A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

I don’t buy it.

I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.

51. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.

D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.

52. People working together in an office used to ____________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another's handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

53. The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.

A. to both his family and his staff

B. to his family in small letters

C. to his family on the fridge

D. to his staff on the desk

54. According to the author，handwritten notes _______.

A. are harder to teach in schools

B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends

D. carry more message

55. We can learn from the passage that the author __________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. puts the blame on the computer

D. does not agree with Florey

A man was exploring caves by the seashore when he found a bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls．It was like someone had   36   the balls and left them out in the sun to bake．

       They didn’t look like much, but they   37   the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him．As he walked along the beach, he   38   the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could．He thought little about it   39   he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open（裂开）on a rock．Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!   40  , the man started breaking open the   41   balls．Each contained a similar treasure．He found thousands of dollars’   42   of jewels in the 20 or so leftover ones．

       Then it   43   him．He’d been on the beach a long time, throwing maybe 50 or 60 of the balls, with their hidden treasure, into the   44  ．Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he  45   have taken home tens of thousands but he had just thrown it away!

       It’s like that   46   people．We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, but we   47   see the clay shell．It doesn’t look like much from the   48  ．It isn’t always beautiful or shining, so we   49   it．We see that person as less important than someone more   50   or stylish or well known or wealthy．But we haven’t taken the time to find the treasure   51   inside that person．

       There is a treasure in each and every one of us．If we take the time to get to know that person and ask God to show us that person the   52   he sees them, then the clay begins to   53   and the brilliant jewel begins to shine forth．May we not come to the   54   of our lives and find out that we’ve thrown away a   55   in friendships because the gems （宝石） were hidden in balls of clay! May we see the people in our world as God sees them．

A．invented     B．rolled          C．handled    D．bounced

A．confused       B．encouraged      C．interested  D．relaxed

A．dipped         B．pushed          C．kicked      D．threw

A．until          B．when           C．since     D．though

A．Frightened    B．Determined      C．Excited     D．Disappointed

A．shining        B．floating        C．surviving  D．remaining

A．worth         B．value         C．cost       D．wealth

A．shocked        B．rejected        C．struck       D．delighted

A．caves         B．waves           C．seashore    D．storms

A．might         B．must          C．could       D．should

A．with          B．towards        C．about     D．between

A．hardly         B．actually        C．simply      D．luckily

A．distance       B．outside         C．weight      D．pattern

A．removed           B．suspected      C．ignored     D．reserved

A．beautiful       B．cautious         C．positive    D．grateful

A．lost           B．hidden          C．divided     D．mixed

A．moment       B．point         C．degree      D．way

A．come off       B．break away      C．take over  D．fall down

A．sight          B．best           C．middle      D．end

A．relation        B．position         C．fortune     D．memory

A 25-year-old student from Hubei was admitted into Tsinghua，China’s most famous university，after an eight-year

   36   ．Li Jun comes from a poor family in a small village of Hubei Province．He first   37   going to college in the year 2000   38   he was admitted by a local school after   39   from a secondary technical school at age 17．As a（n）   40   art student，he passed the exam again next year but   41   school due to economic pressures in September 2002．Life seemed    42    but Li didn’t give in．He earned a   43   by working part time in Wuhan’s art rooms and tutoring students．But he never lost sight of his lifelong dream of   44   the Academy of Arts＆Design of Tsinghua University．Li  45   the college entrance examination for five continuous years starting from 2003．   46   ，he missed making the cut one mark last year．

In 2008，his fifth try，Li’s efforts   47   ．He finished the qualifying exam in his province and was finally admitted as a sculpture major into Tsinghua University．Every year，Li took art   48   in Beijing and took exams from December to March．He then took cultural courses in his school till June．The rest of the year he spent on    49    work．Li said he hadn’t   50   any money from his family since he graduated from the technical secondary school．Li said the reason he maintained for eight years was that he wanted to change his   51   through knowledge．

