第二节：完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
My brother-in-law lifted out a package in which was delicate lingerie（女式内衣）“Jan bought it 8 years ago   36   she never wore it. She was   37   it for a special occasion.” He put it with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician（殡仪员）. “Don't save anything for a special occasion. Every day when you're   38   is a special gift.” he said.
I remembered those words through the funeral（葬礼）and the days that followed when I helped with all the chores after Jan's sudden   39  . I thought about them on the plane returning to California. I'm   40   thinking about his words, and they've   41   my attitude towards life. I'm admiring the view   42   worrying about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and   43   time in committee meetings.
Whenever possible, life should be an experience to   44  , not tolerate. I'm trying to recognize these moments and   45   them. “Someday” and “one of these days” are   46   from my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done if she had known she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all __47__ for granted. I think she would have gone out for her favorite Chinese food. She might have called a few former friends to apologize for past   48  . I'm guessing — I'll   49   know.
It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were __50__ . Angry because I   51   seeing good friends I was going to get in touch with — someday. Angry and __52__ that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.
I'm trying not to put off, or save anything that would add   53   and color to our lives. Every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself it is   54  . Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a（n）  55   from God.
36. A. and                 B. so                     C. as                  D. but
37. A. buying                B. saving                 C. leaving              D. remaining
38. A. happy                B. healthy               C. alive                D. successful
39. A. separation             B. death                  C. disease               D. treatment
40. A. still                  B. also                   C. even                 D. therefore
41. A. changed               B. spoiled                 C. shaped                     D. held
42. A. beyond               B. besides                 C. without              D. over
43. A. most                 B. little                   C. more                 D. less
44. A. enjoy                B. share                  C. control              D. choose
45. A. ignore                B. value                 C. stress                 D. remember
46. A. disappearing           B. escaping               C. coming              D. leaving
47. A. find                  B. think                  C. take                 D. make
48. A. affairs                B. quarrels                C. hardships             D. memories
49. A. surely                 B. always                C. ever                       D. never
50. A. endless                B. abundant              C. valuable              D. limited
51. A. called off              B. gave off              C. put off                     D. took off
52. A. sorry                 B. disappointed           C. shameful             D. embarrassed
53. A. value                 B. laughter              C. imagination                 D. freedom
54. A. common               B. unforgettable                C. special               D. similar
55. A. offer                  B. promise                    C. smile                D. gift

Everybody has had at least one experience from which he knows the meaning of life. This time, which took place several years ago, but seems as if it just happened.

He took the shirt and put it on bed, with the other clothes we were taking to the funeral. Then he closed the drawer and turned to me, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion.”
I’m thinking about his words, and they’ve changed the way I live my life. I’m spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a kind of experience to enjoy, not to suffer. “Someday”and “one of these days”are losing their importance on my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.
Ever since that day, I have been trying very hard not to put off, hold back or save anything that would add laughter and color to our lives. Every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath, truly is a gift. So cherish every day and find the true meaning of your life.
【小题1】Why did Jan buy the beautiful skirt but didn’t wear it?

We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans,  killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.

The 16-­year ­old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute,

has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair, a $10 000 prize, a $20 000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.

Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.

With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.

The inputs are cheap: maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.

“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” said Daniel Burd.

1.Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair because________.

A. he found a new kind of microorganism

B. he contributed much to environmental protection

C. he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time 

D. he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way

2.Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to ________.

A. make the live bacteria work better             

B. test how effective his method was

C. know which bacteria worked faster        

D. control the temperature in the process

3.Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because ________.

A. plastics can get hot easily

B. microbes can produce heat themselves

C. much carbon dioxide is produced

D. the temperature can be controlled

4.Daniel Burd got his idea from ________.

A. his school textbook           B. the failure of researchers

C. his everyday work            D. the practice of other people

We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
The 16-year-old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has-discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(降解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair, a ＄10,000 prize, a ＄20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.
Burd’s strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.
With this goal in mind, he grounded plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” Said Daniel Burd.
【小题1】Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair because      .

A．he found a new kind of microorganism

B．he contributed much to environmental protection

C．he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time

D．he could encourage microbe growth in an easier way

We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.

The 16-year-old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has-discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(降解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair, a ＄10,000 prize, a ＄20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.

Burd’s strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.

With this goal in mind, he grounded plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.

The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.

“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” Said Daniel Burd.

1.Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair because      .

  A. he found a new kind of microorganism

  B. he contributed much to environmental protection

  C. he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time

  D. he could encourage microbe growth in an easier way

2. Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to      .

   A. make the live bacteria work better      B. test how effective his method was

C. know which bacteria worked faster      D. control the temperature in the process

3.

Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because       .

  A. plastics can get hot easily           B. microbes can produce heat themselves

  C. much carbon dioxide is produced     D. the temperature can be controlled

4. Daniel Burd got his idea from       .

  A. his school textbook          B. the failure of researchers

  C. his everyday work           D. the practice of other people