The prisoners became _____ in their attempts to escape.

[　　]

A．despite　　　　　　　B．despair

C．desperate　　　　　　D．despair of

The prisoners became _____ in their attempts to escape.

1. A.
   despite
2. B.
   despair
3. C.
   desperate
4. D.
   despair of

阅读理解

　　William Faulkner was a great American writer. And great writers are supposed to be born ,not made by many people, but there are many surprising exceptions(例外). William Faulkner was one of them. He left school in the fifth grade at the age of fourteen. He worked as a house painter and later a dishwasher in a restaurant. He had to look for jobs around the country and suffered a lot. Once he tried attending college, but failed in passing the entrance examination and he left helplessly. Luckily for him, he found a postmaster's job in a small Mississippi town, but he didn't devote himself into his new job. He infuriated(激怒)the local people by getting the mail all mixed up and closing the office whenever he liked to do so. In the end he had to give up the job. It seemed to others that the young man would have no future.

　　“Opportunity, sooner or later, comes to all who work and wish”. William Faulkner didn't lose heart. After he had been out of school for eleven years, he started his writing career, which made him a great success, and later he won a Nobel Prize in literature.

　　So who's to say what about youth? A young boy or girl who knows what he or she wants to do in life probably has a better future. No teenagers need despair of the future, for they have that one special advantage over the greatest man alive——time.

(1)The reason why Faulkner gave up his postmaster's job was that ________

[　　]

A．the job was not worth doing

B．his pay was too low.

C．he preferred a writer than a postman.

D．the local people didn't satisfy him.

(2)How old did Faulkner begin to write?

[　　]

A．After he got married.

B．When he was 25 years old.

C．When he earned a lot of money.

D．When he gave up the postmaster's job

(3)If you want to succeed, you should ________.

[　　]

A．know what you want to do in your life

B．leave school early

C．don't do the job that you don't like to

D．wait quietly

(4)Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．Great writers should fail in the exam.

B．Faulkner is a born writer.

C．No teenagers need despair of the future.

D．Young man's advantage is freedom

The trip to that city was eye-opening for everyone, and near its end, all the young people in our group began to reflect on what it had meant． We   41  the first night we had arrived． We had all gone into the markets of the city   42  the young people could experience its energy． But what we actually saw simply   43  us all --- the rundown houses, the children in rags, the people begging for money… Walking home,   44  under a low bridge, we came across   45  families of homeless people seeking a bit of dry ground to sleep on   46  the night． We had to step over bodies as we found our way through the darkness．

The poverty was   47  than anything my young companions had ever imagined． Back in the hotel, an air of sadness settled over the group． Many   48  and cried． Spending time in this   49  moves a person to care about humanity．

That evening, our group spent hours talking about what we had   50 ． Gently, I encouraged everyone to talk about the difficult   51  that day’s discoveries had inspired． Sitting together   52  a circle as everyone had a chance to speak, we all began to realize that  53  of us was alone in our struggle to cope with our reactions．

Based on my   54  in poverty-stricken areas, I suggested that   55  the emotions we had were painful, they could also be important in helping us to move forward． We all   56  that we had seen things that should never be allowed to happen．   57  , what could we do about it? Together, we began to brainstorm ways we could help to ease the   58  we had seen． As I encouraged group members to focus on   59  they could do, a sense of determination  60  the previous sadness． Instead of despair, these young people began to feel a call to action．