Are you nervous when you stand in front of the public? Are you afraid to make a speech?

     Li Jun, a middle school boy, felt shy when he was making a speech the other day. Li had thought it would be quite easy to speak in front of   41   classmates.

     "I was wrong. It was very different and much   42   than talking to my classmates during playtime," Li said. "I tried, but it was really difficult to speak. I felt like a mute (哑巴) and wanted to leave the classroom   43   "

     Li is not alone. Many middle school students now have the same   44   : they can talk about their ideas freely   45   their best friends after class, but can't speak in public. According to Zhou Hong, a teacher from a university, the main reason is that schools in China pay more attention to writing instead of  46  .

     Zhou hopes schools can give students more chances to open their   47  , such as speech competitions, English corners and class discussions. Students can join in any one they want to.   48   he also gives some advice to students. "During your free time you should  49   more. When you're speaking in public, take it easy. Just imagine you're talking to nobody and speak up your ideas clearly," Zhou said. "That   50   a fine public speech and you'll feel confident. "

1.A. her         B. my               C. your               D. his

2.A. harder      B. easier             C. better'             D. later

3.A. slowly     B. quickly           C. sadly              D. happily

4.A. answer    B. subject           C. problem           D. question

5.A. except    B. beside            C. from               D. with

6.A. listening  B. speaking      C. reading            D. singing

7.A. mouths   B. eyes        C. minds             D. hearts

8.A. But    B. So        C. And               D. Or

9.A. play    B. practice           C. write               D. watch

10.A. reports   B. keeps    C. hears             D. makes

One night, I wondered what it would be like if I only asked questions. I decided that no matter what anyone said to me the next day, I would reply only with   36  .

I loved to read about scientists and their discoveries, and I knew that scientists always started their research with a question. I hoped that I could become a scientist. Maybe by asking questions, I could train my mind to be   37  .

  I survived the morning easily. “Is there any egg?” I answered when my mother asked what I wanted for breakfast. “Is this seat taken?” I asked when my friend Mike asked where he was going to   38   on the bus.

In the classroom, Mr. Black spoke slowly and clearly while I listened carefully. The problem had been part of my homework the night before. I wrote the answer on the board, “Could the answer be 361?”

  Mr. Black smiled and nodded. I thought,“How did I   39   to get through that?” I almost laughed because asking questions really was starting to become a   40  .

  I thought I had made it safely through the whole day,   41   what I had come to consider my experiment blew up at the dinner table when my dad asked me about my day. “What do I always do?” I replied.

My parents looked at each other. My father   42   again. “Well, I hope you went to school,” he said.

    “Uhhh … why would you think otherwise?” I asked. My parents exchanged another   43    

and were becoming annoyed.

   “Do you think questions are a good way to train your mind to be active?” I asked.

“It   44   the question,” said my father. “Some questions are asked for   45   information. Those are good mind-training questions. Sometimes, people use questions to get the other person to say something. Sometimes people ask questions to get someone to agree with them. Those questions don’t really achieve anything.”

   “I guess my experiment didn’t work,” I said, and I told my father about my   46  .

“I think it worked   47  !” my father said. “You made a discovery, didn’t you? What matters is that you have put your idea into practice.”                               

1.A. actions              B. answers             C. gestures             D. questions

2.A. deep             B. free            C. quick            D. strong

3.A. get                  B. sit                 C. come         D. take

4.A. fail             B. have            C. want             D. manage

5.A. habit            B. step                C. goal                 D. rule

6.A. or               B. so                  C. but              D. and

7.A. tried             B. asked            C. guessed           D. ordered

8. A. look                B. word            C. mind                 D. topic

9.A. refers to            B. belongs to     C. puts on          D. depends on

10.A. sending         B. finding             C. sharing         D. keeping

11.A. test            B. idea            C. plan                 D. wonder

12.A. slowly              B. safely          C. perfectly            D. properly

It was the first day of school. I had a new classmate, a little old lady with a warm smile.

She said, “Hi, young man! I'm Rose. I'm 87 years old. Can I give you a hug? ”

I said   36   , “Of course!”

“Why are you in college at   37   an age?” I asked.

She joked, “I'm here to meet a    38   husband, get married, have children, and then travel around the world.”

“No, seriously(严肃地),” I asked.

“I always   39  of having a college education. Now I'm getting one!” she told me.

After a year, Rose became popular. She easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from   40   .

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to    41   at our party. I'll never forget what she taught   42   .

“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow   43    because we stop playing. Here are the     44   of staying young. You have to laugh and find humor every   45   . You've got to have a dream. When you    46   your dreams, you die!” she said.

“There is a big   47   between growing old and growing up. Anybody can grow old. That doesn't take any talent or ability,” she added. “But to   48   , you have to find the chance in change. Have no regrets(遗憾). We usually don't have regrets for what we did ,   49   rather for things we did not do.”

