There was a park near my home. But I didn’t go there very often. Many people said there was nothing special. One afternoon I went into the park and found it was really small. I walked quickly because there wasn’t much to see. I walked for some time and found myself standing in front of two paths. 71  I found that the two paths were different from each other.
The left one was wide and clean. There were lots of flowers on both sides of the path. Though the flowers weren’t very beautiful, they made me feel good. I decided to take this path. But wait! I looked at the right one. The path didn’t look nice.  72  Grass grew everywhere. For a long time I couldn’t make up my mind.
  73  It wasn’t nice , but I didn’t want to give up. At last, I came to the end of the path. Ah! There was a small garden there. It was beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful garden I had ever seen.  74  
Many people told me that there was nothing much to see in the park. Now I’d like to tell them that if they had followed the right way, they would have felt differently. But when I told them about what I had seen in the park, they just smiled at me without saying a word. I knew they didn’t believe me. They couldn’t even remember that path because it was so small.
  75  Don’t be afraid to choose a different path. You may get a big surprise!

Every year Chris Brogan posts his three words for a new year. many others and I have followed his lead for the past three or four years. They helped me a lot. My words for last year were “passion”, “focus” and “delegate” and I stayed true to them. This year, 2013, my goals are more personal and less professional.
FOCUS
Focus is making a repeat appearance on my list this year because I’m too much of a multitasker. The problem is that I have trouble finishing one thing with so many things calling me. When I was working as a writer, all my projects were handled via a schedule, I’m putting a fitness and housekeeping routine into my schedule.
HEALTH
I get so busy taking care of everyone else, and I forget to take care of myself and this has to change. My health suffers and my weight suffers. I have to get my health in check , not only for me but because I promised my 9-year-old son. I’ll make good food and lifestyle choices. I miss being thin, and it’s time to get it back.
CELEBRATE
What good is having it if I’m not taking time to enjoy it? I have a wonderful job, a happy family, and so much to be thankful for. So how come I spend all my time working? Last summer my family took our first vacation in four years, the best thing I’ve done for myself and my family in a long time. This year, I’m making sure to take time to enjoy life and celebrate its many blessings.
Do you have any words for 2013?
【小题1】The underlined word “multitasker” probably refers to a person who          .

Sports are full of wonderful moments, but perhaps  36   is as exciting as the finish of the marathon. It is the longest, hardest  37   of all. The name “marathon” comes from a village in  38  . A famous battle was 39  there in the year 490 BC. When the Greeks had beaten the Persians, a soldier  40   all the way  41   Marathon to Athens, more than 40 kilometers to  42   people the good  43  . When the modern Olympic Games  44   in 1896, the organizers knew this  45  . The marathon has been a race  46  that time.
In the ancient world the Olympic Games were held  47   four years of 1000 years. They were an important part of life. In the  48   Games we try to copy their  49   . The finest sportsmen in the world are collected in one place   50   at least the finest “amateurs（业余爱好者 ） ” are. An amateur is someone who does not earn 51  money from sport. It is often difficult to say who is an amateur and who is not. It is  52  that Olympic athletes do not earn large amounts of  money like professional （职业的）sportsmen. But Olympic athletes are often students or teachers of a  53  . They have to  54   a lot of time training. Their governments pay for their training travel and pocket money, 55  they want them to win. Some people think this changes the Olympics. They feel that the Games are now a political marathon.

When you’re a preteen, a huge problem might be that you just have to have a new rock-rap CD,   1 your parents won’t give you the money for it. I thought life was so  2 when things like this happened-----until September 11, 2001.
I was in P.E. when the planes hit the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. As soon as I got home and for weeks before, I saw the disaster  3 on TV. Seeing the innocent people running for their 4 as the debris(瓦砾) started coming down the fire and smoke rose out of the  5 brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t help imagining what the people on the   6 and in the buildings were thinking and going through, not  7 what was going on. I admired the courage of the firefighters who rushed in and risked their own lives to   8 others. It tore my heart apart to watch the  9 looks on the faces of so many people who didn’t know if their loved ones were dead or alive while  10 in all the debris.
Then it  11 me: All my life I had thought mainly of myself. I had it easy in life and had been taking it all for granted.
A feeling of coldness  12 down my back, and I cried just thinking of the possibility that it could have easily  13 to my family. My mom or dad could have been killed like that, and I would never, ever see them again. I began to evaluate what a real  14 in life was.
This disaster  15 me that awful things can happen to anyone at any time. Now when my mom or dad or sister go somewhere, even if it’s just  16 the store, I try to remember to tell them that I love them because I know there is a   17 that I may never tell them that   18 .
Not getting a new CD is not going to   19 my life. I can live with those kinds of problems. But losing someone I love would  20 make my life miserable.
9/11 showed me just what I am.          

