20 years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One time I arrived in the middle of the night for a ___1__ up at a building that was dark ___2___ a single light in a ground floor window. After a long pause, a small woman in her 80’s stood before me.

   “Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she said. I took her small suitcase to the cab, and then returned to ___3____ the woman. She kept thanking me for my kindness. “ It’s nothing.” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the ___4___ I would want my mother treated.”

“Riverside Street, please. But could you drive through downtown?”

“ It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” She said.“ I’m in no ____5__. I am on my way to a hospice.” I looked in the back view mirror. Her eyes were full of ___6___. “ I don’t have any family __7___.” She continued. “The __8___ says I don’t have very long.” While we were driving through the city, she showed me the building where she had once worked. Sometimes she asked me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would ___9___into the darkness, saying ___10___. Not until the first ray of the sun ___11___up the sky did we get to the address she had given me.

“How much do I ___12___you?’ she asked.

“Nothing,” I said. Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She ___13____ onto me tightly, saying “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.” Then she walked into the hospice.

 Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the ___14__ of a life. I don’t pick up any more passengers for the rest of the day. I drove ___15____, lost in thought.  ___16___ I had refused to take the run?  On a quick ___17___, I don’t think I have done anything more __18___ in my life. We are conditioned to think that our lives ___19__ on great moments. But great moments often catch us _20___ ----beautifully hidden in what others may consider a small one.

1．A．visit              B．pick              C．business         D．appointment

3．A．take              B．bring              C．accompany     D．assist

4．A．attitude           B．manner            C．way           D．means

5．A．trouble             B．hurry             C．time            D．danger

6. A．puzzlement         B．excitement         C．eagerness        D．sadness

7．A．gone             B．stayed             C．left             D．remained

8．A．lawyer            B．doctor            C．neighbor         D．relative

9．A．stare             B．wander           C．disappeared      D．step

10．A．much           B．nothing           C．anything         D．none

11．A came              B．appeared         C．showed          D．lit

12．A．charge          B．owe             C．give             D．cost

13．A．kept             B．held              C．caught          D．seized

14．A．beginning        B．symbol           C．sign             D．closing

15．A．aimlessly         B．deliberately        C．intentionally      D．carefully

16．A．How come       B．So what          C．What if        D．How about

17．A．review          B．pause           C．rest             D．memory

18．A．troublesome      B．important         C．enthusiastic      D．worthless

19．A．depend          B．rely             C．look           D．center

20．A．sudden              B．unaware            C．conscious         D．expected

The   16   picked up the thermos and poured some hot water into the tea-cup and placed it on the small table in front of his  17   , who were a father and daughter, and put the lid on the cup with a clink．Apparently  18  of something, he hurried into the inner room, leaving the  19  on the table．His two guests heard a chest of drawers opening and a rustling （飒飒响声）．

       They  20  sitting in the living-room, the 10-year-old daughter, looking at the flowers outside the window．The father was just about to take his cup when the  21  came, right there in the living-room．Something was hopelessly broken．

       It was the thermos, which had fallen to the floor．The girl looked  22  her shoulder at once, startled （吓一跳）,  23  ．It was  24   neither of them had touched it, not even a little bit．

       The sound caused the host to rush back from the inner room．He looked at the  25  floor and blurted out, “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter!”

       The father started to say something．Then he muttered, “Sorry, I  26  it and it fell．”

       “ It doesn’t matter,” the host said．

       Later, when they left the house, the daughter said, “ Daddy, I saw your  27  in the windowpane （窗玻璃）．You were sitting perfectly  28  ．Why did you say…．”

The father  29  , “What then would you  30  as the cause of its fall?”

       “ It fell by itself．The floor is uneven （不平）．It wasn’t steady when Mr．Li put it there．”

       “It won’t  31  , girl．It sounds more  32   when I say I knocked it down．There are things people accept less the more you  33   them．The truer your story is, the less true it sounds．”

The daughter was  34  in silence for a while．Then she said, “ Can you  35   it only this way?”

