It was one of those cold winter nights in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco . I was driving an eyesore（丑陋的東西）that could only be  36  as a “ car ” by someone who was either a shameless liar or a good friend .
It was  37  to drive the car because you had to keep your fingers and toes crossed to keep the engine running . I tried to imagine I was driving a huge clumsy  38  ; that way I didn’t  39  the slow speed .
That night I must have uncrossed my fingers to scratch something . The car  40  in the middle of a four-lane stretch of Oak Street . I  41  for a place to turn off（拐彎）, but the street was lined with parked cars .
There I sat , in  42  traffic , as tons of vehicles screamed by . In my rearview mirror（后視鏡）I saw a car  43  behind me . I knew what was coming . Soon the horn would start and someone would be  44  at me . But I was  45  .
A stranger got out of the car and came to my  46  . He asked , “ Do you want a  47  ?”
I was surprised but  48  . And then he  49  to his car and two teens piled out to help push my car . When I was  50  delivered to a side street , they got back into their car and rejoined the sea of  51  . I didn’t get to  52  them .
Over the years I’ve realized something about the  53  who stopped to help . I’ve noticed that every time I’m in  54  , he appears . The one true thing in this world is an unasked  55  provided by a stranger .

It was one of those cold winter nights in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco . I was driving an eyesore（丑陋的東西）that could only be  36  as a “ car ” by someone who was either a shameless liar or a good friend .

It was  37  to drive the car because you had to keep your fingers and toes crossed to keep the engine running . I tried to imagine I was driving a huge clumsy  38  ; that way I didn’t  39  the slow speed .

That night I must have uncrossed my fingers to scratch something . The car  40  in the middle of a four-lane stretch of Oak Street . I  41  for a place to turn off（拐彎）, but the street was lined with parked cars .

There I sat , in  42  traffic , as tons of vehicles screamed by . In my rearview mirror（后視鏡）I saw a car  43  behind me . I knew what was coming . Soon the horn would start and someone would be  44  at me . But I was  45  .

A stranger got out of the car and came to my  46  . He asked , “ Do you want a  47  ?”

I was surprised but  48  . And then he  49  to his car and two teens piled out to help push my car . When I was  50  delivered to a side street , they got back into their car and rejoined the sea of  51  . I didn’t get to  52  them .

Over the years I’ve realized something about the  53  who stopped to help . I’ve noticed that every time I’m in  54  , he appears . The one true thing in this world is an unasked  55  provided by a stranger .

It was Valentine's Day, my freshman year of college. I was so young, the romantic type. All I wanted was a rose. A single rose to __36__ up my Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day at school was over，and I had no rose to __37__ in my locker like I had hoped. I came home a little __38__. I sat in my room dreaming about next year's romantic Valentine's Day __39__ the doorbell rang. There at the front door was a deliveryman __40__   one single rose to my house. Surely this rose wasn't for me. I didn't have such __41__. I closed the front door with a single rose in my hand and gave it to my mother. “__42__  the card！” she insisted when I told her it must be for her. I unsealed the envelope as my hands were __43__. I slowly lifted the card and read what it said：

To Amanda

From someone who cares

I must have read it twenty times in a matter of seconds, __44__ my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. But they weren't. The rose was for me. I must have been __45__ for about five minutes, until I started __46__ the obvious people and __47__ them of sending me a rose and playing a joke on my __48__ romantic heart. No one knew who sent it to me. My friends, family  and relatives were as __49__ to hear I got a rose from a __50__ someone as much as I was. I was on cloud nine(興奮) for weeks.

I __51__ did figure out who was it who sent me that rose. __52__ I did figure something else out. It didn't __53__ if it was a guy who secretly __54__ me who sent me that rose. What mattered was that it was from someone who __55__ about me and wanted to brighten up my day.

