I used to be the shyest person in the world. I hid ______ my elder sister whenever I had to speak to a stranger. When asked to speak in class, I could hardly ______, much less speak. Even among the few friends I had, my high, timid (怯怯的) voice earned me jokes —about being a girl.

Then in the seventh grade, my sister suggested I ______ voice lessons. After considering it for a short time, I did. I began a series of vocal exercises.

After exercising a lot, I finally gained ______ in my voice.

A few months later, I was asked to sing for some retired people, I thought I would do better than before ______ the voice lessons. I opened my mouth and —nothing. I couldn’t remember the ______! My face turned hot. The kind pianist whispered a prompt (提示), and I remembered just enough to keep singing.

Then the thought struck me: I’ve already embarrassed (尴尬) myself enough. There’s really nothing else to ____. So in my second song, I just relaxed and felt the energy of the song lift me. And I did much better.

After that, I started singing to myself as ______ as I could in my own room. That’s something I would never have done before. One classmate even said that I ______ be in the school’s talent show.

I am not a shy person ______. Singing has made me more outgoing. Today, I can also stand in front of the whole class and give a big speech. I am proud of myself.

1.A. over B. under C. behind D. below

2.A. sit B. breathe C. smile D. say

3.A. pick B. accept C. attend D. receive

4.A. confidence B. courage C. pleasure D. fear

5.A. out of B. because of C. instead of D. in need of

6.A. music B. title C. words D. style

7.A. forget B. miss C. drop D. lose

8.A. highly B. loudly C. safely D. excitedly

9.A. should B. must C. shouldn’t D. mustn’t

10.A. at last B. at all C. any further D. any more

My 10-year-old Donna said, "Mom, I made a new friend at school today. Can she come over tomorrow?" Donna was a shy girl and I wanted her to make some friends to bring her out of her shell.

"Sure, honey, that sounds great." I said, thinking back to my own best friend, Lillian. We lived across the street from each other in Washington Heights, New York. We met at the age of 10, too. Like my daughter, I was shy, but Lillian drew me out. She was one of the friendliest people in school, with shiny black hair and a big smile.

In senior high school, Lillian went on a trip to Florida. This was the first time we had to be away from each other for a few days. "I'll be back soon." she told me. But three days later, Lillian's sister told me that she had fallen into a river and hadn't come out any more. Soon, my family moved to New Jersey. Whenever I thought of her, tears came into my eyes.

The next day Donna brought her new friend home. "Hi, Mrs. Loggia." the little girl said. Her hair was so shiny and black and she smiled brightly. "My name is Laura."

My daughter's new friend was so much like Lillian. I was still puzzled(迷惑)when Laura's mom came to pick her up later that afternoon. I opened the door to let her in. "Judy!" she cried. "It's me, Lillian’s sister, from Washington Heights.” Yes, my daughter's friend looked familiar(熟悉). Lillian is her aunt.

1.The underlined phrase in the first paragraph “to bring her out of her shell” means “__________”.

A. to help her live happily B. to help her become smart

C. to help her walk out of her house D. to help her become less shy

2.Laura looked familiar to the writer because she __________

A. was Donna's good friend B. was from Washington Heights

C. was as old as her daughter D. had shiny black hair and a big smile, too

3.Why did the writer lose her best friend?

A. Because she moved to New Jersey. B. Because her best friend travelled to Florida.

C. Because her best friend lost her life on a trip. D. Because they were different from each other.

4.What can we infer(推断)from the passage?

A. Laura is as outgoing as her aunt Lillian.

B. Laura and Donna are both in the high school.

C. Donna and Laura have been friends for a long time.

D. Judy moved to New Jersey because of Lillian's death.

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