In 1997, I found myself in a situation I never thought I'd be in: alone and begging for money in New York. My father had been separated from our family, and my mother had  recently died from complications related to AIDS. What I remember most about such nights is lying on the cold marble floor and using my backpack for a pillow.
Even though I had lost my family,  I made choices every single day to turn my life around. There was the haven for homeless teenagers called the Door, a non－profit organization that provided me with guidance, medical care and food, all of which kept me going while I completed my homework in train stations and under hallway lights. Perhaps the most surprising　help though, I did not seek out﹔it found me.  The New York Times told my story. In the weeks　that followed, dozens of strangers reached out to me from all across the United States. At my　high school, I began receiving handwritten letters of encouragement. Strangers showed up　bearing clothes, books, and even hugs. Since the article mentioned I was applying to Harvard, one woman knitted a blanket for me.  She attached this note to the box it was posted in: "It gets cold in those dorms. May you warm yourself knowing that people care about you".
With the help of these people, my life today bears no resemblance at all to my life then. I graduated not only from high school but also from Harvard University.
Before these people — some of them nameless— I just didn't realize how good people　could be. But now I do, and I can say that the people who helped me have forever changed me. They are the reason behind my decision to join the board at the Door so that I can be part of a small team of people opening a high school for homeless teenagers .They are the reason I dedicate my life to opening pathways for others. And they are the reason I travel around the　world helping people transform their own lives.
【小题1】According to the passage, the author______________.

On the morning of November 18, 1755, an earthquake shock Boston. John Winthrop, a professor at Harvard College, felt the quake and awoke. “I rose”, Winthrop wrote, “and lighted a candle, looked at my watch, and found it to be 15minutes after four.” John Winthrop hurried downstairs to the grandfather clock. It had stopped three minutes before, at 4:12. Except for stopping the clock, the quake had only thrown a key from the mantel(壁炉台) to the floor.
The clock had stopped because Winthrop had put some long glass tubes he was using for an experiment into the case for safekeeping. The quake had knocked the tubes over and blocked the pendulum(钟摆).Winthrop, therefore, had the key on the floor. The quake had thrown it forward in the direction of the quake’ s motion by a shock coming from the northwest, perhaps in Canada.
【小题1】What does “it” in the second paragraph refer to?

第二节：语法填空 (共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分)
Childhood is a time ­­（41） there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. (42) is impossible that he will ever again in his life (43) (give) so much without having to do anything in return. But a child has his pains; he is not so free to do (44) he wishes to; he is continually being told not to do something, or being punished for what he has done wrong.
When the child has become a young man and this young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect (45) to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work on his own if he wants to live (46) (comfort). If he spends most of his time (47) (play) about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go (48) (hunger). If, (49), he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in (50) (social).

There is a virtue (美德)in China－Respecting the  36 and care for the young”. About the above two aspects, we will discuss the former one in this passage.
Why should we  37 the old? because they are ahead of us in age, in wisdom and in experience. Our elders have done a lot for us, directly or indirectly and most of us   38  everything to their kindness and love.
When we show them respect, whether it is by bowing to them, or   39   them with a smile, or offering them any help they need, it is one way of   40  our own love and gratitude to them.   41 , elders have also been through all the years you are   42  and know a little more about the world than you do.
It is   43  that you do not agree with the belief of your elders, but this is nothing new. All younger generations have always   44  with their elders and it is these differences that bring changes in human   45 . However much you disagree with them, give them credit for their   46 .
With changing times and   47  influences, youngsters no longer know what is interpreted as disrespect to elders. Youngsters should   48  express their views and if there are arguments, they should not   49  their voices.
If there is no space on sofas or chairs, children will immediately   50  their places, and sit on the carpet. In buses and trains, youngsters are   51  to give up their places to older people. This is not a   52  of who has more rights. It is simply that those who are younger have the strength to bear   53 , or tolerate unpleasantness, so it is natural to show consideration to those who are older and perhaps at a   54  disadvantage.
When you do simple things as a mark of respect, elders become   55  that youngsters care for them, and they respond with affection and kindness.

I went to a group activity, “Sensitivity Sunday” which was to make us more   36  the problem faced by disabled people. We were asked to “   37  a disability” for several hours one Sunday. Some member   38  chose the wheel chair. Other wore sound-blocking earplugs (耳塞) or blindfolds (眼罩).
Just sitting in the wheelchair was a   39  experience, I had never considered before how   40  it would be to use one. As soon as I sat down my   41  made the chair begin to roll. Its wheel were not   42  . Then I wondered where to put my   43  , It took me quite a while to get the metal footrest into   44  , I took my first uneasy look at what was to be my only means of   45  for several hours. For disabled people, “adopting a wheelchair” is not a temporary(临时的)   46  .
I tried to find a   47  position and thought it might be restful,   48  kind of nice to be   49   around for a while. Looking around, I   50  would have to handle the thing myself! My hands started to ache as I   51  the heavy wheels, I came to know that controlling the   52  of the wheelchair as not going to be   53  task,
My wheelchair experiment was soon   54  . It made a deep impression on me. A few hours of “disability” gave me only a taste of the   55  , both physical and mental, that disabled people must overcome.

