They say a cat has nine lives, and I think that possible since I am now living my third life and I’m not even a cat．My father died when I was 15, and we had a hard struggle to make a living．And my mother, who was seriously ill in her last years, died while still in her 60s．My sister married soon after, and I followed her example within the year．

This was when I began to enjoy my first life．I was very happy, in excellent health．I had a good job in San Jose and a beautiful home up the peninsula (半岛) in San Carlos．Life was a pleasant dream．Then the dream ended．I became afflicted (使苦恼) with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side．Thus began my second life…．

In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car．And I managed to keep my health and optimism (乐观), to a degree, because of 14 steps．Crazy? Not at all．Our home was an affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door．Those steps were a standard measure of life．They were my yardstick, my challenge to continue living．I felt that if the day arrived when I was unable to lift one foot up one step and then drag the other painfully after it ---repeating the process 14 times, I would be through---I could then admit defeat and lie down and die．

Then on a dark night in August, 1971, I began my third life．It was raining when I started home that night; strong winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads．Suddenly the steering wheel jerked (猝然一动)．In the same instant I heard the bang of a blowout．It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible!

I started the engine and thumped slowly along, keeping well over on the shoulder until I came to the dirt road, where I turned in and where I found lighted windows welcomed me to a house and pulled into the driveway and honked the horn．

The door opened and a little girl stood there．When she knew what happened to me, she went into the house and a moment later came out, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting．I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm．

About an hour later, the man’s voice was heard, “This is a bad night for car trouble, but you’re all set now．” “Thanks,” I said．“How much do I owe you?” He shook his head, “Nothing．Cynthia told me you were a cripple．Glad to be of help．I know you’d do the same for me．There’s no charge, friend．” I held out a five-dollar bill, “No! I like to pay my way．” He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, “Grandpa can’t see it．”

1．“A cat has nine lives” here means ___________．

A．a cat can live nine times longer than any other animal

B．a cat can die ninth

C．a lucky man can not die easily

D．the writer will live nine times

2．What do you think of the man who helped change the tire?

A．Warm-hearted but pitiable

B．Warm-hearted and happy

C．A blind old man that has nothing to do every day．

D．A poor old man that is always ready to help others．

3．How will the story be ended?

A．The writer paid the little girl but the old man did not accept．

B．The writer drove away with tears running down his cheek．

C．The writer stayed there, without knowing what to do and how to do．

D．In the next few frozen seconds the writer felt the shame and astonishment he had never felt before．

4．How do you understand the underlined sentence “I followed my sister’s example?”

A．He listened to his sister carefully．

B．Mother told him that he must get the agreement from his sister for whatever he would do．

C．His sister got married．He, too．

D．His sister was a great woman．．He must learn from her．

5．The best title for this passage perhaps will be _____．

A．The Old Man and His Daughter                    B．Heart Leaping Up

C．Never Lose Heart                                        D．Good Will Be Rewarded Good

I had applied for a very important program, and Rickover was interviewing me for the job．It was the first time I met him, and we sat in large room 36 ourselves for more than two hours, and he let me_37 any subjects I wished to discuss Very 38 I chose those about which I knew most at those time-current events, music, literature…，and then he began to ask me a series of questions of increasing_ 39 . In each case, he soon 40 　 that I knew 41 about the subjects I had chosen．

　 He always looked right 42 my eyes, and he never smiled．I was wet with cold_ 43 ．

　 Finally, he asked me question and I thought I could regain__ 44 He said, "How did you 45 in your class at Georgia Tech 46 entering our Annapolis as a freshman?" I had done very well, so I answered with__ 47 ,"Sir, I stand 8th in class of 60!"I sat back to wait for the 48 which never came．_49 , came the question: "Did you do your best?" I started to say, "Yes, Sir," but I suddenly realized who I faced and then 50 several of my times at Georgia Tech 51 I could have worked harder and learned more about our friends and so on．I was just an ordinary student. I__ 52 my throat and finally said, “No, Sir．I didn't always do my best．”

He looked at me for a long time, and then turned his chair around to end the 53 .He asked one final question, which I have never been able to forget 54 to answer． He said, "Why not?" I sat there for a while, 55 , and then slowly left the room．

36．A．beside　　　　　　　　　　 B．by 　　　　　　　　　　　 C．for　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．with

