I received a letter from a grandmother who told me about her four-year-old granddaughter Skylar. Ever since Skylar 31 of Disneyland from TV, she 32 her nickels and dimes (零钱) in a piggy bank in 33  of visiting there someday. Her parents 34 her with a trip when she was four, however, and didn't even 35 her to use her own money!

When Skylar returned. It was 36. She decided to buy presents with her 37. But she also learned from announcements on TV about a local 38 shelter called "The Road House". She 39 asked her mother what "homeless" meant and why those children 40 coats and warm clothes. She couldn't seem to get the homeless off her mind.

Her mother took her to the store to buy 41. Instead of buying for herself or her family, however, she 42 to purchase a warm coat, socks and gloves for a little girl in the 43 .She also wanted to buy a doll, but when she 44 she didn't have enough money, she left the doll 45 .

When Skylar got home, she chose one of her 46 dolls and put it into the box with the other items she bought that day. She could hardly wait for Christmas! Skylar was thinking about going to the shelter and giving her carefully 47 gifts to a homeless child. She was much filled with joy at 48 helping someone else.

"Perhaps it's good to have a beautiful mind, 49 an even greater gift is to have a beautiful heart," says Nobel Laureate John Hash. Young Skylar has a beautiful heart. It is one 50 , above all else, which makes beautiful people.

1.                A．learned        B．cared          C．thought   D．reminded

2.                A．saved          B．gathered        C．took D．spent

3.                A．honor          B．favor           C．hopes    D．search

4.                A．disappointed    B．annoyed        C．helped   D．surprised

5.                A．order          B．require         C．persuade D．force

6.                A．Christmastime    B．payday         C．birthday  D．school time

7.                A．expenses       B．earnings        C．savings   D．debts

8.                A．poor           B．homeless       C．big  D．famous

9.                A．generally       B．curiously        C．strangely  D．seriously

10.               A．used           B．took           C．needed   D．liked

11.               A．presents        B．dolls           C．socks D．gloves

12.               A．refused        B．decided        C．hesitated  D．wished

13.               A．shelter         B．nursery        C．house D．hospital

14.               A．predicted       B．promised       C．explained  D．discovered

15.               A．out            B．behind         C．aside D．alone

16.               A．expensive      B．cheap          C．favorite   D．useless

17.               A．collected       B．bought         C．selected   D．demanded

18.               A．deeply         B．quickly         C．truly  D．exactly

19.               A．but            B．and            C．if D．or

20.               A．quality         B．expensive       C．sense D．expression

One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank．There I would   36  the peace and quiet, watch the water rush   37  and listen to the singing of birds and the rustling of   38  in the trees．I would also watch the bamboo trees   39  under pressure from the wind and watch them   40  gracefully to their original position after the wind had   41  ．

When I think about the bamboo tree's ability to bounce back to its original position, the word "resilience" comes to mind．When used in   42  to a person, this word means the ability to readily   43  from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person's   44  ．

Have you ever felt like you are at your   45  point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it．

During the   46  you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health．You felt emotionally drained（枯竭）,   47  exhausted and you most likely stood   48   physical symptoms．

Life is a   49  of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments．The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy   50   that take you close to your breaking point, bend,   51  don't break．Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you．

A measure of hope will take you   52  the unpleasant ordeal （考验）．With   53   for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be．The unpleasant ordeal may be easier to   54  if the final result is worth having．

If life gets   55  and you are at your breaking point, show resilience．Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don't break!

