“I'm too old and it's too late,” these were the words which played over and over in my mind. I was   41  and exhausted after ending my marriage and my law career at the same time.   42  my ambition to become a writer, I   43  my ability to succeed as one. Had I wasted years going   44  the wrong goals?   
I was at a low point   45  the voice on the radio began   46  the story of Grandma Moses. Ann Mary Moses left home at thirteen, bore ten children and worked hard to raise the five who   47 . Struggling to make a living on poor farms, she managed to   48  a bit of beauty for herself by embroidering (绣花) on cloth.
At seventy-eight, her fingers became   49  awkward to hold a needle.   50  give in to aging, she went out to an empty room and began to   51 . For the first two years, these paintings were either given away or sold   52  a little money. But at the age of seventy-nine, she was “discovered” by the   53  world—and the rest is   54 . She went on to produce more than two thousand paintings,   55  her book illustrations (插图) for It was the Night before Christmas were completed in her one-hundredth year!
  56  I listened to the radio, my mood(心情)   57 . If Grandma Moses   58  begin a new career and succeed after eighty, there was still   59  for my life after thirty. Before the program ended, I rushed to my computer to work on the novel I'd nearly   60 .   
It was published eight months later.

No one is perfect．We all mess up（搞砸）now and then．It can  36 a little bit to rememberthat most people have been in the  37   you’re in—hurting several people’s feelings．What makes the difference is what you do next． 38   can go along way toward healing(治愈) hurt or angry feelings．It takes  39  to step up and admit what you did was  40 ．Try saying，
“What I said the other day was  4l  insensitive of me．I shouldn’t have said that．I just want to say I’m sorry．”
When we say sorry, we  42  to be sincere to show we feel sorry about how hurt another person may be．If an apology is more about  43 and how we can benefit，it might not seem true．
Another element of saying sorry is to let the person know you’re not going to let it  44  again．You could tell your friends，“I’m going to be more aware of what I  45 and say about people in the future．I’ll make an effort(努力) to be   46   and more positive about people，and not to 47  behind their backs—especially when it’s my friends．”
If you can’t bring yourself to have a  48 in person，write a note．Whichever way you  49  to communicate, be sure that you’d feel comfortable if anything you say is 50 with other friends，too．
Hopefully，your friends can stop being angry with you．But don’t be  51 if it doesn’t happen instantly．Some people are quick to 52 ．Others may have to think about what you said and need 53  to get over hurt feelings or anger , or to regain trust．Do your best with the part that’s up to you．The rest is up to them．
Stop being angry with yourself，too．You can learn from your  54 ．Being too self-critical can’t help you．Move forward．Focus your energies on trying to make things right  55   working on your good intentions!

God’s Coffee
A group of class friends, highly achieved in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor．Conversation soon    31  into complaints about stress(压力) in work and life．
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the   32 and returned with a large pot of coffee and a couple of   33  —porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking,    34  
expensive, some delicate—telling them to    35   themselves to the coffee．
When all the students had a cup of coffee in  36 ,the professor said：“If you noticed，all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up,  37 behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is
  38 for you to choose only the best for yourselves, that is the    39 of your problems and stress．Be sure that the cup itself    40 no quality to the coffee．In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink．   41 all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously (自觉地) went    42 the best cups．And then you began    43  each other’s cups．Now consider this：Life is the   44 ; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups．They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not explain , nor   45 the quality of life we   46 . Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we  47 to enjoy the coffee God has  48  us．God brews the coffee, not the cups…Enjoy your coffee!”
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything．They just   49  the best of everything．
Live simply．Love generously．Care deeply．Speak kindly．Leave the   50  to God．

