People say teenagers are no good. They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive recklessly up and down America’s main streets; they carry chips on their shoulders as big as the Sears Tower. And at least some of the time those things are true. But we shouldn’t forget that there are hard moments in the life of a teenager too.
I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman’s funeral. I didn’t expect the event to affect me. Through much of the ceremony, in fact, I remained unmoved.
The teenage grandson stepped forward. With his very first deep breath, every heart in that church was achingly reminded of something we had all forgotten. Softly he began: “I want to share a few values that Nana taught me. She never failed to see light in any situation. When our family dog would truly attack her, what would Nana say? ‘oh, what beautiful barking that dog has!’ That was Nana. ”
“She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful businessman in this city. But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support for my grandpa’s career,” he said, with a voice now trembling, “That was Nana’s way.”
Through a low sob, he continued, “Whenever she did anything worth recognition, you’d have to hear about it from a different source, because she was never one to show off.”
Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, “Nana taught me courage. She put up an incredible fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life. That was Nana’s way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner.”
There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the first time. The trouble with teenagers is that they haven’t learned to be controlled.
When that boy rose to speak about the woman who surely had been his truest and closest friend, his honest voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide in the calm ceremony. He exposed us to the truth about this very real woman who believed in a boy who probably tried the patience of many adults. He reminded us that his grandmother was more than another dot on the chart of life and death.
All over again we felt those powerful losses crossing our own hearts, and we knew that when you say good-bye to something happy, something young in yourself. And that something never really returns, and the pain never really goes away.
【小题1】In the first paragraph, the writer gave some examples to________ .

Mark Twain is a name not usually connected with Broadway(百老汇), but now his play “Is He Dead” will receive its first public performance on November 29.

“Is He Dead” was written by Mark Twain in 1898 but was never performed. It was rediscovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and director of the American Studies Program at Stanford University. It was published the following year by the University of California Press.

The story is about a group of poor artists who fake the death of their friend in order to increase the value of his work.

“Is He Dead” is set in France in the 1840s and centers on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet. “Millet was probably the most popular European painter in the United States in Twain’s lifetime,” Fishkin said in a telephone interview. “Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the common man and the common woman.”

According to Fishkin, “Is He Dead” is a satire(讽刺) about how value is created in the art world. Twain wrote the play when he was coming out of the hardest time of his life.

1.What’s “Is He Dead” about?

A．The death of a poor artist in the 1840s.

B．A trick played by a group of poor artists.

C．A story about the French painter Jean-Francois Millet.

D．An experience Mark Twain had gone through.

2.From the second paragraph we learn that ______.

A．the play was one of Mark Twain’s early works

B．no one knew the play until 2002

C．Fishkin is an expert on Mark Twain’s works

D．the play was published in 2002

3.According to Fishkin, Jean-Francois Millet was admired by Americans because ____.

A．he was a famous French painter at that time

B．he focused on the life of ordinary Americans

C．his works showed respect for ordinary people

D．Mark Twain agreed on his thoughts

4.We can infer from the passage that Mark Twain ______.

A．had experienced several difficult times for no money

B．was a good novelist but a bad playwright(剧作家)

C．was a writer who only cared about ordinary people’s life

D．was dissatisfied with some methods of creating the value of art work

I needed to buy a digital camera, one that was simply good at taking good snaps (快照), maybe occasionally for magazines. Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand. So I went on the net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store. There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list. And it was on special offer. Oh joy. I pointed at it and asked an assistant, “Can I have one of those?” He looked perturbed (不安).“Do you want to try it first?" he said. It didn't quite sound like a question. "Do I need to?" I replied. "There's nothing wrong with it?" This made him look a bit insulted and I started to feel bad. "No, no. But you should try it," he said encouragingly." Compare it with the others. "
I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based around the same basic box. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.
But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice, the clever choice, the wise choice. In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen. The assistant seemed a sincere man. So I let him take out my chosen camera from the cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers... and when he started to introduce the special features, I interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well.
Why do we think that new options (选择) still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine.
1. The shop assistant insisted that the writer should __ .
A. try the camera to see if there was anything wrong with it
B. compare the camera he had chosen with the others
C. get more information about different companies
D. trust him and stop asking questions
2. What does the writer mean by "it would be worth half what I paid for it"  (Paragraph 2) ?
A. He should get a 50% discount.
B. The price of the camera was unreasonably high.
C. The quality of the camera was not good.
D. The camera would soon fall in value.
3. The writer decided to try the model he had chosen because he __ .
A. knew very little about it
B. didn't trust the shop assistant
C. wanted to make sure the one he chose would be the best
D. had a special interest in taking pictures of his fellow shoppers
4. It can be inferred from the passage that in the writer's opinion, __
A. people waste too much money on cameras
B. cameras have become an important part of our daily life
C. we don't actually need so many choices when buying a product
D. famous companies care more about profit than quality

Last July, my 12-year-old car died on California’s Santa Ana Freeway. It was an hour before sunset, and I was 25 miles from home. I couldn’t reach anyone to pick me up, so I decided to take a bus. Not knowing the routes, I figured I’d just head east.