1.A. brighten     B. fill      C. take       D. decorate

2.A. hide B. hang           C. plant          D. stick

3.A. mad   B. hungry        C. angry    D. sad

4.A. before        B. until             C. when    D. once

5.A. posting       B. carrying      C. holding D. delivering

6.A. chance       B. luck   C. value     D. confidence

7.A. Open              B. Read            C. Check   D. Break

8.A. closing        B. moving        C. shaking D. spreading

9.A. praying      B. expecting            C. doubting        D. believing

10.A. sorry        B. curious      C. happy   D. nervous

11.A. realizing   B. calling        C. visiting  D. questioning

12.A. informing          B. reminding           C. accusing        D. telling

13.A. specially  B. actually      C. obviously       D. hopelessly

14.A. surprised B. excited      C. amused          D. disappointed

15.A. considerate      B. distant        C. secret   D. generous

16.A. anyhow    B. still              C. already D. never

17.A. For  B. So      C. Then     D. But

18.A. happen    B. matter        C. appear  D. mean

19.A. loved        B. helped       C. pitied    D. cheated

20.A. asked       B. worried    C. cared    D. talked

It was Valentine's Day, my freshman year of college. I was so young, the romantic type. All I wanted was a rose. A single rose to __36__ up my Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day at school was over，and I had no rose to __37__ in my locker like I had hoped. I came home a little __38__. I sat in my room dreaming about next year's romantic Valentine's Day __39__ the doorbell rang. There at the front door was a deliveryman __40__   one single rose to my house. Surely this rose wasn't for me. I didn't have such __41__. I closed the front door with a single rose in my hand and gave it to my mother. “__42__  the card！” she insisted when I told her it must be for her. I unsealed the envelope as my hands were __43__. I slowly lifted the card and read what it said：

To Amanda

From someone who cares

I must have read it twenty times in a matter of seconds, __44__ my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. But they weren't. The rose was for me. I must have been __45__ for about five minutes, until I started __46__ the obvious people and __47__ them of sending me a rose and playing a joke on my __48__ romantic heart. No one knew who sent it to me. My friends, family  and relatives were as __49__ to hear I got a rose from a __50__ someone as much as I was. I was on cloud nine(興奮) for weeks.

I __51__ did figure out who was it who sent me that rose. __52__ I did figure something else out. It didn't __53__ if it was a guy who secretly __54__ me who sent me that rose. What mattered was that it was from someone who __55__ about me and wanted to brighten up my day.

36. A. brighten               B. fill                       C. take                          D. decorate

37. A. hide                    B. hang                   C. plant                     D. stick

38. A. mad                    B. hungry                 C. angry                       D. sad

39. A. before                 B. until                     C. when                        D. once

40. A. posting                B. carrying               C. holding                     D. delivering

41. A. chance                B. luck                     C. value                        D. confidence

42. A. Open               B. Read                    C. Check                      D. Break

43. A. closing                B. moving                C. shaking                     D. spreading

44. A. praying               B. expecting             C. doubting                   D. believing

45. A. sorry                   B. curious                C. happy                       D. nervous

46. A. realizing               B. calling                 C. visiting                     D. questioning

47. A. informing            B. reminding            C. accusing                   D. telling

48. A. specially              B. actually               C. obviously                  D. hopelessly

49. A. surprised             B. excited                C. amused                     D. disappointed

50. A. considerate          B. distant                 C. secret                       D. generous

51. A. anyhow               B. still                     C. already                     D. never

52. A. For                     B. So                      C. Then                        D. But

53. A. happen                B. matter                 C. appear                      D. mean

54. A. loved                   B. helped                 C. pitied                        D. cheated

55. A. asked                  B. worried               C. cared                        D. talked

  My First Day

I was still shy in the presence of a crowd. And my first day at the new 36 made me a laughing stock（笑柄） of the classroom .I was sent to the blackboard to write my   37 . I knew my name, and knew how to write it , but standing at the blackboard with the  38  of so many pupils on my back made me  39  inside and I was unable to write a single letter.

“Write your name,” the teacher called to me. I  40 the white chalk to the blackboard, as I was about to write, my mind went blank, I could not remember my name,  41 the first letter. Somebody laughed and I became  42 .

“Just forget us and write your name,” the teacher called and walked to my side,  43 at me to give me confidence.

“What is your name?” she asked.

“Richard,” I   44

“Then write it.”

