It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just  1  any November day. His   2  , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it   3  . One morning, I walked slowly   4   and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs,  5  those good people would not see me. I was   6  . My first thought was, how would I ever  7  them? I didn’t have the  8  to brush my hair,   9  clear someone’s walk.

Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I   10  asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and  11  . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I   12  myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?

Learning to receive the love and   13  from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a   14  for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”

Over and over, I heard   15  words from the people who supported me during those  16  days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your  17  may be the hardest work you will ever do.”

I am not the person I   18  was, but in many ways I have changed for the   19  . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form  20  one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.

1.A．on            B．in          C．like                     D．for

2.A．body                 B．soul               C．shoe                   D．footprint

3.A．sweep up              B．drop off            C．fall down             D．pile up

4.A．upstairs        B．downstairs   C．indoors                 D．outdoors

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

6.A．delighted     B．disappointed         C．annoyed               D．ashamed

7.A．pay          B．award        C．reward                   D．treat

8.A．courage       B．strength            C．spirit                       D．power

9.A．stand alone      B．leave alone C．sit alone                D．let alone

10.A．frequently          B．gradually          C．hardly           D．uncertainly

11.A．intelligence    B．independence    C．excellence           D．qualification

12.A．achieve     B．praise      C．respect                  D．promote

13.A．supply        B．support             C．contribution          D．similar

14.A．burden      B．job                C．business                  D．sorrow

15.A．sensitive             B．same               C．considerate         D．similar

16.A．blue               B．rainy              C．bright             D．snowy

17.A．despair      B．difficulty           C．pain                        D．regret

18.A．still                 B．once              C．even                        D．never

19.A．worse        B．less               C．more                        D．better

20.A．facing         B．noticing            C．managing               D．expressing

 

If there is one thing I’m quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.

The basic British character won’t change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don’t much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?

Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody’s enjoyment.

The nature of what is news may change. What essentially makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it’s love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.

It’s quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted(传送) electronically from the national equivalents of Fleet Street (伦敦的舰队街，以报馆集中而著称) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I’m pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You’ll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own bespoke newspaper by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device (装置) to do the job for you.

I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring (持久的) than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it’s never really satisfying to read something just on a screen.

1.The author of the passage is most probably from _______________.

A．Russia            B．India             C．Britain            D．America

2.According to the passage, the future of newspapers ____________.

A．will be mainly connected with scientific research

B．will report more important political activities

C．will directly cover more on scientific research

D．will build a bridge between different people

3.The underlined part “bespoke newspaper” of the passage probably refers to _____________.

A．a newspaper which dares to report the truth

B．a newspaper edited to one’s own interest

C．a newspaper edited and published for the public

D．a newspaper which only covers the life of family members

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It was centuries ago that newspapers came into being .

B．Televisions have taken the place of newspapers .

C．The Internet will gradually take the place of newspapers.

D．The nature of news may remain the same over generations.

 

It is extremely hot this summer.  __________, many people say it has been the hottest in the past 30 years.?

A. Frequently     B. Actually      C. Fluently     D. Gradually

 

There are two dangers to be guarded against in old age. One of these is undue absorption in the past. It does not do to live in memories, in regrets for the good old days, or in sadness about friends who are dead. One’s thoughts must be directed to the future and to things about which there is something to be done.

It is unwise to be too attached to the youth in the hope of sucking vigor from its vitality. When your children are grown up they want to live their own lives, and if you continue to be as interested in them as you were when they were young, you are likely to become a burden to them, unless they are cold to you.

I think that a successful old age is easiest for those who have strong impersonal interests involving appropriate activities. It is in this sphere that long experience is really fruitful, and it is in this sphere that the wisdom born of experience can be exercised without being oppressive. It is no use telling grown-up children not to make mistakes, both because they will not believe you, and because mistakes are an essential part of education. But if you are one of those who are incapable of impersonal interests, you may find that your life will be empty unless you concern yourself with you children and grandchildren. In that case you must realize that while you can still render them material services, such as making them an allowance or knitting them jumpers, you must not expect that they will enjoy your company.

 Some old people are afraid of death. But in fact the best way is to make your interests gradually wider and ore impersonal. An individual human existence should be like a river-small at fist, rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider and the banks move back and in the end they become mixed in the sea without any visible break.

   The old man who can see life in this way will not suffer from the fear of growing old and death.

1.The author suggests that old people should_______.

A. develop impersonal interests with proper activities.

B. tell their children not to make mistakes

C. concern themselves with their children

D. not give their children an allowance

2.The underlined word “render” in Paragraph 3 is close to the meaning of  “_____”.

A. return            B. reward           C. offer               D. demand

3.The author compares an individual human existence to a river because _____.

A. Life is like a river, first small, and then it becomes wide

B. life is like a river finally flowing into the sea

C. old age and death are both natural just like a river

D. old people will be mixed in the crowd like a river mixed in the sea

4.What’s the best title of this passage?

A. Setting Sun Is Beautiful           B. Growing Old Successfully

C. Why Fear Getting Old             D. Caring for Olds More

 

—What’s your plan for the future?

—I hope to get a job in the local newspaper at first and ______ work for China Daily.

A．regularly          B．frequently         C．eventually         D．gradually