After finishing my shopping, I headed for the checkout
counter but was blocked in the narrow passage by a young
man that appeared to be about sixteen years old. I wasn’t in a
hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was
there.
After a little while, he waved his hands excitedly, in the air and shouted in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm here．Mommy, I'm here．" It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged．Suddenly, he turned and saw me standing so close to him．His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly．He turned and saw me standing so close to him. His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly. I stepped back and asked, " Hey, buddy, what’s your name? " " My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly．"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name．I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Hal．" "Hal like Halloween?" he asked．"Yes," I answered．"How old are you, Denny?" "How old am I now．Mommy?" he asked his mother as she came over from the next passage．"You' re fifteen years old, Denny; now be a good boy and let the lady pass by．" I continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer vacation, bicycles and school．I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement．
As we were talking, he suddenly ran toward the toy section．
Denny's mom thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son．She told me that most people wouldn' t even look at him, much less talk to him…I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said, " Denny is a blue rose and if I didn' t stop and smell that rose with my heart, I would miss a blessing from God．"
She looked more puzzled．I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God's garden, however, blue roses are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness （特殊之处）．Denny is such a "blue rose" in God's garden．     
46．The story may happen      ．
A．in a school         B．during the summer vacation
C．in a super market     D．in the toy section
47．The boy's brown eyes dance with excitement because       ．
A．he was the center of someone's attention  
B．Denny is a cool name
C．he is shopping with his mother           
D．he likes summer vacation
48．We can infer from the passage that Danny ______.
A．was mentally challenged       B．is 15 years old 
C．was often very lonely and neglected        D．is a ‘blue rose1’ in God's garden
49．From the passage we can learn that _______.
A．there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God’s garden     
B．blue roses'are very rare and should be appreciated                                    
C．most people wouldn’t even look at Denny
D．every person should be appreciated in our life

III. Reading Comprehension （35分）
Section A
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many ___46___, but because he was a good piano player, some people ___47___ came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老顾客) told him he didn’t want to hear him play but to sing a song.
The man said, “I have never done that before in public. I think I’m ___48___ at playing the piano.” But the customer ___49___. He told the waiter, “I’m ___50___ listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing.”
The waiter ___51___ across the room, “Hey, buddy! If you want to get ___52___, sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!”
So in order no bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And ___53___ had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before ___54___ that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the ___55___ himself.
He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but ___56___ he had to sing, he went on to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.
You, too, have skills and ___57___. You may not feel as if your “talent” is particularly ___58___, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence, most skills can be ___59___. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you possess. The ___60___ is not “What ability do I have that is useful?” It is rather “How will I use whatever ability I have?”
46.   A. waiters       B. players       C. singers       D. customers
47.   A. never         B. still     C. ever    D. only
48.   A. better  B. nicer   C. easier  D. sooner
49.   A. agreed       B. worried      C. insisted      D. charged
50.   A. familiar with     B. fond of      C. used to      D. tired of
51.   A. complained       B. shouted      C. explained   D. served
52.   A. changed     B. fired          C. paid    D. praised
53.   A. nobody      B. anybody     C. somebody   D. everybody
54.   A. since   B. after   C. until   D. when
55.   A. waiter B. singer C. patron D. owner
56.   A. unless B. although     C. because      D. if
57    A. advantages B. characters   C. abilities      D. principles
58.   A. different    B. surprising   C. famous       D. great
59.   A. improved   B. wasted       C. recognized        D. impressed
60    A. decision     B. difficulty    C. question     D. solution

III. Reading Comprehension （35分）

Section A

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many ___46___, but because he was a good piano player, some people ___47___ came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老顾客) told him he didn’t want to hear him play but to sing a song.

The man said, “I have never done that before in public. I think I’m ___48___ at playing the piano.” But the customer ___49___. He told the waiter, “I’m ___50___ listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing.”

The waiter ___51___ across the room, “Hey, buddy! If you want to get ___52___, sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!”

So in order no bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And ___53___ had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before ___54___ that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the ___55___ himself.

He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but ___56___ he had to sing, he went on to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and ___57___. You may not feel as if your “talent” is particularly ___58___, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence, most skills can be ___59___. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you possess. The ___60___ is not “What ability do I have that is useful?” It is rather “How will I use whatever ability I have?”

