15．It happened to a very young pastor （牧师）．His church was very old and what's worse，a storm knocked a hole in the wall of the church．
One day the pastor（1）B an auction（拍卖）and bid a beautiful tablecloth for six dollars．He carried the cloth back to the church and put it up on the wall．It completely hid the （2）C!
Just before noon of Christmas Eve，the pastor noticed a woman standing in the cold at the bus stop．"The （3）Dwon't be here for 40minutes!"he called，and he invited her into the church to get （4）A．She told him that she had come from the city to be interviewed for a job as governess to the children of one wealthy family in town but she had been turned down．
The woman saw the tablecloth and rose suddenly．The pastor smiled and started to tell her about the storm （5）A，but she didn't seem to（6）C"It is mine!"she said．"My husband had the cloth made （7）D for mc!
She explained that she and her husband decided to go separately in the War II．They planned that he would（8）A her．But she never saw him again．Later she heard that he had died．The pastor tried to（9）B her，advising her to take the cloth with her．She （10）C．Then she went away．
On Christmas Eve，after the service in church，one middle-aged man-the local clock-and-watch repairman-looked rather （11）A．‘‘It is strange，"he said in his soft accent．
"Many years ago，my wife and I owned such a cloth．
The pastor suddenly became very （12）D．He told him about the woman who had been in church （13）B in the day．Together the two got in touch with the （14）D who had interviewed her．And this man and his wife-who had been separated through so many saddened （15）Cwere reunited．
One day the pastor（1）B an auction（拍卖）and bid a beautiful tablecloth for six dollars．He carried the cloth back to the church and put it up on the wall．It completely hid the （2）C!
Just before noon of Christmas Eve，the pastor noticed a woman standing in the cold at the bus stop．"The （3）Dwon't be here for 40minutes!"he called，and he invited her into the church to get （4）A．She told him that she had come from the city to be interviewed for a job as governess to the children of one wealthy family in town but she had been turned down．
The woman saw the tablecloth and rose suddenly．The pastor smiled and started to tell her about the storm （5）A，but she didn't seem to（6）C"It is mine!"she said．"My husband had the cloth made （7）D for mc!
She explained that she and her husband decided to go separately in the War II．They planned that he would（8）A her．But she never saw him again．Later she heard that he had died．The pastor tried to（9）B her，advising her to take the cloth with her．She （10）C．Then she went away．
On Christmas Eve，after the service in church，one middle-aged man-the local clock-and-watch repairman-looked rather （11）A．‘‘It is strange，"he said in his soft accent．
"Many years ago，my wife and I owned such a cloth．
The pastor suddenly became very （12）D．He told him about the woman who had been in church （13）B in the day．Together the two got in touch with the （14）D who had interviewed her．And this man and his wife-who had been separated through so many saddened （15）Cwere reunited．
| 1． A．had | B．attended | C．held | D．took |
| 2． A．wall | B．church | C．hole | D．table |
| 3． A．boss | B．company | C．train | D．bus |
| 4． A．warm | B．ready | C．cool | D．calm |
| 5． A．damage | B．story | C．fact | D．truth |
| 6． A．work | B．believe | C．listen | D．understand |
| 7． A．carefully | B．attentively | C．finally | D．especially |
| 8． A．join | B．write | C．bring | D．leave |
| 9． A．amuse | B．comfort | C．please | D．help |
| 10．A．cried | B．accepted | C．refused | D．continued |
| 11．A．puzzled | B．delighted | C．determined | D．disappionted |
| 12．A．sad | B．shocked | C．hopeful | D．excited |
| 13．A．later | B．earlier | C．warmer | D．colder |
| 14．A．woman | B．manager | C．husband | D．family |
| 15．A．weeks | B．countries | C．Christmases | D．centuries |
14．Some years ago，Houston airport faced a troubling customer-relations issue．Passengers were making a huge number of （1）C about the long waits at baggage claim （行李提取处）．In response，the airport managers （2）D the number of baggage handlers．The plan worked：the average wait fell to eight minutes．But the complaints （3）A despite the apparent success．
（4）B，the managers undertook a more careful，on-site analysis．They found that it took passengers a minute to walk from their （5）C gates to baggage claim and seven more minutes to get their bags．Roughly 88percent of their time，in other words，was spent standing around （6）D waiting for their bags．
So the airport decided on a new approach：instead of reducing wait time，it （7）C the arrival gates farther away from baggage claim area．Passengers now had to（8）B six times longer to get their bags．Complaints dropped to near zero．
This story shows a general （9）A：the experience of waiting is defined only partly by the actual length of the wait．Often the psychology of queuing is more（10）D than the length of the wait itself．Occupied time （walking to baggage claim） feels（11）B than unoccupied time （standing at baggage claim）．Research on （12）C has shown that，on average，people overestimate how long they've waited in a line by about 36percent．
This is also why one finds mirrors next to lifts．The spread of high-rise buildings after World War II led to complaints about lift （13）A．The motive behind the mirrors was （14）D to the one used at the Houston airport：give people something to （15）B their time，and the wait seems shorter．