Anne Frank was born in Germany in 1929. As her family was Jewish, her father found that it was hard for them to continue to live in Germany when the Nazis, who __36__ the Jews very much, came into power in 1933. So they __37__ to Amsterdam, Netherlands when Anne was only four years old.
In May, 1940, the Germans occupied（占领） Netherlands and the Jews there were __38__ to work in certain places. On June 12, 1942, Anne Frank’s parents gave her a small red-and-white-plaid(格子图案)diary __39__ her thirteenth birthday present and on July 6, 1942, her family had to go into hiding. Though they could take very few things with them, Anne brought her __40__ to her new home, which she called “Secret Annex.”
For two years when Anne lived in the Annex (附属建筑物), she __41__ down her thoughts and feelings in her diary. __42__ putting down series of facts __43__ most people do, she wrote about her life with the seven other people in hiding, as well as the war going on around her and her hopes for the future. She __44__ her diary as her best friend and talked to it about whatever she wanted to. But  __45__ , on August 4, 1944, the Nazis raided（轰炸）the Secret Annex and Anne was arrested（逮捕）and sent to a concentration camp（集中营）, __46__ she died in March, 1945.
Through thick and thin, Anne’s father __47__ her dairy published in June, 1947 by Contact Publishers, a Dutch firm. Today Anne’s Dairy is available in fifty-five languages and over 24 million copies have been sold.
This page of diary was written on Thursday 15, June, 1944, in which she wrote about her strong love for __48__, which she had hardly been able to see face to face since she began to __49__ from the Nazis. Afraid of being caught, she __50__ go outdoors and had to stay indoors most of the time. On the night of June 15, she stayed awake __51__ until half past eleven just in order to take a good look at the moon for once by herself. She remembered another time five months ago when the dark rainy evening, the wind, the thundering clouds __52__ her entirely in their __53__. She was so crazy about everything to __54__ with nature that she would like to __55__ anything for her freedom, but...... 

The famous British inventor George Stephenson was born in 1781 and died in 1848. One of his__16__important inventions was the train.  He _17__his first train when he was forty-four years old. When he was experimenting with the __18__engine on the train, he met with __19__from the government, the newspapers and the gentlemen in the country. They said that the noise and the smoke would __20__ cows, horses and sheep, that the _21__ would burst or that the hot coals from it would __22_ their houses. At that time, __23__people believed what they said.
George Stephenson __24__the people that the train could go on small _25_, could pull carriages __26_goods and passengers and there was __27__to them. It was a very __28__ matter for him to __29__ them believe. However, after _30_, he was able to do it; and the first train that __31__by Stephenson himself __32_ what he had said.
The first day _33_the people along the way _34_the noises of the train __35__ and saw it running quickly to them, they ran back home as quickly as they could and closed their doors tightly, for they thought it a genius(妖怪).They did not dare to come out until it had passed.

When we talk about a wolf, we tend to describe it as a kind fierce creature．But is it really true that the wolf stands for devil and ugliness?
Have you read the book "The Wolf Totem'' 《狼图腾》by a famous writer Jiang Rong, which tells the story of the relationship between wolves and human beings? Have you ever   36   the wolves' world? If you had, you would __37  the wolves．In the book, wolves are heroes on the large grassland．They know more about __ 38  than humans．They can attack lambs without disturbing their mothers．They also know how to __ 39  full use of the shape of land to __ 40  sheep．I believe that if wolves were humans, they would be __ 41  at fighting． 
The wolf is a kind of special creature that can deeply understand __ 42 ．Each wolf serves its group with its heart and soul．A __ 43  wolf has little power, but a pack of wolves __ 44  nothing．All the wolves obey the rules．__ 45  they are defeated, they run away together. It is their teamwork __ 46  makes wolves powerful．  
The wolves also have great self-preservation and won't __ 47  to anyone．The writer, who wrote the book "The Wolf Totem" , __ 48  stole a one - month - old baby wolf and raised it very carefully．To his __ 49 , he found the little wolf still wanted to go back with __ 50  wolves. The little wolf bit through the iron chain that limited it．The wolf was __51  and never gave up fighting __52  its death．It seemed that the little wolf died as a glorious fighter.
I was shocked by this kind of __53  wolves which are one of the most respected creature on the  earth．I want everyone to look at wolves in a __54  way．They are our teachers．They show us how to survive and __55  this not simple but dangerous world．Please honor the wolves, please honor all these heroes of nature!

