One and a half days       what I need.

A．was           B．were          C．is         D．are

Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity. I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day’s events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all, isn’t accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?
When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well-equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows. I automatically took out my pen…
At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.
Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful. I’m no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.
I don’t want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes. Maybe I won’t have as many exact representations of people and places； maybe I’ll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me. I don’t live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.
【小题1】Before the age of thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of ______.

A．observing her school routine	B．expressing her satisfaction
C．impressing her classmates	D．preserving her history

【小题2】What caused a change in the author’s understanding of keeping a diary?

A．A dull night on the journey.	B．The beauty of the great valley.
C．A striking quotation from a book.	D．Her concerns for future generations.

【小题3】What does the author put in her diary now?

A．Notes and beautiful pictures.	B．Special thoughts and feelings.
C．Detailed accounts of daily activities.	D．Descriptions of unforgettable events.

【小题4】The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is ______.

A．to experience it	B．to live the present in the future
C．to make memories	D．to give accurate representations of it

“Oh please God, no, no!” Stephen Eldredge cried out when he saw his wife, Shelli, badly wounded on the side of the road. She had broken actually every long bone in her body, along with her pelvis, jaw, and cheekbones. He was terrified his bride would bleed to death.

Stephen and Shelli had married just six months before near their home in South Jordan, Utah. They were in Hawaii on a family vacation with two of their sons. The family had rented electric motors and headed towards a nature preserve near Waikiki. But Shelli had fallen behind and the family turned back to make sure she was okay.

Shelli lost so much blood that her heart couldn’t function properly and she went into shock at the hospital. Physicians were able to make her come to herself. On the first and second days there, she lived through half a dozen operations. On day three, the worst of Stephen’s fears came true. Shelli didn’t wake. She had shown heart failure and lung failure. “I thought every heartbeat would be her last,” Stephen says.

As days passed with no change, one doctor gently asked if it was time to let Shelli go. An MRI（核磁共振）showed her brain didn’t have much chance of supporting life. Stephen couldn’t bear the thought of trapping his wife’s beautiful spirit in a body that would never work. If he kept her alive, what kind of life would she have ? He called family, religious leaders, and physician friends in Utah for guidance.

And he decided there still was a chance.

The family moved Shelli to a Utah hospital closer to home. In the next few weeks she started opening her eyes, but it wasn’t entirely clear how conscious she was. Nearly seven weeks after the accident, Stephen was joking with his sister in the hospital room when he saw Shelli smile, a big toothy grin. “Did you understand that?” he asked. She smiled again. Stephen fell to his knees in thanks.

Shelli’s recovery has been slow but steady. Initially, she couldn’t remember much of the previous months, including her own wedding. Shelli has endured 17 operations so far and may require more surgery. She will definitely need more months of recovery. But she is able to walk. “She’s got her life back. She’s able to love and be loved, and be the person she was.” Elovie says.

When Shelli hears about each step in her recovery, she calls it “miracle after miracle”. As for his experience, Stephen says, “This is a story of fear that was slowly replaced by faith.”

1. We learn from the first two paragraphs that           .

A．Stephen and Shelli left home to hold the wedding ceremony.

B．Shelli was mainly wounded in the back

C．the couple were in Hawaii when the accident happened

D．the accident happened on their way to Waikiki

2. In the hospital room Shelli smiled for the first time after the accident because      .

A．she liked people telling jokes.

B．she had remembered all that had happened

C．she was excited that she got her life back

D．she understood the joke being talked about

3. By saying “miracle after miracle”, Shelli means that         .

A．she suffered what a terrible accident

B．she appreciated the care of her husband so much

C．the love for her family got her life back

D．it really surprised her that she survived so many operations

4.. After reading the passage, what impresses us most may be that.

A．Stephen’s not giving up	B．the doctor’s skill and hard work
C．Shelli’s bravery and persistence	D．the couple’s faith

 

I remember one Thanksgiving when our family had no money and no food, and someone came knocking on our door. A man was __36_____ there with a huge box of food, a giant turkey and even some ___37___to cook it in. I couldn’t ___38_____it. My dad demanded, “Who are you? Where are you from?” The stranger announced, “I’m here because a friend of yours knows you’re in need and that you wouldn’t accept ___39_____help, so I’ve brought this for you. Have a great Thanksgiving.” My father said, “No, no, we ___40_____ accept this.” The stranger replied, “You don’t have ___41_____” , closed the door and left.

Obviously that experience had a profound impact（深刻影响）on my life. I ____42____myself that someday I would do well enough financially ___43____ I could do the same thing for other people. By the time I was eighteen I had created my Thanksgiving ritual（习惯）. I would go out __44_____ and buy enough food for one or two __45_____. Then I would dress like a delivery boy, go to the ____46____ neighborhood and just knock on a ___47_____ . I always ___48_____ a note that explained my Thanksgiving experience ____49____a kid. The note said, “All that I ask __50______is that you take good enough care of __51_____ so that someday you can do the same thing for someone else.” I have received more from this annual ritual than I have from any amount of ___52_____ I’ve ever earned.

Years ago I was in New York City with my new wife during Thanksgiving. She was sad because we were not with our family. ___53____she would be home decorating the house for Christmas, but we were ___54_____ in a hotel room. When I told her what I always did on Thanksgiving, she got excited.

We packed enough food for seven families for thirty days and went to buildings where half a dozen people lived in one room with no electricity and no heat in winter surrounded by rats, cockroaches（蟑螂）and the smell of urine（尿）. It was both an ___55______realization that people lived in this way and a truly fulfilling experience to make even a small difference.

1.	A．speaking B．standing C．looking D．shouting

 

2.	A．meat B．vegetables C．pans D．firewood

 

3.	A．believe B．accept C．help D．refuse

 

4.	A．direct B．some C．our D．any

 

5.	A．may not B．needn’t C．can’t D．daren’t

 

6.	A．any money B．a choice C．food D．a turkey

 

7.	A．permitted B．promised C．asked D．said

 

8.	A．when B．so that C．even if D．as if

 

9.	A．driving B．playing C．offering D．shopping

 

10.	A．people B．children C．families D．days

 

11.	A．nearest B．farthest C．largest D．poorest

 

12.	A．house B．door C．window D．gate

 

13.	A．concluded B．included C．wrote D．took

 

14.	A．like B．with C．as D．to

 

15.	A．in return B．later C．in future D．for

 

16.	A．others B．yourself C．your family D．the presents

 

17.	A．warmth B．thanks C．money D．encouragement

 

18.	A．Unfortunately B．Obviously C．Normally D．Gradually

 

19.	A．stuck B．excited C．free D．delighted

 

20.	A．exciting B．astonishing C．encouraging D．Outstanding