I turned to the blackboard and lifted my hand to write, but then I was  45  again. I tried to  46  my senses but I could remember nothing. I realized how totally I was 47 and I grew weak and leaned my hot forehead  48 the cold blackboard. The room burst into a loud  49 and my muscles froze. I sat and  50  myself. Why did I always appear so dumb  51  I was called upon to perform in a crowd? I knew how to write as well as any other pupil in the classroom, and there was no  52 I could read better than any of them, and I could talk  53  when I was sure of myself. Then why did strange  54  make me freeze? I sat with my ears and neck  55 , hearing the pupils around me whisper, hating myself.  

Is there a magic cutoff period when children become responsible for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become spectators （audiences） in the lives of their children and shrug, “It’s their life,” and feel nothing?

       When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital  passage waiting for doctors to put a few stitches（縫線） in my son’s head．I asked, “When do you stop worrying?” The nurse said, “When they get out of the accident stage．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

      When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked continually and disrupted the class．As if to read my mind, a teacher said．“Don’t worry．They all go through this stage and then you can sit back, relax and enjoy them．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

      When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open．A friend said, “They’re trying to find themselves．Don’t worry; in a few years, you can stop worrying．They’ll be adults．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

    By the time I was 50, I was sick and tired of being weak．I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle．There was nothing I could do about it．My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．

     I continued to suffer from their failures, and be absorbed in their disappointments．My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life．I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted（縈繞心頭） by my mother’s warm smile and her occasional “You look pale．Are you all right? Call me the minute you get home．Are you depressed about something?” Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry?

    One of my children became quite anxious about me recently, saying, “Where were you? I’ve been calling for three days, and no one answered．I was worried．”

     I smiled a warm smile．

The author intends to tell us in the passage that_______．

     A．parents long for a period when they no longer worry about their children

     B．there is no time when parents have no worry about their children

     C．it’s parents’ duty to worry about their children

     D．there should be a period when parents don’t have to worry about their children

We can infer from the underlined sentence “My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．” that ______．

     A．her mother shared the same idea as the nurse

     B．her mother didn’t agree with the nurse

     C．her mother thought the nurse was lying

     D．her mother wouldn’t express her opinion upon the matter

The author mentioned her ages of twenties, thirties, forties and fifty in order to show_______．

      A．the hard times she experiences in her life

      B．the different stages of her children

      C．the support she received from her mother

      D．she had been worrying about her children in her life

What can we infer from the last sentence?

      A．The mother was happy that her child began to worry about her, too

      B．Finally the mother didn’t have to worry about her children

      C．At last the mother could live her own life without worry．

      D．The mother succeeded in turning her children into adults．

Which of the following should be the best title?

     A．Life             B．Parents   C．Worry          D．Children

I had been rather proud of myself when my friends and family got the ticket，whether it was for speeding，parking or stop sign violations (違反)．It was something that happened to others. But last Friday I joined the club.

I was asked to do a new project last week. On Friday morning on my way to work，I suddenly remembered that I had spent the past six weeks without considering that I had a week’s vacation planned during that time. I was very disappointed with myself for not remembering it.

The truth is that I was not paying enough attention to my driving and I did not come to a complete stop at the stop sign in front of a school. I was so distracted (思想不集中的)that I didn’t even notice I had a policeman on my tail with his lights flashing. Finally I looked in my mirror and caught on.

The policeman was rude and took my papers. Fortunately，I had everything up to date and since I had never had a ticket before，there was nothing for him to do but write me a ticket. While I was sitting there in the seat of “shame”，I felt bad. If I had been that distracted and a child had run onto the road，perhaps I would have not reacted as well as I could have. It was a wake-up call.

People at work asked me if I tried to talk my way out of it. Frankly，it never occurred to me. I felt guilty. Now I no longer have a clean driving record. Please be careful out there，as a moment’s distraction can lead to tragedy.

1.What is this passage mainly about?

。

2.We can infer that the underlined part “the club” in Paragraph 1 here refers to ________.

3.What made the writer unable to focus on her driving?

4.From the experience，the writer has probably learnt ________.

I sat at my seat waiting for the school paper to be passed around. I waited anxiously, knowing that once I received it I would know how good a writer I really am.

