Love Is Just a Thread

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the  ?　36　? tuition for my brother and me. They don't ?　37　? in the romantic ways that I read in books or  I see on TV. My father has a bad temper; it's easy for him to lose his temper.?

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I ?　38　? sat down beside her and looked at her.

“Is there any ?　39　? between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with ?　40　? in her eyes. She didn't answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

?　41　? at last I heard my mother say the following words:?

“Susan,” she said ?　42　?.“Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable(耐用的).If life is a

?　43　?,then love should be a thread. It can ?　44　? be seen anywhere or ?anytime, but it's really there. Love is ?　45　?.”?

I listened carefully but I couldn't understand her until the next ?　46　?.At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. After they were ?　47　?,every day in the morning and dusk(黄昏),my mother helped my father walk ?　48　? on the country road. My father had never been so ?　49　?.Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently shone through the leaves. All of these ?　50　? the most beautiful picture in the world. The doctor had said my father would ?　51　? in two months. But after two months he still couldn't walk alone. We were all worried.?

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.?

“Susan,”he said gently.“To tell you the truth, I just like ?　52　? with your mom. I like this kind of life.” ?　53　? from his eyes, I knew he loved my mother deeply.

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this ?　54　?,I understand that love is just a ?　55　? in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

36. A. expensive    B. low     C. cheap  D. high

37. A. play     B. talk     C. act      D. perform

38. A. silently B. carefully    C. certainly     D. happily

39. A. money  B. love    C. time    D. distance

40. A. surprise       B. pride   C. disappointment  D. satisfaction

41. A. So       B. But     C. And    D. For

42. A. sadly    B. excitedly    C. regretfully  D. thoughtfully

43. A. trouble B. pleasure     C. quilt   D. cloth

44. A. hardly  B. often   C. always       D. ever?

45. A. valuable      B. inside  C. true    D. priceless

46. A. winter  B. autumn      C. summer      D. spring

47. A. free      B. back   C. fine    D. ready?

48. A. continuously       B. worriedly   C. constantly   D. slowly?

49. A. gently  B. perfect       C. pleased       D. thankful

50. A. put up  B. took up      C. made up     D. set up?

51. A. run      B. recover      C. Stand  D. work

52. A. walking       B. living  C. sitting D. chatting?

53. A. Examining   B. Seeing       C. Noticing     D. Reading

54. A. practice       B. observation C. experience  D. activity?

55. A. thread  B. thing   C. jewel  D. light

You Mi, a lovely and confident 17-year-old student, is the first Chinese high school student to appear on the cover of the popular young adults’ fashion magazine Seventeen.

　　“You is IN,” said Wang Lihua, Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. “She is active and mature(成熟的) because of her knowledge on everything from academic studies, to books on art, to movies. We found she’s the very style we’re looking for to represent young people’s attitudes.”

　　You also impressed Wang with her fluent English when they first met last year. As the hostess of an English broadcasting programme at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, You is always praised for speaking English almost like a native speaker. “I’ve built up my English by watching thousands of English DVDs since I was 10,” she explained.

　　But for You, watching isn’t enough. Last year, while in Senior 1, she met a talented boy who showed self-made DV movies at the English Corner in her school.

　　“I thought it was so cool and I knew that I should start making my own films,” she said. So she wrote a campus(校园) story, persuaded schoolmates to star in it and then began shooting a 30-minute DV movie, all in English. “I played one of the leading roles, actually I was everything in my film. I worked on it every single day during the SARS holidays,” she recalled. The movie finally became a big hit on campus, earning You a strong reputation(名气) as a DV movie director.

　　But this is not the only field she wants to master. Despite being a science student, You likes art, literature and fashion design very much.

　　“There are people who can be artists, there are people who edit books, and there are people who become film producers. But I just hope to mix all the things up!” she said. “There is an old saying I believe: Chance favours only the prepared mind.”

1. You Mi was chosen to be a cover of Seventeen, mainly because she _____.

A. is beautiful                           B. she is lovely and full of confidence

C. is active and mature                    D. has rich knowledge

2. You Mi’s fluent English is based on _____.

A. her chance to host an English broadcasting programme     B. the influence of her parents

C. her deep interest in it                                D. her making DV movie

3. The author mentioned a talented boy to show _____.

A. the great influence he had on You Mi            

B. he was admired by his schoolmates

C. the young can do things as well as the adults do

D. self-made DV movies are popular at school

4.In the 30-minute DV movie, You Mi didn’t act as a(n) _____.

