It was the district sports meet. My foot still hadn’t healed(痊愈) from a(n)_________(21) injury. I had_________(22) whether or not I should attend the meet. But there I was,__________(23) for the 3,000-metre run.

“Ready… set…”. The gun popped and we were off. The other girls rushed________(24) me. I felt_________(25) as I fell farther and farther behind.

“Hooray!” shouted the crowd. It was the loudest________(26) I had ever heard at a meet. The first-place runner was two laps(圈)）ahead of me when she

crossed the finish line.

“Maybe I should________(27).” I thought as I moved on. _______(28), I

decided to to keep going. During the last two laps, I ran _______(29) and decided not to_______(30) in track next year.It wouldn’t be worth it, ______(31) my foot did heal.

When I finished, I heard a cheer--- ________(32) than the one I’d heard earlier. I turned around, _________(33) the boys were preparing for theirs.  “They must be cheering for the boys.”

I was leaving________(34) several girls came up to me. “Wow, you’ve got courage!” one of them told me.

“Courage? I just __________(35) a race!” I thought.

“I would have given up on the first lap,” said another girl. “We were cheering for you. Did you hear us?”

Suddenly I regained _________(36). I decided to ________(37) track next year. I realized strength and courage aren’t always__________(38) in medals and victories, but in the _________(39) we overcome. The strongest people are not always the people who win, _________(40) the people who don’t give up when they lose.

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Books which give instructions on how to do things are very popular in the USA today. Thousands of books __1__this begin with __2__ that start with the words "how to". Many of "how to " books __3__ advice on careers. They tell you how to __4__ a career and how to __5__ it. If you fail, __6__, you can buy a book called How to Turn Failure into Success. If you never make any money __7__, you need a book called How to Live on Nothing.

One of the most popular types of books is one that __8__ you with personal problems. If you are unhappy with your __9__, you can read How to Love Every Minute of Your Life. If you are tired of books on __10__, you may prefer a book called How to Make Yourself Sad.

Many of these books help people use their __11__ time better. Some people __12__ books which will give them __13__ information about sports, hobbies and travel. __14__ people use their free time to make __15__ and improvements on their homes. They like books which given __16__ instructions on how to repair things.

__17__ have "how to" books become so __18__? Probably because life has become so complex. Today people have far more problems to __19__. "How to" books help people __20__ modern life.

1.A. as    B. like     C. of       D. about

2.A. books      B. sentences    C. words D. titles

3.A. give B. take    C. follow      D. suggest

4.A. pick B. search C. find    D. choose

5.A. get into   B. take part into     C. succeed in D. fail in

6.A. however B. but      C. besides     D. otherwise

7.A. for all     B. in all   C. at all D. all too

8.A. gets B. helps   C. does    D. deals

9.A. book       B. study  C. work   D. life

10.A. sadness  B. happiness   C. anger  D. violence

11.A. free       B. busy   C. working     D. meaningful

12.A. lose       B. sell     C. use    D. want

13.A. little      B. much  C. useful D. useless

14.A. Other    B. Others C. The other   D. The others

15.A. money   B. fun     C. cleaning     D. repairs

16.A. one-by one   B. step-by-step       C. little-by-little     D. day-by-day

17.A. Why     B. How   C. When  D. Where

18.A. good     B. little   C. popular      D. bad

19.A. answer  B. do      C. work out    D. solve

20.A. go away with       B. deal with    C. take with    D. fight with

Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have troubles in understanding speeches by native speakers. The following ways might help improve their listening ability.

First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a proper course and start with the first book. Go on to the second book only after you are sure you understand the first one.

Secondly, stick to (坚持) one course of study. Don't change books often. Never let your attention be attracted (吸引) by another course just because it seems to be more "fashionable" (时髦).

Thirdly, listen to the English news program over the radio from time to time. Better go through the news stories in the Chinese-language newspaper first. That will make it easy for you to understand the English news on the radio.

Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in Special English from the V. O. A. or other listening materials（材料）of the same level as that of your textbook.

1.This is a piece of advice to learners of English on how to ______.

A．improve their listening ability              B．read fast

C．write better English and read faster          D．speak correctly

2.If you want to understand the English news program on the radio, you should ________.

A．read the Chinese-language newspaper step by step

B．read again and again the Chinese-language newspaper

C．go through the Chinese-language newspaper

D．be able to recite the Chinese language newspaper

3."Beyond your level" means something _______.

A．easy for you

B．too difficult for you

C．not too easy and not too difficult for you.

D．just all right for you

4.The author advised that once you have taken up a course, you ______.