46.   A. waiters         B. players         C. singers         D. customers

47.   A. never            B. still       C. ever     D. only

48.   A. better  B. nicer    C. easier  D. sooner

49.   A. agreed          B. worried        C. insisted       D. charged

50.   A. familiar with         B. fond of C. used to        D. tired of

51.   A. complained B. shouted        C. explained     D. served

52.   A. changed       B. fired              C. paid      D. praised

53.   A. nobody         B. anybody       C. somebody    D. everybody

54.   A. since    B. after    C. until     D. when

55.   A. waiter B. singer  C. patron D. owner

56.   A. unless  B. although      C. because       D. if

57     A. advantages B. characters   C. abilities        D. principles

58.   A. different       B. surprising    C. famous         D. great

59.   A. improved     B. wasted         C. recognized          D. impressed

60     A. decision        B. difficulty       C. question       D. solution

There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many 36  , but because he was a good piano player, some people 37  came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老主顾) told him he didn’t want to hear him play but to sing a song.

The man said, “I have never 38  that before in public. I think I’m 39  at playing the piano.”

But the customer 40 . He told the waiter, “I’m 41  listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing.”

The waiter 42  across the room, “Hey, buddy! If you want to get 43  , sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!”

  44  in order to bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And 45  had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before  46   that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the 47  himself!

He had talent he was 48  on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but because he had to sing, he 49  to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and 50  . You may not feel as if your “talent” is particularly 51  , but it may be better than you think! And with persistence (坚持), most skills can be 52  . Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you 53 ! The 54  is not “What ability do I have that is useful?” It is 55 “How will I use whatever ability I have?”.

Just think a minute…

1.                A．waiters         B．customers       C．singers   D．players

2.                A．never          B．still            C．ever     D．only

3.                A．practiced       B．shown          C．dreamed  D．done

4.                A．better          B．richer          C．easier    D．sooner

5.                A．agreed         B．confused        C．insisted   D．charged

6.                A．familiar with     B．fond of         C．used to   D．tired of

7.                A．served         B．explained       C．shouted  D．complained

8.                A．changed        B．broadcast       C．paid D．drunk

9.                A．So             B．And            C．Because  D．But

10.               A．nobody        B．anybody        C．somebody D．everybody

11.               A．until           B．after           C．since D．when

12.               A．waiter          B．singer          C．patron    D．owner

13.               A．sitting          B．waiting         C．depending     D．playing

14.               A．went up        B．went on        C．went off   D．went away

15.               A．advantages      B．character       C．principle  D．abilities

16.               A．unique         B．surprising       C．famous    D．great

17.               A．recognized      B．wasted         C．improved D．impressed

18.               A．imagine        B．possess         C．expect    D．develop

19.               A．decision        B．answer         C．question   D．solution

20.               A．even           B．rather          C．pretty D．fairly

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
After finishing my shopping, I headed for the checkout counter but was blocked in the narrow passage by a young man that appeared to be about sixteen years old. I wasn’t in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there.
After a little while, he waved his hands excitedly, in the air and shouted in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm here．Mommy, I'm here．" It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged．Suddenly, he turned and saw me standing so close to him．His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly．He turned and saw me standing so close to him. His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly. I stepped back and asked, " Hey, buddy, what’s your name? " " My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly．"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name．I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Hal．" "Hal like Halloween?" he asked．"Yes," I answered．"How old are you, Denny?" "How old am I now．Mommy?" he asked his mother as she came over from the next passage．"You' re fifteen years old, Denny; now be a good boy and let the lady pass by．" I continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer vacation, bicycles and school．I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement．
As we were talking, he suddenly ran toward the toy section．
Denny's mom thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son．She told me that most people wouldn' t even look at him, much less talk to him…I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said, " Denny is a blue rose and if I didn' t stop and smell that rose with my heart, I would miss a blessing from God．"
She looked more puzzled．I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God's garden, however, blue roses are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness （特殊之处）．Denny is such a "blue rose" in God's garden．     
46．The story may happen______．
A．in a school        B．during the summer vacation
C．in a super market    D．in the toy section
47．The boy's brown eyes dance with excitement because______．
A．he was the center of someone's attention  
B．Denny is a cool name
C．he is shopping with his mother           
D．he likes summer vacation
48．We can infer from the passage that Danny ______.
A．was mentally challenged     B．is 15 years old 
C．was often very lonely and neglected      D．is a ‘blue rose1’ in God's garden
49．From the passage we can learn that _______.
A．there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God’s garden     
B．blue roses'are very rare and should be appreciated                                    
C．most people wouldn’t even look at Denny
D．every person should be appreciated in our life