There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know a thing about being a good father. I couldn’t   31 him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “__32_  ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a   33 .  Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad ---- he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.
So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and   34  every penny I could and   35 I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to   36  to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, I’ll only   37 you five dollars.” I offered with a smile.
“I see,” was all he said.
One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a   38 to work. . The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house,   39  it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a(n)   40 day. As I dropped my dad off, I   41  him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his   42  from the trunk of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were   43  lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher. In that instant, it   44 to me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out,   45  hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him   46  about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he “charge” us for it.
When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to   47  me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my   48. Don’t work too hard. I love you.” His   49 met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he   50  his throat and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”

    Though we became firm   8   with our new neighbors, we often had causes to be made angry by them. Our garden became an unsafe place: little boys   9   as cowboys or Indians would jump up from behind bushes,   10   wooden guns at us and   11   us to put our hands up. Sometimes our lives were   12   ; at others, we were killed with a   13  “Bang! Bang！”. Even more dangerous were the arrows that occasionally came sailing  14    the garden fence.

    But we did not   15   go in fear for our lives. The Robinsons were friendly and helpful and when we left for the holidays, we knew we had nothing to fear  16   our neighbors were around. We understood what it was like to have  17   in the long friendless winter evenings   18   Mr. Robinson would   19   in for a cup of tea and chat; or when Mr.  Robinson would    20   over the fence and talk endlessly with father about gardening problems.

1. A. so   　　　　　　   B. but 　　  　　　　　　 C. however 　　　　D. therefore

2. A. unloaded 　　  　　   B. loaded  　　  　　　　 C. moved   　　　　　　  　　D. removed

3. A. the same    　　   B. various      　　　　 C. same    　　    　　D. young

4. A. delightedly  　　　　    B. angry　　   　　　　 C. sadly  　　　　       D. astonishingly

5. A. forced　　   　　   B. broken　　 　　　　　　  　　 C. kicked    　　  　　D. pushed

6. A. place　　   　　   B. order　　   　　  　　 C. room　　 　　  　　D. building

7. A. interview     　　   B. introduction       　　 C. arrangement   　　  D. management

8. A. strangers    　　　　　　     B. enemies　　    　　 C. friends    

　　　　    D. relatives

9. A. pretending   　　　　　　     B. looking      　　　　 C. dressed   　　  　　D. worn

10. A. put    　　   　　　　   B. take　　     　　　　 C. throw　　 　　 　　D. point

11. A. lead   　　　　   B. order   　　  　　　　 C. ask       　　　　D. make

12. A. wasted      　　   B. saved   　　　　　　 C. devoted   　　  　　D. spared

13. A. fast　　 　　 　　   B. soft    　　  　　　　 C. sharp 　　  　　　　D. slow

14. A. in       　　　　   B. on　　 　　   　　　　 C. over       　　　　D. across

15. A. always       　　   B. often   　　  　　　　 C. even　　 　　   　　D. then

16. A. though      　　   B. unless       　　　　 C.  as  long as 　　D. even if

17. A. cheers      　　   B. fun　　　　　　　　 C. discussions    　　D. company

18. A. as　　      　　   B. when　　   　　　　 C. while    　　　　D. since

19. A. drop    　　 　　   B. jump   　　   　　　　 C. slip　　　　　　  D. break

20. A. fall 　　 　　　　　　B. climb　　　　　　   C. lean　　　　　　 D. lie

You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better—or for the worse?
If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.
So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.
Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的). The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.
Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.
Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.
To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening—in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed—and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers.
But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got. 
【小题1】After a short overseas holiday, people tend to _______.

My husband, my four-month-old daughter and I set out on a five-day driving journey from California to Washington. We had to stop frequently because our little child needed to stretch from the car seat.
One of our stops, once we crossed the Oregon border, was at a Black Bear Diner. Walking towards the front door we noticed a gentleman standing at one side. He was clearly untidy, without shoes and wearing worn clothing. We passed right by him and opened the restaurant door. Then something told me to go back.
Holding my daughter, I turned around and said to the gentleman, “Sir. Are you hungry?” He said, “Yes.” I then asked, “May we buy you something to eat?” He responded with, “Sure, I can order something myself.”
My husband opened the door and the gentleman went straight to the counter. I told him to order whatever he wanted. The manager of the restaurant came over quite quickly and looked frightened. I spoke before he had an opportunity to. “This gentleman will have lunch with us today,” I said. “Please add his order to our bill.” The manager said with a frown(皱眉), “Okay.” We turned to our table and the gentleman said, loudly and quickly, “Thank You!” We were seated and upon completing our meal we were handed our bill. I asked my husband what the gentleman had ordered. One fresh orange juice, one coffee, one breakfast combination with a side of hash browns.
When we left the restaurant I looked for the gentleman but didn’t see him, but that very small act just made my day. I hope in some small way we were able to add some joy to his life, even if only for a few minutes.
【小题1】From the appearance of the gentleman, we can guess he was probably a(n) _____.