37．A．choose　　　　　　　　　 B．consider　　　　　　　　 C． elect　　　　　　　　　　 D．search

38．A．excitingly　　　　　　　 B． curiously　　　　　　　 C． patiently　　　　　　　 D．carefully

39．A．humor　　　　　　　　　 B． interest　　　　　　　　 C． difficulty　　　　　　　 D．ability

40．A．proved　　　　　　　　　 B． showed　　　　　　　　 C． meant　　　　　　　　　 D．imagined

41．A．much　　　　　　　　　　 B． little　　　　　　　　　　 C． anything　　　　　　　 D．everything

42．A．into　　　　　　　　　　　 B． for　　　　　　　　　　　 C． back　　　　　　　　　　 D．up

43．A．air　　　　　　　　　　　　 B． water　　　　　　　　　 C． sweat　　　　　　　　　 D．tears

44．A．consideration B． permission C． self-confidence　　 D．self-defense

45．A．stand　　　　　　　　　　 B． seat　　　　　　　　　　 C． do　　　　　　　　　　　 D．go

46．A．after　　　　　　　　　　　 B． before　　　　　　　　　 C． while　　　　　　　　　 D．since

47．A．delight　　　　　　　　　 B． satisfaction　　　　　 C． happiness　　　　　　 D．pride

48．A．celebrations B． expectations　　　　 C． explanations D．congratulations

49．A．Thus　　　　　　　　　　 B． However　　　　　　　 C． Instead　　　　　　　　 D．Therefore

50．A．recalled　　　　　　　　　 B． tried　　　　　　　　　　 C． reminded　　　　　　　 D．analyzed

51．A．what　　　　　　　　　　 B． that　　　　　　　　　　　 C． when　　　　　　　　　 D．which

52．A．examined　　　　　　　 B． cleaned　　　　　　　　 C． treated　　　　　　　　 D．cleared

53．A．meeting　　　　　　　　 B． lesson　　　　　　　　　 C． interview　　　　　　　 D．class

54．A．so　　　　　　　　　　　　 B． and　　　　　　　　　　　 C． or　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．but

55．A．moved　　　　　　　　　 B． shaken　　　　　　　　 C． delighted　　　　　　　 D．excited

Uncertainty spreads through our lives so thoroughly that it dominates our language. Our everyday speech is made up in large part of words like probably, many, soon, great, little. What do these words mean?Such verbal expression is not necessarily to be criticized. Indeed, it has a value just because it allows us to express judgments when a precise quantitative statement is out of the question.
We have been trying to pin down by experiments what people mean by these expressions in specific contexts, and how the meanings change with age. For instance, a subject is told “There are many trees in the park” and is asked to say what number the word many mean to him. Or a child is invited to take “some” sweets from a bowl and we then count how many he has taken. We compare the number he takes when he is alone with the number when one or more other children are present and are to take some sweets after him, or with the number he takes when told to give “some” sweets to another child.
First, we find that the number depends, of course, on the items involved. To most people some friends means about five, while some trees means about twenty. However, unrelated areas sometimes show parallel values. For instance, the language of probability seems to mean about the same thing in predictions about the weather and about politics: the expression “is certain to” (rain, or be elected) signifies to the average person about a 70 percent chance; “is likely to”, about a 60 percent chance; “probably will” about 55 percent.
Secondly, the size of the population of items influences the value assigned to an expression. Thus, if we tell a subject to take “a few” or “ a lot of” glass balls from a box, he will take more if the box contains a large number of glass balls than if it has a small number. But not proportionately more: if we increase the number of glass balls eight times, the subject takes only half as large a percentage of the total.
Thirdly, there is a marked change with age. Among children between six and fourteen years old, the older the child, the fewer glass balls he will take. But the difference between a lot and a few widens with age. This age effect is so consistent that it might be used as a test of intelligence.
【小题1】 What’s the right attitude towards the words like probably, many, soon?

Someone said that encouragement is simply reminding a person of the “shoulders” he’s standing on, the heritage he’s been given. That’s what happened   36   a young man, the son of a(n)   37   baseball player, was chosen by one of the minor league teams. Hard as he tried, his first season was   38   , and by midseason he expected to be removed   39   day. The coaches were    40   by his failure because he possessed all the characteristics of a superb athlete, but he seemed to have become   41   from his potential.
His   42   seemed darkest one day when he had already struck out his first time at bat. Then he stepped up to the batter’s box again and quickly ran up two strikes. The catcher called a   43   and ran for a conference to discuss strategies. While they were busy, the   44  , standing behind him, spoke casually to the boy.
Then play   45  , the next pitch was thrown and the young man knocked it out of the park. That was the turning   46  . From then on, he played the game with a new confidence and power that quickly   47   the attention of the parent team, and he was called   48   to the majors.
On the day he was leaving for the city, one of his coaches asked him what had caused such a turnaround. The young man replied it was the   49   remark the judge had   50   that day when his baseball career had seemed   51  .
“He told me I reminded him of all the times he had stood   52   my dad in the batter’s box,” the boy explained. “He said I was holding the bat just the way Dad had held it.   53   he told me, ‘I can see his genes in you; you have your father’s   54   .’ After that, whenever I swung the bat, I just   55   I was using Dad’s arms instead of my own.”