“Mom, can I bake some bread?” We were 15, my best friend, Hanna, and I, determined to try our hands at creating some beautiful bread.

“It’s not worth the trouble,” my mother said. “It takes lots of time and makes a big mess. Our bakery bread is delicious without all that effort.”

Begging was useless. Mom’s “no” meant “No!”

But several weeks later, opportunity knocked: My parents were going out for the evening. I immediately invited Hanna to be my partner in bread-baking crime.

We studied the recipe. That was easy. “Mix oil into flour then beat in four of the eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt.”

We were not good at breaking eggs. I tried to learn from my mother.

“Gradually add eight cups of flour. When dough (面团) holds together, squeeze it.”

We took turns working like that. “Is the dough ‘holding together’?” we asked each other.

I remembered my neighbor’s instructions: “If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if too dry, add water.”

We added water. Then more flour. Then more water. By then, the mass of our dough had grown very much.

“Place dough on floured surface and squeeze till smooth,” the recipe instructed.

We took turns burying our hands in the damp dough, pinching, squeezing, and feeling it leak between fingers.

“Clean and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for 1 hour.”

This was good news --- we’d have a break. On dirtied kitchen chairs, we dreamed about our beautiful bread. “See?” we would tell my mom. “Isn’t it worth the work?”

Hanna and I couldn’t help glancing at the rising process every few minutes. But nothing was happening.

“Maybe something will happen in the hot oven,” I said.

Unfortunately, when we removed the loaves from the oven, they were like hard stones.

Mom was right; it takes time and effort. It sometimes makes a mess. But still it feels good, somehow, to be part of that long, ongoing chain of bread bakers. Since that night, both Hanna and I have learned to do it right.

1.To the writer, what her mother said was __________.

2.Which of the following can best describe the children’s feelings while making their first bread?

3.Which of the following did the writer do without instructions?

4.The passage mainly tells us ______________.

第二部分：完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I came to study in the US last fall. My life had been  36  since I arrived at Andover. Although I had several outside-class activities, I hadn’t taken any official leadership position.

This  37  changed when I received an e-mail from Ms Griffith, my cluster(一组，一群) dean(主任),  38   that a new female DC Rep was needed. DC Rep  39  Discipline Committee Representative.  40  boarding school(寄宿学校) students break serious rules, like using  41 , getting drunk or cheating in their studies. The punishments given to such students are  42  by a DC Rep, a house adviser, two student representatives, the cluster president and the cluster dean. I was interested in becoming a DC Rep for my cluster, Pine Knoll,  43  so were other students. We had to hold an election and Ms Griffith asked us to write  44  to be sent to everyone in Pine Knoll.

I thought hard about what to write. I didn’t want to make any  45  , because they are difficult to keep. So I started my speech by explaining  46  I wanted to become a DC Rep. “ I want to serve Pine Knoll and also learn how American boarding schools carry out discipline,” I wrote  47  .

I made three  48  that said, “ Vote For Teresa” and put them on every exit of my dorm(宿舍) so that people would  49  my name when they went to vote.

Although I tried hard, I didn’t win the election. I was  50  , but my positive(乐观的) nature did not allow me to  51  for very long. I actually  52  when my friends tried to  53  me, “Teresa, I am sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry for me. I’m very happy to have taken part in the election,” I said.

It is true that the process is much more important than the  54  . I am surprised and happy to  55  my hidden courage.

36. A. hard                   B. terrible                     C. happy                      D. simple

37. A. condition            B. situation                   C. time                         D. life

38. A. explaining           B. writing                     C. saying                      D. talking

39. A. stands for            B. asks for                    C. calls for                   D. looks for

40. A. Usually            B. Sometimes               C. Often                       D. Seldom

41. A. computers           B. drugs                       C. cars                         D. mobiles

42. A. realized                  B. given                       C. determined               D. made

43. A. but                         B. although                   C. or                            D. therefore

44. A. articles            B. speeches                   C. compositions            D. introductions

45. A. mistakes             B. movements               C. promises                  D. requests

46. A. how                   B. whether                    C. when                       D. why

47. A. openly             B. easily                       C. fluently                    D. honestly

48. A. posters             B. advertisements          C. pictures                    D. rules

49. A. recognize            B. remember                 C. forget                      D. see

50. A. satisfied                  B. surprised                  C. disappointed             D. helpless

51. A. put down            B. feel down                 C. look down                D. lie down

52. A. smiled                B. cried                        C. laughed                    D. sorrowed

53. A. encourage           B. cheer                       C. comfort                    D. persuade

54. A. reason                B. attitude                    C. result                       D. aim

55. A. know                  B. find                         C. invent                      D. discover

I came to study in the US last Autumn. My life had been quite ___1___ since I arrived at Andover. Although I had quite a few extracurricular（课外）activities, I hadn’t taken any official leadership position.

  This _2__changed when I received an e-mail from Ms Smith, my cluster（a group of dormitories）dean（主任）, __3____ that a new female DC Rep was needed. DC Rep  4   Discipline Committee Representative.  5   boarding school students break serious rules, like using 6  , getting drunk or cheating in their studies. The punishments given to such students are __7__ by a DC Rep, the cluster president and the cluster dean. I was really interested in becoming DC Rep for my cluster, Pine Knoll,  8__  so were five other students. We had to hold _9__ and Ms Smith asked us to write ____10___ to be sent to everyone in Pine Knoll.

  I thought hard about what to write. I didn’t want to make any  11_, because they are difficult to keep. I didn’t want to say I was experienced, because I was not. So I started my speech by explaining  12  I wanted to become a DC Rep. “ I want to serve Pine Knoll and also learn how American boarding schools carry out discipline,” I wrote ___13_.

I made three  14  that said “Vote For Teresa” and put them on every exit of my dormitory so that people would ___15_my name when they went to vote.

  Although I tried hard, I didn’t win the election. I was ___16_, but my positive nature didn’t allow me __17  for very long. I actually  18  when my friends tried to comfort me. “Teresa, we are sorry that you didn’t win the election,” They said.

  It’s true, the ___19__ is much more important than the result. I’m surprised and happy to discover my hidden _20____.

1. A. hard                      B. terrible           C. happy             D. simple

2. A. condition           B. situation         C. time             D. life

3. A. explaining          B. writing          C. saying           D. talking

4. A. stands for         B. asks for          C. calls for         D. looks for

5. A. Usually             B. Sometimes      C. Often           D. Seldom

6. A. computers         B. drugs           C.  cars           D. mobiles  

7. A. carried out         B. given            C. determined      D. made

8. A. or                     B. although        C. but               D. therefore

9. A. a discussion       B. a meeting      C. an election       D. a selection

10. A. articles             B. speeches        C. compositions   D.  introductions

11. A. mistakes          B. movements    C. promises         D. requests

12. A. how                B. whether          C. when                   D. why

13. A. seriously         B. easily             C. fluently          D. honestly

14. A. posters            B. advertisements C. speeches        D. promises

15. A. recognize         B. remember     C. forget           D. know

16. A. satisfied                  B.  surprised      C. disappointed     D. helpless

17. A. put down        B. look down            C. feel down       D. lie down

18. A. smiled              B. cried              C. laughed         D. sorrowed

19. A. reason             B. attitude          C. process          D. aim

20. A. strength         B. courage         C. ability            D. skill