A few weeks ago, our dog, which we had kept for more than ten years, had to be put down. First, a tumor on her stomach got worse, and she was very   36 . Then, the pain in her back got so bad that sometimes she   37  lie down in the middle of a walk and couldn't take another   38 .
When I first found out, l was very sad and cried a lot. She was more like a sister to me than a   39 .But I was also angry at my stepfather,Steve,who told us the  40  a week after it happened. He   41  because he didn' t want to worry us, and he didn't want me to get depressed(抑郁的) and fail my exams. I just thought she was   42  at the animals' hospital.
I think you know all the   43  that went through my head: She was my dog！Why didn't he tell us earlier? I didn't even get to say goodbye.
People in my family have a   44  of keeping things from me to protect me, such as only telling me that my aunt had cancer   45  she had already improved health. All I could think was: Not again !
I   46  to my mum, and she said， “I know. I'm   47  , too.” I opened my mouth to shout. And then she added, “I'm so angry with Steve that he had to   48  through all this on his own.”Hearing my mum's words, I shut up my mouth. I had been so   49  on myself. I hadn't thought about   50  Steve was going through. That dog was his baby. He'd had her for longer than he'd had us—and he had to make the decision to   51  her life, and then kept in silence for an entire   52 . All my anger melted away, and all I felt was   53 .
It makes me realize that we focus so much on ourselves that we   54  the pain of others. At that moment, my mum's words were an incredible   55  that I'll never forget.

A few weeks ago, our dog, which we had kept for more than ten years, had to be put down. First, a tumor on her stomach got worse, and she was very   36 . Then, the pain in her back got so bad that sometimes she   37  lie down in the middle of a walk and couldn't take another   38 .

When I first found out, l was very sad and cried a lot. She was more like a sister to me than a   39 .But I was also angry at my stepfather,Steve,who told us the  40  a week after it happened. He   41  because he didn' t want to worry us, and he didn't want me to get depressed(抑郁的) and fail my exams. I just thought she was   42  at the animals' hospital.

I think you know all the   43  that went through my head: She was my dog！Why didn't he tell us earlier? I didn't even get to say goodbye.

People in my family have a   44  of keeping things from me to protect me, such as only telling me that my aunt had cancer   45  she had already improved health. All I could think was: Not again !

I   46  to my mum, and she said， “I know. I'm   47  , too.” I opened my mouth to shout. And then she added, “I'm so angry with Steve that he had to   48  through all this on his own.”Hearing my mum's words, I shut up my mouth. I had been so   49  on myself. I hadn't thought about   50  Steve was going through. That dog was his baby. He'd had her for longer than he'd had us—and he had to make the decision to   51  her life, and then kept in silence for an entire   52 . All my anger melted away, and all I felt was   53 .

It makes me realize that we focus so much on ourselves that we   54  the pain of others. At that moment, my mum's words were an incredible   55  that I'll never forget.

1.                A．lazy            B．lonely          C．painful   D．shameful

2.                A．would          B．should          C．might D．could

3.                A．walk           B．step            C．foot D．breath

4.                A．tool           B．toy            C．baby     D．pet

5.                A．plan           B．accident        C．anecdote D．truth

6.                A．lied            B．waited          C．reflected D．hesitated

7.                A．still            B．once           C．even     D．never

8.                A．facts           B．opinions        C．thoughts D．doubts

9.                A．story           B．secret          C．habit D．hobby

10.               A．until           B．before         C．while D．after

11.               A．adjusted        B．turned         C．contributed    D．related

12.               A．angry          B．shocked        C．guilty D．abused

13.               A．break          B．go             C．look D．push

14.               A．focused        B．hooked         C．dependent D．hard

15.               A．that           B．where          C．what D．which

16.               A．save           B．expand         C．make D．end

17.               A．year           B．month          C．week D．day

18.               A．regret          B．blame          C．sorrow    D．sympathy

19.               A．shared         B．ignored        C．reminded D．rid

20.               A．comfort        B．compromise     C．gift   D．suggestion

Armed only with iPhones, the inventive rock band Atomic Tom has gone viral（广为流传） by way of the New York subway． The band has scored an Internet hit with the video to the song “Take Me Out．”

Singer Luke White says the production was a top-secret operation．

“We didn't tell anyone about this． It was completely top-secret from our family, from our friends, from our label, our management, everybody． So the first time that people saw this video was last Friday when we put it on YouTube,” explained White．

Since uploading the video to YouTube, band members have spent several days refreshing the page to watch the number of hits rise．

The video has also made its way around Twitter as many people have shared it with their friends．

“I mean, it still hasn't quite hit． It's just kind of blowing our minds right now that we're getting this: many people are fond of it, and they're sharing it with their friends． We don't know what it's like really to have something that's viral, so all of this is very new to us．” said Eric Espiritu, the lead guitarist of the band．

White explains how the video came together:

“We did our research with the applications（ 应用程序） and found applications that worked out really well with the instruments and then we plugged them all into, plugged our phones into mini-battery powered amplifiers（扩音器） that we put underneath our seats, and we did a lot of, you know, practices, in terms of figuring out what the balance of the sound and like who was overpowering, who was too loud or who was too soft．”

The idea for the video came from Espiritu's younger brother Benjamin． The younger Espiritu directed the video from his initial concept through the final edit and upload to the Internet．　

“I've seen a lot of the music applications come out, and I've never actually had the chance to play with them," says Ben Espiritu． "When I started hearing about how they sound and everything, I thought it might be unique to take it one step further and then create an entire band just performing solely（单曲） on the iPhones, and I thought it would be a pretty cool idea．”

Ben says the success of the band’s music video is a credit to the talent and ability of the musicians, but it's also a sign of the times．

“It really comes down to seeing something different, seeing something unique, and I think that that's always, in any type of art form, what will speak to people, and I think it does reflect the times that we live in, taking a smart phone and then being able to turn it into an instrument, not only just an instrument, but making it sound really good．”

Who first saw the video of the song “Take Me Out”?