Long long ago, human beings used to walk barefoot. A king happened to travel 16 into the countryside. He was greatly troubled by the 17  roads where gravel(砾石) and broken stones pricked(使刺痛) and numbed(使麻木) his  18 . When he returned to his palace he issued an order that all the roads be  19 with cattle hide(牛皮). He thought it was beneficial not only to 20 but also to his people and hoped 21 would no longer be a painful thing
But 22 all the cattle in the kingdom were killed there   23  not be enough hide to get the work done. Evidently it was a stupid  24 . As it was an imperial order people could do nothing but shake their heads and 25 . At this juncture a clever servant in the palace  26  to make a suggestion. "Your Majesty, why don't take an easier way? You don't have to mobilize（调动）so many people, to have so many oxen killed, nor so much money  27 . What you have to do is simply to cover each of your feet with a piece of hide." Surprised and 28 , the king immediately changed his mind and adopted the 29 .
This is said to be the origin of using  30 to make shoes. Though it sounds  31 and strange, it inspires us to think. It is much easier to change oneself than to change the world.  32 it will be much better for one to change oneself before one   33  an attempt to change the outer world. Why don't try to put yourself on the   34 of the person you deal with? You will find it easier to solve a problem  35 you change your way of thinking.

Britain and Ireland
　　The British Isles is made up of two large islands: One is called Ireland and the other __16  . Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of these two islands, and it is17  into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England.
　　The United Kingdom is that 18  of the British Isles ruled over by the Queen. It is made up of Scotland, Wales and England, that is, the 19  of Britain, and also about one sixth of Ireland, the Northern part. The  20  of Ireland is self-governing. The 21  name of the United Kingdom is  22  “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.
　23 is larger and richer than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and has the largest  24   of the United Kingdom, so people often use the 25 “England” and “English” when they  26  “Britain” and “British”. This sometimes makes the Scots and the Welsh a little 27 . The Scots in particular are very  28 of their separate nationality. The Welsh too do not regard   29  as English, and have a culture and even a   30 of their own.
　　Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, but for forty years the “Irish  31  ” was the greatest headache of the United Kingdom.  32 , Ireland is divided into two: Northern Ireland still  33 to the United Kingdom, and in 1922 the rest of Ireland   34  to found an Irish Free State, later called Eire and now the Republic of Ireland.
　　The Republic of Ireland does not regard itself as part of Britain, and is not now even a supporter of the Commonwealth of Nations (英联邦). Unlike the major Commonwealth countries it did not lift a finger to   35 British in the Second World War and now wants the whole of Ireland to be a republic.

In 1956 Phoenix, Arizona, was a city with boundless blue skies. One day as I walked around the house with my sister Kathy’s new parakeet （小鹦鹉）on my finger, I wanted to show Perky   36   the sky looked like. Maybe he could make a little bird   37  out there. I took him into the backyard, and then, to my   38  , Perky flew off. The enormous（巨大的）, blue sky swallowed up my sister’s blue   39  and suddenly he had gone, clipped wings and all.
Kathy managed to   40  me. With fake optimism（乐观）, she even tried to reassure（安慰）me that Perky would find a new   41  . But I was far too clever to   42  that such a thing was possible.
Forty years later, I watched my own   43  growing. We shared their activities, spending soccer Saturdays in folding chairs with the   44  of the kids’ friends, the Kissells. The two families went camping around Arizona together. We became the   45  of friends. One evening, the game was to tell Great Pet stories. One person claimed（宣称）to   46  the oldest living goldfish. Someone else had a psychic dog.   47  Barry, the father of the other family, took the floor and   48  that the Greatest Pet of All Time was his blue parakeet, Sweetie Pie.
"The best thing   49  Sweetie Pie," he said, "was the   50  we got him. One day, when I was about eight, out of the clear, blue sky, a little blue parakeet just   51  down and landed on my finger."
When I was finally able to   52  , we examined the amazing evidence（证据）. The dates, the locations and the pictures of the bird all   53  . It seems our two families had been 54   long before we ever met. Forty years later, I ran to my sister and said, "You were   55   ! Perky lived!"

【小题6】

A．parent B．home C．master D．life