完形填空

　　Once upon a time, there lived a man who wanted to achieve everything he was capable of achieving．He was obsessed with this desire－he ate, slept, and walked with one and only dream：to die, having accomplished every single thing he was able to accomplish．

　　There were so many things he could do．He felt like the whole world could be his, 　　1　　 he set his mind to it．

　　He knew that his 　　2　　 had no limits．He knew that he could accumulate 　　3　　 that would dwarf(使相形见绌)that of ancient kings; he knew that he could 　　4　　 books that would shake the minds of generations; he knew that he could 　　5　　 things that would forever change the lives of millions of people．He lived, constantly feeling the power within－and that power knew no bounds．

　　There was only one problem：having such a potential, but only one 　　6　　, he had to make a choice．He had to decide where to 　　7　　 all of his ability．Making that decision was extremely hard, for any 　　8　　 meant cutting off some future achievements．In the meantime, he went to school, graduated, found a job, married, and 　　9　　 children．And he spent every minute of his spare time trying to decide 　　10　　 he should bring his potential into full play．

　　Time went by, and he grew 　　11　　．Some roads he used to dream about became closed to him．But there was still so much he could accomplish．

　　One day, a sudden chest pain made him come home early．He dragged his feet to the bathroom．There, feeling 　　12　　, he looked in the mirror．A worn-out, gray-haired man stared back at him．He looked 　　13　　 into these eyes and, all of a sudden, 　　14　　 one simple truth．The next moment, the pain came again, and his heart stopped 　　15　　 forever．

　　The truth that came upon him was rather simple：People only flatter themselves(自以为是，自鸣得意)by thinking that they could have 　　16　　 this or that if not for such-and-such circumstances．Yet this is nothing but 　　17　　．You simply lack something that is 　　18　　 for achieving that goal you've never reached－a talent, a skill, willpower, 　　19　　 something else．In fact, 　　20　　 you don't achieve is something you're not capable of achieving．

完形填空

　　Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7：34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch．Although we arrived at Liverpool Street Station at 10∶30, Joan 　　1　　 that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London 　　2　　 we went shopping．It was only after her sister had 　　3　　 into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should 　　4　　 her for lunch．　　5　　 I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a 　　6　　．There seemed to be nothing we could do but take a taxi to the Tower of London．However, we didn’t find her．

　　It was now one o’clock, and the concert would begin at 2：30．“Perhaps she’ll 　　7　　 waiting outside the concert hall,” my wife said hopefully．By this time the fog was so thick that the road traffic had to 　　8　　, and the only way to get there was 　　9　　 underground railway．Hand in hand we 　　10　　 our way along the road to where we thought the 　　11　　 station should be．An hour later we found Tower Hill Station．

　　By now it was far 　　12　　 late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2∶30．So we decided to 　　13　　 to Cambridge．It took seven long hours instead of two as usual to 　　14　　 that journey．　　15　　 were we able to get any food and drink on the train．Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten．　　16　　 the door, we heard the sound of the telephone bell．It was Joan．She had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for the concert, and had had a wonderful 　　17　　 at a restaurant near the hotel where she had decided to stay at night．Now she was 　　18　　 us to discover 　　19　　 we had an equally 　　20　　 day．