expect

A．ground  B．floor    C．bed  D．ceiling

A．dry B．clean    C．beautiful    D．warm

A．quarreling  B．sleeping C．laughing D．eating

A．visit   B．excitement   C．experience   D．memory

A．got back    B．got away C．went through D．went by

A．wishes  B．words    C．love D．education

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen
All of a sudden herhandicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.               
That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.
【小题1】What was the writer a decade ago?

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

I was successful at my job . I worked very hard , but it ___21___ me and my family a fabulous (极好的) lifestyle . I’d worked for the same company for twenty years and had worked my way up to department director. ___22___, one afternoon last May, I was called to the office, and it was __23__ explained to me that they were letting me go. I just sat there __24__ they talked on and all I could think was, “I’ve ___25___.” I’d been so well respected ; ___26___ I was of no value.

 For six weeks, I was in a very __27__ place. I wandered around my house like a zombie (僵尸).I could __28__ things needed doing, but would not do anything . My beliefs in looking forward and seeing the positive(积极的) in everything ___29___ me .

 Then, in late June, my youngest son’s football team made the city cup final. The year before, he’d been very sad when I __30___ the same final, so he was ___31___ when I told him I’d go. Not only did they win, but the look on his face as he saw me ___32___ him on was unbelievable. From then in , I spent the summer enjoying my sons and their passions (激情) . I attended match after match and performances of my elder son’s band —I ___33___ went to another city to watch him play. These moments were so ___34___. My life had been so much devoted to __35__ for so long , and I felt __36__ that my sons were happy to welcome me into their world.

 ___37___ , being unemployed gave me back a sense of purpose — I was someone’s mum! I felt a sense of being ___38____ again. Now I feel more positive about my professional ___39___ and I’m getting on better with my family than I ever have. Losing my job made me realize just how __40__ it is to achieve real balance in life.

21. A. promised    B. afforded      C. showed       D. left

22. A. Therefore    B. Anyhow     C. Otherwise     D. However

23. A. quickly      B. gently      C. partly         D. easily

24. A. until        B. after        C. as            D. so

25. A. failed       B. finished     C. tried          D. changed

26. A. suddenly    B. finally      C. immediately     D. shortly

27. A. secret       B. quiet       C. lonely         D. dark

28. A. see         B. get        C. suggest        D. understand

29. A. defended    B. directed    C. deserted        D. disturbed

30. A. watched     B. missed      C. lost           D. won

31. A. disappointed  B. worried    C.  honoured     D. delighted

32. A. cheering    B. taking       C. leading          D. passing

33. A. just        B. even        C. still            D. almost

34. A. hopeful     B. meaningful     C. difficult       D. strange

35. A. work       B. family        C. matches       D. performances

36. A. successful   B. thoughtful     C. thankful        D. peaceful

37. A. Naturally    B. Doubtfully     C. Disagreeably    D. Unexpectedly

38. A. employed    B. comforted     C. valued        D. encouraged

39. A. education     B. experience    C. relationship    D. future

40. A. important     B. interesting     C. simple       D. surprising