My teenage son Karl became withdraw after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”

I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “thank you for your time”, and hung up.

Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was I. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1.By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and _____.

A．preferred to stay alone at home            B．often escaped school

C．refused to talk to others                  D．began to dislike his mother

2.There was silence on the other end of the line because _____.

A．the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother

B．the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking

C．the speaker didn’t want the mother to recognize his voice

D．the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother

3.What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems.

B．Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life.

C．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers.

D．School education doesn’t work without full support from parents.

 

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help.“

Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son.  I’m at the end of my rope. I’m

giving the whole thing up to you.” I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.

Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1. By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and ______.

A. preferred to stay alone at home        B. lost interest in his studies

C. refused to talk to others    D. began to dislike his mother

2.There was silence on the other end of the line because______.

A. the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother

B. the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking

C. the speaker didn’t want the mother to recognize his voice

D. the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother

3.The sentence “he even made the honor roll means that______”.

A. he was even on the list to be praised at the parent-teacher meeting

B. he was even on the list of students who made progress in grades

C. he was even on the list of students who had turned themselves around

D. he was even on the list of the best students at school

4.What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Children in single-parent families often have mental problems.

B. Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life.

C. Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers.

D. School education doesn’t work without full support from parents.

 

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn(孤僻) after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and asked God for help. "Please God, I can't do anything more for my son. I'm at the end of my rope. I'm giving the whole thing up to you."

I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. "I want to talk to you about Karl's absences." Before he could say another word, I choked up (哽咽) and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. "I love my son, but I just don't know what to do. I've tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It's out of my hands." For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, "Thank you for your time", and hung up.

Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, "Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?" I nodded. "That was me. I thought I'd play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That's when I knew I had to make you proud." 　

1.According to the first report card, Karl __________.

A. often went to school late                 B. failed in all the exams

C. did a good job at school                 D. didn't do well at school

2.When the mother said "It's out of my hands." to the headmaster, she meant that she________.

A. didn't know what to do about her son 

B. would drive her son away from the house 

C. had no money to support the family

D. she would have to hang up 

3.There was silence on the other end of the line because _____.

A. the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother

B. the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking

C. the speaker didn't want the mother to recognize his voice

D. the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother

4.Who was it that telephoned Karl's mother that day?

A. The headmaster.                        B. The school adviser.    

C. Karl himself.                           D. The passage doesn't tell us. 　

5.From the passage we can learn that _________.

A. children in single-parent families always have mental problems

B. mother's love plays an important role in teenagers' life

C. parents should give their children as much help as possible

D. school education still works well without support from parents   

 

 

II、完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下列短文，掌握其大意，然后从文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。

After spending a weekend away with my son, I was so impressed by his generous heart that I sent him this letter.

Dear son,

I want to thank you for teaching me a very __16__ lesson in life by the great example you __17__. When we were eating at that café in Bondi and a person who had __18__ his hamburger didn’t have enough money to pay for it, without any __19__, you went over and put the __20__ $2 into this hand.

When we were leaving, you __21__ threw a five-cent coin onto the pavement and said __22__ like, “Some kid will really enjoy __23___ this.”

Last week, a young man __24___ me in the line at a petrol station didn’t have __25__ money to pay for his petrol. I asked the money collector, “How much __26__ is he ?” she told me he had meant to put $15 of petrol in his car __27__ he had been looking at the wrong gauge (计量表) and had put in 15 __28__, which came to just over __29__. That is an easy mistake __30__ both gauges run fast.

Something made me think of you and __31__ you did that night at the café in Bondi. I handed the man $6. He was so __32__ and said, “But why would you do this for me?” I just smiled as I thought of you.

 Thank you, son, for teaching me that “it’s __33__ to give than receive”. Now when I see a five-cent coin on the __34__ and want to pick it up, I think of you and leave it __35__, just in case some kid will get a kick out of finding it.