A. director        B. musician           C. actress         D. producer

5. We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. You Mi hopes to be a mixed talent                 

B. the success of a 30-minute DV movie shocked You Mi

C. You Mi dreams of becoming a scientist             

D. the outbreak of SARS delayed You Mi’s studies

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that I struggled with for most of my middle school years and a part of my high school years.

At Riverview, 　36 was usually a nightmare (噩梦) for me. As I 　37 the dining hall, all the eyes would be fixed upon my bony figure. I would take my place at a table full of friends and 　38 to enjoy a “normal” lunch. The 　39 was that I would not always eat lunch, and that greatly 　40 my friends. They would watch to make sure that I was eating properly, almost 　41 food into my mouth.

And then, I transferred to Madison High School. I decided not to tell anyone at that school about my eating disorder since I had almost 　42 by that time. Strangely, I stopped fearing lunch when I started at Madison. No one knew that I had an eating disorder, 　43 they did not care what I ate. This 　44 a huge amount of stress from my life. It was still hard for me to eat in front of others, which is 　45 for an anorexic, but I was able to put some of my 46　 aside.

I was thankful for the students at Riverview, but they knew me only as an anorexic. My friends cared about my health, but they 　47 to care about me as a person. Truthfully, all I wanted was for them to 　48 me and not to fix on my eating disorder.

The students at Madison took the time to know who I 　49 was. They had no idea that I had been an anorexic, so that a particular label (标签) did not 　50 their opinions of me. I was finally 　51 for my talents and achievements, not my failures. I was honored as a good student. I was no longer afraid to show my true 　52 .

My days as an anorexic taught me many lessons that I would never 　53 . They taught me about life and how to be a better friend. I learned about the joy of 　54 tasks such as eating lunch. I appreciated the people who helped me to see that there is more 　55 life than having an eating disorder.

36. A. learning　　　　　　　　 B. exercise　　　　　　　 C. lunchtime　 　　　 D. homework

37. A. left 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. cleaned 　　　　　　 C. crossed　　 　　 D. entered

38. A. try　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. offer　　 　　　　　 C. remember　　 　 D. stop

39. A. purpose　 　　　　　 B. attempt　 　　　　　 C. problem　　　 　 D. excuse

40. A. surprised　　　　　　　 B. worried　　　　　　　　 C. puzzled　　　　　　　　 D. bored

41. A. allowing 　　　　　　　 B. forcing　　 　　　　 C. providing　　　　　　 D. dropping

42. A. succeeded　　　　　　 B. lost　 　　　　　　　　 C. recovered　　　　　　 D. quit

43. A. but 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. unless　 　　　　　　 C. so 　　　　　　　　　　 D. though　

44. A. lifted　　　　　　　　　　 B. created　 　　　　　 C. caused　　　　　　　　 D. developed

45. A. serious　　　　　　　　　 B. unbelievable　　 C. relevant　 　　　　 D. common

46. A. fears 　　　　　　　　　 B. desires 　　　　　　 C. beliefs　　　　　　　　 D. doubts

47. A. refused　　　　　　　　　 B. failed　　 　　　　　 C. pretended　 　　　 D. promised

48. A. select　　　　　　　　　　 B. forgive　 　　　　　 C. love　　 　　　　　 D. affect

49. A. really　　　　　　　　　　 B. probably　 　　　 C. eventually　 　　　 D. merely

50. A. express　　　　　　　　 B. color　 　　　　　　 C. share　 　　　　　　 D. confirm

51. A. determined 　　　　 B. identified　　　　　　　 C. envied 　　　　　　　 D. recognized

52. A. responsibility　　　　　 B. personality　 　　　 C. appreciation　　 D. ambition

53. A. forget 　　　　　　　　　 B. review　　　　　　　　 C. skip　　 　　　　　　 D. draw

54. A. tough　　　　　　　　　　 B. complex　 　　　　 C. specific 　　　　　　　 D. routine

55. A. during　　　　　　　　　 B. to 　　　　　　　　　　　 C. of 　　　　　　　　　　　 D. through