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。

Christmas roses

It was the afternoon of December 24, the day before Christmas, and as the newest doctor in our office, I   36 to wok. The only thing that brightened my day was the beautifully 37 Christmas tree in our waiting room and a gift sent to me by my   38  --- a dozen red roses.

Then a woman came in with an infant (婴儿).39  she explained that her husband was a prisoner and was my next  40  . She told me she wasn’t allowed to visit her husband in prison and that he had never seen his son. She  41  me to let the boy’s father sit in the waiting room with her as long as possible  42  I called him for his appointment. Since my schedule wasn’t full, I  43 .

A short time later, her husband  44  ---with two armed  45 as an escort ( 护卫 ). The woman’s tired face 46 up like our little Christmas tree when her husband took a 47 beside her. I kept peeking out to watch them laugh, cry and 48 with their child.

After almost an hour, I called the  49  back to the operatory. The patient seemed like a gentle and humble（谦逊的）man. I wondered what he possibly could have done to be 50 under such conditions. I tried to make him as comfortable as possible.

At the end I wished him a Merry Christmas --- a difficult thing to say to a man 51 back to prison. He smiled and thanked me. He said he felt 52 by the fact he hadn’t been able to get his wife anything for Christmas. On 53 this , I was inspired with a wonderful idea.

I’ll never forget the look on both their faces as the prisoner gave his wife the beautiful 54 . I’m not sure who 55 the most joy --- the husband in giving, the wife in receiving, or myself in having the opportunity to share in this special moment.

(  )36. A. needed          B. used               C. had          D. ought

(  )37. A. dressed         B. decorated            C. cut            D. planted

(  )38.A. classmate        B. boss                        C. parent           D. boyfriend

(  )39. A. Nervously       B. Eagerly               C. Curiously         D. Carefully

(  )40. A. colleague        B. patient               C. student         D. customer

(  )41 A. begged           B. ordered             C. asked                  D. invited

(  )42. A. when          B. until          C. after                    D. before

(  )43 A. smiled          B. hesitated          C. agreed           D. refused

(  )44. A. escaped                B. arrived              C. cried            D. quarreled

(  )45. A. soldiers          B. judges               C. lawyers        D. guards

(  )46. A. went            B. lit                     C. took              D. brought

(  )47. A. seat              B. rest                  C. ride             D. look

(  )48. A. joy              B. water                C. food            D. possessions

(  )49. A. prisoner        B. nurse                C. doctor          D. woman

(  )50. A. awarded        B. punished             C. caught          D. held

(  )51. A. brought          B. gone                  C. headed          D. returned

(  )52. A. saddened         B. excited              C. surprised             D. pleased

(  )53 A. seeing            B. hearing             C. remembering    D. learning

(  )54. A. tree             B. clothes                C. roses            D. necklace

(  )55. A. enjoyed           B. suffered            C. benefited       D. experienced

I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the easy carelessness of youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.

“Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?”

“I try to.”

“Well, don’t, ” he said loudly. “When you grow up, time won’t come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life.”

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript(手稿) ready for revision. Later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal （零碎的）method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were moments which could be caught and put to use.

There is an important trick in this time-using principle: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can’t afford to waste it in chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.

I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a significant influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I throw myself into it without delay.

1.The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in the sentence “_______”

A. The dog woke up, had a good stretch and wandered off.

B. Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.

C. My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

D. This material has a lot of stretch in it.

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The author didn’t take the teacher’s words to heart at first.

B. Rapid concentration is more difficult than people imagine.

C. The author thanked his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

D. Carl Walter has influenced the writer greatly since he was a student.

3.We can infer that the author______.

A. had new books published each year however busy his teaching is

B. is tired of interruptions in life because he always has much work

C. has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

D. makes mental preparations beforehand so as to focus on work quickly

4.What is probably the best title for this text?

A. Concentrate on Your Work            B. A Little at a Time

C. How I Became a Writer                            D. Good Advice

第二部分 完形填空

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。

I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman. It was hard to make a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out   36   he caught enough to feed the family. No just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad. When the weather was bad he would   37   me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing   38  . Older than it was, that truck, out of   39   , coughed all the way with loud noise and heavy smoke. As he would drive, I would fall down into the seat hoping to   40  . He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and   41  . Then he would lean over to give me a big kiss and tell me to be   42  . It was so   43   for me now. Here, I was 12 years old, and he would   44   me good-bye!

