Last winter, when I was heavily pregnant, I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law's house and had to park in a nearby parking lot because they didn't have accessible parking. The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of ice on the ground --- not many people had ventured out that evening!

When I returned to my car around 11pm, I noticed that I was the only car left. Nervously, I hopped into the car and let it warm up a bit. When I finally tried to drive away, my wheels began to spin. I was stuck! I spun and spun and wondered what to do.

All of a sudden, in my rear view mirror, I saw four teen-aged boys approaching my car. They were walking side by side in a line and dressed a bit like gang members --- at least I thought that's what they looked like. My car was in a very isolated area and I began to panic. I was certain they were coming to my car to harm me. Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window and said "Excuse me, Ma'am, can we help you? You seem stuck." Still afraid and fearing the worst, I said "I am stuck." And the young man said "It's okay, stay in your car and we'll push you out of the snow." And they did!

When they finally got me out of the snow, they smiled and waved. I rolled down my window and thanked them, embarrassed to have judged them so poorly.

1.Why did the author just freeze when the four young men walking toward her car?

A. Because she was afraid of being harmed.

B. Because she sat in her car for too long a time.

C. Because she was cold indeed in that freezing evening.

D. Because she knew they would rob her of the car.

2.Which of the following words can best describe the four young men?

A. Impolite.                       B. Ill-mannered.

C. Unfriendly                              D. Warm-hearted.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. One of the four teenagers was a gang member.

B. The kids wanted to help the author out of trouble.

C. The author would have a baby in her car.

D. The young men enjoyed pushing cars out of the snow.

4.The best title for the text would be___________

A. Every man has his faults

B. Fortune favors those who use their judgment

C. Don't judge a book by its cover

D. Think twice before you do.

Feeling exhausted and hopeless, I began walking to my car. Every step seemed tiring, and every step was another to survive. As I looked up into the sky I thought about how my grandmother had left me, and my anger began to return. I was annoyed by the loss, and my belief in God was beginning to fade. I couldn’t understand why these things happened. So as I stood in a public parking lot a million questions formed in my mind. Why did this happen to me? Aren’t we supposed to get signs from the people that pass on? Why did I not feel her presence anymore? Is there a heaven?

         Suddenly, a woman driving right by my side rolled down her window and distracted my unanswered thoughts. “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me,” she said loudly. Thinking she was going to ask for my parking spot, I simply pointed to my car. The thought of having to say where my car was seemed like too much to bear. “No, excuse me,” she said again.

         At this point, I felt I had no choice but to see what this annoying lady wanted. As I got closer, I was startled—was this my grandmother’s nurse, Adu, who lived with her during her final months? I soon realized that she wasn’t, although the resemblance was unusual. Then, I realized that this Adu was searching for something in her bag. Surprisingly, I was overcome by a sense of relief that led me to be patient the entire time the lady was searching. Others would be nervous by a stranger reaching in their bag, but I wasn’t. She finally reached to the very bottom of her bag and handed me a three-page booklet. “It looks like you need this,” she said calmly with a warm smile on her face.

         I looked down at the mysterious and obviously used booklet and on the front cover in big bold letters read “What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?”

         It took me only a few seconds to comprehend the exchange with this woman, but by the time I looked up, she was gone.

         I walked slowly into my car holding the tiny little book that was given to me with fear that it would fly away in the wind. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but I knew that if my grandmother had anything to do with that I didn’t want to let it go.

         I felt a sense of relaxation as I opened the first page. It explained how people pass on, but their spirit remains with us. This was the first time since my grandma had passed that I felt her with me, just like I had wanted. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but I did know that I finally felt happiness from the surprising change in events.

         I couldn’t, and still can’t, believe what had happened to me on that day. I don’t remember the specific details that you usually hear about like what the person was wearing, the time of day, or even the weather, but it doesn’t matter. It was a random day in November when my life turned back around and I began to feel hope again. It was real. It was a miracle. And, I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

1.The author refused to say anything to the woman but just pointed to her own car at first mainly because ______.

A. the author did not know the woman

B. the woman interrupted the author’s thoughts

C. the author thought she wanted to use the vacant parking space

D. the author was too weak to say anything

2.What can we learn about the author’s grandmother?

A. She often made the author angry.  B. She left nothing to the author.

C. She was kind to the author.         D. She lost faith in God.

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The author and the woman became good friends later.

B. The woman turned out to be the author’s grandmother’s nurse.

C. The author knows the specific details about this experience.

D. The author was very grateful to the unknown woman.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Miracle at the Parking Lot       B. What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?

