--- I rang you at about ten, but there was no reply.

--- Oh, that was probably ____ I was seeing the doctor.

I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors. Almost instantly I loved her. She had an Unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking,  36  she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.

Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my  37 . She wanted to know how I thought we should  38  things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew  39  about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her  40 . It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to  41  them. She trusted me to complete things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how  42  I was, so I began to show up to paint more and more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.

Mrs. Neidl's  43  that year was, "Try it. We can always paint over it  44 !" I began to take  45 . I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing --- only things to be  46  upon. I learned to dip my brush into the paint and  47  create something.

The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was  48  in the program as "Student Art Assistant" because of the time and effort I'd put in. It was that year that I  49  I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing stage design.

Being on that stage-design team  50  Mrs. Neidl changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more competent than I had thought, but I also  51  a strong interest and a world I hadn't known existed. She taught me not to  52  what people think I should do: She taught me to take chances and not be  53 . Mrs. Neidl was my comforter when I was upset. Her  54  in me has inspired me to do things that I never imagined  55 .

19.A. trust             B. patience        C. curiosity      Do interest

After spending a year in Brazil on a student exchange program, her mother recalled, Marie Colvin returned home to find that her classmates had narrowed down their college choices. “Everyone else was already admitted to college,” her mother, Rosemarie Colvin, said from the family home. “So she took our car and drove up to Yale and said, ‘You have to let me in.’?”

Impressed—she was a National Merit(全国英才) finalist who had picked up Portuguese in Brazil—Yaledid, admitting her to the class of 1978, where she started writing for The Yale Daily News “and decided to be a journalist,” her mother said.

On Wednesday, Marie Colvin, 56, an experienced journalist for The Sunday Times of London, was killed as Syrian forces shelled the city of Homs. She was working in a temporary media center that was destroyed in the attack.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

During the first half of the nineteenth century in the United States, Christmas was a very different kind of holiday than it is today. There was no set of way of celebrating the day,which was not yet an official holiday.  71  Some observed Christmas as an important Christian religious day honoring the birth of Jesus.Others celebrated the day with parties,music,drinking and eating.   72    73  .Calvinist Christians banned the celebration of Christmas.But groups such as Episcopalians

and Moravians honored the day with religious services and seasonal decorations.

By mid-century,Christian groups began to ignore their religious diffrences over the meaning of Christmas and honored the day in special ways.

Christmas became an important time for families to celebrate at home. More and more Christians Americans also began to follow the European traditions of Christmas trees and giving gifts.Christians believed that the tree represented Jesus and was also a sign of new beginnings. German immigrants brought their tradion of putting lights,sweets and toys on the branches of evergreen trees placed in their homes.

This tradition of setting up a Christmas tree soon spread to many American homes.   74   As these traditions increased in popularity,the modern trade and business linked to Christmas also grew.

As Christmas became more popular,some states declared the day a state holiday.Louisiana was the first state to make the move in eighteen thirty-seven.  75   .It was not until eighteen seventy that President Ulysses Grant made Christmas a federal holiday.

A．So did the practice of giving people presents.

B. By eighteen sixty,fourteen other states had followed.

C. And,some communities did not celebrate the day at all.

D. Americans seldom gave each other presents on Christmas Day.

E. But many new American Christmas songs started to become popular.

F. Religion played a big role in how an American might celebrate the holiday.

G. Communities around the country honored the day in different ways.

第三部分阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

A

Ten years ago, Sang Lan, a 17-year-old Chinese gymnast, was competing at the Goodwill Games in New York. During a routine warm-up vault (跳马), Sang landed on her head and suffered an injury that left her paralyzed from the chest down. Ten years later, she is a college graduate, and has many admirers.

According to New York Times, what happened was that, as Sang was making her sprint (短跑) down the runway, a coach moved the springboard (跳板) in a misguided (搞错的) attempt to help her. She was running at full speed, and had no time to stop. Unfortunately, there was no cushion to receive her fall. "I heard a terrible sound," Octavian Belu, the Romanian coach, said at the time.

"I don’t feel bad about it now," Sang said in an interview over the weekend, explaining that she still follows gymnastics. She provided her professional opinion on television and on the Internet during the Beijing Olympics. "I’ve had to learn to face reality. Sometimes, when I watch old videos of me flying in gymnastics, I’m proud that I used to be so good."

She’s getting on with her life. At Peking University, from which Sang graduated last year with a broadcasting (播音) degree, friends had to carry her up stairs from class to class. She has her own caretaker (看护) and a personal assistant, or manager, provided to her by China’s General Sports Administration. "I can’t say I never feel regret, but I never complain," Sang said. "There’s no use in being regretful. You can’t live your life over again. I still love sports."

66. What caused Sang Lan to become injured according to the passage?

A. She was running too fast at that time.

B. She landed on the cushion in the wrong place.

C. The coach didn’t know she was going to fall.

D. A coach moved the springboard to a wrong place.

67. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Sang faces her past bravely.

B. It was not Sang’s fault that she was injured.

C. A caretaker has been provided by Sang’s own family.

D. Sang feels a little regret sometimes.

68. Which of the following have helped Sang Lan since her

injury?

a. Octavian Belu     b. Her caretaker     c. Her manager

d. China’s General Sports Administration     e. The interviewer

A. b, c, e     B. b, d, e     C. a, d, e     D. b, c, d