When the paper arrived at my classroom, I nearly knocked down five of my classmates to get to the first paper. With a school paper in my hands, I returned to my seat. About a month earlier, I had handed in one of, what I believed to be, my best stories. I named it Symbol of Success. The head of the English Department at my school, Professor Cullen had said that she would include some reviews of students’ stories in the latest school paper. Professor Cullen was known for her rough criticism. Impressing her was very hard but I wanted to be the first to do so.

I sat at the edge of my seat as I read through the other story reviews. There wasn’t one story that got more than three stars .I became calm and wasn’t anxious to know my review. It was long after that I heard someone shout out “Five stars?! Seriously!” from behind me. I turned around and saw the shocked expression of Gene’s face, “Peter, your story got five stars!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I turned my attention back to my story and saw the five stars at the end of the review that I had not read yet. I looked through the review written by Professor Cullen. She wrote that I had a gift for story writing.

I was proud that I achieved what I thought was impossible .For so long I believed I wasn’t as good as I thought I was and that my talent was not enough to cover up my lack of wring skills .But this review proved that I was truly a good writer and that there was a future ahead of me in the field of fiction writing. The review and the five stars meant the world of me. Those five stars became the symbol of my success.

1.How did the writer get the school paper?

A．His teacher gave it to him first

B．The publisher sent it to him first

C．His friend helped him get the first one.

D．He rushed ahead to get the first one by himself.

2.What can we learn about Professor Cullen?

A．She was very gentle to everyone.           B．She seldom praised her students.

C．She was very cold to her students.          D．She was respected by her students.

3.We can learn from this text that Peter_______.

A．had thought his story was better than those of others

B．was always anxious to know the review about him

C．didn’t know he got five stars until others told him

D．looked through a few stories that had got four stars

4.What did Professor Cullen think of Peter’s story?

A．She thought highly of it .

B．She thought it was just so-so.

C．She thought it was extremely bad

D．She doubted if it was written by him.

5.Why did the review and the five stars mean the world to Peter?

A．Because they helped him learn writing skills

B．Because they made him happy for some time

C．Because they helped him enter a key university

D．Because they made him see his writing talents

Alone in the light at the dining room table, surrounded by a nearly dark house, I sat in tears.
Finally, I  36  in getting both kids to bed. As a new single  37 , I had to be both Mommy and Daddy to my two little children.
With full rights of my children, I  38  to give them a normal and comfortable home life. I  39  a happy face for them.
I rose slowly, trying not to  40  even the least sound which might start them up  41 . I tiptoed(躡手躡腳地走) out of their room,  42  the door part way, and went downstairs.
And loneliness(孤獨). I  43  as thought I were at the bottom(底部) of a great sea of loneliness. It all  44  together and I was at once lost. I sat there,  45  crying.
Just then, a pair of little  46  went around my middle and a little face looked up at me. I looked down into my five-year-old son’s  47  face.
I was shy to be  48  crying by my son. “I’m sorry. Ethan, I didn’t know you were still awake.” I don’t know why, but so many people  49  when they cry and I was no exception. “I didn’t  50  to cry. I’m just a little  51  tonight.”
“It’s ok, Daddy. It’s okay to cry; you’re just  52 .”
I couldn’t express(表達) how happy he made me, this little boy, who was simple, gave me  53  to cry. He seemed to be saying that I didn’t have to always be  54 , and that sometimes it was possible to allow myself to feel weak and let out my  55 .

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice: flip (擲) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!

1.What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

A. Controversial.                          B. Ridiculous.

C. Boring.                                 D. Puzzling.

2.Why was the author confused about the task?

A. He was unfamiliar with American history.

B. He followed the advice and flipped a coin.

C. He forgot his teacher’s instruction.

D. He didn’t know why the teacher gave such a task.

3.The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.

A. annoyed                      B. ashamed

C. ready                         D. eager

4.In the end, the author turned things around _______.

