I made a pledge(发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. 

   The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

   And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”

   “Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.

After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew the kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression. “What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom, ” she said in a voice filled with sadness, “do you know something I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…..that checkup(体检) I had several weeks ago….. our doctor ….. did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me….. am I dying ?”

It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just start to live.”

1.The writer thought he was a _______ husband in the past.

A. lovely   B. loyal      C. strict               D. selfish

2. From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage _______.

A. with his family     B. with Evelyn C. alone    D. with his children

3. The underlined words “one thing” in the text refer to the fact that _______.

A. he praised her sweater, which puzzled her

B. she insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated

C. he knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her

D. he was so good to her that she thought she must be dying

I made a pledge(发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. 
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”
“Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew the kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression. “What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“Tom, ” she said in a voice filled with sadness, “do you know something I don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…..that checkup(体检) I had several weeks ago….. our doctor ….. did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me….. am I dying ?”
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just start to live.”

1. 1.

   The writer thought he was a ______ husband in the past.

   1. A.
      lovely
   2. B.
      loyal
   3. C.
      strict
   4. D.
      selfish
2. 2.

   From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.

   1. A.
      with his family
   2. B.
      with Evelyn
   3. C.
      alone
   4. D.
      with his children
3. 3.

   The underlined words “one thing” in the text refer to the fact that ______.

   1. A.
      he praised her sweater, which puzzled her
   2. B.
      she insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated
   3. C.
      he knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her
   4. D.
      he was so good to her that she thought she must be dying

阅读理解

Dear Li Ming,

　　Hi, my name is Brianne. I am a friend of Jenny's. Jenny tells me you are thinking about starting guitar lessons. She suggested that I write to you because I have taken many kinds of music lessons. I am happy to talk to you about my favourite topic:music.

　　I am sending the CD of my favourite singer. I hope you enjoy it. I listen to this music every day on the radio and I thought you might like it, too. Bryan Adams is very popular here. Have you ever heard of him? He's great! How about in China? When I take the school bus each day, I like to bring my “Discman” so that I can listen to music while I am going to school. It is important that students be happy on the bus, don't you think? I love many kinds of music and I think music is very important in life.　　Music has been a part of my life since I was young. When I was only four, I started taking violin lessons. We had many music parties and concerts. Then as I got older, I play the piano, and eventually joined the band at school and started playing the saxophone. That's when I learned to appreciate jazz music. Now,even though I like listening to popular music, I also love playing music.

　　Once I learned to play sax, and fell in love with jazz music, I wanted to sing. So now I am taking guitar lessons. I absolutely love it! It's easier to sing when you have a guitar to keep you “on key”. I'm surprised at how easy it is. I recommend you start your lessons right away and I'm sure that you will learn very quickly. Someday maybe we will be able to play together. Wouldn't that be fun?

　　Lately, I've been thinking about how important music is. In Canada we sometimes say, “Music is the language of the soul.” I think this is true because when I play music, I can experience emotions and express parts of myself that I can't really talk about in words. Do you know what I mean, Li Ming? Have you ever had this experience? Whether I'm feeling down, or having the best time, music always makes the day better.

　　Actually, I can think of one day, years ago, when music didn't make my day better. I was playing in a piano concert with three of my friends. We were in this fancy hall with a baby grand piano on the stage and two judges sitting in the audience. I was terrified! It was the first time I had to know my song by memory. My first friend went up and played her song; the audience clapped and she returned to her seat. She had played beautifully. My second friend also played well. Then the judges called my name. I had butterflies in my stomach and a lump in my throat as I slowly walked up to the stage. I began to play.

　　About halfway through the song, I completely forgot the notes! I stopped playing, and then started again at the beginning, but when I got to the same place, I forgot the notes again. This time I stopped and looked up at the audience and saw one of the judges slowly walking up to the stage to bring me the music book. I have never been so embar-rassed in all my life! By the way, I didn't win the competition.

　　Whenever I remember this story, I laugh. It doesn't seem so tragic now. Don't let it scare you. Most of my memories of music are good ones, and I don't ever want to stop playing instruments and listening to good music. Pop music, classical music, jazz or even country music, I enjoy them all.

　　So, Li Ming, I strongly recommend that you take the guitar lessons. Please let me know how it turns out. I hope you enjoy this gift of music. I would like to know what you think about music. What kind of music do you listen to?

Your new friend,

Brianne

(1)When Brianne says “when I play music, I can... express parts of myself that I can't really talk about in words,” it means “_____”.

[　　]

A．words are powerless in expressing oneself

B．music is sometimes more expressive and powerful than words

C．I'm a poor writer but a good musician

D．I can't express myself in words but can express myself by playing music

(2)Brianne is a friend of Jenny's. Why did she write a letter to Li Ming?

[　　]

A．She wanted to make friends with her.

B．She wanted to teach her guitar.

C．She wanted to make some suggestions on music lessons.

D．She wanted to think highly of music.

(3)Which of the following statements is TRUE?

[　　]

A．Brianne is a music fan.

B．Brianne doesn't want Li Ming to take the guitar lessons.

C．Music makes Brianne any day better.

D．Brianne gave Li Ming some advice on the guitar lessons.