1.                A．see            B．hear           C．touch    D．enjoy

2.                A．smoothly       B．downstream     C．uphill D．peacefully

3.                A．fruits          B．branches        C．leaves    D．roots

4.                A．bend          B．move          C．fall  D．decline

5.                A．go             B．turn           C．return    D．suffer

6.                A．died away       B．died off         C．died down D．died out

7.                A．honor of        B．reward to       C．favor of   D．reference to

8.                A．escape         B．suffer          C．come D．recover

9.                A．emotions       B．mind           C．body D．thoughts

10.               A．starting         B．breaking        C．standing   D．tiring

11.               A．practice        B．experiment     C．experience D．victory

12.               A．possibly        B．mentally        C．terribly    D．probably

13.               A．unpleasant      B．unreasonable    C．exciting   D．good

14.               A．result          B．change         C．mixture   D．wonder

15.               A．moments       B．events         C．adventures D．changes

16.               A．however       B．but            C．though    D．and

17.               A．away          B．through        C．apart D．out

18.               A．idea           B．search         C．imagination D．hope

19.               A．get stuck       B．look into        C．depend on D．deal with

20.               A．tough          B．wrong          C．acceptable D．cozy

A little part of me thought about going to another checkout line．This one had the shortest ? ，there was only one guy in it，but he was in a ? and there seemed to be some difficulties ? ．

??? We stepped in behind him．At first, he ? to be having difficulty getting his groceries onto the counter．But after a while，I realized that what he was actually doing was ? it into two parts．

???? I offered to help，but he and the checkout lady had it under ? ．He asked Julie if she would mind putting his ? basket away．Then he ? for his wallet which was in a bag on one side of his chair．The ? he was positioned and the fact he only had one usable arm ? this troublesome for him，so I helped there．

The checkout operator came around and gave him his ? and the goods he needed to have to hand．She ? one bag of groceries over a handle at the back of his chair．

??? I offered to get the other bigger bag and he said，“No．? you could do me a favor．Take that bag along to the entrance and give it to Angela．"

??? Angela，it ? ，was collecting food for people who might ? go hungry! I hadn’t even ? her before.

This guy，in spite of the limitations，had bought more than twice as ? shopping as he needed—and given the bigger bag away to help ? people!

He didn’t let the fact that he needed help ? him from being a help．He may have been limited ? ，but his heart was more than able to overcome all that．

1.A? figure????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．space????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? C．queue ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．time

2.A．supermarket????????????? ????????????? ?? B．wheelchair????????????? ????????????? ?? C．helmet????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? D．uniform

3.A．going on????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?? B．holding on????????????? ????????????? ?? C．paying off????????????? ????????????? ??? D．setting down

4.A．happened????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?? B．used????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? C．seemed ????????????? ????????????? ??? D．pretended

5.A．selecting????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? B．wrapping????????????? ????????????? ?? C．handing????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．separating

6.A．charge????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．control????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．improvement????????????? ??? D．settlement

7.A．empty????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．heavy????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．large????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? D．broken

8.A．felt????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．in search of????????????? ????????????? C．seized????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．reached

9.A．spot????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? B．direction????????????? ????????????? ??? C．distance????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．way

10.A．caught????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．carried????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．made????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? D．solved

11.A．basket????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．bag????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．wallet????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．change

12.A．arranged????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? B．hung????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? C．loaded ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．connected

13.A．And????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．But????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．So????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．Or

14.A．turned out????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．found out????????????? ????????????? ??? C．pointed out????????????? ????????????? D．put out

15.A．already????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．always????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．otherwise????????????? ????????????? ??? D．fairly

16.A．noticed????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．known????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．understood????????????? ????????????? D．greeted

17.A．many ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．much????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ??? C．few????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．little

18.A．wealthy????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．ordinary????????????? ????????????? ??? C．other????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．normal

19.A．stop????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．require????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．lead????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．persuade

20.A．financially????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．morally????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C．mentally????????????? ????????????? D．physically

Helen Thomas, the pioneering White House reporter known for putting presidents on the hot seat, died at 92．

??? To those who regularly watch presidential press conferences, Helen Thomas is a familiar figure．Usually dressed in red and always seated in the front row, she is always the first or second reporter the president calls upon．It is an honor she has earned．Besides, it affords her the perfect opportunity to do what she does best - challenge the president and other public officials to tell the plain truth．She said, "We reporters' priority（首要事情） is the people's right to know - without fear or favor．We are the people's servants．"