Finally we graduated from the college with Rose. One week   50  graduation ( 毕业 ), she died peacefully（平静地） in her sleep. She taught us by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

(    )36. A. slowly              B. happily                         C. heavily        D. badly

(    )37. A. so                    B. this                              C. such                 D. that

(    )38. A. rich                 B. bad                              C. poor                 D. short

(    )39. A. hoped              B. wished                         C. wanted              D. dreamed

(    )40. A. another            B. the other                      C. the others      D. others

(    )41. A. say                  B. speak                           C. talk                  D. discuss

(    )42. A. us                   B. her                             C. him                  D. them

(    )43. A. young            B. old                           C. tall           D. thin

(    )44. A. stories             B. secrets                        C. seasons            D. surveys

(    )45. A. week               B. month                         C. year                 D. day

(    )46. A. lose                 B. have                            C. keep                 D. like

(    )47. A. chance             B. change                         C. difference      D. problem

(    )48. A. stand up           B. grow up                       C. grow old           D. keep healthy

(    )49. A. because          B. so                             C. though            D. but

(    )50. A. in                 B. after                          C. during        D. before 

A few minutes before six o’clock, Mr. Smith began to leave. He was about to start the car when a gunman (持枪者)   36   up from the back seat. He  37   a gun to Mr. Smith’s head,“Drive me to Paris!” he shouted.

　　“All right”Mr. Smith answered. He started the engine (发动机), pulled away from the side of the street and   38   down. Being 81 years old, he knew he could not   39   the gunman. He knew he needed help. Where were the police? As he drove   40   each crossing, he looked up and down the side streets, hoping to meet a police car. But he could see    41    . “Just my luck,” he thought. “If I was   42   too fast, there would be a police car on every corner.”

　　   43    he pushed his foot down on the accelerator(加速器), and the car ran   44  faster. “What are you doing?” shouted the gunman. “Keeping off the police.” Mr. Smith answered. “I thought I saw a police car   45   there.”

　　He ran red lights, drove wrong on one-way streets. On the two-way streets, he drove on the wrong   46    of the road. Not one of the policemen saw him. Again Mr. Smith’s plan was not working. He had to try a    47     plan.

　　He    48   a corner and saw the police station in front. Then he drove his car as fast as he could towards the police gate. The car hit a police motorbike down and stopped. Mr. Smith shouted, “Help! Help!” Then he   49   back to grab the man’s gun. At the same time the policemen heard the   50   and quickly caught the gunman.

　　(    )36.   A. woke       B. sat       C. stood    D. jumped

　　(    )37.   A. brought     B. pointed   C. held     D. carried

　　(    )38.   A. drove       B. left      C. took     D. pushed

　　(    )39.   A. fight        B. lift       C. keep      D. hit

　　(    )40.   A. around    B. over       C. through     D. towards

　　(    )41.   A. somebody  B. anybody   C. everybody   D. nobody

　　(    )42.   A. driving    B. moving    C. getting      D. walking

　　(    )43.   A. Slowly    B. Suddenly   C. Quietly     D. Carefully

　　(    )44.   A. more     B. much      C. very        D. quite

　　(    )45.   A. front      B. near      C. below       D. back

　　(    )46.   A. street     B. way      C. side         D. corner

　　(    )47.   A. new      B. safe      C. hard         D. nice

　　(    )48.   A. found     B. turned     C. stopped at    D. arrived at

　　(    )49.   A. got       B. looked    C. turned       D .came

　　(    )50.   A.  sound    B. man     C. voice       D. noise

　　 Are you nervous when you stand in front of the public? Are you afraid to make a speech?

　　 Li Jun, a middle school boy, felt shy when he was making a speech the other day. Li had

thought it would be quite easy to speak in front of　 41　 classmates.

　　 "I was wrong. It was very different and much 　42　 than talking to my classmates during playtime," Li said. "I tried, but it was really difficult to speak. I felt like a mute (哑巴) and wanted to leave the classroom　 43　 "

　　 Li is not alone. Many middle school students now have the same 　44　 : they can talk about their ideas freely　 45　 their best friends after class, but can't speak in public. According to Zhou Hong, a teacher from a university, the main reason is that schools in China pay more attention to writing instead of 46 .

　　 Zhou hopes schools can give students more chances to open their　 47 , such as speech competitions, English corners and class discussions. Students can join in any one they want to.　 48　 he also gives some advice to students. "During your free time you should 49　 more. When you're speaking in public, take it easy. Just imagine you're talking to nobody and speak up your ideas clearly," Zhou said. "That 　50 a fine public speech and you'll feel confident. "

41. A. her　　　　　　 B. my　　　　　　　 C. your　　　　　　　 D. his

42. A. harder　　　　　 B. easier　　　　　　 C. better'　　　　　　 D. later

43. A. slowly　　　　　 B. quickly　　　　　 C. sadly　　　　　　 D. happily

44. A. answer　　　　　 B, subject　　　　　 C. problem　　　　　 D. question

45. A. except　　　　　 B. beside　　　　　 C. from　　　　　　　 D. with

46. A. listening　　　　 B. speaking　　　　　 C. reading　　　　　 D. singing

47. A. mouths　　　　 B. eyes　　　　　　 C. minds　　　　　　 D. hearts

48. A. But　　　　　　 B. So　　　　　　　 C. And　　　 　　　 D. Or

49. A. play　　　　　　 B. practice　　　　　 C. write　　　　　　　 D. watch

50. A. reports　　　　　 B. keeps　　　　　　 C. hears　　　　　　 D. makes