第三节完形填空（共20小题，每题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother. My __36__ began when I was just a kid．I __37__ becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic．Through her work, she observed that __38__ people spent a lot more time reading than they __39__ watching television. She announced that my brother and I __40__ watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and __41__ her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later we realized her marks were a __42__. My mother was illiterate. 
When I entered high school I was a(n) __43__, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to __44__ the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student. One night my mother came home from __45__ her various jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I'll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy __46__ food and pay the bills. With everything __47__, you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.” I was very __48__ with that arrangement but once I got through allocating money, there was __49__ left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to __50__ our heads and any kind of food on the table, __51__ buy clothes. I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn't going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation. I went back to my __52__ and became an A-student again, and eventually I __53__ my dream and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother's story—a woman with __54__ formal education or property who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job __55__ than parenting. This I believe.
36．A．belief                        B．work                  C．education            D．promise
37．A．majored in             B．got used to             C．dreamed of             D．got tired of 
38．A．lazy                   B．easy-going             C．successful               D．reliable
39．A．spent                     B．paid                   C．took                     D．did
40．A．could only             B．could not                   C．must not               D.should often
41．A．read to             B．present to               C．teach                    D．explain to
42．A．joke                         B．means                    C．tool                   D．Trick
43．A．A-student               B．B-student               C．C-student               D．D-student
44．A．get rid of                                                B．hang out with
C．break away from                                        D．keep in touch with
45．A．making              B．stopping             C．working                  D．getting  
46．A．your brother           B．yourself             C．your sister              D．the family
47．A．left over            B．paid off          C．used up              D．carried out
48．A．angry                   B．pleased              C．disappointed       D．bored
49．A．anything              B．everything          C．something              D．nothing
50．A．put an idea into                                 B.  gave an impression on  
C．keep a roof over                                     D．have eyes in the back of       
51．A．let alone               B．let out                C．let in                     D．leave alone
52．A．guys                    B．mother          C．studies                   D．play 
53．A．made                    B．fulfilled          C．changed                  D．tried
54．A．little                      B．much                 C．few                      D．high
55．A．more interesting                                     B．less important  
C．more important                                      D．less interesting

When we were very small, we realized that having friends was important. The need for friends continued as we grew into our teens. Friends played a big part in the development of our personalities. As adults, it is still important for us to have friends.

True friends are people who like us though we make mistakes and who listen to us and tell us the truth. Friends support our decisions and tell us when we’re wrong. They laugh with us and share our sadness. They are our partners and share interests with us. They stimulate us when we are feeling down. They are people with whom we aren’t afraid of sharing our secret wishes or what is really on our minds.

Friends, you fell safe and warm. At times, they also help with our everyday life, cooking a meal, helping with chores, or giving us a lift when we need.

Friends also are there to offer advice, an ear to listen, or a shoulder to cry on..

Friends also help us reduce stress. They not only listen to us when we fell stressed, but also discuss with us how to friends help us forget about problems at work or at home. For a short time, we can lose ourselves in a pleasant activity and perhaps laugh and breathe more easily.

1.What is the best title for the passage?

2.The underlined word “stimulate”in Paragraph 2 probably means ­­­­­­­­­­­­_________.

3.We can learn from the third paragraph that friends always _________.

4.According to the passage, we can reduce stress by _____.

① making more new friends             ② discussing our stress with friends

③ ignoring our problems for a while       ④ sharing interests with friends

It was some time ________ we realized that we lost the chance forever.

  A. after              B. until              C. before            D. since

I went on line to check if my pay was in my bank account（账户）. To my amazement I discovered that not only had I been paid, but a company I’d never worked for had also paid me! I know I would have been beside myself (情绪失控) if my own salary was not in my account, so I tried to get the money back to the right person. Easier said than done.
The bank couldn’t help as it “wasn’t a bank problem.” The human-resource department at the company that paid me was unable to help as I didn’t have enough details. I rang the bank again. Thankfully I had a sympathetic call operator who gave me a name, so I again rang the company “Daniel” worked for.
I expected the bank would contact me to arrange to take the money from my account and repay Daniel. I heard nothing for a month and the money remained in my account when Daniel called, explaining he’d tried to get back his money but had been unsuccessful as neither the bank nor his company felt it was their error. He had rung to ask if I could speak to the bank, but after chatting for a few minutes we realized we could probably fix this problem ourselves.
We decided I would take the money from my account and he would pick it up from me. Due to my busy job I was unable to meet Daniel personally but he left me a lovely bottle of wine in exchange for what was rightfully his. I never had any intention of keeping Daniel’s pay but red tape（繁琐手续）made it difficult to do the right thing. It all came down to two people being able to do what a huge bank and a large company couldn’t do — admit a mistake has occurred and fix it.
【小题1】What was the attitude of the author towards the extra money in his bank account?

The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?

     First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.

     On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother' s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting ! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.

The aim of the mother' s plan was to _________.

  A. take them to visit the museum              B. introduce them to the world of art

  C. ask them to read about artists               D. show them different painting styles

What was the writer' s experience in the museum before the last visit?

  A. She came to feel her mother' s love.   B. She liked many paintings.

  C. She hardly enjoyed herself.             D. She could understand the pictures of fat babies.

What made the writer go through a change that summer?

  A. One of Mary's paintings.           B. A strange way of painting.

  C. Artists in the Middle Ages.          D. Her mother' s instruction.

From the text, we can see _________.

  A. the importance of curiosity          B. the effect of art

  C. the value of learning                D. the power of family education