Years ago, there was a very wealthy man who, with his devoted young son, shared a passion for art collecting．Together, they traveled around the world, adding only the 1 art treasures to their collection．
One year, as winter approached, 2 engulfed(吞没)the nation, and the young man left to 3 his country．After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram．His beloved son was 4 in action．The art collector 5 awaited more news, 6 he would never see his son again．Within days, his fears were 7 ．The young man had died while rushing a fellow soldier to a doctor．
Upset and 8 , the old man faced the coming Christmas holidays with sadness．On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the 9 old man．As he opened the door, he was greeted by a 10 with a large package in his hands．
He introduced himself to the old man by saying,“ I was a 11 of your son．I was the one he was 12 when he died．May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you．”
As the two began to 13 , the soldier told of how the man's son had told everyone of his, not to mention his father's 14 of fine art．“I am no 15 ,” said the soldier, “but I want to give you this．”
As the old man unwrapped the package, he saw a portrait his son．Though the world would 16 consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man's face 17 striking detail．
Overcome with emotion, the man 18 the soldier．After the soldier had left, the old man put the painting above the fireplace, pushing 19 thousands of dollars worth of art．His task completed, the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the 20 he had been given．
We’ve heard it before－we’ve heard it on the news, from teachers, from parents－children and teenagers today are growing up too fast．There are not too many people that will 1 with that statement．Teenagers are faced with serious problems and decisions at an early 2 ．In fact most teenagers’ daily schedules are as 3 as those of an adult’s．
I have been working since I was thirteen, and always in 4 in which I was working with adults．I have had to learn to think and 5 like an adult to be taken seriously．So, I count myself as one who has grown up too fast．I just graduated from high school, and have recently spent some time reflecting(反思)on the 6 eighteen years-thinking about myself, what I have gained, and what 7 I have yet to achieve．
We are expected to work hard, get excellent 8 , be in a good relationship, and know what we want to do 9 ．The list goes on and on．But the 10 is clear：We live in a society today that is 11 our childhood．We no longer have many years to be careless and fancy-free．We are expected to 12 the strict school rules and to excel(擅长)in everything we do．I’ve known these things for a long time, and knew that they 13 me．But, I never really admitted it until last night, when I learned a 14 lesson, taught to me by my boss where I work．We had finished a job at a remote site．It was about 11∶30 at nig-ht, and we had 15 to his house．We were talking about the 16 he had been making to his home．One of the things he said was “I 17 my basketball hoop(篮圈)．” Then he threw a basketball to me．
I hadn’t 18 a basketball in five years．
We proceeded to shoot hoops for about 40 minutes．Both of us were terribly bad at it, but we spent the whole time 19 away like children．Then I realized something：I am still a child．Oh, the law says I’m an adult．But, we are still really and truly children．We all need to have 20 once in a while．
(1)
[ ]
A．
argue
B．
disagree
C．
satisfy
D．
discuss
(2)
[ ]
A．
age
B．
stage
C．
year
D．
grade
(3)
[ ]
A．
certain
B．
busy
C．
careful
D．
perfect
(4)
[ ]
A．
companies
B．
places
C．
positions
D．
offices
(5)
[ ]
A．
study
B．
speak
C．
work
D．
act
(6)
[ ]
A．
last
B．
other
C．
rest
D．
coming
(7)
[ ]
A．
purposes
B．
success
C．
goals
D．
jobs
(8)
[ ]
A．
textbooks
B．
grades
C．
teachers
D．
schools
(9)
[ ]
A．
in life
B．
in time
C．
for ages
D．
for ever
(10)
[ ]
A．
information
B．
message
C．
notice
D．
idea
(11)
[ ]
A．
ruining
B．
correcting
C．
envying
D．
shortening
(12)
[ ]
A．
respect
B．
accept
C．
learn
D．
follow
(13)
[ ]
A．
inspired
B．
disappointed
C．
affected
D．
frightened
(14)
[ ]
A．
valuable
B．
serious
C．
important
D．
useful
(15)
[ ]
A．
walked
B．
flown back
C．
gone back
D．
driven
(16)
[ ]
A．
furniture
B．
improvements
C．
equipment
D．
arrangements
(17)
[ ]
A．
moved
B．
fixed
C．
sold
D．
broke
(18)
[ ]
A．
played
B．
caught
C．
touched
D．
held
(19)
[ ]
A．
laughing
B．
shouting
C．
running
D．
shooting
(20)
[ ]
A．
a rest
B．
a talk
C．
fun
D．
sports
完形填空：
I was 15 when I walked into McCauley’s Bookstore in Ashland．As I was looking at titles(标题)on the shelves, the man behind the counter(柜台)， 1 , asked if I’d like 2 ．I needed to start 3 for college, so I said yes．I 4 after school and during summers for the lowest wages(薪金)，and the job helped 5 my freshman(or first)year of college．I would work many other jobs：I made coffee in the Students’ Union during college, I was a hotel maid(or waitress)and 6 made maps for the U．S．Forest Service．But selling books was one of the most satisfying(令人满意的)．
One day a woman asked me for books on cancer．She seemed fearful(or much afraid)．I showed her almost 7 we had at that time in store and found other books we could order(定货)．She left the store less 8 ．I’ve always remembered the 9 I felt in having helped her．
Years later, as a 10 in Los Angeles, I heard about an immigrant(移民) child who was born 11 his fingers connected(or joined together), web-like．His family could not afford(or pay for)a corrective(矫正；整形)operation, and the boy lived in 12 , hiding his hand in his pocket．
I 13 my boss to let me do the story．After my story was broadcast, a doctor and a nurse called, offering to perform the 14 for free．
I visited the boy in the recovery(康复)room soon after the operation．The first thing he did was to hold up his 15 hand and say, “Thank you．” I felt a sense(感觉)of 16 ．
In the past, while I was 17 , I always sensed(or felt)I was working for the customers(顾客)，not the store．Today it’s the 18 ．NBC News pays my salary(工资)， 19 I feel as if I work for the 20 , helping them make sense of(or find the meaning of)the world．
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