My sister and I have been a headache for my mother, because my father was in the army, he was not around too often. __21__, my mother brought us up almost single-handedly and it must have __22__ real strength of mind to bring up such naughty and stubborn children who got out from one trouble only to get into another.

Bonus and I weren’t scholars either. __23__, we hated studying from the very beginning. We were __24__ to spend time with our schoolbooks---out of the fear of Mum’s scolding. I almost did not make it to 10th grade. That entire summer Mum __25__ that I read my schoolbooks from the very first chapter till the last.

I left __26__ college at 18. In my second year of college, while I was studying for my final exams, I got a phone call from Mum __27__ my sister had failed her 9th grade exams. Mum was heartbroken. My mother was an English teacher in a famous school in the city and it was a(n) __28__ for her.

Then started another __29__ for my Mum. There always seemed to be people who would come and talk about how well their children were doing __30__ my mother would be having a tough time making sure we stayed on the right path. Mum was __31__ that we would do well for ourselves. She never let my sister and me __32__ that we had lost out on something and always told us: “Let this be a lesson. We are going to work really really hard...__33__ will change.”

Things did change, but very slowly and __34__, one little step at a time. Last year I finished with law school and started working. My mother’s belief in me __35__. And just a few days ago I got a phone from Bonus. She had __36__ the exam with honors and was __37__ to the best university in the country. I was in tears. Later that night I __38__ Mum: “Mum, your two little failures didn’t do as badly as everybody thought.” Mum __39__ and said: “You are my daughters and I knew you the best. I always knew that you would succeed. It was just a __40__ of time.”

1.                A．However       B．Thus           C．Otherwise D．Besides

2.                A．devoted        B．spent          C．taken D．wasted

3.                A．In that case      B．In this way       C．On the other hand  D．On the contrary

4.                A．pleased        B．annoyed        C．forced   D．advised

5.                A．demanded      B．concluded       C．promised D．mentioned

6.                A．at             B．for            C．from D．after

7.                A．announcing     B．reading         C．knowing  D．saying

8.                A．shame         B．challenge       C．pride D．honor

9.                A．experiment     B．research        C．conflict   D．trial

10.               A．though         B．while          C．as    D．unless

11.               A．determined     B．astonished      C．satisfied   D．concerned

12.               A．predict         B．imagine        C．guess D．feel

13.               A．Environment    B．Society         C．Circumstances  D．Impressions

14.               A．quickly         B．extremely       C．smoothly  D．gradually

15.               A．made up        B．paid off         C．took on   D．burst out

16.               A．attended       B．received        C．passed    D．failed

17.               A．accepted       B．allowed        C．admitted  D．permitted

18.               A．questioned      B．convinced      C．persuaded D．called

19.               A．nodded        B．laughed        C．shouted   D．joked

20.               A．matter         B．period         C．waste D．length

My sister and I have been a headache for my mother, because my father was in the army, he was not around too often. __21__, my mother brought us up almost single-handedly and it must have __22__ real strength of mind to bring up such naughty and stubborn children who got out from one trouble only to get into another.
Bonus and I weren’t scholars either. __23__, we hated studying from the very beginning. We were __24__ to spend time with our schoolbooks---out of the fear of Mum’s scolding. I almost did not make it to 10th grade. That entire summer Mum __25__ that I read my schoolbooks from the very first chapter till the last.
I left __26__ college at 18. In my second year of college, while I was studying for my final exams, I got a phone call from Mum __27__ my sister had failed her 9th grade exams. Mum was heartbroken. My mother was an English teacher in a famous school in the city and it was a(n) __28__ for her.
Then started another __29__ for my Mum. There always seemed to be people who would come and talk about how well their children were doing __30__ my mother would be having a tough time making sure we stayed on the right path. Mum was __31__ that we would do well for ourselves. She never let my sister and me __32__ that we had lost out on something and always told us: “Let this be a lesson. We are going to work really really hard...__33__ will change.”
Things did change, but very slowly and __34__, one little step at a time. Last year I finished with law school and started working. My mother’s belief in me __35__. And just a few days ago I got a phone from Bonus. She had __36__ the exam with honors and was __37__ to the best university in the country. I was in tears. Later that night I __38__ Mum: “Mum, your two little failures didn’t do as badly as everybody thought.” Mum __39__ and said: “You are my daughters and I knew you the best. I always knew that you would succeed. It was just a __40__ of time.”

