10－year－old John ran bare foot out of the door on a windy, cold day in February and he __1__ straight for the 125－foot electric tower behind their home. The tower carried 230,000 volts through its silver wires but John wasn't __2__ of the danger. He had suffered from a mental illness, a condition that separates him from reality，__3__ him to live within his own __4__. That day his thoughts were set on climbing to the top of that tower, touching the sky and feeling what it was like to __5__.

His seventeen－year－old brother, James, who had always been close by, watching him and making sure that no __6__ came to him，__7__ to realize that he was missing this time.

John had already __8__ the handrails(栏杆) and was making his __9__ to the sky by the time James __10__ him. James understood the __11__ of the electrical tower but he chose to follow his younger brother up each gray rail, trying not to look __12__，all the way to the top. James finally __13__ his brother and held him tightly with his right hand. With his left hand, he held on to a metal bar to help stabilize(固定) them __14__.

The minutes lengthened into hours __15__ they balanced on a three－inch rail. James sang songs to __16__ his own beating heart and to draw his brother's attention away from the rescue action taking place __17__.

Hundreds of people gathered at the base of the tower and they looked like ants to James. Helicopters(直升飞机) began to circle overhead and emergency trucks rushed to the __18__.When secured with a safety line, the brothers and their rescuers were carefully lowered to the ground, the crowd below burst out __19__. They witnessed the __20__ of a 17－year－old boy named James.

1. A. looked  B. headed  C. cared  D. sent

2. A. aware         B. proud         C. sure           D. afraid

3. A. teaching      B. allowing      C. coaching       D. forcing

4. A. words         B. opinions      C. thoughts       D. ideas

5. A. run           B. fly           C. rush           D. walk

6. A. harm          B. wound         C. fear           D. damage

7. A. refused       B. headed        C. pretended      D. failed

8. A. removed            B. cleared      

C. overcome           D. occupied

9. A. way           B. trip          C. tour           D. journey

10. A. caught       B. saved         C. found          D. recognized

11. A. usage        B. danger        C. effect         D. height

12. A. left         B. right         C. up             D. down

13. A. reached      B. touched       C. fetched        D. found

14. A. either       B. both          C. all            D. each

15. A. before       B. till          C. where          D. as

16. A. stop         B. rest          C. calm           D. resist

17. A. below        B. nearby        C. ahead          D. around

18. A. land         B. space         C. center         D. scene

19. A. cries        B. cheers        C. laughter       D. shouts

20. A. carefulness       B. friendliness 

C. braveness        D. unselfishness

1 

My first job was at a local restaurant, where I worked for seven years and learned so many lessons, especially from a fellow  36  .

Helen was in her 30s and had extraordinary self-confidence, something I was really  37  . I looked up to Helen  38  she was doing what she loved—  39  people better. She always made everyone, customers and co-workers,   40  and feel good.

Being a waitress changed my life. One of my  41  customers was Fred Hasbrook. He always ate an omelet, and when I saw him _42  , I tried to have it on his table as soon as he sat down.

Thanks to the newfound confidence I  43  __from Helen, I dreamed of having my own  __44  . But when I called my parents to ask for a loan, they said, “We just don’t have the money.”

The next day, Fred saw me and asked, “What’s  45  ? You’re not smiling today.” I  __46__my dream with him and said, “Fred, I know I can do more if somebody  47  just have faith in me.”

Before long he handed me checks  48  __$50,000—along with a note that I have to this day. It reads, “The only collateral（抵押品）on this loan is my trust in your  49  as a person. Good people with a dream should have  50  __to make that dream come true.”

I took the checks to Merrill Lynch, where the money was provided for me. I_ 51 __working at the restaurant, making  52  for the restaurant I would open. My plans soured, though, and I lost the  53  .

Later I decided to apply for a job at Merill Lynch. Even though I had no experience, I was__54  and ended up becoming a pretty good agent.   55  . I paid back Fred the $50,000, plus 14-percent annual interest. Five years later, I was able to open my own firm.

