The art of living is to know when to hold fast and when to let go. When know that this is1  , but all too often we recognize this truth  2  in our backward glance when we remember what it was and then suddenly  3  that it is no more.

A recent  4  re-taught me this truth. I was hospitalized  5  a serious heart attack and had been in intensive  6  for several days. It was not a pleasant place.

One morning, I had to have some additional  7  ，so I had to be wheeled across the count yard on a gurney（n.轮床）.

         8  we got out from our unit, the sunlight hit me. Just the  9  of the sun. And yet how beautiful it was---how warming, how sparking, how brilliant! I  10  around to see whether anyone else loved the sun's golden glow, but everyone was  11 ,most with eyes fixed on the ground. At that moment, I came to realize  12  gifts are precious----but we are too  13  about them.

     Hold fast to life, but not so fast, or you cannot  14  .This is the second side of life's  15  , the opposite pole of its paradox（悖论）：we must   16  our losses, and learn how to let go.

       This is not an easy  17  to learn, especially when we are young and think that the world is ours to command, and that  18  we desire with the full force of our passionate being, can, and, will, be ours. But then life  19  , keeping us faced with realities, and  20  but surely this truth dawns upon us.

1．A．easy                    B．clear                   C．true                   D．good

2．A．only                    B．also                   C．well                   D．even

3．A．notice                  B．realize                C．worry                D．concern

4．A．report                  B．story                 C．accident             D．experience

5．A．during                  B．since                 C．after                  D．until

6．A．care                    B．charge               C．control              D．need

7．A．doctors               B．medicine            C．instructions        D．tests

8．A．Before                 B．Till                    C．As                     D．While

9．A．warmth               B．light                   C．colors                D．image

10．A．looked               B．turned                C．walked              D．ran

11．A．watching            B．hurrying             C．working             D．sitting

12．A．disease's            B．art's                   C．health's              D．life's

13．A．honest               B．curious              C．careless             D．anxious

14．A．hold on              B．take over            C．give in               D．let go

15．A．coin                  B．note                   C．bill                    D．check

16．A．accept               B．admire               C．remember          D．forgive

17．A．skill                   B．failure                C．lesson                D．task

18．A．whatever           B．whichever          C．however            D．whoever

19．A．comes up           B．goes off             C．dies away          D．moves along

20．A．quickly              B．firmly                C．slowly               D．suddenly

That day I was later for school, so Mom offered me a   36 . I sat beside her in our car, daydreaming about my  37 . I’d be graduating from high school in a few months. I’d leave high school behind and do whatever I wanted. What  38 I do? Go to college? Or get a job in an office where I could  39 my way up?

Mom interrupted my thoughts.“Kassandra, do you  40  that?’’She asked just as we were  41  the railroad tracks. She stopped the car on the other side and   42  the window. “It looks like a child.’’  43 ,I saw a small boy walking by himeself. The warning lights on the train tracks flashed  44 .The boy stayed where he was right in the middle of the   45 .The whistle sounded. There’s no  46  that train can stop in time!The boy jumped up and down and   47  at the engineer.

I took off running. My shoes flopped(松动) against my feet as I   48 , so I kicked them off. I ran faster. Stones crunched(发出刺耳的碎裂声) and flew under my   49  feet. The ground shook. God, let me get to him! The train was almost on top of him. I   50 the boy in my arms. Keep running! But something   51  

me. I fell backward, away from the train. I pulled the boy with me onto safe ground. The train barreled(高速行驶)past. The noise was  52 . The wheels were so close that I could have reached out and touched one.

Once the train was out of  53 , I stood up. Mom ran up and hugged me. “Kassandra, I didn’t think you were going to  54 it !’’

I got ready for bed that night  55 looking forward to school the next day. I wanted to enjoy every moment in life.

1.

A．help

B．favor

C．hand

D．ride

2.

A．love

B．future

C．job

D．university

3.

A．would

B．should

C．could

D．might

4.

A．walk

B．struggle

C．feel

D．work

5.

A．see

B．hear

C．watch

D．find

6.

A．passing

B．repairing

C．crossing

D．building

7.

A．brought down

B．rolled out

C．pointed out

D．looked out

8.

A．At length

B．Frankly speaking

C．After all

D．Sure enough

9.

A．red

B．yellow

C．green

D．black

10.

A．streets

B．train

C．tracks

D．roads

11.

A．possibility

B．problem

C．way

D．doubt

12.

A．shot

B．waved

C．shouted

D．laughed

13.

A．ran

B．drove

C．thought

D．walked

14.

A．big

B．bare

C．fast

D．quick

15.

A．drew

B．held

C．led

D．caught

16.

A．attracted

B．knocked

C．struck

D．pushed

17.

A．deafening

B．sounding

C．exciting

D．loud

18.

A．fashion

B．mind

C．sight

D．date

19.

A．fetch

B．do

C．make

D．get

20.

