Once there lived a rich merchant(商人) and a poor shoemaker in the same house. The merchant occupied the second floor,   36   the shoemaker lived and worked in a small room on the first floor. The shoemaker was one of the   37   persons on earth. He worked from morning till night, singing merrily. His heart was filled with   38   , whenever he saw the boots and shoes    39   . Now the merchant upstairs was so rich that he   40    knew how much wealth he had. He was always   41    over his gold and silver coins far into the night. Even in bed his uneasiness(不安) about his riches kept him  42  . When at last he had been asleep for an hour or two, up came the song of the happy shoemaker, who was an   43   riser. It continued all day and was a (n)   44   to the merchant. Day by day the merchant grew more and more tired through want of    45   . He asked a wise friend of his how he could put an   46   to the shoemaker’s song. “Well, if I were you, I would give the shoemaker a hundred pounds,” answered his friend. “You are rich enough to do that, I suppose. Ask for nothing in    47   . Simply give the money.” The merchant    48    the advice.  

When the shoemaker    49   the bag that had been sent by the merchant, he was   50    to find shining coins. “I must hide this from the eyes of my neighbors. If they see it, they will think that I have stolen it,” he thought. “I will   51   it away even from my wife.” So he hid the bag of money under the floor. From then on he    52    his neighbors as much as he could. His wife who had been the best  53    to him, became troublesome. Now his mind was too much set on the money bag to   54   to his work with diligence(勤劳). He could not sing merrily now.   55   he thought of the money bag, he became uneasy and unhappy.  

36．A．for                  B．therefore          C．but                  D．however

37．A．poorest            B．happiest           C．richest             D．shortest

38．A．smile               B．sorrow             C．sadness            D．joy

39．A．being repaired  B．repair              C．to repair          D．to be repaired

40．A．always             B．completely       C．hardly             D．entirely

41．A．hiding             B．counting          C．calculating       D．figuring

42．A．awake             B．nervous           C．frightened        D．asleep

43．A．early               B．happy              C．noisy               D．late

44．A．threat                     B．matter             C．trouble            D．alarm

45．A．sympathy         B．understanding   C．sleep               D．treatment

46．A．end               B．notice              C．information      D．stop

47．A．trouble            B．need                C．turn                 D．return

48．A．refused            B．agreed             C．asked               D．followed

49．A．stole                B．opened            C．received           D．closed/carried

50．A．excited            B．amazed           C．ashamed            D．disappointed

51．A．throw              B．keep                C．give                D．put

52．A．avoided           B．thanked           C．helped             D．attract

53．A．companion       B．fellow             C．shoemaker       D．merchant

54．A．tend                      B．turn                 C．attend              D．come

55．A．Wherever        B．Whatever         C．Whenever        D．However

There is an old story telling about a woman whose only son died in an accident. In her    26  , she went to the wise man that is always    27   for his wisdom in her town and said, “What advice or what    28   ways do you have to bring my son back to life? I will    29   you with all I have if you can.”

Instead of sending her away or    30   with her, he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard (芥末) seed from a home that has never    31   sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.” The woman went off at once in    32   of that magical mustard seed.

She came first to a splendid apartment,    33   at the door, and said in a (n)    34   voice, “I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a (n)    35   that I want? It is very important to me.”

   36  , she didn’t get what she wanted, even without a single word of    37  . They told her that she had come to the wrong place. And they began to    38   all the tragic things that recently had happened to them.

The woman said to herself, “Who is better able to help these poor,   39   people than I, though I also have had misfortune of my own?” She    40   to comfort them till they    41  . Then she went on searching for a home that had never known sorrow. But    42   she turned up, in small cottages or in other places, she found one    43   after another of sadness and misfortune. She became so    44   in helping other people out of their sorrow that finally she forgot about her quest for the special mustard seed, in fact, never    45   that it had driven the sorrow out of her life.