Zigfried, a little mouse, blew his breath on the frosty window of the farmhouse and rubbed it to see the outside. Still nobody came. Maybe today, he thought  31 . It was only a few days before Christmas and he was watching for a miracle (奇迹).
This farmhouse had been  32  too long. It needed a family. Zigfried’s  33  made a noise. He realized that he hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. He jumped from the windowsill (窗沿), grabbed a  34  from his home, and went next door to Farmer Mike’s.
Farmer Mike’s house had been a great place for the little mouse  35  the farmer married a wife who had a cat. Zigfried  36  when he thought of it. He looked around cautiously as he 37  into the room where grain was stored and was quite  38  as he filled his bag with wheat. He was turning to leave when suddenly he  39  a hot breath about his ear. His heart beat  40  , and without thinking he started to run and luckily  41  the cat’s paws (爪子).
The next afternoon Zigfried heard some good news: a  42  family would be moving into the farmhouse soon. Zigfried’s granny would arrive on Christmas Eve to  43 with him. He hoped that the family would come before his granny came. Before long, a car came  44  the road leading to the house, with butter sandwiches, cheese and chocolate.
Zigfried’s Christmas miracle did arrive!
The house came  45  the next few days. Zigfried  46  every single hour of them.  47 , the day before Christmas when he was drinking hot chocolate with a  48  smile at the door of his home, he heard the  49 of the children of the family about what they might get for Christmas. What? A cat? The  50  froze on his face； his mouth fell wide open. After a long while, he at last found his voice: “Hey! Whose Christmas miracle is this?”

I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage (按揭), credit cards, success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us   36  chasing the same thing.
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell   37 . I found myself homeless and alone. I had my truck and $ 56. I   38  the countryside for some place I could rent for the   39  possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road   40  the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was   41 , full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and   42  a corner to camp in.
The locals knew nothing about me,   43  slowly, they started teaching me the   44  of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began   45  around to chat. They started to teach me a belief in a   46  American Dream—not the one of individual achievement but of   47 .
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were   48  for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place.   49  on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my   50  with my neighbors.
Four years later, I moved back into   51 . I saw many people were having a really hard time,   52  their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to   53  a handful of people. There are four of us now in the house, but over time I’ve had nine people come in and move on to other places. We’d all be in   54  if we hadn’t banded together.
The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It’s not so much about what I can get for myself; it’s about   55  we can all get by together.

I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people__36__I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a__37__person.
I think my __38__started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my__39__and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever__40__ to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really__41__. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a(n)  __42__. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I__43__ to help. That was really a big__44__for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of__45__are still my best friends today. 
A bigger cause of my new__46__, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my__47__ . Every time I came into her room, she was so __48__  because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never__49__her, so I took her place. She let me __50__that making others feel good made me feel good, too. When she died, I was__51__, but I was very grateful to her.
I think I am a much__52__ person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not__53__ these experiences. They have __54__ me to care about other people more than about myself. I __55__who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

If you want to learn a new language, the very first thing to think about is why. Do you need it for a ___36___reason, such as your job or your studies?___37____ perhaps you’re interested in the ___38____ , films or music of a different country and you know how much it will help to have a ___39____ of the language.
Most people learn best using a variety of ___40____, but traditional classes are an ideal（理想的）start for many people. They___41__an environment where you can practice under the __42___ of someone who’s good at the language. We all lead ___43___ lives and learning a language takes __44___. You will have more success if you study regularly, so try to develop a ___45___. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t got long. Becoming fluent in a language will take years, but learning to get by takes __46__.
Many people start learning a language and soon give up. “I’m too __47___, ” they say. Yes, children do learn languages more __48___ than adults, but research has shown that you can learn a language at any ___49___. And learning is good for the health of your brain, too. I’ve also heard people ___50___ about the mistakes they make when ___51___. Well, relax and laugh about your mistakes __52____ you’re much less likely to make them again.
Learning a new language is never ___53___. But with some work and devotion, you’ll make progress. And you’ll be __54___ by the positive reaction of some people when you say just a few words in ___55___ own language. Good luck!

In this modern world, we rush around all day, doing things, talking, sending and reading messages. We are always on ,always conected, always thinking, always talking. There is no  36 for stillness.
And when we are  37 to be still because we’re in line for something, or waiting at a doctor’s appointment, or on a bus or train, we often  38 something to do. Some will play with mobile devices, other will read something. Being still isn’t something we’re  39 .
This comes at a   40 : we lose that time for  41 , for observing and listening. We lose peace.
And   42 yet: sometimes too much action is worse than no action at all. You can run around crarily, but get  43 done.
Take a moment to think about  44 you spend your days. Are you constantly rushing around? Are you constantly reading and answering  45 checking on the news and the latest tream of information? Are you always  46 through your schedule?
Is this how you want to spend your  47 ? If so, peace be with you. If not, take a moment to be   48 . Don’t think about what you have to do, or what you’ve done already.   49 be in the moment.
Then after a minute or two of doing that, consider your life, and how you’d  50 it to be. See your life with less moveanent, less doing, less rushing. See it with more stillness, more consideration, more  51 .
Then be that vision.
It’s prerty simple: all you have to do is sit still for a little bit each day.   52 you’re gotten used to that, try doing less each day. Breathe when you feel yourself moving too  53 . slow down. Be present. Find happiness now, in this moment, instead of   54 for it.