   52    by his contribution，Li Jun’ s university   53   him 9,000 yuan out of his tuition fees of 11，450 yuan．An eight-year struggle may have come to an end for Li Jun，but a new   54   has now begun．Li said he would not worry about repaying loans at present．He wants to study well and   55   more scholarships．

A．research            B．struggle           C．service             D．expectation

A．talked of                  B．told of             C．dreamt of         D．knew of

A．where                  B．when             C．that                 D．since

A．learning               B．separating        C．dating              D．graduating

A．gifted                  B．surprised          C．interested         D．easy going

A．went on with B．watched out for           C．dropped out of D．looked forward to

A．unfair                 B．hard                C．practical          D．busy

A．value                   B．respect             C．freedom           D．living

A．entering               B．visiting            C．supporting              D．pursing

A．turned to            B．applied for       C．called for               D．adapted to

A．Instead               B．At times          C．However          D．Besides

A．took off             B．paid off           C．gave off          D．sent off

A．ways                  B．programmes     C．success            D．courses

A．full-time            B．part-time         C．out-of-door      D．all

A．asked for           B．looked for       C．payed for         D．waited for

A．plan                   B．ideal                C．fate                 D．opinion

A．Encouraged        B．Influenced              C．Accused          D．Impressed

A．funded               B．gave                C．paid                D．cost

A．challenge           B．life                  C．case                 D．relationship

A．spend                 B．win                 C．care                 D．use

A few days ago, I was having a meeting in my company. After walking out, I 36  for my car keys in my pocket, only to discover they were not there. 37 , I gave myself a quick personal pat   38  my clothes, but they were not in 39  of my pockets. So, I went back to the meeting room and looked for them in every place _ 40_I had been. Suddenly it occurred to me that I must have left them in the car. Worried and frightened, I quickly 41  for the parking lot.（停车场）
My wife, Diane, has 42  me many times for leaving the keys in the ignition（点火处）. My theory is the ignition is the 43  place so that I won’t lose them. Her theory is that the car will be   44 . As I rushed out of my company, I came to a terrifying 45 . Her theory was right. The parking lot was 46 .
Without hesitation, I called the 47 . I gave them my location（位置）and  48  that I had left my keys in the car, and that it had been stolen. Then I made the most 49  call of all.
“Honey,” I said in a low voice. I always call her “honey” in times like these. “I 50  my keys in the car, and it has been stolen.”
There was a period of 51 . I thought the call had been dropped, but then I heard Diane’s  52 .
“Ken,” she shouted, “I dropped you off!”
Now it was my time to be silent. 53 , I said, “In that case, would you please come and  54  
your dear husband?”
Diane answered, “I will... just as soon as I can have this policeman  55 I didn’t steal your car.”

A young man was one day taking a walk with a professor. As they went along, they saw   36  in the path a pair of old shoes. They guessed the shoes belonged to a poor man who had   37  finished his day’s work in a field close by.
　　The student   38  the professor, saying, “Let’s play the man a(n)   39 : we will hide his shoes, and we stay behind those bushes to see his   40  when he cannot find them.”
　　“My young friend,” answered the professor, “we should never   41  ourselves in that way. You are   42 , and may give yourself a greater pleasure by helping the poor man. Perhaps we put a   43  into each shoe, and watch his reaction.”
　　The student did so, and they both   44  themselves behind the bushes. The poor man soon finished his work, and came   45  the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While   46  his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something   47 , he bent down to feel what it was, and found the coin.
He was   48 , and looked at the coin again and again. He then looked around   49  on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and began to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was   50  on finding the other coin.
　　His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his   51 , looked up to heaven and preyed, He spoke of his wife, sick and   52 , and his children without bread. The timely giving, from some unknown hand, would   53  from dying.
　　The student was moved and his eyes filled with tears. “Now,” said the professor, “are you not much better pleased than if you had played your   54  trick?”
The youth replied, “Thank you! Sir! I feel now the   55  of those words, which I never understood before: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

【小题18】

A．support B．learn C．treat D．save