I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight.It was my mother’s idea.She wanted me to“make something”of myself,and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue.The crowds were there.There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union.For several hours I made myself highly visible,making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.When it was suppertime,I walked back home.
“How many did you sell,my boy?”my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God,Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in,“Well,I’ve decided to take the Post.”I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币).It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman.I would have to ring doorbells,address adults with self-confidence(自信),and persuade them by saying that no one,no matter how poor,could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day,I told my mother I’d changed my mind.I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“If you think you can change your mind like this,”she replied,“you’ll become a good-for-nothing.”She insisted that,as soon as school was over,I should start ringing doorbells,selling magazines.Whenever I said no,she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember.My mother,dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life,determined that I would not grow up like him and his people.But never did she expect that,forty years later,such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
【小题1】Why did the boy start his job young?

I grew up in a small town and the main entertainment was Friday night high school football. It was just a sleepy little town where parents wanted to raise their children away from  36_  and danger of a big city, and where teenagers like me _37_ leaving to find something bigger and better.

All that  38 _ one summer night. My friend Lisa, Kim and Tyler held a party for my eighteenth birthday at Lisa’s house. As they kept  _39_ alcohol to me, I was pretty drunk. I asked Tyler to take me home. With some 40 _ , we made it out to his car and drove home. News came next morning. Kim, my friend   41__ we were five years old, was killed in a car accident. That night after Tyler and I left, Kim, who was _42__ more drunk than me, got into her car and  43_  towards the highway to go home, She was driving on the wrong side of the road and never saw the truck coming. The driver didn’t see her  _44_ to avoid the car. They hit head on. Kim died immediately, and the driver was thrown  45_ the truck windshield(挡风玻璃)and died a week later.

Whenever I  46_ back on that day, I can’t help thinking that it was my  47 to drink so much that night, otherwise things would be different. I know Kim  48_ the choice to drink and drive that night , but a part of me will always feel  49 _for what happened.

I may not change the  50_ with my story, but I do hope that I can make people 51 the responsibility that they have to themselves and others by  52 it. Don’t ever think that your choices are yours  __53 .Every choice is like a stone dropped into  54  water-each ripple(波纹)represents someone who your choice  55 . That’s quite an influence, isn’t it?