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby. They found out that it was going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael 21._____ to his sister in Mommy’s tummy.
The pregnancy progressed 22._____for Karen. Then the labor pains came. Every five minutes ... every minute. But complications   23.__  during delivery. Finally, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in serious 24._____. With siren （警报）howling in the night, the ambulance 25.____ the infant to the Intensive Care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee.
26.______ inch by. The little girl got worse. The doctors told the parents, "There is very little hope. " Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery (墓地) about a burial plot. They had 27.______ a special room in their home for the new baby — now they planned a funeral.
Week two in Intensive Care. It looked as if a funeral would come 28 _____the week was over. Michael, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he said. Kids were never 29______in Intensive Care. But Karen made up her mind. She would take Michael 30._______they liked it or not.
She 31.______ him in an oversized scrub suit and 32.____ him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse33. _____him as a child, "Get that kid out of here now! " The usually 34._____ lady glared into the head nurse’s face, her lips a 35.____ line. "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny baby 36.____ the battle to live. And he began to sing 37._____ the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang:
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray"
38. ______ the baby girl responded. The pulse rate became 39._____ and steady.
Keep on singing, Michael. "You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away — " The breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr.
Keep on singing, Michael. "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping,… " Michael’s little sister relaxed as rest.
Funeral plans were 40______. The next day — the very next day — the little girl was well enough to go home!
The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love!
【小题1】A. talked      B sang          C. played        D whispered
【小题2】 A. quietly      B peacefully     C hopefully      D normally
【小题3】 A. arose        B. raised       C rose           D aroused
【小题4】 A situation      B condition     C place          D position
【小题5】A took         B sent          C carried         D rushed
【小题6】A The years     B The months    C The weeks     D The days
【小题7】A fixed up      B made up       C built up        D set up
【小题8】 A until         B before         C after          D when
【小题9】A asked        B allowed        C admitted       D acquired
【小题10】 A no matter      B even if        C whether       D as if
【小题11】A put          B dressed         C wore           D fit
【小题12】 A marched        B forced         C hid           D followed
【小题13】A required        B replied         C recognized      D regarded
【小题14】 A   warm-hearted                B well-managed
C   mild-mannered               D cold-blooded
【小题15】 A firm           B strong       C hard           D tough
【小题16】 A losing         B lost          C to lose         D having lost
【小题17】A in            B on           C at             D with
【小题18】A Finally        B Instantly       C Patiently       D Interestingly
【小题19】A calm          B quiet          C slow          D fast
【小题20】 A put off        B put away       C put up         D put down

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor，a doctor named Gibbs. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was   1  trees. His house sat on ten acres(英亩), and his life’s goal was to make it a   2 .
The good doctor had some interesting   3  concerning planting trees. He never  4  his new trees. Once I asked why. “Watering plants will   5  them.” He said, “If you water them, each younger generation will grow   6 . So you have to make things  7  for them.”
He talked about how watering trees 8  shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow  9  roots in search of water. He’d planted an oak and,   10  watering it every morning, he’d   11  it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s   12 .
Dr. Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and again, I returned and walked by his  13  and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty-five years ago. They’re incredibly   14  now.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two   15 . I stand over them and pray for them.   16  I pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my   17.
I know my children are going to encounter hardship. Life is tough, whether we want it to be or not. Too many times we pray for   18 , but that’s a prayer seldom met. What we need to do is pray for   19  that reach deep into the earth  20  they won’t be swept apart when the rains fall and the winds blow.

One cold night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco．There I was walking home around one o’clock in the morning after a  1 practice at the theatre. With the opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines by heart. I was having   2 handling my part-time job at the bank in the daytime and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about  3 both acting and San Francisco. I had  4 too much of city life.
As I walked down the  5 streets under the tall buildings, I felt very small and cold, so I began  6 both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers. Very few people were still out except a few homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my  7 , I heard a sound behind me. I   8  quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me  9 ，so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I   10 what the noise had been. It had been my wallet  11 to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk   12 for 15 minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to quit the  13 , I heard the garbage truck stop to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice came from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened and out jumped a small blonde man with an  14 look in his eyes. “Is this what you’re looking for?” He asked, holding up a wallet.
It was already 3 a.m. by the time I got into bed. I couldn’t get much sleep, but I had got my wallet back. I also had got back some  15 of city life. I realized the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.
1．A．comfortable   B．serious  C．tiresome D．fortunate
2．A．comfort   B．desire   C．pain D．trouble
3．A．setting up    B．giving up    C．holding up   D．picking up
4．A．expected  B．changed  C．controlled   D．possessed
5．A．deserted  B．crowded  C．busy D．wild
6．A．running   B．jumping  C．moving   D．marching
7．A．bank  B．theatre  C．apartment    D．office
8．A．stood B．walked   C．turned   D．left
9．A．satisfied B．confused C．frightened   D．annoyed
10. A．turn out B．figure out   C．give out D．pull out
11. A．belonging    B．adding   C．sticking D．falling
12. A．aimlessly    B．anxiously    C．skillfully   D．delightedly
13. A．discovery    B．research C．hunt D．finding
14. A．amused   B．unpleasant   C．uneasy   D．embarrassed
15. A．production   B．judgment C．friendship   D．appreciation

