完形填空

　　All kinds of people come in to have their shoes shined．Most of them are friendly．But this man was different．

　　“How much do you make a week, boy?” he asked me．I felt he was 　　1　　 at me．

　　He kept taking a sharp 　　2　　 around every now and then．All the time I kept 　　3　　 where I’d seen his face．Suddenly I knew I’d seen his 　　4　　 in the post office many times．He was a big robber：　　5　　 by the police in three states!

　　“You know,”he was saying,“it’s imagination people lack．You’ll never get 　　6　　 as a shoeshine boy．”

　　I kept brushing away at his shoes as 　　7　　 as I could．The sooner I finished the better．He said,“When I was sixteen, I had 　　8　　 ＄2500 of my own．”

　　That reminded me of something．Was it ＄2500 or ＄5000 or ＄25 000?I wasn’t 　　9　　．I knew a big reward was 　　10　　 for him．What could I do about it?　　11　　 him with a can of shoe polish?A man has 　　12　　 could grind(碾碎)me into the floor．If only someone would come in!

　　He kept talking away,“Along with 　　13　　, it takes courage．The courage to take a chance．Start something on a shoestring．”

　　Suddenly I saw Officer Dailey 　　14　　 across the street．Then, real fast, I began tightening the man’s shoestrings．

　　The policeman was at the window when I cried out,“Officer Dailey, 　　15　　!This man’s a robber．”

　　“　　16　　,” the man shouted angrily．He started to jump off the stand．It didn’t go the 　　17　　 he planned．He fell flat on his face and knocked himself out cold．

　　“That was pretty 　　18　　 of you,” the officer said．“You’ll get a reward of ＄7500 for him．”

　　“Well, it really wasn’t my 　　19　　,” I said．“It was his．He told me if you had courage and imagination you could start something 　　20　　 on a shoestring．”

阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

Migrating Birds May Spread Flu

　　Every year, residents of Kunming, Yunnan Province welcome thousands of black headed gulls(红嘴鸥)with food and happy laughter．The lovely white birds fly from Siberia to stay in the Dianchi area of the city in winter．But this year the white angels are no longer lovely in locals eyes, due to their fear of bird flu．

　　Although scientists have not found the deadly virus in the birds, few people will dare to risk their lives to feed the birds this year．

　　Across the world, wild migratory birds(候鸟)seem to have become public enemy number one．Since the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was discovered not only in Asia but also as far away as Europe and Africa, migratory birds were regarded as the carriers．Geographically speaking(从地理上说), the spread of bird flu appears to be following the migratory routes of wild birds．Bird flu is a common disease among wild migratory birds．But the virus may change itself when transferred to fowls and human．

　　Since the World Health Organization warned last month that migratory birds could carry the deadly H5N1 virus that causes bird flu, many countries, like China, have started tracking migratory birds and cleaning up poultry markets(家禽市场)．China also cancelled(取消)all pigeon races last week．

　　Scientists said that the migratory routes of wild birds are often far away from big cities．The risk of transferring(传染)the virus directly from wild birds to humans is very low．Scientists also warned that wild birds are shy creatures．They see you coming and fly away at once．But if a wild bird becomes easy to approach, people should be careful that it may be sick．

　　There are already three areas hit by bird flu in the provinces of Hunan and Anhui and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, areas all on the migratory routes of wild birds．In the past two weeks China has reported three outbreaks of the H5N1 virus that killed 3800 chickens, ducks and geese(鹅)．

完型填空

　　Last Christmas while staying with my parents, I 　　1　　 across some old love letters that my parents wrote to each other．These letters were all piled up in a basket, dirty and 　　2　　 with dust．Deciding to read and sort them, I asked them if I could take the letters back to my Illinois home．They 　　3　　．

　　As I carefully opened each letter, 　　4　　 of them fragile with age, I discovered a new page 　　5　　 unknown to me in this private chapter of my parents' lives．

　　My father used to 　　6　　 in the army．So his letters were full of frontline 　　7　　 of the things about the war．Each of my mother's letters was marked with her 1944 dark red lipstick kiss．I was 　　8　　 to these letters like a magnet(磁铁)．

　　Just six weeks after our Christmas visit, Daddy became very 　　9　　 and was hospitalized．This time, he was fighting a 　　10　　 kind of war．As I sat by his bedside, we discussed the 　　11　　．He told me how much receiving those lipstick-kissed letters had 　　12　　 to him when he had been so far from home．

　　It so happened that the next day would be February 14．From the 　　13　　 letters I chose the card my father had sent Mother in 1944 and brought it to my father’s bedside．

　　At his bedside, I joked with him, saying 　　14　　, "Today is Valentine's Day, don’t you want to send Mother a present?" He became more 　　15　　 when I handed him the old 　　16　　．He carefully opened it and took out the card, and when he 　　17　　 it, his eyes were filled with tears．

　　My father, in a 　　18　　 tight with emotion(情感)read the loving message he'd sent to my mother fifty-six years 　　19　　．And this time, he could read it to her in 　　20　　．

完形填空

　　Across the world, students are sweating as they prepare for all kinds of exams．Many teenagers complain that while they do well in their homework, they don't get 　　1　　 marks in exams．They are wondering why．

　　In a new study U．S．psychologists think they have found the answer．Researchers report that heavy exam 　　2　　 is actually more likely to affect the performance of very good students than average ones．

　　Worried about 　　3　　 others, these students can lose their most valuable 　　4　　 weapons：short-term or working memory．This is their ability to 　　5　　 numbers and ideas, while focusing on problem at hand．According to the study, when 　　6　　 pressure is put on people with good skills, their performance drops．

　　People with strong working memory skills 　　7　　 to do well in intellectual ability test．Their analytical skills and creative 　　8　　 depend on their short-term-focused processor．

　　In the study, researchers 　　9　　 the working memory of 93 students．They were divided into two groups, with a high and a low 　　10　　 memory．

　　The students then took two maths tests each under 　　11　　 conditions．One was called a practice test．In the other, the students were told they were part of a team that was depending on them to 　　12　　 their score in order to win a reward．

　　The results were 　　13　　：the group with high working memory scored about 10 percent higher than the others on the low-pressure practice test．But the two groups' 　　14　　 were about equal when the pressure was on to perform．

　　The study shows how memory performance is 　　15　　 by fear of failure, according to the scientists．