Liu Qian, a magician from Taiwan, cast his spell(魔法)over an audience of thousands on the CCTV Spring Festival Show. Die-hard fans are still trying to work out the secrets behind many of the tricks he performed.

But Liu, 32, when asked, laughed off the idea that there might be an “answer” to his magic. “The most fascinating things about magic is the puzzling process. People enjoy how magicians make the impossible come true,” said Liu.

Few people today believe in the possibility of real magic. They also often fail to consider magicians’ devotion to their art. It can take a magician years’ of practice to perfect a trick before he performs it on stage.

Part of Liu’s star appeal is his astonishing skill. However, when he began in the industry, he was embarrassingly clumsy. “I could practice thousands of times for one single act. It wasn’t much fun,” he said.

No magician’s supernatural powers on stage extend to their life off stage. Liu says his life was no easier or funnier because he was a magician.

He developed an interest in magic at a young age, but didn’t consider making a living out of it until he graduated from university. He had studied Japanese language and found himself unable to find a job. “My parents never considered being a magician as a proper job. To begin with, I had little confidence I would be doing this in the long term,” he said.

Yet Liu felt a powerful calling to become a magician. “For many people, magic somehow means a miracle, which is something we all secretly wish for no matter how hard-bitten or cynical (愤世嫉俗的)we become,” he said.

Liu may be right. A popular modern dream is of the fairy godmother, who waves her magic wand (棒) and makes our dreams come true. But according to Liu, we all have the power to create magic in our lives. As Liu puts it: it’s not the magic that makes it work；it’s the way we work that makes it magic.

1. According to the passage, we can tell that ________.

A. being a famous magician, Liu Qian leads a comfortable life

B. it is a hard job for magicians to perform magic tricks well

C. Liu Qian’s parents supported his wish of earning a living by being a magician

D. Liu Qian showed great talents in performing magic tricks when he first took it up

2. As to whether there’s real magic, Liu Qian believes ________.

A. there is no real magic and what counts in our life is the way we work

B. if we secretly wish for something, magic will turn out to be a miracle

C. the puzzling process of performing magic tricks is the answer to magic

D. there exists a fairy godmother waving her magic wand to make our dreams come true

3. Which of the following sayings is similar to the underlined sentence in meaning?

A. All roads lead to Rome.                B. Easier said than done.

C. Actions speak louder than words.       D. Where there is a will, there is a way.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A. Magic in our lives                     B. The answer to magic

C. A popular magician from Taiwan         D. The way to become a successful magician

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

As a child, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons on my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. The house and barn provided endless hours of  1for a city kid like me.

I still  2one afternoon when I was eight years old. Since my first  3to the farm, I’d wanted more than anything to be  4to climb the stone walls surrounding the property. My parents never  5. The walls were old. Some stones were  6,and others were loose and crumbling. Still, my desire to climb those walls  7so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I gathered all my

8and entered the living room, where the adults had  9after Sunday dinner.

“I, uh, I want to climb the stone walls,” I said hesitantly.  10looked up. “Can I ?”

11a chorus went up from the women in the room. “Heavens, no!” they cried in dismay. “You’ll hurt yourself!”

I wasn’t too  12. It was the response I’d expected. Yet,  13I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather’s booming  14. “Now hold on just a minute, ” he cried. “15the boy climb them. He has to learn to do things  16himself.”

“Run quickly,” he said to me. “And come see me  17you get back.”

For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls—and had the time of my life. Later I went to my grandfather to tell him about my  18. I’ll never forget what he said.

“Fred,” he smiled, “you made this day a(n)  19one just by being yourself. Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly  20you are.” Many years have passed since then, but I still cherish his words in my heart.

1.A. trouble        B. challenge            C. interest         D. fun

2.A. imagine        B. remember         C. regret           D. cherish

3.A. sight          B. visit                C. access           D. entrance

4.A. expected       B. suggested            C. allowed          D. refused

5.A. approved       B. admitted         C. chose                D. decided

6.A. broken         B. lost             C. empty            D. missing

7.A. grew           B. spread           C. turned           D. appeared

8.A. strength       B. courage          C. belief               D. hope

9.A. arranged       B. gathered         C. discussed            D. organized

10.A. Someone       B. Nobody           C. Everyone         D. Anybody

11.A. Carefully     B. Immediately      C. Usually          D. Fortunately

12.A. disappointed  B. angry                C. delighted            D. worried

13.A. after         B. once             C. unless           D. before

14.A. sound         B. noise                C. voice                D. praise

15.A. Permit            B. Consider         C. Let              D. Stop

16.A. by            B. to               C. on               D. for

17.A. until         B. when             C. since                D. while

18.A. dream         B. burden           C. adventure            D. attempt

19.A. ordinary      B. special          C. curious          D. typical

20.A. why           B. what             C. how              D. as

 (江苏省徐州市2009届高三第三次调研考试)

