Every day we experience one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it. It is not the amazing complexity of television, nor the impressive technology of transport. The universal wonder we share and experience is our ability to make noises with our mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to each other’s minds. This ability comes so naturally that we tend to forget what a miracle (奇迹) it is.
Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animals. Of course, some animals have powers just as amazing. Birds can fly thousands of miles by observing positions of the stars in the sky in relation to the time of day and year. In Nature’s talent show, humans are a species of animal that have developed their own special act. If we reduce it to basic terms, it’s an ability for communicating information to others, by varying sounds we make as we breathe out.
Not that we don’t have other powers of communication. Our facial expressions convey our emotions, such as anger, or joy, or disappointment. The way we hold our heads can indicate to others whether we are happy or sad. This is so-called “body language”. Bristling (直立的) fur is an unmistakable warning of attack among many animals. Similarly, the bowed head or drooping tail shows a readiness to take second place in any animal gathering.
Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively acquire and display. Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings acquire this amazing skill? Biologists can readily indicate that particular area of our brain where speech mechanisms function, but this doesn’t tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological history.
【小题1】According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted is          .

– I’ve got the first place in the English Speech Contest.
– ______.

The world always makes way for the dreamer.
When I was twelve years old, my father took me to see Zig Zigler. I remember sitting in that dark hall listening to Mr. Zigler   16  everyone’s spirits up to the ceiling, I  17  there feeling like I could do anything. When we got to the car, I turned to my father and said, “Dad, I want to  18  people feel like that.” My father asked me  19 __ I meant. “I want to be a motivational(激发积极性的)speaker just like Mr. Zigler,” I replied.  A（An）  20  was born.
Recently, I began seeking my dream of motivating others.  21__a four-year relationship with Fortune 100 Company  22  as a sales-trainer and ending as a regional(地区的) sales manager, I left the company at the height of my   23 _.  Many people were __ 24  that I would leave after earning a six-figure income(收入). And they asked    __25__ I would risk everything for a dream.
I made my   26  to start my own company and leave my worryingless position(职位)after _27__a regional sales meeting. The vice-president of our company made a   28   that changed my life. He asked us, “If a god would offer you three wishes, what would they be?” After giving us a   29  to write down the three wishes, he then asked us, “Why do you need a   30  ?” I would never forget the power I felt at that moment. I realized that   31  I had accomplished in the past had prepared me for this moment. I was ready and didn’t need a god’s help to become a motivational speaker. A motivational speaker was   32  .
Having made that decision, I was immediately   33___. One week after I gave notice, my husband was laid off (下岗) from his job, and now we had no  34 . But I held fast to my dream. The wonder really began to happen. In a short time my husband found a better job. And I was able to book several   35  engagements（业务）with new customers. I discovered the unbelievable power of dreams.

Thanksgiving time came and all the relatives were gathered around the long table, or seated behind TV trays．The television was on and some folks were watching it while visiting with one another．Something on television got their attention and one of the adults said, "Listen at it!" Someone else replied．"Well, if that don't beat all．"
Simple phrases were spoken by folks whose language was simple and brief．They had several idioms that were just as colorful; Phrases and words that brightened the room and warmed the conversation．In school we were taught to speak differently．The way our relatives spoke was discouraged．Sometimes our parents would say things we weren't taught in school．They'd often correct themselves, as if getting rid of a mistake．Of course we learned some of their phrases and used them．They were comfortable words to pronounce, familiar．
Our father's side of the family was from Arkansas and Oklahoma and they spoke with the accents native to their birth states．Their voices musical and often high , it was easy to pick up that effect in our own speech and at school my brother and I were often teased for the way we spoke．Our mother's side of the family came from Illinois and they had a tendency to talk fast．They had an accent, too, and my brother and I added that to our own speech, confusing the kids at school all the more．Our father's side of the family loved to laugh and have a good time．Our mother's side of the family was more serious about how they took life in; their joys more silently experienced and enjoyed．It was a rich picture of culture and it gave my brother and me a colorful view in life．
Thanksgiving holiday was always an easy comfortable going day．It was the first real holiday of the season when everyone came together in one place, and a good time was spent happily together by all．
64．From the text we can know that ___________．
A．parents were worried that their relatives might affect their kids’ language
B．parents didn’t allow their children to speak dialects
C．parents tried to avoid affecting their kids with their dialects
D．parents thought the language taught in school was the best
65．It can be inferred from the text that ________．
A．English taught in school is different from that used in daily life
B．his mother’s side of the family spoke in a high voice
C．the language used by his father’s side of the family was fast
D．the writer and brother were laughed at school because of their poor English
66．Why did the writer and his brother puzzle other kids at school by their speeches?
A．They had relatives from different parts of Europe
B．They added some dialects in their speeches
C．There were many mistakes in their language
D．their speeches were lively and colorful
67．What’s the writer’s attitude towards dialects?
A．They were not accepted by others．      B．They should be used everywhere．
C．They should be taught in school．     D．He liked them very much．

It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech．At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned．Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why ? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser．When such moments occur, don’t worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened．
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that don’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech – “ I have a dream”, you may notice that he stumble（结巴）his words twice during the speech．Most likely, however, you don’t remember．Why? Because you were fixing your attention on its message rather than on his way of speech-making. People care a lot about making mistakes in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition．But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly．Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker’s attractiveness by making him more human．
As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being imperfect．Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely．
【小题1】The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ___________．