1.                A．joy            B．danger         C．belief    D．sorrow

2.                A．envied         B．considered      C．respected     D．treated

3.                A．strange         B．magical         C．valuable  D．important

4.                A．reward         B．supply          C．provide   D．award

5.                A．quarreling      B．discussing       C．reasoning     D．arguing

6.                A．suffered        B．known          C．obtained  D．forgotten

7.                A．honor          B．favor           C．need     D．search

8.                A．knocked        B．broke          C．stood D．pointed

9.                A．excited         B．confident       C．sad D．urgent

10.               A．place          B．answer         C．apartment D．person

11.               A．Luckily         B．Immediately     C．Gradually  D．Unfortunately

12.               A．praise          B．respect         C．comfort   D．encouragement

13.               A．exchange       B．describe        C．simplified D．decorated

14.               A．unfortunate     B．unfriendly      C．unimportant    D．unfamiliar

15.               A．planned        B．managed        C．continued D．stayed

16.               A．settle down     B．break down     C．calm down     D．get dwon

17.               A．wherever       B．whatever       C．however   D．whenever

18.               A．excuse         B．tale            C．lie    D．reason

19.               A．curious         B．puzzled         C．worried   D．involved

20.               A．recognizing     B．realizing        C．remembering   D．wondering

In January 1986 I saw a show about cartooning called “Funny Business” on TV. I had always wanted to be a __36__but never knew how. So I wrote to the host of the_37_, cartoonist Jack Cassady, asking for advice on entering the profession(职业).
Two weeks later I got a (n) __38__letter from Jack, answering my questions about materials and process(过程). He also __39__ me not to get discouraged if I was refused__40__. He said the cartoon samples（样本） I sent him were good and worthy of publication（出版）.
I got very __41__, finally understanding how the whole process__42__. I sent my best cartoons to Playboy and New Yorker, ___43___ the magazines rejected（拒绝）me immediately. Discouraged, I put my art supplies in the box and__44__to forget all about cartooning.
To my__45__, in June 1987 I got another letter from Jack, although I hadn’t even__46__ him for the former advice. Here’s what he said:
Dear Scott,
I was reviewing my “Funny Business” mail file when I again came__47__ your letter and your cartoons. I remember answering you letter.
I’m writing to encourage you to submit(提交) your ideas to various publications again. I hope you have __48__ done so and are making progress and having some__49__ too. Sometimes encouragement in the funny business is hard to come by. That’s__50__ I am encouraging you to hang in there and keep drawing.
I wish you good luck.
Sincerely,
Jack
I was deeply__51__because Jack had nothing to gain—including my thanks. I acted on his__52__, took out my art supplies and inked the sample strips(漫画连载) that__53__ became Dilbert.
I feel__54__that I wouldn’t have tried cartooning again if Jack hadn’t sent the second letter. As Dilbert became more successful I came to __55__ Jack’s simple act of kindness.

This is the story of two lovers, who finally got married. Both of them were romantic at first,     on the walk of life, problems, quarrels, profession came into their life.

One day, she finally decided “I want to break up”. “Why?” he asked.

“I am     .” She answered.

He kept silent the whole night, seemingly in deep     . Finally he asked, “What can I do to     your mind?”

Looking into his eyes she said, “Answer my question. If you can      my heart, I will change my mind. Let’s say, I want a flower      on the face of a mountain cliff (悬崖), we are both sure that picking the flower will cause your     . Will you do it for me?”

He said, “I will give you my      tomorrow.”

She woke up the next morning, found him gone, and saw a piece of paper on her bed, which     , “My dear, I would not pick that flower for you. The      are …”

“When you use the computer you always       the software, and you cry in front of the screen. I have to save my fingers so that I can help to      the programs. You always leave the house keys behind, so I have to save my      to rush home to open the door for you. You love traveling but always lose your way in a (n)      city. I have to save my eyes to show you the way. You always      at the computer, and that will do nothing good for your eyes. I have to save my eyes      when we grow old, I can help to clip your nails and help to remove those      white hairs.”

“Thus, my dear,       I am sure that there is someone who loves you more than I do … I can not pick that flower yet, and die …”

That’s life, and    . Flowers, and romantic moments are only used and appear on the      of the relationship. Under all this, the pillar of true love stands.

1.A. while B. and        C. but        D. so

2.A. lonely         B. dead     C. worn out       D. awesome

3.A. sorrow       B. thought          C. shade    D. anger

4.A. speak          B. change C. blow      D. keep

5.A. represent  B. expand C. warm    D. convince

6.A. grown         B. planted C. living     D. growing

7.A. injury          B. hurt       C. wound  D. death

8.A. decision     B. answer C. opinion D. choice

9.A. wrote         B. informed       C. printed D. went

10.A. answers   B. messages       C. reasons          D. purposes

11.A. run out    B. put up   C. use up  D. mess up

12.A. repair       B. restore C. fix D. mend

13.A. legs B. life         C. energy  D. strength

14.A. big   B. new       C. modern         D. strange

15.A. glance      B. look       C. glare     D. stare

16.A. as if B. now that        C. so that  D. in case

17.A. annoying B. emerging       C. rough    D. refreshing

18.A. although  B. even if  C. unless   D. if

19.A. friction     B. love       C. couple  D. power

20.A. surface    B. way       C. course  D. nature

When Mike told me he was leaving I felt like a vase which had just broken. There were pieces of me all over the tidy floor. He kept talking, telling me why he was leaving,   31   it was for the best, I could do better, it was his   32   and not mine. I had heard it before many times and yet somehow was still hurt; perhaps one cannot   33   such pain.

He left and I tried to   34   my life. I filled the kettle (水壶), put it on to boil, took out my old red cup and   35   the coffee powder falling into the bone china. Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning, I   36   not to hear it. That’s what Mike’s leaving had been like, sudden and with a(n)   37   end. I would rather just   38   in uncertainty than have things finished. I laughed at myself. Just about a cup of coffee, I must be getting   39  .

And yet it was a young woman who   40   back at me from the mirror, a young woman full of   41   and hope, a young woman with bright eyes just waiting to see the world.  42  , there are more important things. More important than   43  , I insist to myself firmly. The lid goes back on the coffee just like closing on the whole Mike experience.