In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
　　As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
　　A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
　　I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
　　Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.
　　While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
【小题1】What did the author say about her own writing experience?

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）  阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Growing up is not always easy. When facing difficulties, courage and a spirit of independence can be more useful than crying for  31   !That’s what Hong Zhanhui’s story of  __32   from boy to man with family hardships (艰难)tell us.

    Hong was born in 1982 in a poor family in Xihua County, Henan Province. When he was  33   11, his father became mentally ill and one day came back with an abandoned (被抛弃的)baby girl. A year later, Hong‘s mother and younger brother both   34   home because of poverty (贫困)and pressure (压力)from his ill father.

  The burden (负担)fell onto the 12-year-old’s shoulders: to treat his father’s illness, to  35  the adopted (领养的)sister Chenchen, and to go on to study.

  Hong didn’t　 36 　. Since a young age, he has worked in part-time jobs to feed his family. At the same time, he has studied at college. To take care of Chenchen, he worked hard to  37  a room near his campus for her, and send her to school.

After Hong’s story went public, people were  38   to tears by his selflessness. Hard   39   his life was, Hong didn’t abandon his father and the adopted  40  , because they needed his help. With his hard –won money, he even helped other students   41  against misfortunes(厄运).

Today when many tend to worry more about their own happiness, Hong’s deeds   42  us of what we usually ignore: love and care for others. Without these,   43   of us could survive.

Hong  44  donations (捐献) from others. He said he felt encouraged by kind offers, but he could  __45  his own work. Short of money to buy food, the boy climbed tall trees to get birds’ eggs for his baby sister. He walked two hours at weekends to buy different things to   46   around his school to earn money. Through his hard life, the boy developed   47  to rise above misfortune that made him a hero in people’s eyes.

Hong’s story shows that with love and willpower, no hardship can  48  a person but himself. So when facing difficulties, don’t  ___49   about bad luck. Consider what more you could do for your family and society  50   you will find the world smiling back.    

31. A. money              B. food             C. clothes                    D. help

32. A. caring                 B. growing          C. moving                 D. turning

33. A. only                B. already          C. ever                       D. still

34. A. stayed              B. went            C. sold                       D. left

35. A. bring up    B. give up           C. stick to                 D. devote to

36. A. go away              B. give up           C. run out                 D. turn down

37. A build                B. rent              C. buy                    D. borrow

38. A. encouraged          B. moved            C. inspired                    D. made

39. A. as                  B because          C. unless.                    D. while

40. A. brother              B. daughter        C. sister                      D. uncle

41. A. struggling         B. learning         C. running                  D. turning

42. A. leave             B. remember          C. remind                         D. tell

43. A. anyone              B. everyone      C. none                      D. no one

44. A. threw away          B. turned out     C. ran out                          D. turned down

45. A. depend on           B. stick to         C . refer to                D. turn to

46. A. show               B. eat                     C. sell                     D. share

47. A. a chance             B. an ability      C. a spirit                 D. a belief

48. A. bury                B. defeat        C. kick                     D. knock

49. A. worry              B. care            C. complain                     D. joke

50. A. and                B. or              C. when             D. until 

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
　　阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
　　When I Was four years old,my mother died of cancer.My father brought my sister and me up 36 .Last April,when he had the heart surgery(手术),I felt as if 37 were going to end.
　　He is the most caring,selfless,loving person I know.
　　It all 38 so quickly.Out of nowhere my father's 39 was in danger.I was 17 and thinking about 40 would have to live my life 41 either of my parents! He was the person who jad 42 me what I am and could always 43 me down the fight way when I didn't know what path to choose.He was 44 to me. I felt completely 45 at the thought of his death.
　　Before my mother 46 ,My father explained her sickness to me.Now again he thought the best thing was to 47 .He sat me down for a long conversation.It was too frightening for my father and mme to talk about him 48 the surgery,so he worked around it by saying,"okay,we both know I am 48 going to die during this surgery, 50 say when I am leaving the hospital I get hit by a bus or something." 51 we talked about what I would do if he died.It was the 52 sonversation,but that was exactly what I 53 .
　　Facing the danger of death brings about the realization of 54 .I have learned to live every moment to its 55 ,never leaving anything unsaid or undone.
　　36.A.both B.alone C.later D.together
　　37.A.the world B.his illness C.our happiness D.my childhood
　　38.A.developed B.happened C.ended D.started
　　39.A.job B.family C.life D.health
　　40.A.when B.where C.why D.how
　　41.A.like B.after C.without D.with
　　42.A.made B.told C.given D.taught
　　43.A.drive B.stop C.place D.lead
　　44.A.a teacher B.a friend C.everything D.nothing
　　45.A.excited B.frightened C.disappointed D.lost
　　46.A.got ready B.fell ill C.became well D.passed away
　　47.A.talk B.wait C.leave D.plan
　　48.A.preparing for B.dying from C.working at D.having
　　49.A.not B.also C.probably D.surely
　　50.A.and B.so C.but D.then
　　51.A.First of all B.After a while C.At the end D.In this way
　　52.A.funniest B.easiest C.hardest D.happiest
　　53.A.expected B.needed C.enjoyed D.missed
　　54.A.joy B.work C.parents D.life
　　55.A.fulllest B.strongest C.longest D.happiest

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.

　　As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.

　　A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

　　I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

　　Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.

　　While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

1.What did the author say about her own writing experience?

A. She was constantly under pressure of writing more.

B. Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.

C. Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.

D. She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.

2.Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?

A. She wanted to share her stories with readers.

B. She had won a prize in the previous contest.

C. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

D. She believed she possessed real talent for writing.

3.The author took great pains to refine her daughter’s stories because ________.

A. she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dream of becoming a writer

B. she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance

C. she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much

D. she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing

4.What’s the author’s advice for parents?

A. Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.

B. Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.

C. Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.

D. A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.

　Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will “obey” spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word“obey”is hardly exact as a description of the eager and delighted co- operation（合作） usually shown by the child. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gestures and by making questioning noises.

　　Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It’s agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves out as particular expression like delight, pain, friendliness and so on. But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self - imitation（自我模仿）leads out to deliberate（有意的）imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.

　　It is a problem we need to get our teeth into. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will. change as he gains more experience of the world. Thus the use, at seven months, of“ mama” as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at another time for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself. I doubt, however , whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of his ability in an attempt to teach new words.

　Children who start speaking late ________

　　A. may have problems with their listening

　　B. probably do not hear enough language spoken around them

　　C. usually pay close attention to what they hear

　　D. often take a long time in learning to listen properly

　　A baby’s first noises are ________ .

　　A. an expression of his moods and feelings

　　B. an early form of language

　　C. an imitation of the speech of adults

　　D. a sign that he means to tell you something

　　The problem of deciding at what point a baby’s imitation can be considered as speech ________ .

　　A. is important because words have different meanings for different people

　　B. is not especially important because the change takes place gradually

　　C. is one that should be ignored（忽略）because children’s use of words is often meaningless

　　D. is one that can never be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age

　　The speaker implies that ________ .

　　A. even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitation

　　B. children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly

　　C. children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak

　　D. patents can never hope to teach their children new sounds