A. by redoing his task

B. through his own efforts

C. with the help of his grandfather

D. under the guidance of his headmaster

I sat at my seat waiting for the school paper to be passed around. I waited anxiously, knowing that once I received it I would know how good a writer I really am.
When the paper arrived at my classroom, I nearly knocked down five of my classmates to get to the first paper. With a school paper in my hands, I returned to my seat. About a month earlier, I had handed in one of, what I believed to be, my best stories. I named it Symbol of Success. The head of the English Department at my school, Professor Cullen had said that she would include some reviews of students’ stories in the latest school paper. Professor Cullen was known for her rough criticism. Impressing her was very hard but I wanted to be the first to do so.
I sat at the edge of my seat as I read through the other story reviews. There wasn’t one story that got more than three stars .I became calm and wasn’t anxious to know my review. It was long after that I heard someone shout out “Five stars?! Seriously!” from behind me. I turned around and saw the shocked expression of Gene’s face, “Peter, your story got five stars!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I turned my attention back to my story and saw the five stars at the end of the review that I had not read yet. I looked through the review written by Professor Cullen. She wrote that I had a gift for story writing.
I was proud that I achieved what I thought was impossible .For so long I believed I wasn’t as good as I thought I was and that my talent was not enough to cover up my lack of wring skills .But this review proved that I was truly a good writer and that there was a future ahead of me in the field of fiction writing. The review and the five stars meant the world of me. Those five stars became the symbol of my success.
【小題1】How did the writer get the school paper?

At the age of 13，I visited a doctor with my parents. As I sat in the examining chair，the doctor looked into my 　31　.“She did inherit (繼承) it，”he said with coldness.“You need to be prepared. There is no 　32　 for this disease.”
My father 　33　a gene which，in most cases，results in blindness. I’d inherited the gene. He gradually 　34　 his eyesight and so did I. At last we were both 　35　 blind—he was fifty-seven years old，　36　 I was only twenty-eight.
My world 　37　 as the darkness fell，　38　 the dreams my husband and I had for us and for our three little boys. But 　39　 I tried to find some hope and 　40　，my eyes were opened to a new realization.
My father had 　41　 me not just failing eyesight，but an example of 　42　 in the face of hardships as well. We were all living in Bolivia in 1964 when he decided to 　43　 the family to America. He worked tirelessly to 　44 the right of living in the US.
Alone in the States，he 　45　 his helplessness and lack of fluency in English. He managed to rent a small apartment，and nine months later，sent airline tickets for my mom，my brother and me.
Decades later，　46 an American citizen，I look back at what he'd shown me. He set an example proving that determination is important to success. His 　47　 taught me valuable lessons for my own path in the darkness.
I did the same as I stepped into a 　48　 world. I fulfilled (完成) my own 　49　 as a wife，mom，Sunday school teacher and Spanish interpreter. What I inherited from my father helped me to 50　 my life in a whole new light.

Peanuts to This

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice：flip (擲) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!
【小題1】What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

I had been rather proud of myself when my friends and family got the ticket, whether it was for speeding, parking or stop sign violations(違反). It was something that happened to others. But last Friday I joined the club.

I was asked to do a new project last week. On Friday morning on my way to work, I suddenly remembered that I had spent the past six weeks without considering that I had a week’s vacation planned during that time. I was very disappointed with myself for not remembering it.

The truth is that I was not paying enough attention to my driving and I did not come to a complete stop at the stop sign in front of a school. I was so distracted(思想不集中的) that I didn’t even notice I had a policeman on my tail with his lights flashing. Finally I looked in my mirror and caught on.

The policeman was rude and took my papers. Luckily, I had everything up to date and since I had never had a ticket before, there was nothing for him to do but write me a ticket. While I was sitting there in the seat of “shame”, I felt bad. If I had been that distracted and a child had run onto the road, perhaps I would have not reacted as well as I could have. It was a wake-up call.

People at work asked me if I tried to talk my way out of it. Frankly, it never occurred to me. I felt guilty（有罪的）. Now I no longer have a clean driving record. Please be careful out there, as a moment’s distraction can lead to tragedy（悲劇）.

1.What is this passage mainly about?

A. The writer’s most unforgettable experience.

B. How the writer got her first ticket.

C. An accident caused by the writer.

D. Why the writer is always so careful.

2.We can infer that the underlined part “the club” in Paragraph 1 here refers to         .

A. people who are crazy about driving cars

B. a club for drivers without much experience

C. people who get tickets for breaking traffic rules

D. a club for people to talk about their driving stories

3.What made the writer unable to focus on(集中思想) her driving?

