阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出可以填入空白的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I have always believed the saying , “Any man can be a father, but it   31   someone special to be a dad.” This is true. Since the   32  of my son, Joshua, things have changed a lot in my life, but the  33  have been good! My wife and I have been through many  34   moments which have made both of us stronger.
My son was born with a serious breathing problem and he couldn’t keep his  35  down. He was put on several different medications,   36  he did not get any better. My wife and I were both told many times by people that Joshua   37  he was born early; he had not   38  much weight since he was born.
As time progressed his regular doctor  39   my wife and me to visit Dr. Eid, a specialist in Louisville. He was   40  by my son’s condition and so we were sent to Louisville’s Children’s Hospital . Joshua   41  many different checkups. The   42  spent there was very demanding for my wife and me. But we did make it   43 . Our son Joshua was diagnosed (诊断) with asthma (哮喘) , and with acid reflux syndrome (酸回流综合症). After the treatment, his  44   began to improve slowly.
Joshua is 1 year and 1 month old now and his progress has been   45  --- he is up to 27 pounds now. I keep telling my wife that if he keeps  46  like this he might become a football _____47   someday. There is a saying that has   48   me get through these troublesome times, “Problems will either  49    you or break you.”  When you think the   50  hours are upon you, remember the dawn is just in sight.
【小题1】

Bobby was sitting out in his back yard in the snow. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them. Try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother’s Christmas gift.
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, his mother worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage could only be stretched so far.
What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. They ran the household in their mother’s absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother.
It was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing. Bobby started to walk down to the street. He walked from shop to shop. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark, then suddenly his eyes caught a shiny dime. Never has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby did at that moment.
He went inside a flower shop. When the owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower. The shop owner looked at Bobby, then said, “You just wait here and I’ll see what I can do for you.”
The shop owner returned holding red roses all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby’s heart sank as the owner placed them gently into a long white box. “That will be ten cents, young man,” said the shop owner, reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime.
Then the shopkeeper’s wife appeared. “Where are the roses you were fixing?”
The shop owner replied, “A strange thing happened to me this morning. I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn’t sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was.”
【小题1】According to the first three paragraphs we know that _____.

For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!
Lydia M. Child
When I was a little girl, my father had a time-honored tradition. Following my bedtime story, he would give me a nose  36  , and whisper the most wonderful words into my ear. “Michelle, of all the little girls in the whole wide world . . .” he would pause.
“ Yes, Daddy?”
“ How did your mommy and I get so  37  to get the best one?”
 38  he had time to finish, I would say, “You got me!” And then he would continue , “The best little girl in the whole wide world, and we got you.” He would end with a bear hug and  39  kiss to my forehead.
Years passed and my father never missed a night, even when I thought he should have. After my basketball team was  40  , he came into my room.
“ Michelle, of all the basketball players in the whole wide world,” he paused.
“ Yes, Daddy?” I stared at the floor.
“ How did your mom and I get so lucky to get the best one?”
“ You didn’t.”
“ Of course we did, Michelle. We have you.”
After I  41  from college, I became engaged. My father never missed a night to call or leave a message  42  me how special I was to him. I even wondered if he would continue calling after I got  43  , but he didn’t. The daily calls I had taken for granted all my life ended the day he died from cancer, only weeks before my wedding. I deeply missed  44  the days with my father.
Standing behind the white church doors, I waited for the wedding march to begin. Before we walking down the aisle, my brother  45  inside his pocket and handed me an ivory napkin. Inscribed (题写) were the words:
Of all the precious  46  in the whole wide world, how did Mark get so lucky to marry the best one? He married you, Michelle, and he is so lucky! I am so proud of you, my little girl.
Love,
Dad
Without doubt , it was the best wedding gift I  47 , One I would never forget. My father showered me with his gifts every day of his life. How did I get so lucky?

A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting （诱人的）apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater,  36 a bar of chocolate if given the choice,     37   , as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the   38   he felt and the more he wanted that apple.
39  as high as he could, but even as his tallest  40  he was unable to touch It. He began to  41 up and down , as high as he could, at the  42  of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple . Still it remained out of 43 .   Not giving up , he though , if only he had something to  44  on . His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to  45  the things inside , like his lunch box , pencil case , and Gameboy. Looking  46  , he hoped he might find an old box , a rock , or ,   47  luck , even a ladder , but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use. He had tired everything he could think to do.   48  seeing any other choices , he gave up and started to walk   49  . At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his  50  , and how he really wanted that apple . The more he  51 like this , the more unhappy he became.
52  ,the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what get he wanted .He started to say to himself . This isn’t    53    ,I   don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well.There’s 54   more I can do to get the apple-that is unchangeable-but we are supposed to be able to  55  our feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?

The Touchstone
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for very little money.
The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold.
The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.
The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand, and it’s just as easy to throw it away.
【小题1】The man bought the book because _____________.