It was my birthday last Thursday and I decided to   26   by inviting a few friends out to supper. I 27   a restaurant in a quiet part of town. It is one of my favorite restaurants because the food is good and the waiters are friendly. It is hardly ever crowded, because  28   people know about it, so it is not usually necessary to book a table. In any case, Thursday is not a busy evening 29 .
When we entered the restaurant, I was surprised to find it completely  30  . I looked around but not a  31    table was free. One of the waiters recognized me. He came across and explained the situation. “A party of tourists came in about   32   ago.” he said. “It was like an invasion! 33    the place was full! We can hardly manage.”
The waiter then  34   a table in the corner. “The people there  35  . ” he said, “Just hold on and you will  36    a place there.” He was right. Fifteen minutes later, the people 37   the corner table paid their bill, got up and left. I led my friends across and we all sat down.
Unfortunately our table was almost out of sight. We tried to attract the attention of the waiter who sent us there, but he, like 38    waiters, 39    the party of tourists. They ordered lots of food. But at last, an hour later, the tourists were finishing their meal and looking very  40    with their service. The waiter now very tired, appeared at our table. I advised (建议) my friends about the best dishes and finally the waiter went off with our 41 .
A few moments later he 42   to our table. We could tell from his face that he had 43   for us. 44   a little embarrassed (尴尬的) he informed us that there was  45    left. “All we can offer you” he said, “is an omelet!(煎蛋卷)”
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About one year ago, a couple with three children moved into the apartment next door to me. I never heard any noise from the children. Instead, I often heard the parents yelling   __26__   at the kids, not in a nice tone, but in a   __27__  one.
We often   __28__  in the hallway. I always greeted them, but the only __29__   I ever got was a “hello” from the eight­year­old girl. I usually   __30__   to see my doctor and one day when I returned they were just   __31__   their apartment and the little girl was   __32__   the outside door open for the others. I   __33__   in the car doing   __34__   things because I wasn't eager to be snubbed(冷落) again. Finally, I got out of my car and walked towards the door. The parents were telling their daughter to hurry and get into the car,   __35__   the little girl was still holding the door,  __36__   me! I hurried although I was still in pain from my injury.
I forgot to tell her how  __37__   I was for her kindness. I wrote a note saying how much her act of kindness had   __38__ an old man's heart.
The next day there was a   __39__   on my door and it was the little girl and her father. She was quite   __40__   of her behavior and thanked me. Then I noticed her mother standing there too. Her parents  __41__   me.
From then on when we met in the hallway we always greeted each other，in a friendly   __42__.
Last night there was a heavy snow. I looked out at my car and   __43__   how I was going to keep my doctor's   __44__   because I could only walk for a short time. This morning when I opened the front door, all the snow was removed.
Isn't it  __45__   that the small kind act of an 8­year­old girl can change so many things for the better? It is said that good things come from small acts.

I've always loved pigeons(鸽子). Some years ago I managed to persuade my wife to let me buy a few and start   16  them myself. They cost a lot of money and so it spoilt(破坏) our 17 a bit, but my wife never actually stopped me so I  18  carried on. I learnt so much about them that I could  19 a good racer anywhere and I bought some beauties. My pigeons won some top races, and I even began to make a bit of   20 .
You see, people are prepared to pay big prices if they get to know that your pigeons are 21 big prizes.
My wife had been changing her  22  to the pigeons over the last year or two anyway. She was quite   23  of all the prizes we’d won. Then there was the travelling, which she liked. You see some one has to take the pigeons a  24  way off and set them free. Some of the   25  were really nice. I never travelled. I used to like to wait at home and see them come in. They’ve got this wonderful sense of  26 , which can bring them back home so quickly. They’d flown hundreds of miles sometimes   27  storms or against strong winds. And there they’d come, tiny white birds against the great   28 . Then I'd watch them  29  round and come down onto the landing shelf. I'd look at my watch and think, “My goodness, that’s a good  30 . ”And I'd take off the little leg ring and push it through the machine to  31  what time he’d arrived. Then my wife would  32 up and say, “Has he arrived yet?” Then we would work out if we’d won   33 .
Then last year we had a   34 ! All of them got some sort of flu and  35 . It was terrible. I had to burn them all. We lost a fortune, of course.

