“I’m more nervous right now than when I _______,”Jane said ,as she saw a group of reporters waiting anxiously at the exit of the gymnasium.

A. had competed    B. competes   C. was competing   D. have competed

Jane was walking round the department store. She remembered how difficult _31_ was to choose a suitable Christmas present for her father. She wished that he was as easy _32_ （please）as her mother，who was always delighted with perfume.
Besides，shopping at this time of the year was not _33_ pleasant experience: people stepped on your feet or _34_ （push）you with their elbows（肘部），hurrying ahead to get to a bargain.
Jane paused in front of a counter _35_ some attractive ties were on display. “They are real silk，”the assistant tried to attract her. “Worth double the price. ”But Jane knew from past experience that her _36_ （choose）of ties hardly ever pleased her father.
Jane stopped where a small crowd of men had gathered. She found some good quality pipes _37_ sale. She did not hesitate for long: although her father smoked a pipe only once in a while，she knew that this was a present which was bound to please _38_.
When Jane got home，with her small but well-chosen present in her bag，her parents were already _39_ table having supper. Her mother was excited. “Your father has at last decided to stop smoking,” Jane _40_ （inform）.

Jane’s mother worked on the farm from dawn till dark, which just could make ends meet. To make Jane live a   36 life. Mother was very careful about spending money.   37 , Jane didn’t understand her. Every day Mother was busy with her  38  while Jane was studying at school, so they had little time to enjoy themselves. 
One day, Mother realized Jane was unhappy and even 39 to her, so she decided to go   40 with Jane to make Jane happy.
On Sunday morning they went happily to the snowfield. Since they were   41 in white clothes, the manager advised them to buy ski clothes. He said   42  there was an accident, they might be easily  43  in their ski clothes. Mother couldn’t   44 them, so she refused.
Then they went skiing in their white clothes. They were skiing happily on the   45  when suddenly the snowfield began to  46 . It was the snowslide(雪崩). They ran a long way and  47  the snowslide finally, but they couldn’t find their way. Later, a helicopter was flying above,  48 people on it couldn’t see or hear them. Jane was  49  because she had hurt her head seriously and  50 dropped on the snow. Just then an idea struck Mother. She pierced (刺破) her wrist  51 and then bright red blood dropped down on the snowfield. A red SOS was on the snow. At last Jane  52 , but Mother died.
Every time I   53 the blood dropping onto the snowfield, I feel  54 . I believe anyone who hears the tragedy will  55 Mother for her selfless love to her daughter.

“I’m more nervous right now than when I _______, ” Jane said, as she saw the group of reporters waiting anxiously at the exit of the gym.

A. had competed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. compete

C. was competing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. have competed

I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites. They were completely different from my own family, yet I felt at home with them immediately. Jane White and I became friends at school, and her family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin.

In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything had happened.

“Who did this?” my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen.

“This is your entire fault, Katherine,” my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke.

From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told to each other. We set a place for blame at the dinner table.

But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done what. They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died.

In July, the Whites sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new drivers license, Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met.

The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas, they let Amy take over. Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.

Jane was killed immediately.

I was slightly injured. The most difficult thing that I had ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child.

When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken. They hugged us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girl’s tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches(拐杖).

To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, “We are so glad that you are alive.”

I was astonished. No blame. No accusations.

Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign.

Mrs. White said, “Jane is gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will bring her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister’s death?”

They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane.

How did the author’s parents differ from the Whites?

   A. The author’s parents were less caring.    B. The author’s parents were less loving.

   C. The author’s parents were less friendly   D. The author’s parents were less understanding

How did the accident happen?

   A. Amy didn’t stop at a crossroad and a truck hit their car.

   B. Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign.

   C. Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck.

   D. Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroad.

The accident took place in _____.

   A. Florida     B. California       C. South Carolina       D. New York

The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because _____.

   A. they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life

   B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain

   C. They didn’t want to blame their children in front of others

   D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best

From the passage we can learn that _____.

   A. Amy has never recovered from the shock   B. Amy changed her job after the accident

   C. Amy lost her memory after the accident    D. Amy has lived quite a normal life