   A． Their friends       B． The people on line

    C． Their family        D． Their management

What is the band members’ attitude towards the sudden fame?

   A． They are thrilled．

   B． They are quite used to it．

   C． They are kind of confused．

   D． They are so excited as to tell everyone they know．

How did the video come into being?

   A． The band copied from it other musicians．

   B． It had already existed in the iPhones before they bought them．

    C． The band created it with the help of the applications in the iPhones．

    D． The band made full use of the traditional instruments to make the song．

What is the significance of the success of the band's music video?

    A． It has introduced us several talented musicians．

    B． It has made the musicians into millionaires．

    C． It teaches the young a big lesson．

    D． It reflects the talent and ability of the musicians and the times that we live in．

Armed only with iPhones, the inventive rock band Atomic Tom has gone viral（广为流传） by way of the New York subway． The band has scored an Internet hit with the video to the song “Take Me Out．”
Singer Luke White says the production was a top-secret operation．
“We didn't tell anyone about this． It was completely top-secret from our family, from our friends, from our label, our management, everybody． So the first time that people saw this video was last Friday when we put it on YouTube,” explained White．
Since uploading the video to YouTube, band members have spent several days refreshing the page to watch the number of hits rise．
The video has also made its way around Twitter as many people have shared it with their friends．
“I mean, it still hasn't quite hit． It's just kind of blowing our minds right now that we're getting this: many people are fond of it, and they're sharing it with their friends． We don't know what it's like really to have something that's viral, so all of this is very new to us．” said Eric Espiritu, the lead guitarist of the band．
White explains how the video came together:
“We did our research with the applications（ 应用程序） and found applications that worked out really well with the instruments and then we plugged them all into, plugged our phones into mini-battery powered amplifiers（扩音器） that we put underneath our seats, and we did a lot of, you know, practices, in terms of figuring out what the balance of the sound and like who was overpowering, who was too loud or who was too soft．”
The idea for the video came from Espiritu's younger brother Benjamin． The younger Espiritu directed the video from his initial concept through the final edit and upload to the Internet．　
“I've seen a lot of the music applications come out, and I've never actually had the chance to play with them," says Ben Espiritu． "When I started hearing about how they sound and everything, I thought it might be unique to take it one step further and then create an entire band just performing solely（单曲） on the iPhones, and I thought it would be a pretty cool idea．”
Ben says the success of the band’s music video is a credit to the talent and ability of the musicians, but it's also a sign of the times．
“It really comes down to seeing something different, seeing something unique, and I think that that's always, in any type of art form, what will speak to people, and I think it does reflect the times that we live in, taking a smart phone and then being able to turn it into an instrument, not only just an instrument, but making it sound really good．”
【小题1】 Who first saw the video of the song “Take Me Out”?

For a long time I saw happiness as a huge banner (旗帜）across the finish line of a long race. I felt that only when I 36 _____ certain things could I finally be happy in my life. Most of the time I felt like a tortoise believing that being slow and 37 _____ would win the race. At other times I would 38 _____ like a rabbit trying different side roads at a dangerous 39 _____ hoping to reach that banner a little faster. 40 _____ , I began to see that no matter how long I raced towards it, the banner was never any 41 _____ I finally decided one day to 42 _____ and take a break. It was then that I saw my 43 _____ sitting beside me.

It had been with me as I 44 _____ hard to support my family, as I played with my children and heard their 45 _____ and even when I was 46 _____ with my wife at my side looking after me. It had been with me as I raced towards that stupid banner. I just didn’t have the 47 _____ to see it.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “Tension is what you think you should be. 48 _____ is who you are” Perhaps we all should stop our race towards the 49 _____ life we think we should have and 50 _____ the life we have now. Happiness will never be found under some banner far away. If will be found 51 _____ your own heart, soul and mind. It will be found when you 52 _____ that others love you just as you do.

Don’t be a tortoise or a rabbit when it comes to your happiness. Be a playful puppy and carry your stick of 53 _____ with you everywhere you go. 54 _____ yourself out of the race and realize that when it comes to love and happiness you are 55 _____ there.

1.                A．forgot          B．missed         C．overcame D．accomplished

2.                A．safe           B．steady          C．calm D．quiet

3.                A．act            B．run            C．jump D．walk

4.                A．place          B．height          C．speed    D．time

5.                A．Generally       B．Gradually       C．Unfortunately  D．Firstly

6.                A．clearer         B．lower          C．closer    D．smaller

7.                A．settle in        B．start off         C．stop by   D．sit down

8.                A．happiness       B．goal            C．success   D．friendship

9.                A．studied         B．fought          C．exercised D．worked

10.               A．laughter        B．complaints      C．stories    D．breathing

11.               A．lonely          B．tired           C．sick  D．hungry

12.               A．courage        B．chance         C．wisdom   D．strength

13.               A．Stress          B．Relaxation      C．Failure    D．Pain

14.               A．real           B．perfect         C．common   D．colorful

15.               A．enjoy          B．change         C．improve   D．create

16.               A．from           B．on            C．over  D．in

17.               A．realize         B．believe         C．hope D．admit

18.               A．sorrow         B．responsibility    C．fortune   D．joy

19.               A．Carry          B．Make          C．Push  D．Take

20.               A．never          B．still            C．already    D．ever