I had my first job at the age of thirteen，when a friend of my mother who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop．I was very     36   to earn my own pocket money and my parents never interfered with    37    I spent it，even when I was spending it foolishly．They    38    that by earning money，spending it，and learning from my mistakes，I would become more     39    and responsible about how to handle work，    40 with others，and money．

Like many American parents，my parents also let my brother and me do things over which they    41    a great deal．When I was sixteen，   42  ，after I finished high school and before I entered    43  ，I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe．My mother was against the idea of my traveling     44   at such a young age，but my father felt that it would be a great    45   for me．In the end，my father won the argument on the condition that I    46   my  traveling to France，my mother’s home，where I had many relatives who could     47    shelter and help if I needed it．

Three years later，when he was eighteen，my brother decided to    48   a year off after his first year in university and   49   through the States and the Caribbean．Again my mother was worried to see my brother leave school，but my father encouraged him and my brother had a fantastic year   50   his way on trains and ships to earn passage to different ports and cities，and  51   many fascinating places and people．

Such experiences are    52    rare children in many countries，but in the US they are fairly   53   ．Most parents start pushing their children at a young age to do small things by themselves．   54   they finish high school，many American kids have already had part-time jobs，traveled around the US or other countries on their own，    55   a university and maybe even decided on their future career．

36．A．anxious                   B．proud                     C．disappointed            D．successful

37．A．how                             B．whether                  C．when                      D．where

38．A．suggested               B．explained                 C．believed                  D．mentioned

39．A．generous                 B．energetic                 C．creative                  D．mature

40．A．relationships            B．operations               C．instructions             D．situations

41．A．panicked                 B．suffered                  C．worried                  D．struggled

42．A．as a result                                   B．in reality                 

C．for example                                 D．on the whole

43．A．university                B．business                  C．politics                   D．market

44．A．along                      B．apart                       C．alone                      D．aboard

45．A．practice                  B．experience               C．performance           D．schedule

46．A．stopped                  B．turned                     C．devoted                  D．limited

47．A．support                   B．equip                      C．provide                   D．take

48．A．send                       B．take                        C．pick                       D．give

49．A．travel                      B．march                     C．explore                   D．push

50．A．finding                    B．working                  C．making                   D．forcing

51．A．challenging                                  B．exploring                

C．inspecting                                   D．discovering

52．A．probably                 B．nearly                     C．merely                    D．slightly

53．A．special                    B．usual                      C．common                 D．ordinary

54．A．At the moment                            B．On the occasion      

C．To the point                                D．By the time

55．A．attended                  B．selected                  C．finished                  D．joined

My parents have always raised me to be very money-conscious, so I guess, in that sense, they are rather untraditional. Since I was a little girl, if I ever wanted to purchase anything, my parents would sternly(严厉地) remind me of the value of every cent, prompting me to spend my pocket money only when necessary. My mom actually came up with a system that we strictly abide (遵守)by in regards to money-spending. She gives me a certain amount of allowance(津贴) every month, and whenever I buy anything with my accumulated(积聚) money, I keep track of my receipts and record it in a little notebook, essentially a tiny version of my mom’s own accounting booklet.

Being in control of my own money has really taught me to be careful in how I spend my money, giving me a sense of responsibility and ownership over it.

As for earning money, aside from my allowance, my parents never really encouraged me to go out and find a job at typical American occupation locales(现场), such as restaurants or clothing stores. Instead, they would prefer that I spend my time focusing on my schoolwork, which I guess is where my parents become more traditional. Yet I still earn money here and there in little jobs, such as teaching students at my school, and of course, writing for the paper.

Though I have several friends already working, I am pretty happy with my current situation. I am able to focus on my studies, all the while earning quite a bit of money, and also learning monetary (货币的) skills that are crucial to survival in the real world, and for that I am grateful.

41. What happened when the author bought anything with her accumulated money?

A. She asked her parents to give her a large amount.

B. She controlled her own money without using it.

C. She kept track of her receipts and recorded it in a little notebook.

D. She wanted to go out and find a job at typical American occupation locales

42. We can know that the author from the passage___________.

A. loves a little notebook               B. likes spending money

C. needs working at restaurants     D. satisfies the current situation

43. The word “crucial” underlined in Paragraph 2 means _____________.

A. dangerous        B. important        C. impossible         D. deadly

44. The purpose of writing the passage is to help people ___________.

A. learn to be money-conscious    B. increase their savings