I remember   45  I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his   46   big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my   47   up and said, “No, Dad.”

It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this   48   look on his face. I said, “Dad, I’m too old for a goodbye kiss. I’m too old for any kind of kiss.” My father looked at me for the longest time. When   49   came into his eyes, he turned and   50   . “You’re right’ he said, “You’re a big boy….  51  . I won’t kiss you anymore.” It wasn’t long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when   52   of the ships stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed.

You don’t know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek…. To touch his rough old face…, to   53   the ocean on him… to feel his arm around my neck. I   54   I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too   55   for a goodbye kiss.”

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

37. A. take            B. drive             C. watch                D. rush

38. A. business             B. career                      C. project                      D. journey

39. A. preparation         B. control                            C. distance                    D. condition

40. A. repair                 B. scream                      C. complaint                 D. disappear

41. A. laughing             B. watching                  C. performing             D. playing

42. A. a cute son      B. a honest fisherman  C. a good boy           D. a quiet passenger

43. A. amazing              B. surprising         C. disappointing         D. embarrassing

44. A. kiss                 B. say                    C. hug                 D. send

45. A. the day               B. the way           C. the order             D. the action

46. A. usual          B. common          C. daily                 D. sweet

47. A. head                   B. hand             C. cheek                     D. mouth

48. A. excited            B. pleased           C. terrified             D. bored

49. A. lights            B. apologies          C. tears                      D. sorry

50. A. looked out          B. looked up         C. looked around        D. look on

51. A. a partner        B. a student            C. a kid                      D. a man

52. A. all            B. most             C. some               D. none

53. A. notice         B. smell              C. sense                D. feel

54. A. realize          B. regret              C. wish               D. hope

55. A. young                 B. old                 C. shy                          D. late

.

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下面文章，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It was the afternoon of December 24, the day before Christmas, and as the newest doctor in our office, I had to work. The only thing that brightened my day was the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in our waiting room and a gift sent to me by a fellow I was dating(约会)—a dozen long-stemmed red roses. 

As I was cleaning my office, I was told a lady urgently needed to speak with me. As I stepped out, I noticed a young, tired-looking woman with a baby in her arms. Nervously, she explained that her husband—a prisoner in a nearby prison—was my next patient. She told me she wasn’t allowed to visit her husband in prison and that he had never seen his son. Her request was for me to let the boy’s father sit in the waiting room with her as long as possible before I called him for his appointment（约见）. Since my schedule wasn’t full, I agreed. After all, it was Christmas Eve. 

A short time later, her husband arrived—with chains on his feet and hands, and two armed guards as bodyguards. The woman’s tired face lit up like our little Christmas tree when her husband took a seat beside her. I kept glancing out to watch them laugh, cry and share their child. After almost an hour, I called the prisoner back to my office. The patient seemed like a gentle and modest man. I wondered what he possibly could have done to be held under such conditions. I tried to make him as comfortable as possible.

At the end of the appointment, I wished him a Merry Christmas—a difficult thing to say to a man headed back to prison. He smiled and thanked me. He also said he felt saddened by the fact that he hadn’t been able to get his wife anything for Christmas. On hearing this, I was inspired with a wonderful idea.

I’ll never forget the look on both their faces as the prisoner gave his wife the beautiful, long-stemmed roses. I’m not sure who experienced the most joy—the husband in giving, the wife in receiving, or myself in having the opportunity to share in this special moment.

51.What can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A. The writer was a newcomer to her office. 

B. A fellow sent her a dozen red roses as Christmas present.

C. She was in low spirits because she had to work before Christmas.

D. She was at work with a light heart.

52. The young woman came to the writer’s office for the purpose of         .

A. having her baby examined      

B. giving her husband a chance to make his escape

C. having her husband examined  

D. getting a chance for her family to get together

53.The underlined part in Paragraph 3 most probably means “         ”. 

A. to be sent to hospital      B. to be separated from his family

C. to be comfortable             D. to become a prisoner

54. What does the writer learn from the story?

A. The wife experienced the most joy in receiving. 

B. An act of kindness can mean a lot.

C. The prisoner was treated with mercy.      

D. Whoever breaks the law should be punished.