I can remember a period in my life when I was unemployed and money was running out. I needed a job very    36  .  A friend of mine approached me one day with an    37   . “I’m going to have to let this job go and I was wondering if you would like to take it   38  ?” “That would be great,” I replied.
I went to the manager and he said I could start on Monday morning.
When I went inside I was  39    that I would buff (擦) the floors. My friend was there to   40   me how to operate the buffer.  
 “It’s really   41  ,” he said, running the machine very   42  . He handed it over to me and said, “Here, you have a try.” I   43    the handlers(把手). To my surprise, the buffer whipped around in a big circle, running over my friend’s brand new pair of boots, and sending him   44   up on a check-out counter.
 For several times, I tried to run it again and   45  . I really had to fight that thing to make it go. “What am I going to do?” I thought to myself. “I finally found a job and I can’t do it. Am I going to have to tell them I have to   46  ?” 
 After several   47  days of buffing, I finally made up my mind that I was going to do this. For about a week, I   48   with the buffer, putting all my weight and   49  into it. Eventually, I learned the trick and was not to struggle with it at all, just   50   with the flow of it, and by the second week, I was showing off and running it with one hand.
 A few months later, I   51   back and wondered what would have happened   52   I had given up that first week. I certainly would not have had the newly-founded confidence or paycheck.   53    after that experience, I started a new job that   54   the use of a buffer.
   Obstacles (障碍) don’t have to stop you. If you run into a   55  , don’t turn around or give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or walk around it.
(    ) 36. A. badly    B. well   C. quickly    D. extremely
(    )37. A.apology   B. invitation  C. offer    D. opinion
(    ) 38. A. over      B. off       C. out       D. on
(   )39.A.warned   B.informed    C.forced    D. cheated
(    ) 40. A. watch    B. train   C. explain   D. show
(    )41.A.hard   B.easy   C.interesting   D. meaningful
(    )42. A. rapidly   B. hardly   C. slowly    D. smoothly
(    )43.A.grabbed  B.equipped  C. wiped    D. sought
(    )44. A. rising    B. looking  C. turning   D. jumping
(    )45.A.remained B.insisted  C.failed   D.succeeded
(    ) 46. A. stop    B. repeat   C. continue   D. speed
(    ) 47. A. simple   B. harmful  C. rough    D. endless
(    ) 48. A. met    B. struggled  C. lived    D. combined
(    ) 49. A. body    B. spirit    C. soul    D. strength
(    ) 50. A. do       B. go      C. start    D. match
(    ) 51. A. went    B. came   C. thought   D. recalled
(    ) 52. A. when    B. unless    C. as     D. if
(    )53.A.Even   B. Seldom  C. Sometime   D. Sometimes
(    )54.A.required  B. introduced  C.reducedD. rejected
(    ) 55. A. car    B. wall          C. river    D. problem 

When I was at University I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn’t do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time playing than working in the library.
Once at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write “True” or “False”. While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching TV. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But on that night he looked perfectly calm. Thenhe told me of his plan. “It’s very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I’ll just toss（掷）the coin to decide the answers. That way, I’m sure I’ll get half the questions right.”
The next day, Fred came happily into the exam room. As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers. Then he left, half an hour before the rest of us.
The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor. “Oh, good,” he said to the teacher, “Have you got the result of the test?” The teacher reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.
“I’m terribly sorry, Fred,” he said, “You failed!”
【小题1】This story mainly wants to tell us          .

A．chemistry is really hard to learn

B．there are many questions for students to prepare.

C．good exam results really need studying hard

D．tossing a coin can not always decide the result

【小题2】Fred Baines was one of those who          .

A．did just enough to pass an exam

B．didn’t work hard enough for their studies

C．had more important work to do than study

D．were quite good at passing exams

【小题3】Fred came happily into the exam room because          .

A．he had got ready for the exam

B．he knew the answers already

C．one excellent student would help him

D．he had his special way to finish the exam

【小题4】Which of the following about the chemistry exam is TRUE?

A．The chemisty exam was not very difficult at all.

B．It in fact took an hour to finish the chemisty exam

C．The chemisty exam had more than one hundred questions.

D．The chemisty exam needed to be done by tossing a coin.

【小题5】The professor tossed a coin to tell Baines that          .