A．should stick to it

B．should begin with the last book

C．should take up other courses if they are more fashionable

D．shouldn't do anything else

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

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

My father and I were standing at the top of a church tower. He 36 me to this place in a small Italian town not far from our home in Rome. I 37 why he did so.

“Look down, Elsa,” Father said to me. I looked down and 38 the square in the centre of the village and I saw many turning streets 39 to the square.

“ See, my dear. There is more than one 40 to the square. Life is like that. If you can’t get to the place 41 you want to go by one road, 42 another,” he said to me.

Now I 43 why I was there. My father wanted to tell me how to 44 and deal with the difficulties.

In the years that 45 I often remembered the lesson Fathere taught me. I knew where I wanted to go in 46 . I wanted to be a fashion 47 . And on the way to my first small success I found the road 48 . What could I do ? Accept the failure? Or use my imagination and wisdom to find another road to my 49 ?

I had come to Paris, the 50 of the world of fashion , with some clothes I 51 . But none of the famous fashion designers seemed 52 in them. Then one day I met a friend who was wearig a very beautiful sweater. It had a lovely and 53 stitch (针法).

“Did you knit that sweater ?” I asked her.

“No,”she answered. “ It was done by a woman here in Paris.”

“ What an interesting stitch !” I continued.

My friend had an 54 . “The woman’s name is Mrs Vidian    she learned the stitch in Armenia, her motherland.”

Suddenly a good idea 55 me. why not open my own house of fashion? Why not design, make and sell clothes? I would do it, and I would begin with a sweater.

  The playwright George Bernard Shaw once said humorously, “England and America are two nations divided by a common language. If he were writing today, he might add ‘divided by a common technology--- e-mail’”.

  Two completely different styles of e-mail have formed on either side of the Atlantic-Euromail and Amerimail. Americail is informal and chatty. It’s likely to begin with a “Hi” and end with a “Bye”. The chances of Amerimail containing a smiley face or an “xoxo” are disturbingly high. We Americans are unwilling to dive into the meat of an e-mail. We feel we have to first inform recipients (收信人) about our vacation on the island which was really excellent except the jellyfish were biting and the kids caught a cold, so we had to skip the whale watching trip, but about that investors’ meeting in New York. Amerimail is a bundle of contradictions, casual and yet direct, respectful yet over proud. In other words, Amerimail is America.

  Euromail is stiff and cold often beginning with a formal “Dear Mr. X” and ending with a simple “Sincerely”. You won’t find any mention of kids or the weather or jellyfish in Euromail. It’s all business. It’s also slow. Your correspondent might take days even weeks to answer a message. Euromail is exactly like the Europeans themselves.

  Recently about 100 managers were asked on both sides of the Atlantic whether they noticed differences in e-mail styles. Most said yes. Here are a few of their observations:

  “Americans tend to write (e-mail) exactly as they speak.”

  “Why don’t you just call me instead of writing five e-mails back and forth?”

  “Europeans are less interested in checking e-mail”.

  “In general, Americans are much more responsive to e-mail—they respond faster and provide more information.”

  So which is better, Euromail or Amerimail? I realized it’s not popular these days to suggest we have anything to learn from Europeans, but I’m fed up with an inbox filled with casual, barely meaningful e-mails from friends and colleagues. If the alternative is a few earnestly written, carefully worded bits of Euromail, then I say, “Bring it on.”

What did George Bernard Shaw mean by saying “England and America are two nations divided by a common language”?

A. There is not much difference between British English and American English.

B. Both England and America speak the common language, so they are much the same.

C. Either England or America is a divided nation, though they share a common language.

D. There is sharp difference between England and America despite their common language.

Which of the following is most likely to be the “meat” of an Amerimail?

A. The jellyfish were biting.

B. We had an excellent vacation on the island.

C. We had to skip the whale watching trip.

D. We were to attend the investors’ meeting in New York.

On receiving an e-mail, Europeans tend to __________.

A. respond to it immediately and earnestly

B. take more time than Americans to respond to it

C. respond by calling up their correspondent

D. never respond to it all

What are characteristics of Amerimail?

A. Informal and chatty                                          B. Casual and indirect

C. Stiff and cold                                                       D. Formal and direc60

We can conclude from the passage that __________.

A. the different e-mail styles do much harm to the relationship between the two sides on Atlantic

B. Amerimail is more appreciated by the writer for being informative and casually written

C. Euromail always impresses the writer as something more pleasant to read

D. the writer doesn’t favor either e-mail style as both have their own shortcomings