A. Planning how to spend the vacation.

B. Thinking of the forgotten vacation.

C. Thinking about her work.

D. Missing her children.

4.When the writer received the ticket, she         .

A. felt lucky that she was an experienced driver

B. was so nervous that she shook all over

C. was ashamed of herself for being distracted

D. was worried about being laughed at

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從16--35各題所給的四個選項A、B、C、D中，選出最佳選項。
To develop her students' spelling skills, Mrs Hardy held a spelling competition in her class．The two  16 spellers would compete in the school spelling competition with other 17 from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades．
Spelling was Jasmine's  18 subject and books were her best friends． 19 would allow her to  20 into the sea, find buried treasure, 21 meet the mean man Mr Grandet（葛朗臺）．Fairy tales  22 her to dream of being a princess．
The day came for Mrs Hardy to  23 the result of the competition．Jasmine sat in her seat．Finally Mrs Hardy announced that Reece Bradley and Jasmine Russell would  24 in the school final spelling competition．
Smiling  25 , Jasmine looked at Reece, but he  26 her by frowning（皺眉） as if he were 27 to take part in the competition．
“Way to go, Jasmine,” Rashad, Jasmine's another classmate, said with a playful push to her arm．“Do you think you have a  28 of winning the competition?”
Jasmine 29 , “My Aunt Lucy says anything can be got by  30 hard．I'm going to study the word list till my  31 stop working!”
During the break, Jasmine, Rashad and Reece met on the basketball court for a game of Horse．Jasmine said, “Let's  32 for the competition by spelling bigger words!”
“Like what?” Rashad asked．Jasmine smiled．“Like antidisestablishmentarianism．” Reece rolled his eyes and asked．“Anti—what?”
Jasmine  33 the word, trying not to laugh．“You made that  34 ,” Rashad said．“Anything can be got by working hard．This is__  35 everybody should believe in．

Is there a magic cutoff period when children become responsible for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become spectators in the lives of their children and shrug, “It’s their life,” and feel nothing?

  When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital passage waiting for doctors to put a few stitches(縫線) in my son’s head. I asked, “When do you stop worry?” The nurse said, “When they get out of the accident stage.” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing

   When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked continually and disrupted the class. As if to read my mind, a teacher said. “Don’t worry, they all go through this stage and then you can sit back, relax and enjoy them” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

  When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open. A friend said, “ They’re trying to find themselves, Don’t worry, in a few years, you can stop worrying. They’ll be adults.” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

  By the time I was 50, I was sick and tired of being weak. I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle, there was nothing I could do about it. My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

 I continued to suffer from their failures, and be absorbed in their disappointments. My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted(縈繞心頭) by my mother’s warm smile and her occasional “You look pale. Are you all right?” Call me minute you get home. Are you depressed about something ?” Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry?

 One of my children became quite anxious about me recently, saying, “ Where were you ? I’ve been calling for three days, and no one answered . I was worried.”

  I smiled a warm smile

The author intends to tell us in the passage that_______.

A parents long for a period when they no longer worry about their children.

B there is no time when parents have no worry about their children.

C it’s parents’ duty to worry about their children

D there should be a period when parents don’t have to worry their children

We can infer from the underlined sentence “My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing” that ______.

A her mother shared the same idea as the nurse

B her mother didn’t agree with the nurse

C her mother thought the nurse was lying

D her mother wouldn’t express her opinion upon the matter

The author mentioned her ages of twenties, thirties, forties and fifty in order to show_______.

A the hard times she experiences in her life

B the different stages of her children

C the support she received from her mother

D she had been worrying her children in her life

What can we infer from the last sentence?

A The mother was happy that her child began to worry about her, too

B Finally the mother didn’t have to worry about her children.

C At last the mother could live her own life without worry.

D The mother succeeded in turning her children into adults.

Which of the following should be the best title?

A Life   B Parents   C Worry  D Children

I had been rather proud of myself when my friends and family got the ticket，whether it was for speeding，parking or stop sign violations (違反)．It was something that happened to others. But last Friday I joined the club.