One of my fondest Christmas memories was also one of our family’s bleakest（最令人沮丧的）.We were just little kids , and on Christmas Day mom   36 us all around her to tell us ,  37 ,that there would be no presents because all we really wanted was to  38 for our daddy.He was very sick . I don’t remember anything else except four little girls surrounding my mother, crying   39 a miracle（奇迹）
At that very moment ,someone   40 loudly on the door.  41 Behind him was a merry group of soldiers from the Army base where my father   42 as a minister . News had  43  that we were in trouble ,and his colleagues knew we needed some  44  .
With all the excitement ,even my dad  45  in a blanket to keep warm , came down and sat in front of a roaring fire in our room to watch his children be  46 by good Samaritants（乐善好施的人）. The presents were unwrapped , and we girls  47  packages and found a doll each and four board games.
What is  48  to me is that I don’t even remember what sickness my father was suffering from.I 49  remember an evening of laughter and  50  There were no expensive toys but    51 moments of friendship and fun given by young men who knew that a family was having a(n)  52 time . They gave their time and their  53 to little children who needed to laugh.
The most important thing in life aren’t things . And what about the true  54  of holidays ? I hope we all are able to remember a thing about the holidays that stirs(搅动)our heart , that isn’t really a thing at all, but the smile on a child’s face because we take a moment to hug or   55 a tear.
【小题1】A requested  B  commanded  C  gathered  D  recommended
【小题2】A in tears    B  in doubt     C  in silence  D  in surprise
【小题3】A apply     B   pray        C  pay      D  ask
【小题4】A to        B   with       C   for       D  in
【小题5】A knocked   B  beat        C   tapped    D  struck
【小题6】A Fighting   B  Shooting    C   Running   D  Following
【小题7】A charged   B   existed     C   governed  D   worked
【小题8】A expanded  B   spread     C   distributed  D  disappeared
【小题9】A confidence  B  cheer      C   trust       D  wisdom
【小题10】A dressed    B   attached    C   trapped    D   wrapped
【小题11】A persuaded  B   saved      C   taught     D   entertained
【小题12】A discovered  B  sought      C   unfolded   D  packed
【小题13】A strange     B   frightening  C   useful     D   encouraging
【小题14】A seldom     B   just        C   even      D   hardly
【小题15】A happiness   B   surprise     C   doubt     D   anxiety
【小题16】A shocking    B  priceless     C   worthless  D   beneficial
【小题17】A relaxing    B   great        C   ordinary   D   rough
【小题18】A praise      B   treatment    C   attention   D   response
【小题19】A theme      B   spirit        C   principle   D  theory
【小题20】A wipe away  B   deal with     C   write about  D  burst into

Learning experiences happen to us throughout our lives. Not long ago, I had one that I would like to  16 .
I was going to Marblehead with my sailboat team. The team was racing down the highway at 85 mph 17 we realized we were   18  . Luckily, we saw a rest area ahead. I had a brand new $20 bill. I was so   19  because I had never had that kind of cash before. But spending it on   20  seemed like throwing it away. We all rushed into the pizza line.   21  I got a pizza and a drink, and walked to my table. About half way through the meal, I   22   I had not actually handed any money to the cashier. I had just   23   out, and nobody had noticed, I felt terrible.
My conscience( 良心) opened its mouth and swallowed me in one big bite. I couldn’t  24 over it. I just couldn’t go back to the cashier and   25   for my stolen pizza. I was so upset that I  26  to give myself the pleasure of an ice-cream for   27   that someone would say, “ Hey, Jeff, why don’t you use the change   28   the pizza instead of that nice, new $20 bill?” I was not so   29  of my cash now.
For the next two years, whenever I was   30  of the “pizza incident”, I would say to myself, “ Don’t think about it...”
I have learned two things from this   31 . Maybe I was a fool for   32 in to my conscience, and being too stupid to appreciate a   33  pizza. But the real lesson is that even if you get away from what you have done, your conscience   34  up with you.
This reflect the saying, “ A coward(懦夫) dies a thousand deaths; a hero dies one.” I was a coward and have felt terrible about that incident at least a thousand times. If I had been a “ 35 ” and gone back to pay for the pizza, I would have felt a little uncomfortable about it only once, or maybe twice.

A certain student passed all his examinations. Then he went to college to  16  his studies. There he wrote down his  17  for a course (课程) in English, but after the first  18  , he didn’t go to it any more.
The English lecturer  19  this student was always absent (缺席的) and thought he had  20  another course, so he was   21  when he saw the boy’s name on the list of students who wanted to take the English  22  at the end of this year.
The lecturer had  23  a difficult paper, which followed his  24  closely, and he was eager (热切的) to see  25  this student would answer the questions. He  26  the boy’s answers would be very bad, but when they  27  him and he examined them  28  , he was able to find only one small mistake in them. As this surprised him greatly, he  29  the paper repeatedly but still couldn’t find more than one mistake, so he  30  for the student to question him about it.
When he came and sat down, the lecturer asked him, “I  31  you came to my first lecture and you’ve been absent from all the others. But I’ve examined your  32  carefully and I’ve found only one small mistake in it. I’m curious (好奇的) to know your  33  .”
“I’m very  34  about that mistake,” answered the student. “After the examination, I 35  what I should have done. I would not have made that mistake if I had not been confused by your first lecture.”
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Ann，a mother of 3 children, is a warm-hearted social worker and she has done a lot to help people  36 . The family’s dinner conversation often turns to local poor families, and she  37  tries her best to seek help for them. This year, Ann   38 that Santa Claus would make a special   39 to a young unemployed mother named Ashley, who was   40 two sons by herself.
One Sunday morning, the family were joyfully having breakfast   41 the phone rang, saying that the aid she had requested for Ashley had  42 . No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing. On hearing the news, Ann noticed the   43  disappear from her children's faces. Kinzie, the youngest one,  44 down from her chair and ran out of the kitchen room. In a matter of   45 , she returned carrying her piggy bank and began to   46 the coins over and over again, $3.30 in total. “Mom,” she shook her head  47 , “I know it's not much. But maybe this will buy a   48 for the children.” Then suddenly everyone was reaching into their pockets and   49 their purses. Immediately the money –- coins and bills   50 on the table. On Christmas Eve, Ann as well as Kinzie drove to Ashley’s house. After Ann wished the   51 woman a merry Christmas, she began to unload the gifts from the car,  52  them to Ashley one by one and told her the whole story.
Ashley was moved to tears   53 the words: Kinzie opened not only her piggy bank but also her  54 , and my children as well as I myself would be able to do something   55 for someone else in need.