（4）B，the managers undertook a more careful，on-site analysis．They found that it took passengers a minute to walk from their （5）C gates to baggage claim and seven more minutes to get their bags．Roughly 88percent of their time，in other words，was spent standing around （6）D waiting for their bags．
So the airport decided on a new approach：instead of reducing wait time，it （7）C the arrival gates farther away from baggage claim area．Passengers now had to（8）B six times longer to get their bags．Complaints dropped to near zero．
This story shows a general （9）A：the experience of waiting is defined only partly by the actual length of the wait．Often the psychology of queuing is more（10）D than the length of the wait itself．Occupied time （walking to baggage claim） feels（11）B than unoccupied time （standing at baggage claim）．Research on （12）C has shown that，on average，people overestimate how long they've waited in a line by about 36percent．
This is also why one finds mirrors next to lifts．The spread of high-rise buildings after World War II led to complaints about lift （13）A．The motive behind the mirrors was （14）D to the one used at the Houston airport：give people something to （15）B their time，and the wait seems shorter．
| 1． A．suggestions | B．questions | C．complaints | D．challenges |
| 2． A．evaluated | B．counted | C．decreased | D．increased |
| 3． A．continued | B．disappeared | C．doubled | D．changed |
| 4． A．Annoyed | B．Puzzled | C．Discouraged | D．Excited |
| 5． A．exit | B．landing | C．arrival | D．departure |
| 6． A．uncomfortably | B．aimlessly | C．hopelessly | D．impatiently |
| 7． A．freed | B．sent | C．moved | D．removed |
| 8． A．wait | B．walk | C．waste | D．sit |
| 9． A．principle | B．approach | C．belief | D．reason |
| 10．A．scientific | B．interesting | C．useful | D．important |
| 11．A．slower | B．shorter | C．more difficult | D．more painful |
| 12．A．figures | B．baggage | C．queuing | D．standing |
| 13．A．delays | B．quality | C．safety | D．repairs |
| 14．A．devoted | B．superior | C．familiar | D．similar |
| 15．A．take | B．occupy | C．use | D．value |
13．I was driving home with my 8-year-old son after a trip to the grocery store．Traffic was light．The sun was shining．A cool autumn breeze was in the air．I was （1）Bsinging along to the song playing on the radio．I pulled to a stop at the intersection and looked both ways．The road was （2）A．I slowly started to make a right turn when （3）D a car rounded a curve at high speed and came straight at me．I stamped on the breaks of my car killing the engine in the process．The speeder （4）C past my dead car missing me by inches without even slowing down．
Before I knew it a stream of dirty words was flying from my lips，chasing after the car and its driver．I then looked over to my son who was staring up at me （5）A．With a red face and an （6）C smile I started the car，pulled back onto the road，and headed home．
Later that evening I was reading a book when I heard certain，（7）B words coming from my son's bedroom．He was replaying the incident over and over in his mind and （8）D enough to make a sailor blush．Too late I realized the power of those words that had flown from my lips in that moment of （9）C．It took a lot of talks about good language and bad language with my （10）A to undo the damage of that one incident．
That （11）D，however，did teach me just how （12）C words can be．It helped me to swear off swearing in my own life and to start using （13）B that uplift and inspire instead．I slowly （14）C that language is a gift from God and should be used to make our world better rather than （15）D．I pray that all of your words today are full of love，joy，happiness，and light．
Before I knew it a stream of dirty words was flying from my lips，chasing after the car and its driver．I then looked over to my son who was staring up at me （5）A．With a red face and an （6）C smile I started the car，pulled back onto the road，and headed home．
Later that evening I was reading a book when I heard certain，（7）B words coming from my son's bedroom．He was replaying the incident over and over in his mind and （8）D enough to make a sailor blush．Too late I realized the power of those words that had flown from my lips in that moment of （9）C．It took a lot of talks about good language and bad language with my （10）A to undo the damage of that one incident．
That （11）D，however，did teach me just how （12）C words can be．It helped me to swear off swearing in my own life and to start using （13）B that uplift and inspire instead．I slowly （14）C that language is a gift from God and should be used to make our world better rather than （15）D．I pray that all of your words today are full of love，joy，happiness，and light．
| 1．A．hurriedly | B．quietly | C．loudly | D．lazily |
| 2．A．clear | B．crowded | C．smooth | D．long |
| 3．A．gradually | B．slowly | C．silently | D．suddenly |
| 4．A．walked | B．dragged | C．zoomed | D．crawled |
| 5．A．innocently | B．differently | C．cautiously | D．suspiciously |
| 6．A．pretended | B．confused | C．embarrassed | D．pleased |
| 7．A．confident | B．unpleasant | C．familiar | D．straightforward |
| 8．A．training | B．promising | C．explaining | D．swearing |
| 9．A．difficulty | B．peace | C．anger | D．hurry |
| 10．A．son | B．heart | C．friend | D．driver |
| 11．A．evening | B．moment | C．attempt | D．mistake |
| 12．A．polite | B．clean | C．strong | D．valuable |
| 13．A．acts | B．words | C．examples | D．pictures |
| 14．A．admitted | B．noticed | C．realized | D．suspected |
| 15．A．safer | B．slower | C．dirtier | D．worse |
11．As a matter of fact，I dislike this plan； I hope you can ________ a better one．（ ）
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| A． | care about | B． | come up with | C． | go through | D． | set up |