In our life, we have rarely expressed our gratitude to the one who lived those years with us. In fact, we don't have to wait for anniversaries to thank the ones closest to us and the ones so easily overlooked. If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is this: give it now! While your feeling of appreciation is alive and sincere, act on it. Saying thanks is such an easy way to add to the world's happiness.

Saying thanks not only brightens someone else's world, it brightens yours. If you're feeling left out, unloved or unappreciated, try reaching out to others. It may be just the medicine you need. Of course, there are times when you can't express gratitude immediately. In that case, don't let embarrassment sink you into silence and speak up the first time you have the chance.

Once a young minister, Mark Brian, was sent to a remote parish(教区)of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. The Indians, he had been told, did not have a word for thank you. But Brian soon found that these people had unusual generosity. Instead of saying thanks, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own, and every kindness with an equal or superior kindness. They do their thanks. I wonder if we had no words in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? Would we be more responsive, more sensitive, more caring?

Thankfulness sets in motion a chain reaction that transforms people all around us－including ourselves. For no one ever misunderstands the melody(旋律)of a grateful heart. Its message is universal; its poems transcend(超越)all earthly barriers; its music touches the heaven.

1.Who do we easily forget to express our thanks to according to the writer?

2. When we say something for what others do for us, it ______.

3.What does the writer mean in the third paragraph?

4.The way to make us feel happy is ______ when we think we ourselves are forgotten in the world.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20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，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。

There is a beautiful story about a child playing with a vase his mother had left on the table for a few moments. When the mother turned   36   the sound of her son’s crying she saw that his   __37   was in the vase and was apparently stuck. She   38   to help him and pulled and pulled until the child cried out   39_ . But the hand was stuck fast（牢固地）. How would they get it out? The father suggested   40   the vase but it was quite valuable and the child’s hand might be cut in the   41 _. Yet he knew that if all else   42   there would be no other alternative.

So he said to the boy, “Now, let’s make one more   43  . Open your hand and stretch your  44   out straight, as I’m doing, and then pull!” “  45   Dad,” said the boy, “if I do that I’ll   46   my penny!”

The boy had had a coin in his hand   47   and was holding it   48  in his little fist(拳头). And he wasn’t   49   to open his hand and lose it. But  50   he opened his hand it came out of the vase easily.

The father said to the boy, “What are you holding onto so tightly as to hinder (阻碍) your walk with God? That vase can be  51   to the entrance to the Kingdom of God. It is narrow yet quite   52   to pass in, but first you must open your hand to God and   53   earthly（世俗的）things to fall. If we keep our fists   54   and hold fast to what we have and keep it for ourselves, we will be unable to   55   hold of the hand of God. Open your hand to the hand of God and you will see great things take place.”

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

A. foot            B. hair             C. hand             D. head

A. tried          B. refused     C. completed        D. separated

A. in fun             B. in general       C. with fear        D. in pain

A. throwing       B. selling      C. burning      D. breaking

A. time           B. state            C. process      D. record

A. failed             B. lost             C. impressed        D. tried

A. chance             B. choice       C. try          D. force

A. lips           B. fingers      C. nails            D. thumb

A. But            B. And         C. Though       D. When

A. touch           B. hit          C. employ       D. lose

A. all the time        B. in time      C. at one time D. for some time

A. obviously       B. tightly      C. stupidly         D. normally

A. hesitated       B. accepted         C. excited      D. prepared

A. yet            B. since            C. once             D. although

A. seemed         B. compared         C. looked       D. related

A. difficult      B. safe             C. easy             D. quiet

A. allow           B. admit            C. forbid       D. make

A. open           B. clean           C. closed            D. dirty

A. bring           B. take             C. have             D. come  

When I was in my early twenties, I moved away from my home state of Wisconsin to attend graduate school. I chose to go to the University Of Arizona in Tucson and   36   there. Upon landing in early June, I was shocked by the lack of   37  and the burning desert heat. After less than two days in that  38 I called my parent to question whether I had made the  39  choice and to announce that I was   40  considering coming home. My father, in a calm and  41   voice, indicated that I always had a  42 . I could always come home and be welcome there. But in fact, we both   43  I wouldn’t come home at the time. Needless to say, I chose to   44 .

