We tried to stop the flames from spreading, but we knew it was ____.

完形填空（共12分，每小题1分）

阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项

　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop hired（雇佣） me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　1　 　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　2　 　interfered（干涉）with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　3　 , I would become more mature（成熟的） and responsible about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

　　Like many American parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　4 　　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　5　 　for me. In the end, my father won the argument（争论） on the 　6　 　that I limited（限定）my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins spread out through the country who could 　7　 　shelter（住处）and help if I needed them.

　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　8　 　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not eager to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　9　 　year working his way on trains and ships to 　10 　　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare（稀少的）for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start 　11　 　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even 　12　 　on their future career, and so on.

1.                A．anxious　　     B．content　　　   C．proud    D．hopeful

2.                A．never          B．ever　　　 　   C．always    D．even

3.                A．problems       B．mistakes        C．disappointment D．failure

4.                A．helped         B．supported       C．shared   D．worried

5.                                  A．journey　　 B．experience

C．decision　　　　                  D．possibility

6.                A．situation　      B．agreement      C．gesture   D．condition

7.                A．promise　　    B．afford          C．provide   D．serve

8.                A．set            B．put            C．take D．keep

9.                A．unusual        B．hard           C．strange   D．busy

10.               A．accept　　     B．earn           C．find  D．search

11.               A．bringing　　    B．forcing

　　              C．pushing　　　　　                 D．protecting

12.               A．worked　　     B．decided        C．carried    D．tried

阅读理解

“Ordinary” was the worst word my mother could find for anything. Whenever she took me out for shopping, I found she wouldn’t take any notice of the shop assistants when they suggested that some dresses were popular. She would say, “We’re not interested in that. Haven’t you got anything a little unusual?” And then the assistants would bring out all the strange colours no one else would buy. And later she and I would argue because I wanted to be ordinary but my mother wanted to be unusual.

“I can’t stand that hairdo (发型),” she said to me when I was in a boy hairstyle, “It’s so terribly ordinary... Not ugly, not unsuitable. But ordinary ...”

“Couldn’t you please wear something else?” I asked one day when she was dressing for Parents’ Day in tight (紧贴的) trousers and a bright pink sweater.

“What’t wrong with it!”

“It’s just that I wish you’d wear something ordinary.” I said, “People won’t laugh at.”

She looked at me angrily, “Are you ashamed of your mother? If you are, Mary, I feel sorry for you.”

1.What did the shop assistants advise Mary’s mother to buy?

2. When Mary had her hair cut in a boy hairstyle, her mother ____.

3. Why did Mary ask her mother to change her clothes on Parents’ Day?

4. What does her mother mean by “ordinary”?

5. The underlined word “It” most likely means ____.

Jason and Harry joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. They both worked very hard.

After several years, the boss made Harry sales manager but Jason   31  a salesman. One day Jason could not take it anymore. He handed in his resignation letter (辞职信) to the boss and complained that the boss did not   32  hard-working employees, but only raised those   33 tried to please him. He thought that it was really   34  .

In order to help Jason to realize the   35  between him and Harry, the boss asked Jason to do the   36  --- "Go and find out if there is anyone selling watermelons in the market." Charlie went, returned and only said, "Yes." The boss asked, "How much per kg?" Charlie went back to the market to ask and returned to   37  , "$ 12 per kg."

The boss told Jason that he would ask Harry the  38  question. Harry went, returned and said, "Boss, only one person selling watermelons. $12 per kg, $ 100 for 10 kg. He has a total of 340 melons. On the table are 58 melons, and every melon weighs about 15 kg,   39 from the South two days ago. They are fresh, red, and of good   40 ."

Jason was   41  and he realized the difference between himself and Harry. He decided not to leave but to learn from Harry.

My dear friends, you know, a more   42  person is more observant(观察力敏锐的), thinks more and understands in   43  . For the same matter, he sees several years ahead,   44  you see only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, so how could you   45 ?

Think: how far have you seen ahead in your life? How thoughtful are you?

Jason and Harry joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. They both worked very hard.
After several years, the boss made Harry sales manager but Jason   31  a salesman. One day Jason could not take it anymore. He handed in his resignation letter (辞职信) to the boss and complained that the boss did not   32  hard-working employees, but only raised those   33 tried to please him. He thought that it was really   34  .
In order to help Jason to realize the   35  between him and Harry, the boss asked Jason to do the   36  --- "Go and find out if there is anyone selling watermelons in the market." Charlie went, returned and only said, "Yes." The boss asked, "How much per kg?" Charlie went back to the market to ask and returned to   37  , "$ 12 per kg."
The boss told Jason that he would ask Harry the  38  question. Harry went, returned and said, "Boss, only one person selling watermelons. $12 per kg, $ 100 for 10 kg. He has a total of 340 melons. On the table are 58 melons, and every melon weighs about 15 kg,   39 from the South two days ago. They are fresh, red, and of good   40 ."
Jason was   41  and he realized the difference between himself and Harry. He decided not to leave but to learn from Harry.
My dear friends, you know, a more   42  person is more observant(观察力敏锐的), thinks more and understands in   43  . For the same matter, he sees several years ahead,   44  you see only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, so how could you   45 ?
Think: how far have you seen ahead in your life? How thoughtful are you?