I’ve spent most of my career as a traveling salesman, and so I know that    1   is an occupational disease. But one year, my    2   gave me the cure for my homesickness.
It had black bright eyes, a red bow tie and orange feet--- a stuffed penguin (企鹅) that   3   about five inches tall. Attached to its left wing    4   a little sign with the hand-painted declaration “ I Love My Dad!”. I immediately  5   the penguin on my table.
On my next trip, I put the   6   in my suitcase. That night when I called home, my daughter Jeanine was    7   because the penguin had disappeared. “Honey, he’s here with me,” I explained, “ I brought him    8 ”.
   9  , the penguin came with me --- as necessary as my briefcase. And we     10   along the way. In Albuquerque, I checked into a    11  , dropped my bag and ran to a meeting. When I returned, the maid had    12   the bed and stood the penguin on the pillow.
One night, I discovered the penguin    13  , and after a mad phone call, I learned I’d    14   it in my previous hotel room,    15   it had been rescued by a maid. I       16     a hundred miles to get it, and when I arrived at midnight, the penguin was waiting at the front desk. In the hotel lobby (大厅), other tired business travelers were    17     at the reunion of my penguin and me --- I think with a touch of    18  .
Jeanine is in college now, and I don’t travel    19  . The penguin sits on my table, a reminder that love is a wonderful traveling companion. All those years on    20  , it was the one thing I never left home without.

My chance came at last. Our school was going to hold a sports meet. I knew what it   21  to me so I got up very early to prepare for it. I  22  running and jumping. When I was   23 , I reminded myself of my promise and went on.
  24  the time came nearer, I felt quite   25 . On the first day I came fourth in the 1500m   26  but I was far from   27  because what I wanted most was the highlight of the sports meeting—250x8 relay race. I would run the last leg for my team.
With a shot, the race began. All the students were   28  for their team. The competition was so   29  that I began to feel nervous. Before my turn came, my team was   30  the others. Even worse, I almost dropped the stick when I was trying to   31  it.
  32 after that, there was nothing in my mind except to run as fast as possible. Just when I was approaching the finish line, my legs   33 . Then my promise came to mind again and   34  me to go on. To my surprise, I was the first to   35 the finish line!
  36  , I had proved to myself and those who had often laughed at me that I am not   37  at all! My classmates greeted me warmly and I hugged them tightly. I had won the prize as well as their   38 .
From the sports meeting, I learnt that sometimes things are not so difficult as they   39  to be. Just try your best without fear and you might be surprised at the   40 .

James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully  36  the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was $90!  37  on earth was he going to get the  38  of the money? He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was  39  to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no  40  to ask his parents, for he knew they had no money to  41 . There was only one way to get money, and that was to  42  it. He would have to find a job.  43  who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr Clay for advice, who usually had _44 in most things. "Well, you can start right here," said Mr Clay. "My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing." That was the  45  of James’s odd-job (零工) business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was surprised by the  46  jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the  47  of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the  48  increased and he knew that he would soon have  49  for the bicycle he was dying for. The day  50  came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He  51  no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode  52  home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard  53  for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more  54  he had bought it with his own money. He had  55  what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.

I was said to be the worst student in my class, and my family thought I was hopeless. I had to 16 grade six. at that time a new teacher, Miss Sadia, came to our school.
One day after class, she  17 that I was staying alone during the lunch break. She came to me and began to talk to me. It was just a  18  conversation. After that day, she gave me particular 19 and it made me feel special(特别). I started to work hard because she gave me the feeling that 20  believed me , and my  21  started to improve(提高) in her subject.
Months later, she moved into a house near my  22 . We would walk home together after school. Her constant (不断的 ) support helped me, 23 in my studies, as I knew she would  24 my grades both in her subject and the other subjects. I finally 25 second in my class.
Then, after grade six, she started to slowly drift away（疏远） 26 still kept a constant(不断的) check on me. By the time I was in grade seven, we 27 spoke, but by then I had become the 28 in my class. When I left my school, I was 29 with her, as she never answered the 30 when I called her.
Then I graduated and went to a good university. One fine day, our paths（路）  31 again. I met her at a wedding. I could not  32  asking her, "Why did you stop talking to me?"
"You are a clever boy. I wanted you to be a tree  33  on your own roots, not depending on (依靠)others. Now here you are and I feel 34 of you. You are your inspiration and do not need to 35 a shoulder," she said. I could not say anything, but I smiled. I’ll always thank her .