---I'm going to Guilin next week. Do you have anything ____ there?

  ---No, but thank you all the same.

A. to be taken  B. to take   C. taking     D. taken

I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading(在...上面走) water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

    I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

    It takes confidence to make a new start — here’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.

    Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

    The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

    It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding.

1.The author decided to write a novel ______ .

A. to finish the writing course       B. to realize her own dream

C. to satisfy readers’ wish          D. to earn more money

2.How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?

A. Disturbed.        B. Ashamed.        C. Confident.        D. Uncertain.

3.What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?

A. It pays off to stick to one’s goal.

B. Hard work can lead to success.

C. She feels like being unexpectedly lucky.

D. There is no end in sight when starting to do something.

完形填空

　　There was a rich foreign merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and 1 her with best clothes and 2 her to delicious food.

　　He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to 3 her to his friends.

　　He, too, loved his 2nd wife. 4 the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she 5 always help him out.

　　Now, the merchant's 1st wife had made great contributions to his business. However, the merchant did not love her and 6 she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

　　One day, the merchant fell ill. He knew that he was going to die 7 . He told himself,“Now I have 4 wives with me. 8 when I die, I'll be alone. How 9 I'll be!”

　　Thus, he asked the 4th wife,“I 10 you most. Now that I'm dying, will you 11 me and keep me company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

　　The 12 merchant then asked the 3rd wife,“I have loved you so much for all my life. Will you follow me and keep me company?” “ 13 !”replied the 3rd wife.“Life is so good over here! I'm going to 14 when you die!”

　　He then asked the 2nd wife,“I 15 turned to you for help. Now I need you help again. Will you follow me and keep me company?” “I'm sorry, I can't 16 you out this time!”replied the 2nd wife.

　　Then a voice 17 out,“I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter 18 you go.”Brokenhearted, the merchant said,“I 19 have taken much better care of you while I could have !”

　　　　20 ,we all have 4 wives in our lives: our body, our possessions, our friends, and our soul. We should take good care of our soul all our life.

Growing up, I remember my father as a silent, strict man—not the kind of person around whom one could laugh. As a teenager knowing little about life, I wanted a father who could  1. the mysteries of the human journey. In college, when friends called home for  2., I would become  3. for what I didn’t have.

Then one night after my move back home, I overheard my father on the telephone. There was some trouble. Later, he  4. the problem with me. Obviously my knowledge of law helped him a lot. I talked through the problem with him,  5. the motives of the people involved and offering several negotiation strategies.

He  6. patiently before finally admitting, “I can’t think like that. I’m a  7. man.”

My father is a  8. scientist who has a good knowledge of the building blocks of nature.  9., human nature is a mystery to him. That night I realized he was simply not skilled at  10. people. It’s not in his  11. to understand human desires.

It was no one’s  12. that my father showed no interest in human emotions while I placed great importance on them. We are sometimes born more sensitive, and dreamy than our  13. and become more curious, and idealistic than them.  14. I, who knew my father as an intelligent man, had never understood his intelligence didn’t cover all of my  15. feelings.

I believe that coming home has  16. me years of questions and confusion. I nowadays consider my parents as people who have other relationships than just being my parents, relationships that  17. and define them.

Best of all, I nowadays regard my parents as  18.: people who ask me for advice; people who need my  19. and understanding. And I’ve come to see my past in a  20. view. Knowing them makes me feel safe in where I come from and where I’m going.

21.               A．think          B．produce        C．explain    D．explore

22.               A．money         B．advice         C．love  D．agreement

23.               A．unhappy        B．unhelpful       C．unknown  D．unpopular

24.               A．exchanged      B．solved         C．found D．shared

25.               A．proving        B．recording       C．analyzing  D．guessing

26.               A．replied         B．learned        C．chatted   D．listened

27.               A．simple         B．weak          C．lazy  D．blind

28.               A．special         B．lively          C．brilliant   D．humorous

29.               A．Therefore      B．However       C．Indeed    D．Anyhow

30.               A．meeting with    B．dealing with     C．talking with D．fighting with

31.               A．nature         B．plan           C．wish  D．major

32.               A．relief          B．secret          C．pity  D．fault

33.               A．relatives        B．classmates      C．parents   D．families

34.               A．Besides        B．And           C．However  D．For

35.               A．strong         B．strange         C．different  D．unique

36.               A．told           B．gave           C．added D．saved

37.               A．raise           B．protect         C．shape D．enjoy

38.               A．friends         B．teachers        C．travelers  D．leaders

39.               A．visit           B．support        C．wisdom   D．knowledge

40.               A．richer          B．harder         C．rougher   D．clearer

-----Have you got any particular plans for the coming holiday?

----- Yes. _______, I’m going to visit some homes for the old in the city.

A. If ever          B. If busy            C. If anything       D. If possible