The history of English Coins

English coins have developed and changed over time. In the early 1600s' coins were made using the hammer struck method. Hammered coins or cast coins where the primary way coins were made and thus limited the number of coins that may be placed into circulation (流通). Hammered coins were made as far back as the first millennium BC with continued in use until the 1500s to the 1700s. English coins underwent a change in about 1663.

Hammered English coins were made using a blank quantity of metal that was the required weight and placing it between two dies. A die is a mold (模子) that allows the metal to get cut to a certain size and shape.The metal die contained an image that when hammered without delay would mold the image on each side of the coin. The unit was customarily place on a log or other firm surface which was known as a pile. One person held the die while a second person struck it.

There were several issues with this kind of coin making. For one thing, it was extremely slow and work in depth. Comparatively few coins might be made and placed into circulation. A second problem was that hammered coins had many irregularities. When several coins were placed together in a container and shaken about they were damaged as well. That is why older English coins might have chips(缺口) and rough edges.

During the 17th century hammered coins were replaced with milled (轧有花边的) coins. While France was the first country to start producing coins that were made entirely by machine, Britain wasn't far behind. Britain, in fact, began to manufacture coins on a trial basis in the mid?1500s, but it wasn't until the end of 1662 that English coins were made completely by machine.

The screw press (螺旋压力机) was the first machine to produce coins as an alternative to hammered coins. Leonardo da Vinci was the person who invented the screw press in the 15th century. It was powered by a water mill. Early on efforts were made to protect the coins by edging. You'll see that English?made coins have milled edges.

Milled English coins were much more standard in size and shape as well. The speed at which milled coins could be created allowed the coin circulation to grow and a greater number of coin types to be developed.

English coins were used in this country during the royally period. Hammered coins were produced and used up through the end of the 18th century and were given out across the colonies. English coins went through quite a lot of changes as can be seen in old coins that have been started in the US over time.

__1.__of English coins????????????? Time & Major Events

Hammered

coins????????????? ◆The hammer struck method used to make coins has a history dating back to the first millennium BC.

◆At least two people are needed to carry out the work, with one _2.__the die and the other striking it.

◆__3._：

◆The number of coins made and placed into circulation this way was _4.__.

◆Older English coins were quite __5._，with many having chips and rough edges.

◆Such coins were placed into circulation across the colonies and __6._ in use through the end of the 18th century.

Milled coins????????????? During

the 15th

century????????????? ◆Leonardo da Vinci _7.__the screw press, the 1st machine to produce coins.

????????????? In the

mid?1500s????????????? Britain __8._manufacturing coins.

????????????? In the

17th

century????????????? ◆France became the first country to start producing coins made entirely by machine，_9.__ by Britain, whose machine?made coins were featured by milled edges, but were more regular in size and shape.

◆The coin circulation began to grow.

◆Milled coins appeared as a(n) __10._ to hammered coins.

阅读短文，根据所读内容在文后1~10的空格里填上适当的单词或短语。

Environment protection is a concept and also a life style. In September, a series of environmental protection events will be launched in Hangzhou to make the city more beautiful.

　　Public Commuter Week

　　From 16th to 22nd of Sept. will be the Public Commuter Week in Hangzhou. The government will encourage all citizens to take public commuter transit vehicles. In order to ensure the efficiency of the public buses, the section between Xihu Avenue and Qingchun Lu Road on Yan'an Lu Road will be purposely designated as priority(优先) section for buses and taxies. Meanwhile, other vehicles will be controlled by its plate numbers to run on different dates:

　　Plate numbers ending with 1,3,5,7&9 (characterized plate numbers ending with English letters A-M) will be entitled(有…...的资格) to run on 17th, 19th and 21st Sept.