I was asked to do a new project last week. On Friday morning on my way to work，I suddenly remembered that I had spent the past six weeks without considering that I had a week’s vacation planned during that time. I was very disappointed with myself for not remembering it. The fact  is that I was not paying enough attention to my driving and I did not come to a complete stop at the stop sign in front of a school. I was so distracted (思想不集中的)that I didn’t even notice I had a policeman on my tail with his lights flashing. Finally I looked in my mirror and caught on.

The policeman was rude and took my papers. Fortunately，I had everything up to date and since I had never had a ticket before，there was nothing for him to do but write me a ticket. While I was sitting there in the seat of “shame”，I felt bad. If I had been that distracted and a child had run onto the road，perhaps I would have not reacted as well as I could have. It was a wake-up call.

People at work asked me if I tried to talk my way out of it. Frankly，it never occurred to me. I felt guilty. Now I no longer have a clean driving record. Please be careful out there，as a moment’s distraction can lead to tragedy.

1．What is this passage mainly about?

A．The writer’s most unforgettable experience.

B．How the writer got her first ticket.

C．An accident caused by the writer.

D．Why the writer is always so careful.

2．We can infer that the underlined part “the club” in Paragraph 1 here refers to ________.

A．people who are crazy about driving cars

B．a club for drivers without much experience

C．people who get tickets for breaking traffic rules

D．a club for people to talk about their driving stories

3．What made the writer unable to focus on her driving?

A．Planning how to spend the vacation.

B．Thinking of the forgotten vacation.

C．Thinking about her work.

D．Missing her children.

4．From the experience，the writer has probably learnt ________.

A．what is really important to her

B．how to deal with policemen

C．to enjoy the small things in life

D．to be much more careful

第三部分： 完形填空（共20小題；每小題1分，滿分20分）
My Teacher in the School of Life
I spent the opening day of school this year at DeMatha Catholic High School in much the same way I spent the first day of classes   36   30 years ago; I sat in Dr Charles E. Offutt’s British literature class, listening to him   37   what his seniors would learn and get them excited about the journey they would  38  . I’m the principal (校長) of the school now , but for a few minutes I was back in 1975,   39  what the future held.
I have been learning from Dr Offutt for 30 of the 51 years he had been teaching at DeMatha. He not only taught me to think, he   40  me, as much by example as  41  , that it was my moral duty to do so and to serve   42   .
Neither of us could know how our  43  would develop over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English. I worked for Dr Offutt, the then department chair. After several years, I was  44  department chair, and our relationship changed   45  . I thought that it might be  46  chairing the department, since all of my former English teachers were still there, but Dr Offutt   47  me throughout. He knew when to give me   48   about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me design my own course.
In 1997, I needed his advice about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school. If he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have.   49   , he encouraged me to seize the new     50  .
Five years ago, I became the   51   of DeMatha. Once again, Dr Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could   52  on him as I tried to fill such big shoes. I’ve learned from him that great teachers have a (n)   53   wealth of lessons to teach.   54  his students don’t know it yet, I know how   55   they are; I’m still one of them.
36．A．mostly         B．exactly   C．only           D．simply
37．A．explain    B．predict   C．speak         D．teach
38．A．keep            B．achieve  C．choose    D．take
39．A．preparing    B．discovering  C．wondering   D．realizing
40．A．assisted    B．reminded       C．advised   D．convinced
41．A．words   B．action       C．explanation  D．models
42．A．the others        B．everyone       C．others          D．anyone
43．A．relationship  B．position     C．situation   D．condition
44．A．pointed      B．named       C．given          D．taken
45．A．already      B．yet   C．still          D．again
46．A．foolish     B．surprising        C．uncertain  D．challenging
47．A．promoted        B．accepted   C．supported  D．welcomed
48．A．advice       B．information       C．notice          D．thought
49．A．Otherwise       B．Therefore        C．Furthermore  D．Instead
50．A．choice    B．opportunity     C．occupation   D．possibility
51．A．teacher    B．principal  C．officer   D．clerk
52．A．live      B．look            C．depend   D．take
53．A．rich     B．little            C．valuable        D．endless
54．A．Once          B．Even if    C．Unless    D．Until
55．A．fortunate B．curious       C．innocent   D．satisfied