1.A. friend     B. waitress      C. citizen     D. customer

2.A. losing                                     B. earning                              C. sharing             D. lacking

3. A. while                                     B. though                               C. because            D. unless

4. A. serving                                 B. respecting                         C. helping             D. praising

5. A. work                                      B. eat                C. smile                     D. speak

6.A. regular                                   B. favorite                              C. respected         D. fresh

7.A. eating                                     B. greeting                             C.smiling              D. coming

8.A. found out                               B. picked up                           C. got back            D. took away

9.A. restaurant                              B. work                                  C. house                D. money

10.A. ahead                                   B. that C. there                      D. up

11.A. exchanged                           B. discussed                           C. shared              D. explained

12.A. should                                  B. would                                C. might                D. must

13.A. totaling                               B. counting                            C. adding              D. valuing

14.A. ability                                   B. honesty                              C. responsibility D. identity

15.A. patience                               B. confidence                         C. choice               D. chance

16.A. loved                                    B. practiced                           C. continued         D. enjoyed

17.A. tables                                   B. plans                                  C. decisions          D. suggestions

18.A. faith                                     B. honesty                              C. money              D. friend

19.A. hired                                    B. rejected                             C. encouraged      D. determined

20.A. Fortunately                          B. Excitedly                            C. Personally         D. Eventually

1 

 When I was a teenager I volunteered to work at the water station at a 10,000 m race.My  36  was to pass out water to the runners. I remember being so excited to see all the different kinds of    37   who passed by and   38  a cup of water. The next year I signed up for the   39   and gave it a shot.

The first 10,000 m race was quite an experience. I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked. At times, I didn’t   40   if I could finish.

At one point near the end, a 70-year-old man ran past me very   41   , and I felt embarrassed that I was 50 years younger than him and I couldn’t even keep up with him. I felt      42   for a second.

But then I   43    something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had   44   capacities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my   45    was only to finish.

After a minute, it   46  me that this was a lesson I could draw from . I learned  47  about myself in that moment. I turned my   48   into inspiration.

I decided that I would not   49  running races. In fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and  50  properly and one day I would be one of those 70-year-olds who were still running. As I   51  the finishing line, I was proud  52  my accomplishment.

In life we all have those moments when we  53  ourselves to others. It’s only   54  . Don’allow those moments to weaken you. Turn them into   55   and let them inspire you. Use them to show you what is possible.

1.A. position    B. direction      C. decision        D. target

2.A. trainers    B. runners        C. fans      D. volunteers

3.A. begged     B. drank   C. dropped       D. grabbed

4.A. project      B. service          C. race     D. experience

5.A. doubt        B. know    C. answer         D. promise

6.A. slowly        B. fast      C. quietly D. carefully

7.A. surprised  B. satisfied       C. amused        D. defeated

8.A. forgot        B. realized        C. remembered        D. abandoned

9.A. different   B. wonderful    C. valuable       D. proper

10.A. dream     B. plan      C. goal      D. job

11.A. happened        B. hit         C. occurred      D. attracted

12.A. everything      B. anything       C. nothing         D. something

13.A. disappointment B. embarrassment       C. agreement          D. achievement

14.A. sign up    B. pick up         C. give up          D. keep up

15.A. predict    B. behave         C. prepare        D. pretend

16.A. found      B. crossed        C. held      D. left

17.A. in    B. upon    C. of         D. for

18.A. combine B. control          C. compare      D. contribute

19.A. natural   B. frequent       C. important    D. terrible

20.A. condition         B. motivation   C. situation      D. protection

1 

In 1898 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,ooo people in less than four minutes. In the middle of complete damage and disorder, a father rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be,  26  that the building was   2 7.

   After the unforgettably shock, he 28  the promise he had made to his son: “ No matter  29 happens, I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to 30 his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his 31  to his son. He rushed there and started 32 the ruins.

  As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived , 33 : “It’s too late ! They are all dead! 34  , face reality; there’s nothing you can do!” To each parent he responded with 35 : “Are you going to help me now? ”No one helped. And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.

  Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know 36 : “Is my boy 37 or he is dead?” He dug for eight hours … 12 hours…36 hours…then , in  38  hour , he pulled back a large stone and heard his son’s 39 . He screamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad!?! It’s me, Dad! I told other kids not to worry.  I told them that if you were alive, you 40 me and 41 you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”

  “What’s going on in there? ”the father asked

“There are 14 of  us  42  43  33,Dad. We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you are here. When the building collapsed, it made  44  , and it saved us.”