       “Only this way,” the father said．

16．A．owner         B．host             C．guest            D．master

17．A．friends         B．neighbours         C．children           D．guests

18．A．knowing       B．remembering             C．hearing           D．thinking

19．A．thermos       B．cup               C．lid              D．tea

20．A．enjoyed       B．remained         C．imagined         D．hated

21．A．stranger        B．host             C．crash            D．noise

22．A．around         B．at               C．behind           D．over

23．A．staring        B．watching         C．shouting           D．crying

24．A．helpless       B．exciting          C．strange           D．terrible

25．A．broken        B．steaming         C．dirty             D．flooded

26．A．touched       B．used              C．hit              D．moved

27．A．face           B．shadow          C．reflection                D．action

28．A．calm          B．still             C．silent            D．straight

29．A．shouted        B．whispered        C．laughed           D．repeated

30．A．tell                 B．make            C．accept           D．give

31．A．do             B．suit               C．go              D．fit

32．A．comfortable    B．friendly          C．acceptable        D．agreeable

33．A．defend        B．support          C．discuss            D．argue

34．A．kept          B．shut             C．worried            D．lost

35．A．do             B．explain            C．make              D．manage

A   16   thing happened   17   me last Sunday. It was such a beautiful day  18  I drove to go for a look in the country.

       On the way back home, my   19   stopped. It was out of gas on a   20   road far from a town! I decided to walk   21   I found someone who could sell some gas. I had walked almost a mile   22   I finally found a house near the  23 . I was glad to see it because it was getting dark.

       I knocked at the door and a little old lady with long white hair 24  She said, “I’ve been 25 for you here for a long time. Come in.   26   is almost ready.”

       “But I only came for some gas,” I answered. I couldn’t   27   what she was talking about.

       “Oh, Alfred! Gas? You   28   tea,” said she.

I quickly   29   that my car was out of   30  , but she didn’t seem to listen to me. She just kept   31   me Alfred and talking about how long it had been   32   she had seen me. She was acting very strangely and I was   33   to leave. As soon as she went to get tea, I went out of the house as fast as I could.

      Fortunately, there was another house down the road and I was able to buy the gas I needed. When I told the man about my   34  , he said, “Oh, that’s Miss Emily. She lives by herself in that big house. She’s strange, but she wouldn’t   35   anybody. She is still waiting for the man she was going to marry thirty years ago. The day before their wedding he left home and never came back because of the war.”