After spending a weekend away with my adult son, I was so impressed by his generous heart that I sent him this letter.
Dear son,
I want to thank you for teaching me a very valuable lesson in life by the great example you   31 . When we were eating at that cafe in Boston and a person who had  32 his hamburger didn’t have enough money to pay for it, without   33 , you went over and   34  the extra $2 into his hand.
When we were leaving, you   35  threw a five-cent coin onto the pavement and said something like, “Some kid will really enjoy   36  this.”
Last week, a young man   37  me in the line at a petrol station didn’t have   38  money to pay for his petrol. I asked the money collector, “How much   39  is he?” She told me he had meant to put $15 of petrol in his car   40  he had been looking at the wrong gauge (计量表) and had put in 15   41 , which came to a little over $20. That is an easy mistake as both gauges run fast.
Something made me think of you and   42  you did that night at the cafe in Boston. I handed the man $6. He was so   43  and said, “But why would you do this for me?” I just smiled as I thought of you.
Thank you, son, for teaching me that “it’s   44  to give than to receive”. Now when I see a five-cent coin on the   45  and want to pick it up, I think of you and leave it there, just in case some kid will get a kick out of finding it.
Love always, Mum.

【小题14】

A．easier B．better C．faster D．worse

A couple of years ago, I went to a lady’s house to buy some vitamins. Upon entering the house, I  36  that there was an electronic keyboard on a stand, leaning  37  the wall. Being a piano music lover and  38 , I asked, if the woman played. She nodded and added that she had been

 39  lessons at age 54! I told her that it was very   40  that she was pursuing （追求） her passion（热情）to play the piano.  .  . 
Then she asked me  41  question. “I have been playing for 8 years now,” I answered. 
“Then you must play a song for me before you leave,” she  42 .I thought she was joking and I simply smiled. At the end of the deal of the vitamins, she  43 me of our musical “ 44 _”. She then showed me to an old upright piano in the living room,  45   asked me to play a song for her. I thought  46   and decided to play David Lantz’s “Return to the Heart”, since she had so much passion for  47 ,and it was my soul-searching song. 
I played the song to the best of my ability, and with my emotions  48  into it as possible. She loved it.  49  I was about to step out of the door, I heard a weak voice calling out, “Young man!”
I turned around. And there was an old lady  50  one little step at a time with the help of another woman. “I wanted to come out to  51  you for the beautiful song that you played. I have been very sick, and it’s very hard for me to  52 my bed, but your music made me feel good ”she said. With that, she turned around and walked  53  back to her room. 
I was deeply  54  by her appreciation and felt a deeper understanding for the song. It served its purpose beautifully, returning to one’s  55  for peace and joy. 
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【小题4】

A．giving B．attending C．teaching D．reviewing

In the winter vocation of 2008, I was fixed with a job. I worked as a(n) 21  at Mr Breen’s  fruit shop. The fruit shop did good business. Most of the trade came from the housewives who lived in the neighborhood, 22_ he also had regular customers who arrived outside the shop in cars. Mr Breen 23 them all by names and they sometimes even had their order already made up, always 24  me to carry it out to their car. They were clearly longstanding customers, and I 25 they must have stayed faithful to him because he had  promised to sell good quality fruits. He had a way with them---- I had to 26  that. He called every woman “madam” for a start, 27 those who clearly were not, but when he said it, it did not sound like flattery(恭维). It just sounded 28  in an old-fashioned way. He was a great chatter  29 . If he did not know them, he would greet them with a few  30  about the weather,  31 he did, he would ask about their families or make  32 , always cutting his cloth 33  his customers. Whatever their bills came to, he 34  gave them back the few odd pence(零钱), and I was sure they thought he was very generous. But I thought he was the opposite. He never threw anything away. He was always looking for  35 for nothing.