第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Today I am known for my voice. Perhaps the greatest honor came when I was asked to read a book on tape.
But it   36   a long time to believe such good things could happen to me. When I was a youngster I stuttered(口吃) so badly that I was completely   37   to speak in public.
38 , when I was 14, Professor Donald Crouch came to our school. He was a retired college professor. English was his favorite subject and   39   was his deepest love. He held a book of poems as if it were a diamond necklace,   40   pages as if uncovering treasures. When he heard our school was teaching Shakespeare and other classics, he could no longer   41   not being a part of our school.
When he   42   that I not only loved poetry but was   43   it, we became closer. There was, however, one   44   between us－Professor Crouch could not bear the   45   that I refused to read my poems to the class.
“Jim, poetry is   46   to be read aloud,” he said. “You should be able to speak those beautiful words.” I shook my head and turned away.
One day he   47   me. After handing in a poem, I waited for his   48   . It didn’t come. Instead, one day as the students gathered together, he   49   me, “Jim, I don’t think you wrote this poem.”
I stared at him in   50   . “Why,” I started, anger   51   me. “of course I did!” “Well, then,” he said, “you’ve got to prove it by getting up and reciting it    52   memory.”
By then the other students had settled at their desks. With knees shaking, I walked up to the front. For a moment I stood there,   53    . Then I began, and kept going. I recited my poem all the way   54   !
Afterwards, Professor Crouch congratulated me, and encouraged me to read other writers’ poetry before public. I discovered I did have a(n)   55   and found my fellow students actually looked forward to hearing me recite.
36. A. lasted     B. took           C. spent          D. wasted
37. A. uncertain    B. uncomfortable   C. unbelievable      D. unable
38. A. However    B. Besides         C. Then          D. Therefore
39. A. novel     B. architecture          C. art             D. poetry
40. A. drawing     B. writing          C. turning          D. finding
41. A. protect          B. help           C. keep          D. stand
42. A. learned      B. recognized     C. decided         D. proved
43. A. writing      B. reading         C. reciting         D. saving
44. A. difference  B. difficulty      C. promise       D. similarity
45. A. truth      B. idea           C. fact            D. belief
46. A. said       B. meant         C. taught         D. prepared
47. A. fooled     B. joked         C. tricked              D. scolded
48. A. idea       B. reward              C. congratulation    D. comment
49. A. told       B. noticed          C. attacked        D. challenged
50. A. disbelief     B. silence              C. sadness          D. excitement
51. A. flowing      B. flooding        C. filling         D. sweeping
52. A. with      B. by             C. from          D. in
53. A. terrified     B. hopeless        C. disappointed      D. breathless
54. A. down     B. along         C. through         D. around
55. A. voice    B. sound         C. appearance     D. interest

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Today I am known for my voice. Perhaps the greatest honor came when I was asked to read a book on tape.

But it   36   a long time to believe such good things could happen to me. When I was a youngster I stuttered(口吃) so badly that I was completely   37   to speak in public.

  38 , when I was 14, Professor Donald Crouch came to our school. He was a retired college professor. English was his favorite subject and   39   was his deepest love. He held a book of poems as if it were a diamond necklace,   40   pages as if uncovering treasures. When he heard our school was teaching Shakespeare and other classics, he could no longer   41   not being a part of our school.

When he   42   that I not only loved poetry but was   43   it, we became closer. There was, however, one   44   between us－Professor Crouch could not bear the   45   that I refused to read my poems to the class.

“Jim, poetry is   46   to be read aloud,” he said. “You should be able to speak those beautiful words.” I shook my head and turned away.

One day he   47   me. After handing in a poem, I waited for his   48   . It didn’t come. Instead, one day as the students gathered together, he   49   me, “Jim, I don’t think you wrote this poem.”

I stared at him in   50   . “Why,” I started, anger   51   me. “of course I did!” “Well, then,” he said, “you’ve got to prove it by getting up and reciting it    52   memory.”