C. True Love for My Grandmother   D. Adu, My Grandmother’s Nurse

三、完形填空（共20小题，每小题1分，共20分）
A   37   thing happened   38   me last Sunday. It was such a beautiful day __39_ I drove to go for a look in the country.
On the way back home, my   40   stopped. It was out of gas on a   41   road far from a town! I decided to walk until I found someone   42  could sell some gas. I had walked almost a mile   43  I finally found a house near the __44__. I was glad to see it because it was getting dark.
I knocked at the door and a little old lady with long white hair __45_. She said, “I’ve been __46__ for you here for a long time. Come in.   47   is almost ready.”
“But I only came for some gas,” I answered. I couldn’t   48   what she was talking about.
“Oh, Alfred! Gas? You   49  tea,” said she.
I quickly   50  that my car was out of   51  , but she didn’t seem to listen to me. She just kept   52  me Alfred and talking about how long it had been   53   she had seen me. She was acting very strangely and I was anxious to leave. As soon as she went to get tea, I went out of the house as fast as I   54  .
Fortunately, there was another house down the road and I was able to buy the gas I needed. When I told the man about my   55 , he said, “Oh, that’s Miss Emily. She lives by herself in that big house. She’s strange, but she wouldn’t   56  anybody. She is still waiting for the man she was going to marry thirty years ago. The day before their wedding he left home and never came back because of the war.”
37. A. happy   B. strange       C. common     D. bad
38. A. on B. in       C. upon   D. to
39. A. and      B. so       C. but     D. that
40. A. car       B. bus     C. bike    D. truck
41. A. narrow B. lonely C. crowded     D. busy
42. A. what     B. whom C. who    D. how
43. A. before  B. after   C. while  D. as
44. A. street    B. path    C. way    D. road
45. A. came    B. answered    C. opened       D. appeared
46. A. asking  B. looking      C. calling       D. waiting
47. A. Gas      B. Coffee       C. Tea     D. Lunch
48. A. consider       B. understand  C. accept D. think
49. A. like      B. love    C. used to like D. liking
50. A. answered     B. explained   C. refused       D. promised
51. A. gas       B. tea      C. strength      D. energy
52. A. calling  B. call     C. to call D. called
53. A. until     B. before C. since   D. when
54. A.could     B.can      C. would D. wanted
55. A. accident       B. incident      C. experience  D. surprise
56. A.hit  B. injury C. hurt    D. frighten

The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people．We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well．I pulled it into a garage and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes．He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine．I was amazed．The sad truth is that great talent is not enough．

I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100,000 a year. A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth．”

There is an old saying that goes, "Job means 'just over broke（破产）"．And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people．Because schools do not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers "live within their means"．They work and they pay the bills．Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn．

When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald's?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald's makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald's is excellent at business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.

1.The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph to show that       ．

A. he is just one of the talented people

B. he is ready to help others

C. he has a sharp sense of hearing

D. he knows little about car repairing

2.The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by____    ．

A. spend more than they can afford

B. 1ive within what they earn

C. 1ive in their own circle

D. do in their own way

3.Why do talented people earn so little according to the author?

A. They don’t work hard enough．

B. They have no specialized skills．

C. They don't make full use of their talents．

D. They lack financial intelligence．

4.The main purpose of the author is to tell us____       ．

A. how young people can find a satisfactory job

B. What schools should teach about finance

C. why so many talented people are poor

D. how McDonald's makes much money

Last winter, when I was heavily pregnant, I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law's house and had to park in a nearby parking lot because they didn't have accessible parking. The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of ice on the ground --- not many people had ventured out that evening!

When I returned to my car around 11pm, I noticed that I was the only car left. Nervously, I hopped into the car and let it warm up a bit. When I finally tried to drive away, my wheels began to spin. I was stuck! I spun and spun and wondered what to do.

All of a sudden, in my rear view mirror, I saw four teen-aged boys approaching my car. They were walking side by side in a line and dressed a bit like gang members --- at least I thought that's what they looked like. My car was in a very isolated area and I began to panic. I was certain they were coming to my car to harm me. Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window and said "Excuse me, Ma'am, can we help you? You seem stuck." Still afraid and fearing the worst, I said "I am stuck." And the young man said "It's okay, stay in your car and we'll push you out of the snow." And they did!

When they finally got me out of the snow, they smiled and waved. I rolled down my window and thanked them, embarrassed to have judged them so poorly.

1.Why did the author just freeze when the four young men walking toward her car?

A．Because she was afraid of being harmed.

B．Because she sat in her car for too long a time.

C．Because she was cold indeed in that freezing evening.

D．Because she knew they would rob her of the car.

2.Which of the following words can best describe the four young men?

A．Impolite.

B．Ill-mannered.

C．Unfriendly

D．Warm-hearted.

3.Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．One of the four teenagers was a gang member.

B．The kids wanted to help the author out of trouble.

C．The author would have a baby in her car.

D．The young men enjoyed pushing cars out of the snow.

4.The best title for the text would be___________．

A．Every man has his faults

B．Fortune favors those who use their judgment

C．Don't judge a book by its cover

D．Think twice before you do.