A bus pulled up, and I asked the driver how far she was going. “Four more lights,” she said. There was another bus I could take from there. This clearly was going to be a long night.

She dropped me off at the end of her route and told me which bus to look for. After waiting 30 minutes, I began to think about a very expensive taxi ride home. Then a bus pulled up. There was no lighted number above its windshield(挡风玻璃). It was out of service. But the door opened, and I was surprised to find that it was the same driver.

“I just can’t leave you here,” she said. “This isn’t the nicest place. I’ll give you a ride home.”

“You’ll drive me home in the bus?” I asked, perplexed(困惑).

“No, I’ll take you in my car,” she said.

“It’s a long way,” I protested.

“Come on, ” she said. “I have nothing else to do.”

As we drove www..comfrom the station in her car, she began telling me a story. A few days earlier, her brother had run out of gas. A good Samaritan picked him up, took him to a service station and then back to his car. “I’m just passing the favor along, ” she said.

When I offered her money as a thank-you, she wouldn’t hear of it. “That wouldn’t make it a favor, ” she said. “Just do something nice for somebody. Pass it along.”

1. Why did the writer say that he would have a long night?

A. He wondered how long he had to wait for the next bus.

B. No driver would give him a ride.

C. He didn’t know the routes.

D. He perhaps would have to take a taxi.

2. Judging from its context, the place where the writer waited for the second bus was _______.

A. very quiet and peaceful     B. dark without street lights

C. neither clean nor beautiful   D. a little unsafe

3. Why did the writer change his mind after waiting for 30 minutes at the end of the route?

A. No bus would come at the time.

B. A taxi ride would be more comfortable.

C. He became impatient and a bit worried.

D. He knew the driver would never return.

4. The bus driver drove the writer home later because ________.

A. she happened to go in the same direction

B. she wanted to do something good for other people

C. her brother told her to do so

D. she wanted to earn more money

5. The bus driver hoped that the writer ________.

A. would do as she did             B. would keep her in memory

C. would give the money to others    D. would do her a favor

.

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20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。

Mrs. Thompson once taught in an elementary school. On the very first day of school, like most

teachers, she said that she    36  them all the same. But it was a  37    because that was impossible.A little boy named Teddy did not play well with the other children, and with  38 clothes,constantly needed a bath. It got to the point  39  Mrs.Thompson would take delight in  40  hispapers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and putting a big "F" at the top. One day, Mrs. Thompson was required to  41  each child's past records, and she put Teddy's off till last.42，when she reviewed his file, she was in for a  43．She learned he was once a(n)  44  child. Unfortunately,his mother had a terminal illness and died, making Teddy withdrawn. Since then, he hadn't shownmuch    45    in school.

Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and felt  46  From that day on, she paid particularattention to Teddy. As she worked with hiITl, his mind seemed to come  47．The more sheencouraged hlm, the quicker he48．By the end ofthe year, Teddy had become one of the 49 students in the class.

Ten more years passed. One day, Mrs. Thompson received a letter from Teddy saying he wasgoing to be    50  and was wondering if Mrs. Thompson would agree to take the place at thewedding usually  51  for the mother of the groom.

Ofcourse, she agreed. They hugged each otlier and Teddy whispered in her ear, "You are the best

52  Ihave ever had. Thank you for believing in me, making me feel  53  and showing me that I could make a difference."

With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Thompson  54  back, "Teddy, you were the one who taught me I

could make a difference.I didn't know how to  55  until I met you."

36.A.knew       B.loved       C.recognized    D.admired

37.A.promise     B.dream       C.decision     D.lie

38.A. neat        B.costly       C.dirty       D.cheap

39.A.where       B.that         C.which      D.how

40.A.preparing    B.writing      C.examining    D.marking

41.A.review      B.arrange      C.list         D.remark

42.A.Therefore    B.Otherwise    C.However    D.Besides

43.A.delight      B.surprise      C.fear       D.puzzle

44.A.naughty     B.enthusiastic    C.lonely     D.excellent

45.A.power       B.interest     C.honor       D.concern

46.A.ashamed     B.proud       C.curious     D.doubtful

47.A.true         B.w eak       C.alive       D.strong

48.A.responded    B.marched     C.answered    D.went

49.A.worst        B.smartest     C.strongest    D.busiest

50.A.employed     B.registered    C.settled     D.married

51.A.made         B.designed    C.reserved    D.booked

52.A.teacher       B.mother     C.friend      D.classmate

53.A.necessary    B.important    C.negative    D.responsible

54.A.called       B.smiled       C.whispered   D.gestured

55.A.study      B.Iive         C.behave     D.teach