By then the other students had settled at their desks. With knees shaking, I walked up to the front. For a moment I stood there,   53    . Then I began, and kept going. I recited my poem all the way   54   !

Afterwards, Professor Crouch congratulated me, and encouraged me to read other writers’ poetry before public. I discovered I did have a(n)   55   and found my fellow students actually looked forward to hearing me recite.

 36. A. lasted      B. took            C. spent           D. wasted

 37. A. uncertain    B. uncomfortable   C. unbelievable      D. unable

 38. A. However    B. Besides          C. Then           D. Therefore

 39. A. novel      B. architecture           C. art              D. poetry

 40. A. drawing     B. writing           C. turning           D. finding

 41. A. protect           B. help            C. keep           D. stand

 42. A. learned      B. recognized      C. decided          D. proved

 43. A. writing      B. reading          C. reciting          D. saving

 44. A. difference  B. difficulty      C. promise        D. similarity

 45. A. truth       B. idea            C. fact             D. belief

 46. A. said        B. meant         C. taught         D. prepared

 47. A. fooled     B. joked          C. tricked               D. scolded

 48. A. idea        B. reward               C. congratulation    D. comment

 49. A. told        B. noticed           C. attacked         D. challenged

 50. A. disbelief     B. silence               C. sadness           D. excitement

 51. A. flowing      B. flooding         C. filling         D. sweeping

 52. A. with      B. by              C. from           D. in

 53. A. terrified     B. hopeless         C. disappointed      D. breathless

 54. A. down      B. along          C. through          D. around

 55. A. voice      B. sound          C. appearance     D. interest

There are signs ______ reading classics is becoming more popular with students．

A．which 　　 B．that 　C．whether　 D．when

My mother-in-law, Dorothy, is showing me the red notebook that’s almost as precious to her as my husband’s baby pictures. Inside the notebook is a list of the books she has read since 2007. For some people waking up in the middle of the night is a terrible thing. But for my mother-in-law, that time is a gift. At 87, she is getting the education she never had by working her way through great literature. She has now read close to 100 books, including every single novel by Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Henry James and Thomas Mann.

My mother-in-law discusses her passion with the enthusiasm of a young girl, although she can also be a very tough critic, writing “VG’ for “ very good” in the margins next to her favorites. So far, only a handful of books have received the top prize.

Born in Ridgefield, Conn, Dorothy was the youngest daughter of an Italian gardener. She taught herself English by reading The New York Times. Eager to come to Manhattan, she became a nurse, married a dentist and spent the next several decades keeping the house and raising a family. In her later years, she put her nursing skills to good use by taking care of my father-in-law, who had lung cancer. There were many trips to the emergency room in the middle of the night and then a long hospital stay. She stayed awake to watch over him for 15 hours a day. Always a light sleeper, she developed sleeplessness as a result of the stress.

It worsened after he died. Deeply sad and lonely for the first time in her life, she began waking up around 2am. Julian and Sylvia, the elderly couple next door suggest she read literature. And so Julian, a great lover of literature, became her “professor”, providing books from his large library. Suddenly the terrifying hole turned onto a world of amazing characters.

Why is Dorothy considered a tough critic?

   A. Because no books are inspiring enough in her eyes.                        

B. Because only a few books are thought highly of by her.

   C. Because she only reads books by famous writers.                         

D. Because she finds fault with every book she reads.

It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

   A. the books Dorothy has read were bought by her husband.                   

B. the couple next door are college professors.

   C. the author loves literature too.                                         

D. Dorothy was a great wife.

The underlined part “the terrifying hole” in the last paragraph refers to _____.

   A. the frightening death                                                    

B. Dorothy’s lack of education

   C. waking up in the middle of the night                                    

D. a hole in a book that Dorothy read

What helped Dorothy get over the sadness and loneliness of losing her husband?

   A. Living with her son.                                                  

B. Reading literature.

   C. Seeing her son’s baby pictures.                                         

 D. Talking with neighbors.