Many years have passed. My father’s    45  words remain with me. Knowing that I can always   46 , I’ve been able to   47  several challenging situations -unemployment, divorce and even the    48   of my only son. I have also used these words in many cases where others need to know that someone   49  and that they do have a choice.

Whether  50 is earthly, spiritual, or some sense of calm, knowing that we can come home will be just enough to  51 us on our way.

It  52 me, in a way, of the prodigal son（回头的浪子） who found  53 and love upon returning home. While we don’t have to be like him and hit bottom in life, it is good to know that we can wander and experience pains and  54 in life but we still have a home where love, support and comfort  55 .

1.                A．flew           B．drove          C．walked   D．cycled

2.                A．blue           B．yellow          C．brown    D．green

3.                A．family          B．refuge          C．environment   D．desert

4.                A．new           B．right           C．last D．difficult

5.                A．naturally        B．fortunately      C．obviously D．seriously

6.                A．gentle          B．weak           C．supportive D．pleasant

7.                A．choice         B．dream          C．friend    D．request

8.                A．pretended      B．expected       C．knew D．forgot

9.                A．graduate        B．regret          C．return    D．continue

10.               A．surprising       B．encouraging     C．interesting     D．moving

11.               A．wander outside  B．hang around     C．come home    D．move away

12.               A．face up to       B．get away with    C．make sure of   D．look out for

13.               A．return         B．growth         C．arrival     D．loss

14.               A．worries        B．cares          C．leaves D．stays

15.               A．health         B．marriage        C．church    D．home

16.               A．help           B．stop           C．protect    D．teach

17.               A．informs        B．reminds        C．warns D．rids

18.               A．comfort        B．interest         C．food  D．money

19.               A．regrets         B．complaints      C．sufferings  D．pleasures

20.               A．survive         B．exist           C．fall   D．disappear

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
There is a beautiful story about a child playing with a vase his mother had left on the table for a few moments. When the mother turned   16  the sound of her son’s crying she saw that his  17   was in the vase and was apparently stuck. She   18  to help him and pulled and pulled until the child cried out   19 . But the hand was stuck fast（牢固地）. How would they get it out? The father suggested   20  the vase but it was quite valuable and the child’s hand might be cut in the   21 _. Yet he knew that if all else   22  there would be no other alternative.
So he said to the boy, “Now, let’s make one more   23 . Open your hand and stretch your   24  out straight, as I’m doing, and then pull!” “  25  Dad,” said the boy, “if I do that I’ll   26  my penny!”
The boy had had a coin in his hand   27  and was holding it   28 in his tight little fist. And he wasn’t   29  to open his hand and lose it. But  30  he opened his hand it came out of the vase easily.
The father said to the boy, “What are you holding onto so tightly as to hinder (阻碍) your walk with God? That vase can be  31  to the entrance to the Kingdom of God. It is narrow yet quite  32   to pass in, but first you must open your hand to God and   33  earthly（世俗的）things to fall. If we keep our fists   34  and hold fast to what we have and keep it for ourselves, we will be unable to   35  hold of the hand of God. Open your hand to the hand of God and you will see great things take place.”

The amount of carbon taken in by growing plants increased from 1982 through 1999 as
temperatures rose and the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased. But a new study
in Friday ’ s edition of the journal Science found a drought - related decline in such plant growth
from 2000 to 2009，even though temperatures continued to climb.
As drought caused by warming reduces the land ’ s ability to take in carbon，the result could
be more carbon dioxide left in the atmosphere，and thus more warming，Zhao Maosheng from the
University of Montana explained in a telephone interview.
“This is a pretty serious warning that warmer temperatures are not going to endlessly improve
plant growth ’” co - author Steven Running，also from the University of Montana ’ said in a
statement. “ We see this as a bit of a surprise，and potentially significant on a policy level because
previous interpretations suggested global warming might actually help plant growth around the
world, “ he said.
Instead, he and Zhao found a small but measurable decline of about 1%，compared to a6%
increase in the past decade.
Their study，based on the data collected by NASA satellites，found that north areas continued
to increase plant growth，thanks to warmer temperatures and a longer growing season.
Someone commented, "This past decade’ s net decline in earthly productivity suggests that a
complex relationship between temperature, rainfall, cloudiness, and carbon dioxide, probably in
combination with other factors such as nutrients(营养）and land management，will determine
future patterns and trends in productivity.，^，
【小题1】From the first paragraph, we can learnin the recent decade or so.