“Come out , boy!”

“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, 45 I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”

【小题1】           A. only discovering      B. only to discover 

C. only realizing       D. only to realize.

【小题2】            A. as flat as a pancake                  B. as high as a mountain

C. as strong as an ox                                            D. as weak as a kitten

【小题3】           A. memorized   B. forgot        C. kept             D. remembered

【小题4】           A. what        B. that                      C. which                 D. who

【小题5】           A. fill        B. fill in                      C. come                  D. burst

【小题6】           A. picture     B. promise   C. present                 D. encourage

【小题7】           A. digging     B. digging through   C. digging out   D. digging into

【小题8】           A. to say     B. said   C. and saying   D. saying

【小题9】           A. Come out    B. Come again   C. Come on               D. Come off

【小题10】       A. one word   B. one sound   C.one row                D. one line

【小题11】       A. for himself  B. of himself   C. by himself     D. to himself

【小题12】       A. live         B. living   C. alive           D. lively

【小题13】        A. 38           B. the 38   C. 38^th       D. the 38^th

【小题14】       A. sound       B. voice   C. noise         D. tone

【小题15】       A will save       B. would  save   C. save     D. would have saved

【小题16】       A.if           B. because  C. even if        D. though

【小题17】       A. remained        B. missing  C. left           D. gone

【小题18】       A. for            B. behind   C. out of         D. over

【小题19】       A. a promise        B. space   C. room         D. a triangle

【小题20】       A. because        B. though   C. when      D. even though

1 

My mother is a geneticist, and from her I learned that despite our differences in size, shape and color, we humans are 99.9 percent the same. It is in our   36   to see differences: skin, hair and eye color, height, language. But also in our nature, way down in the DNA that   37   us human, we are almost the   38  .

I believe there is more that unites us than   39   us.

My mother came to the US from India. She is   40   enough that she got her service  41  in a diner in 1960s Dallas. My father is a white boy from Indiana whose   42   came from Germany in the mid-1800s.

 It seems   43   to admit now, but I never   44   that my parents were different colors. One day, I watched my parents walk   45   the street of our church together. They were   46   in the service that day, and as they walked, I saw their hands   47   together in unison(一致地). I noticed for the first time how dark my mother was, and how white my father was. I knew them as my parents   48   I realized their skin color. I'm sorry to say that now when I see a mixed-race    49   walking down the street, I see the "mixed race" first and the "couple" second.

When my parents married in 1966, there were   50   places in this country that had laws  51   mixed marriage.   52  , my white grandfather,   53   father had been a typical racist, was not against their marriage.

Some of us are men, some are women. Some are young, some old. Some of us are short and others   54  . Some right-handed, some left-handed. We have lots of differences; we are all   55  . But deep down inside us, down in our DNA, we are 99.9 percent the same. And I believe we need to remember that.

1.A. feature                                B. character                    C. nature                       D. quality

2.A. gets                                 B. lets                                     C. has                           D. makes

3.A. same                               B. different                     C. familiar                    D. similar

4.A. differs                           B. divides                             C. departs            D. splits

5.A. yellow                          B. white                      C. dark                      D. brown

6.A. turned out                B. turned down             C. turned over               D. turned back

7.A. ancestors                       B. parents                             C. family                     D. origin

8.A. silly                                  B. wise                         C. stupid                    D. foolish

9.A. noticed                         B. looked                             C. watched                  D. observed

10.A. in                                           B. up                                    C. out                          D. down

11.A. entering                        B. running                            C. attending                D. participating

12.A. rocking                       B. shaking                           C. swinging    D. waving

13.A. unless                        B. after                               C. before                    D. until

14.A. marriage                              B. couple                             C. double                  D. twins

15.A. always                              B. also                              C. almost                  D. still

16.A. allowing                      B. preventing                         C. encouraging   D. banning

17.A. Therefore                     B. However                           C. But                           D. Otherwise

18.A. which                         B. whose                             C. that                      D. what

19.A. long                     B. high               C. tall           D. kind

20.A. similar                        B. familiar                C. unique                   D. same