—Mum, I’m going to take my driving test tomorrow.
—_____ I’m sure you will pass it.

完形填空（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36－55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was successful at my job. I worked very hard, but it   31    me and my family a fabulous (极好的) lifestyle. I’d worked for the same company for twenty years and had worked my way up to department director.    32   , one afternoon last May, I was called to the office, and it was    33    explained to me that they were letting me go. I just sat there  34    they talked on and all I could think was, “I’ve failed.” I’d been so well respected.    35   I was of no value.
For six weeks, I was in a very dark place. I wandered around my house like a zombie (僵尸). I could see things that needed doing, but would not do anything. My beliefs in looking forward to seeing the positive in everything    36    me.
Then, in late June, my youngest son’s football team made the city cup final. The year before, he’d been very sad when I    37    the same final, so he was    38    when I told him I’d go. Not only did they win, but the look on his face as he saw me    39    him on was incredible(难以置信), From then on, I spent the summer enjoying their passions (激情). I attended match after match and performances of my elder son’s band----I even went to another city to watch him play. These moments were so    40   . My life had been so much devoted to    41    for so long, and I felt    42    that my sons were happy to welcome me into their world.
43    , being unemployed gave me back a sense of purpose ----- I was someone’s mum! I felt a sense of being   44   again. Now I feel more positive about my professional future   and I’m getting on better with my family than I ever have. Losing my job made me realize just how    45    it is to achieve real balance in life.
31. A. promised                          B. afforded                          C. showed                  D. left
32. A. Therefore                         B. Anyhow                           C. Otherwise             D. However
33. A. quickly                               B. gently                              C. partly                     D. easily
34. A. until                                    B. after                                C. as                            D. so
35. A. Suddenly                        B. Finally                    C. Immediately         D. Shortly
36. A. defended                          B. directed                          C. deserted               D. disturbed
37. A. watched                                     B. missed                                      C. lost                         D. won
38. A. disappointed                    B. worried                           C. honoured              D. delighted
39. A. cheering                            B. taking                              C. leading                   D. passing
40. A. hopeful                              B. meaningful                    C. difficult                  D. strange
41. A. work                                   B. family                              C. matches                D. performances
42. A. successful                         B. thoughtful                      C. thankful                 D. peaceful
43. A. Naturally                           B. Doubtfully                      C. Disagreeably        D. Unexpectedly
44. A. employed                          B. comforted                      C. valued                    D. encouraged
45. A. important                         B. interesting                     C. simple                    D. surprising

----Mum, I’m afraid I won’t do well in the coming test.

----Honey, ____ more careful, ____ you will make it.

A. is, so    B. be, and     C. be, then     D. being, and

A little boy asked his mother, “Why are you crying?” “Because I’m a woman,” she told him.
“I don’t understand,” he said. His mum just hugged him and said, “You  36 will.”
Later the little boy asked his father, “Why does my mother seem to cry for no reason?” “All women cry for no reason,”  37  so much could his dad say.
The little boy grew up and became a man, still  38  why women cry.  39  he gave a call to God, and when God got on the phone, he asked, “God, why do women cry so  40 ?”
God said, “When I made the woman she had to be  41 . I made her shoulders 42 enough to carry the weight of the world; yet, gentle enough to give  43 .”
“I made her  44 childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else  45 , and to take care of her family in spite of sickness and fatigue (劳累) without  46 . I gave her the sensitivity to  47 her children under any and all circumstances,  48  her child has hurt her very badly. I gave her wisdom to carry her husband through his 49 . I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never  50 his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him  51 . And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. She can use it whenever it is needed.”
“You see, the beauty of a woman is not in the  52 she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she  53 her hair. The  54 of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart and the place where love  55 .”

After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a spe­cial student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dick,
My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew
【小题1】 The boy looked forward to meeting the author because _________.