A little boy invited his mother to attend his elementary school’s first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy’s (31) ________________(happy), she said she would go. This would be the first time that his classmates and teacher met his mother and he was embarrassed by her (32) ________________ (appear). Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar (33) _____________covered nearly the whole right side of her face. The boy never wanted to talk about why or how she got the scar.

At the meeting, the people (34) _______________ (impress) by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother though she had a scar on her face, but the little boy was still embarrassed and (35) _______________ (hide) himself from everyone. He did, however, get within earshot of a conversation (36) _______________ his mother and his teacher, and heard them speaking.

‘‘How did you get the scar on your face? ’’ The teacher asked.

The mother replied, ‘‘When my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught on fire. Everyone was too afraid to go in (37) _______________the fire was out of control, so I went in. As I was rushing toward his bed, I saw a beam coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked unconscious but (38) _______________ (fortunate), a fireman came in and saved both of us.’’ She touched the burned side of her face. ‘‘This scar will be on my face for ever, but to this day, I have never regretted doing (39) _______________I did.’’

At this point, the little boy came out (40) _______________(run) towards his mother with tears in his eyes. He hugged her and felt a great sense of the sacrifice that his mother had made for him. He held her hand tightly for the rest of the day.

 

Miss Popular
I was awkward in middle school: bony and athletic, with a high grade in science and a low one in self-esteem. Though I had a few friends, I wasn’t popular. I was picked last in football and I sometimes ate lunch by myself.
I remember the day Brittany came to our school. Her teeth were crooked(歪斜的), and she was a little overweight. Not that this mattered though, because she walked around like she was better than all of us. She was outspoken and incredibly frightening, making people lose confidence.
Around Brittany, I tried my best to go unnoticed. Standing out or stealing her spotlight could only result in one thing: conflict. Brittany was always the first girl picked for teams; I was lucky if I was picked at all. I was thrown the ball while she stood with the quarterback, chatting about the last party she’d gone to. I had never been to a party before or kissed a boy.
One day, a classmate asked me to the school dance. I was flattered. Then Brittany told me during science class that she had persuaded him to invite me. She asked in front of everyone, “Why would anyone even want you?” I went home and cried.
Although she was seemingly perfect in everyone’s eyes, I wanted to be everything that she wasn’t and yet a million times more perfect. Brittany was so frightening and violent, but I wanted to be calm and not at all aggressive.
I found Brittany’s online profile a few weeks ago. She still had the same chubby(圆胖脸) face and mocking（嘲笑的）simile, and had posted half-naked pictures of herself. But as I read on, I realized that Brittany had died in a drunken driving accident a year ago. She had been 16 and pregnant at the time. Suddenly my view of Brittany changed from a bad influence into a struggling little girl whose life was taken before she could understand right from wrong. My experience with Brittany taught me that though we are all innocent in our youth, the choices we make will have great effects on us forever. I will always remember Brittany as that loud, overconfident girl. As part of that shy insecure person I used to be will always keep me modest.
【小题1】From the first three passages we can conclude that           .

A．the author was trying to avoid conflict with Brittany

B．the author secretly envied Brittany for being popular

C．Brittany’s appearance made her popular with boys

D．Brittany was puzzled at how she could be popular

【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE about Brittany?

A．She didn’t mean to hurt the author.

B．She took delight in hurting others.

C．Her confidence came from her popularity.

D．Her overweight made her more outspoken.

【小题3】According to the passage we can learn that the author         .

A．was afraid of Brittany and followed her lead

B．saw the influence that low self-esteem can have

C．was determined to be better than Brittany

D．knew she was quietly different from Brittany

【小题4】The last passage is meant to           .

A．tell us the reason for Brittany’s death

B．present the changed attitude to Brittany

C．show the influences of the youth

D．stress the importance of behaviors

When I was walking down the street the other day, I happened to  36  a small brown leather purse lying on the sidewalk. I  37  it up and opened it to see if I could   38  the owner’s name. There was nothing inside it  39  some change and an old photo — a picture of a woman and a young girl of about twelve years old, who looked  40  the woman’s daughter. I put the photo back and  41  the purse to the police station, where I  42  it to the desk sergeant (警官).  43  I left, the sergeant took down my name and address  44  the owner might want to write and thank me.

     That evening I went to have dinner with my aunt and uncle. They  45  a young woman  46  there would be four people  47  the table. Her face was familiar. I was   48  sure that we had not met before, but I could not remember where I had seen her. In the course of conversation,  49  , the young woman happened to mention that she had lost her purse that afternoon.  50  I realized where I had seen her. She was the young girl in the photo, although she was now  51  . She was very surprised, of course,  52  I was able to describe her purse to her. Then I explained that I had  53  her from the photo I had found in the purse. My uncle  54  to the police station immediately to claim the purse. As the police sergeant handed it over, he said that it was an  55  coincidence that I had not only found the purse, but also the person who had lost it.

A. watch         B. notice           C. discover              D. find out

A. chose         B. selected        C. picked               D. took

A. find out        B. learn           C. discover              D. work out

A besides         B. except          C. except for            D. in addition to

A. to be          B. as if                 C. as                 D. like

A. took          B. brought       C. fetched                   D. sent

A. offered        B. passed        C. handed               D. returned

A. Before      B. When         C. While               D. As

A. lest           B. in case         C. for fear              D. so that

A. have also invited             B. also had invited       

C. also invited                    D. had also invited

A. so         B. that           C. so that             D. in order that

A. in         B. on            C. by                 D. at

A. completely   B. quiet          C. quite                    D. very

A. however      B. therefore        C. nevertheless         D. whereupon

A. All at once  B. At once         C. Immediately          D. All suddenly

A. more old     B. very old        C. much older           D. even older

A. when        B. as             C. since                D. for

A. known       B. realized         C. identified            D. recognized

A. insisted to goB. insisted going    C. insisted on going    D. insisted to going

A. amazed       B. amazing        C. amazingly            D. amazedly

My family came to America in 1985.__1__of us spoke a word of English.Each morning，I disliked going to school for fear of not __2__what people were saying.

Very soon my mother noticed something was__3__me.The pain and care I saw in her moon?shaped eyes made me burst into tears.I explained to her the __4__I had of going to school.“Learning English is not__5__，” my mother said.She cheerfully __6__the two of us work together to learn the language at home.The__7__and determination my mother had were admirable because English was as __8__ to her as it was to me.

That afternoon，I saw my mother in a different light as she __9__me by the school fence.Although she was the__10__of all the mothers there，her face with her welcoming smile and big，black eyes was the most __11__.The afternoon sun shone__12__on her long，black hair creating an atmosphere that __13__ her from others.

My mother and I immediately began reading together and __14__five new words a day.My mother，with her encouraging __15__，made the routine fun and interesting.The fact that she was sacrificing her__16__ time before going to work so that I could learn English made me see the __17__she possessed.Very soon I began to comprehend what everyone was saying.

It has been seven years since that reading __18__with my mother.She is now 43 and in her second year at college.My brother and I have a strong __19__ of who we are because of the strong values my mother established for herself and her children.My__20__and gratitude for her are endless.This is why my mother is truly the guiding light of my life.

 

Girl ____, she is much naughtier than a boy.

    A. although she was                  B. though she is  

    C. though was she                    D. although was she