1.                A．death          B．fashion         C．crime    D．challenge

2.                A．succeeded in    B．dreamed of      C．applied for    D．approved of

3.                A．happened       B．continued       C．changed  D．remained

4.                A．sending        B．delivering       C．taking    D．handing

5.                A．pleasure        B．difficulty        C．hope D．method

6.                A．before         B．until           C．when D．since

7.                A．constantly       B．frequently       C．clearly   D．equally

8.                A．headed         B．walked         C．pushed   D．fled

9.                A．in trouble       B．in time         C．in danger D．in place

10.               A．above          B．below          C．into  D．through

11.               A．turn           B．hold           C．right  D．get

12.               A．desire         B．fault           C．right  D．chance

13.               A．faced          B．avoided        C．regretted  D．made

14.               A．responsible     B．disappointed    C．embarrassed   D．sensitive

15.               A．town          B．party          C．world D．environment

16.               A．explain         B．escape         C．limit  D．realize

17.               A．remembering    B．sharing         C．declaring  D．stopping

18.               A．alone          B．finally          C．apart D．perhaps

19.A clean          B. deep            C. still           D. fresh

20.               A．affects         B．inspires        C．attracts    D．benefits

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21～40各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
It was my first day of high school, and I was late．My next class, German, scared me．I just could not speak that _21__．As the bell rang, I ran to the classroom．
At the door, a hand reached out and  _22_ mine firmly．I looked up．A man with large glasses smiled．He _23__himself as Tony, which means teacher in German．_24_, his warm smile and __25_ words eased my fears．That year, I __26_ his classes a great deal because I learned __27__just German．
I admit I only speak a little German．__28_ I try to live out the life lessons I learned from Tony．
Every day Tony stood  _29_ his classroom before and after class to give his “hand hug”．After school his room was always filled with students and he would _30_ to and chat with them—_31_  those not in his class．He taught me that every person is _32_ your time．
One time, I was rejected by my friends．Tony told me, “Linda, life gives you _33．But learning its lessons will turn those ashes to jewels．” Therefore, I learned to look at my troubles   _34_  and not to fear any difficulty．
In my senior year, I _35_ president of one of the school’s clubs, so I was very__36_．Many times I didn’t even have time to buy lunch．He served me by giving me his food as well as advice．He __37__ out what he taught us to do: __38_ others．
The author William Arthur Ward _39_: “The mediocre（平庸的） teacher tells．The good teacher explains．The superior teacher demonstrates．The great teacher _40_．” Thank you Tony, for inspiring me．
21．A．country    B．language   C．nation       D．word
22．A．hit       B．beat   C．shook       D．patted
23．A．introduced       B．regarded   C．treated      D．considered
24．A．Once again      B．In addition       C．For once   D．Right away
25．A．exciting    B．welcoming       C．disappointing   D．boring
26．A．escaped    B．heard C．enjoyed    D．preferred
27．A．more than B．other than C．less than   D．rather than
28．A．And  B．So     C．But   D．Therefore
29．A．within      B．outside     C．beyond     D．ahead
30．A．say    B．listen C．talk   D．speak
31．A．ever  B．yet    C．still   D．even
32．A．worth       B．worthy     C．full of      D．filled with
33．A．troubles    B．lessons      C．ashes D．jewels
34．A．frequently B．similarly   C．hopefully  D．differently
35．A．made B．became     C．took  D．held
36．A．proud       B．capable     C．busy  D．free
37．A．proved     B．picked      C．put    D．lived
38  A．serve B．offer C．give  D．teach
39．A．read  B．put    C．told   D．wrote
40．A．inspires    B．encourages       C．praises      D．excuses

（2010·安徽模拟）

Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.

The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes “the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don’t seem to learn from history ”.Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.

A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can not even understand who we are and where we are without history, much less try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.

I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. In doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplished. I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.

1.What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?

A. Many people aren’t clever enough to learn well from the past.

B. Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes.

C. Many people feel it hard to understand history.

D. Many people have no interest in studying history.

2.In Paragraph 3, the author shows that history is useful because_____.

A. it makes the current political situation go smoothly

B. it helps us realize the importance of historical events

C. it helps us understand why things are the way they are

D. it helps people accept the present situation where they live

3. Some historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show_____.

A. people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil

B. people may also learn from bad historical figures

C. more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements

D. today’s people can also achieve what they achieved

4.What would be talked about in the following paragraph?

A. How to teach history effectively.         

B. Some negative reasons for studying history.

C. How to get more people to study history.  

D. Some bad historical figures.

One day while shopping in a small town in southern California, it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk．He seemed most unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase．I bought nothing, and marched angrily out of the store．

On the outside was a dark-skinned young man in his early twenties．His expressive brown eyes met and held mine, and in the next instant a beautiful, bright smile covered his face．I gave in immediately．The power of that broad smile dissolved all bitterness within me, and I felt the muscles in my own face happily responding．

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” I remarked, in passing．Then I turned back． “I really owe you a debt of thanks,” I said softly．

His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer．A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby．The woman stepped forward and volunteered, “Sir, but he doesn't speak English．Do you want me to tell him something?” In that moment I felt transformed．The young man's smile had made a big person of me．My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stand ten feet tall．

“Yes,” my reply was enthusiastic and sincere, “tell him I said, ‘Thank you’!”

“Thank you?” The woman seemed slightly puzzled．

I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave． “Just tell him that,” I insisted. “He'll understand．I am sure!”.

Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning．From that day on, I became smile-conscious, and I practice the art diligently anywhere and everywhere, with everybody．

1.Why did the author leave the store angrily?

2.By saying "I felt the muscles in my own face happily responding"(in Para. 2), the author means _____.

3.The author asked the woman to say “Thank you!” to the young man because the young man _____.

4.In the passage, the author seems to suggest that we should _____.