It was the first time in Cindy's 12 years she had tried to make a cake, but it wasn't exactly a success. The cake was ---well, lumpy(粗笨的). And it tasted   1   , as if she had run out of sugar. Besides, the   2   was in a mess with all the fixings for cake out of place.

     But Cindy wasn't thinking about the mess. She was   3   for her parents to return home so she could   4    her gift to them. She turned off the lights and waited   5   in the darkness. When at last she saw the   6   of the car headlights, she   7   herself in the kitchen doorways. When she had heard the key   8    into the front door, she was this  9  exploding.

      Her parents tried to slip in quietly, but Cindy would have   10  of that. She turned on the lights dramatically and gestured toward the kitchen table,   11    a slightly off-balance cake awaited their   12    But her mother saw nothing but the   13  , She shouted, "How many times have l talked to you about cleaning up   14   yourself?"

     "But Mom, l was only ..."

     "Clean this up immediately."

     Unfortunately, Cindy's mother isn't the only parent who   15   the occasional inability to see the forest for the trees. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be   16   to issues of long-term significance by the thing that seems   17   now --but isn't.   18   kitchen sanitation (卫生) is important, is it worth the   19   of tender feelings and relationships? As parents there are times when we   20   need to see the mess in the kitchen. And times when we only need to see the cake.

1. A. delicious           B. sweet              C. terrible             D. bitter

2. A. kitchen            B. dining-room         C. sitting-room         D. table

3. A. ready             B. eager               C. anxious             D. crazy

4. A. provide            B. present             C. offer               D. supply

5. A. patiently           B. excitedly            C. nervously           D. happily

6. A. shadow            B. flame               C. flash               D. body

7. A. positioned          B. hid                C. adapted             D. adjusted

8. A. putting             B. knocking           C. pushing             D. sliding

9. A. more than          B. close to             C. related to            D. rather than

10. A. neither             B. nothing             C. none               D. something

11. A. which              B. where              C. as                 D. because

12. A. inspection           B. admiration          C. encouragement      D. inspiration

13. A. table               B. kitchen             C. cake               D. mess

14. A. by                 B. of                 C. for                D. after

15. A. gives away          B. suffers from         C. shows off           D. takes in

16. A. blinded             B. caught             C. stuck               D. devoted

17. A. necessary           B. important           C. extraordinary        D. clean

18. A. Whenever           B. If                 C. While              D. Since

19. A. price                B. value             C. reward              D. sacrifice

20. A. actually            B. only               C. really               D. occasionally

On the first day of school we were challenged to get to know a new classmate. I was looking around， when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I found a little old lady with a warm smile.
She said， “Hi， handsome！ I'm Rose. I'm 87 years old. Can I give you a hug(拥抱)？” I laughed and heartily responded， “Of course！”
“Why are you in college at such a young， innocent(天真的)age？” I asked.
She jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband， get married， have children， and then travel around.”
“No， seriously，” I asked. I was curious why she took on this challenge at this age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one！” She told me. We became instant friends.
Over the year， Rose became a campus icon(偶像)and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us.
“We do not stop playing because we are old； we grow old because we stop playing. Here are the secrets to staying young. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams， you die. We have many people walking around who are dead， and they don't even know it！” she said.
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability，” she added. “But growing up requires finding the opportunity in change. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what they did， but rather for things they did not do.”
One week after graduation that year， Rose died peacefully in her sleep. She taught us by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

1. 1.

   Rose started college at the age of 87 in order to .

   1. A.
      marry a rich man 
   2. B.
      travel around the world
   3. C.
      make more friends 
   4. D.
      realize her dream
2. 2.

   Which of the following best explains “she was living it up” in the seventh paragraph？

   1. A.
      She was living a long life. 
   2. B.
      She was enjoying herself.
   3. C.
      She was spending a lot of money. 
   4. D.
      She was killing time.
3. 3.

   When you lose your dreams， you die because .

   1. A.
      there's no sense in living without your aim
   2. B.
      you can't sleep well every night
   3. C.
      you are too old and have to stop playing
   4. D.
      something is terribly wrong with your brain
4. 4.

   What would be the best title for the passage？

   1. A.
      Meet the Challenge      
   2. B.
      Never Waste Time
   3. C.
      Grow Up or Grow Old？ 
   4. D.
      Have You Got Ready？

On the first day of school we were challenged to get to know a new classmate. I was looking around, when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I found a little old lady with a warm smile.

She said, “Hi, handsome! I’m Rose. I’m 87 years old. Can I give you a bug（拥抱）？” I laughed and heartily responded, “Of course!”

“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent（天真的）age?” I asked.

She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then travel around.”

“No, seriously,” I asked. I was curious why she took on this challenge at this age.

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me. We became instant friends.

Over the year, Rose became a campus icon (偶像) and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. Here are the secrets to staying young. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have many people walking around who are dead, and they don’t even know it!” she said.

“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability,” she added. “But growing up requires finding the opportunity in change. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what they did, but rather for things they did not do.”

One week after graduation that year, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. She taught us by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

1．Rose started college at the age of 87 in order to           .

      A．marry a rich man                                 B．travel around the world

       C．make more friends                               D．realize her dream

2．Which of the following best explains “she was living it up” in the seventh paragraph?

       A．She was living a long life.                     B．She was enjoying herself.

       C．She was spending a lot of money.          D．She was killing time.

3．When you lose your dreams, you die because         .

       A．there’s no sense in living without your aim

       B．you can’t sleep well every night

       C．you are too old and have to stop playing

       D．something is terribly wrong with you brain

4．What would be the best title for the passage?

      A．Meet the Challenge.                              B．Never Waste Time.

       C．Grow Up or Grow Old?                       D．Have You Got Ready?