A．thus

B．already

C．never

D．still

 

As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents in Texas. And every few summers, we’d __16__ the caravan (旅游团队), a group of Airstream trailer owners who __17__ together around the U.S. and Canada．

I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked __18__ to these travels. On one particular __ 19__ ，I was about 10 years old. I was rolling around in the backseat. My grandfather was __20__ . And my grandmother had the passenger seat. She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the __21__.

    At that age, I’d take any excuse to make estimates(估计) and do minor __22__．At any rate, I decided to do the math for my __23__. I estimated the number of  cigarettes per days, estimated the number of __24__ per cigarette and so on. When I was satisfied that I’d come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head  into the __25__ of the car, tapped my grandmother __26__ the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, “At two minutes per puff, you've taken nine years off your __27__!” Because the ad said, every puff of a cigarette takes some  number of minutes __28__ smoker’s life．

I expected to be applauded for my __29__ and arithmetic skills. That’s not what happened．__30__, my grandmother burst into __31__. I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do. My grandfather was a highly intelligent, __32__ man. He had never said a harsh word to me. He pulled __33__ onto the shoulder of the highway. He stopped and got out of the car, __34__ me, and after a bit of silence，he gently and __35__ said, “Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever.”   

1.A. take  B. join   C. attend    D. visit

2.A. work  B. study  C. travel     D. explore

3.A. forward    B. backward   C. toward    D. upward

4.A. holiday    B. research     C. trip      D. return

5.A. talking     B. reading     C. training   D. driving

6.A. scene      B. smell       C. band      D. type

7.A. arithmetic(算数)  B. question  C. game    D. problem

8.A. grandfather  B. grandmother  C. visitor    D. car

9.A. cases     B. smokes   C. kinds   D. puffs(烟头)

10.A. window   B. seat      C. back        D. front  

11.A. at        B. in        C. on           D. under

12.A. tour      B. life      C. distance       D. date

13.A. away     B. from      C. with         D. off

14.A. cleverness   B. coolness   C. happiness    D. ability

15.A. Eventually   B. Instead   C. Unfortunately  D. Though

16.A. words     B. laughters    C. tears       D. screams

17.A. stubborn   B. determined  C. lonely      D. quiet

18.A. over        B. in         C. away       D. up

19.A. noticed      B. looked     C. glared      D. glanced

20.A. angrily      B. excitedly    C. calmly    D. coldly

 

For hours I had been traveling up the Nile Valley，from Luxor to Cairo，on a train jammed with Egypt's working poor.

At 1：00 a．m.I__16__Cairo and took a taxi to Tahrir Square.I was__17__and，having been to Cairo before，knew that while most of the city was__18__at this hour，a couple of fast­food restaurants would be open there.

The taxi dropped me__19__across the street from Hardee's.A moment later，just as I was about to__20__the restaurant door，two street children ran towards me with full__21__for food.

Being a veteran(经验丰富的) traveler__22__having once lived in Egypt for a year，I was no stranger to children__23__or people asking me for help.But seldom had I been so__24__by the sincerity of the request.

I turned back to the__25__and asked them to wait while I went inside to buy them food.At the counter I__26__two hamburgers for the boys.

When their food was ready，I walked back__27__and invited them in to eat with me.“No！” they cried__28__．“We do not belong in such a nice place！”

__29__to persuade them otherwise，I brought the__30__out，and as they took the burgers，they showered me with 30 seconds of nonstop__31__，praying that Allah would always bless me.

And this is__32__，five years later，I still ask for God's blessings for those two Egyptian boys.I__33__as sincerely as they had for me，__34__that while they had nothing material to give，they had given me something__35__： an awareness of my spiritual poverty and a desire for a softer heart.

16．A.reached  B．saw  C．visited  D．noticed

17．A.thirsty  B．angry  C．hungry  D．frightened

18．A.let down  B．closed down  C．got down  D．put down

19．A.away  B．back  C．out  D．off

20．A.shut  B．lock  C．cover  D．open

21．A.smiles  B．hardships  C．cries  D．honors

22．A.apart from  B．as well as  C．in favour of  D．in return for

23．A.beating  B．struggling  C．begging  D．trembling

24．A.surprised  B．regretted  C．appointed  D．moved

25．A.boys  B．drivers  C．waiters  D．workers

26．A.ordered  B．demanded  C．requested  D．deserved

27．A.inside  B．outside  C．forward  D．backward

28．A.happily  B．cheerfully  C．astonishingly  D．sadly

29．A.Unable  B．Impossible  C．Ready  D．Willing

30．A.book  B．food  C．cook  D．look

31．A.blessings  B．belongings C．campaigns  D．challenges

32．A.how  B．why  C．where  D．when

33．A.tell  B．speak  C．pray  D．bow

34．A.forgetting  B．following C．regretting  D．remembering

35．A.greater  B．fewer  C．less  D．lower