Helen Thomas was born in Kentucky in 1920．All the nine Thomas children were brought up to value education, and all were expected to make something of themselves through working hard．She made up her mind while still in high school to become a reporter after writing for the student newspaper．After receiving her bachelor's degree in 1942, Thomas headed straight for Washington, D．C．in search of a newspaper job．Before long, she landed one at Washington Daily News．Her duty included fetching coffee and doughnuts for the paper's reporters and editors．The eager young woman found the atmosphere exciting and was convinced she had made the right career choice．

?? Her big break came when she was sent to Florida to report on the vacation of President-elect John F．Kennedy and his family．Once President Kennedy took office, Thomas changed her focus from the president's family to his policies．She began attending the daily press briefings at the White House as well as presidential press conferences．Thomas has covered every president since Kennedy．Over the years, Thomas found her job "thrilling and inspiring," but never boring．And she took very seriously her duty to "keep an eye on the president" and keep American people informed．

1.What can we learn about Helen Thomas from the passage?

A．Her career took off after covering the Kennedys．

B．Her first job was to deliver doughnuts to a news agency．

C．She was born to a large family in Kentucky in 1942．

D．She decided to be a reporter while in college．

2.Paragraph 3 is written to show Helen Thomas

A．is a good decision maker for her career

B．appreciates education and hard work

C．wants to be famous by writing reports

D．has great support from her family

3.What does Helen Thomas think other work?

A．Unbearable．?? ????????????? B．Exciting．C．Challenging．????????? D．Unforgettable．

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A．A reporter sticking to the facts．

B．A reporter challenging President Kennedy．

C．A reporter from an ordinary family．

D．A reporter for Washington Daily News．

Growing roots

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs．He didn’t look like any doctor I’d   1   known．When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t   2   lives, he was planting trees．

The good doctor had some interesting theories   3  planting trees．He believed in “No pains, no gains”．He never  4   his new trees, which was 5   many people．Once I  6  why．He answered that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you water them, each following tree generation will grow  7   ．So you have to make things   8   for them．He talked about how watering trees  9  shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in  10  of water．I took him to mean that deep roots were to be  11  ．I planted a couple of trees a few years back and I took good care of them．Two years of devotion has  12  trees that expect to be waited on hand and foot．Whenever a cold wind blows, they  13  and tremble their branches．Funny things about those trees of Dr. Gibbs’．The lack of water seemed to  14  them in ways comfort and ease never  15  ．

  I used to pray for my sons that their lives will be  16  ．But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my  17  ．I know my children are going to meet 18  , and I’m praying they will be strong．The prayer for comfort is  19  met．What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the winds blow, we won’t be  20  away．

1．A．even                         B．ever                 C．never                      D．hardly

2．A．taking                B．making            C．enjoying                  D．saving

3．A．dealing                     B．covering          C．concerning              D．considering

4．A．watered                    B．spoiled             C．loved                     D．cared

5．A．against                     B．beyond            C．within                     D．from

6．A．wondered                 B．asked               C．wandered                D．guessed

7．A．weaker and weaker                    B．stronger and stronger

     C．taller and taller                       D．happier and happier

8．A．easy                  B．comfortable             C．tough                            D．wonderful

9．A．made for           B．made out                 C．brought down         D．brought up

10．A．charge             B．favor                      C．case                       D．search

11．A．treasured          B．challenged               C．respected                D．liked

12．A．resulted in        B．resulted from           C．grown up                D．grown into

13．A．dance              B．shake                      C．spread                    D．stretch

14．A．harm               B．raise                       C．benefit                    D．hurt

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

16．A．hard                B．sweet                            C．rewarding               D．easy

17．A．mind               B．thought                   C．idea                       D．prayer

18．A．hardship          B．tragedy                   C．disaster                   D．needs

19．A．never               B．seldom                    C．always                    D．often

20．A．given              B．turned                     C．let                          D．swept