　　Plate numbers ending with 2,4,6,8&0 (characterized plate numbers ending with English letters N-Z) will be entitled to run on 16th, 18th and 20th Sept.

The controlled period is from 7am to 7pm every day.

　　Carfree Day

　　As in France, the Carfree Day for Hangzhou is set on 22nd Sept. All citizens will be encouraged to travel by bicycle, by bus or on foot. The traffic policemen will divide the streets into two regions to ensure the smooth trial of the first Carfree Day in Hangzhou.

　　In the controlled region, the traffic policemen and signboards will remind the citizens not to drive the car. In the forbidden regions, no car is allowed to drive by. The controlled period is from 7am to 7pm on 22nd Sept.

Seek for environment protectors around you. Life of environment protection can be a stylish life. In Paris, for example, it is a trend to travel by bicycle. Needless to say, it is a fashionable choice not to drive the car on Carefree Day. We also believe, there are various types for environment protectors as it is coming into our daily life in various ways.

Failure，they say, is the best teacher. We learn and have more confidence in what we know through trial and error, which onetime or another has   36  failure. You don’t have to  37  your failure if what you really want to achieve is  38  .

   For every  39  achievement, there have been one or more failures. But those who we call successful are those who  40  to accept failure and believe success is the other side of failure. The incandescent light (白炽灯) was  41  after 1,000 failures. If Thomas Edison had  42  after he tried 100 times without the desired result, what would have been the  43  of such effort?

   Any time you see products and new inventions, think in terms of failures that are not accepted. 44  everything in a microform (微缩过程) today is a result of failure not accepted.

   Any time your effort is not bringing a(n)  45  result, you don’t have to call it a failure. Call it a challenge. What is the  46  between the two? One is negative, the other is  47 ; one demotivates , the other motivates.

   What you need is positive thinking and motivation to  48  success. Failure is an end thing; 49  is an open thing. Failure means there is no way out, no alternative, but a challenge is a question mark  50  another way out of the situation, an alternative  51  to the problem.

   Keep dreaming, keep moving; that is the solution to success.

   A wise man once said if you cannot fly, run. If you cannot  52  ,walk. If you cannot walk, crawl; just keep moving. If you fall down, you have to  53  and start moving. If not, other people will step on you towards their  54  . What you call failure and  55  is what someone will step into with just a little additional effort to reach achievement.

36. A. come from        B. resulted in             C. resulted from   D. come across

37. A. deny                      B. receive                   C. accept        D. gain

38. A. dreams                   B. imaginations     C. barriers               D. success

39. A. successful                B. creative                 C. difficult           D. important

40. A. prepare                   B. try                          C. refuse               D. attempt

41. A. used                        B. discovered              C. found      D. invented

42. A. forgot                     B. stopped                  C. regretted           D. succeeded

43.A.meaning          B.importance      C result          D cause

44. A. Moreover         B. Therefore              C. However      D. Otherwise

45. A. desired          B. imagined           C. poor                 D. final

46. A. similarity                  B. characteristic         C. relationship    D. difference

47. A. reasonable              B. meaningful              C. positive           D. beneficial

48. A. achieve                    B. enjoy                   C. miss                D. avoid

49. A. chance                     B. motivation              C. challenge         D. effort

50. A. reflecting                 B. asking                     C. suggesting       D. offering

51. A. response                  B. key                         C. entrance          D. solution

52. A. rise                       B. fly                        C. run                D. stand

53. A. lie flat                      B. get up                     C. sit still             D. run away

54. A. advantage                B. destination             C. achievement   D. strength

55. A. quit                         B. hate                        C. prefer              D. continue