Now that I am no longer young, I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers ___36___ it was too late to tell them. I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I ___37___ her more each day. My mother does not change, but I ___38___. As I grow older and wiser, I realize ___39___ an exceptional person she is. How ___40___ that I am unable to speak these words in her ___41___, but they flow easily from my pen.
　　How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just ___42___ hard work that go into ___43___ a child? For running after a toddler (学走步的小孩), for understanding a ___44___ teenager, for tolerating (忍受;容忍) a college student who knows ___45___ ? For waiting for the day when a daughter ___46___ how wise her mother really is?
　　How does a ___47___ woman thank a mother for ___48___ to be a mother? For being ready ___49___ advice (when asked) or remaining ___50____ when it is most appreciated? For not saying, “I told you so,” when she could have uttered these words ___51___? For being ___52___ herself-loving, thoughtful, patient, and forgiving?
I don’t know how, dear God, except to ask you to bless her as richly as she ___53___ and to help me live up to the example she has ___54___. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother ___55___ in mine.

Michelle Obama is the first lady of American fashion, appearing on the cover of the March issue of Vogue.

Every first lady since Lou Hoover—except Bess Truman—has been appeared in the high-fashion magazine, but Mrs. Obama is only the second to appear on the cover. She appears wearing a silk dress by Jason Wu.

Vogue’s editor Andre Leon Tally recalled his interviews with Mrs. Obama ahead of US president Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony（就职典礼）. “One of the best experiences of my life .” “She is so easily reached, natural and normal.” he said.

Mrs. Obama described her role as “Mom in chief” to 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha. “I’m going to try to take them to school every morning, as much as I can,” she said. “But there’s also a measure of freedom. And clearly there will be time I won’t be able to drop them off at all. I like to appear in my kids’ school. I want to know the teachers; I want to know the other parents.”

Being in Vogue, though, the chat finally turns to clothes. “I’m not going to pretend that I don’t care about it,” she said. “But I also have to be very practical. Someone will always not like what you wear---people just have different tastes. ”

Most cover models have their clothes chosen for them by Vogue, or at least editors work as advisers. Not this time. “She doesn’t need any help. She loves fashion and knows what works for her,” Talley said. “She has never had a talk with me about, ‘What do you think?’ or ‘How does this like?’ And I’m glad for that.”

45. From the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 we know____.

A. every first lady has appeared on the cover of Vogue

B. only Bess Truman has appeared on the cover of Vogue

C. only two first ladies have appeared on the cover of Vogue

D. only Mrs. Obama has appeared on the cover of Vogue

46. From the forth paragraph we know Mrs. Obama ____.

A. loves their daughters very much

B. likes to do housework very much

C. likes to do all for her husband

D. has nothing to do after daughters go to school

47. From the last paragraph we know Mrs. Obama ____.

A. is a woman of kindness

B. has her own sense of beauty and idea

C. herself is a clothes designer and model

D. doesn’t like to be watched changing clothes

48. Which of the following is the best title?

A. First ladies of Vogue Cover Model

B. First Lady Michelle Obama Read Vogue Too

C. First Ladies Like to be Vogue Cover Model

D. First Lady Michelle Obama Is Vogue Cover Model

I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.
“Mom, come here! There’s this lady here my size!”
The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize.
I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then I talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darryl Kramer. How are you?”
He studied me from head to toe, and asked, “Are you a little mommy?”
“Yes, I have a son,” I answered.
“Why are you so little?” he asked.
“It’s the way I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand, and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an achondroplasia dwarf. Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I’ve grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have — a great family, nice friends.”
It’s the children’s questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, position, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.
【小题1】.. Why did the mother apologize to the author?

A．Because the boy ran into the author.

B．Because the boy laughed at the author.

C．Because the boy said the author was fatter than him.

D．Because she thought the boy’s words had hurt the author.

It’s not easy growing up. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we feel sad, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don’t understand why we can’t stay young forever. But we should take a look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude and learn from them. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time. We should realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!
Throughout our lives we are going to face many challenges and pains, but we should never let these obstacles keep us from following our dreams. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time.
As a young girl, my parents forced me to do so many things that I didn’t like. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music and I also hated them. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched(丰富) my life in so many ways. I now realize that my parents and teachers wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.
We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just part of our life. They might seem so huge at the time, but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no challenges and lived a life like that. Life would be really boring and meaningless. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps(碰撞) on our road to success, we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains!
【小题1】 The underlined word “obstacles” (in Paragraph 2) roughly means things that ______.

第二节完型填空（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，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
There is an old proverb,   36 _ that the tongue has the power of life and death
and   37  _ loves it will eat its fruit.
It is true. What we say has the ability to   38   emotions, and thoughts in others. A kind word helps people, and   39   words hurt people—— sometimes for a very long time.
Most of the time we   40   this concept in relation to how we treat others and that is good.  41__ here I want to talk about this concept in relation to ourselves. How does   42 we say affect us greatly? There is a simple principle here. Only say things that will create in your   43   emotions, thoughts, feelings, and finally, actions. Let me give you a good   44  . We should not allow the words “I can’t” in our   45 . Why? Because we CAN! The very minimum is “I’ll try”.
Have you ever been about to   46   the soccer ball towards the goal and said to yourself, “I am going to fail this one?” What happens? You fail it. This actually   47   to me. So what do I do? I pause for a(n)   48  , reset myself, and tell myself I am going to kick it straight down. What happens? About half the time I kick it straightly, and the other half, I   49  it. But at the very least I increase my   50   of performing better. Bad thoughts almost guarantee failure,    _ 51__ good thoughts increase success.
Some of us aren’t even   52   that we talk negatively to ourselves. Take   53   today to think about what you say to yourself. If you find yourself saying negative things, it is a time to change! Find some simple phrases that will help you   54  the day with more success. Whatever your situation or work is, I am sure there are specific things you can say that will build you up and put you on the road   55   success!
36．A．speaking      B．saying       C．talking     D．telling
37．A．what         B．who       C．whoever       D．whatever
38．A．create         B．build       C．invent      D．discover
39．A．kind         B．happy        C．active       D．negative
40．A．think about      B．think over   C．think of     D．think out
41．A．So           B．And       C．But          D．Or
42．A．that          B．what       C．which      D．where
43．A．positive       B．negative     C．excellent      D．wonderful
44．A．case         B．example     C．situation       D．condition
45．A．thoughts      B．ideas       C．minds      D．feelings
46．A．play         B．beat        C．hit         D．kick
47．A．happens       B．occurs       C．strikes      D．turns
48．A．hour         B．minute       C．day          D．month
49．A．fail          B．try         C．manage     D．win
50．A．opinions      B．changes     C．chances     D．practices
51．A．as            B．while       C．because     D．but
52．A．aware          B．sure        C．certain     D．clear
53．A．sometime     B．sometimes   C．some times   D．some time
54．A．get on         B．get through  C．get off     D．get back
55．A．on            B．above        C．to         D．In