Many years ago I drove a taxi for extra money mainly from the downtown to the 36 , beside the Greenwood Racetrack..
Each time a taxi drove up to the station, many kids would run along the   37  . One   38   kid would open the passenger door and say, “  39  , sir.” The passenger would always say thanks and give the kid a   40  . It was a routine that everybody knew.
One day I noticed a boy, who was   41   than most of them but was pushed away by even the smallest kid. He never pushed back.   42  , he would even step aside when others pushed forward. But he never   43  .
Then as I was   44   to the sidewalk, all the other kids were running after a taxi   45  mine. They didn’t notice mine.
The boy saw me and walked toward my taxi. As I pulled up I made sure that I stopped in a 46  with the passenger door right beside him. He   47  the passenger door and said, “Good luck at the track, sir.”
  48 , the man did not tip him a quarter. Instead he   49 , “Get out of my way!” He pushed him aside so   50  that the boy fell down and was badly hurt. I got out of my car quickly,   51  find that the man disappeared in the crowd.
So I looked for the kid. I decided to give him $20 for all his   52 . But he was far up ahead, walking out of the station   53 .   54 , I never saw him again. I’d like to find him and tell him that if only he had stuck around a little longer I would have given him a whole $20.
I learned an important lesson from the boy. When things seem so   55  that you are ready to give up, that is the time when things are most likely to turn around for you.

Around twenty years ago I was living in York.  21  I had a lot of experience and a Master’s degree, I could not find  22  work.
I was  23  a school bus to make ends meet and  24  with a friend of mine, for I had lost my flat. I had  25  five interviews (面试) with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not  26  the job. “Why has my life become so  27  ?” I thought painfully.
As I pulled the bus over to  28  a little girl, she handed me an earring  29  I should keep it  30  somebody claimed (认领) it. The earring was painted black and said “BE HAPPY”.
At first I got angry. Then it  31  me – I had been giving all of my  32  to what was going wrong with my  33  rather than what was right! I decided then and there to make a  34  of fifty things I was happy with. Later, I decided to  35  more things to the list. That night there was a phone call for  36  from a lady who was a director at a larger  37 . She asked me if I would  38  a one-day lecture on stress (压力) management to 200 medical workers. I said yes.
My  39  there went very well, and before long I got a well-paid job. To this day I know that it was because I changed my way of  40  that I completely changed my life.

完形填空 （共20小题；每小题l分，满分20分）

请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

My husband and I went into a shop that sold handcrafted items in hopes of finding a few last-minute Christmas gifts.

There was a lot  36   . Every shelf and   37  was loaded with different crafters' handiwork. As I walked through the store, I noticed a wooden plaque(瓷花金属板) hanging on a wall. I turned to take  38   look and remember shaking my head "yes" at   39   printed on the plaque.

"Life isn't about waiting for the   40  to pass," the plaque proclaimed（宣布）. "It's about learning to dance in the rain."

As I pulled my husband over and directed his attention to the plaque, I could see that he too   41 the simple lesson the plaque shared. How often in our daily lives had we put conditions on our   42  ? When we get the house paid off, then we can be happy. When things settle down with the kids, then we'll be able to do more together. There is so little joy for the here and now in the uncertainties of the   43  and thens.

Looking at the plaque, I found myself  44   to a hot and muggy day the summer before, when I unknowingly   45  the plaque's message. Light rain continued to fall as I walked out to get my mail. Water was still running   46   through the gutters（屋顶檐槽）. I don't know what came over me,  47  I suddenly felt forced to do something a little crazy   48 my fifty-plus years.

I   49  my shoes and stockings and began walking barefoot through the water. It was deliciously   50  , heated by the pavement that had been   51  by the summer heat.

I'm sure my neighbors thought that I had   52  my last vestige of sanity（神智健全）, but I didn't care. For in that moment, I was alive. I wasn't worried about bills, the future or any other day-to-day cares. I was   53  a gift — a pure and simple moment of joy!

The plaque now hangs in my living room, a Christmas gift from my husband. I walk past it multiple times each day and  54   pause to ask myself, "So, am I   55  in the rain?"

I think I am. I know I try to. One step at a time, I am learning to dance in the rain!

1.A. to purchase         B. to see          C. to choose           D. to order

2.A. wall           B. counter         C. drawer          D. panel

3. A. a first           B. a second            C. a better        D. a worse

4.A. the word        B. the design          C. the note        D. the message

5.A. trouble        B. happiness           C. storm               D. fortune

6.A. considered     B. recalled            C. appreciated         D. acknowledged

7. A. happiness      B. responsibility      C. desire          D. virtue

8. A. wheres        B. ifs             C. buts            D. whens

9.A. keeping back     B. thinking back      C. going back        D. dating back

10.A. interpret      B. understood      C. conveyed            D. lived

11.A. high           B. fiercely            C. deep            D. low

12. A. ortherwise       B. and                 C. but                 D. thus 

13. A. in                B. for             C. above               D. at

14.A. come off       B. put on          C. throw away          D. slipped off

15.A. cold               B. warm            C. smooth          D. swift

16.A. baked          B. swollen         C. removed         D. burned

17.A. dismissed      B. suffered            C. lost            D. gained

18. A. experiencing     B. distributing        C. receiving           D. presenting

19. A. hardly            B. incidentally        C. seldom          D. frequently

20.A. stuck         B. running         C. dancing         D. caught

Around twenty years ago I was living in York.  36  I had a lot of experience and a Master’s degree, I could not find  37  work.
I was  38  a school bus to make ends meet and  39  with a friend of mine, for I had lost my flat. I had  40 five interviews (面试) with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not  41  the job. “Why has my life become so  42  ?” I thought painfully.
As I pulled the bus over to  43  a little girl, she handed me an earring  44  I should keep it  45  somebody claimed (认领) it. The earring was painted black and said “BE HAPPY”.
At first I got angry. Then it  46  me – I had been giving all of my  47  to what was going wrong with my  48  rather than what was right! I decided then and there to make a  49  of fifty things I was happy with. Later, I decided to 50  more things to the list. That night there was a phone call for  51  from a lady who was a director at a larger  52 . She asked me if I would  53  a one-day lecture on stress (压力) management to 200 medical workers. I said yes.
My  54  there went very well, and before long I got a well-paid job. To this day I know that it was because I changed my way of  55  that I completely changed my life.

Around twenty years ago I was living in York.  36  I had a lot of experience and a Master’s degree, I could not find  37  work.

I was  38  a school bus to make ends meet and  39  with a friend of mine, for I had lost my flat. I had  40 five interviews (面试) with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not  41  the job. “Why has my life become so  42  ?” I thought painfully.

As I pulled the bus over to  43  a little girl, she handed me an earring  44  I should keep it  45  somebody claimed (认领) it. The earring was painted black and said “BE HAPPY”.

At first I got angry. Then it  46  me – I had been giving all of my  47  to what was going wrong with my  48  rather than what was right! I decided then and there to make a  49  of fifty things I was happy with. Later, I decided to 50  more things to the list. That night there was a phone call for  51  from a lady who was a director at a larger  52 . She asked me if I would  53  a one-day lecture on stress (压力) management to 200 medical workers. I said yes.

My  54  there went very well, and before long I got a well-paid job. To this day I know that it was because I changed my way of  55  that I completely changed my life.