A. happy          B. strange       C. common      D. bad

A. on            B. in                C. upon         D. to

A. and          B. so            C. but            D. that

A. car           B. bus          C. bike          D. truck

A. narrow        B. lonely        C. crowded       D. busy

A. when           B. so that      C. until          D. because

A. before         B. after        C. while               D. as

A. street           B. path         C. way          D. road

A. came           B. answered    C. opened         D. appeared

A. asking       B. looking      C. calling          D. waiting

A. Gas               B. Coffee            C. Tea           D. Lunch

A. consider     B. understand  C. accept          D. think

A. like          B. liked        C. used to like      D. liking

A. answered      B. explained   C. refused         D. promised

A. gas         B. tea           C. strength        D. energy

A. calling       B. call          C. to call          D. called

A. until          B. before      C. since         D. when

A. anxious      B. interested   C. glad          D. ready

A. accident     B. incident      C. experience           D. surprise

A. wound       B. injury      C. hurt          D. frighten

When 16-year-old Ella Fitzgerald stepped onto the stage to perform at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in 1934, she had no idea that her life was about to change. Her childhood had been    36 . After the death of her parents, Fitzgerald had been placed in a boarding school.   37 , the teachers at the school mistreated her,   38  she ran away. Homeless and orphaned, Fitzgerald was trying her best to   39  on the streets of New York City when she won a contest to perform during an amateur night at the Apollo. She had   40  planned to dance, but at the last second, she decided to sing her mother’s favorite song   41 . Her performance earned her   42  from several well-known musicians. Ella Fitzgerald went on to become a   43  jazz singer.
During a musical career that spanned six decades, Fitzgerald   44  more than 200 albums. She won 13 Grammy Awards, the last of which she received in 1990. She worked with some of the greatest American singers of the twentieth century, including Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Dizzy Gillespie. Her talent and charm   45  a wide range of listeners around the world. The worldwide   46  of Ella Fitzgerald helped make jazz a more popular genre.
Until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the United States   47  African American citizens the same treatment   48  white citizens received. Fitzgerald’s manager and her band   49  to perform at places where discrimination was practiced. They also decided not to perform unless they were paid the same   50  as white singers and musicians. Ella’s fight for   51   received support from numerous celebrity admirers, including Marilyn Monroe. Fitzgerald never took her good fortune for granted. She gave money to charities and organizations that contributed to   52  disadvantages children. For her many civic contributions, in 1992 President George Bush   53  her the Presidential Medal of Honor, one of the highest honors   54  to civilians.
In 1991, Fitzgerald gave her   55  performance in New York’s Carnegie Hall. Although Ella Fitzgerald died in 1996, the American “First Lady of Song” continues to live in the hearts and ears of music lovers worldwide.

When 16-year-old Ella Fitzgerald stepped onto the stage to perform at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in 1934, she had no idea that her life was about to change. Her childhood had been     36  . After the death of her parents, Fitzgerald had been placed in a boarding school.   37  , the teachers at the school mistreated her,   38   she ran away. Homeless and orphaned, Fitzgerald was trying her best to   39   on the streets of New York City when she won a contest to perform during an amateur night at the Apollo. She had   40   planned to dance, but at the last second, she decided to sing her mother’s favorite song   41  . Her performance earned her   42   from several well-known musicians. Ella Fitzgerald went on to become a   43   jazz singer.

During a musical career that spanned six decades, Fitzgerald   44   more than 200 albums. She won 13 Grammy Awards, the last of which she received in 1990. She worked with some of the greatest American singers of the twentieth century, including Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Dizzy Gillespie. Her talent and charm   45   a wide range of listeners around the world. The worldwide   46   of Ella Fitzgerald helped make jazz a more popular genre.

Until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the United States   47   African American citizens the same treatment   48   white citizens received. Fitzgerald’s manager and her band   49   to perform at places where discrimination was practiced. They also decided not to perform unless they were paid the same   50   as white singers and musicians. Ella’s fight for   51   received support from numerous celebrity admirers, including Marilyn Monroe. Fitzgerald never took her good fortune for granted. She gave money to charities and organizations that contributed to   52   disadvantages children. For her many civic contributions, in 1992 President George Bush   53   her the Presidential Medal of Honor, one of the highest honors   54   to civilians.

In 1991, Fitzgerald gave her   55   performance in New York’s Carnegie Hall. Although Ella Fitzgerald died in 1996, the American “First Lady of Song” continues to live in the hearts and ears of music lovers worldwide.

1.A. rich                              B. rough                               C. tiresome                D. happy

2.A. Importantly                  B. Unforgettably                 C. Naturally                 D. Unfortunately

3.A. therefore                     B. but                                    C. so                    D. then

4.A. survive                         B. experience                     C. learn                        D. stand

5.A. strangely                      B. blindly                     C. originally                D. probably

6.A. in spite                         B. instead                             C. in place                   D. though

7.A. jealousy                       B. recognition                     C. reputation              D. gratitude

8.A. creative                       B. dependent                     C. undiscovered        D. distinguished

9.A. released                       B. sold                                   C. copied                     D. showed

10.A. compared with        B. appealed to      C. composed of   D. depended on

11.A. celebration                B. admiration                      C. relaxation               D. indication

12.A. denied                       B. supported                       C. offered          D. hated

13.A. which                          B. what                                 C. that                          D. like

14.A. decided                     B. refused                            C. started                    D. afforded

15.A. number                      B. quantity                           C. amount          D. lots

16.A. wealth                        B. future                               C. equality                   D. agreement

17.A. caring for                             B. playing with           C. preferring to          D. taking after

18.A. rewarded                            B. awarded                          C. paid                         D. presented

19.A. accessible                           B. inadequate                      C. available                 D. official

20.A. best                           B. vivid                                  C. open                        D. final