A．he was satisfied with Baines’ way for the exam

B．he wanted to make friends with Baines

C．Baines’ way for the exam would never work

D．the exam result depended on the coin

When I was at University I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn’t do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time playing than working in the library.

Once at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write “True” or “False”. While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching TV. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But on that night he looked perfectly calm. Then he told me of his plan. “It’s very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I’ll just toss（掷）the coin to decide the answers. That way, I’m sure I’ll get half the questions right.”

The next day, Fred came happily into the exam room. As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers. Then he left, half an hour before the rest of us.

    The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor. “Oh, good,” he said to the teacher, “Have you got the result of the test?” The teacher reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.

“I’m terribly sorry, Fred,” he said, “You failed!”

1.This story mainly wants to tell us           .

A. chemistry is really hard to learn            

B. there are many questions for students to prepare.

C. good exam results really need studying hard              

D. tossing a coin can not always decide the result

2.Fred Baines was one of those who          .

A. did just enough to pass an exam         

B. didn’t work hard enough for their studies

C. had more important work to do than study 

D. were quite good at passing exams

3. Fred came happily into the exam room because           .

A. he had got ready for the exam           

B. he knew the answers already

C. one excellent student would help him     

D. he had his special way to finish the exam

4.Which of the following about the chemistry exam is TRUE?

A.The chemisty exam was not very difficult at all.    

B. It in fact took an hour to finish the chemisty exam

C. The chemisty exam had more than one hundred questions.        

D. The chemisty exam needed to be done by tossing a coin.

5.The professor tossed a coin to tell Baines that          .

A. he was satisfied with Baines’ way for the exam 

B. he wanted to make friends with Baines

C. Baines’ way for the exam would never work   

D. the exam result depended on the coin

 

Dear Guys,

I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.

One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly agreed.

Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request. However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.

It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.

Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, Oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.

The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.

This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.

Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel. Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.

“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.

“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.

And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”

I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.

Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.

It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.

I surprised myself --- and I’m sure you as well --- by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery. Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”

Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period was just enough blow for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”

And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.

Sincerely, Jen Cordery

1. The writer agreed to throw the ball because _______.

A. she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries

B. she wanted to refresh her childhood memories

C. she could not refuse the polite request from the young man

D. she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “game”?

A. anxious                                      B. brave                                C. afraid                                D. curious

3.Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?

A. To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.

B. To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.

C. To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.

D. To express her dislike towards softball.

4.What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.

A. inspired                                     B. encouraged                     C. embarrassed                   D. depressed

5.What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?

A. To express her regret over what she did the day before.

B. To announce that she would never play ball games again.

C. To explain her own inability to throw the ball over the fence.

D. To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity.

 

When I was at University I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn’t do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time playing than working in the library.

Once at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question we had to write “True” or “False”. While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching TV. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But on that night he looked perfectly calm. Thenhe told me of his plan. “It’s very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I’ll just toss（掷）the coin to decide the answers. That way, I’m sure I’ll get half the questions right.”

The next day, Fred came happily into the exam room. As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers. Then he left, half an hour before the rest of us.

The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor. “Oh, good,” he said to the teacher, “Have you got the result of the test?” The teacher reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.

“I’m terribly sorry, Fred,” he said, “You failed!”

1.This story mainly wants to tell us          .

A．chemistry is really hard to learn

B．there are many questions for students to prepare.

C．good exam results really need studying hard

D．tossing a coin can not always decide the result

2.Fred Baines was one of those who          .

A．did just enough to pass an exam

B．didn’t work hard enough for their studies

C．had more important work to do than study

D．were quite good at passing exams

3.Fred came happily into the exam room because          .

A．he had got ready for the exam

B．he knew the answers already

C．one excellent student would help him

D．he had his special way to finish the exam

4.Which of the following about the chemistry exam is TRUE?

A．The chemisty exam was not very difficult at all.

B．It in fact took an hour to finish the chemisty exam

C．The chemisty exam had more than one hundred questions.

D．The chemisty exam needed to be done by tossing a coin.

5.The professor tossed a coin to tell Baines that          .

A．he was satisfied with Baines’ way for the exam

B．he wanted to make friends with Baines

C．Baines’ way for the exam would never work

D．the exam result depended on the coin