I believe listening is powerful medicine. Studies have shown it takes a ___36___ about 18 seconds to interrupt a patient after he begins talking.
It was a Sunday. I had one last patient to see. I ___37___ her room in a hurry and stood at the doorway. She was an old woman, sitting at the edge of the bed, ___38___ to put socks on her swollen（肿胀）feet. I crossed the threshold（门槛）, spoke quickly to the nurse, and scanned her chart noting she was in stable condition. I was almost in the clear.
I ___39___ on the bedrail（床的栏杆）looking down at her. She asked if I could help put on her socks. Instead, I launched into a monologue（独白） that went ___40___ like this, “How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure were high ___41___ they’re better today. The nurse mentioned you’re ___42___ to see your son who’s visiting you today. It’s nice to have family visit from far away. I bet you really look forward to seeing him.”
She ___43___ me with a serious, authoritative voice. “Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not your story.”
I was surprised and embarrassed. I sat down. I helped her with the socks. She began to tell me that her only son lived ___44___ from her, but she had not seen him in five years. She believed that the stress of this ___45___ greatly to her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She ___46___ her head no and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.
Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are vague. Some have a beginning, middle and end; others wander ___47___ a clear conclusion. Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard without ___48___, assumption or judgment.
Listening to someone’s story costs ___49___ expensive diagnostic testing but is key to healing and diagnosis.
I often thought of ___50___ that woman taught me, and I ___51___ myself of the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, in a(n) ___52___ twist, I became the patient, with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis（多发性硬化症） at age 31. Now, 20 years later, I sit all the time in a wheelchair.
For ___53___ I could, I continued to see patients from my chair, but I had to resign when my hands were affected. I still teach medical students and other health care professionals, but now from the perspective(角度) of physician and patient.
I tell them I ___54___ the power of listening. I tell them I know firsthand that immeasurable healing ___55___ within me when someone stops, sits down and listens to my story.

Whenever my kids have a party at school, I am the mom who always signs up to bring the juice boxes. It’s not because I’m 36  or that I don’t care if my kids have a good party. I am just not good at making homemade bread into holiday-themed shapes like other mothers. However, I’m happy to try, even though it’ll take me a long time to do it.

People say that housewives should have the 37   to make delicious meals, keep their houses clean, and   38 every minute of their child’s life. Their words used to upset me a lot. I felt that I should also be able to do those things as a housewife. So when I couldn’t make the turkey-shaped cookies, I   39 feeling like a failure as a mom.

 After many   40  attempts at baking, and many afternoons spent crying over my inabilities as a mother, I finally accepted the   41  that my lot(命运) in life is to be the juice box mom. I worked hard to be the   42   one in the elementary school. And after one of my daughter’s class parties, it   43  . Her teacher stopped me as I was leaving and said,＂Thank you so much for always bringing  44   drinks. Sometimes parents forget that other children will also   45  class parties, and they end up being left out because we don’t have enough drinks for everyone.＂

 I just accepted her appreciation, rather than telling her that I brought extra drinks because I could   46   remember how many kids were in the class. But her appreciation taught me an important lesson: I’m not a failure as a mom.

 Not everyone is cut out to be a(n)   47 mom. I believe it’s okay to be the juice box mom. I may not bake cookies and decorate them beautifully, but I provided something to drink. And I think that’s just as important.

1.A. smart            B. tired              C. lazy               D. desperate

2.A. dream                    B. ability            C. experience          D. tool

3.A. compare          B. save                C. treasure          D. teach

4.A. ended up     B. went on        C. insisted on            D. set about

5.A. failed            B. careless        C. successful             D. useful

6.A. goal               B. opinion     C. fact                 D. impression

7.A. slowest             B. best                C. worst                     D. quickest

8.A. stood out     B. got out          C. came back            D. paid off

9.A. cold              B. soft                C. extra                D. fresh

10.A. attend            B. hold                C. enjoy                     D. leave

11.A. already      B. always           C. ever                       D. never

12.A. loyal                     B. clever           C. rich         D. able

 The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother. My  36 began when I was just a kid. I   37  becoming a doctor.

My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that  38 people spent a lot more time reading than they  39   watching television. She announced that my brother and I  40 watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and 41 her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later, we realized her marks were a  42 . My mother was Illiterate(不识字的，文盲的)。

When I entered high school I was a(n) 43  , but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes.  I wanted to  44 the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student. One night my mother came home from  45  her various jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy  46 food and pay the bills. With everything  47 , you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.” I was very  48  with that arrangement but once I got through distributing money, there was  49 left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to  50 our heads and any kind of food on the table, 51  buy clothes. I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation. I went back to my  52 and became an A-student again, and eventually I  53 my dream and I became a doctor.

My story is really my mother’s story—a woman with  54  formal education or property who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job  55 than parenting.（养育） This I believe.

The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother. My  36 began when I was just a kid. I   37  becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that  38 people spent a lot more time reading than they  39   watching television. She announced that my brother and I  40 watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and 41 her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later, we realized her marks were a  42 . My mother was Illiterate(不识字的，文盲的)。
When I entered high school I was a(n) 43  , but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes.  I wanted to  44 the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student. One night my mother came home from  45  her various jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy  46 food and pay the bills. With everything  47 , you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.” I was very  48  with that arrangement but once I got through distributing money, there was  49 left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to  50 our heads and any kind of food on the table, 51  buy clothes. I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation. I went back to my  52 and became an A-student again, and eventually I  53 my dream and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother’s story—a woman with  54  formal education or property who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job  55 than parenting.（养育） This I believe.

On Keeping a Diary in English
Keeping a diary in English is one of the effective ways to improve our English writing ability.  Compared with other forms of writing, it is  36  and takes less time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English.   37 we stick to this practice, gradually, we'll learn how to express ourselves in English.  In keeping a diary in English, we   38 run up against a lot of difficulties. In the first place, it happens that we have trouble in   39 appropriate words and phrases to give expression to 40 mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is extremely   41  for us to put them into English properly. Surely, there are some other roadblocks we may come across  42 keeping a diary in English.
As far as I am concerned, my suggestion is that we should always have a(n)   43  and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy   44  . Whenever something beats us, we can put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also  45  to English teachers for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is of great use to keep a diary in English for the development of our writing skills.