(4)Why didn't Brianne win the competition?

[　　]

A．She didn't practise a lot.

B．She was too nervous to remember the notes.

C．She didn't know the judges.

D．The music that she played was too difficult.

第二节  完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）

I grew up poor –living with my wonderful mother. We had little money ,but plenty of love and attention . I was  36   and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was , he could still            37   a dream.

  My dream was to be a(n) 38 .By the time I was 16, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per hour fastball and  39  anything that moved on the football field. I was also  40  : My high school coach was John , who not only believed in me ,but also taught me  41  to believe in myself .He  42  me the difference between having a dream and remaining true to that dream .One particular  43  with Coach John changed my life forever .

A friend recommended ( suggested ) me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my packet-money for a new bike, new clothes and the  44  of savings for a house for my mother .Then I realized I would have to  45  up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.

   When I told John , he was  46  as I expected him to be . “You have your whole life to work ,” he said . “ Your  47  days are limited .You can’t afford to waste them.” I stood before him with my head  48  ,trying to think of the  49  that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his  50  in me.

  “ How much are you going to make at this job, son?” he asked . “3.5 dollars an hour.” I replied.

  “Well.” he asked , “is 3.5 dollars an hour the price of a dream?”

   That simple questions made  51  for me the difference between  52  something right now and having a  53  . I decided myself to play sports that summer and with the year I was  54  by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball ,and was  55  a $20000 contract ( agreement ) .In 1999, I bought my mother the house of my dream !

36.A.happy                         B. polite                      C. shy                          D. honest

37. A. live                            B. afford                    C. make                      D. need

38. A. athlete                             B. musician              C. businessman      D. writer

39. A. kick                          B. play                       C. pass                      D. hit

40. A. fight                         B. popular                 C. lucky                      D. confident

41. A. how                           B. why                       C. when                     D. whether

42. A. gave                        B. taught                  C. brought                 D. asked

43. A. accident                 B. matter                  C. problem               D. experience

44. A. aim                          B. idea                       C. start                      D. purpose

45. A. keep                        B. end                        C. give                       D. pick

46. A. mad                          B. mournful              C. frightened           D. shameful

47. A. living                        B. playing                  C. working                D. learning

48. A. moving                    B. nodding                C. shaking                 D. hanging

49. A. answers                          B. excuses                C. words                   D. ways

50. A. sadness                   B. regret                    C. hopelessness       D. disappointment

51. A. direct                        B. clear                       C. straight                 D. bare

52. A. wanting                   B. changing               C. dreaming              D. enjoying

53. A. wish                          B. goal                        C. score.                     D. desire

54. A. had                            B. made                      C. fired                        D. hired

55. A. paid                           B. got                          C. offered                   D. presented 

第二节  完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）

I grew up poor –living with my wonderful mother. We had little money ,but plenty of love and attention . I was  36   and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was , he could still            37   a dream.

  My dream was to be a(n) 38 .By the time I was 16, I started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per hour fastball and  39  anything that moved on the football field. I was also  40  : My high school coach was John , who not only believed in me ,but also taught me  41  to believe in myself .He  42  me the difference between having a dream and remaining true to that dream .One particular  43  with Coach John changed my life forever .

A friend recommended ( suggested ) me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my packet-money for a new bike, new clothes and the  44  of savings for a house for my mother .Then I realized I would have to  45  up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.

   When I told John , he was  46  as I expected him to be . “You have your whole life to work ,” he said . “ Your  47  days are limited .You can’t afford to waste them.” I stood before him with my head  48  ,trying to think of the  49  that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his  50  in me.

  “ How much are you going to make at this job, son?” he asked . “3.5 dollars an hour.” I replied.

  “Well.” he asked , “is 3.5 dollars an hour the price of a dream?”

   That simple questions made  51  for me the difference between  52  something right now and having a  53  . I decided myself to play sports that summer and with the year I was  54  by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball ,and was  55  a $20000 contract ( agreement ) .In 1999, I bought my mother the house of my dream !

36.A.happy                   B. polite                C. shy                   D. honest

37. A. live                    B. afford              C. make                D. need

38. A. athlete                      B. musician           C. businessman      D. writer

39. A. kick                   B. play                 C. pass                 D. hit

40. A. fight                  B. popular            C. lucky                      D. confident

41. A. how                   B. why                 C. when                D. whether

42. A. gave                  B. taught              C. brought             D. asked

43. A. accident             B. matter              C. problem           D. experience

44. A. aim                   B. idea                 C. start                 D. purpose

45. A. keep                  B. end                  C. give                 D. pick

46. A. mad                   B. mournful          C. frightened         D. shameful

47. A. living                B. playing             C. working           D. learning

48. A. moving              B. nodding            C. shaking            D. hanging

49. A. answers                   B. excuses             C. words               D. ways

50. A. sadness               B. regret                C. hopelessness      D. disappointment

51. A. direct                 B. clear                 C. straight             D. bare

52. A. wanting                     B. changing           C. dreaming           D. enjoying

53. A. wish                   B. goal                  C. score.                D. desire

54. A. had                    B. made                C. fired                 D. hired

55. A. paid                   B. got                   C. offered              D. presented