It was a cold winter morning. Half asleep at the train station, I stared into the distance,   36   for the train to take me to my   37   in Boston. The word was quiet. The very few people on the street kept to themselves,   38   their steaming cups of coffee.
Reaching into my pocket as the   39  was approaching, my numb hand searched for the $ 20 bill to pay my fare. The pocket was   40  ! I searched through my bag and then I felt   41  . Unless the money dropped from the sky, I’d be   42   there.
“What’s the matter?” A short, elderly man stood before me.
“Oh, nothing…. Well, I   43   my money and now I can’t pay for the ticket. I’m going to   44   my match class, and the train is leaving.”
“Here, use this.”
The man held a $ 20 bill. I looked up,   45  . People just didn’t do that anymore. Everyone worried about their own   46  , rarely stopping to think about others, especially teenage strangers.
“Thank you, but no, I can’t.”
“  47  it – go!” The man pushed me   48   the train.  I bought a round – trip ticket, and he refused the change I   49  to give him back. I did not know what to say – a million thoughts raced through my mind, yet I stood   50  .
For the train ride I was silent. I began to see the world through   51  eyes. That man made a difference with such a simple   52  .
A week later I was at the train station again, with an extra $ 20   53  I saw the man. And there he was.
“excuse me, sir, I believe I owe you this.” I   54  the money into his hand.
Failing to refuse, he said, “Just remember to do the same for someone in your shoes someday.” I smiled, content.
The elderly man is my hero. For many, heroes are famous, but my hero is a   55  stranger who taught me a lesson in life. I will never forget his kindness.

It was a cold winter morning. Half asleep at the train station, I stared into the distance,   36   for the train to take me to my   37   in Boston. The word was quiet. The very few people on the street kept to themselves,   38   their steaming cups of coffee.

Reaching into my pocket as the   39  was approaching, my numb hand searched for the $ 20 bill to pay my fare. The pocket was   40  ! I searched through my bag and then I felt   41  . Unless the money dropped from the sky, I’d be   42   there.

“What’s the matter?” A short, elderly man stood before me.

“Oh, nothing…. Well, I   43   my money and now I can’t pay for the ticket. I’m going to   44   my match class, and the train is leaving.”

“Here, use this.”

The man held a $ 20 bill. I looked up,   45  . People just didn’t do that anymore. Everyone worried about their own   46  , rarely stopping to think about others, especially teenage strangers.

“Thank you, but no, I can’t.”

“  47  it – go!” The man pushed me   48   the train.  I bought a round – trip ticket, and he refused the change I   49  to give him back. I did not know what to say – a million thoughts raced through my mind, yet I stood   50  .

For the train ride I was silent. I began to see the world through   51  eyes. That man made a difference with such a simple   52  .

A week later I was at the train station again, with an extra $ 20   53  I saw the man. And there he was.

“excuse me, sir, I believe I owe you this.” I   54  the money into his hand.

Failing to refuse, he said, “Just remember to do the same for someone in your shoes someday.” I smiled, content.

The elderly man is my hero. For many, heroes are famous, but my hero is a   55  stranger who taught me a lesson in life. I will never forget his kindness.

1.A．watching             B．looking         C．reaching    D．arranging

2.A．home              B．class          C．office     D．factory

3.A．serving             B．carrying         C．minding      D．making

4.A．chance            B．crowd             C．driver          D．train

5.A．deep                B．empty             C．messy         D．tight

6.A．hopeless            B．useless           C．relieved      D．dissatisfied

7.A．blocked             B．drawn             C．stuck     D．tied

8.A．wasted            B．counted         C．spent     D．lost

9.A．miss                B．skip           C．fail          D．stop

10.A．frightened        B．disturbed         C．surprised   D．concerned

11.A．problems          B．complaints         C．positions    D．challenges

12.A．Seize             B．Get            C．Catch        D．Take

13.A．in                 B．beyond           C．toward       D．on

14.A．offered            B．managed       C．happened  D．attempted

15.A．unconsciously       B．silently           C．seriously    D．uncomfortably

16.A．curious            B．changed          C．bright         D．widened

17.A．task               B．act             C．example     D．performance

18.A．so that            B．even if            C．now that    D．in case

19.A．dropped           B．pushed           C．pressed      D．placed

20.A．giving             B．encouraging       C．promising  D．respecting

Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world．But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism （双语能力） are even more important than being able to converse with a wider range of people．Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter．It can have a deep effect on your brain, improving skills not related to language and even protecting against a serious mental disorder in old age．

This view of bilingualism is different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century．Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interruption that prevented a child's school work and ability to think and understand things．They were not wrong about the interruption: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual \s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system disturbs the other．But this interruption, researchers are finding out, isn't so much a disturbance．It forces the brain to solve inside conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its thinking muscles．

The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment．"Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often—you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language," says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompea Fabra in Spain．

"It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving．" In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr．Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, showing that they did better in it．

1.From the passage we can learn that experts used to believe that ______．

A．interruption forced a bilingual's brain to strengthen its thinking ability

B．a second language stopped children's studying as well as mental development

C．using two languages annoyed the children who have trouble in learning skills

D．language systems were busy in a bilingual's brain when he was using languages

2.The underlined word "switch" in Paragraph 3 probably means "______"．

A．change      B．use         C．speak     D．study

3.What is the author's attitude towards bilingualism?

A．Cautious．  B．Doubtful．   C．Concerned．  D．Favourable．

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．How Bilinguals Use Languages    

B．What Bilingualism Is Really about

C．Why Bilinguals Are More Intelligent   

D．When People Learn a Second Language