A man died and was his way to another 36  , either the heaven or the hell(地狱).He saw an extremely 37 palace half way and the owner of the palace 38 __him to stay and live in the palace.

   The man said, “I have been working 39  during my life and now I just want to eat and sleep 40  any work.”

The owner of the palace said,“ 41  , there is nowhere else better than here for you. There is a wealth of 42  in my palace and you can eat whatever you want without anyone 43   you. 44 , you can rest assured(放心) that 45   needs to be done by you.” Then, the man settled down in the palace.

At the beginning, the man felt very 46   at the rotation(轮流)of eating and sleeping. But 47 he felt a bit lonely and empty. So he went to the owner and complained, “It is very 48 _ to live by just eating and sleeping every day. Now I show no 49  in this kind of life any more. Could you help me find a 50 ?

The owner replied,“ 51 ，there is no job here at all.”

After another several months, the man could not 52 the present life and went to the owner 53 , “I really could not stand this sort of life any more. If you do not offer me a job, I would 54   to go to the hell instead of living here.”

The owner of the palace smiled contemptuously(轻蔑地), “Do you think it is Heaven here? It is 55  the hell!”

36. A. world        B. house        C. space        D. hospital

37. A. summer      B. small         C. ordinary     D. splendid

38. A. asked        B. warned       C. forced       D. demanded

39. A. comfortably   B. hard         C. honestly     D. fruitlessly

40. A. apart from    B. besides       C. without      D. out of

41. A. If any        B. If so         C. If necessary   D. If possible

42. A. jewels        B. tastes        C. books       D. food

43. A. stopping      B. asking        C. noticing     D. meeting

44. A. However      B. Otherwise     C. Anyway     D. Moreover

45. A. anything      B. everything     C. nothing      D. something

46. A. surprised      B. happy        C. mad         D. afraid

47. A. easily        B. carefully       C. confidently   D. gradually

48. A. strange       B. enjoyable      C. boring       D. relaxing

49. A. interest       B. trust          C. patience      D. curiosity

50. A. partner       B. way out       C. meaning      D. job

51. A. Good idea    B. Cheer up       C. Sorry        D. Never mind

52. A. bear          B. lose          C. handle       D. risk

53. A. indeed        B. already        C. always       D. again

54. A. hope         B. prefer         C. promise       D. expect

55. A. no longer     B. also           C. actually       D. still

 I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors. Almost instantly I loved her. She had an Unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking,   36   she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.

    Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my   37  . She wanted to know how I thought we should   38   things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew   39   about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her   40  . It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to   41   them. She trusted me to complete things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how   42   I was, so I began to show up to paint more and more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.

    Mrs. Neidl's   43   that year was, "Try it. We can always paint over it   44  !"I began to take   45  . I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing--only things to be   46   upon. I learned to dip my brush into the paint and   47   create something.

    The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was   48   in the program

as "Student Art Assistant" because of the time and effort I'd put in. It was that year that I   49   I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing stage design.

    Being on that stage-design team   50   Mrs. Neidl changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more competent than I had thought, but I also   51   a strong interest and a world I hadn't known existed. She taught me not to   52   what people think I should do: She taught me to take chances and not be   53  . Mrs. Neidl was my comforter when I was upset. Her   54   in me has inspired me to do things that I never imagined   55  .

36. A. and           B. yet            C. so             D. for

37. A. opinion       B. impression     C. information     D. intention

38. A. make         B. keep           C. handle         D. change

39. A. anything       B. something      C. everything      D. nothing

40. A. questions      B. comments      C. explanations    D. remarks

41. A. hold          B. follow         C. evaluate        D. form

42. A. happy         B. lively          C. reliable        D. punctual

43. A. message       B. motto          C. saying         D. suggestion

44. A. again         B. more          C. instead         D. later

45. A. steps          B. control         C. charge         D. risks

46. A. improved      B. acted          C. looked         D. reflected

47. A. easily         B. carefully       C. confidently     D. proudly

48. A. introduced     B. recognized     C. identified      D. considered

49. A. confirmed     B. decided        C. realized        D. acknowledged

50. A. with          B. below         C. of             D. by

51. A. developed     B. discovered     C. took           D. fostered

52. A. accept        B. care           C. judge          D. wonder

53. A. bored         B. lazy           C. sad            D. afraid

54. A. trust          B. patience       C. curiosity       Do interest

55. A. accessible     B. enjoyable      C. possible        D. favorable