16. A. humorous      B. private                   C. reasonable  D. valuable

17. A. followed         B. gave              C. set                          D. took

18. A. ordered          B. booked                   C. offered                   D. bought

19. A. hesitation      B. doubt            C. permission  D difficulty

20. A. other               B. last                         C. extra             D. rest

21. A. again               B. already                  C. only                         D. also

22. A. nothing           B. everything   C anything   D something

23. A. finding             B. accepting     C looking for D pointing at

24. A. behind             B. beyond                   C. ahead of       D. next to

25. A. much               B. some             C. any                         D. enough

26. A. far                    B. long                        C. short             D. high

27. A. and                            B. but                          C. so                            D. while

28. A. litres (升)       B. kilograms     C. pounds                   D kilometers

29. A. $15                            B. $20                         C. $25                         D. $30

30. A. until                    B. as                     C. although      D. unless

31. A. what                B. which            C. whatever     D whichever

32. A. excited         B. surprised     C. interested D encouraged

33. A. easier              B. better           C. faster            D. worse

34. A. corner             B. way                         C. ground                   D. carpet

35. A. there               B. here                        C. out                          D. around

 

On a cold winter day, I waited in line to see my hero, Jack Canfield, the author of The Success Principles, who was going to deliver a speech on his new book.

During his talk, Jack   41   his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and said, ‘‘Who wants this?”   42   shot up in the audience; people leaned forward to see whom Jack would   43  . But I jumped up, ran up the   44   to the stage, and grabbed the bill. As I was launching myself in the air,   45  raced through my mind — was I about to be humiliated(羞辱) in front of 800 people? Would they   46   security guards and take me from the stage?    47   my desire for bold （大胆的）action was louder than any   48  voice. As I got the bill from his hand, he said, “That’s it! We can’t wait for the   49   to come to us. We must take    50    to create what we want!’’

After his talk, I   51   to formally meet Jack and boldly asked for his personal e-mail address. Over the next months, I sent him emails   52   my points of view and dreams with him. He kindly e-mailed back lots of encouragement. But my life got busy   53  other things. I stopped e-mailing Jack.

A year later, my dreams had worn away. I thought Jack would inspire me into action, like a giant arrow that would show me the way.

I e-mailed him, and then again — but got no   54  . As I sat down at my computer to 55   my e-mails, I  56   woke up. What was I doing? I was waiting! Now I remembered the crowd, most likely   57   that hundred-dollar bill, while they sat glued to their chairs.

Usually we all have a “Jack” for whom we wait — whether it’s a person, a place or a thing. We   58   believe the gifts of life are just around the corner, and that everything will come in a(n)   59   way. So we don’t try. We  60  . But as Wayne Gretzky said，“You’ll always miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take!” So I stopped waiting and started my writing career.

Now what are you waiting for?

1.A. brought in                    B. reached for                     C. took over                         D. handed in

2.A. Cheers                                    B. Shouts                              C. Heads                     D. Hands

3.A. offer                              B. trust                                  C. like                                   D. choose

4.A. path                               B. road                                  C. steps                                 D. route

5.A. thoughts                       B. opinions                           C. ideas                      D. plans

6.A. ask                                 B. call                                    C. demand                            D. order

7.A. And                               B. So                             C. But                                    D. Or

8.A. noisy                             B. doubtful                           C. meaningful                      D. helpful

9.A. opportunities                  B. consequences                  C. results                              D. aims

10.A. step                         B. measure                           C. way                       D. action

11.A. expected                            B. tried                                  C. permitted                        D. managed

12.A. stating                       B. describing                        C. presenting                       D. sharing

13.A. with                             B. in                                  C. about                                 D. over

14.A. news                                    B. message                           C. response                          D. reaction

15.A. check                                   B. examine                           C. inspect                             D. review

16.A. gradually                    B. suddenly                          C. immediately           D. slowly

17.A. desiring                               B. claiming                            C. begging                            D. dreaming

18.A. particularly                         B. honestly                           C. falsely                      D. correctly

19.A. difficult                B. impressive                C. early                         D. natural

20.A. give up                                 B. put up                         C. take up                     D. set up