阅读理解

　　Below is a page adapted from an English dictionary．

　　verb(stuck, stuck)

　　[＋adv．/prep．] to push sth, usually a sharp object, into sth; to be pushed into sth：[VN] The nurse stuck the needle into my arm．◆ Don't stick your fingers through the bars of the cage．◆ [V] I found a nail sticking in the tyre．

　　[＋adv．/prep．] to fix sth to sth else, usually with a sticky substance; to become fixed to sth in this way：[VN] He stuck a stamp on the envelope．◆ We used glue to stick the broken pieces together．◆ I stuck the photos into an album．◆ [V] Her wet clothes were sticking to her body．◆ The glue's useless-the pieces just won't stick．

　　[VN ＋adv．/prep．](informal)to put sth in a place, especially quickly or carelessly：Stick your bags down there．◆ He stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled off．◆ Can you stick this on the noticeboard? ◆ Peter stuck his head around the door and said, 'Coffee, anyone?' ◆(spoken)Stick 'em up!(＝put your hands above your head-I have a gun)

　　[V]～(in sth)to become fixed in one position and impossible to move：The key has stuck in the lock．◆ This drawer keeps sticking．

　　(BrE, informal)(usually used in negative sentences and questions)to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation or person：[VN] I don't know how you stick that job．◆ They're always arguing-I can't stick it any longer．◆ The problem is, my mother can't stick my boyfriend．◆ [V -ing] John can't stick living with his parents．

　　[V] to become accepted：The police couldn't make the charges stick(＝show them to be true)．◆ His friends called him Bart and the name has stuck(＝has become the name that everyone calls him)．

　　[V] to not take any more cards

　　Idioms：stick in your mind(of a memory, an image, etc．)to be remembered for a long time：One of his paintings in particular sticks in my mind．

　　stick in your throat/craw(informal)

　　(of words)to be difficult or impossible to say：She wanted to say how sorry she was but the words seemed to stick in her throat．

　　(of a situation)to be difficult or impossible to accept; to make you angry

　　stick your neck out(informal)to do or say sth when there is a risk that you may be wrong：I'll stick my neck out and say that Bill is definitely the best candidate for the job．

　　stick to your guns(informal)to refuse to change your mind about sth even when other people are trying to persuade you that you are wrong

　　Phrasal Verbs：stick around(informal)to stay in a place, waiting for sth to happen or for sb to arrive：Stick around; we'll need you to help us later．

　　stick at sth to work in a serious and determined way to achieve sth：If you want to play an instrument well, you've got to stick at it．

　　stick by sb [no passive] to be loyal to a person and support them, especially in a difficult situation：Her husband was charged with fraud but she stuck by him．

　　stick by sth [no passive] to do what you promised or planned to do：They stuck by their decision．

　　stick sth＜－＞down(informal)to write sth somewhere：I think I'll stick my name down on the list．

　　stick out to be noticeable or easily seen：They wrote the notice in big red letters so that it would stick out．

　　stick sth＜－＞out(of sth)to be further out than sth else or come through a hole; to push sth further out than sth else or through a hole：His ears stick out．◆ She stuck her tongue out at me．◆ Don't stick your arm out of the car window．

　　to continue doing sth in spite of difficulties：She finds it impossible to stick to a diet．

　　to continue doing or using sth and not want to change it：He promised to help us and he stuck to his word(＝he did as he had promised)．◆ 'Shall we meet on Friday this week?' 'No, let's stick to Saturday．' ◆ She stuck to her story．

　　stick together(informal)(of people)to stay together and support each other：We were the only British people in the town so we tended to stick together．

　　stick up to point upwards or be above a surface：The branch was sticking up out of the water．

　　stick with sb/sth [no passive](informal)

　　to stay close to sb so that they can help you：Stick with me and I'll make you a millionaire!

　　to continue with sth or continue doing sth：They decided to stick with their original plan．

　　noun

　　[C] a thin piece of wood that has fallen or been broken from a tree：We collected dry sticks to start a fire．◆ The boys were throwing sticks and stones at the dog．◆ Her arms and legs were like sticks(＝very thin)．

　　[C](especially BrE)＝WALKING STICK：The old lady leant on her stick as she talked．

　　[C] a long thin object that is used in some sports to hit or control the ball：a hockey stick

　　[C](often in compounds)a long thin piece of sth：a stick of dynamite ◆ carrot sticks ◆(AmE)a stick of butter

　　[C](often in compounds)a thin piece of wood or plastic that you use for a particular purpose：pieces of pineapple on sticks ◆ The men were carrying spades and measuring sticks．

　　[C](informal, especially AmE)the control stick of a plane

　　[C](informal, especially AmE)a handle used to change the GEARS of a vehicle

　　[C] a BATON, used by the person who CONDUCTS an orchestra

　　[U](BrE, informal)criticism or harsh words：The referee got a lot of stick from the home fans．

　　(the sticks)[pl．](informal)country areas, a long way from cities：We live out in the sticks．

　　[C](old-fashioned, BrE, informal)a person：He's not such a bad old stick．

完形填空

　　Every year on my birthday, a white gardenia(栀子花)was 　　1　　 to my house．But no card or note came with it．Calls to the flower shop were always 　　2　　－it was a cash purchase．After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender's identity and just 　　3　　 in the beauty and heady perfume of that one magical, perfect white flower lying in soft pink paper．

　　But I never stopped 　　4　　 who the giver might be．My mother 　　5　　 to these imaginations．She asked me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness who might be showing 　　6　　．I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I fell in love with or one who had 　　7　　 me even though I didn't know him．

　　One month before my high-school graduation, my father died．My feelings 　　8　　 from sorrow to fear and 　　9　　：my dad was missing some of the most important events in my life．I became completely 　　10　　 in my coming graduation, the senior-class play and the ball．But my mother would not hear of my losing any of those things．Mother and I had gone shopping and found an impressive dress, but it was the 　　11　　 size．When my father died, I forgot about the dress．

　　The day before my ball, I found that dress－in the right size－hanging over the living room sofa．It was 　　12　　 to me so lovingly．I didn't 　　13　　 if I had a new dress or not．But my mother did．She wanted her children to feel 　　14　　, filled with a sense that there was a beauty even in the face of 　　15　　．

　　My mother died ten days after I was married．The following year the gardenia stopped coming．